June 13, 2014 at 3:09 p.m.
World Cup delivers extra juice to soccer programs
World Cup delivers extra juice to soccer programs
It only comes around once every four years, but it's undoubtably bigger than the Olympics. It's the World Cup and, until one nation is crowned world champion, soccer is at center stage. Soccer fans from all over have flocked to Brazil to witness the world's biggest sporting spectacle.
The United States team enters with tapered expectations. Heading into competition, with a young and largely inexperienced roster, head coach Jurgen Klinsmann made a point to say this World Cup should be viewed as more of a steppingstone to bigger and better things, rather than a legitimate title chase.
It's Klinsmann's first World Cup at the head of the United States squad. He formerly competed for and coached the German national team, before replacing Bob Bradley in the U.S. in 2011.
While the men's national squad makes its final preparations before its opening match on Monday, here in Rhinelander, the girls' varsity squad is making a run of its own. The U.S. team might be getting used to a new coach, but the Hodags have answered to Dan Millot for years now. He said things get a little more intense during World Cup years.
"We do notice a difference," he said. "The kids who are very passionate about the game talk about it a lot. They pick teams they want to win it, other than the United States, of course. There's definitely a buzz. You even hear more adults talking about the World Cup now a lot more than when I started coaching years ago. It has a huge impact on soccer and we usually get a good charge out of it."
The World Cup has a larger impact than that though. The games are televised on ESPN. All that attention leads to more interest, and that's always good for a soccer program.
"We've noticed it here in Rhinelander," Millot said. "My colleagues and I have talked about it. I've talked about it with other coaches. It's especially noticeable when the United States does well. We see a significant increase in kids that want to participate or try soccer for the first time."
Pete LaBelle sits on the board of the Rhinelander Soccer Club. He said he's already noticed an uptick in interest in the World Cup.
"Our competitive teams are all very excited," he said. "The kids are all talking about it and they try to relate to certain players and certain teams. It just adds that extra excitement and interest about soccer."
Soccer is still growing in the U.S., and World Cup teams have played a pivotal role in that expansion. Names like Landon Donovan and Abby Wambach have wowed young soccer players by dominating on the international stage. It's not just U.S. players that are fueling soccer's growth across the country. High quality soccer is more accessible now than ever before and that means the game's brightest stars are providing examples to young Americans, including young Hodags.
"I've seen an increase in the interest in international soccer," Millot said. "As far as the increase in interest, there's nothing more evident than how much soccer is being televised on American television today. You not only have the MLS and the Women's Professional League, but you've got the Premier League in England televised. There are a lot more kids watching it and a lot more adults watching it."
It's more than just an opportunity to grow the sport. Millot said he wants his players to watch the games because they just might learn something.
"We don't necessarily do anything different, but we try to encourage kids to watch as much World Cup soccer as possible, not only for their own enjoyment, but for educational purposes," he said. "We want them to watch how the game is played at the highest level."
Kids aren't just doing their best Michael Bradley impressions, but trying to be like England's Wayne Rooney and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo. LaBelle said watching players of that caliber helps kids set lofty goals which can take them places later in life.
"The World Cup helps build excitement about the program," he said. "It gives them a little bit of motivation to show them that good things can come from it. If you check the records of Rhinelander High School and our soccer programs, we've had great success with kids going on to play in college. This can help give them that drive and direction in their lives. During World Cup years, there's that much more popularity and the response to the national team brings them closer together."
No matter the outcome, soccer programs across the United States have already been big winners this year. That doesn't mean the nation isn't hoping Klinsmann's men can pull off a few upsets and turn some heads along the way though.
That goal became significantly more challenging after the tournament's pool play groupings were released. The United States landed in what has since been branded the "Group of Death." They'll face international powers Portugal and Germany, as well as Ghana, the team that's eliminated the United States from the last two World Cups.
Two teams from each pool advance to the single elimination tournament, but it will be an uphill climb for the U.S. to advance to that stage, and they'll have to do it without the services of national team mainstay Donovan, who failed to make the team after playing a key role in the last three World Cups.
Instead, they'll lean on stars like Bradley, Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore, as well as keeper Tim Howard, to carry the load.
Millot said the thinks they've got a puncher's chance.
"If the U.S. can survive the round of death, I think they can do decent," he said. "I think they'll be competitive in all their matches. It's going to come down to whether the U.S. can stay healthy throughout the tournament. They've got a lot of young talent that's untested. I'm rooting for them."
The United States will play their first game Monday against Ghana at 5 p.m.
Andy Hildebrand may be reached at [email protected].
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