Landon Donovan Sounds Alarm on Youth Soccer Culture

One of the most accomplished players in U.S. history, there might not be anyone more familiar with the state of soccer in this country than Landon Donovan.

And yet, a recent experience involving his 8-year-old son’s club team still caught the Fox Sports World Cup analyst off guard.

“I’ve always been passionate about [youth soccer], but it hit me in the face two weeks ago with my own son,” Donovan told Front Office Sports during a recent episode of Portfolio Players.

The six-time MLS Cup champion explained that his son has played for a “big club” in San Diego over the past two seasons. Recently, however, the club added “bigger, faster, and stronger” players, pushing smaller players like Donovan’s son to its “B-team.”

“I called the people, and I said, ‘What are you guys doing?,’” Donovan said. “I was crying in bed with my son and my wife two weeks ago telling him he was now on the B-team and that he’s not going to be with his friends. We’re trying to couch it like ‘this will be great for you, you’ll play more.’

“And this broke my heart: He said to me, ‘I just want to play with my friends.’ And it broke my heart. And so now I’m like, ‘okay, here we go. I’m changing this, because this is B.S.’”

The 44-year-old former midfielder said he would have understood the roster change if his son were older, but reemphasized that he’s only 8 years old. He also expressed concern that his son will now “fall out of love with the game a little bit” due to the negative experience.

Donovan also pointed to a study of youth soccer showing that only 0.6% of players selected for a national training program at the Under-12 age group went on to become professional-level soccer players. Unsurprisingly, the correlation grows stronger as players get older. But to Donovan, it only deepens his concern about how youth sports are excessively structured.

“My thing is, make sure they love the sport first and foremost,” he said. “And then make sure they’re getting better. Throw the winning—throw all that crap out the window. When they get older, yes, I agree. But these are 8-year-olds, 10-year-olds, 6-year-olds. We need to stop, it’s not worth it.”

Donovan continued: “There are millions of kids that are falling out of love with the sport. Quitting at 13, 14, because they don’t want to deal with their parents yelling, or the coaches, or the pressure. And that’s not good for the sport.”