Westside pulling out from ENCL - discuss.

[Guest]

Maybe Jason can write a new book on how to bury a club

Sounds like he was merely the undertaker, not the killer.

[Guest]

Comes down to the coach. Just look at the countless semi athletic kids that kick the ball down the field that will never make a community college team.

just the facts. You think it comes down to the player you are lost. You think it comes down to a league, you’ve been lied to. You think it comes down to a club, you are a fool.

there are 5-6 real coaches in pdx sw area that regardless of where they are and what league they are in they will create quality players.

[Guest]

Jason had very little to do with any of it.

consider the people like Gant, Miguel, Lisa and company that deteriorated a club year after year to then leave and wash their hands of a pretty terrible reputation while telling everyone about the good ol days 20 years ago.

[Guest]

Waiting for the Thorns apologist who will answer Olivia Moultrie to this, so we can all laugh and laugh and laugh.

Been around long enough to know that Thorns has been the scam of all scams since day one. They convinced 6 years of girls to not play HS soccer and we watched as countless parents on here sneered about how their little Mia's were too good to grace a high school pitch. We saw them poach players from CU and FCP ECNL after the kids had committed, then claim those commits as their own (look at their 2018/19 commits - a list of former CU and FCP players). We watched them list (and still list) kids who were accepted academically (NOT for soccer) at schools like Stanford, and claim them as "soccer commits."

We saw kids give up second sports, proms, and social activities to fly all over the country because they were on the "path to the pros." And now we see those kids either playing at the likes of Oregon Tech, Western Oregon, or Pacific Lutheran...or NOT playing at schools like Seattle Pacific, or bouncing from D1 school to school and not playing anywhere.

Those kids sacrificed an entire adolescence chasing a dream that any honest person could have told them was unattainable. I don't fault their parents. We all believe our kid is the best and when adults - especially adults wearing a professional soccer team's gear and earning a paycheck from that club - tell us our kid has the potential to be the next Mal Pugh, of course we want to believe it. I blame the scam artists at Thorns who still have parents thinking that a $200/year discount on fees is a "professional subsidy from the first team," and that practicing at Providence Park somehow makes their kid's soccer training a better quality or more meaningful.

Good for Westside for getting out. They have historically done just as well as Thorns teams if you look at college placement through the lens of transfers (does the kid graduate from the school they started at) and retention/playing time (do they stay on the soccer team all 4 years and do they get to play. It's a shame that our professional clubs in Oregon have sunk so low that it's no longer a benefit to be affiliated with them. But that's where we are. Thanks Gavin and Merrit!

A ton of truth bombs in this. I would point out, however, that the Thorns Academy connection got many of those players better commits than they would’ve gotten without the GDA bump. Same goes for the ECNL clubs. No surprise then that it doesn’t pan out for many of them. Due to lesser exposure and not having an elite league patch to impress a college coach, many non GDA/ECNL players, like the ones from Westside, only get recruited when they really & truly stand our and qualify to play for that school. Hence, higher percentage of success and longevity. Another problem is it’s usually the early bloomers who head off to ECNL/Thorns. Since the leagues don’t mix, no one notices that many left in the regular clubs bloom later and surpass those early bloomers, who already committed back in 9th or 10th grade, when they were the s*&t. On top of that, GDA/ECNL insulated and didn’t challenge their stars so when they went off to their colleges, they couldn’t compete as well. They were spoon fed playing time, awards, and opportunities based on an early commitment and never realized they might not be all that anymore and never learned how to compete with players who are faster, stronger, better.

The worst was no other sports and no high school soccer. So many pros say their best memories were playing for their high schools.

I feel for the players because they will never get those years back. On the other hand, the Thorns didn’t force those players into joining. They and their parents couldn’t run fast enough to Providence Park, with their noses held high. Still, I hope the current version of Thorns Academy continues to improve its product. Same for the ECNL clubs, who each did similar disservice to many of their early stars. But at least they never lied about a player committing to Stanford! Here’s to continued success to Westside as well, who continues to look for ways to help improve the product for the players.

[Guest]

You may have been speaking of the past (Moultrie got a full ride offer from UNC in middle school, after all), but nowadays coaches can't really talk to kids until their junior year.

[Guest]

Comes down to the coach. Just look at the countless semi athletic kids that kick the ball down the field that will never make a community college team.

just the facts. You think it comes down to the player you are lost. You think it comes down to a league, you’ve been lied to. You think it comes down to a club, you are a fool.

there are 5-6 real coaches in pdx sw area that regardless of where they are and what league they are in they will create quality players.

