Kyle Blackburn

Husband. Girl dad. This is just my interpretation of the situation. I can’t cry about having a lot on my plate when I’m trying to eat.

[Kyle Blackburn @kyleblackburn27]

So much validation for me when @TheRealMasonV says he also likes telling people on the internet that they are idiots. #ingoodcompany #ksoshow

[Kyle Blackburn @kyleblackburn27]

@BFW Please, for the love of all things holy, do not wear these against K-State

[Cruz Oxenreider @TheRealCruzOx]

This crazy November night doesn’t happen, we’re most likely having an Oregon/Kansas State Nattty in 2012

[Kyle Blackburn @kyleblackburn27]

@785SportsKSU My kids watch Willie skit into videos #bringbackthetackle

[Kyle Blackburn @kyleblackburn27]

@TheRealMasonV calling out his 13 year old self in front of @CK_KleinCollin had me spit out my drink laughing.

[Aakash Gupta @aakashgupta]

In Germany, a talented 14-year-old earns his club money. In America, his parents pay the club $15,000 a year.

That single inversion explains why "we will not" is the most accurate line ever written about US soccer.

FIFA built a global system for this. Training compensation and solidarity payments send a cut of every transfer fee back to the clubs that developed the player, from age 12 onward. Develop one future pro and your academy gets paid for a decade. Barcelona's La Masia, Ajax, every Bundesliga academy runs on this logic. The kid is the asset.

US Soccer refuses to enforce those rules. When Seattle's Crossfire Premier claimed its $60,000 share of DeAndre Yedlin's transfer to Tottenham, it got nothing. Claims on the Dempsey and Bradley transfers died partly because the federation couldn't even produce the youth training records.

So American clubs earn zero dollars when a kid turns pro. They earn when a kid enrolls. Which makes the parent the customer, and the product is whatever keeps the parent writing checks: travel tournaments, hotel weekends, $500 showcase events, private training at $100 an hour. Elite pathways run $8,000 to $20,000 a year. A comparable academy spot in Italy costs about 120 euros.

Follow the incentive one level deeper and it gets darker. A club dependent on fees can't cut its weakest paying players, so rosters optimize for retention over development. The scouting pool shrinks to families who can afford the cliff, which appears around age 11, exactly when development matters most. The country runs a talent filter sorted by household income instead of ability.

Every four years someone proposes fixing this. The proposal always requires the people profiting from the $15,000 model to vote themselves out of business.

They will not.

[Kyle Blackburn @kyleblackburn27]

🇺🇸 https://t.co/duy5IWn6he

[Kyle Blackburn @kyleblackburn27]

Get @TheRealMasonV on @YouthInc to discuss some youth sports immediately!

[Kyle Blackburn @kyleblackburn27]

Does K-State Baseball have the worst backdrop in sports? @TheRealMasonV

[Kyle Blackburn @kyleblackburn27]

@JerryQuickel Any KS high schools in there?

[Kyle Blackburn @kyleblackburn27]

@Coach_DTuttle Separation of church and state really coming into question here with the days of the week choose

[Q @Innerviewq]

If you were born between 87-92 , male, this movie was harder than karate kid

[Kyle Blackburn @kyleblackburn27]

@CoachJesseOwen This only favors kids that live in large cities. Rural kids only have the expertise of their HS coaches. Big city kids have other resources to improve their craft, most rural kids only have their HS coaches.

[Royals Kingdom🤴(61-75) @kingdom_royals]

Greatest thing NIL ever did was expose this program

[Kyle Blackburn @kyleblackburn27]

@InfieldVitamins Who approved the white vs white uniforms???

[BrilliantlyDumb @RobbyBerger]

Marlins man is killing me

[Kyle Blackburn @kyleblackburn27]

@Jomboy_ Love the wrestling content from Jomboy

[Kyle Blackburn @kyleblackburn27]

@TJordanII The red on red uniform match up for the state championship has to be the worst part of this video.

[Kyle Blackburn @kyleblackburn27]

@SoonerStateBSBL @enid_hsbaseball

[Kyle Blackburn @kyleblackburn27]

@YellowTuxJesse @gregolsen88 get this guy on @YouthInc! Let’s hear his plan and ideas!