| Larry Monaco |
|
Monaco, 59, has been USSF executive vice president
for four years. Last year, he ended 13 years as secretary of the Virginia Youth Soccer
Association and retired after 19 years as the staff attorney for the House of Representatives,
a position he previously held with the Senate. He resides in King George, Va. |
| Monaco’s platform |
| 1. USSF officials are perceived by many as removed and not
responsive to the organization’s membership and the soccer public in general. Do you believe
this is the case and how would you promote a closer relationship between the USSF
leadership and the soccer community? Should all the machinations of the
Federation be made public?
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| Monaco: USSF has not been as responsive in the past as it should have been
or could have been. I do not believe that this has been intentional, but rather
has more to do with the rapid growth and expansion of the Federation over the
past 10 years or so. This expansion has placed great demands on time, money,
and allocation of resources and has also included the hiring of staff with little
knowledge of the structure of soccer and the Federation. We will have to see that
those of us in the Federation are more responsive in the future, including a
better allocation of time, resources, and staff (including training) about soccer
and the Federation's membership. |
| 2. How would you describe the relationship between Major League
Soccer and the U.S. national team? What are the positive aspects? What are the negatives? What
is the future of the U.S. Cup and American participation in Copa America, both in the middle of
MLS season?
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| Monaco: If soccer is to become a pre-eminent sport in the United States by
the year 2005 (a stated goal of USSF), then the success of MLS is absolutely
crucial to reach that goal. MLS also provides a means for the development of
players, coaches, and referees at a higher level than is currently available in
the United States. It also provides a basis for promoting soccer at the
national level through the communications media.The one obvious tension point is
that MLS plays soccer spring through fall and a number of its players are needed
for the U. S. National Teams. We will have to work with MLS to schedule, as well
as we can, to avoid or lessen the conflict about using MLS players for our teams.
The U. S. Cup is important in bringing to the United States national teams of
other countries to provide high level competition for the Men's National Team.
Since this Cup is ours, we can minimize scheduling problems with MLS. The Copa
America, being held during the MLS season, presents an obvious scheduling
problem. I would hope that we could make arrangements so that the U.S. National
Team could participate since this competition also provides our National Team
with tough soccer matches outside the United States and will provide experience
of play that we need to compete at the international level. |
| 3. U.S. teams have fared poorly in recent world championships. What
are your feelings about this? How and when can we expect improvement?
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| Monaco: The U. S. Men's teams, not the Women's Teams, have not done well the
past several years. There has been some improvement in the past 6-9 months and
we will have an even better idea of the level of improvement with the U-17,
U-20, and Olympic National Teams as they begin to enter qualification rounds
during the coming months. We have provided more matches, and will continue to
provide more competitive, matches for these teams. As far as the Men's National
Team, I think we should take time to decide where and how we are going. The
hiring of a coach is not the highest priority. Rather, we should analyze the
program, solicit as much information as possible (including the awaited report
from Carlos Queiroz), arrive at conclusions, and then seek a coach consistent
with those conclusions. |
| 4. Where does the Olympic Development Program fit into your thoughts
on development of young players? How does it fit into the recently-announced
initiatives of Project 2010?
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| Monaco: The Olympic Development Program is an essential part of player (and
also, to a more limited extent, coach) development. The Federation has a
mandate to develop and improve soccer at all levels. From the point of view of
the National Team Program, there is a need to develop players at the highest,
elite level. The ODP should include the development of players at this top level.
Project 2010 was endorsed by the Federation Board of Directors in April,
1997. The Project sets forth general objectives and goals. Now, the Federation
has to take steps to flesh out Project 2010 with specific programs, activities,
and possibly facilities. In addition, the Nike contract earmarks money for
player, coaching, refereeing, and administrator development. The ODP will have
to be evaluated in light of these programs and activities and meshed as part of
them. |
| 5. What can be done about getting more Hispanic and African-American
involved in youth soccer on the playing, coaching and administrative levels? Soccer
America just ran a series a few months ago saying minority participation in soccer
was negligible. Should there be a program for building previously non-existent fields
in inner-city areas to promote minority participation?
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| Monaco: The initiatives to have more involvement of Hispanic-Americans in
organized soccer are different from initiatives to involve African-Americans.