Michael Jordan or Phil
Tom Brady or Bill
Aaron Donald or Sean
Marta or whoever
Ronaldo or whoever
Messi or whoever
Coaches coordinate activities. Athletes bring home the bacon. So while you are running around looking for a coach to make your player look better the best athletes focus on themselves and making themselves the best they can be. That's what you need to be worrying about as a youth player. The rest will take care of itself

[Guest]

AT 08 thorns had 5 nw players try out for them,none vise versa, I know at 07 the thorns took 7-8 fc players. There was at least 40 at every tryout. Lots of demand and choices. Not too many snakes besides here
NW started at 2500 then not knowing what they are doing and ripping off their families dropped their rates to 2200 lets be clear only because of the thorns

This is Fact. Look at NW Elite website. They state “competition” caused the price drop. And the Thorns subsidy also supports reduced travel costs, not just player fees. Their travel cost quotes are lower than NW. I am sure NW will figure out how to come down to Thorns quote levels too, but the Thorns are the leaders here, not the other way around. The anti Thorns posters on here are OLD NEWS. I have been around since Janine Sparza and Spartan days and the start of Thorns and a lot of what the posters have written about from the past and the effect of the DA league is true. The ECNLeague on the other hand has proven to be more satisfying to its players overall. Maybe they play a lot in college, maybe they don’t, just up to the player and what college they chose. Time to stop posting about the past. It is a good thing FC Portland dropped out, Portland could never handle three competitive ECNL teams, not enough population. It is really good the Thorns left Westside and are moving forward investing in running their own youth female academy and taking back control. Will it be perfect in this renewed year 1? Probably not, but it is definitely headed the right direction. Girls can play HS now and decisions for what team to play on goes back to being about the individual team make up and the coach and less about the club, as it should be. Looking forward, again LOOKING FORWARD, the only devastation we should all take from the recent changes at the Thorns and NW Elite is Kevin Legg now has the keys to the castle in WA at Crossfire Premier. He is not everyone’s cup of tea, but he is aggressive, competitive and capable. We just ran out a top OR talent and he took over the Microsoft Rolls Royce of clubs in the NW. Our teams may not compete for first place for decades. Way to go Oregon.

[Guest]

This is Fact. Look at NW Elite website. They state “competition” caused the price drop. And the Thorns subsidy also supports reduced travel costs, not just player fees. Their travel cost quotes are lower than NW. I am sure NW will figure out how to come down to Thorns quote levels too, but the Thorns are the leaders here, not the other way around. The anti Thorns posters on here are OLD NEWS. I have been around since Janine Sparza and Spartan days and the start of Thorns and a lot of what the posters have written about from the past and the effect of the DA league is true. The ECNLeague on the other hand has proven to be more satisfying to its players overall. Maybe they play a lot in college, maybe they don’t, just up to the player and what college they chose. Time to stop posting about the past. It is a good thing FC Portland dropped out, Portland could never handle three competitive ECNL teams, not enough population. It is really good the Thorns left Westside and are moving forward investing in running their own youth female academy and taking back control. Will it be perfect in this renewed year 1? Probably not, but it is definitely headed the right direction. Girls can play HS now and decisions for what team to play on goes back to being about the individual team make up and the coach and less about the club, as it should be. Looking forward, again LOOKING FORWARD, the only devastation we should all take from the recent changes at the Thorns and NW Elite is Kevin Legg now has the keys to the castle in WA at Crossfire Premier. He is not everyone’s cup of tea, but he is aggressive, competitive and capable. We just ran out a top OR talent and he took over the Microsoft Rolls Royce of clubs in the NW. Our teams may not compete for first place for decades. Way to go Oregon.

Speaking as a Westside parent, it's probably better for all concerned that the Thorns run their own academy. That they would partner with a youth club when they don't do so with the Timbers, is not a good look; and by the same token, any rumors that they might partner with a DIFFERENT youth club (rumors about FC), will probably have the same result. If they are going to be in the youth soccer business, and operating a pay-to-play club in ECNL means you are, they need to learn that business. For Westside, it was becoming a distraction to an already-overworked front office staff, and a distraction for the coaching staff as well.

[Guest]

Waiting for the Thorns apologist who will answer Olivia Moultrie to this, so we can all laugh and laugh and laugh.

Been around long enough to know that Thorns has been the scam of all scams since day one. They convinced 6 years of girls to not play HS soccer and we watched as countless parents on here sneered about how their little Mia's were too good to grace a high school pitch. We saw them poach players from CU and FCP ECNL after the kids had committed, then claim those commits as their own (look at their 2018/19 commits - a list of former CU and FCP players). We watched them list (and still list) kids who were accepted academically (NOT for soccer) at schools like Stanford, and claim them as "soccer commits."

We saw kids give up second sports, proms, and social activities to fly all over the country because they were on the "path to the pros." And now we see those kids either playing at the likes of Oregon Tech, Western Oregon, or Pacific Lutheran...or NOT playing at schools like Seattle Pacific, or bouncing from D1 school to school and not playing anywhere.

