re: How the hell can we be good at basically all other sports

Its a lost cause. Lets just train Sergio Aguero in the shot put.

If you want to win at the highest level uhhhhh yes it does. If you think the USA is going to win a World Cup in your lifetime by being our 4th most popular sport more power to you

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So there’s basically no way poor kids can play. Which is basically the majority of the list I just posted up there.

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I would guess that socio-economic group plays a much, much, much larger role than "athleticism" if one were to study the kids that become world class in the better footballing nations.

I agree that first and foremost, the US does not train the players it already has playing from a young age anywhere near the way the top nations do. That has to change first or nothing else matters.

After that, a lot more skinny 5' 7" kids from poor backgrounds going into those training centers would help just as much as, if not more than, super athletes.

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After that, a lot more skinny 5' 7" kids from poor backgrounds going into those training centers would help just as much as, if not more than, super athletes.

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This is intriguing. Grab the undersized kids who ain’t going to cut it in football and basketball and train em up.

Don’t you think it will take a highly visible American athlete making it from the inner city to become an elite global player?

I’m talking Chris Paul Jr. chooses soccer over basketball. And then makes millions upon millions on the world stage. The inner city will take notice.

Course maybe a player can’t grow to that level of soccer having played basketball into their late teens, I dunno.

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Don’t you think it will take a highly visible American athlete making it from the inner city to become an elite global player?

I’m talking Chris Paul Jr. chooses soccer over basketball. And then makes millions upon millions on the world stage. The inner city will take notice.

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Noticing wouldn't be enough. You would need 50 to make it, and have training centers for kids to go to that are nearby and that do not require payment. Again, you guys are looking at this as though you don't need a massive organizational effort. We have enough evidence to say that without the organizational framework, who notices and what they do is irrelevant.

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Course maybe a player can’t grow to that level of soccer having played basketball into their late teens, I dunno.

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The latest you can start is maybe seven. You have to have these skills from a super young age. You can tell who has a chance of going pro by 13 or so.

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Man I’m still new to soccer and trying to understand wtf just happened and how it happened when I routinely see a majority of the world’s most athletic players coming out of America in various sports.

Soccer is apparently a unique beast tho.

The pay to play thing has to end. We are inching towards the right direction, but I fear we have too much English influence and not enough continental influence.

The best we can hope for is that some state or city has a dedicated soccer program, as it would be easier to organize at that level. We've seen many countries produce players from a small population, so we know you do not need a large population. I honestly believe that if a city the size of Corpus Christi or so decided to, they could become the center of soccer in this country by following the Icelandic model. LINK

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We have about seven full-sized indoor football halls, and about 20 to 25 artificial pitches, and about 150 mini-pitches. This means we can play football all year round.

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Some forward thinking billionaire might be able to do it, but I think the USSF and the clubs around the country are too obsessed with making their own money.