Olivia Moultrie Plays in first professional game

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The reactions were mixed about her playing but it appears that the Portland Thorns academy have a plan for her. We'll see in a few years if this was the right step for her and your family.

https://www.oregonlive.com/portland-...ason-game.html

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She's athletic and has great technical skills. Everyone is talking about her soccer IQ, but I don't see it. Her DA game footage shows her dribbling into pressure again and again... and not just at single defenders, but taking on 2, 3 or more defenders on when there are options to pass and keep possession. The play where she lost possession against the U23's, she held onto the ball too long and the pass lane was closed. She had an option to split the defenders, but didn't. She could have switched the point of attack with a flighted pass to the left side, but didn't and she could have decided to play it back and reset if she wanted to play safe, but didn't. The option she choose was not the best, but probably middle-of-the-road in terms of risk/reward, but speed of play was obviously an issue.

I would give her another few years of "growth and development" physically before declaring her the next Heath or Rapinoe. She'll likely slow down some as she puts on weight as a freshmen/sophmore in HS. She looks like an early developer physically, which combined with her technical skills makes her look better then she is playing in her age group.

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Their plan is to use her for PR until she's old enough to sign - then they'll see if shes good enough

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A child following the NORMAL PRO PATH IN MOST OTHER COUNTRIES is news here. Why? Why is this route not open to ANY child good enough WITHOUT giving up any eligibility? Moultrie is not better than many who have come before. It almost fees like she has "bought " this. A sad statement on the female game in the USA

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As the ^^^ poster stated, she needs time. She's obviously talented but is a work in progress. At her age she hasn't played enough games to have a super high soccer IQ because there's a lot she hasn't seen. Good luck to her. I hope she ends up being really good but people need to temper their expectations. Unfortunately I have heard that the dad is a whack job.

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A child following the NORMAL PRO PATH IN MOST OTHER COUNTRIES is news here. Why? Why is this route not open to ANY child good enough WITHOUT giving up any eligibility? Moultrie is not better than many who have come before. It almost fees like she has "bought " this. A sad statement on the female game in the USA

Seems like a bought by rich daddy fantasy camp to play with an Nwsl team. So many youth could perform so much better so why her? So sad that Thorns are doing this kind of dog and pony show for publicity. Feel bad for the girl.

[Unregistered]

A child following the NORMAL PRO PATH IN MOST OTHER COUNTRIES is news here. Why? Why is this route not open to ANY child good enough WITHOUT giving up any eligibility? Moultrie is not better than many who have come before. It almost fees like she has "bought " this. A sad statement on the female game in the USA

However even abroad a prepubescent 13 year old would almost never be put into games with adults. Dad and the club are seeking attention and more twitter followers. Let the kid develop outside the spotlight, see where she's at when she's 17. Maybe even let her be a normal kid?

[Unregistered]

A child following the NORMAL PRO PATH IN MOST OTHER COUNTRIES is news here. Why? Why is this route not open to ANY child good enough WITHOUT giving up any eligibility? Moultrie is not better than many who have come before. It almost fees like she has "bought " this. A sad statement on the female game in the USA

It's not a problem or issue. People who know the sport know she isn't good enough. This is PR stunt. Remember Freddy Adu and Olivia isn't even close to as good as he was at a young age. This "phenom" is the word you see used by every publication isn't a phenom at all. She is a good player for her age but that's it.

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Is this stunt working? Does everyone want to go out and buy Nike stuff because of this?

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Is this stunt working? Does everyone want to go out and buy Nike stuff because of this?

I bet you she has more followers now (so mom and dad are happy) and maybe the club thinks it might get some more young fans in the stands. But it was only a pre-season game. She can't play in regular matches. her playing GDA will get more attention on the GDA side.
No doubt they will use her more in other publicity stunts. Nike gave her some pocket change (to them) to lock her in just in case she goes somewhere down the road. They can't do that with basketball players who pretty much have to play one year of college before going pro (well, they can't legally anyway but they do it in other ways).

[Unregistered]

How many young players are aware of her? Mine is not (same age). I for one dont plan on cluing her in= at this point Prefer to limit her exposure to the idea of home schooling to play soccer as much as possible! - LOL.)

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How many young players are aware of her? Mine is not (same age). I for one dont plan on cluing her in= at this point Prefer to limit her exposure to the idea of home schooling to play soccer as much as possible! - LOL.)

The funny thing they made a big deal about how many followers she had but really wasn't that many by today's standards. Plus there's ways to buy followers. Based on what the parents seem to be like that might be possible. Nike probably has plans to do more with her, as does the club.

No her life is nothing to aspire to. There are plenty of other strong female role models out there

[Unregistered]

It's not a problem or issue. People who know the sport know she isn't good enough. This is PR stunt. Remember Freddy Adu and Olivia isn't even close to as good as he was at a young age. This "phenom" is the word you see used by every publication isn't a phenom at all. She is a good player for her age but that's it.

Why just females? Pulisic was also able to buy his way in. Lots of rich kids can, regardless of gender. That's why we say it is a rich kid's sport here, whereas, every kid in every other country plays the game .... and the ones that play it the most, rich or poor generally become the top players .... see basketball here in the US. Baseball becoming another elite sport here in the US and that will not pay off in the long run.

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Is this stunt working? Does everyone want to go out and buy Nike stuff because of this?

Actually makes me NOT want to buy Nike and NOT support the NWSL. Pushing this rich kid publicity stunt is sad and sickening. Is that really the message we want our girls to hear: “Be super rich, buy a media following and then use it to buy fame and more media hype”... Sad and sickening. My dd and her friends haven’t heard of her and when/if they do I’ll explain she’s just like Olivia Jade, whose parents bought her way into USC. It’s all part of the same sickness of the wealthy buying their kids a fake unearned life. So sad.

[Unregistered]

Actually makes me NOT want to buy Nike and NOT support the NWSL. Pushing this rich kid publicity stunt is sad and sickening. Is that really the message we want our girls to hear: “Be super rich, buy a media following and then use it to buy fame and more media hype”... Sad and sickening. My dd and her friends haven’t heard of her and when/if they do I’ll explain she’s just like Olivia Jade, whose parents bought her way into USC. It’s all part of the same sickness of the wealthy buying their kids a fake unearned life. So sad.

I'm not a fan of the early media/publicity push, but this is nothing like Olivia Jade. The reality is this kid is athletic and put the work in very early to become technically strong. She is a legit soccer player. I criticized her DA play as the soccer IQ seemed lacking as compared to her hype, but the reality is she is a quality player for a 13yo. Her parents and coaches may have a plan and we all may not agree, but even if this player doesn't become a top name in women's pro soccer circles, she already made more money than 99% of youth soccer players and she turned down an offer for UNC, arguably one of the strongest women's soccer programs in the country.

My D is a bit older than her and watched some vid. She said the same thing: great skill and a great athlete. Not great vision and soccer IQ though. No need to shelter kids from the hype. They can usually figure things out on their own as to what's legit and what isn't.

FWIW, I think Nike is targeting the 12 and under market. The young girls coming up want to believe they can achieve what this kid did and Nike wants a piece of that financial pie.