Soccer is part of the culture of Hispanic-Americans, but not African-Americans.
There are many different reasons why Hispanics have not become involved in
organized soccer in the United States, and programs and activities are going to
have to be tailored for different metropolitan areas to increase this
involvement. While their participation may have been negligible in the past,
that has been changing in the past couple of years. Hispanic participation has
increased considerably, for example, in Massachusetts as well as several other
states.
The Federation itself has hired regional coordinators to seek increased
participation of Hispanic-Americans, and is translating most of its referee
materials into Spanish. There is still more that can be done, and I would
expect that the Federation committee having jurisdiction will provide additional
proposals in this area.Increased African-American participation will require
much greater effort and more one-to-one contact. In Washington, D.C., we have
increased participation by special efforts of going into schools, and programs
that tie all aspects of education as part of a learning package that includes
soccer as the sport aspect of the package. Grants have been made to the City
Recreation Department to provide soccer for the youngsters and their families.
These approaches involve money and a great deal of effort by individuals
because you are trying to have soccer included as one of the normal activities
of the youngsters. All of these various efforts have been successful, but they
do take a great deal of time and effort and progress is slow. |
| 6. Do you favor the U.S. national youth championships being played at
sites such as Phoenix where the heat routinely exceeded 100 degrees?
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| Monaco: The current United States Snickers National Youth Championships are
run by USYSA. They will continue to be run by USYSA in the future. Under the
proposed restructuring of the Federation, USSF will be having its own national
youth championships. Soccer is played in all types of climates. Therefore, I
see nothing wrong with holding a national championship in very warm weather at
times. Witness World Cup '94. My only limitation would be that a team should
only play one match a day and no more. |
| 7. Francisco Marcos has talked about an elite national summer league
program for promising youngsters. What are your thoughts about this?
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| Monaco: A national summer league program for promising youngsters has a great
deal of merit. I can see such a program, properly structured, as part of the
Federation's National Team development program to provide the elite and potentially
elite players of the United States with more opportunity to play more often at a
higher level of competition. |
| 8. Should a 14-year-old be playing only soccer and no other sports.
How much soccer is too much soccer for a 14-year old? For a 16-year-old?
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| Monaco: Why should a 14-year old only play soccer and no other sport? I see
no rationale for so limiting a player, regardless of ability. How much time a
player wants to devote to soccer, or any one sport, is up to the player and the
player's interest, whether the player be 14 or 16 or 18. If a player wants to
become a better player, obviously the more time and effort devoted to soccer
the more likely the player will be a better player. However, playing another
sport does help to develop some general skills that could carry over to soccer
as well as assisting in body development. No matter how much an individual loves
a sport of other activity, a change of pace is also helpful ever so often to
bring a freshness to the sport when you return to it. |
| 9. In many places, there is a tug-of-war between clubs and high
schools for players. Which should have priority during the high school season?
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| Monaco: If a player wants to play on both a high school team and a club team
at the same time (assuming state law or regulations allow this), the answer to
the question of which has priority depends on your perspective. Obviously, from
the high school's point of view, high school ball has priority. From the player's
perspective, it depends. If the high school team provides better competition for
the player, then high school ball should take priority and the player takes his
or her chances with the club team. On the other hand, if the club team provides
a higher level of competition (and this is becoming more and more the case) and
the player's goal is to continue playing soccer and advance, then the player should
give priority to the club team and not worry about high school ball. At this stage
of soccer and most high school sports in the United States, unless the player is
seeking or thinking about playing soccer at a high level, the player is probably
better off, personally, giving priority to the high school team. |
| 10. What is the U.S. style of soccer? Is there such a thing? What
should it encompass? Years ago there was great emphasis on one-touch soccer for
youth. Why? Does and should this discourage creative dribbling? What can be done
to teach American youths better ball possession and better marking techniques on defense?
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| Monaco: If there is any U. S. soccer style, it should include an attacking
element. Other than that, my preference is to emphasize dribbling as well as
passing, without giving one skill more emphasis than the other. Better ball
possession and marking techniques hopefully will develop with more training
and more and higher levels of competition for the better players. In addition,
the preparation and distribution of tapes of professional club and international
matches for players to view, with the assistance of coaches, will also help. |
| 11. What should be the youngest age-group for select youth teams?
