One League this Fall

[Unregistered]

If you look around the world across sports the standard solution is equal home and away games. If you want to play in a statewide league you have to anticipate there may be some need to travel. If you don't want to travel you should not play in a statewide league.

So where the real development issue comes about is when you have a player good enough to play on a true A league travelling team and the parents don't want to travel. That is probably the toughest one to resove, but that comes down to a personal decision not one of league structure.

I don't think the choice is between a "statewide" league and a "local" league. The choice is between "travelling for appropriate competition" and "getting appropriate competition locally". It's quite possible, and even very likely, that the appropriate competition is closer to home than you think.

[Unregistered]

I don't think the choice is between a "statewide" league and a "local" league. The choice is between "travelling for appropriate competition" and "getting appropriate competition locally". It's quite possible, and even very likely, that the appropriate competition is closer to home than you think.

The last year before the split the OPL was (finally) heading in a good direction towards a reasonable balance. There was relegation and promotion built into the leagues and in the premier league home/away was a guarantee, meaning at the top level competition was statewide. This meant that teams from places like Medford and Eugene, if they had earned a place top division, were not at a disadvantage of playing the majority of their games away. I hope a combined league will follow this model.

[Unregistered]

The last year before the split the OPL was (finally) heading in a good direction towards a reasonable balance. There was relegation and promotion built into the leagues and in the premier league home/away was a guarantee, meaning at the top level competition was statewide. This meant that teams from places like Medford and Eugene, if they had earned a place top division, were not at a disadvantage of playing the majority of their games away. I hope a combined league will follow this model.

I doubt OYSA will do that.
Why? Because Bend, Eugene, and Medford are Timbers Alliance teams.
That matters because of the pyramid/"pathway to the pros". Since the Timbers want to use Oregon Youth Soccer to identify and own homegrown players they cannot afford to exclude entire teams from playing the top level teams just in case there is one premier player on a Bend/Eugene/Medford team.

Personally I hate driving to Medford to games. I doubt that Medford parents like driving to Portland for games [let's all petition for high-speed rail ;-)]
We are in Portland so there is a relative concentration of talent with the area teams. But I know that if I lived in Medford and my dk was truly a top player, I would want them to have the chance to play top level competition. So I can sympathize with the outlier teams.
I am pretty sure that my kids would be playing basketball, volleyball, and football instead of soccer if I were in their shoes. And THAT is something that Timbers (and US soccer) does not want to happen.

[Unregistered]

The last year before the split the OPL was (finally) heading in a good direction towards a reasonable balance. There was relegation and promotion built into the leagues and in the premier league home/away was a guarantee, meaning at the top level competition was statewide. This meant that teams from places like Medford and Eugene, if they had earned a place top division, were not at a disadvantage of playing the majority of their games away. I hope a combined league will follow this model.

This is not exactly true. We are an "outlier" team and most definitely premier. Our last season with OPL was 4 home games and 10 away. I get that PDX families don't see the need to travel much. But we played (and beat) THUSC for years...and every game was in Portland for multiple years. We were definitely a team worth traveling for...and got 4 home games and 10 away games.

[Unregistered]

This is not exactly true. We are an "outlier" team and most definitely premier. Our last season with OPL was 4 home games and 10 away. I get that PDX families don't see the need to travel much. But we played (and beat) THUSC for years...and every game was in Portland for multiple years. We were definitely a team worth traveling for...and got 4 home games and 10 away games.

Again, it doesn't matter if "it's a team worth travelling for" or not. In and of itself, travelling doesn't make players better. And if the right level of competition is available locally, why increase the cost just to travel? Now, if the competition is not available locally, then you have to travel, or quit. But why should that extra cost be put on the teams that can find good enough local competition?

[Unregistered]

Again, it doesn't matter if "it's a team worth travelling for" or not. In and of itself, travelling doesn't make players better. And if the right level of competition is available locally, why increase the cost just to travel? Now, if the competition is not available locally, then you have to travel, or quit. But why should that extra cost be put on the teams that can find good enough local competition?

Maybe so but then you can't be calling yourself Oregon Youth Soccer Assoc or Oregon Premier League. And, on the girls side anyways, with ECNL taking two out of the top, I think it would be tough to argue that there is truly "good enough" local competition for Portland teams not to travel combined leagues or not.

