Which organization best serves the elite athletes... OPL or OYSA?

[ESUFC Fan]

When you first see the question the obvious answer would be the OPL of course is more concerned with competetive soccer and therefore the best avenue for our highest level soccer players.

Even so, the split between the two has had an interesting consequence of significantly increasing the cost of participation in ODP which has been the place the high level athlete was able to challenge themselves by playing on a team with other high level athletes and pushing themselves to reach the next level.. ie Regional team or even National team.

The background is that in past years with OYSA some of the registration fees for all players were set aside for ODP which is OYSA's answer to elevating the top level athletes. After the split this money immediately dried up so that ODP athletes will pay about 30% more to play ie it is not subsidized any longer.

Under the OPL are there any immediate options for the highest level athlete to strive to a higher level or does this level of play now require parents of these players to bring even more money if little Suzie or Johnny is to achieve anything?

People keep bringing up US Club Developmental Academy. The only problem with this is that it doesn't exist today and we have some high school level soccer players that are in that age bracket today.

How many people would like to have the ability to consolidate the talent and have the vast majority of the current "ODP" high end players on one team and compete at a higher level say FWRL or ECNL.

This is not a question about control it is a question of options and how to best cater to the needs of the elite athlete.

[Unregistered]

When you first see the question the obvious answer would be the OPL of course is more concerned with competetive soccer and therefore the best avenue for our highest level soccer players.

Even so, the split between the two has had an interesting consequence of significantly increasing the cost of participation in ODP which has been the place the high level athlete was able to challenge themselves by playing on a team with other high level athletes and pushing themselves to reach the next level.. ie Regional team or even National team.

The background is that in past years with OYSA some of the registration fees for all players were set aside for ODP which is OYSA's answer to elevating the top level athletes. After the split this money immediately dried up so that ODP athletes will pay about 30% more to play ie it is not subsidized any longer.

Under the OPL are there any immediate options for the highest level athlete to strive to a higher level or does this level of play now require parents of these players to bring even more money if little Suzie or Johnny is to achieve anything?

People keep bringing up US Club Developmental Academy. The only problem with this is that it doesn't exist today and we have some high school level soccer players that are in that age bracket today.

How many people would like to have the ability to consolidate the talent and have the vast majority of the current "ODP" high end players on one team and compete at a higher level say FWRL or ECNL.

This is not a question about control it is a question of options and how to best cater to the needs of the elite athlete.

I feel like if you spent less time on this board and more time talking to your DOC you might have some answers. Why do people soley come on here for their questions?

Why not ask your DOC what their plans are for next season. Are they going to offer a program like ODP? What are their plans for their top athletes? You might be surprised by the answers.

[ESUFC Fan]

I feel like if you spent less time on this board and more time talking to your DOC you might have some answers. Why do people soley come on here for their questions?

Why not ask your DOC what their plans are for next season. Are they going to offer a program like ODP? What are their plans for their top athletes? You might be surprised by the answers.

I can only assume that you think these questions haven't been asked? And, I was surprised.

[Unregistered]

What did your DOC say? I asked the same questions and was pleasantly surprised.

[Unregistered]

An important question

When you first see the question the obvious answer would be the OPL of course is more concerned with competetive soccer and therefore the best avenue for our highest level soccer players.

Even so, the split between the two has had an interesting consequence of significantly increasing the cost of participation in ODP which has been the place the high level athlete was able to challenge themselves by playing on a team with other high level athletes and pushing themselves to reach the next level.. ie Regional team or even National team.

The background is that in past years with OYSA some of the registration fees for all players were set aside for ODP which is OYSA's answer to elevating the top level athletes. After the split this money immediately dried up so that ODP athletes will pay about 30% more to play ie it is not subsidized any longer.

Under the OPL are there any immediate options for the highest level athlete to strive to a higher level or does this level of play now require parents of these players to bring even more money if little Suzie or Johnny is to achieve anything?

People keep bringing up US Club Developmental Academy. The only problem with this is that it doesn't exist today and we have some high school level soccer players that are in that age bracket today.

