THUSC Forum

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Program Strength

I'm not with THUSC, but am in the camp of those who believe it would be good for higher-end Oregon women's soccer to have an ECNL club in this state - be it THUSC or some other club. THUSC just seems to have the strongest women's program at this time. OSSA is close, I think, as is Rush. I believe OSSA will be at that level in a couple years, but I can't see ECNL awarding two teams ever to the PDX region, so OSSA likely is a couple years late. OR Rush is limited by population and geography and some kids have the opportunity through other Rush clubs to do ECNL anyway.

There definitely are much stronger clubs than THUSC that are part of ECNL, but there are plenty of Metro areas of similar or comparable size that are able to support ECNL clubs, e.g., Milwaukie, Tulsa, Vegas, Kansas City, Indy (Carmel), and lots of suburbs of larger cities that share the region (e.g., Dallas, Atlanta). ECNL has its fair share of Super Clubs, but there are plenty that are not. Ultimately that means that there are plenty of clubs with some strong age groups and some weaker age groups - no different than THUSC. Only the Super Clubs have teams that are at the top across the board. THUSC teams do quite well without ECNL. My gut says that the U18 problem resolves itself if THUSC gets ECNL. Plenty of girls will jump at the opportunity who presently do not.

Looking at how the various teams actually did (U14) and how they're doing (U-15 to U-18) it looks like FC and THUSC have the strongest programs. What metric are you using to put OSSA or Rush ahead of FC? Have no clue whether FC applied for or is even interested in ENCL, but you'd think it would have an historic advantage over THUSC, which while successful now, is a relative newcomer.

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I am not going to disagree that Tom is a recruiter. Even so, I am of the belief that all successful teams have done some recruiting. Even so, if the team is not that good it isn't going to help that much to recruit. Who wants to move from a good team to a okay team?

As for Tom, it seems like people either love or hate him.

Thank you for this post. I have only heard the good and bad of THUSC through this forum. I dont know Tom so I don't love or hate him or his club. I do, however, think the recruiting is fine and wish our club director would do the same. If a director saw potential in my kid and offered such things, I would talk to others in the club of their opinion. And I would take it as a compliment for my kid. If it all sounds good then we would decide to stay put or switch clubs. How is that wrong? He seems to be wanting to build the best teams which will build his club for the present and future. Nothing wrong with that, is there?

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I am guessing that the poster was basing it on the ability to win. THUSC clearly out wins most clubs in at least 3 consecutive age groups. Rush would not qualify for three consecutive age groups but OSSA might. I don't think a club being newer will prevent them from entering the ECNL.

FC has a rich history with some great teams and currently has some great players but even some of their strong teams struggle much of the time. I don't know if it is a coaching thing or a synergy thing. The U16s for example have a immensely talented roster and yet they got stomped by OSSA a couple of weeks ago. I doubt it was a slam but more of a what is consistently happening today issue.

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Is being able to win a lot a requirement of the ECNL?

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Thank you for this post. I have only heard the good and bad of THUSC through this forum. I dont know Tom so I don't love or hate him or his club. I do, however, think the recruiting is fine and wish our club director would do the same. If a director saw potential in my kid and offered such things, I would talk to others in the club of their opinion. And I would take it as a compliment for my kid. If it all sounds good then we would decide to stay put or switch clubs. How is that wrong? He seems to be wanting to build the best teams which will build his club for the present and future. Nothing wrong with that, is there?

I think in youth soccer there is an understanding among clubs that you don't approach players trying to lure them to a different club.

I know that when my kid was intersted in another club and asked to practice with the club to see what it was all about, the response from the club is they needed permission from his current club in writing before they allowed him to practice with their club.

I acutally liked that respose. I do see a problem with clubs trying to recruit players from other clubs before the player first shows interest in the club. But I'm learning how competitive it is out there and fi recruiting is allowed, I'm not surprised to find out clubs are doing it (if allowed I would bet THUSC isn't the only club doing it)

[Unregistered]

I'm not with THUSC, but am in the camp of those who believe it would be good for higher-end Oregon women's soccer to have an ECNL club in this state - be it THUSC or some other club. THUSC just seems to have the strongest women's program at this time. OSSA is close, I think, as is Rush. I believe OSSA will be at that level in a couple years, but I can't see ECNL awarding two teams ever to the PDX region, so OSSA likely is a couple years late. OR Rush is limited by population and geography and some kids have the opportunity through other Rush clubs to do ECNL anyway.

