(Editor’s Note: This is the 5th of a 5-part article chronicling the player development journey of one young man, through the eyes of his mother)

Read Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, or Part 4

The last word

Some people will read this and think we’re advocating foreign born soccer coaches over non-foreign coaches and trainers. That’s not the case. We could tell you from personal experience that a foreign accent doesn't guarantee a great coach or trainer. We’ve just had a lot of great experiences that have been primarily with foreign born coaches so in our opinion, the American soccer parent shouldn’t count them – or small clubs – out of their search for quality soccer training.

Some will think that we’re criticizing the entire American youth soccer system based upon our experiences. Again, that’s not the case. Some players are not getting the development and skills training they deserve and want – our son was one of those players. Our National teams are struggling and perform inconsistently on the world stage. I think we can all agree that the system – from the bottom up and as a whole or in parts – needs attention.

Finally, as a parent and professional, I find that totally discrediting alternative player development curriculums without testing them systematically and objectively is reckless on the part of our coaches and trainers. Assuming your talent base is ‘captive’ and ‘complacent’ is dangerous. Although the majority of American parents are not going to want to send their children overseas for soccer education befitting a young player with professional aspirations, more and more are exploring this avenue as an option and for that reason, American youth Soccer as a whole should be worried. I regularly get emails from parents asking me to tell them about Zack’s experience living, going to school and playing soccer out of the country as they and their sons are considering making the ‘move’. It’s hard for me to find any negatives. At least in Germany, the scholastic education is better than here in the U.S. and considering all the looming cuts to education in our country, it’s looking better all the time. The soccer training in Germany is more disciplined, professional, consistent and considerably less expensive than what we experienced in the U.S. ODP, club, and Academy systems – even with the unfavorable exchange rate.

My son and this band of U.S. players perfecting their skills on foreign soil may never make the EPL or La Liga or the Bundesliga, but they’re getting more development and attention from these foreign systems than our own country and as a soccer mom and an American, I find that very sad. Why would we not take the training and development methods of a proven youth player development system – that just happens foreign - and implement it here in the U.S.? If our coaches and trainers have really become that arrogant, close-minded and xenophobic, then quite frankly, as a ‘soccer nation’, we deserve to fail.