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[QUOTE="PeteCalvin, post: 5132807, member: 439"]
The US Women’s program benefitted greatly from the built-in feeder system that is the NCAA.  There were no women’s development programs anywhere in the world.  On the other hand, the US had zero high level development programs for the men’s side.  The NCAA was nowhere close to the European academies that grabbed talented kids seemingly from the womb and developed them from a young age.  Also, soccer is where all the top athletes in other countries start off.  It’s a cheap sport, kinda like basketball was here in the States before pay-for-play (AAU) came along.  Their player pools are massive.  The US is starting to catch on that they need to make soccer more available across the board to younger kids.  Too many of our “academies” are independent, disconnected, suburban-based clubs that cost a small fortune.  MLS is now sponsoring academies that identify talent in their respective footprints and seriously investing in player development.  It will take a while for us to catch up to Europe, but at least the proper foundation is now being laid.  Sooner or later the NCAA won’t be able to adequately feed the women’s game either, that’s why having a successful NWSL is so important.  It’s the best professional league in the world, but the Euros are catching up.  Countries like GB, France and Spain have spent boatloads on their women’s leagues in the past 8 years.  All the major men’s teams in Europe have launched women’s programs that utilize the same training grounds and facilities that the men’s teams do, which is a really nice benefit to have. That’s why you have dynamite teams associated with Chelsea, Man City, Liverpool, etc, seemingly overnight.
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