Local kid in Holland Youth Academy - parent's perspective

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is why we don't have US soccer stars. The kids in the pay-to-play system don't NEED soccer for a better future. They have parents that can afford a nice lifestyle and sent them to a great college. They have kids that it makes more sense to go into a STEM or IT field or a great MBA program. There are kids all over the World where Futbol is their ticket and only way out of certain circumstances or social classes. That's a hunger that 99.9999% of kids in the pay-to-play system do not have.

??? There is so much wrong in the generalizations made above, including:

-- only kids of affluent parents can afford to play travel soccer -- this is a gross generalization and ignores the huge number of kids in the US from "non-affluent" families who play soccer, including for elite travel teams. Don't get me wrong, the pay-to-play system has more than its fair share of problems, but your statement is absurd on its face;

-- only kids who don't NEED soccer for a better future have the hunger to become stars -- this gross generalization also ignores the countless stars whose parents were well off. Off hand, I am near certain that Andrea Pirlo (arguably one of the best defensive midfielders ever), Frank Lampard (England and Chelsea legend), Robin Van Persie (Netherlands and Arsenal legend), Gerard Pique (centerback for Spain and Barcelona) and Hugo Lloris (goalkeeper for France and Tottenham) all came from "affluent" families;

-- soccer (or other sports) is the "only way out" of poverty for kids from non-affluent families -- give me a break. I will grant you that it is incredibly (and increasingly more) difficult for kids to rise above their parents' socioeconomic "status," but it is ignorant to think that becoming a professional athlete is the "only way out."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why we don't have US soccer stars. The kids in the pay-to-play system don't NEED soccer for a better future. They have parents that can afford a nice lifestyle and sent them to a great college. They have kids that it makes more sense to go into a STEM or IT field or a great MBA program. There are kids all over the World where Futbol is their ticket and only way out of certain circumstances or social classes. That's a hunger that 99.9999% of kids in the pay-to-play system do not have.

??? There is so much wrong in the generalizations made above, including:

-- only kids of affluent parents can afford to play travel soccer -- this is a gross generalization and ignores the huge number of kids in the US from "non-affluent" families who play soccer, including for elite travel teams. Don't get me wrong, the pay-to-play system has more than its fair share of problems, but your statement is absurd on its face;

-- only kids who don't NEED soccer for a better future have the hunger to become stars -- this gross generalization also ignores the countless stars whose parents were well off. Off hand, I am near certain that Andrea Pirlo (arguably one of the best defensive midfielders ever), Frank Lampard (England and Chelsea legend), Robin Van Persie (Netherlands and Arsenal legend), Gerard Pique (centerback for Spain and Barcelona) and Hugo Lloris (goalkeeper for France and Tottenham) all came from "affluent" families;

-- soccer (or other sports) is the "only way out" of poverty for kids from non-affluent families -- give me a break. I will grant you that it is incredibly (and increasingly more) difficult for kids to rise above their parents' socioeconomic "status," but it is ignorant to think that becoming a professional athlete is the "only way out."

But what about Jordan and Kobe? Doesn't that prove that you can only really develop that true hunger and drive to succeed if you grow up in the hood? Suburban culture could never produce that.

And didn't Klinsman say the same thing comparing the German national team to the US, that all their players grew up poor while ours were all rich kids?

[Anonymous]

There's also an issue of low demand / low supply from an economics perspective. When we are close to having 7,000 MEN'S teams, let me know. By that time, there will surely be more opportunities to go pro here and have opportunities.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/beneath-the-premier-league-stands-the-great-football-pyramid-of-england/

[Anonymous]

"But the EPL is just the tip of the English football iceberg. It’s the most visible element of an intricate hierarchy of some 7,000 football teams"

[Anonymous]

This is all we've got:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_soccer_league_system

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why we don't have US soccer stars. The kids in the pay-to-play system don't NEED soccer for a better future. They have parents that can afford a nice lifestyle and sent them to a great college. They have kids that it makes more sense to go into a STEM or IT field or a great MBA program. There are kids all over the World where Futbol is their ticket and only way out of certain circumstances or social classes. That's a hunger that 99.9999% of kids in the pay-to-play system do not have.

