Listening to the XM Radio pre-World Cup broadcast yesterday, the moderators made the point that the US will continue to lag the world so long as soccer remains a middle class, ‘pay to play’ sport, and many of our best natural athletes migrate to other sports. I think that the point is valid. Baseball, football and basketball all have tremendous opportunities for elite player development at minimal cost to the athlete. This is not the case for soccer. My guess is that the average ‘elite’ player in SC spends $2000 to $3000 or more per year in fees, camps, travel etc. This starts at U10.
My question is, how do we (as a State, as coaches or simply as people who love the game) develop players who can’t afford to get a ride to practice let alone come up with $750 for ODP camp. Do clubs play a role?