Thorns land best 05 girls player in the country

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I am not sure who orchestrated this publicity stunt but I don’t see it happening. Why in the world would she come to one of the worst programs in the country?

Because she’ll stand out most in the worst program! No one else realizes the fact that the Thorns senior team is so good, yet the Thorns academy teams are so bad. The Thorns have brand recognition and that’s as deep as anyone will go. She won’t go to CA Thorns which would be better because there are too many similar studs in the Bay Area GDA & Ecnl teams. At least that’s the only plausible reasoning I can come up with.

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Or the program isn’t bad and you just don’t know soccer. Wasserman knows what the hell they are doing

I know how to read standings and I understand what last place means for (U15 and U16/17) for the west and understand 5th place out of 8 for the U18s isn't all the great either.

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Because she’ll stand out most in the worst program! No one else realizes the fact that the Thorns senior team is so good, yet the Thorns academy teams are so bad. The Thorns have brand recognition and that’s as deep as anyone will go. She won’t go to CA Thorns which would be better because there are too many similar studs in the Bay Area GDA & Ecnl teams. At least that’s the only plausible reasoning I can come up with.

Some more information on Moultrie:

https://sports.yahoo.com/13-yearold-...163756141.html

1) She's signed an endorsement/training deal with Nike that apparently pays her far more than the NCAA scholarship she is now forgoing by going pro (her college eligibility is now shot). She hasn't signed, to my knowledge, with any professional women's team. Previously, she had committed to UNC (at age 11) but obviously she now will never be a Tarheel.

2) FIFA rules would prevent her from playing abroad until 18. Current NWSL rules likewise require players be 18; though that might be more easily changed.

3) Her relationship with the Thorns is unclear. It is obvious why the first team would be interested--though whether she could be signed to a contract with the Thorns (prior to 18) is unclear, even if she didn't make a first team appearance. It's not obvious why playing in Thorns Academy would be useful to her, though training with the first team would be a different matter.

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Some more information on Moultrie:

https://sports.yahoo.com/13-yearold-...163756141.html

1) She's signed an endorsement/training deal with Nike that apparently pays her far more than the NCAA scholarship she is now forgoing by going pro (her college eligibility is now shot). She hasn't signed, to my knowledge, with any professional women's team. Previously, she had committed to UNC (at age 11) but obviously she now will never be a Tarheel.

2) FIFA rules would prevent her from playing abroad until 18. Current NWSL rules likewise require players be 18; though that might be more easily changed.

3) Her relationship with the Thorns is unclear. It is obvious why the first team would be interested--though whether she could be signed to a contract with the Thorns (prior to 18) is unclear, even if she didn't make a first team appearance. It's not obvious why playing in Thorns Academy would be useful to her, though training with the first team would be a different matter.

On #1 I am not sure it is "far more than the NCAA scholarship" but otherwise generally looks right. Endorsement dollars for all but the most photogenic are pretty limited for women's soccer players.

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Consider that once Ecnl and da started, Oregon has had zero national team camp players.

Prior to Ecnl and da there was at least 1 every 1-3 years.

Keep in mind that she is NOT an Oregonian and everyone on this site is applauding Oregon finally being represented at the national stage. Also FYI Onyx has a player that did play in several international matches

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Didn’t the Oregonian announce that she had “signed on to train with the Portland Thorns Development Academy”? Who leaves the gda in powerhouse CalSouth to play with last place in weakest league thorns academy teams? Must be the media or money because there’s no way to spin that as anything but horrible for her soccer.

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Honestly this is sad. I feel sorry for this young lady and hope someone in charge is paying attention to her best interests as she is still a child. However this appears not to be the case.

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Because she’ll stand out most in the worst program! No one else realizes the fact that the Thorns senior team is so good, yet the Thorns academy teams are so bad. The Thorns have brand recognition and that’s as deep as anyone will go. She won’t go to CA Thorns which would be better because there are too many similar studs in the Bay Area GDA & Ecnl teams. At least that’s the only plausible reasoning I can come up with.

You weren't the only one with that thought. I had it as well. Given the parents seem to be nuts that reasoning fits. I suppose her family could have been moving for other reasons too. But anyone who let's their 11 year old commit to a college failed parenting classes.

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On #1 I am not sure it is "far more than the NCAA scholarship" but otherwise generally looks right. Endorsement dollars for all but the most photogenic are pretty limited for women's soccer players.

Let alone 13 year olds no one has ever heard of and that may be washed up in a few years. She doesn't look like she's gone through puberty yet

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Keep in mind that she is NOT an Oregonian and everyone on this site is applauding Oregon finally being represented at the national stage. Also FYI Onyx has a player that did play in several international matches

And Westside had a girl play in the u19 european championships.

There has been several girls that have received national team opportunities from a fee different clubs.

Doesn't matter where this kid is from. This is a great opportunity for our soccer community. Hopefully this girl can bring some more attention to our area.

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And Westside had a girl play in the u19 european championships.

There has been several girls that have received national team opportunities from a fee different clubs.

