The equation for United States soccer is simple
skill with a ball + money = getting to the next level. Sometimes skill with a ball can be left out leaving: money = getting to the next level.
Everywhere but the U.S.: skill with a ball = getting to the next level.
Now to get to the professional level in the US a person would have to
Be good + play HS or Club + Get Recruited by a bigtime school + actually play there + make a list of MLS prospects + Either get drafted into the MLS or USL or tryout and hopefully make the squad
A ton of places for interruptions or where a person may fall through the proverbial cracks. Hey, if you achieve this you might get paid 30 grand a year plus endorsements. Thanks I'll stick to my path as a public educator or wal-mart greeter. Unless your really good and then you get paid in the 70 grand range. WOWIE.
In other countries just being good at a young age and working your way through a club program can many times send you on your way to a multi-million dollar contract.
Let's face it, DC United isn't going to check out a local Y game to put 13 yr old Johnny who's dominating the opposition in a soccer-rich environment where he is taken care of, schooled, and looked after like they do in Italy, England, etc. Rather, you have to go the backwards route and pay to play instead of being paid TO play. What happens is that soccer becomes an elitest sport. However, I find it ironic that while the affluent individuals thrive in soccer the US federation and soccer itself have little money or prestige. Compare the wages of the Big3 to MLS players. What you get is those being served being bigger than the service.
Let's also face something else. The best athletes in America aren't playing soccer. They probably won't ever. They're playing the big 3. American's cherish a few fundamental themes that soccer lacks for instance being physically bigger than others (how much can you bench? squat?) as well as being tougher than the opposition (I bet big 3 fans struggle with all the diving and rolling around on the ground for 3 minutes after you got your toe stepped on and I can't blame them. Soccer players in a lot of cases are rightfully labeled as pansies.).
Finally, I think that a lot of blame is to be put on coaches who (in HS especially) fail to do their job for their kids. Perhaps they don't know their job as a soccer coach and how it's different from being a big 3 coach. Because of budgets/scholarship alotments/ncaa regulations it is sometimes impossible for a kid to get looked at by a college coach and unfortunately a lot of talent simply moves on, even if they would have cherished an oppurtunity to just play some more soccer somewhere. Why do you think BC has so many players go on the the next level? Probably because Kevin Heise knows that it requires work and you can't simply just show up and coach like at a good big 3 program. The problem is, that not every coach understands or cares about this process. HS and college coaches have to work together to insure that the kids who are deserving get a chance to fulfill their dreams which ultimately will boost the national level of talent.
Even HS seniors are "kids" who don't know the process of getting to the next level. Parents who never played the game more than likely don't realize how much that process differs from the big 3. Finally, sadly enough coaches, more often than not, aren't aware of this either leaving no one representing the kids.
