By: Susan Wright
In a world where soccer is more than just a sport but a global phenomenon, the acceptance and applications of the sport vary from country to country. Brazil, a country where soccer is not just a game but a way of living, has provided some of the most iconic figures in the sport’s history. Names like Pelé, Roberto Carlos, and Ronaldo are not simply athletes, but they are legends woven into the fabric of Brazilian culture. For many young Brazilians, aspiring to emulate such greatness on the soccer field is not just a dream; it’s an ambition that drives every kick, pass, and goal.
Enter Biro Santos, a coach who is concretely embedded in this rich Brazilian soccer heritage. Having grown up in Brazil, Santos is well aware of the significance of soccer, which is more than just a pastime; it’s an escape, an opportunity to level beyond socioeconomic barriers and support one’s family through sheer talent and determination. Yet, his journey took him far from the Joga Bonita (beautiful game) found on the pitches of Brazil to a country where soccer fights for recognition among giants, the United States.
Despite its historic and renowned athletic excellence across various sports disciplines, soccer has always found itself in the shadows of basketball, football, and baseball in the U.S. However, Santos notes that this landscape is gradually changing. The United States may not match Brazil’s ethos for soccer anytime soon, given their love for the sport that makes it their national pastime, but Biro Santos has observed a change in appreciation that has begun at the youth level.
Santos has observed firsthand how youth sports infrastructure in the U.S., with its supportive roots from AYSO levels into travel teams and eventually University standards, provides a concrete foundation for nurturing talent. “There’s a certain level of support here that you don’t find everywhere,” Santos remarks. “While we have room for improvement technically speaking, the access to tournaments and leagues here grows each year.”
Indeed, there has been a definitive shift toward players recognizing that collegiate soccer is not just the end goal. Often, American soccer players will rise through the youth ranks and attend University as athletes without the dreams and aspirations of making it to the professional level. Providing a route toward education but at the same time maintaining the jump toward the major leagues seems somewhat foreign. This notion is incredibly unusual to Brazilians, whose success in the sport is measured by being directly enforced into the professional ranks.
However, according to Santos, while Major League Soccer (MLS) has become an essential output for inspiring many young athletes across the United States, it has a long journey to escape the shadow of other professional sports that dominate the youth’s attention. This focus on other sports instead of soccer is the opposite of countries like Brazil, where young athletes eat, sleep, and breathe soccer from an incredibly young age, aiming to follow in the footsteps of national icons.
Santos strongly believes that integrating more individualized training focusing on technical skills alongside the existing backbone could revolutionize American grassroots soccer movements further. “Giving our youth solid technical groundwork can only advance our game,” he asserts confidently.
This scope echoes throughout his work with young athletes today, driving not only to refine their physical skills but also nurturing
in them a profound understanding and love for the game that overcomes cultural boundaries. While economic inconsistencies might encourage different dreams between Brazilian and American youths, with the former underlying direct professional breakthroughs versus the latter considering collegiate pathways, what remains concentrated across borders is a passion for soccer, A passion that coaches like Biro Santos try to maintain into kindling an irrespective point of view of geographical confines.
As Santos puts it, “It’s about building bridges through soccer.” Perhaps, through these endeavors, not imminently but eventually, the United States might carve out its unique niche within global football narratives, one grassroots movement at a time.
Through www.birosoccer.com, Santos shares his insights into developing grassroots talents utilizing both his deep-rooted Brazilian passion for football and his experiences within American sporting contexts.
Published by: Nelly Chavez
