Are you Happy with the League Splits?

[Unregistered]

Dysfunctional (in your opinion) or not, OYSA represents programs proven over a long period of time with nationally recognized and supported leagues and tourneys. USYSA provides programs that reach any and every player across the USA that want to play the game and the fees collected by each player are used to support those programs. Not just the competitive side.

OYSA has in the past supplied grants to build fields, helped floundering clubs get back in their feet financially, offered scholarships to players to participate in ODP, trained club registrars, provided coach training free of charge to any club that requested it, anywhere in the state (as long as the club was a member).

The OPL has done NOTHING period and nobody can prove it to the contrary.

It's easy from your arm chair to point your crooked lil finger and tell everyone how bad others are and your right, the parents aren't in it for the long run, only as long as their kid(s) are participating. However, go look at the BOD's at OYSA. The majority don't have kids playing any longer. They are not paid, they don't receive stipends or reimbursements to do what they do each month and annually at their general meeting. So why do they do it ?

OPL BOD's are paid staffers at their club. They are paid to ensure that their lil organization(s) exists (for what future purpose nobody really knows, except to keep going and compounding their cash holdings).

OYSA also spent a mountain of cash remodeling their office to look like the White House. They have been wasteful as well.

[Unregistered]

Dysfunctional (in your opinion) or not, OYSA represents programs proven over a long period of time with nationally recognized and supported leagues and tourneys. USYSA provides programs that reach any and every player across the USA that want to play the game and the fees collected by each player are used to support those programs. Not just the competitive side.

OYSA has in the past supplied grants to build fields, helped floundering clubs get back in their feet financially, offered scholarships to players to participate in ODP, trained club registrars, provided coach training free of charge to any club that requested it, anywhere in the state (as long as the club was a member).

The OPL has done NOTHING period and nobody can prove it to the contrary.

It's easy from your arm chair to point your crooked lil finger and tell everyone how bad others are and your right, the parents aren't in it for the long run, only as long as their kid(s) are participating. However, go look at the BOD's at OYSA. The majority don't have kids playing any longer. They are not paid, they don't receive stipends or reimbursements to do what they do each month and annually at their general meeting. So why do they do it ?

OPL BOD's are paid staffers at their club. They are paid to ensure that their lil organization(s) exists (for what future purpose nobody really knows, except to keep going and compounding their cash holdings).

Just think of how much more the old OYSA (pre OPL) could have done with their money if they weren't paying such ridiculous salaries to so many staff... Talk about riding the gravy train. The staff between them had virtually zero soccer knowledge and proved themselves incompetent time and time again. It was well known in the soccer world that they had more full time staff in the offices than many bigger state associations in Region IV. Embarrassing...

[Unregistered]

OPL BOD's are paid staffers at their club. They are paid to ensure that their lil organization(s) exists (for what future purpose nobody really knows, except to keep going and compounding their cash holdings).

The OPL existed because they felt soccer professionals should run soccer. Not the bloated soccer illiterate bureaucrats running OYSA.

[Unregistered]

Dysfunctional (in your opinion) or not, OYSA represents programs proven over a long period of time with nationally recognized and supported leagues and tourneys. USYSA provides programs that reach any and every player across the USA that want to play the game and the fees collected by each player are used to support those programs. Not just the competitive side.

OYSA has in the past supplied grants to build fields, helped floundering clubs get back in their feet financially, offered scholarships to players to participate in ODP, trained club registrars, provided coach training free of charge to any club that requested it, anywhere in the state (as long as the club was a member).

The OPL has done NOTHING period and nobody can prove it to the contrary.

It's easy from your arm chair to point your crooked lil finger and tell everyone how bad others are and your right, the parents aren't in it for the long run, only as long as their kid(s) are participating. However, go look at the BOD's at OYSA. The majority don't have kids playing any longer. They are not paid, they don't receive stipends or reimbursements to do what they do each month and annually at their general meeting. So why do they do it ?

OPL BOD's are paid staffers at their club. They are paid to ensure that their lil organization(s) exists (for what future purpose nobody really knows, except to keep going and compounding their cash holdings).

Is that the best you've got? USYS runs tournaments that have been around for a long time. So what? The USYS tournament is on its way to irrelevance but even if it weren't that's not much of an argument.

Your rosy recollection of OYSA is directly contrary to my memory of dealing with OYSA as a club officer and director and coach. To me, it was a rule bound bloated bureaucracy that was more in the way than helpful. I don't think my experience was unique. That's not an argument that OPL is perfect. However, it's not worse.

PS I'm pretty sure that OPL members/clubs fund opportunities to play and make field improvements and the like. Neither group does as good a job at that as OPI.

