For example, I think Sweden has set a great example by partially privatizing their Social Security system.
I admit I started it, but let’s not pit this up.
I’m curious what you think about the model for youth sports as compared with our pay to play system. I think rec leagues from our youth are probably overly romanticized but covid for sure killed off MPRD sports in MHK and I think that was a loss for the community.
I also think generally that open gyms or pick up for basketball and regular pick up games for soccer and vital for the health of the sports. I think we are too far gone on baseball in the states but pick up game culture is sports culture for most of the world.
I do not particularly like pay for play. I am most familiar with youth soccer and my thoughts will primarily be based off my experiences in youth soccer.
Nothing is going to change in US youth soccer until there is the introduction of solidarity payments as there is in much of the world of soccer. There is a good chance that this is what makes the facilities in Bryne, Norway possible. The US Soccer Federation should be handsomely rewarding clubs who produce players that make the various national teams and/or play at a high level. They have a lot of money and waste it on their cronies. There is never going to be some sort of government support for youth sports and I wouldn't be in favor of it. Solidarity payments would completely change how youth soccer operates.
I also am not convinced that pick up game culture is the sports culture in Europe. I'm sure there are plenty of kids playing pick up soccer games, but the ones that are good are going to club Academies at young ages.
is that through scholarships to the academies?
There are plenty of challenges like a lack of population density and no scale for infrastructure and coaching for academies because of the relatively huge lack of professional clubs compared to most of the rest of the world. I like your idea but those other challenges are not easy to solve.
As far as pick up culture, I don’t pretend to know much about Europe but I would guess it is at least similar to basketball culture here. For poorer countries that have fewer academies there is a very strong pick up culture and I think the problem is we have neither.
I think it is hard to imagine we get kids playing unsupervised in streets and parks given our society’s ability paranoia anti-social parenting culture but maybe we can do a bit better at pick up game culture by starting with more accessible youth sports facilities. I think Manhattan has done some of this hard work with the middle schools and Douglass center, but there is more to be done.
