It’s not America’s sport, but it’s top notch in L.A.

It’s time to challenge the assumption that teenage boys growing up in Los Angeles are dreaming about becoming the next Kobe Bryant, the next Tom Brady or the next Alex Rodriguez.

“I want to be a pro soccer player,” Daniel Castro, 15, of Bell High said earlier this week.

Welcome to 21st century Los Angeles, where the sons of Latino immigrants have been playing soccer since they were infants and have become the majority population in the sprawling Los Angeles Unified School District.

It means people had better start paying attention to the City Section soccer playoffs that began on Thursday because the play in the 32-team tournament might be second to none when considering the quality of the competition from top to bottom.

“One to 32, they’re all even,” Bell Coach Daniel Gallardo said of the teams. “Every year, there’s a surprise. Every year, something weird happens.”

Imagine if Woodland Hills Taft, seeded No. 1 in the boys’ basketball playoffs, had to face a team seeded 32nd rather than 16th? The Toreadors would win by 40 points or more. Imagine if Lake Balboa Birmingham, seeded No. 1 in the football playoffs, opened against No. 32? There would be a running clock by the fourth quarter.

In the City Section soccer playoffs, there’s no doubt that when a team is playing another at the bottom of the bracket, it could lose.

For years, the City Section has been criticized for allowing its coaches to decide before the season starts where to place their teams should they qualify for the playoffs. If they think they have a weak team, they can hide in the Invitational Division instead of facing the rigors of the Championship Division.

But in boys’ soccer, there’s no choice -- there’s only one division. You lose, your season is over. You don’t get to drop to another division and keep playing for a consolation title, as the girls’ soccer teams do.

It has created a much-respected tournament that produces one true champion, aided by a yearly influx of players who have their own ideas as to which sport is the best.

“It’s pretty much what my life is,” said Castro, a sophomore who’s considered one of the most promising young players in the City Section.

At 5 feet 9 and 132 pounds, Castro’s ability to create shots for his teammates has helped fourth-seeded Bell to a 17-3-3 record.

He said his favorite athlete is Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo, who plays for Manchester United.

“I compare myself to him because of his speed, his agility, his touch and shots,” said Castro, who has scored eight goals and contributed 14 assists for Bell, which was scheduled to open the playoffs Thursday against No. 29 Reseda. The game was postponed to today because of a flooded field.

Castro said he plays soccer every day.

“I have the talent of soccer in my blood,” he said.

Both his parents were born in Mexico, and his father played the sport.

“I can place the ball wherever players are at,” Castro said. “I can take people one on one with my speed.”

But don’t get the idea Castro thinks his soccer skills make him better than the kid who lives down the street.

“There’s always somebody putting pressure on you to improve,” he said.

That’s what’s so interesting about City Section soccer. Coaches have more than 100 students trying out for spots on a team. Every school in the playoffs seemingly has a standout player.

If the rest of Southern California doesn’t remember Canoga Park’s success last season, it might get a reminder of how good the City teams have become next month, when the first Southern California Regional soccer tournament will be held. There will be three eight-team divisions for boys and girls, and the City gets at least one berth in each.

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Hold off on the praise for charter schools’ supposed ability to avoid bureaucratic problems. Granada Hills Charter was supposed to name its baseball field after former coach Darryl Stroh in a ceremony Saturday. That’s not going to happen. A school committee has decided proper procedures weren’t followed.

So Stroh, who lives in Arizona, will be in town to honor his 1978 City Championship team on Saturday, but the field dedication ceremony is off. A sign purchased by baseball Coach Josh Lienhard will remain unhung until someone convinces a school committee to get its act together.

What a blunder and what an embarrassment.

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