??? There is so much wrong in the generalizations made above, including:

-- only kids of affluent parents can afford to play travel soccer -- this is a gross generalization and ignores the huge number of kids in the US from "non-affluent" families who play soccer, including for elite travel teams. Don't get me wrong, the pay-to-play system has more than its fair share of problems, but your statement is absurd on its face;

-- only kids who don't NEED soccer for a better future have the hunger to become stars -- this gross generalization also ignores the countless stars whose parents were well off. Off hand, I am near certain that Andrea Pirlo (arguably one of the best defensive midfielders ever), Frank Lampard (England and Chelsea legend), Robin Van Persie (Netherlands and Arsenal legend), Gerard Pique (centerback for Spain and Barcelona) and Hugo Lloris (goalkeeper for France and Tottenham) all came from "affluent" families;

-- soccer (or other sports) is the "only way out" of poverty for kids from non-affluent families -- give me a break. I will grant you that it is incredibly (and increasingly more) difficult for kids to rise above their parents' socioeconomic "status," but it is ignorant to think that becoming a professional athlete is the "only way out."

But what about Jordan and Kobe? Doesn't that prove that you can only really develop that true hunger and drive to succeed if you grow up in the hood? Suburban culture could never produce that.

And didn't Klinsman say the same thing comparing the German national team to the US, that all their players grew up poor while ours were all rich kids?

I don't disagree with your general points that affluent suburbs produce the majority of our soccer players as a result of pay-to-play system, but you picked a really bad examples of a hood bread hunger to win with Kobe and Jordan. Both are ultimate competitors, but none of them grew up in the "hood." Kobe's father is a former NBA player (i.e. a millionaire or at least well off), Kobe speaks speaks fluent Italian because he spent part of his childhood in Italy, he was even named after a very expensive type of beef from Japan. These are not hallmarks of a kid from the hood. Jordan's mom was working in banking and his dad was equipment supervisor, which sounds to me like a middle class family.

[Anonymous]

Allen Iverson is a better example

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why we don't have US soccer stars. The kids in the pay-to-play system don't NEED soccer for a better future. They have parents that can afford a nice lifestyle and sent them to a great college. They have kids that it makes more sense to go into a STEM or IT field or a great MBA program. There are kids all over the World where Futbol is their ticket and only way out of certain circumstances or social classes. That's a hunger that 99.9999% of kids in the pay-to-play system do not have.

??? There is so much wrong in the generalizations made above, including:

-- only kids of affluent parents can afford to play travel soccer -- this is a gross generalization and ignores the huge number of kids in the US from "non-affluent" families who play soccer, including for elite travel teams. Don't get me wrong, the pay-to-play system has more than its fair share of problems, but your statement is absurd on its face;

-- only kids who don't NEED soccer for a better future have the hunger to become stars -- this gross generalization also ignores the countless stars whose parents were well off. Off hand, I am near certain that Andrea Pirlo (arguably one of the best defensive midfielders ever), Frank Lampard (England and Chelsea legend), Robin Van Persie (Netherlands and Arsenal legend), Gerard Pique (centerback for Spain and Barcelona) and Hugo Lloris (goalkeeper for France and Tottenham) all came from "affluent" families;

-- soccer (or other sports) is the "only way out" of poverty for kids from non-affluent families -- give me a break. I will grant you that it is incredibly (and increasingly more) difficult for kids to rise above their parents' socioeconomic "status," but it is ignorant to think that becoming a professional athlete is the "only way out."

But what about Jordan and Kobe? Doesn't that prove that you can only really develop that true hunger and drive to succeed if you grow up in the hood? Suburban culture could never produce that.

And didn't Klinsman say the same thing comparing the German national team to the US, that all their players grew up poor while ours were all rich kids?

Ha. Exactly. Jordan and Kobe certainly don't fit the stereotype of poor kids from broken homes who turned to sports as their only way out of poverty.

The NY Times actually published a story (written by a Harvard PHD) that debunked the stereotype that poor kids are more likely to become professional athletes because they are more driven by an intense desire to escape poverty. The takeaway from the article:

"Growing up in a wealthier neighborhood is a major, positive predictor of reaching the N.B.A. for both black and white men. Is this driven by sons of N.B.A. players like the Warriors’ brilliant Stephen Curry? Nope. Take them out and the result is similar."

