The sport of soccer has never been fully embraced in the United States, it has always been overlooked by more "American" sports like football and baseball. However in recent years the interest in soccer has grown in America because the national team has improved. However we are still not where we would like to be, comparable to teams like Spain, Argentina, Germany, and even England. The solution to getting the U.S. on the same level as those more dominant countries is through the funding of youth academies. Through the funding of American youth soccer academies, the United States will be a more competitive nation at international tournaments like the World Cup because our players will have just as much experience playing at a high level of soccer as their competition. By funding youth academies the United States will also be more universally cohesive with the rest of the world because soccer is the number one most played/watched sport in the world and it is known as the universal language. Also it will give more people a chance to experience the educational benefits and opportunities that come with soccer because more scholarships will be available to players in the country. 

There is an article written by Morgan O. Ashton and John C. Whitehead titled, "Willingness to Pay for Soccer Player Development in the United States," centered around the willingness of American people to pay higher taxes in order to fund youth soccer academies. Whitehead and Ashton conducted a study to see exactly how much Americans would be willing to spend both before and after the last World Cup in 2014. Prior to the World Cup those Americans that wanted to help fund youth academies were willing to pay $93 in taxes and after the U.S. did better than expected and made it out of the group stages the number jumped up to $97. (Whitehead & Ashton, 8) To ensure validity in the study Whitehead and Morgan used an ex post technique to account for hypothetical bias. "Only responses from individuals who are certain that they would do what they have stated should be included in the model". (Morgan & Whitehead, 9) The two also conducted another study to find out if Americans think that with additional funding the U.S. would make it further in the 2018 World Cup than they did in 2014, "there is a 20% increase in the number of respondents believing that the United States will get out of the group stage at the 2018 World Cup with additional funding," (Morgan and Whitehead, 11). The increased belief that the national team will become better with further funding is very promising for the future of the team's success.  

One of the main differences between America and Europe is where their priorities lie in terms of education and soccer. In the United States it is customary for kids to go through high school and then on to college, but in Europe it is very common for kids to devote their time to soccer and eventually forgo college to pursue a career in professional soccer. Soccer Culture in America quotes Steven Gerrard, a world renowned English soccer player, saying, "Football (soccer) was more important to me than school," when asked about his decision to turn pro at just 17 years old. The book compares Gerrards and Carlos Bocanegras, captain of the U.S. soccer team at the 2010 World Cup, rise to stardom and how different they were. Gerrard joined Liverpool FC's youth program at the age of 9 and then signed his professional contract at 17, while at 17 Bocanegra was finishing high school and then went on to play for 3 years at the University of California Los Angeles before then going to play in the MLS (Major League Soccer) at the age of 21. (Guest, 25-30) The two took alternate routes and still ended up face to face at the 2010 World Cup, however after the tournament Bocanegra went back to play in the MLS and Gerrard rejoined Liverpool in the much more competitive English Premier League. European soccer players start playing competitively much earlier than Americans and as a result their leagues are far more competitive and draw more talented players. 

The United states have been trying to implement a system of developing players, similar to Europe, by having them sign professional contracts instead of going to college. Majority of the MLS in 2015 are college produced players, 85.2 % to be exact, but the number of players who turn pro after or during high school is growing as of late. (McGonigal) An article on SoccerAmerica written by John McGonigal compared two American professional soccer players and the different routes they took to get to where they are today. Zach Pfeffer decided to forgo college and join the Philadelphia Union's (an MLS team) academy team at the age of 15, and Andrew Wolverton chose the traditional route to play college ball at Penn State University. Pfeffer, 20, and Wolverton, 22, are both currently playing in the MLS however Pfeffer, even though he is younger, is getting more playing time because he has been exposed to the talent of professional soccer players for a longer period of time. (McGonigal) This is a perfect example of how academy teams are beneficial; because Pfeffer was ready for professional soccer by the age of 15 whereas Wolverton needed college to further develop his skills. The article by McGonigal quoted Pfeffer's U-18 coach, Jim Curtin, saying, "Every player is different. For Zach, what was right was taking that jump and going professional." With further funding more academy teams can help develop players at a young age so they can be living out their dream of playing professionally by the age of 20 like Zach Pfeffer. 

Leicester City FC, a soccer club in the English Premier League, has recently emerged as one of the top teams in the league. After getting promoted to the first division in the fall of 2014 they see themselves atop the league table just 18 months later, largely thanks to their star player Jamie Vardy. (Carr) Vardy did not get to the best league in Europe the traditional way, through a very developed youth academy, but rather through many lower tier clubs in England. He moved from club to club because they did not think he was big enough or fast enough to play professionally. He bounced around until finally landing in Fleetwood Towne Club where he flourished as a player. He signed a deal with Leicester City in May of 2012 at the age of 25 and the rest is history. (Shergold) Jamie Vardy was able to get to where he is today because England has development teams all across the country. If Vardy grew up in the United States he would have more than likely been overlooked at as a soccer player and be working some factory job because the U.S. does not have even close to the amount of academies that England has that were able to mold him into the player he is now. In order insure that we as a country do not miss out on a late bloomer like Vardy we need to implement and fund more youth academies.  

