[FarmBoy]

It's been debated ad nauseum, but the US soccer developmental system is based on soccer, as other sports, not being a future job for the kids.  The academies of most European clubs would kill their age-group counterparts in the U.S., because at age 12 or 13, those kids play soccer and train 4-6 hours a day, and go to school for 4-6.  That leads to a level of expertise that the American system just can't match.

What mainstream sports in the US have this level of development investment at that same age? The only one I can think of is gymnastics. Maybe tennis? And those are still relatively niche sports. If you look at baseball, basketball, and football, I'm not aware of development programs for kids that do year round training like that. Maybe I'm on the outs. What about hockey?

It seems that the investment in soccer player development is way ahead of what we do in the US for our pro sports.

[FarmBoy]

It's been debated ad nauseum, but the US soccer developmental system is based on soccer, as other sports, not being a future job for the kids.  The academies of most European clubs would kill their age-group counterparts in the U.S., because at age 12 or 13, those kids play soccer and train 4-6 hours a day, and go to school for 4-6.  That leads to a level of expertise that the American system just can't match.

What mainstream sports in the US have this level of development investment at that same age? The only one I can think of is gymnastics. Maybe tennis? And those are still relatively niche sports. If you look at baseball, basketball, and football, I'm not aware of development programs for kids that do year round training like that. Maybe I'm on the outs. What about hockey?

It seems that the investment in soccer player development is way ahead of what we do in the US for our pro sports.