There definitely are much stronger clubs than THUSC that are part of ECNL, but there are plenty of Metro areas of similar or comparable size that are able to support ECNL clubs, e.g., Milwaukie, Tulsa, Vegas, Kansas City, Indy (Carmel), and lots of suburbs of larger cities that share the region (e.g., Dallas, Atlanta). ECNL has its fair share of Super Clubs, but there are plenty that are not. Ultimately that means that there are plenty of clubs with some strong age groups and some weaker age groups - no different than THUSC. Only the Super Clubs have teams that are at the top across the board. THUSC teams do quite well without ECNL. My gut says that the U18 problem resolves itself if THUSC gets ECNL. Plenty of girls will jump at the opportunity who presently do not.

this topic of ECNL is hilarious!
Botttom line...there isn't a club in the Portland Metro Area that has the credentials...

Take Crossfire ECNL teams....some of them lose 5-0 on the road....Crossfire is the best in all of our three states...
Has there been a consistant Regional Champion on the womens side here in Portland Metro?
Has a THUSC team ever won or even made it to the Semi's of Surf Cup?
Has THUSC/FC ever had a team win Mustang Challenge?
Does THUSC/FC have the best coaching at these age groups on the girls side?
Almost all ECNL coached teams are coached by not one but two "A" licensed coaches.
I don't hear or see of any clubs in the area taking chances consistantly by traveling to So Cal to play the best in the Region...no I do on the boys side. I have heard WSM and VUSA girls teams traveling quite a bit.

Is there a club in the Northwest that competes in the following catagories with San Diego Surf? Crossfire?
Club’s Player Development Guidelines.
Club’s History of Youth Player Development.
Club’s History of Success in Elite Competitions, Tournaments and Leagues.
Club’s Technical Staff.

I think not....sorry folks...PDX is not prepared for ECNL...we need some work.

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this topic of ECNL is hilarious!
Botttom line...there isn't a club in the Portland Metro Area that has the credentials...

Take Crossfire ECNL teams....some of them lose 5-0 on the road....Crossfire is the best in all of our three states...
Has there been a consistant Regional Champion on the womens side here in Portland Metro?
Has a THUSC team ever won or even made it to the Semi's of Surf Cup?
Has THUSC/FC ever had a team win Mustang Challenge?
Does THUSC/FC have the best coaching at these age groups on the girls side?
Almost all ECNL coached teams are coached by not one but two "A" licensed coaches.
I don't hear or see of any clubs in the area taking chances consistantly by traveling to So Cal to play the best in the Region...no I do on the boys side. I have heard WSM and VUSA girls teams traveling quite a bit.

Is there a club in the Northwest that competes in the following catagories with San Diego Surf? Crossfire?
Club’s Player Development Guidelines.
Club’s History of Youth Player Development.
Club’s History of Success in Elite Competitions, Tournaments and Leagues.
Club’s Technical Staff.

I think not....sorry folks...PDX is not prepared for ECNL...we need some work.

take the Dallas Sting GU-14

they have:

Four "A" licensed coaches on the staff.

4! ***

Does THUSC even have 4 "A" licensed coaches in the club let alone one team

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We know first hand that recruiting is alive and well at many good area clubs. I don't think it is as overt as trying to lure kids away from a club when they haven't expressed any interest in another club. Often it begins with your kiddos team mates from ODP who may invite them to guest play. If a player or the parent express an interest then bring on the sales pitch. It is competitive soccer and of course teams want to win. Sometimes, there are players that are not happy and migrate to a new club like THUSC and everyone assumes that the club lured them away when in fact something about the current team is pushing them away.

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take the Dallas Sting GU-14

they have:

Four "A" licensed coaches on the staff.

4! ***

Does THUSC even have 4 "A" licensed coaches in the club let alone one team

Likely no. However, that may not be a qualification. Maybe they will look at a variety of factors. Oregon is a thriving soccer community and isn't all that different from some of the smaller ECNL clubs located in metro areas similar to PDX. Portland is not Dallas.

Some people so want Oregon to fail at this. I for one am thinking positive thoughts and hoping that our little community will get this. This would be an amazing thing for Oregon.

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take the Dallas Sting GU-14

they have:

Four "A" licensed coaches on the staff.

4! ***

Does THUSC even have 4 "A" licensed coaches in the club let alone one team

Crossfire doesn't have 4 coaches of any license letter for each age group.

[Unregistered]

We know first hand that recruiting is alive and well at many good area clubs. I don't think it is as overt as trying to lure kids away from a club when they haven't expressed any interest in another club. Often it begins with your kiddos team mates from ODP who may invite them to guest play. If a player or the parent express an interest then bring on the sales pitch. It is competitive soccer and of course teams want to win. Sometimes, there are players that are not happy and migrate to a new club like THUSC and everyone assumes that the club lured them away when in fact something about the current team is pushing them away.

Well if it competitve soccer and recruting is "alive and well", then why do you assume at the end that it is other clubs pushing kids away. In other words, if the goal of coahes and DOC is to improve their club, why would assume they just recruit kids wanting to move?

