Month: January 2021

Blogpost, SoccerLifeBalance

The Clubs Being Used to Beat Our Children (soccer clubs that is)

Pete Huryk

We live in a world where duality is an everyday thing. The medicine that can be used to cure can become poison in the wrong dosage. Not caring what people think is a strength until one becomes ostracized for being outlandish. These forces that pull from opposite sides show up in many areas of our life. Much like a suspension bridge across a large chasm, the tension at each end holds up the bridge provided that the middle is not overburdened. My fear is that we’ve overburdened the middle in the soccer world.

Although the title is meant to be slightly inflammatory, the question of intent needs to be discussed for one moment. None of this is a moral judgement on the people involved at any level. I’m not a conspiracy theorist, nor someone looking to blame individuals. Generally people tend to do the best that they can with what they know. Often cultural influences are stronger than the judgement of an individual. So my hope is that the title mixed with the argument will get a few individuals to consider their personal situation.

Do the math – As a former math major in college, the first part of my discussion is about the mathematics of the situation.  Whether the player is interested in eventually reaching the college or professional level, the parent and the player need to understand the low number of opportunities for both.  The maximum number of scholarships that a NCAA Division I program can give is 9.9 for men and 14 for women.  With the number of potential candidates and the low number of scholarships, it is a low yield proposition. Only 5.5% of high school soccer players play at the collegiate level according to the NCAA: 1.3% Div I, 1.5% Div II, 2.7% Div III. (NCAA.org)  From that 1.3% playing in Division I, a much smaller percentage receive athletic scholarships.  So the mathematics are against them.  This information is often not known or understood by parents.  The potential for making it as a professional is much lower than college. Many families pay large sums of money each year for specialized training that will have almost no “return on investment”.  

The high performance side of the chasm seems to be pulling the bridge in one direction to the detriment of the players “caught in the middle.” Clubs and teams seem to be organized and run with a high performance outcome in mind. This is not a terrible thing. It will create the players that will eventually win the World Cup on the men’s side and keep the women dominant for generations. However there are many players and parents who are the collateral damage of this all out pursuit of high performance. Thousands of dollars and hundreds hours are spent on an endeavor with a relatively predictable outcome. Few players will reach the higher levels of the pyramid. The cultural ratchet has tightened on this side of the equation.

While on the other side of the chasm, recreation soccer is largely looked down upon. Unfortunately for many of the players who are caught in the middle, they are playing recreation soccer with high price tag. The “keeping up with the Joneses” mentality in the world of youth sports is troubling because the number one reason why you people say that they play is for fun. That is exactly what recreation is intended to be. Since it lacks the cache or social status, it is barely hanging onto the other side of the chasm.

This situation is untenable and unnecessary. The NFL has a draft every year that is never lacking in talent. College football teams have more scholarships to give but club football has not popped up on my radar yet. Camps and individual coaching are most likely a huge market in that sport but somehow clubs with snazzy names are not. The pipeline of talent is syphoned in a completely different way that mainly only costs the top level.

Despite all that is wrong with the youth club system, I still want every single kid in the US to play soccer. The game has so much to offer young people that the present situation is disheartening. I got truly excited when I read that the sale of chessboards had risen significantly due to the TV show “The Queen’s Gambit.” Although it is possible that expensive competitive chess clubs and trainers are going to pop up all over the country, it is more likely that mothers, fathers, sons and daughters will play each other or friends will play. The process is the outcome that people are looking for. The game gives everything that the person needs. If they want to chase more, that is on them. Thousands of young players are unlikely to feel the negative effects of being caught in the chess cultural ratchet. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for the present situation in soccer.

Playing chess is good for a soccer brain.

Since I’m not a fan having a complaint without some suggestions for improvement, here are a few thoughts:

Tryouts every other year – Players and clubs need to commit to each other. Annual tryouts sends a message to kids that they are expendable. It also leads to a lack of loyalty on both sides. Playing with the same kids for a few years allows friendships to build.

Get the words right – US Soccer or a collection of the state associations need to classify levels of play. Since MLS has taken the academy league over, this should make for a pretty simple equation. In my estimation, most leagues should be classified as recreation and a handful “competitive” or some other adjective. A club cannot claim to be “elite” if they are playing in a recreation league. Some entity needs to stop the inflation of words within the soccer world.

Incentivize unity over cannibalism – It may not be true everywhere but it seems that the ingredients for a new club are as follows: two teams worth of kids and a coach who was unhappy at another club. The pattern of clubs splitting or losing teams etc. is largely based on the adults. Clubs with teams at each age level could be given some form of incentive from the state association. How much would it cost for the adults to put their egos aside? This could be tough but not impossible.

