Where is the best youth soccer played in the US?

There is no question that Texans are super competitive when it comes to sports. And we are really good at it too. However, our soccer is not the best {although it is improving} and part of this reason is culture {for example, when I first moved here and was told repeatedly that this business model would never work, would fail, I would need to get another job, etc. I could not agree less}.

Now, the soccer landscape has changed and clubs are beginning to copy the Global Fútbol Training model and coaches are calling for more frequent and longer hours of practice {wrong}. They are now offering ‘skills’ on Friday nights {wrong}. But we still aren’t the best at soccer if you look at competition, national team placement, and opportunity {except we have a larger number of Global Fútbol kids changing those statistics more each year :-)}. There are many factors that influence these numbers {including NCAA rules and regulations} but the best youth soccer is played in California, hands down. Followed by New Jersey & DC, which produce the most National Team players for both male and female teams year after year.

Why are so many of the US National Team members from California? At any time you can go look to see where the players are from and on average the boys and girls U15 – Senior Team are 40% from California. You will see a player from Texas, Colorado, Georgia, Washington, Ohio, Florida but they are spread out whereas California wins every time. Why is this?

1) I think 1 reason is because Cali is so diverse with people from South America, Central America, Asia, and Europe. These are big soccer places so there are more soccer families and backgrounds. This alone is going to give them more passion and knowledge for sure but this alone is not the reason.

2) I think also the great weather year-round will be helpful for any outdoor sport.

3) Pro Teams: California has 3 MLS Teams to support along with several semi-pro teams which means there is good soccer to watch live as well as more trainers who played at a higher level than most coaches.

4) College Soccer: In the Bay Area alone there are 6 Division-1 Soccer Programs within 45 minutes from one other. Cal, Stanford, San Fran, Santa Cruz, St. Mary’s, and Santa Clara. And in SoCal it’s the same thing with Santa Barbara, UCLA, USC, Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount to name a few. All of these schools offer well-known soccer programs.

5) Many of the National Team coaches and camps are in Cali so I think there is favor there as well. The coaches are going to know more CA players and may want CA to represent well on paper.

6) San Diego Surf Cup is one of the best tournaments for youth in America {although we all know my passion and support for the Dallas Cup}.

7) Big Cities = bigger player pools of talent. These include San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, and L.A., which take up almost the whole west coast.

8) Population is super high which, as I stated above, means a bigger talent pool yes but it also means the competition is much harder due to more kids wanting to play the sport.

So bottom line is that you can train more but the only way Texas will climb the rankings is to grow the technical ability of the kids but by proper training and development. Kids here are well-coached, disciplined, fit, and tough. However, most coaches put emphasis on the wrong things – tactics and fitness – instead of technique and that is the biggest difference.