re: Should the USA make an all out effort to be great at soccer?

quote:

---

As far as an "all out effort" think about Lebron, Adrian Peterson, Calvin Johnson, etc

---

the kind of athletes you named wouldn't help a bit. It take a totally different type of athlete for soccer. We have the type of athletes needed for soccer in this country right now, they just aren't getting the proper training and backing. Football and basketball athletes does not necessarily equate to soccer athletes. Soccer is a more finesse sport that takes a more cerebral athlete along with many other traits that aren't found among very many NFL or NBA players. Different sports take different types of athletes.

With title IV the chances are small. Most colleges eliminate men's soccer for title IV. What makes our other sports better is there is a system for after high school to keep competing at a high level. Soccer offers very few men's college team where there is tv coverage and a place to be seen. If kids had the chance to go to a major school where tv coverage would be picked up, I am sure you would see a larger effort for male athletes to pursue soccer.

quote:

---

As far as an "all out effort" think about Lebron, Adrian Peterson, Calvin Johnson, etc growing up playing soccer and going to year round soccer academies.

---

the only thing i would say that if guys like lebron, peterson and megaton played soccer, they wouldn't be the same athlete. soccer players run around for 90 minutes and if those guys played soccer, they wouldn't have the same muscle mass that they do now( or if they did they couldn't play soccer). without the same mass, you wouldn't view them as quite the freakish athlete that they are now. although in general it is hard to argue that our very best athletes are not playing soccer, and having a team of reggie bush's and russel westbrooks would have to be better than what we have now, and make up for some of the difference in technical skill that the euro and south american players have over ours.