Your views are skewed because you've only been a part of mediocre level soccer.
Yeah a lot of kids that play soccer are just there because their parents want them to do something. Newsflash- every minor sport is like this, including hockey. Yeah hockey's numbers are lower because it's expensive but don't fool yourself into thinking hockey has amazing coaching at every level. It's largely also pretty poor, and that's with Canada being the only country that really has hockey as their primary sport.
Soccer is no different than Basketball, Football or hockey for that matter. Canada produces some good talent (laughable saying Canada's good athletes don't play soccer
) but there are a couple of big differences.
1) Basketball/Hockey/Baseball have the major advantage of having the best league's in the world in Canada and in the states. You can add football to that since it's just across the border. The goal is to make it to one of these leagues...kid's don't have to dream of moving across the pond to play with the worlds best. How many North American kids grow up dreaming of playing Euro Basketball or Swedish elite league hockey? At this moment the MLS is about the same as a Swedish born player wanting to play in the SEL. It's not the best league but FINALLY there's an option to stay in this country.
2) Canadians think hockey is a big deal. Yeah it is in Canada but it's not the primary sport in any other country in the world. These aren't the best athletes in the world competing I hate to break that to you. Just as you think Canada only has it's weaker athletes compete in soccer, every other country in the world does this for hockey.
I played with Team BC in soccer growing up and competed nationally and internationally. I also went as far as the BCHL in hockey so I've played both sports competitively in Canada. You're absolutely kidding yourself if you think the kids don't put everything they have into soccer. The guys I played soccer with (some actually went professional in Europe) put far more effort in training and diet than any player I played hockey with (some play in the NHL). The NHLers now yeah they put effort in, but growing up soccer players have to put in ALOT more work. You're competing with the worlds best, hockey pales in comparison.