Read it for yourself:
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/03/opinion/sunday/in-the-nba-zip-code-matters.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=2&

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dundee Utd is in the Scottish Championship, their second division. It's a very weak league.

Not weaker than the DCU reserve team and more likely to be scouted by British teams. LOL wake up, where you people??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why we don't have US soccer stars. The kids in the pay-to-play system don't NEED soccer for a better future. They have parents that can afford a nice lifestyle and sent them to a great college. They have kids that it makes more sense to go into a STEM or IT field or a great MBA program. There are kids all over the World where Futbol is their ticket and only way out of certain circumstances or social classes. That's a hunger that 99.9999% of kids in the pay-to-play system do not have.

??? There is so much wrong in the generalizations made above, including:

-- only kids of affluent parents can afford to play travel soccer -- this is a gross generalization and ignores the huge number of kids in the US from "non-affluent" families who play soccer, including for elite travel teams. Don't get me wrong, the pay-to-play system has more than its fair share of problems, but your statement is absurd on its face;

-- only kids who don't NEED soccer for a better future have the hunger to become stars -- this gross generalization also ignores the countless stars whose parents were well off. Off hand, I am near certain that Andrea Pirlo (arguably one of the best defensive midfielders ever), Frank Lampard (England and Chelsea legend), Robin Van Persie (Netherlands and Arsenal legend), Gerard Pique (centerback for Spain and Barcelona) and Hugo Lloris (goalkeeper for France and Tottenham) all came from "affluent" families;

-- soccer (or other sports) is the "only way out" of poverty for kids from non-affluent families -- give me a break. I will grant you that it is incredibly (and increasingly more) difficult for kids to rise above their parents' socioeconomic "status," but it is ignorant to think that becoming a professional athlete is the "only way out."

But what about Jordan and Kobe? Doesn't that prove that you can only really develop that true hunger and drive to succeed if you grow up in the hood? Suburban culture could never produce that.

And didn't Klinsman say the same thing comparing the German national team to the US, that all their players grew up poor while ours were all rich kids?

I don't disagree with your general points that affluent suburbs produce the majority of our soccer players as a result of pay-to-play system, but you picked a really bad examples of a hood bread hunger to win with Kobe and Jordan. Both are ultimate competitors, but none of them grew up in the "hood." Kobe's father is a former NBA player (i.e. a millionaire or at least well off), Kobe speaks speaks fluent Italian because he spent part of his childhood in Italy, he was even named after a very expensive type of beef from Japan. These are not hallmarks of a kid from the hood. Jordan's mom was working in banking and his dad was equipment supervisor, which sounds to me like a middle class family.

I am not the prior poster that you were responding to, but I think s/he was being sarcastic in pointing to Kobe and Jordan, who, as you correctly point out, came from stable families that were either middle class (Jordan) or affluent (Bryant).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why we don't have US soccer stars. The kids in the pay-to-play system don't NEED soccer for a better future. They have parents that can afford a nice lifestyle and sent them to a great college. They have kids that it makes more sense to go into a STEM or IT field or a great MBA program. There are kids all over the World where Futbol is their ticket and only way out of certain circumstances or social classes. That's a hunger that 99.9999% of kids in the pay-to-play system do not have.

??? There is so much wrong in the generalizations made above, including:

-- only kids of affluent parents can afford to play travel soccer -- this is a gross generalization and ignores the huge number of kids in the US from "non-affluent" families who play soccer, including for elite travel teams. Don't get me wrong, the pay-to-play system has more than its fair share of problems, but your statement is absurd on its face;

-- only kids who don't NEED soccer for a better future have the hunger to become stars -- this gross generalization also ignores the countless stars whose parents were well off. Off hand, I am near certain that Andrea Pirlo (arguably one of the best defensive midfielders ever), Frank Lampard (England and Chelsea legend), Robin Van Persie (Netherlands and Arsenal legend), Gerard Pique (centerback for Spain and Barcelona) and Hugo Lloris (goalkeeper for France and Tottenham) all came from "affluent" families;

-- soccer (or other sports) is the "only way out" of poverty for kids from non-affluent families -- give me a break. I will grant you that it is incredibly (and increasingly more) difficult for kids to rise above their parents' socioeconomic "status," but it is ignorant to think that becoming a professional athlete is the "only way out."