After all of this being said, I truly believe that the club system could be an amazing opportunity for young players to gain soccer and life skills within a community environment. Unfortunately the reality looks less like that possibility due to shortsighted objectives. Around 1% of kids who start playing soccer will play in college or the pros. So shouldn’t we be giving the other 99% more than some foot skills and a warmup with a logo on it. Just something to consider.

Clubs should be communities, not organizations.

Pete

Blogpost, SoccerLifeBalance

Soccer Now Is Punk Rock In The 90s

Pete Huryk

Whether you were around to see bands like Green Day and the Offspring climb to the top of the charts or not, the musical landscape changed abruptly in the last decade of the century. Some people give full credit to Nirvana but that overlooks many of the ingredients that contributed to this musical upheaval. Punk was a largely underground scene during the 1980s when pop music and hair bands dominated the air waves. Despite being chided and largely non-existent in popular media outlets, it still maintained a following that was passionate about it. By the time that the 90s came around and the desire for an alternative to the very superficial was at a peak, the punk bands of the 90s gained in popularity.

One of the best punk bands, not just from the 90s but overall, Bad Religion.

Trading music for sport, the proliferation of soccer throughout the US has taken a similar trajectory. Although there is no “underground” sports scene, soccer gained its following in the youth ranks. Much like the punks of the 80s, kids playing soccer for several decades have received their ridicule for being outside of the mainstream sports. In the professional ranks, Major League Soccer was the second attempt to bring soccer to the masses. The NASL had brought some awareness to the sport but it was largely an imported spectacle. It probably helped the grassroots interest in the sport but the professional vacuum of a decade made it solely a kids game. This could be construed as a negative but it also made the participants care about the sport rather than heroes on the TV screen. The DIY mentality has been helpful in creating a supporters culture within the sport.

Punk hit a crescendo in the 90s because the masses began to see what the people from the underground always knew. They had a special thing. Even though it wasn’t popular with everyone, they loved it. That sentiment began to rub off on others. When you don’t care if the thing that you love is popular with everyone, the masses eventually take notice because organic growth happens through passion, not marketing.

Now that soccer has become relevant within the mainstream, where does it go from here? My opinion is not worth much but I believe that it goes on a thirty year run of being the most popular sport in the US. Music genres dominate for decades. Sports tend to dominate for quarter or half centuries. When the USMNT wins the World Cup in 2026, the work that the USWNT has done will be complete. The United States will truly be considered a soccer nation and the inferiority complex that we have about the sport will disappear. People who throw shade at MLS and our lack of high level talent will be silenced.

Come As You Are!

Pete

self-reliance, SoccerLifeBalance

Soccer Life Balance – The Defensive Half

Pete Huryk

This video explains the “boundaries” of the defensive half as they relate to life. The dimensions of a soccer field matter. While there are parameters for the boundaries in soccer, the parameters in which most of us live are determined by us. Showing up to a field that was too short or too wide or too narrow would cause an uproar by players and coaches. We all set up the field that we are playing on. Many of us do so in a way that guarantees that we will struggle and/or lose. If you want to understand completely what I’m talking about, check out the video below. Or read the description. Both have their value but the video has the visual representations of the content.

The life that each of us leads has boundaries. A standard life does not exist. We all have advantages or disadvantages based upon our organization or lack in our life. There are places that some people can reach that others cannot. With that in mind, each of us can do things to make our playing area to our advantage. This particular set of boundaries deal with the “Defensive Half.” These are adjustments that can be made to your personal “field” that will help protect your goal.

The Sidelines

Breathing – It’s a concept that I cover with individuals quite often. The question “What is the most important thing that you’re going to do today?” get s a variety of answers but it is the same for all of us. Breathing is the most important part of our survival. Yet we overlook it regularly. This is not a call for people to start paying more attention to their individual breaths. It is a call for a breath practice. Most of our maintenance oriented activities are done, once, twice or thrice per day. The same should be happening for a breath practice. My personal preference is the Wim Hof technique. It’s not for everyone and NEVER DO IT AROUND WATER! But it gives you a place to start. Once or twice per day for about ten minutes is all that it takes. The benefits of a breath practice are multiple but the main component deals with your ability to bring yourself from the sympathetic to the parasympathetic nervous system. Getting from your “fight/flight/freeze” response to “rest/digest” is a skill that needs to be developed rather than hoped for.

Hydration – YES! I am aware that these first few are simply survival necessities. Unfortunately (or fortunately) due to our overwhelming success as a species, we rarely have to consider our survival. Therefore we need to consider these for their optimization. Getting more out of your body and mind is completely dependent upon the ingredients and predispositions that you give your body to work with. In the realm of hydration, you are looking to consume half your body weight in ounces. The math is not overly difficult. It is simply about finding the right container to use for measurement. The 8 glasses per day rule is a bit too arbitrary. A 12oz glass x 8 glasses would be 96 total ounces. This is fine for someone around 190 lbs but might be a bit much for a 140 lbs kid. Finding the right container in order to track your hydration is really almost half the battle.