Those kids sacrificed an entire adolescence chasing a dream that any honest person could have told them was unattainable. I don't fault their parents. We all believe our kid is the best and when adults - especially adults wearing a professional soccer team's gear and earning a paycheck from that club - tell us our kid has the potential to be the next Mal Pugh, of course we want to believe it. I blame the scam artists at Thorns who still have parents thinking that a $200/year discount on fees is a "professional subsidy from the first team," and that practicing at Providence Park somehow makes their kid's soccer training a better quality or more meaningful.

Good for Westside for getting out. They have historically done just as well as Thorns teams if you look at college placement through the lens of transfers (does the kid graduate from the school they started at) and retention/playing time (do they stay on the soccer team all 4 years and do they get to play. It's a shame that our professional clubs in Oregon have sunk so low that it's no longer a benefit to be affiliated with them. But that's where we are. Thanks Gavin and Merrit!

I agree with you, but this could be said of most pay to play club in the area and around the U.S, not just Thorns.


Parents remember this is about the all mighty dollar, no one gives two ****s about your DD. Youth soccer and youth sports in general is a huge money maker.

Proceed with caution.

[Guest]

Speaking as a Westside parent, it's probably better for all concerned that the Thorns run their own academy. That they would partner with a youth club when they don't do so with the Timbers, is not a good look; and by the same token, any rumors that they might partner with a DIFFERENT youth club (rumors about FC), will probably have the same result. If they are going to be in the youth soccer business, and operating a pay-to-play club in ECNL means you are, they need to learn that business. For Westside, it was becoming a distraction to an already-overworked front office staff, and a distraction for the coaching staff as well.

They have to be "affiliated" with a non-profit club in order to allow the Pre-Academy teams to participate in OYSA.

[Guest]

09s had 21 total at tryouts and lost 7-8 current players. Nice try.

I’ve seen the 09s play and the coaching is horrible. They style of play is garbage and the coach yells nonsense the entire. I’m surprised they only lost 7-8 players.

[Guest]

They have to be "affiliated" with a non-profit club in order to allow the Pre-Academy teams to participate in OYSA.

Thus the interest in FC Portland as their affiliation. I'd be curious to know if they approached Eastside Timbers to be their office admin. With GW being the former DOC at Eastside, I just don't see Eastside dropping the Timbers affiliation.

[Guest]

I’ve seen the 09s play and the coaching is horrible. They style of play is garbage and the coach yells nonsense the entire. I’m surprised they only lost 7-8 players.

Half the team never played anyway so now they must be getting their their big break. LOL.They are still drinking the Kool Aid thinking they are actually some part of the Thorns organization. The remaining few will be gone next year after the team fails miserably.

[Guest]

This is Fact. Look at NW Elite website. They state “competition” caused the price drop. And the Thorns subsidy also supports reduced travel costs, not just player fees. Their travel cost quotes are lower than NW. I am sure NW will figure out how to come down to Thorns quote levels too, but the Thorns are the leaders here, not the other way around. The anti Thorns posters on here are OLD NEWS. I have been around since Janine Sparza and Spartan days and the start of Thorns and a lot of what the posters have written about from the past and the effect of the DA league is true. The ECNLeague on the other hand has proven to be more satisfying to its players overall. Maybe they play a lot in college, maybe they don’t, just up to the player and what college they chose. Time to stop posting about the past. It is a good thing FC Portland dropped out, Portland could never handle three competitive ECNL teams, not enough population. It is really good the Thorns left Westside and are moving forward investing in running their own youth female academy and taking back control. Will it be perfect in this renewed year 1? Probably not, but it is definitely headed the right direction. Girls can play HS now and decisions for what team to play on goes back to being about the individual team make up and the coach and less about the club, as it should be. Looking forward, again LOOKING FORWARD, the only devastation we should all take from the recent changes at the Thorns and NW Elite is Kevin Legg now has the keys to the castle in WA at Crossfire Premier. He is not everyone’s cup of tea, but he is aggressive, competitive and capable. We just ran out a top OR talent and he took over the Microsoft Rolls Royce of clubs in the NW. Our teams may not compete for first place for decades. Way to go Oregon.

Sure Thorns can offer $200 less and “subsidized” travel but how many forced silent auction participants does it take?

[Guest]

Nope. Incorrect. Comes.down to the player and their level of skills, athleticism, and mental toughness. Trust me. If your kid doesn't have it in then the coach doesn't matter and can't tech diddly.

I don't know why people sit on these forums and 100% discount the fact it's the player who is playing. It's the player who is learning. It's the player who is developing. It's the player who is busting ass on the field. Sure they need guidance to learn the game. But I promise you by U15 or U16 it's way more about mind and body over coaching.

A lot of good points. As you get older its about mind (time, space, IQ) and body (work habit, fitness).