Is ODP Worth it?

[Unregistered]

Yes. And the Oregon "expert" claims that the club fee alone is $5K. Which it is not. ECNL players pay the same club fee as those on non-ECNL teams in the same age group. The additional cost is solely the travel, and both Crossfire and WPFC have sponsors who help offset the cost of travel.

Uhhhhhhh are you stupid?


Crossfire's dues are 5k+ So the costs still remains.

WP it COSTS MORE to play ECNL with their dues.

I may not be an expert but you sir are a moron.

[Unregistered]

If you are playing as a ECNL discovery player then you only pay a fraction of the club fee, although you pay for your own travel. For Crossfire, they have travel sponsors so the ECNL club fee includes airfare. It really is no more expensive to play as ECNL as it is any high level traveling club team.

That is incorrect as we have to pay airfare prices....not sure where you came up with that lie.

And if you include the simple fact that ECNL does their own tournaments ALONG with tournaments like surf, its alot more expensive.

your last sentence is a flat out lie. Would love you to try and back it up.


Don't worry we'll wait.

[Unregistered]

Maybe at some age groups but there is a Wa ECNL team that is competing very well and is ranked higher than their ECNL Ca counterparts. Each team stands alone.

ECNL division 2. I'm not incorrect. 97 Crossfire is a top team and one WP is a top flight team. Otherwise they are all lower end.

[Unregistered]

Uhhhhhhh are you stupid?


Crossfire's dues are 5k+ So the costs still remains.

WP it COSTS MORE to play ECNL with their dues.

I may not be an expert but you sir are a moron.

You, sir, are the moron. WPFC ECNL players pay the normal club fee, about $2,200 and travel costs are additional, and travel costs are partially offset by sponsors. Total costs including travel run from $4,500 at U14 to $6,000 at U18. See the link to WPFC ECNL costs I posted in a previous link.

Crossfire charges an all-inclusive fee of $5,500 which covers club fees, travel, camps, etc. http://www.crossfiresoccer.org/home/614251.html

It's amazing to me that you are stupid enough to argue about this when the facts are readily available.

[Unregistered]

That is incorrect as we have to pay airfare prices....not sure where you came up with that lie.

And if you include the simple fact that ECNL does their own tournaments ALONG with tournaments like surf, its alot more expensive.

your last sentence is a flat out lie. Would love you to try and back it up.


Don't worry we'll wait.

Perhaps you are unable to read? I said that Discovery players pay a fraction of the ECNL fees and pay their own travel which is exactly the same as playing with a high level team and guess what .,,,,,,,,,, wait for it......... paying your own travel. What a angry and very disrepectful person you are.

[Unregistered]

ECNL division 2. I'm not incorrect. 97 Crossfire is a top team and one WP is a top flight team. Otherwise they are all lower end.

Look at Crossfire U17. You are pretty full of yourself.

[OrSoccerMom]

I am not sure what constitutes lower flight. My DD plays for the Crossfire U17 team as a discovery player and I am pretty sure there are California teams ranked higher. I think currently the team is ranked 20th in the US in their age group behind 3 California teams but they are on track to continue to rise. They have some difficult teams to play in the upcoming Frisco event namely #1 ranked Dallas Sting. That will give an indication of the team's affinity to be trash as one poster called all Washington ECNL. I am not sure why people want to call teams "trash" or try to beat them down. Why so much animosity towards ODP and ECNL and any other endeavor that local players pursue?

[Unregistered]

I'm not sure why a thread about whether ODP is worth it turns into an ENCL forum. Seems like at least some of the posters want to say their kid is on an ENCL team (that's great, but it's not ODP) and the others want to trash ENCL and the kids who participate (don't know why you want to do that). Parents and their kids should decide what's in their interest and go for it. My only word of caution is to make sure it stays fun and your player is playing "at the highest level" because she wants to, not because her parents want or expect it.

[Unregistered]

I am the original poster. I did not state that my kid plays on the boys side. Sorry. So we should add the Academy to the conversation. Especially those that have players on one of the teams, to way in on the pro's and con's of being on the teams.

[Unregistered]

Envy and Stubbornness

I am not sure what constitutes lower flight. My DD plays for the Crossfire U17 team as a discovery player and I am pretty sure there are California teams ranked higher. I think currently the team is ranked 20th in the US in their age group behind 3 California teams but they are on track to continue to rise. They have some difficult teams to play in the upcoming Frisco event namely #1 ranked Dallas Sting. That will give an indication of the team's affinity to be trash as one poster called all Washington ECNL. I am not sure why people want to call teams "trash" or try to beat them down. Why so much animosity towards ODP and ECNL and any other endeavor that local players pursue?

