LeGrazie:
Of course, a young (or any) player of sport who takes extended time off, away from the sport, will be worse—in the short and long term—than if that player had not taken the time off.
High-skill sports reveal this the most—such as golf and I would include soccer.
If you want to be elite, you must commit early and must remain committed year-round to be elite. The question is, What do you WANT?
Not every child can be or wants to be elite, so some will and should commit early and play soccer year-round; while others can be quite good but play many sports.
Youth need fair and expert adults (not just their parents) giving them advice about this without trying to recruit. This is probably the weakest aspect of youth sport right now—a lack of honest athletic advice that isn't recruiting oriented.
