Mike Woitalla of Soccer America has a series of interviews on their Youth Soccer Insider section with successful Club programs around the country. Two recent interviews offer an interesting juxtaposition of influences.

This week, he talked with Tab Ramos

Tab Ramos, considered one of the USA’s most skillful players ever, played for the USA at three World Cups, two Copa Americas, and in the Olympic Games. Two years after retiring in 2002 from a playing career in Spain, Mexico and MLS, he founded the New Jersey youth club NJSA 04. In 2008, he coached the NJSA 04 Gunners to the U-14 U.S. Youth Soccer national title, marking the first national championship for a New Jersey club in two decades.

SOCCER AMERICA: If you had a magic wand, how would you use it to improve youth soccer in America?
TAB RAMOS: Wow. I’d have to think about that …
One of the things that’s been most important for our club is, from the first moment, eliminating parents’ opinions from what we do. The opinion of the parents of the players here is completely irrelevant to us. And that’s been a good formula for making this club a real soccer club.
SA: What would be an example of detrimental parent interference?
TAB RAMOS: There are a thousand things. But I’ll start with an example of a parent who had the right attitude.
On our U-16 [U.S. Soccer Development] Academy team we have a great player who starts all the games. He’s been at our club for four or five years and just about every year previously he’s been a substitute. He did not start. He happened to be on the team that won the national championship, but he didn’t start.

It’s the perfect case of a parent who figured it out the right way. This boy’s father is a soccer guy. He kept his son at the club even though he wasn’t starting. He could have moved him somewhere else and started for another team. He stayed here while he was a substitute — trying hard all these years. Now he’s 16 — in the year that it really matters for him — and starts every game. I think that’s the right formula.

Love that last comment – Now he’s 16 — in the year that it really matters for him — and starts every game. Go to Soccer America to read the rest of the interview

In late February, he talked to Cony Konstin, Director of Coaching of Westside Metros SC, a small club based in Beaverton, Ore., that has gotten national attention with the success of its U-19 Internationals boys team and has sent players to the U-15 national team pool. Previously, Konstin served as the Director of Houstonians FC, which became a model for inner-city youth soccer. Konstin spoke to us for the Youth Soccer Insider’s ongoing series in which leaders of U.S. youth clubs address key issues on the state of American youth soccer.

SOCCER AMERICA: If you had a magic wand, how would you use it to improve youth soccer in America?
CONY KONSTIN: I’d create “soccer courts” all over the place, where children can play soccer, or futsal, anytime. You don’t need a giant soccer field for that. There are so many abandoned tennis courts they could convert to multi-purpose futsal courts and let the kids just play.

Coaching is totally overrated. Players win championships, not coaches. Talent wins championships, not coaches. For the USA to create great talent we need to create an environment for kids, in the inner city and the suburbs, to play everyday.

In American youth soccer, you don’t step on the grass if it rains a little bit. They throw you off the field. How are kids going to become passionate about playing if you punish them for going on the field because you want to keep the grass green? Who cares if the grass is not green? As long as they’re playing and staying out of trouble, we should be happy about that.

So Coaching is totally over-rated. Konstin has more to offer, read it all here