North Yarmouth Academy first-year boys soccer coach Josh Muscadin, who led his team to the state Class C title, is a former U.S. National Team midfielder who played in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

The Haitian-born Muscadin, who moved to France when he was 2 and to New Jersey when he was 12, said soccer in America has progressed a “great deal” but feels “we are still behind because we need to put more soccer on television.”

“Television is a big draw. When kids watch basketball, they’ll go out and practice the moves they saw on television,” explained Muscadin.

But since there isn’t much soccer on TV, American youngsters have very few idols whose moves they can emulate on the field.

Muscadin said coaches need to be taught how to provide players with the “proper tools” to maximize their development.

They also need to make sure the players have fun so they can adapt what they learn.

“We want the kids to love it,” he said.

Times have certainly changed for members of the U.S. team.

When Muscadin played, they were viewed as amateurs and didn’t receive the healthy stipends the current U.S. players receive.

There were also very few Americans playing abroad. There are several playing overseas now with most of them playing in the top two leagues in England (Premiership and Championship). Claudio Reyna (Manchester City) and Brian McBride (Fulham) top the list.

There are a few others playing on the European continent and Muscadin would like to see Americans playing all across the globe.

“It’s really important to have our players learn different styles. Then we can blend them in,” said Muscadin, who played professional soccer in Germany and Brazil after leaving the U.S. team.

He said Major League Soccer is good “but not quite where we’d like it to be.”

He would like to see the teams play in smaller stadiums to create a more passionate atmosphere.

“Having 15,000 fans in a 40,000-seat stadium kills it,” said Muscadin.

The U.S. has qualified for next year’s World Cup in Germany and Muscadin said he “loves” what he sees from the team and credited coach Bruce Arena with doing a “great job.”

“We’ve sent out the message that we can compete [with anybody] and other big [soccer] countries like Brazil, Holland, Argentina, and England know they have to be on their toes when they play us. We’re beginning to understand the game a little bit more and what we need to do to excel at the next level. It’s been great,” he said.

Having more coaches like Muscadin would certainly help the growth of soccer.

“He has been incredible. We learned a ton from him,” said NYA senior Taki Pilitsis.

It’s time for turf

It’s time for the Maine Principals’ Association to make every effort to hold all of the regional and state finals in soccer and field hockey on artificial turf fields.

They already hold the state field hockey games on the FieldTurf at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland.

The grass fields this time of year are chewed up and slippery.

Toss in some wet weather or freezing temperatures and you’ve got kids playing for titles in a quagmire.

It’s not fair to the kids.

Larry Mahoney can be reached at 990-8231, 1-800-310-8600 or by email at lmahoney@bangordailynews.net.