A strip forest and a four-lane road are between the club center and the US-based Ramstein at Kaiserslautern. There, 200 meters as airline distance from the pivot point of the American military presence in Europe, sit Board of Sebastian Kork, youth leader Ronnie-Christian Franzreb and Marketing department leader Aline Kort-Hoft in an office and talk about football. About their club, their approach, their drive - but also that a game of the second team had to be canceled at the weekend, because seven players were recalled on Saturday. Towards Afghanistan. You can see the problems with whom we sometimes struggling, says Kort-Hoft. World events whose dominoes occur until the end of the C-Class Kusel-Kaiserslautern is affected.
Two men's teams and a women's team currently has US Youth Soccer Europe in adults. But what one has primarily written on the flags is the junior work. At the beginning we had only a training program, as well as cooperation with German clubs to place the children there, says Kartst, but there was the language barrier a problem, and of course the seasons, because the performance level was not at the level of the Germans was. So the idea came to start your own club. In 2015 this was, in Ramstein, in the meantime, four more people were added throughout Europe, which are coordinated from the headquarters not far from the US basis. Three of them in Germany - Grafenwöhr, Wiesbaden, Stuttgart / Hilddrizhausen - and one in Italian Vicenza.
The target audience: American citizens. Armed forces, diplomatic staff, workers from the free economy. Football in the United States had grown very strongly, reported Kork, When families come to Europe, the interest is already available. In addition, the possibilities for typical US sports such as baseball or football are limited, So a program has been developed together to give the children in overseas the opportunity to play football. There are currently around 750 members in 42 teams. Among them also the men's and women's teams founded around four years ago, Because many parents have become Affin and have asked, why do they only do youth football? Played and trained is in partner clubs. There you do not just want to be a guest: The relationship is great, even through German-American events that we take place, says Kartst.
Youth training for the US association
But there is another pillar that Kiss and Co. endeavors: The 39-year-old studied sports management, during an internship at the 1st FC Kaiserslautern he made a connection to the nearby US Americans. So that came in, he said, he says. In addition to the everyday width sports work, he also takes care of the power sport with his association: European youth training for the US association.
The pyramid of the ODP training system: at the bottom the clubs, at the top of the national team. USYS Europe
For this you have all the American young people active in Europe on the screen. The best of them come from the U 11 to U 17 five times a year in a European selection - the Olympic Development Program (ODP) - including junior players from professional teams such as Galatasaray Istanbul, Ajax Amsterdam or TSG Hoffenheim. It is the chance of attention in the home: In the US, the ODP is anchored throughout the country, talents are discovered beyond the Major League Soccer Academies. If you stand out under Europe's best, so Kiss, the next step in the pyramid is the US selection of the National Association. Proud 17 players could send US Youth Soccer Europe 2021 to overseas, two of them actually made it in the respective pool of U national teams. Of course, we hope that you will also be nominated for a country game, said French.
A prominent draft horse for the ODP is also available: Chris Richards (Bavaria) also comes from the program, which today runs through 21-year-old it was in his homeland USA, was pleased by Dallas before it continued to go to the big FC Bayern Munich. Of course, this is one of these success stories, our kids dream of here, says Kiss.
Less soldiers = fewer children
But before the big career comes the training at the base. And that stands in the US Youth Soccer Europe year ago before uncertainties - for example, because the work of the association is also influenced by strategic decisions in the Far Washington. As for example, the White House of Trump Administration in June 2020 announced a massive troop deduction from Europe, in the office, not far from the US base ensured: Less soldiers, fewer families, less children - it's a simple logic that is the USYS Europe is subject.
We have to fight every year to put new teams on their feet. USYS Europe
There is a lot of passenger blood, volunteer work of armed forces, also of those who are only a short time here in Germany and for the clubs sacrificed their free time. And yet: We have to fight every year to put new teams on their legs because of course this change is always there, says Kort-Hoft. We have uncertainty every year, we often start at zero, says Kiss. The policy change - BiDen departing from the deduction plans of its predecessor - was a great relief.
So the medium-term future of clubs seems secured at the base. Of course, nothing changes to the goals of the District Clubs in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Hessen and Rhineland-Palatinate. It's about fun, community, integration - the sporty thing, however, will continue to play in the lowest leagues. Although a total of seven championship titles have been won by USYS teams since 2015, Unfortunately, the problem was that we had a new team in the following year, which mostly could not hold the performance level, says Kartst. Typical everyday life for a untypical club.
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