Byer argues that his program is exportable to the United States. In some ways, in the U.S. it’d be easier to implement than in Japan: Soccer is already the No. 1 sport among American youth. The problem, according to Byer, is that the USSF and MLS “look at grass-roots football as an obligation, not an opportunity.” Why not put a small technique spot on the Disney Channel or Nick Jr.? Kids would surely pay attention.

Some American kids are lucky, Byer points out, and get a coach who really knows soccer—“but you might get a coach who’s crap.” Parents, who typically coach the youngest American players, don’t realize kids as young as 5 are capable of learning advanced ball skills, and they don’t know how to teach them. “The whole idea [behind my program] was to be consistent and teach that technique work.”