I would agree with the comments above about the state of the US youth system. I would also add the "political" tension between clubs. Having been back in the US now for two years, after being abroad for 10, it is shocking how much sway parents have at the club level, how little loyalty the players themselves have with their clubs, and how easily quality players can get blacklisted by the politics of the clubs. What we need are more academies that are truly dedicated to developing youth, especially at the younger ages, and not so worried about winning. But of course, that is another topic altogether that has talked around many times on this blog. In short, I'm sick of the clubs after what I've seen in the Orlando area and am loathe to send my kids into them. But what else is there out there besides rec teams where it is solely "to have fun"
You have gone right to the problem. Most kids do not have a good training opportunity. USSF causes a lot of the problem by formally requiring a team/league structure for all registered players. Players under age 12, they can develop without organized soccer. But after that they need to learn team tactics so they need organized soccer. Landon Donovan did both rec and competitive. He played AYSO (formerly they were more fun oriented than USYSA), USYSA and also in an ethnic league. Then he went in the first USSF U17 class at Bradenton. Mia Hamm played on boys teams. She was playing on the Women's National Team at 16 and then played at North Carolina for Anson Dorrance. A lot of top players came from similar backgrounds. Today youth soccer is being micro-managed with computers and rules restrict players from playing on multiple teams and from switching teams. Due to management mistakes youth development is actually marching backwards in the US. And we wonder why our player pool looks thin. We were better off when management with its mistaken ideas was less effective.