Here is my concern with the whole issue. In the U.S. are we missing out on the Shon Carson's and how do we introduce them to soccer? For those who don't know about him Shon Carson is a incredibly gifted football, baseball - just overall athelete at Lake City High School. If you've ever seen him play in either sport you would soon realize he is without a doubt one of the best athelete's in the state of SC. He is currently receiving interest from numerous SEC schools in both sports. Now drop back and punt (pun intended) - What if Shon had been introduced to soccer at a very young age? To me that is what the U.S. is missing in order to compete even more in future on the World stage and rid ourselves of the "elitist sport" stigma. The million dollar question is how do we get the Shon Carson's of the U.S. involved? How do we get a lower/lower middle class kid from the Lake City's of the U.S. involved? Do people realize how much $3,750 would be to so many of these athelete's families? Don't hand me the scholarship's are available in club soccer - there are many other issue's these families face on a daily basis that go alot deeper than kids playing a high level of club soccer. These families are trying to simply survive (No - not what most of us call just surviving).
I've seen soccer played in this state from rec ball to both South Carolina United Academy teams to CESA 92 Premier. There are some really gifted players in the upper divisions. Most have played since they were 4 or 5 years old.
What could the Shon Carson's of the U.S. have been like had they been exposed to soccer at a young age? I know I'll ruffle some feathers by saying this but I have seen several kids on the upper level teams that in no form or fashion are the natural atheletes of a Shon Carson. What they do have is years of playing experience and in most cases really good coaching along the way. But athletically - they are no Shon Carson.
I realize it "is what it is" - With all that said, I'm not sure I would say soccer is an elitist sport as I suspect the majority of upper level players throughout the country come from middle/ upper middle class families. Simply put, most are not filthy rich. I will say it is much harder for the Shon Carson's of our state to make it happen at one of the upper levels than a upper middle class kid from Columbia, Charleston or Greenville. Unfortunatley, the same issues hold true in education - which in most cases is the key to everything in life.
PS - I do not know Shon Carson, his family, his friends or anybody from Lake City. I also do not know his families situation - they could be very well off for all I know. I simply used him as an example since he is an incredible athelete from a small SC town.
