Good Youth soccer in the US is paying a licensed coached about 1,000 per year plus game and travel expenses. Also, good soccer is nonexistant in rural America still. So, while we may have a large population. The type Soccer training an athlete needs to be a world class player isn't available to 1/2 of the population.
In MS for example, outside Jackson and the coast (Desoto county players go to Memphis....so no clubs in DC) good soccer is difficult to find. I am talking about the type soccer clubs that can take a Dempsey and train him into a player. Tupelo, Oxford and Starkville have
decent teams. But the other small towns that do have soccer......it is very bad. Bad coaching, players are not taught ball skills.....imagine a baseball league where the players can't catch or throw accurately or hit. You could have the best athlete in the country in Potts Camp but he/she will never play soccer without traveling to Memphis and coming up with $1,000 plus expenses. Anyway......that is the deal in the US. Big cities, you have good programs but they are available to the select few that can afford it.
From what I understand, in Europe, you have professional teams that have youth academies. I don't know how much they charge kids, if anything, but I know for sure.......here in the US........you got to pay a lot to play. Hell, even our Olympic Development Program is ridiculous expensive for a player to tryout and attend training.
Good article written 4 years ago and could have been republished today.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/06/ma...anted=all&_r=0
Good Youth soccer in the US is paying a licensed coached about 1,000 per year plus game and travel expenses. Also, good soccer is nonexistant in rural America still. So, while we may have a large population. The type Soccer training an athlete needs to be a world class player isn't available to 1/2 of the population.