While the United States men’s soccer team (USMNT) has made the World Cup in every year since 1990, with the exception of 2018, it has been a constant source of puzzlement why the country with such a large and diverse population is not a bigger powerhouse in the sport. This book by George Dohrman explores why that has been the case and also takes a look at some creative ways that some are trying to address this problem.

The book starts off with that 2018 team – specifically the game in which the USNMT lost to Trinidad and Tobago that ended their chances to qualify for the World Cup. Dohrman explains that the subsequent review of why the team did so poorly sets the tone for the book and the explanation of the inherent problems for growing the sport in the United States. Instead of looking at the entire system, there was criticism of smaller details such as the lineup used in that game. As Dohrman noted, this missed the bigger picture that the system was the problem – making the United States “a country that should be a shark into a minnow.”

Dohrman then goes on to explain how the country’s youth soccer organization AYSO “was conceived in about ninety minutes” and how the country’s soccer development became entrenched in the Pay-to-Play model that many other youth sports follow. The issue with this model for soccer is that due to many factors, it leaves out a significant portion of the population and leaves the future of the sport in the hands of mostly white, suburban and upper middle class (or higher) players. This didn’t allow the sport to grow in other areas populated mostly by Black families or other people of color. It also did not help that most coaches of these players were either unfamiliar with the game or if they were, they followed only the European model of play, which is very different from that in other areas where the game is extremely popular such as South America.

What sets this book apart is that Dohrman not only describes and analyzes these shortcomings, but he also highlights people and systems that buck the traditional models of American soccer in the past and are trying to bring more players of all types and backgrounds into the game. One example, and the best story of the book, is a coach who went against the traditional pay-for-play model in Iowa, Matt Carver. Carver’s youth allowed him to experience the game in places like Harlem and Germany and when he became a coach with his own children, he saw the flaws in the system and wanted to create a league that would not require high fees and extensive travel. After several fights with the bureaucracy of the soccer league in suburban Des Moines, he eventually won and now has players coming to his league.

Dohrman also talks about why the women’s teams for the United States are so successful – again, mainly due to some thinking outside the box – and how the men can use ideas such as those from Carver to have more success for the USMNT. This is a book that should be required reading for anyone who has an interest in seeing how the United States can become a nation that will use its population and diversity to its advantage in the sport of international soccer.

I wish to thank Ballantine Books for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Ok so I’m not a big soccer fan - BUT - I’ve always wondered why soccer isn’t more popular in our country at a professional level when it’s a super craze everywhere else in the world. This book explores that - and then some. The author is excellent and explains things in a way that captured my attention and left me recommending this one to friends and family. Thanks to Ballantine - this one is great.

As I write this the US Men’s National Team is currently the 16th best team in the world according to FIFA rankings and has the same odds of winning the 2022 World Cup as Mexico and Poland. Given America’s population that isn’t a crazy accomplishment but it is a step up from the USMNT’s past history and there are other signs that the US soccer talent pipeline has improved. Shortly after the USMNT failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in an embarrassing loss to Trinidad and Tobago, the under-17 US team made the quarterfinals of the 2017 U-17 World Cup after failing to qualify for the previous two competitions. That year’s team, which ultimately fell to an England squad that boasted the likes of Phil Foden and Jadon Sancho. The US soccer talent development system has come a long way over the last 60 years, and George Dohrmann chronicles the shift in his new book Switching Fields, out in time for the World Cup. It’s a fine book even if it’s a bit short and probably would work better as a magazine article.

Dohrmann was a long-time Sports Illustrated writer who now writes for The Athletic. Quick plug: Dohrmann’s 2009 book Play Their Hearts Out , about the exploitation of youth basketball players, is one of my top-five favorite sports books ever. I think he excels at drawing compelling human stories out of complicated investigations. This is more of a straightforward book, but Dorhmann clearly did a good amount of research and is passionate about the state of soccer in the US.

Switching Fields is not one of my top-five favorite sports books ever, but it’s alright. There just isn’t the same degree of depth or insight. I’m not a huge USMNT fan by any means but I like soccer and have followed enough of the US soccer scene to already have some grasp of understanding what changes the sport has undergone over the last few decades. Basically, unlike in most other countries, elite soccer in America was largely the playground of wealthy families who could pay exorbitant participation fees. Lower-income and minority players were shortchanged and played on teams with much lower levels of resources.

Thanks to better management and great work done by people on all levels of grassroots soccer, the game has now opened itself up to way more Americans and there is more structure across all levels to help develop the talent pipeline. Dohrmann profiles some of the key figures who helped make that happen and the more free-wheeling origins of grassroots soccer of the sixties and seventies.