But what about Jordan and Kobe? Doesn't that prove that you can only really develop that true hunger and drive to succeed if you grow up in the hood? Suburban culture could never produce that.

And didn't Klinsman say the same thing comparing the German national team to the US, that all their players grew up poor while ours were all rich kids?

I don't disagree with your general points that affluent suburbs produce the majority of our soccer players as a result of pay-to-play system, but you picked a really bad examples of a hood bread hunger to win with Kobe and Jordan. Both are ultimate competitors, but none of them grew up in the "hood." Kobe's father is a former NBA player (i.e. a millionaire or at least well off), Kobe speaks speaks fluent Italian because he spent part of his childhood in Italy, he was even named after a very expensive type of beef from Japan. These are not hallmarks of a kid from the hood. Jordan's mom was working in banking and his dad was equipment supervisor, which sounds to me like a middle class family.

I’m the original pp of that comment. Somebody else jumped in with the basketball comparisons. I know absolutely nothing about basketball.

There are thousand of players playing soccer outside of pay-to-play that are hungry. I never discounted that. But, our system does next to nothing to find them. The few scouts we have go to showcase events with pay-to-play teams and most of the DA teams filter through Clubs or word of mouth from travel clubs/coaches. Very few travel clubs provide financial support, but for a very, very small amount of the kids in that pool of players that can’t afford the system or get the rides to practices. Yes, you have one in a million kids like Pulisuc that have an insatiable drive, but the parents here that think their kids are working so hard—I can guarantee you they aren’t putting in the amount of individual hard work that somebody of that caliber is/was.

Our basketball, football systems do it differently. Much more open.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why we don't have US soccer stars. The kids in the pay-to-play system don't NEED soccer for a better future. They have parents that can afford a nice lifestyle and sent them to a great college. They have kids that it makes more sense to go into a STEM or IT field or a great MBA program. There are kids all over the World where Futbol is their ticket and only way out of certain circumstances or social classes. That's a hunger that 99.9999% of kids in the pay-to-play system do not have.

??? There is so much wrong in the generalizations made above, including:

-- only kids of affluent parents can afford to play travel soccer -- this is a gross generalization and ignores the huge number of kids in the US from "non-affluent" families who play soccer, including for elite travel teams. Don't get me wrong, the pay-to-play system has more than its fair share of problems, but your statement is absurd on its face;

-- only kids who don't NEED soccer for a better future have the hunger to become stars -- this gross generalization also ignores the countless stars whose parents were well off. Off hand, I am near certain that Andrea Pirlo (arguably one of the best defensive midfielders ever), Frank Lampard (England and Chelsea legend), Robin Van Persie (Netherlands and Arsenal legend), Gerard Pique (centerback for Spain and Barcelona) and Hugo Lloris (goalkeeper for France and Tottenham) all came from "affluent" families;

-- soccer (or other sports) is the "only way out" of poverty for kids from non-affluent families -- give me a break. I will grant you that it is incredibly (and increasingly more) difficult for kids to rise above their parents' socioeconomic "status," but it is ignorant to think that becoming a professional athlete is the "only way out."

But what about Jordan and Kobe? Doesn't that prove that you can only really develop that true hunger and drive to succeed if you grow up in the hood? Suburban culture could never produce that.

And didn't Klinsman say the same thing comparing the German national team to the US, that all their players grew up poor while ours were all rich kids?

I don't disagree with your general points that affluent suburbs produce the majority of our soccer players as a result of pay-to-play system, but you picked a really bad examples of a hood bread hunger to win with Kobe and Jordan. Both are ultimate competitors, but none of them grew up in the "hood." Kobe's father is a former NBA player (i.e. a millionaire or at least well off), Kobe speaks speaks fluent Italian because he spent part of his childhood in Italy, he was even named after a very expensive type of beef from Japan. These are not hallmarks of a kid from the hood. Jordan's mom was working in banking and his dad was equipment supervisor, which sounds to me like a middle class family.

I’m the original pp of that comment. Somebody else jumped in with the basketball comparisons. I know absolutely nothing about basketball.