How many people would like to have the ability to consolidate the talent and have the vast majority of the current "ODP" high end players on one team and compete at a higher level say FWRL or ECNL.

This is not a question about control it is a question of options and how to best cater to the needs of the elite athlete.

This situation is unfortunately an unavoidable outcome from OPL's positioning. When OPL split off they were angry because "all the rec" participants were making decisions for the competitive teams.

I do not know the actual numbers but it is somewhere around 50,000 rec players and 2,000 elite players.

What they missed is that the cost of programs like ODP was made affordable because it was spread over that whole base.

OPL's action rather than offering something comparable is to say "let's wait for the Timbers Academy, lets wait for USDA programs". They are waiting because they hope someone else will do it for them. If they are truly the home of elite soccer they should run ODP.

NWCL has not lived up to expectations, us club regionals are a joke, so where is the focus on the Elite Athlete?

OYSA definitely has it's own problems, it is overly political, and administered in a haphazard way, but it also provides access to FWRL, and other truly premier level competition.

At least with OYSA we received some benefits for our dollar. Here we are with OPL paying virtually the same amount, and we receive no ODP, other events when there are problems get passed off.

I guess the saying is "don't look at the man behind the curtain" because it certainly seems like OPL is just a small OYSA with no extras

[Unregistered]

I do not know the actual numbers but it is somewhere around 50,000 rec players and 2,000 elite players.

What they missed is that the cost of programs like ODP was made affordable because it was spread over that whole base.

OPL's action rather than offering something comparable is to say "let's wait for the Timbers Academy, lets wait for USDA programs". They are waiting because they hope someone else will do it for them. If they are truly the home of elite soccer they should run ODP.

Sooner or later the rec program was going to grow tired of funding ODP and prices would have gone up. If the cost was divided up between 52,000 kids and 2,000 left the cost would still be pretty low. It was the rec clubs protesting and wishing not to pay that brought the cost up.

I don't know who your DOC is but if that is their answer to your question of a comparable program then they are misinformed. And if that's the kind of answer I received when asking questions I'd be switching clubs.

[Unregistered]

I guess the saying is "don't look at the man behind the curtain" because it certainly seems like OPL is just a small OYSA with no extras

Much the same as US Club is to USYS. US Club costs less cause they offer less in return.

[Unregistered]

The Truly elite athlete

Athletes who will succeed to the truly elite levels have a drive to do whatever it takes to get them where the are going. They find the right teams, they contact the right coaches, they do what needs to be done.

For an Athlete like this OYSA is surprisingly a better answer. This is because OYSA can keep prices down, and has the connections to find opportunities for exposure for those driven players.

For the "kinda-elite" players, the ones who want to wear the fancy jerseys with the expensive shoes, but don't want to put in all the time everything above takes, OPL sells themselves as the answer. OPL claims that they will put you in the avenues with the best exposure NWCL, US Club events, Surf Cup. If you are too lazy to do it for yourself, they will do it for you for a fee...

Or so they claim.

It takes a lot of work to move from local to regional to national, it almost has to be like a job for those kids (40 hrs/wk). The kids who put in the work will get there. If you aren't willing to put in the work it doesn't matter where you play you wont make it to the true elite level.

[Unregistered]

Actually some people think for themselves...

Sooner or later the rec program was going to grow tired of funding ODP and prices would have gone up. If the cost was divided up between 52,000 kids and 2,000 left the cost would still be pretty low. It was the rec clubs protesting and wishing not to pay that brought the cost up.

I don't know who your DOC is but if that is their answer to your question of a comparable program then they are misinformed. And if that's the kind of answer I received when asking questions I'd be switching clubs.

You know it isn't hard to figure this stuff out, look around a little and draw you own conclusions, think for yourself, rather than just taking your DOC's word.

[Unregistered]

Athletes who will succeed to the truly elite levels have a drive to do whatever it takes to get them where the are going. They find the right teams, they contact the right coaches, they do what needs to be done.

