Club football makes the sport out of reach for many children

Youth soccer coach Pierre Hesi co-founded club DCXI to give Washington, D.C. kids the chance to learn the game, hone their skills and compete just like they did when they were growing up in Benin. .

“It was street soccer,” he recalls.

When he moved to the United States at the age of 12, he mostly played pick-up games with other immigrants. I remember being really impressed when a kid brought a real cone one day.

“It was a fantasy,” he smiles.

Unlike most clubs in the DC area, DCXI (DC Eleven) has a sort of payable model. We practice at night so that working parents can bring their children.

In some of the more affluent DC suburbs, it’s a different story.

DCXI’s U15 team recently played a Loudoun County team in Chantilly, Virginia.

“This is a pay-to-play mecca,” Kevin Sarandy said after the game. His son played for the Virginia team. “Loudoun County has a lot of money. That’s why we have all these teams and these facilities.”

Families like Sarandi spend small fortunes to get their children to play clubs and travel soccer.

“Three kids together probably spend about $10,000 a year,” says Sarandi, a software consultant.

However, many critics say pay-to-play does not benefit children or sports.

“The amount of money these clubs hold, the amount of industry in this area,” Sarandi says.

Some families invest because they can invest in club football. It’s fun for kids, good exercise, and gives them the experience of playing in a team.

“From a youth development standpoint, there are certainly benefits,” says Lindsay Blom, professor of exercise psychology at Ball State University. But for some families, club football is a more serious endeavor.

Former coach Peter Guthrie, a long-time youth soccer referee, said, “In some cases, I believe this is the path my child will go to college… to get a scholarship for that college.”

In fact, a small percentage of high school footballers receive scholarships to play in college, just 1.1% at Division 1 level. Even fewer play professionally. Paying to play does not guarantee that your child will receive the best coaching.

“So it’s a myth,” says Blom. “People think that the more I invest financially in my child’s experience, the more successful they will be and the more they will get out of it. increase.”

Another problem with Pay to Play is the unfairness of school teams. Kids who can’t afford club soccer can usually play for free high school teams. But in tryouts they often have to compete against children from more experienced families. can pay the club.

Young traveling teams expel players before they bloom

Tom Farley, executive director of Aspen Institute’s Sports & Society Programs, said: “Now there are families whose children are chasing a ball on a green field and are being charged thousands of dollars for trying to push it behind the net. It costs very little.”

The United States lags behind the rest of the world when it comes to youth soccer opportunities, he said. “We’re structurally just pushing aside kids who want to play games that are accessible to kids in all income categories around the world.”

Farley hopes the high school will make more teams to meet demand.

“If you have 130 kids trying out for a soccer team, not just one varsity team, but two varsity teams,” he says. “Make sure you have a JV and freshman team and do whatever you can No to cut a child. ”

Youth soccer has money. As a result, more and more clubs have sprung up across the country, serving younger children.

“A fundamental flaw in American youth sports, especially soccer, is that it sorts out the weak and the strong before children grow up with bodies, minds and interests,” Farley says. “By creating these traveling teams at an ever-earlier age, we are pushing the late bloomers aside. We’re kicking kids out of low-income families who don’t have a lot of money…at home, taking them to endless practices and games two counties away and two states away.”

Efforts are being made across the country to level the playing field. For example, many private clubs offer scholarships. And then there’s Pierre Hesi and his DCXI club with his hybrid model.

“Some people pay, some don’t,” he says. We can afford to help the next child who can’t afford to pay anything. ”

Of course, winning is also sweet. DCXI defeated the Loudoun County team 5-0.

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