Clarkston, Sandy Springs, College Park/East Point and the inner city of Atlanta are the four main hubs for our 1,550 kids who played in our program this past school year. You definitely can see the different cultures and styles.
About 30 percent of our kids are Hispanic, and on the Estudiantes team, for example, 19 of the 22 players are from Mexico. The Mexican style of play is slower, very technical and focused on individual skill with the ball.
I saw this style rub off one time with a local girl, Katelyn Longino, who played on an under-14 team of Mexican boys. Women’s soccer is more direct and physical, more kick and run, speed and power. Katelyn learned the short passes and combinations, and by the time she started playing at Columbus State, she really stuck out because she played like a Mexican boy.
Around the world, if you look at how countries developed, you will see the soccer influences. Because the British colonized so much of Africa, the style of play in those countries is like English style — more physical, speed and power, not as technical.
Central African countries are more influenced by continental European teams. Cameroon, for instance, plays a lot like France, which colonized it. Angola was colonized by the Portuguese, so the Angola team’s style of play has a heavy Portuguese influence.
These teams are powered by generations of young kids who play soccer all the time. It’s not like many American kids, who play some soccer, basketball, baseball and other sports that are not so intense early on. In Latin America, countries with a heavy European influence, such as Brazil and Argentina, are powerhouses in soccer. Cuba, Panama, and other countries that were Americanized turn out more great baseball players.
Japan has invested heavily in its youth soccer and recruited many Brazilian coaches. I worked with a Korean player on the Atlanta Silverbacks Reserves, and he was very athletic, technical and quick. Korean soccer is very physical and strong, and this player was one of the fittest players on the team.
If I was trying to create an American style of soccer, it would be like the Argentinians, very hard-nosed, tough and skilled, a combination of the Latin and European styles. I think we are seeing that start to develop.
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