For an Athlete like this OYSA is surprisingly a better answer. This is because OYSA can keep prices down, and has the connections to find opportunities for exposure for those driven players.

For the "kinda-elite" players, the ones who want to wear the fancy jerseys with the expensive shoes, but don't want to put in all the time everything above takes, OPL sells themselves as the answer. OPL claims that they will put you in the avenues with the best exposure NWCL, US Club events, Surf Cup. If you are too lazy to do it for yourself, they will do it for you for a fee...

Or so they claim.

It takes a lot of work to move from local to regional to national, it almost has to be like a job for those kids (40 hrs/wk). The kids who put in the work will get there. If you aren't willing to put in the work it doesn't matter where you play you wont make it to the true elite level.

Well spoken Chuck!!

[ESUFC Fan]

What did your DOC say? I asked the same questions and was pleasantly surprised.

If you would like to private message me I will be more than happy to share the information that has been provided me. My intent is not to get people bashing on one club because this isn't a one club problem. It is a elite athlete problem.

I personally feel that it is too bad that the OPL doesn't come up with a ODP type team that competes at higher levels than the NWCL and with others who are of similiar ability. This would result in sharing of talent, loss of the best players on existing teams and it would cost money. As such it isn't likely to happen.

[Unregistered]

Wow. Cracking up with some truly astonishing responses. You people REALLY expect a lot from way up their on your very high horses, don't you?

I guess I was under the impression that the OPL is in the first year of their expansion for leagues up to U18. To me, that meant they are not going to present an array of programs and be a fully-formed state association in their first year, and instead focus on doing what they said they would and run a good, competent league. Did your kid pop out of the womb a fully formed soccer player? Nooooo, they had to grow up a little before they could kick a ball. At least mine did - maybe your kids are as amazing and ELITE as you say and they were kicking a ball in their bassinette the first night they came home.

I have no expectations for the OPL in their first year other than to run a high quality league and a great state cup. Which they have, so far; and which they have done by charging less for their participation fees than OYSA; and which they have done by only having one person working for them. If they start introducing new programs over the next year or two, fantastic. But I would rather the OPL focus on doing the one thing they said they would (running a high quality league) right, than have them throw 10 programs out in their first year and having them all be mediocre. I think, and we've seen it time and time again in many different areas of life, a slow, sustainable growth, is better than explosive expansion and fizzle out. In my opinion, this approach will serve the elite athletes better and be more productive for the state in the long run. I realize this does not appease some of you, and for you I would suggest, if you think your daughter is Notre Dame/Stanford/UNC material, and the OPL is keeping you down, to quit your club and go play for Crossfire. A three-hour commute is nothing. And before you say that's not realistic, Clint Dempsey's parents used to drive him 6 hours round trip three times a week to play club ball. It's realistic if you want it to be. Or it's easier to to kvetch on here about how terrible your club is and what terrible people they are for supporting the fourth-rate OPL and not blindly giving money to OYSA because your kid happens to play in an OYSA program.

[Unregistered]

Well spoken Chuck!!

Im not Chuck, but thanks for the compliment Larry.

[Unregistered]

and to add...

lets take a step back for a second: very few soccer players in oregon are 'ELITE'. This term is used WAY too loosely. Oregon is a small blip on the national radar of soccer talent. One or two ELITE teams....one or two ELITE players....but I would bet my life that no child of anyone that posts in here would be considered 'ELITE' by anyone with a half a soccer mind. If you post in here and you seriously think your child is 'ELITE', do her/him a favor and stop posting in here immediately.

Sincerely,

amused observer/occasional poster

[ESUFC Fan]

Wow. Cracking up with some truly astonishing responses. You people REALLY expect a lot from way up their on your very high horses, don't you?

I have no expectations for the OPL

I think some of us have provided dollars and time and athletes to our clubs which are part of the OPL for a long time. As such, we do have the expectation that they provide what they say they provide..... the ability to get to the next level for those that possess the talent and are willing to put in the effort. And yes, all the OPL founding clubs do say that.