Mom after plying the OR soccer waters about the same time as you I have come to this conclusion about Oregon soccer supporters and club leaders. Because they all start with their own small piece of the pie in which they have limited and periodic success they have a hard time realizing that they are the ones holding Oregon soccer back.

They refuse to consolidate into at most two clubs at the older ages because that would mean giving up a part of the slice of the pie and the $'s that go with it. Their anti-ECNL argument actually support this conclusion as they regularly bring up one OR team in each age group that can be competitive outside the sate but NEVER two in the same age and rarely more than two in any one club.

They are jealous of the corporate and money that flows to top clubs outside the state and do not want to admit that their fractured and diluted product is not worthy of a similar level of support. so rather than acknowledge a model that is working VERY successfully in the rest of the country they try to tear it down when what they should be doing is trying to figure out how we could get our own ECNL franchise which would make ODP irrelevant like it is in the areas where ECNL is an option.

But that will require a leader to step forward and organize a consolidation of the three Westside clubs for the benefit of the PLAYERS. the sad and funny thing is if that were to happen the combined membership would actually GROW as the path to the top tends to attract a lot of travelers vs the path around the base of the mountain like we have now!

[Unregistered]

that's the porblem

I'm don't trying to point out the facts with you nut jobs.

Have fun and we ll see you back here when it doesn't work out. Too bad the FC coaches of the world will see you comin from a mile away while my kid is playing for the up coach.

What if your DD does not want to go to a NW school?

[Unregistered]

I am the original poster. I did not state that my kid plays on the boys side. Sorry. So we should add the Academy to the conversation. Especially those that have players on one of the teams, to way in on the pro's and con's of being on the teams.

I have a boy as well and find it interesting how few of the conversations are about the boys' side. Our situation is a little different as we live outside of the Portland Metro area so odp is one of the few ways we have found where our son can get some exposure. Timbers Academy will be in the discussion for us in a year or two and it will not be an easy decision especially as it would require a lot of driving. He will have to really want it if we decide to go that path.

[Unregistered]

I would have to think that if Oregon soccer leaders were to value any system of higher play that it could have some very positive results for our soccer youth. ODP could be very valuable if all the higher level players were induced to try it by their respective clubs. As it is I agree with the poster that points out that our soccer leaders are far more interested in furthering their own careers with winning teams at the expense of the individual players. One of the reasons that you see so many girl soccer parents on this bored is probably frustration. Many of the top soccer leaders in this community put very little value on the female player. I personally believe that any avenue that piques the interest of the player and is affordable is certainly worth trying. ODP is one such avenue.

[Unregistered]

In previous years wa ecnl teams couldn't even win their state cup....guess ecnl prepared them for jack. If that was true which it isn't. There wouldn't be any d1 players coming out of thusc Timbers or FC this year...

Wa ecnl teams play in the B league. FYI.

WA premier U15 last yr won nationals B flight and Last yrs U15 Crossfire was #3 in nation.

[Unregistered]

I have a boy as well and find it interesting how few of the conversations are about the boys' side. Our situation is a little different as we live outside of the Portland Metro area so odp is one of the few ways we have found where our son can get some exposure. Timbers Academy will be in the discussion for us in a year or two and it will not be an easy decision especially as it would require a lot of driving. He will have to really want it if we decide to go that path.

I have a boy as well. Playing ODP, not quite to Academey age. You hit on something big. My DS is in the Portland/Metro area but very far from the Academy practice facility. If he were fortunate enough to make the academy team (that's a big if, I know), we would really have to think long and hard about the commitment to getting him to everything. Not to mention that he would then not be able to participate in high school sports. If we chose not to participate, I'm not sure there are other options that really give great exposure for college, etc unless he just flat out 'wows' in high school and club. On the boys side.


I have tried to figure out why girls parents dominate this site and I think there are a few reasons. 1) If I'm not mistaken, there is a higher percentage of girls playing OPL than boys. Confirm? 2) For girls, I think soccer might be the number #1 choice of sport (or close to it). Whereas for boys, although rising quickly, it is still on the outside looking in when compared to football and basketball (although I feel that it has caught and surpassed baseball at youth level IMHO). 3) The boys side seems to be less controversial in the options for top players. If your boy is an elite player, his best option is to align with ODP, Academy and its fairly clear. Whereas for girls, it sounds like ODP is an option, ECNL is an option, even staying with a top club (THUSC) is an option. i.e. there's more to debate.