[Unregistered]

Maybe so but then you can't be calling yourself Oregon Youth Soccer Assoc or Oregon Premier League. And, on the girls side anyways, with ECNL taking two out of the top, I think it would be tough to argue that there is truly "good enough" local competition for Portland teams not to travel combined leagues or not.

You can call yourself anything you want. I could start a Portland based league tomorrow called the "National Super Duper Soccer League" if I wanted to. As to the ECNL, that actually helps to level the competition at the rest of the clubs in the Portland area. Essentially zero need to travel outside of Portland for girls teams U14 and above that aren't ECNL.

[Slow Xavi]

Regardless of What Happens

I hope:

1. There are some "limited travel" options for those outside the top 5 or so in the state, but that is still above rec.

2. Some degree of independence from Timber/ECNL on league matters.

I don't know what is going to happen, but the non-Timbers folks I know are planning fall as though OPL is alive and well. Where I've seen splits in other areas, it can last a really long time.

[Unregistered]

Essentially zero need to travel outside of Portland for girls teams U14 and above that aren't ECNL.

While I believe that in general most non ECNL players will not need to travel outside the Portland area, I think zero might be overrating the impact of ECNL on the state as a whole. Some competitive teams still exists outside of ECNL. They will likely originate in places like Bend.

[Unregistered]

I hope:

1. There are some "limited travel" options for those outside the top 5 or so in the state, but that is still above rec.

2. Some degree of independence from Timber/ECNL on league matters.

I don't know what is going to happen, but the non-Timbers folks I know are planning fall as though OPL is alive and well. Where I've seen splits in other areas, it can last a really long time.

I agree that there should be limited travel options for 2nd level and below. There are different motivations for playing at that level and they usually don't warrant long (and possibly expensive) travel.

You're spot on with your second item!

I am pretty sure there's no future in OPL this Fall. If there is a competitive team that is planning on playing in OPL this Fall, they're likely to be playing only against other teams in their club. I'd suggest that their DOC get in touch with the rest of the DOC community before making their decisions.

[Unregistered]

While I believe that in general most non ECNL players will not need to travel outside the Portland area, I think zero might be overrating the impact of ECNL on the state as a whole. Some competitive teams still exists outside of ECNL. They will likely originate in places like Bend.

That's what I meant. ECNL levels the competition between the Portland area teams that are left playing "in state". It doesn't have much of an impact on the outliers. Trouble is that this makes it even less likely that the Portland teams NEED to travel to get appropriate competition and therefore will be less willing to travel. Which makes the argument from the "outliers" that all those Portland teams MUST travel for the sake of the outliers that much weaker...

[Unregistered]

I think the outlier competitive teams will find many teams willing to travel to play them. Not all parents and players share the "we are too good to travel and shouldn't be required to" mentality.

High level outlier players will likely need to do what their predecessors before them have done: discovery (or guest) play on ECNL (or the next best thing _____) teams. In the past Bend had girls that played for Colorado Rush. That may have been a product of the Rush connection between clubs combined with exceptionally talented players. Now that Bend is a Timbers affiliated club I wonder where these types of players will turn.

[Unregistered]

I think the outlier competitive teams will find many teams willing to travel to play them. Not all parents and players share the "we are too good to travel and shouldn't be required to" mentality.

It's exactly the opposite today. It's not the "we are too good to travel", it's the "we aren't so good that we need to travel" that is predominant among the non-ECNL girls teams in the Portland area.

[Unregistered]

If you can find enough local competition then it should stay local. Tournaments are for finding new competition. Traveling tournaments or local tournaments, all in one or two weekend tournaments.

Next we will be traveling to Alaska or Ontario Oregon, because they need to play some where. Living in towns so far away is their choice and they are used to traveling. If their DK mattered so much to them they would pack up and move. Maybe in those areas they need to form even teams so they would have competition.

[Unregistered]

If you can find enough local competition then it should stay local. Tournaments are for finding new competition. Traveling tournaments or local tournaments, all in one or two weekend tournaments.

Next we will be traveling to Alaska or Ontario Oregon, because they need to play some where. Living in towns so far away is their choice and they are used to traveling. If their DK mattered so much to them they would pack up and move. Maybe in those areas they need to form even teams so they would have competition.

Half the reason that so many of the teams outside of Portland moved to Timbers/OYSA was not for the f-ing patch, but because it offered to treat those teams like equals, not second class citizens, when it came to things like a fair home/away schedule.