The gist of this thread presumes the purpose of playing a high school sport is to develop the competitive athlete -- but it's not; playing high school sports should be a continuation of the classroom so that such lifetime values as citizenship, sportsmanship, teamwork, and hard work are taught and reinforced.
In other parts of the world, HS sports are predominantly intramural, if offered at all, with competitive play being offered almost exclusively through clubs.
The paradigm in the US blends the club concept with interscholastic play in HS. To some extent that puts the US at a competitive disadvantage in global competition in soccer unless/until the academy concept evolves (i.e. creating regional/national magnet schools that have a soccer focus -- much like those that exist for american football and basketball); but still, your local HS will continue its mission.
And FYI -- most of the larger, more competitive club soccer programs have financial assistance available.