There are thousand of players playing soccer outside of pay-to-play that are hungry. I never discounted that. But, our system does next to nothing to find them. The few scouts we have go to showcase events with pay-to-play teams and most of the DA teams filter through Clubs or word of mouth from travel clubs/coaches. Very few travel clubs provide financial support, but for a very, very small amount of the kids in that pool of players that can’t afford the system or get the rides to practices. Yes, you have one in a million kids like Pulisuc that have an insatiable drive, but the parents here that think their kids are working so hard—I can guarantee you they aren’t putting in the amount of individual hard work that somebody of that caliber is/was.

Our basketball, football systems do it differently. Much more open.

Read the NY Times piece. I appreciate it just looked at basketball, but my guess would be that the results would be the same if you looked at the backgrounds of soccer, NFL, MLB and other professional athletes.

[Anonymous]

Sort of back on topic, I am curious what people think about the real difference between being in Europe and the US at that age. Most seem to automatically think it's better but I wonder. Others say the real difference doesn't happen until after 16, when European kids start to focus on their professional career, and US kids get distracted by high school and college.

This seems like a good example to make a comparison because he was at a pro 1st division academy here, and now he's at a pro 1st division academy in Holland.

Here's the 04 team from DC United a few months ago:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO6WVOD2dIk

And here are some highlights of Yohanes playing for AZ Alkmaar's 04s this fall:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk7MA7vevfY&t=183s

Totally different level?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why we don't have US soccer stars. The kids in the pay-to-play system don't NEED soccer for a better future. They have parents that can afford a nice lifestyle and sent them to a great college. They have kids that it makes more sense to go into a STEM or IT field or a great MBA program. There are kids all over the World where Futbol is their ticket and only way out of certain circumstances or social classes. That's a hunger that 99.9999% of kids in the pay-to-play system do not have.

??? There is so much wrong in the generalizations made above, including:

-- only kids of affluent parents can afford to play travel soccer -- this is a gross generalization and ignores the huge number of kids in the US from "non-affluent" families who play soccer, including for elite travel teams. Don't get me wrong, the pay-to-play system has more than its fair share of problems, but your statement is absurd on its face;

-- only kids who don't NEED soccer for a better future have the hunger to become stars -- this gross generalization also ignores the countless stars whose parents were well off. Off hand, I am near certain that Andrea Pirlo (arguably one of the best defensive midfielders ever), Frank Lampard (England and Chelsea legend), Robin Van Persie (Netherlands and Arsenal legend), Gerard Pique (centerback for Spain and Barcelona) and Hugo Lloris (goalkeeper for France and Tottenham) all came from "affluent" families;

-- soccer (or other sports) is the "only way out" of poverty for kids from non-affluent families -- give me a break. I will grant you that it is incredibly (and increasingly more) difficult for kids to rise above their parents' socioeconomic "status," but it is ignorant to think that becoming a professional athlete is the "only way out."

But what about Jordan and Kobe? Doesn't that prove that you can only really develop that true hunger and drive to succeed if you grow up in the hood? Suburban culture could never produce that.

And didn't Klinsman say the same thing comparing the German national team to the US, that all their players grew up poor while ours were all rich kids?

I don't disagree with your general points that affluent suburbs produce the majority of our soccer players as a result of pay-to-play system, but you picked a really bad examples of a hood bread hunger to win with Kobe and Jordan. Both are ultimate competitors, but none of them grew up in the "hood." Kobe's father is a former NBA player (i.e. a millionaire or at least well off), Kobe speaks speaks fluent Italian because he spent part of his childhood in Italy, he was even named after a very expensive type of beef from Japan. These are not hallmarks of a kid from the hood. Jordan's mom was working in banking and his dad was equipment supervisor, which sounds to me like a middle class family.

I’m the original pp of that comment. Somebody else jumped in with the basketball comparisons. I know absolutely nothing about basketball.

