Quote:
Originally Posted by jay santos
You got me on the point that there are a handful of 5'6 to 5'9 guys that have world class professional athletic talent that got shut out of American pro sports that maybe could have made it in soccer. True.
My main point which I'm quite passionate about is that U.S. will never field truly great soccer teams until your stud athletes in highs schools across the nation are playing soccer as a primary sport. IMHO, the scrubs that can't make it in football, basketball, and baseball are the guys pursuing soccer to higher levels.
I have a ton of data points but case in point, my bro played football, basketball, and soccer as a kid. He quit basketball in junior high not being able to make the team (reason = lack of quickness and athleticism compared to kids at his position). He quit football after 9th grade season due to being deep in the depth chart at his position (reason = lack of speed for his size or lack of size for his speed whichever). He went on to become an all-state soccer player. How good would have the football QB or basketball point guard have been in soccer relative to my bro if they focused on it?
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To this point, my jr. high soccer team yielded one MLB player, a D-1 hoopster and two D-1 football players. They were some of the best athletes in town. They all dropped soccer once they hit ninth grade to play the big three sports.