Does starting at under-12 cause premature burnout in many cases and overlook
late-bloomers in others? What are your feelings on "playing up?"
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| Monaco: I am not sure whether 12 or 13 year olds should be the youngest age
group for select youth teams, although I lean toward 13-year-olds as the
youngest. I am willing to listen and learn about this question. My feeling is
that starting at U-12's (11-year-olds) does not necessarily cause premature
burnout; rather, it tends to limit the development of player skills and
techniques. There is nothing wrong with players 13 years old and older playing up. |
| 12. Will you lobby the NCAA and college presidents for an end to
collegiate restrictions on outside play during the school year? What would you
like to see in college soccer that does not exist now and how would you implement it?
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| Monaco: While I favor abolishing collegiate restrictions on outside play
during the school year and will work with other organizations to do so, it is
extremely unlikely that such efforts will be successful. Therefore, I would rather
spend time and effort in other areas of developing and improving soccer.
Areas of college soccer that changes would be beneficial would be uniform Laws
of the Game and uniform referee programs. It would also be of benefit if more
soccer scholarships were available. One other area would be programs to improve
the level of college soccer coaching (not to mention improvement at the high
school and club levels as well). |
| 13. Major League Soccer has agreed to a February 1 cutoff for signing
college players with remaining eligibility. Some coaches say that hurts them because
it is too late to recruit replacements. Project 2010 offers a further threat to
college programs because its plan is to divert top talent away from college. What
rules should be in place to protect the colleges?
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| Monaco: My understanding is that the February 1st date was a date mutually
agreeable to MLS and college coaches. If not, then it would be worth efforts
to see if a different, earlier date mutually agreeable can be worked out. I
would be willing to assist in this area if it would be helpful.
No rules should be in place to protect the colleges if players are diverted
from colleges. Such a question assumes that all soccer players of college age
want to go to college, which is not a safe assumption. It also assumes that a
talented or potentially talented player should somehow be "shielded" from going
into a more competitive soccer environment and that these players should be
"forced" to go to college. I don't subscribe to any of those assumptions. |
| 14. The USSF has been seen as dragging its feet in regards to
establishment of a women’s professional league. It did not support the proposed NSA,
designed to continue the momentum from the 1996 Olympic gold medal? In the interim,
two women’s basketball leagues have started and one for hockey is seriously being
considered. What are your feelings on this?
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| Monaco: The Federation has not dragged its feet in regard to the establishment
of a women's professional league. First, USSF itself has never organized or
operated any professional league and it should not do so -- even in the women's
professional league area. Second, the Federation never had the opportunity to
consider the NSA application; it was withdrawn before the committees designated
to consider the application were able to properly review the matter. The MLS
and 2 other Division I professional league applications were reviewed for almost 2
years by Federation committees and its Board of Directors. Taking even 90 days to
consider the application would not have been unreasonable. The fact that 2 women's
basketball teams have been formed (and assuming that at least one of them remains
in existence) is different than forming a women's professional soccer league.
Soccer in the United States has not yet reached the level of basketball
unfortunately. The Federation has appointed a task force to prepare and present
a business plan that could be used to establish a women's pro soccer league. This
task force report should be ready by Women's World Cup '99 and could be used as
the basis for investors to begin such a league and use the promotional and sponsor
momentum from the Cup to launch the league. |
| 15. Many think girls get shortchanged by the USSF. Even with the
establishment of a under-18 team, the U-16s and U-20s seldom are in action. What do
you think about this and should the USSF push FIFA for establishment of world
championships for U-20s, U-18s and U-16s?
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| Monaco: The Federation has not shortchanged girls soccer. Enormous resources
were poured into the Women's National Team Program for Women's World Cup '95
(some $2,000,000 worth that was not originally budgeted and which was one of the
primary reasons for the large deficit for 1995). This commitment meant that a
number of Federation programs an activities had to be reduced or not funded at
all. Since that time, the Federation has gradually increased the women's national
teams program and will continue to do so. It is not wise planning to put in place
all at one time a number of national team programs. I believe it should be done
gradually, with planning and allocation of resources. At the same time, I do
firmly believe that we have to plan for the future and make sure that the United
States maintains its lead, and increase it if possible, in women's soccer in the
world. I am committed to increasing the number of matches of all of the women's
teams and also presenting to FIFA proposals over the next several years for world
championships on the women's side just as they exist on the men's side. |
| 16. The USOC put the USSF on probation is April. USSF officials
attributed this to "growing pains." Should this have ever happened and have
necessary steps been taken to solve the problem?
