7A - Testing the Hypothesis Part 1

• One of the bigger issues in soccer in the United States has been the lack of development in domestic players because of the current MLS draft system as well as our best youth players only becoming professionals after finishing college.
• The who: American youth soccer players
• The what: They are unable to develop in to world stars
• The why: The current placed system in which youth players only become professionals through the draft after college are significantly behind compared to the rest of the world
• Testing the who: The only people facing this need are American youth soccer players and the reason they are behind in development is because no other country follows the same system.
• Testing the what: Youth players in other countries become professionals at around 16-17 and are exploited to a tougher and harder game at a younger age.
• Testing the why: The United States has a long tradition of college sports, which is not anywhere near as big in other countries. The U.S. also has a tradition of doing big draft events after college and ranking their players, which is not a tradition of other countries.
• Interviews: For this post I interviewed an American, who does not watch soccer at all except the World Cup; I interviewed an a friend of mine who plays for William & Mary's soccer team in Division 1; the last 3 people I interviewed were my classmates in Istanbul and avid soccer fans. My American Friend, David, who does not watch soccer at all, but is an avid football and basketball friend does not see the problems in a draft. He said college sports and major league drafts are a tradition here. He did realize though that the soccer system here is very behind other countries. He said there is no reason why countries that do not have the resources that the United States have should be playing better than we are. When I explained to him that most professionals abroad start playing in the major leagues at 17, he was kind of shocked, but then he immediately realized how much sense that made. My friend Derin completely agrees with me that college soccer and the draft is hindering the progress of domestic players. He said if he had the opportunity to skip college and continue playing for DC United he would probably be a much better player than he was today. He then pointed out that the United States' best player right now is Christian Pulisic, who left to play in Germany professionally at a much younger age rather than do the typical American system. He said he is a living example of why our system hinders development and how if they all became professionals at a younger age their development would have accelerated tremendously. My other 3 Turkish friends were not even aware of the American system. When I asked why, they simply responded that they had no reason to know it since the United States is not a soccer power at all. They were not able to comprehend that players were ranked and had to go through a draft. One of them said that in Europe your first professional team is the same as your youth team. This is important to note since the player has been in the same team culture for most of his life and is familiar with the club completely. When you get drafted by a team you have no familiarity with you have a much longer and harder time adjusting to the established culture. I came to realize even more after my interviews that there is definitely an opportunity in changing the soccer system in the United States. Everyone agreed with me that college soccer and the draft should not be a thing; the players should just continue through the academy and start playing professionally for their club at a younger age. If this happened, especially with the resources this country has, I am sure the United States could turn in to one of the biggest soccer powers in the world.