He mentioned that every single day when he was a kid growing up, he went to the soccer field. Every single day. They would play pickup soccer from 3 until it was dark. If you weren't in the game, you were on the sideline practicing dribbling or skills.

This idea that we have to have academies and constant drilling and soccer forced on our kids is never going to take hold and it is never going to include kids that don't have a lot of money. It certainly won't include a lot of black athletes given those restrictions.

If people want soccer to succeed in the U.S., it needs to become a pastime. It needs to become something that kids aren't forced into, but rather are passionate about. And it needs to include kids from all walks of life and include some of our best athletes. I think places that have academies that are successful are plucking their kids from the fields in town where they are already separating themselves from everyone else. Meanwhile, we are taking kids from rich families and trying to turn them into star athletes from day 1. I just don't see it happening.