Switching Fields

A Pulitzer Prize-winning sports journalist investigates the system that develops male soccer players in the U.S., examining why the U.S. has struggled for decades to produce elite talent, and then focuses on the innovators who are currently smashing the developmental status quo to put the U.S. on the precipice of greatness. Illustrations.
"A Pulitzer Prize-winning sports journalist unravels why the United States has failed to produce elite men's soccer players for so long--and shows why a golden era just might be coming. The contrast is striking. As the United States women's national soccer team has long dominated the sport, winners of four World Cups and four Olympic gold medals, the men's team has floundered. They failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup and the last three Olympics and have long struggled when facing the world's best teams. How could such a global powerhouse on the women's side--and in other men's team sports--be so far behind the rest of the world? In Switching Fields, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist George Dohrmann turns his investigative focus on the system that develops male soccer players in the United States, examining why the U.S. has struggled for decades to produce elite talent. But rather than just focus on the past, he turns forward, connecting with coaches and players who are changing the way talented players are unearthed and developed: an American living in Japan who devised a new way for kids under five to be introduced to the game; a coach in Los Angeles who traveled to Spain and Argentina and returned with coaching methods he used to school a team of future pros; an Arizona real estate developer whose grand experiment changed the way pro teams in the U.S. develop talent. Following these innovators' inspiring journeys, Dohrmann gives ever-hopeful U.S. soccer fans a reason to believe that a movement is underway that is smashing the developmental status quo, and it has put the United States on the precipice of greatness"--
A Pulitzer Prize–winning sports journalist unravels why the United States has failed to produce elite men’s soccer players for so long—and shows why a golden era just might be coming.“George Dohrmann is one of our most perceptive chroniclers of youth sports in the United States, and here he brings his keen eye to the history and present of U.S. men’s soccer development.”—Grant Wahl, CBS Sports analyst and New York Times bestselling author of Masters of Modern SoccerThe contrast is striking. As the United States Women’s National soccer team has long dominated the sport—winners of four World Cups and four Olympic gold medals—the men’s team has floundered. They failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup and three consecutive Olympics, and have long struggled when facing the world’s best teams. How could a country so dominant in other men’s team sports—and such a global powerhouse in women’s soccer—be so far behind the rest of the world in men’s soccer? In Switching Fields, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist George Dohrmann turns his investigative focus on the system that develops male soccer players in the United States, examining why the country has struggled for decades to produce first-class talent. But rather than just focus on the past, he looks forward, connecting with coaches and players who are changing the way talented prospects are unearthed and developed: an American living in Japan who devised a new way for kids under five to be introduced to the game; a coach in Los Angeles who traveled to Spain and Argentina and returned with coaching methods that he used to school a team of future pros; a startup in San Francisco that has increased access for Latino players; an Arizona real estate developer whose grand experiment changed the way pro teams in the United States nurture talent. Following these innovators’ inspiring journeys, Dohrmann gives ever-hopeful U.S. soccer fans a reason to believe that a movement is underway to smash the developmental status quo—one that has put the United States on the verge of greatness.