Doesn't matter where this kid is from. This is a great opportunity for our soccer community. Hopefully this girl can bring some more attention to our area.

The sole intention is to bring more attention to herself by looking like a super stud unicorn next to the other Thorns players. Sad. Cant stay in CalSouth and look like many other similar studs. Then the Nike “dream” gig is up... This is all great for her but bad for our true Oregon girls.

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The sole intention is to bring more attention to herself by looking like a super stud unicorn next to the other Thorns players. Sad. Cant stay in CalSouth and look like many other similar studs. Then the Nike “dream” gig is up... This is all great for her but bad for our true Oregon girls.

She's already widely regarded as the best player of her age, and possibly the best young prospect in the country. Why would she need to play among alleged palookas to boost her stock? Nike isn't likely that dumb, neither is Wassermann (the sports agency that represents her).

I don't know what her best career path is. Signing with an agent and signing a marketing deal takes away her amateur status--prep soccer, college soccer, and quite a bit of the club scene are now off-limits. She can't play NWSL or any European pro leagues until she's 18. If she views the Thorns (the first team) as a career goal, one way to bypass the draft and other mechanisms is (assuming similar rules apply to NWSL as to MLS) to become a Thorns academy prospect and eligible for "homegrown" status--not sure what the rules are if she were to change from a prior NWSL academy (if she's even trained with one).

I'd doubt she'd be moving to Portland simply to train with the Thorns U16s; she's played for better clubs. OTOH, training with the first team while officially being in the GDA might be a sensible option for her if her goal is to play for the Thorns NWSL team in five years.

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She's already widely regarded as the best player of her age, and possibly the best young prospect in the country. Why would she need to play among alleged palookas to boost her stock? Nike isn't likely that dumb, neither is Wassermann (the sports agency that represents her).

I don't know what her best career path is. Signing with an agent and signing a marketing deal takes away her amateur status--prep soccer, college soccer, and quite a bit of the club scene are now off-limits. She can't play NWSL or any European pro leagues until she's 18. If she views the Thorns (the first team) as a career goal, one way to bypass the draft and other mechanisms is (assuming similar rules apply to NWSL as to MLS) to become a Thorns academy prospect and eligible for "homegrown" status--not sure what the rules are if she were to change from a prior NWSL academy (if she's even trained with one).

I'd doubt she'd be moving to Portland simply to train with the Thorns U16s; she's played for better clubs. OTOH, training with the first team while officially being in the GDA might be a sensible option for her if her goal is to play for the Thorns NWSL team in five years.

If she's that good those opportunities will be available in a few years when she's more mature (and goes through puberty - remember that doesn't alway go well for many female athletes). Uprooting a family for Thorns is nuts. I agree it may be more so she can stand out in the NW. Developmentally she'd be far better in SoCal with better clubs and local competition than coming up here. Scouts and USSF spend much more time in SoCal also. If Thorns are going to allow her to train with the first team (can they even do that?) then it's a publicity stunt on their part, and not a very good one if she can't play games. Maybe they can sell a few shirts with her name on it to other young girls. Big whoop.

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If she's that good those opportunities will be available in a few years when she's more mature (and goes through puberty - remember that doesn't alway go well for many female athletes). Uprooting a family for Thorns is nuts. I agree it may be more so she can stand out in the NW. Developmentally she'd be far better in SoCal with better clubs and local competition than coming up here. Scouts and USSF spend much more time in SoCal also. If Thorns are going to allow her to train with the first team (can they even do that?) then it's a publicity stunt on their part, and not a very good one if she can't play games. Maybe they can sell a few shirts with her name on it to other young girls. Big whoop.

Perhaps.

But this is the business of HER family, not YOUR family. Wouldn't be the first time a family relocated in order to provide for better training/advancement opportunities (assuming for argument that the Thorns can provide them) for an extremely talented child.

So far, keep in mind, the Thorns haven't said anything about this. OregonLive has reported on her coming to Thorns, but the team has not had any official comment on this matter.

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Perhaps.

But this is the business of HER family, not YOUR family. Wouldn't be the first time a family relocated in order to provide for better training/advancement opportunities (assuming for argument that the Thorns can provide them) for an extremely talented child.

So far, keep in mind, the Thorns haven't said anything about this. OregonLive has reported on her coming to Thorns, but the team has not had any official comment on this matter.

You are right, it is their families' business, but Peregrine kind of touches everything in youth soccer here.

While I think it is a total coincidence, this comes right on the heals of Crossfire exiting GDA and frankly the whole platform in serious trouble in this part of the country; so people trying to figure out what this means - and what it doesn't mean - for their own kids is not crazy. If you your daughter has ambitions to play college soccer, these are 2 events that are a little mind-blowing, in part because they go in entirely different directions.

One thing that doesn't change - regional girls soccer is going to be a diluted mess for the foreseeable future (more so here than in Washington).

What relevance exactly do you ascribe to the fact that Thorns haven't said anything? They just got a ton of free press over this; not sure what they need to say.