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    Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
    As I've noted before:

    Thorns need to either a) offer a better product, or b) be free (or close to it).

    They are cheaper than ECNL when you factor in travel, but the upper-class families who play in ECNL aren't put off by the sticker price, and might consider not having the "riffraff" as teammates to be a bonus. (Longtime readers of this blog no doubt remember the constant putdowns of "vantucky" and "eastside cavemen" and other socio-economic insults, being hurled down from the West Hills).

    But they are too expensive for poor families.
    1. Make it free.
    2. Allow high school soccer.
    3. Find some good coaches.

    That might help.

    Comment


      Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
      1. Make it free.
      2. Allow high school soccer.
      3. Find some good coaches.

      That might help.
      Our typical culture of entitlement.

      Provide a service (that costs money), make it free, and require no sacrifice or commitment from us... and we might consider.

      And why would the Thorns want to do that?

      Comment


        Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
        As I've noted before:

        Thorns need to either a) offer a better product, or b) be free (or close to it).

        They are cheaper than ECNL when you factor in travel, but the upper-class families who play in ECNL aren't put off by the sticker price, and might consider not having the "riffraff" as teammates to be a bonus. (Longtime readers of this blog no doubt remember the constant putdowns of "vantucky" and "eastside cavemen" and other socio-economic insults, being hurled down from the West Hills).

        But they are too expensive for poor families. (Timbers actually get this part right; their main problem is they aren't as well-run as other MLS academies. But they get more of the top local talent.)

        Either Thorns Academy ought to be low-cost (less than $1k per year, including all costs), and aggressively marketed towards families who don't have household incomes north of $200k/year, or if they want to compete with CU head-on, they have to offer a first-rate product. A nationally-recognized coach (no, Laura Schott isn't it). Top-notch facilities (the swamp known as THPRD #3 isn't it either). And since there is no homegrown rule in NWSL--no need to focus on local girls anyway; go bring in the best from around the country. If the Thorns were doing it right, few locals would qualify for the team in the first place.

        They've got the best professional women's team in the country. They should act like it.
        And why would the Thorns want or need to do what you suggest?

        Comment


          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
          And why would the Thorns want or need to do what you suggest?
          Why so grumpy with the ideas guy? Don’t think he means any harm.

          Comment


            Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
            1. Make it free.
            2. Allow high school soccer.
            3. Find some good coaches.

            That might help.
            Now we’re talking. Some quality ideas.

            Comment


              Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
              And why would the Thorns want or need to do what you suggest?
              They might not.

              Women's soccer doesn't have the liquid transfer market that men's soccer has, and getting top-notch players isn't terribly hard. There really isn't that much of an academic incentive to run a fully-funded youth academy for girls, even ignoring things like Title IX and the draw of college soccer.

              OTOH, a girls academy ought not be any more expensive to run than a boys' academy--and so far the Timbers Academy hasn't paid for itself in terms of either first-team talent or players sold on for a profit.

              Thorns Academy COULD be special--again, the Thorns are the top women's franchise in the country, and one of the top in the world. But simply putting a flower on the jersey isn't enough.

              Comment


                Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                1. Make it free.
                2. Allow high school soccer.
                3. Find some good coaches.

                That might help.
                If they could pull this off it would be a game changer.

                Comment


                  Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                  If they could pull this off it would be a game changer.
                  ,

                  The DA since inception boys & girls has marginalized all youth club and HS soccer in the states.

                  Locally it's given birth to rogue travel and circus trick clubs. Why? the big dog clubs lost the picks of the litter to the DA and don't have the cache they enjoyed prior to DA.

                  This new landscape helped create the off brand niche for travel fiends and circus stunt training devotees.

                  It's awesome.

                  Comment


                    US Soccer and USSF need a complete overhaul, top to bottom. But I came across this on another board showing it's a mess. I knew it was but didn't know how bad. Then a poster pulled the salaries for the higher ups. Outrageous money being spent and they're sitting on a huge cash hoard. Smaller countries with much less resources are passing us because they have strong leadership. Use some of that money to

                    - subsidize training of US coaches. Higher level licenses cost a great deal to obtain so make it easier for poorly paid coaches to get it. Then we can start training our youngest players properly so we aren't playing catch up later.
                    - revamp ODP top to bottom and subsidize it for participants
                    - shrink DA to focus only on the nation's top talent/give the future pro or NT players what they need. Free for all players, not just at MLS clubs
                    - if possible do regional residency programs
                    - use ODP and other leagues to scout for NT talent; don't rely solely on DA. Allow HS play for anyone not in DA.


                    http://talking-soccer.com/TS4/showthread.php?t=157779

                    Comment


                      Oregon has checked these boxes already, I guess we are way ahead of the curve with the partnership of the MLS Timbers & NWSL Thorns and the incredible funding from Peregrine.

                      + revamp ODP top to bottom and subsidize it partially for all participants
                      + shrink DA to focus only on the nation's top talent/give the future pro or NT players what they need. Free for all players MLS DA and subsidized for NWSL DA
                      +use ODP and other leagues to scout for NT talent; don't rely solely on DA.
                      +Allow HS play for anyone not in DA.

                      Who would of guessed Oregon is the Nation's leader?

                      Comment


                        Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                        1. Make it free.
                        2. Allow high school soccer.
                        3. Find some good coaches.

                        That might help.
                        That MIGHT help. Free is the key. If you are going to ask kids to give something up you have to make it attractive for the parents so they sign them up.

                        Comment


                          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                          1. Make it free.
                          2. Allow high school soccer.
                          3. Find some good coaches.

                          That might help.
                          If you want the truly elite girls players, you have to let them play high school if they want. A lot of them like high school soccer for some reason.

                          Comment


                            Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                            That MIGHT help. Free is the key. If you are going to ask kids to give something up you have to make it attractive for the parents so they sign them up.
                            If it's free I might consider signing my daughter up whether she wants to or not.

                            An extra 3,000 bucks in my pocket is nothing to sneeze at. That could be a down payment on a quad or camp trailer.

                            Comment


                              Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                              If you want the truly elite girls players, you have to let them play high school if they want. A lot of them like high school soccer for some reason.
                              Nationally the DA is thriving as the truly elite players don't play HS and opt for DA only, these the ones selected to the US youth and Senior National Teams.

                              Oregon has no truly elite players to speak of, so it's not big deal to play with the Thorns DA or the local club and HS. Do what you like is what they say, right.

                              Oregon isn't denying the US Soccer National Teams of any truly elite players, period.

                              On the subject of 'like' some folks like to combine travel desires with local club soccer, most don't. Different strokes for Different folks.

                              It's all good in the neighbor 'hood' soccer.

                              Comment


                                Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                                1. Make it free.
                                2. Allow high school soccer.
                                3. Find some good coaches.

                                That might help.
                                The biggest reason they fail to get the best players and are losing the best clubs is the high school soccer ban.

                                For some odd reason girls really like high school soccer.

                                The other ideas are great too, but #2 is the big idea.

                                Comment

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