Overall, Switching Fields is decent but there really isn’t a ton of depth, and I think that a lot of that is due to the topic not requiring a ton of explanation. I would have appreciated either more focus on the women’s game (there is some coverage but I wouldn’t have minded more, especially given how much more dominant the USWNT is vs. the USMNT) or just shortening the book to a magazine article.

6/10

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Switching Fields: Inside the Fight to Remake Men's Soccer in the United States
By George Dohrmann
P208 2022
7.5/10

This ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review.

As a long suffering fan of the USMNT, I am looking forward with nervous anticipation to Qatar 2022. Being a fan of the US Men's National Team can be somewhat of an emotional rollercoaster, and George Dohrmann's book discusses exactly what the US needs to change to be a world soccer powerhouse.

This book points out the missteps that the US has made in team development, but also remains hopeful that the US team can change. Switching Fields is a good book to read especially with the World Cup looming ahead.

Special thanks to George Dohrmann, Ballatine Books, and NetGalley for providing this ARC. Switching Fields is available on November 15!

This was one of the most informative books about soccer that I have read in general and in specific. The focus on the men’s and women’s national teams, and the state of soccer in the US in general was eye opening. Switching Fields felt like a call to arms, and warning, and intense reportage all at once. As a parent, I was enraged by the way US soccer has been taken over by Pay to Play (not that other sports are much better, but soccer seems to be under the thumb of Pay to Play in a more frustrating way). As a new fan to the game, I was disappointed in the way that soccer is stuck in the same way that baseball was stuck for years- played “the right way” so that individuality and creativity is squashed.

I was happy to see the changes that are underway, and excited to see how MLS is creating academies to help foster the game. Seeing my hometown team, Sporting KC, show up was fun as well. Honestly, I don’t know the last time I read a book that I wanted to shove into the hands of so many people. Good, engaging writing that showed a serious depth of knowledge and research. Highly recommended to people already involved with soccer and those that only care about the US winning a World Cup and don’t pay attention otherwise.

Switching Fields author, Dohrmann, is a sports reporter and editor and it shows in his work. He doesn’t avoid dropping names and jargon, but the book never feels inaccessible to readers less familiar with soccer or sports in general. He begins the book in striking fashion, recounting the U.S. Men’s loss to Trinidad and Tobago in Couva, which resulted in the team failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, and with that story he will earn the buy-in of many readers who will want to know both why this team has never managed to find the success that women’s soccer has in the U.S. and what could be done, and is being done, to fix it and move forward.

Switching Fields is a comprehensive history of soccer in the United States, and not only at the professional level. Dohrmann examines youth leagues, the pay-to-play model that largely emerged, the inequities inherent in these systems, and many other issues like coaches unfamiliar with soccer or with fitting training. While there are a few segments and asides within the book that feel a bit out of place or have jarring transitions, overall Dohrmann takes a logical route through this history and paints a very interesting, if frustrating picture.

I have also included my review of this book as part of a series of reviews from librarians in our local paper. This review will run in November before the 2022 World Cup alongside reviews of several other soccer titles.

"In Switching Fields, Dohrmann digs deep into soccer’s journey in this country and doesn’t pull his punches. He examines how Title IX and robust university programs created a U.S. Women’s team that has been the gold standard for decades, but how pay-to-play leagues, subpar coaching, and half-hearted attempts at diversification doomed the men’s team from the start. Fans of the sport will likely recognize some of the names Dohrmann drops throughout the book, but most will be new to all readers as they learn about the many hands that have shaped U.S. soccer, in ways both good and bad. This book is for anyone who has wondered why soccer has taken a backseat in the United States, has been curious about the inner workings of sports leagues, or has dreamed of seeing the U.S. Men win a world cup—Dohrmann tells readers that recent changes show hope for the future."

A frustrating read, not because of the writing style which was great, but because of Dohrmann's dissection of the problems with Men's Soccer in America. The fact that a country as large and diverse as we are can't maximize our potential due to bureaucracy is so so sad. This is a great book to read in the run up to the 2022 World Cup.

Serendipitous timing of receiving advanced copy of this book as I embarked on a very long car ride to a youth soccer tournament. Or not, as it just made me angry all weekend. Mostly kidding, but it did reinforce a lot of what I was feeling regarding youth soccer and the entire American approach to player development in general. Dohrmann does a great job of explaining how the sport evolved in this country, from democratic origins to becoming an exclusive club of white suburbia. Everyone seems to acknowledge the problems of the system but it's hard to shift course of an engrained power structure. Too many people are making too much money on exploiting the system that I don't see much hope in change coming soon. It's a shame for all the kids being left behind and it's a shame for the developmental years lost already.