Soccer: The Global Language of Sports and How It Teaches Valuable Life Lessons

As an educator and soccer coach, I firmly believe that sports have the potential to create a strong bond with students that extends beyond the classroom. Over the past decade and a half, I have been fortunate to work as a coach for various sports including ping-pong, tennis, and soccer, and have witnessed firsthand how athletics can positively impact students both on and off the field. I believe all sports can provide students with valuable lessons. With that said, in particular, soccer offers unique opportunities for students to learn the importance of teamwork, grit and perseverance, and hard-work.

Of course, all sports offer some degree of skill-building and personal growth, but I believe that soccer has a special ability to foster these qualities in young people. In my role as a coach, I feel fortunate to be able to help students develop not only their athletic abilities, but also their character and life skills. I hope that through their experiences playing soccer, my students will carry these lessons with them for years to come, becoming not just better players, but better human beings as well.

Teamwork

According to Gladwell in his book Outliers, "Soccer is a weak-link game, in which teams win only when they coordinate their play effectively across all members, especially their weakest ones. Basketball, on the other hand, is a strong-link game, in which the effectiveness of the team relies heavily on the performance of its star players" (Gladwell, 2008, p. 128). What exemplifies this phenomenon is the fact that between 2011 and 2018, having Lebron James on a team guaranteed a spot in the NBA finals.

However, professional soccer provides examples that contradict this idea. Despite being one of the greatest soccer players of all time, Cristiano Ronaldo has never lead Portugal to a World Cup victory (not even a World Cup finals!). Another all time great, Lionel Messi, struggled to advance his team at PSG beyond the final 16 in the Champions League for the past two years, despite playing alongside two of what many would consider the top five players in the world, Mbappe and Neymar. This is in contrast to a hypothetical NBA team with three top-five players like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Steph Curry playing together, and getting eliminated in the first round of playoffs two seasons in a row. Such a scenario would be implausible in the NBA.

Soccer tournaments like the FA Cup in England showcase numerous examples of true underdog victories. Teams from the lower divisions routinely play and defeat much higher-ranked teams. For example, in 2017, non-league side Lincoln City defeated Burnley, who had an annual payroll of $30+ million USD, with Lincoln City's players earning as low as under $70,000 USD. This highlights the unique magic of soccer, where teamwork and determination can overcome the absence of superstar players.

While it's true that underdog victories occasionally occur in other sports, such as the New York Jets' upset of the Indianapolis Colts in 1969 or the Detroit Pistons' win over the heavily-favored LA Lakers in 2004, these examples still involve top-level teams competing against each other. For example, it would be difficult to imagine a G-League basketball team defeating an NBA team or an AA-minor league baseball team beating a powerful MLB team in an official competition (if such a competition even existed).

Grit vs. Biology

As with any sport, soccer requires a certain degree of talent that not everyone possesses. Some players have a natural ability to shoot or have quick feet, in ways other players cannot squire. Yet, the element of nurture often outweighs nature in soccer, unlike in many other sports.

"In basketball, for example, biological limitations often create a ceiling on their potential. Even at the Division 3 college level, the average player is around 6'3". College recruits in baseball generally expect players to be at least 5'10". For many high school students, this means that their chances of playing at the collegiate level or above are greatly diminished if they fall below these height requirements. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the average height for male high school students in the United States is approximately 5 feet, 9 inches tall" (Eisenberg, 2020). So from the get-go, many high school basketball players have an incredibly low chance of playing at the collegiate level, not because of their lack of grit, but simply because of their size. While playing sports should not be solely about going pro or playing at the college level, it is inspiring for students to know that they have the chance. What is disheartening, however, is when students are unable to pursue their dreams simply because of their height, despite working hard and having talent.

In soccer, however, size is not always a limiting factor. The five best professional players in the world according to the Ballon d'Or votes in 2019 ranged in height from 5'7" to 6'4", showing that players of all shapes and sizes can excel in the sport. In fact, in 2010, there was a case where all three finalists for the prestigious award (Xavi, Iniesta, and Messi) were all 5'7". This provides middle school and high school athletes around the world with an inspiring message that they too can achieve greatness in soccer, regardless of their height. As an educator, I believe it is crucial for students to feel that they are not limited by their physical attributes in the classroom or on the field.

Growing up in the 90s, I was a huge fan of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. However, I realized that I could never "be like Mike." As one source puts it, "Jordan stood 6'6" and had a wingspan of 6'11" (Smith, 2021), and to make matters worse, he also had a vertical jump "around 44 inches." (Eisenberg, 2020). Instead, around the same time period I was inspired by watching Hidetoshi Nakata, a Japanese soccer player who was one of the first to play in Europe. Despite his smaller size at 5'9" and 150 pounds, he succeeded through his technique and intelligence rather than raw athleticism. He was not the most athletic player, but he had great balance and technique. During the same period that Jordan won the NBA finals and the MVP from 1996 to 1998, Nakata was awarded the Asian player of the year in 1997 and proceeded to become one of the most accomplished Asian players in Europe. Seeing him on TV as a child made me feel like I could be like him, even without the physical attributes of a taller or a more athletic player. It is a testament to the inclusivity of soccer that players of all sizes and skill sets can succeed in the sport. An Asian player under 5'10" can dominate the sport in Italy or England. This can happen in the world of soccer.

