It's obvious that the overall development of USA youth soccer is critical to ever seriously be a men's World Cup contender.
If American soccer clubs continue to focus on team training in age group sessions, plus focus on excellence in speed and agility work and functional training, players can reach their maximum potential. This needs to be done on a comprehensive basis.
It appears this is the case, as a sampling of recent All-American prep players would indicate.
Goalkeepers
That list includes goalkeeper Noah Kummer from Dayton Carroll High School in Brookville, Ohio. Kummer set the state record in Ohio for the most career shutouts with 51 and had a career record of 66-5-12 as a four-year starter and went on to play Division 1 soccer at Bowling Green this season.
Defenders
As for USA youth soccer defenders, the U.S. has some potentially great ones in Charlie Booth from Concord Carlisle Regional High School in Massachusetts, Evan Floresch of Hinsdale, Illinois and Matthew Holland of Overland Park, Kansas.
Booth was named a Massachusetts all-stater and led his team to a 20-0-1 record and state title, and has all the tools to be a great one. Floresch was the best player for his high school's state championship team in 2014. He's a model for the type of player USA soccer needs to develop. He started playing soccer when he was four, and played five different sports as a child but had a personal love for soccer. He continues to develop into one of the nation's finest players. He never missed a game in his high school career. His team was ranked fifth in the United States.
Midfielders
USA youth soccer midfielders showing plenty of promise are Connor Smith of McDonogh School in Maryland, Danny Aversano of Allendale, New Jersey, TJ Butzke of Holbrook, New York, Robert DeWitt III of Overland Park, Kansas and Tyler Gabarra of Arnold, Maryland. Aversanao is a natural scorer, the type of scorer the USA youth system needs. He had 16 goals and 17 assists in 2014 while those totals were 16 and 10 the previous season, per the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. Aversano is all over the field and, if he's not scoring, he's going to make sure someone else does score.
Smith is now at the University of Maryland but as a senior for McDonogh, he scored 23 goals and added 21 assists, and had 46 goals and 31 assists in a four-year career.
Butzke had one goal and two assists in his first 11 games at Boston University. DeWitt had 10 goals and 11 assists as a senior at Kansas' Rockhurst High School. Gabarra is looking to be a prolific scorer for North Carolina State.
Forwards
But is there any hope for USA scorers?
Recent All-American choices like Abe Kouyate of Pittsburgh, Christopher Brennan of Ohio, Isaac Huerta of Goshen, Indiana and Jordan Ianiro of Ohio provide some hope. Kouyate is an exciting player who came to the U.S. at age two from Guinea, West Africa. In his school, Obama Academy in Pittsburgh, he had 23 goals and 14 assists while scoring 88 career goals and signed with Penn State (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). He's obsessed as a goal scorer and brings with him the type of mentality the USA team needs with its youth programs.
Brennan had 23 goals and 14 assists for Copley, Ohio, last season.
Huerta set a state record after hitting 25 goals as a senior at Goshen.
USA Youth Soccer
USA youth soccer continues to grow and flourish on the youth levels in the United States. But coaches, associations and clubs need to work harder to find athletes that can develop into some of the top performers in the world. It's essential for efforts to focus on making these elite athletes into talented players comparable to those in other countries that always contend for the Cup.
It's going to take a while, but if Team USA can focus on developing the top quality players across the nation, there's a chance of serious World Cup title contention. That mentality is not quite here yet, but it's getting closer.
