We hear stories time after time about athletes that have used sports as an avenue to make something out of nothing. Whether they need means to support their family financially or they want to “get out” of their current situation, sports like football and basketball are riddled with players that have these backgrounds. These are sports that are easily accessible through local recreational leagues, high schools or just playing in the neighborhood. These players use these resources to not only be the best at their sport but to inevitably make millions one day. However, I don’t think this is the case for all sports.
As a soccer player in America, I can’t say that very many of us are using soccer to “get out”. Why is that? For starters, soccer is America is a middle-class sport. This means you need some sort of stable income to play soccer at a competitive level. So, let’s talk numbers. Using myself as the source of this figures, I am sure others can concur with the outrageous cost of playing soccer. Playing in Virginia, to simply be on a highly competitive team was $535 a month, but it does not stop there. We play locally, regionally and nationally, so travel and lodging are other costs that you must factor in as well. Overall, you are looking at least $8000 a year just to get exposure, with no guarantee of a future in the sport. With costs like these, you are limiting the pool of players that can participate because of such cost. This leaves you with the players that can afford to play. Who are they you might ask? These are the kids that play because they like soccer and they want to play. Nothing is wrong with that, but the kids who are playing because they WANT to play and the kids who are playing because they feel that they NEED to play, are two different types of players.
The difference between soccer and other sports is simple. You don’t have a group of kids that are using soccer as their avenue to a better life for themselves or their family. That is the difference. The motivation is more of a personal accomplishment rather than a life changing experience. That is why there is a difference in the threshold of potential when looking a sport like football versus soccer. Football has so much potential because there are players that are constantly wanting to make a difference within their family or get out of their current environment. That type of motivation that these athletes have to be better than everyone else is the reason why the sport can only go up. Soccer has a much slower growth because the drive to be the best for most, goes as far as the player wants to push themselves. For many, there is nothing other than self-drive that pushes them to do more. So, the competition can be diluted with players that play until they don’t feel like it anymore.
For soccer in America to truly compete with other nations, we need soccer to be a more accessible and affordable sport. We mustn't forget, this is a sport played in many countries that do not have nearly as many resources that we have, yet players still manage to compete and excel on the field. We need to find ways to promote the game throughout the social classes if we want to see how far we, as Americans can take the game of soccer.
