I believe youth soccer has little to do with the big picture of challenges to the USMNT. As a still active fan of the sport, even after injury ended my son's youth player career, I have opined that the US has an encouraging number of young hopefuls ramping up for the national team, many of whom are playing in Europe after college play ends.
European teams in serious contention for season ending championship tournaments are reluctant to release players to injury risk, for the Olympics, an event considered to be insignificant in comparison to the prestigious league play which generates the needed earnings to perpetuate the livelihood of their teams and leagues. Consequently, the Olympic squads are often 2nd and 3rd string players.
Moreover, national squads need their elite players to be healthy and strong to compete in World Cup qualifiers, the ultimate tournament.
As for youth soccer, in Europe, all the top leagues, which include the likes of Liverpool, Barcelona, AC Milan and lots more have sophisticated, well-financed, historic youth development programs, enabling talented young players from all over the world to train at the very top of the sport.
What do we have in the US? The best that we have is the MLS, which has some youth development, but it's not enough to generate the number of hopefuls to lift the the success of the USMNT any higher than it already is. As it is, almost every player on our national team has played or is playing in Europe to gain the experience of a faster, higher level of play.
And you are right, Club Football/Soccer is outrageously expensive. In addition, soccer in the US is an organized sport played on a planned schedule at designated times and venues, limiting player exposure. In the rest of the world, kids are moving the ball as soon as they can walk. For them, soccer is life.
= new reply since forum marked as read