    A Ted Talk given by Qiana Martin, a former soccer player and current ambassador for global soccer, explains why it is important for kids to be exposed to activities like soccer at a young age. Simply giving a kid a ball has the potential to keep him/her out of the streets and away from possible danger. Martin also mentions that by having kids play soccer at a young age the Unites States' competitiveness at world soccer tournaments will increase. European and South American, like Spain and Brazil, countries have dominated the world of soccer since the beginning of time and one of the correlations that they all have is that kids in those countries start kicking a soccer ball before they can walk. They grow up in environments revolving around the game and as a result their national teams are always near the top of the standings and their professional leagues are the most competitive in the world. Martin also refers to soccer as the "Universal language" because it is the world's most popular sport, so if the United States can increase its presence in the game we will be able to connect more to other nations thus making the world more universally cohesive. (Martin) 

The best platform for the United States to present themselves in the world of soccer is at the world's biggest tournament: The World Cup. At the 2010 World Cup the National team took a huge leap forward to get the attention of the other nations. One theory as to why it took so long for the sport to get established in the United States is because in the 1920s and 1930s the teams that existed were very poorly managed and because of that the sport slowly died out. (Foer) Soccer has since been revived in the U.S. and following the 2010 and 2014 World Cups we have asserted ourselves as a promising team in the future. Both ESPN and ABC (American based networks) got behind the World Cup following 2010 which implies that they see promise in the U.S. national team. (Foer) However the only way to ensure that we keep improving as a nation is to further fund the youth academies. With stronger youth academies producing better talent, the United States national team will keep improving and eventually we will be at the same level as the more dominant nations and we will be able to bond with them more through the language of soccer.

With the U.S. national team improving drastically in the last couple of years the fan base has grown exponentially. "Fandom" is a term used to describe the influence that fans have on the sport whether it be via media, social or newspapers, or those present in the stadium. (Guschwan) The success of a soccer team and the influence of the fans work in tandem together, where the team feeds off of the energy of the fans and the fans provide energy and passion when the team performs well. After the 2010 World Cup when the U.S. won their group which consisted of England, Slovenia, and Algeria they began to gather up a strong fan base, but after the 2014 World Cup where they made it out of the group stages that consisted of Germany (eventual winners), Portugal, and Ghana was when the fans really started to come alive. With the fandom in the U.S. increasing, our national team will be on the rise especially with the youth academies growing. Ideally with proper funding the youth academies in the U.S. will produce talent to improve the national team which will in turn make the fans more excited and when the fans are excited and into the game the team plays better, so the two will feed off of each other.  

In 2011, the U.S. Youth Soccer Academy increased its season length to 10 months, making it impossible to play both academy and high school soccer. Increasing the academy seasons to 10 months has some negative effects on high school soccer, however it has some extremely positive effects on high school teams and the sport as a whole in the nation that outweigh the negatives. "Youth Soccer Players Face Tough Choices with Academy System," is an article published in the Boston Globe written by Shira Springer that addresses all the concerns over the increased season length. Springer states, "We understand that in this country high school is a really big thing for kids socially and in the communities," talking about how the change could hurt kids socially. I believe that that point is moot because the students still go to school during the day, during which they can socialize with other students and they can build strong relationships with their teammates, so to say that it hurts kids socially is a bit of an exaggeration. The article also states its point about the damage it causes to the overall level of competition saying, "You are going to lose those top players, which does affect overall play at the high school level." Now that may be true, but with the top players leaving it gives some of the other kids a chance to play who would have sat on the bench with the better players there. It gives kids an opportunity to grow their skills and potentially become the star players their selves. The article also quotes a former high school soccer coach on his opinion of the rule change: "It's an absolute travesty for the game itself. They're trying to make it an elitist sport where the focus is on the best." My question for the former coach would what is wrong with doing that? In order for our nation to be more competitive at the international level we need to start growing players and the best way to do that is by picking the best from high school teams and developing them into potential stars.

I grew up playing soccer my entire life, and when the academy season was increased to 10 months it directly affected me. I was a freshman in high school, and two players who were juniors at the time had decided to stay playing with their academy team Oakwood United instead of returning to play on our high school team. The two were very skilled players and if they had played there is a strong chance that we would have been able to win a state championship, however because of their absence I was able to play a lot more than expected. I got exposed to the talent of the upperclassmen as a freshman and because of it I was able to further develop as a player. The two players who decided to play with their academy team are currently both playing in college and one has an upcoming tryout for the under 21 U.S. National team, so the academy system was the right decision for the both of them.  

As of 2010 division one schools were only allowed to give out 9.9 soccer scholarships for men compared to the 14 that women are allowed. (Allen) With the decrease in scholarships many players are now scared that they will not be able to play college soccer like they have dreamed about. The solution to this is youth academies. With youth academies taking the top players, more scholarships will be available to other players who still need time to develop. The top players would normally be taking most of the scholarships schools have to offer, so if they choose to forgo college and go straight to academies then the other players who might have been overlooked will get more of an opportunity to take those scholarships. Not only will the players be getting more soccer experience but they will also be exposed to a higher education which is something that America prides itself on. 

A strong argument against my own argument is that the money that would be used to fund the youth academies could be used for something more universally beneficial, like healthcare. My argument is still valid because it is a long term process that will result in more money being generated to the country. If the youth academies get funded better than the players will be developed better. Once the players get more skilled it will give the MLS a chance to grow as a more competitive league because most people prefer to be closer to home rather than overseas. If the MLS becomes a more prominent league than more fans will come out to support teams thus start circulating revenue. And of course the government will take its share which could then be used for things like healthcare. Like I said before it is a long process, but in 10 to 20 years that is a very realistic outcome. 

Through the funding of youth soccer academies in the United States, the U.S. men's national team will be more competitive with other nations at international tournaments, the country will be more universally cohesive with the rest of the world, and education will be more available to soccer players. By funding the youth academies now, the MLS will improve in the foreseeable future and with the MLS more prominent it will generate more revenue for the country. If the United States can help fund youth academies through taxes from the people, someday soon the U.S. men's national team may be able to raise the World Cup trophy like their women counterparts.   

