I think that she both are amazing athletes that play soccer. I do think that they could be and should be better (for different reasons). My only opinion when it comes to US Soccer is this:
1. They shouldn't have splintered the leagues
2. They should support ODP or some version of it, meaning: Have a pool of players from each state association practice regularly (maybe one weekend a month or so) and then put together a regional team for the 4 regions and have them practice quarterly and from those pools of players pick a YNT.
3. They should put funds into NWSL and these state and regional pools.
4. Players that are willing to go all in on soccer are more than welcome to but they shouldn't MAKE kids do it. Many of our WNT were multisport athletes. That is becoming much more difficult.
I think that you can train for a sport from an early age but not go all in. That should be saved for high school or later. North Carolina's keeper this year is also on the basketball team there. I just think that US Soccer should be interested in the whole person not just what they can get out of them. Nobody is going to argue that it is better for a young athlete to crosstrain.
So yes Alex Morgan might have been a slightly better soccer player by being a specialist at 10 but she might not have had the drive required (one sport burnout is real). Even Kobe Bryant played soccer. Bo Jackson played everything and even Frank Thomas played football at Auburn.
Good luck to you and your player.
Nice post. Can't really say I disagree. Maybe we overemphasize the technical aspect of soccer. Some sports and some positions in those sports, don't require much more than great athleticism. The less technique they require, the longer you can wait. That said, I always presumed that you believed the US is losing ground because it is too reliant on athleticism.