First off, I really don't like to use the word "problem" when talking about young players. Typically a player is a product of their environment--and they have no control over the level of soccer and coaching they are exposed to growing up.

I think the biggest challenge young players in America have is to develop "the love of the game." Too often, young players' soccer experiences are regimented and overstructured, and they begin to associate soccer not as a "game" but more as something they do because either their parents say they should or because their friends do.

As coaches, we need to encourage this passion for soccer, so that players want to play and play--be it at practice, at the playground, or in the backyard.