There are thousand of players playing soccer outside of pay-to-play that are hungry. I never discounted that. But, our system does next to nothing to find them. The few scouts we have go to showcase events with pay-to-play teams and most of the DA teams filter through Clubs or word of mouth from travel clubs/coaches. Very few travel clubs provide financial support, but for a very, very small amount of the kids in that pool of players that can’t afford the system or get the rides to practices. Yes, you have one in a million kids like Pulisuc that have an insatiable drive, but the parents here that think their kids are working so hard—I can guarantee you they aren’t putting in the amount of individual hard work that somebody of that caliber is/was.

Our basketball, football systems do it differently. Much more open.

Read the NY Times piece. I appreciate it just looked at basketball, but my guess would be that the results would be the same if you looked at the backgrounds of soccer, NFL, MLB and other professional athletes.

Basketball and football get scouted in HS. That is rarely the case for soccer anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is why we don't have US soccer stars. The kids in the pay-to-play system don't NEED soccer for a better future. They have parents that can afford a nice lifestyle and sent them to a great college. They have kids that it makes more sense to go into a STEM or IT field or a great MBA program. There are kids all over the World where Futbol is their ticket and only way out of certain circumstances or social classes. That's a hunger that 99.9999% of kids in the pay-to-play system do not have.

??? There is so much wrong in the generalizations made above, including:

-- only kids of affluent parents can afford to play travel soccer -- this is a gross generalization and ignores the huge number of kids in the US from "non-affluent" families who play soccer, including for elite travel teams. Don't get me wrong, the pay-to-play system has more than its fair share of problems, but your statement is absurd on its face;

-- only kids who don't NEED soccer for a better future have the hunger to become stars -- this gross generalization also ignores the countless stars whose parents were well off. Off hand, I am near certain that Andrea Pirlo (arguably one of the best defensive midfielders ever), Frank Lampard (England and Chelsea legend), Robin Van Persie (Netherlands and Arsenal legend), Gerard Pique (centerback for Spain and Barcelona) and Hugo Lloris (goalkeeper for France and Tottenham) all came from "affluent" families;

-- soccer (or other sports) is the "only way out" of poverty for kids from non-affluent families -- give me a break. I will grant you that it is incredibly (and increasingly more) difficult for kids to rise above their parents' socioeconomic "status," but it is ignorant to think that becoming a professional athlete is the "only way out."

But what about Jordan and Kobe? Doesn't that prove that you can only really develop that true hunger and drive to succeed if you grow up in the hood? Suburban culture could never produce that.

And didn't Klinsman say the same thing comparing the German national team to the US, that all their players grew up poor while ours were all rich kids?

I don't disagree with your general points that affluent suburbs produce the majority of our soccer players as a result of pay-to-play system, but you picked a really bad examples of a hood bread hunger to win with Kobe and Jordan. Both are ultimate competitors, but none of them grew up in the "hood." Kobe's father is a former NBA player (i.e. a millionaire or at least well off), Kobe speaks speaks fluent Italian because he spent part of his childhood in Italy, he was even named after a very expensive type of beef from Japan. These are not hallmarks of a kid from the hood. Jordan's mom was working in banking and his dad was equipment supervisor, which sounds to me like a middle class family.

I’m the original pp of that comment. Somebody else jumped in with the basketball comparisons. I know absolutely nothing about basketball.

There are thousand of players playing soccer outside of pay-to-play that are hungry. I never discounted that. But, our system does next to nothing to find them. The few scouts we have go to showcase events with pay-to-play teams and most of the DA teams filter through Clubs or word of mouth from travel clubs/coaches. Very few travel clubs provide financial support, but for a very, very small amount of the kids in that pool of players that can’t afford the system or get the rides to practices. Yes, you have one in a million kids like Pulisuc that have an insatiable drive, but the parents here that think their kids are working so hard—I can guarantee you they aren’t putting in the amount of individual hard work that somebody of that caliber is/was.

Our basketball, football systems do it differently. Much more open.

Read the NY Times piece. I appreciate it just looked at basketball, but my guess would be that the results would be the same if you looked at the backgrounds of soccer, NFL, MLB and other professional athletes.

Basketball and football get scouted in HS. That is rarely the case for soccer anymore.

I should say for full rides in colleges, that some may forgo part of the way for BIG $$$ and a pro contract. You can land a huge pro contract out of college in those sports. If you haven't gone to Europe and passed on college you can say goodbye to a soccer career outside of MLS which you aren't going to retire on.