Pay to Play: The Kryptonite of Youth Soccer

First, just some raw numbers I got off the MD State Youth Soccer Association website:
To apply for a tryout with the MD ODP program (my personal feelings about ODP aside):
$50 fee; must be paid by credit or debit card
$12 fee to register to become an official MSYSA player (also to be recognized by US Youth Soccer)

Those fees do not include costs of joining clubs or other efforts.


This helps no one succeed or fail based on soccer ability; more like helping the suburban child have an activity outside in which to participate. I can't think of one senior national team regular who played outside of this system (please let me know).

Now, you're asking: Why are you bringing this up?
My response: look at all of the athletes in the inner city who play other sports, or those people in the streets with nothing to do other than illegal activities. Baltimore has the second-worst crime rate of any inner city (to Detroit) and most children in the city have extracurricular things they have to worry about which they should not have to worry about. I'm talking about the children with single-parent homes, displaced children, abandoned children, and those children who are homeless. A week ago, Sports Illustrated's cover story was on those homeless athletes who will be playing sports in college. I'm not talking about them. I'm talking about the 6-year old whose only source of belonging to anything is his brother's gang involvement which is the main breadwinner of the house. I'm talking about the guy who always gets picked last in pick-up basketball or football because he's too short. Here's my way to fix the major issue of pay-to-play, and how to get African-American children to play soccer outside:
1. Get each state to hire a scout (approved by a committee composing of Jurgen Klinsmann and scouts who look at the current youth national team set-up) to go around the inner cities at night and look for the kids who get picked last, etc.
2. Establish soccer fields in public parks that are well-maintained and have balls and equipment available for free. This could be where the scout could begin his search.
3. Get Messi and Ronaldo's faces on billboards and their salaries so that everyone can see how much they make... alongside the highest-paid Americans overeseas. This might help the youth to realize that there is real money to be made in soccer.
4. When a good inner city player is found, he will be placed on a list circulated to all of the area clubs. They must allow the player to play for free, and they will receive a financial bonus of $3,000 for every one they get in and develop. This will greatly offset costs of the other club members and it will give the inner city player some friends and connections outside of his little world.
Beyond that, let the kid decide how his path goes. Ultimately, we want to develop the best soccer players, so if the inner city person wants to leave for another sport, that's fine. The club gets to keep the bonus.

That's just a little piece on the pay-to-play system. I'd welcome your thoughts.