Area Soccer Teams Reaching Goal of Increased Popularity by Sean OíDriscoll Richie Burke, a D.C. United Youth Academy coach, gave a frank assessment of D.C. Unitedís achievements in past years: ìThere was a black cloud hanging over D.C. United, and things were starting to stagnate. It was going really bad.î Recently, however, he has seen a comeback. ìThere are some great emerging players. There are a lot of great expectations out there. Things are definitely back in form.î D.C. United exploded out of Major League Soccer when the competition was set up seven years ago. Some early groundwork and some good player acquisitions produced the greatest professional soccer club in the United States. But then things started to go wrong. Players were injured, other clubs started to buy up foreign players, and the high early expectations produced an unhealthy psychology where only a win could satisfy the fans and the media. The club began to slip, while still retaining its position as the most successful team overall in the United States. Recent personnel changes and new players have taken a lot of the petty politics out of the club, which has seen a revival in its fortunes. The new spirit of optimism has led to expansions within the club, and just last month, the club announced it was to expand its much-praised youth academy from five to 12 teams. The World Cup didnít do any harm either: The United States reached the quarterfinals of the tournamentóan astounding achievement against countries where soccer is close to a religion. Top-ranking countries France and Argentina were both knocked out in the first round, leaving the U.S. teamówith three D.C. United playersóin the worldís top eight. According to Doug Hicks, vice president of communications at the club, the World Cup was a welcome way into the homes of the American public, which, he agreed, is still reluctant to fully embrace soccer. ìWe have to work harder to gain their support,î he said. ìI think that the World Cup last summer really gave a lot of visibility to the sport and shared with the general public the excitement and passion. I think we won a lot of converts from that.î Terry Foley, who coaches the girlís soccer team in D.C. Unitedís youth academy, said there has been a 15 percent increase in admissions to youth soccer since the World Cup. He spoke about this at the start of a training session for 14- and 15-year-old girls on the academyís female soccer team. One of his players, 14-year-old Kathy Varney, is typical of the academy players. She was brought into the sport by a parentóher mom, who played soccer in college. Varney lives in the suburbs, where she started playing the game at 5 years old. Like many of the other players, both male and female, Varney draws inspiration from watching foreign teams, reflecting the gameís newcomer status in the United States. She finds it difficult to name foreign players, but knows what she likes. ìI watch them on TV at home. I donít really follow names, but I watch how they play,î she said. Soccer in the United States attracts as many girls as boys, a huge derogation from the norm, as soccer is an overwhelmingly male sport in nearly every other country. The huge female participation and support in U.S. soccer has brought a new phrase into the English language: ìsoccer moms,î suburban, middle-class mothers driving their kids to soccer games. Itís a stereotype rejected by those involved in the D.C. soccer scene. ìItís easy to say, ëOh, itís a sport for the family in the suburbs with the nice house and the two kids and the dog, and they go to play their soccer games on Saturday.í Itís not the reality of sport,î said Hicks. He pointed to one of D.C. Unitedís rising young stars, Santino Quaranta, who grew up in a disadvantaged Italian section of Baltimore. ìHe played soccer in the street just like kids in the inner city are known to play basketball in the parks. So you are just as likely to see a young American superstar grow up in an ethnic neighborhood that is not necessarily affluent.î Judging from the turnout at a recent midweek game in RFK Stadium, the moms come from a wide array of social and ethnic backgrounds. According to D.C. United Director of Community and Fan Relations Catherine Marquette, the club draws particularly strong support from the Hispanic community. ìMany of the fans come from countries where soccer is far stronger than it is in the United States. I think itís changing slowly here, but American clubs face a lot of competition from other sports and entertainment in general.î The big advantage, she said, is that soccer has massive youth participation. ìWeíre lucky that the participation figures for kids are in our favor. Weíre the sport that they play more than any other,î Marquette said. ìThere is definitely competition in terms of the other so-called major sports: football, basketball and baseball. They have a better footprint in the media, but I think we hold our own.î Marquette said the kids are drawn to the club because they want to see the game that they themselves play in their neighborhoods. According to Jeff Nesbit, who coordinates the D.C. United youth teams, mothers drive as far as 50 miles and back to bring their kids to soccer training. ìThey literally come from all overófrom Baltimore, Western Maryland, Winchester, Va.óa complete 50-mile radius around D.C.,î he said. Participation has increased so much that there is now a chronic shortage of soccer fields in some parts of the city. ìEvery club in the area has been growing a lot in the past 10 years,î Nesbit said. ìIt has grown to the point where they fight with other sports for fields on a pretty regular basis. Parents go to meetings and argue to get more practice fields for their sports.î Fairfax County, he said, has the worst problem, with a shortage of space and a greatly expanding population. ìIn the course of the next year, soccer teams are going to have a difficult time finding space in the county because there are so many different soccer teams,î Nesbit noted. Youth soccer in Washington works in a funneling system toward professional soccer (or ìfootball,î as soccer is referred to abroad). First, there are the hundreds of local teams organized around the city, which feed into D.C. Unitedís youth teams. ìThey are the top from 300 kids from ages 14 to 18,î said Nesbit. ìThey are very talented and they are focused on the Super Y League, which is the only nationally organized youth league in the country.î From its youth teams, the club scouts pick players for the D.C. United reserves, and some, it is hoped, will eventually go on to play professionally. One such youth team hopeful is 17-year-old Jeremy Barlow, originally from California and now living in Northern Virginia. His ambition is to play professionally, and like many of the young players, he looks abroad for inspiration. ìI would like to play in England,î he said, as he travels to a soccer match in North Carolina. ìLiverpool is the team I follow, and I watch them on TV a lot, and I also watch Celtic in the Scottish Premier League.î Although many of the players dream of turning pro through D.C. United, the club still has some way to go before it can compete with football and baseball for the big money. ìUnfortunately, RFK Stadium is very limited and a tad antiquated when it comes to the corporate boxes,î said D.C. Unitedís Marquette. ìThe stadium was built in the 1960s, and I donít think there has been much addition. I know the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission has done a great deal to make it more attractive for the wining and dining that corporations want to do, but it still needs work.î Nevertheless, she said, advertisers come to D.C. United as a way of reaching key niche markets. ìI think we have an advantage because corporations who want to advertise to the Hispanic market know that they can do so more through us than through the other sports,î Marquette said. Coach Burke also agrees that soccer has some way to go before it can bring in the type of money earned by other U.S. sports. ìThe environment isnít right just yet for soccer to move into the TV networks,î he said. ìThe key for soccer is to build on the youth. American kids are so strong, fit and healthy and that makes up for the skill gap with other soccer countries. You saw what happened in the World Cup. The commitment is there, all we need is a little more time.î Sean OíDriscoll is a contributing writer to The Washington Diplomat.