Quote Originally Posted by curmudgeon View Post
Unsolicited advice about how the soccer crew can make soccer better in this country:

1. Stop forcing it down our throats. There are some people that just aren't going to like it. Accept it and move on.
2. Accept that it is going to be a niche sport in a country that fills 100k stadiums for football. Many of the soccer diehards want to see it flourish on that level. Its just not going to happen.
3. Fix the youth system. Its a mess and it finally cost a World Cup bid. Too many daddies coaching younger players and not knowing what they are doing. Once kids get 10 years old, they should have a certified coach.
4. Move the high school season so it doesn't compete with basketball. There's some great athletes that are having to choose and the choices are becoming racial. Its a fall sport in college, it should be in high school as well.
5. You have to find a way to get it on to SEC college campuses on the men's side. You have an uphill battle with Title IX, but it will not thrive until its a viable college sport across the nation.
This is mostly great advice and stuff that I would say myself as a fan of the game. I wish MSU would find a way to start a men's team and begin establishing a program before other SEC schools do (UK and USC aside). I think that soccer is slowly finding its way South, and it would be nice to be ahead of the curve.