Diet/Fuel – The word diet has been mangled for decades now. It does not mean a weight loss program. More than anything else it is the food that you habitually eat. There are so many possibilities out there that could work for you. The only suggestion that I will make on this subject is to see what actually works for you, not what you want to work. I’d love for an ice cream and pizza diet to get me into optimal shape but it’s just not going to happen. So find something that balances both your nutritional needs and the reality of your life. Choosing to be a vegetarian could be the answer but if it is only going to make you miserable, don’t do it. Fuel your body with food, don’t feed your cravings at all times. The food industry has spent decades making things delicious with barely a scrap of nutritional value. Craving those foods is not an indication that you are a bad person. Give yourself a break and take time to figure out what truly works for you.

Shelter (Mental Safety) – The list of basic human needs continues with a slight twist. Very few of us are likely to succumb to the environment because of a lack of shelter/housing. However in a modern context we live an increasingly large part of our existence in the mental space. Therefore the ability to have mental shelter from “elements” is a crucial part of our boundaries. Much like food, water and oxygen, having a daily practice within this space that sets us up for success is important. Unlike the other survival needs, this is less apparent. Many people live in an unsafe mental space due to their focus or lack of control of that focus. Journaling is just one of the many techniques that can be used in order to get the mind to focus on things that are advantageous to the individual rather than the outside world. My suggestion would be to have a practice of not using any electronics for at least 30 minutes in the morning. That time can be used to establish a focus on the things that are important to you rather than others.

Sleep – This is another area that is of supreme importance but the needs of each individual vary greatly. So I am not going to give many suggestions here other than to say that your sleep should be regular. Length may vary based on the individual but having a regular bedtime and wakeup time can be a game changer. Also try as best as you can to avoid electronics for at least 30 minutes prior to falling asleep. It can help with falling asleep and also gives you time to set your intentions for the next day.

If you didn’t watch the video first, you might be wondering, “what is the goal that I’m protecting?” You’re protecting against drops in self-esteem. Having all of these boundaries set up correctly can create a space where it is unlikely or even impossible for the world to make you feel bad about yourself. The most important relationship that you have is with yourself. All of these daily practices help to keep others away from your goal – the way you feel about yourself when you’re by yourself.

Hopefully this discussion has been helpful. Leave a comment below with any thoughts or additions. This concept is not done. There is another half of the field to go but let me know if I missed anything on this side.

Thanks!

Pete

Blogpost, self-reliance

Consistency to Comfort

Pete Huryk

The moment is forever burned into my memory. I was ten years old standing halfway up the hill that led into a wooded area that we always referred to as the “quarry.” My older brother, his best friend and another kid or two were all in a circle. Since my brother was involved this was an opportunity to do something with the “big kids.” I don’t remember the events that lead up to this event, nor anything that followed. The main memory is that it was my turn to try taking a puff off the cigarette that was being passed around. Although I had a variety of reasons to believe that what I was doing should be considered cool, my body revolted in a most violent way. I coughed, gagged and felt almost like I could throw up. That was the last time that I ever tried smoking a cigarette.

Despite the negative experience with cigarettes, I have the occasional cigar.

The combination of the human body and mind is amazing. As a united front, they can conquer almost anything including things that people would just refer to as reality. The key to the mind/body power is consistency. It has the ability to flip the natural script of any stimuli. The example of my first smoking experience is perfect. Other people had a similar experience but through consistency, took an uncomfortable sensation and made it pleasurable or even necessary. People put poisons into their bodies everyday and get pleasure from the process. Not because the poison is inherently tasty but because consistency can lead to comfort.

Many people and organizations have adopted the mantra “Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.” I’m not opposed to the sentiment especially considering the year that 2020 turned out to be. However this saying skips past the most important ingredient. Discomfort is not the goal, that can be self-flagellation or punishment if don’t haphazardly. The key is to be consistent. Consistently putting yourself into uncomfortable situations will bleed them of their power. For the past two years, I’ve been doing cold showers. They were difficult in the beginning but eventually the consistency of doing it everyday made them “comfortable.” By no means have the sensations of cold turned into warmth. Quite the contrary, the cold is still there in force but I am ABLE to find COMFORT in it.

The same is true of almost any stimuli that you encounter consistently. With today being January 1st, 2021, I thought it the appropriate time to draw attention to this fact. As people usually hope for change at this time of year, the ones who are successful will be consistent long enough that they feel comfortable with this new thing. There’s no magical potion that you can guzzle down to get the things that you want. It’s a drop every day until you can handle more. I inhaled too much smoke that first day and I’m glad I did. Decide what it is that you want and sip or inch your way forward.

This is the way!

Pete