Recently, I took to Instagram to talk about US Soccer’s decision to the end the Development Academy (DA) for both boys and girls. For some, this news came out of nowhere, while, for others—the coaches and professionals in the game, they understood the end was a long time coming.

And while the coronavirus certainly accelerated the demise of the once-lauded academy, it was only one of many underlying factors. US Soccer is being sued by the women’s national team; our men’s team didn’t qualify for the World Cup in 2018 and under it all, turmoil in front office of US Soccer.

To add insult to injury: when they broke this hard news to us, they failed to offer a solution or even give us an idea of how we will move forward and continue with player development. With no league, what will the kids, teams, clubs and coaches do?

We knew people would panic—kids, parents and coaches alike. As expected, things got even more complicated when the MLS said they will take up the mantle of youth development.

If that wasn’t head-scratching enough, shortly after MLS’s announcement, in swoops US Youth Soccer, with their own news: they too are creating a league. Then the ECNL jumps in and says, “hey why don’t you just come to our premier league?” Confused yet? I am and I am a bit dialed in on the game of soccer.

Now, to me, this is a great opportunity and also probably the best thing for US Soccer to do. Federations don’t need to be in charge of player development. And they certainly don’t need to tell clubs, teams and coaches how to do it. They just need to identify players and manage the Men’s and Women’s national teams.

But their departure from the development standpoint poses more questions than answers. When do these new leagues start? Who’s in and who’s out of old ones? How much will it cost? How will it be organized? How will my son or daughter get better? The questions can go on and on.

To help everyone, even myself, get past the confusion and frustration, I thought it would be the proper time to offer some advice, wisdom and maybe even a little comfort.

So here goes. The first thing we all need to do is to breathe. Yep, take a deep breath—literally and figuratively. On the former, breathing is very therapeutic and helps relieve stress and anxiety. Even doing a two-minute breathing exercise can do you a lot of good. On the latter, remember, soccer is going to be just fine. The game has a unique way of sorting itself out and, as my old college coach used to say, “if you keep stirring the cup the cream always rises to the top.”

The second thing we need is send the message that player development is up to each and every individual player. The responsibility to get better and become the best you can be is up to each player—not USSF, MLS, ECNL and not any new league. Skill development should be a very personal thing and it should be reinforced by parents, coaches and clubs.

To become good at anything you have to go out and put in the time. Period. And even though we are going through a tough time, I am seeing something all around the country that I hope will stay in our soccer culture. I see kids playing soccer on their own, in their house, in the backyard, in the garage—with their family, brothers, sisters and even pets. They’re being resourceful and creating fun, unique challenges that test their skills. This is the heart of where development is. This is where fun, passion and skill not only develop but meet.

So sure, we can look at the news of US Soccer ending the DA as a negative, or we can see it as a special moment. We can start to see that they didn’t take the ball off your feet. That this is the time they gave the game and responsibility back to you, so that you can continue to do what you’ve been doing through this quarantine: Playing the game. Learning the game. Enjoying the game. Living the game.

The responsibility to become the best you can be is all on you. Now get out there and play. Remember the ball is at YOUR feet.