I agree with this and disagree. You're right that basetballs is played more on the streets (just kids outplaying) because there are rims all over - city courts and sububan driveways, and you're also right that Football is king. Most American kids first organised sport is soccer, and then as soon as they are old enough to play football or baseball off they go. Often because the parents prefer that sport.
BUT....the US soccer infrastructure is immense and I would estimate that there are more kids playing club soccer in Dallas than in Newcastle. The amount of teams, coaches, leagues that are set up in TX is huge. My suburban town on the edge of DFW has 38,000 residents and our local youth soccer association has approx 2,500 kids playing year round. Similar in the surrounding towns/suburbs too. And High School Soccer is very good in TX - with very few kids walking onto the team that do not play Club soccer (and that costs players $2K-5K per year depending on clubs chosen).
The difference between soccer in america and basketball or even football, is that it's only ever really played as an organised sport. You don't see kids having a kickabout in the street or the park, only official team "practices" or team games. So the players learn formation and tactics but less so the personal skills developed by playing 1-on-1 with your mates.
I see a very different style of play between the High School varsity teams that are Hispanic/Mexican vs the White/Suburban. Hispanic players are very "me"-centric, always wanting to take on a player, when a pass to a team mate is a better option. They see, culture and value the individual skill. The white/suburban player is all about teamwork and spreading the ball around, not as much close in skill. They value, team work and athletic ability. And the two team styles don't mix well. :-) But, the one thing that neither team does is the kick/run or Long Ball approach which is good to see.
I predict that in 10-20 years, the USA will be a permanent fixture in the Quarter/Semi Finals as they will be churning out more quality players that end up in Europe playing for our top clubs.
We were told that 15 years ago and really all that's come through since is a couple of average premiership players.
Love the meaningless predictions. Same with the Pele one that an African team would win the WC by the end of the last century.