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| Monaco: The USSF was placed on probation in April, 1998, for more than
growing pains. Growth was part of the picture, but success was also a reason as
well as the continuous evolution of the Amateur Sports Act as interpreted by the
United States Olympic Committee. Should this have ever happened? Who knows?
However, even if AYSO had not filed its complaint, the Federation would most
likely have been found not in compliance with the Act because of periodic changes
by the Olympic Committee in applying and interpreting the Act. Now all of these
changes and resolution of the AYSO complaint have resulted in a completely new
set of Federation bylaws that has been presented to the USOC and will be
considered by the Federation membership at its annual general meeting in August,
1998. My guess is that the proposed new bylaws will be approved by the USOC and
adopted by the membership--perhaps with a few changes--and we can now proceed and
devote our full time and attention to the development of soccer in the United States. |
| 17. Do you plan to eventually integrate the current professional
leagues into one league with multiple divisions through which promotion and relegation
can be implemented, following the world model? Do you think departures from the
international system, such as the shootout tiebreaker and the use of stadium clocks
rather than referee stopwatches hamper the United States’ integration into the
international community?
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| Monaco: Integration of all current professional leagues is not a priority of
mine. There are sound business, financial, and promotional reasons for not
seeking integration. These reasons could continue to exist for years. These are
matters for the professional leagues to determine. There could be real benefits
in having promotion and relegation and this concept may eventually be an aim.
However, for the next "X" number of years, it is far more important to ensure
that the professional leagues continue to exist and do not fade into the sunset.
My efforts will be in the area of survival of the leagues. |
| 18. What is your position on the U.S. Soccer Foundation? What should
its emphasis be and has it been successful fulfilling its mission until now?
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| Monaco: The USSF Foundation is a new organization only in its 3rd year of
operation. Serving on its Board of Directors, my view is that the Board is a
group of very diligent individuals who are committed to seeing that the Foundation
benefits and assists in developing soccer in the United States. The Foundation
has developed an outstanding investment policy which has worked extremely well.
It has made a commitment to only spend earnings and not to invade the principal
(approximately $60-70,000,000), a position I opposed since I believe that we
should invade the principal if a proposal is presented that will substantially
benefit soccer.
Up until now, the Board has only taken a passive role: approving grant
proposals presented. With 3 years experience, the Board has undertaken an
evaluation and is moving into the area of advocating and suggesting proposals
and activities to promote and develop soccer in this country. In the limited time
available to it, I believe the Foundation has fulfilled its mission. Now we are
at the point of timely expanding that mission. It would be my hope that, while we
do need many more soccer fields in the United States, we will act in other areas
to promote the game. |
| 19. InterForever has handled the promotion of recent Gold Cup matches,
and the TV rights to other national team games.They have organized these in a manner
that US fans, and Anglos in general are in the minority.Is the USSF interested in
seeing the national team games be generally available on American television?
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| Monaco: Gold Cup is a CONCACAF tournament. We have no say over its structure
and operations, except to the extent we can exercise influence (one of 41 nations)
in the Confederation. While U. S. fans are in the minority, the games are
generally held in this country and fans can attend games in their area. USSF has
made great efforts in the past to make at least some of the games available in
the U.S. but has been unsuccessful so far. We will continue to make efforts to
see if we cannot have the Men's National Team games, or at least one or two of
them, televised in this country. |
| 20. Nike has invested many millions of dollars in U.S. Soccer.
Should the soccer public be concerned that Nike (and other entities such as IMG) will exert
too much control over the USSF for their own profit and not the betterment of the game?
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| Monaco: The public and the Federation should always be concerned about an
attempt of any sponsor or partner to exert control over the operations of the
Federation for the benefit of the sponsor and not the betterment of the game. We
should be watchful and ensure that we are exercising our legal authority to
promote soccer. My experience to date has been that Nike has not been concerned
with exercising control of the Federation or any aspect or program of the
Federation. It has been aware of its position as a sponsor and has not even
make a suggestion that would indicate an abuse of that position. |