International Sport - A Global Language

The internet and greater accessibility to sports equipment have made many sports more global than ever before, but there is one sport that truly stands out as the only global sport, and that is soccer. Unlike other sports that are played predominantly in certain regions or countries, soccer is played across the world. Soccer is a sport that is accessible to everyone, regardless of economic means. Unlike figure skating, ice hockey or fencing, where equipment and facilities can be costly and not widely available, all you need to play soccer is an open space and a ball. This accessibility makes soccer the "people's game" and enables players from all corners of the world to become the best, as exemplified by the diverse backgrounds of the various Ballon Dor nominees throughout the history of the sport. Some players come from upper class backgrounds (such as Paul Pogba, Gerard Pique, Hugo Lloris), while there are also many players who came from incredibly poor backgrounds (such as, Roberto Carlos, Zinidine Zidane, and Cristiano Ronaldo). Although soccer can be an expensive sport in the United States, a recent survey by TD Ameritrade found that, on average, parents in the U.S. spend $2,292 per year on their children’s sports activities." (Lobosco, 2019) For most countries, soccer is affordable. "All you need is a ball and a relatively flat surface, such as a field or even a parking lot, to start playing. In this way, soccer is one of the most accessible and affordable sports for children around the world" (Smith, 2022).

Not only is soccer socio-economically diverse. But ethnically diverse. When I was looking at the nationalities of soccer players from my favorite team, Manchester United this past week. Their starting eleven players came from Spain (De Gea), Portugal (Dalot), France (Varane), Argentina (Martinez), Brazil (Casemiro), Brazil (Fred), Brazil (Anthony), Netherlands (Werghorst), Portugal (Fernandes), and England (Rashford). It is also worth mentioning that on the bench were players from Scotland, Uruguay, Sweden.

Comparing soccer to other sports, such as ice hockey, highlights the exclusivity of some sports. While athletes like Wayne Gretzky are undoubtedly great, the limited access to ice rinks and expensive equipment means that only a small percentage of the world's population has the opportunity to play the sport. According to a survey conducted by Hockey Canada, the average cost for a child to play hockey in Canada ranges from $2,500 to $6,500 per year, depending on factors such as level of play and location (CBC News, 2018). The World Bank estimates that the average annual income per capita worldwide was $10,261 in 2020" (World Bank, 2021). The concentration of top hockey players in only a few countries may be attributed, in part, to the fact that most people in the majority of countries worldwide either cannot afford to play ice hockey or simply do not have ice hockey rinks. In that sense, when we watch the World Cup or the Champions League we are seeing the true representation of the people. People of all walks of life from various socio-economic status and backgrounds compete on the same pitch. Whereas in sports like ice hockey or figure skating, a parents financial might as well as a minimum level of wealth precludes a majority of the world from even participating in the sports and by proxy, an event like the Stanley Cup Final. In summary, soccer's unmatched global appeal and inclusivity distinguish it from other sports. It represents a genuine people's game, athletes from diverse regions to participate at the highest levels, without facing financial hindrances, which is why when we look at the best leagues in Europe, we see players from every single nation one can imagine.

Soccer stands out as an exception to this norm, where nurtured skills can reign supreme, unencumbered by the economic status of the parents.

Reference

BBC Sport. (2017, February 18). Burnley 0-1 Lincoln City. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/38993900

CBC News. (2018, January 30). The high cost of hockey puts a chill on Canadian families' finances. Retrieved March 14, 2023, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/hockey-costs-canadian-families-1.4508213

CDC "QuickStats: Mean Height,* Weight,? and Body Mass Index Among Students Aged 13–17 Years — National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, United States, 2017–2018." *CDC. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 17 July 2020, https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6928a6.htm.

Eisenberg, Brian. "Michael Jordan's Vertical Jump Was Once (Almost) Better Than His Dunking Ability." Stack, 11 May 2020, https://www.stack.com/a/michael-jordans-vertical-jump-was-once-almost-better-than-his-dunking-ability/.

Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers: The Story of Success. Little, Brown and Company, 2008.

Huang, M. (2019). Asia's Middle Class: Why Consumer Demand and Wealth Creation Are Key. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/marshahuang/2019/05/31/asias-middle-class-why-consumer-demand-and-wealth-creation-are-key/?sh=75952d9c69e9

"Hidetoshi Nakata Biography." FIFA, n.d., www.fifa.com/fifa-tournaments/players-coaches/people=162734/biography.html.

Lapointe, Joe. "An N.H.L. Training Ground Where Minorities Thrive." The New York Times, 22 Feb. 2008, https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/22/sports/hockey/22chelsea.html.

Lobosco, Katie. "The High Cost of Youth Sports." CNN, 8 Mar. 2019, www.cnn.com/2019/03/08/success/youth-sports-expense-parents/index.html.