From what I gather, kids in other countries are essentially selected early on to train with these elites teams. It sounds like they are literally placed at a school where the primary emphasis is soccer training. So even if we want to establish better youth leagues, or reinvent the MLS, or whatever, do you think there is enough commitment to start selecting and training these elite kids at such a young age?
Soccer has always confounded me. Every little kid in the world plays soccer. My kids play and I would venture to guess there are between 200-300 kids that pass through this little soccer complex in my hometown on a Sunday. This same thing is happening in every community across the United States. Yet somehow, we can't produce a dozen players capable of beating Trinidad. We've produced one player that can be defined as world class.
I really think that soccer in the US is at a crossroads. Parents are being more deliberate in the sports they put their kids in. Football is declining in popularity. Elite soccer players make more money than those in other sports, and usually can sustain fairly long careers. There just is an apparent disconnect in our ability to bridge the gap between good very young players and good 19 year old + players.