Nice spin, but if there is recruiting, very naive to think most kids leave because other clubs are pushing them away . . . maybe in a few instances, but not the majority. Like one poster said, if they are approached by coach or DOC, they take it as a compliment and look into it. If recruiting is allowed, then of course some DOCs will appraoch kids with promises and compliments. Heck anyone surprised if DOCs do it even if not allowed . . .

[Unregistered]

this topic of ECNL is hilarious!
Botttom line...there isn't a club in the Portland Metro Area that has the credentials...

Take Crossfire ECNL teams....some of them lose 5-0 on the road....Crossfire is the best in all of our three states...
Has there been a consistant Regional Champion on the womens side here in Portland Metro?
Has a THUSC team ever won or even made it to the Semi's of Surf Cup?
Has THUSC/FC ever had a team win Mustang Challenge?
Does THUSC/FC have the best coaching at these age groups on the girls side?
Almost all ECNL coached teams are coached by not one but two "A" licensed coaches.
I don't hear or see of any clubs in the area taking chances consistantly by traveling to So Cal to play the best in the Region...no I do on the boys side. I have heard WSM and VUSA girls teams traveling quite a bit.

Is there a club in the Northwest that competes in the following catagories with San Diego Surf? Crossfire?
Club’s Player Development Guidelines.
Club’s History of Youth Player Development.
Club’s History of Success in Elite Competitions, Tournaments and Leagues.
Club’s Technical Staff.

I think not....sorry folks...PDX is not prepared for ECNL...we need some work.

Geez. Where to begin. Don't let the facts get in your way.
Crossfire teams:
U14 - 3-1
U15 Hasn't started season yet
U16 1-1-1
U17 2-0-1. Yes, they have a loss of 5-0 - their sole loss. They also HAVE a win at 5-0.
U-18 Hasn't started season yet.

No traveling? Are you serious. Talk to some of the THUSC parents about their travel this past year, including repeated trips to So Cal. Same with OSSA and Rush. FC - not so much, but perhaps that's part of their plan. I don't know. (Not being facetious.)

You seem to want to focus on the Super Clubs, which certainly do not include any Oregon clubs. However, as someone pointed out previously, NOT all ECNL clubs are Super Clubs. The questions you ask above apply to about half the ECNL clubs. They are representative of the country. Don't take my word for it - take a look yourself rather than just finding one fact to fit your argument.

You're also assuming that the status quo would remain if THUSC got into the ECNL. That simply is not going to happen.

Your arguments are like suggesting that Oregon State shouldn't be in the Pac-12 because they're not Stanford or UCLA, or that Boston College shouldn't be in the ACC because it's not Duke. THUSC will never be equivalent to a top So Cal team. However, it will fit in as good or better than at least a third or half the present ECNL clubs. Again, go do your homework.

[Unregistered]

I think in youth soccer there is an understanding among clubs that you don't approach players trying to lure them to a different club.

I know that when my kid was intersted in another club and asked to practice with the club to see what it was all about, the response from the club is they needed permission from his current club in writing before they allowed him to practice with their club.

I acutally liked that respose. I do see a problem with clubs trying to recruit players from other clubs before the player first shows interest in the club. But I'm learning how competitive it is out there and fi recruiting is allowed, I'm not surprised to find out clubs are doing it (if allowed I would bet THUSC isn't the only club doing it)

Recruiting is not allowed. However every club does it. We have three kids that have played over the years at three different clubs and I have seen all three clubs recruit. Parents are some of the biggest recruiters of all. They will talk to a kids parents at ODP let them know about the team and weaknesses that their child might be able to fill on the roster. It happens what can be done abou it?

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this topic of ECNL is hilarious!

I think not....sorry folks...PDX is not prepared for ECNL...we need some work.

I should ignore any commentator who uses the word "folks," but I can't.

I've lived in most sections of the country. Are you truly suggesting that the "folks" of Milwaukie, Tulsa, Central Indiana, Vegas, Detroit, and on and on are "more prepared." This doesn't include the fact that you have multiple clubs from some areas, such as Denver with 3 clubs. Look at the clubs in their entirety. Don't simply choose the best of the best. No one is suggesting that. There are hotbeds of women's soccer around the country, but 75% of the country's women's soccer is just like Oregon. And yes, I have experienced that.

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Recruiting is not allowed. However every club does it. We have three kids that have played over the years at three different clubs and I have seen all three clubs recruit. Parents are some of the biggest recruiters of all. They will talk to a kids parents at ODP let them know about the team and weaknesses that their child might be able to fill on the roster. It happens what can be done abou it?

As for parents or the kids themselves, why should anything be done about it? I'm not paid by the club or have any association other than as a parent. Why should I be precluded from doing exactly what you describe?