Swag wagons, they are not. But as might be expected of such utilitarian vehicles, these rides come equipped with a purpose. If players want extra work or a dip in the ice bath, they do not have to worry about holding up a team bus. And because practice takes only a small part of the day, and the night life of Hollywood or the beach scene beckons, it is nice for the players to be able to grab car keys and see what the big city has to offer.

“That’s a make or break in camp sanity,” said Megan Rapinoe, a member of the women’s team, which recently concluded a camp here. “If you want to get away or go to dinner, you don’t have to wait. We’re together so much, it can become kind of monotonous. To break that up is nice, so you don’t feel like you’re 15 again, locked in a hotel.”

The continuing popularity of the women’s team, the increasing profile of men’s stars like Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey, and the presence of a coach like Jürgen Klinsmann, who earns upward of $2.5 million per year, speak to a sport that is increasingly major league in the United States. But the presence of van pools, of World Cup starters as chauffeurs, speaks to how U.S. Soccer still has the feel of a mom-and-pop operation.

It is hard to imagine Brazil or Spain or Argentina caravanning to practice with Neymar or Xavi or Lionel Messi behind the wheel. In this country, visiting N.B.A. teams typically take a bus to practice or games — even when they stay at a hotel across the street from the arena. There is probably good reason for this: Imagine the Dodgers letting Yasiel Puig, who was twice pulled over last year for driving about 100 miles per hour, chauffeur Clayton Kershaw around during spring training. Or consider the places Alex Rodriguez might take teammates in a Yankees van.