Monday, September 13, 2010

An observation on Kentucky Youth Soccer

After spending this past spring as an assistant coach with the Lexington FC U-15 Boys Classic team, I was introduced to the wide world of competitive youth soccer.  Despite the lack of a major professional soccer club in close proximity to the state, and only decent college programs, Kentucky's youth clubs are commonly crowned champions of various youth competitions.  When I was with the LFC U-15 boys, we went undefeated until the final regular season game of the year, winning three first place trophies along the way, one at the United Cup in Louisville, KY, one at the Mid-American Soccer Classic in Cincinnati, OH, and one at the Bluegrass Invitational in Lexington, KY.  Throughout the season I began to regret never getting involved in the competitive game before middle school.  These players, at ages 14-15, were much better than my varsity high school team in Paducah, KY.

Clubs like Lexington FC, Javanon (Louisville), United FC (Louisville), and Paducah Storm FC all consistently find themselves performing well around the country.  

Going along with this, I will try and update on the state of Kentucky Youth Soccer in the future.