For the overwhelming majority of American youth soccer players, the sport of soccer is a social endeavor.  The kids don’t look at soccer as a way out of the ghetto.  These kids aren’t from the ghetto.  Most American soccer players come from middle and upper middle class backgrounds;  They’re in the gifted programs at school, they eat out three evenings a week and the only thing they worry about is when they’ll get their braces off.  They have college educated parents who have worked very hard to ensure that they get every opportunity available to be successful in this country.