The Next Generation
The AYSO (American Youth Soccer Organization) was founded in Los Angeles in 1964, which made it the first youth soccer organization in the states. Then, the organization was made up of only nine local boys’ teams, and the dreams of a few dedicated volunteers. The AYSO was run out of a garage for the first few years of its existence. Today the organization is the single largest soccer club in the world, with over 600,000 registered players kicking it all across the country. In 1971 the AYOS launched its girls program, a year before Title XI was released, and three years before girls were allowed to compete in Little League. By the mid-1970s the AYOS debued it’s VIP league, a branch of the program reserved entirely for kids with special needs. Thanks to this development, soccer was added to the list of sports played at the Special Olympics. Presently, 40% of all AYOS players are girls, and there are over 1,500 special needs children playing nationally. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the AYSO’s success is that it is a non profit organization and charges an average of only 15-20 dollars per a player for a season, about enough to cover uniforms. The AYSO is far from the only large scale youth soccer organization functioning in the U.S. There are over 3.9 million kids playing soccer in American today, and since 2006 America has been the world's leader in terms of youth soccer participation.
AYSO boys team in Los Angeles (1966)
Soccer is counted the fourth most popular youth sport in the U.S. today, after basketball, football, and baseball respectively. These powerhouse sports, performed at a high level, have each enjoyed great popularity with the American viewing audience in recent history, while soccer has not. Youth soccer could never have thrived, or indeed, even taken off in the states if the only factor was popularity among the general population of adults. Soccer has a combination of qualities that make it a serious competitor on the youth stage, those being low base price, simplicity, and fun. Soccer is an inexpensive sport when played at a young child’s level, and it is considerably less expensive than baseball and football, with their expensive helmets, pads and other equipment. Soccer is also a sport that can be played successfully at almost any level. It does not require great skill or understanding to play U-6 soccer, and for that matter it does not take much understanding to enjoy watching, which is good for parents who did not grow up playing the game. Soccer also has the potential to grow with each player as he progresses and becomes able to understand more advanced plays and attempt more difficult skills. A player can enter soccer at any level, but he will never outgrow it. Fun is the final reason why soccer is so popular among kids. Soccer is a fun game, and young kids especially, who are not yet biased toward what sports are popular in America at the time, will enjoy a simple sport that rewards creativity and energy, like soccer.
Youth sports are failing in America. There was an average five percent annual decrease in participation in kids sports from 2008 to 2012, with baseball’s participation dropping 6.8%, and basketball, football, and soccer’s numbers dropping 6.3%, 4.9%, and 4.5% respectively. Since 2012 the decline in youth sports participation has almost universally persisted. Fewer kids are signing up, and the ones that are, are quitting earlier. This is due to an increase in price, time dedication, injury awareness, and higher standards across the board. With prices for participation and demands for time dedication going ever upwards, some parents simply do not value athletics enough for the current commitment level or can not afford it even if they do. Other parents worry about the possible dangers associated with athletics in general and will not let their children compete for that reason. The acceptance of low level play among older kids is falling as well, therefore some kids burn out early by overworking, or are unwilling to work at their sport hard enough to keep up with the competition and are then discouraged from playing because of the time commitment or price. An estimated 70% of kids quit all sports by age 13. Soccer is faring better than most sports with this current downward trend in participation, probably due to recreational prices and being seen as a “safe sport”, but it is still taking a hit. With America currently fighting an uphill war with obesity, in which 17% of all U.S. children are medically classified as obese, an increased enrollment in a certain inexpensive, accessible, fun, cardio-based sport could just be a valuable ally to America’s longterm health.
Recommended Readings for this Post
33, R. (2020). Website Manager. Retrieved October 29, 2020, from https://www.ayso33.org/Default.aspx?tabid=851054
This is a fairly short history about the AYSO, but it is the one on their website, so it will be very accurate information. The AYSO is a pretty cool organization and it has some impressive figures behind it. Youth soccer’s success is one of the biggest reasons that America’s women have done so well on the global stage, so it is neat to see where that started.
Urquhart, J., & Hales, E. (2015, March 23). The decline of youth sports and the efforts to save them " Universe Narratives. Retrieved October 29, 2020, from https://universe.byu.edu/narratives/decline-of-youth-sports/
This is another fairly short article. It focuses on the challenges that youth sports are facing today and poses a few solutions. I would recommend reading this one, if for no other reason than to become aware of the issue, because it is an important one.
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