[Slow Xavi]

Dysfunctional (in your opinion) or not, OYSA represents programs proven over a long period of time with nationally recognized and supported leagues and tourneys. USYSA provides programs that reach any and every player across the USA that want to play the game and the fees collected by each player are used to support those programs. Not just the competitive side.
***

Looking beyond Oregon for a second, as laudable as USYSA's goals have been, they have been in decline numerically (2008 to 2012) for a number of years (below is from USYSA's website):

US Youth Soccer Annual Registration of Players
2000 - 3,020,442
2005 - 3,050,465
2007 - 3,123,698
2008 - 3,148,114
2009 - 3,094,868
2010 - 3,036,438
2011 - 3,025,551
2012 - 3,020,633

The promise of US Club has been to allow innovation and decision-making at the club-level. Nationally, that has proven to be compelling the last few years (and was compelling for a number of folks - inside and outside of the TA - when the OPL was founded).

I don't know what the right vision is going forward (MLS, USSF Academy and ECNL now being important forces); nationally it is a mess and locally it is a mess. However, I think there are good ideas and good people on both sides of USYSA and US Club.

[Unregistered]

Looking beyond Oregon for a second, as laudable as USYSA's goals have been, they have been in decline numerically (2008 to 2012) for a number of years (below is from USYSA's website):

US Youth Soccer Annual Registration of Players
2000 - 3,020,442
2005 - 3,050,465
2007 - 3,123,698
2008 - 3,148,114
2009 - 3,094,868
2010 - 3,036,438
2011 - 3,025,551
2012 - 3,020,633

The promise of US Club has been to allow innovation and decision-making at the club-level. Nationally, that has proven to be compelling the last few years (and was compelling for a number of folks - inside and outside of the TA - when the OPL was founded).

I don't know what the right vision is going forward (MLS, USSF Academy and ECNL now being important forces); nationally it is a mess and locally it is a mess. However, I think there are good ideas and good people on both sides of USYSA and US Club.

Just look at Washington state as one example. There are only 2 clubs left in Washington Youth Soccer on the east side of the state (Spokane Shadow and Three Rivers). And there is huge growth in clubs and teams in the PSPL on the west side to the point where nearly half of the state is now solely in US Club (not including the RCL clubs that ride the fence and dual-affiliate).

[Unregistered]

You are flat out lying. You don't pay to advertise for someone else. That is essentially what the Timbers did. The OPL had zero interest in branding their leagues the Timbers. In fact many member clubs did not like that. Most people are aware that the OPL was running a surplus. GW wanted that money.

The Timbers failed to uphold their end of the contract. When GW came back wanting more after failing on his part the OPL walked.

And it occurs to me you protest quite loudly, hitting too close to home? Either you are ignorant or willfully blind, I can't tell which.

[Slow Xavi]

Just look at Washington state as one example. There are only 2 clubs left in Washington Youth Soccer on the east side of the state (Spokane Shadow and Three Rivers). And there is huge growth in clubs and teams in the PSPL on the west side to the point where nearly half of the state is now solely in US Club (not including the RCL clubs that ride the fence and dual-affiliate).

That is interesting; did not realize how decisively things have been breaking in Washington.

[Unregistered]

They didn't. The OPC and clubs never profited from the OPL either. They just amassed a lot of money. This is fair criticism.

Everyone should also recognize John Bain was the president during this time. The failures of the OPL were leadership failures.

This baffles me, so somehow it is different to amass a lot of money. In my experience that is called Profit. A failure to distribute profit doesn't mean any less profit was earned.

[Unregistered]

This baffles me, so somehow it is different to amass a lot of money. In my experience that is called Profit. A failure to distribute profit doesn't mean any less profit was earned.

Logic clearly fails you. The difference is who is profiting. Member clubs made nothing. DOCs made nothing. The OPL ran at a surplus (profit) and did nothing with the money.

In part, this occurred because the OPL has significantly lower overhead compared to OYSA. They also failed to invest the money into expanding and improving soccer.

[Unregistered]

Logic clearly fails you. The difference is who is profiting. Member clubs made nothing. DOCs made nothing. The OPL ran at a surplus (profit) and did nothing with the money.

In part, this occurred because the OPL has significantly lower overhead compared to OYSA. They also failed to invest the money into expanding and improving soccer.

So how is that a positive? In your own words "the OPL run at a surplus and did nothing with the money". That is a whole different breed of incompetence...the timbers make make a profit, but they have also been re-investing this money into youth soccer. Perhaps you don't like where it is put, but at least it isn't just sitting there idle.

[Unregistered]

????????

So how is that a positive? In your own words "the OPL run at a surplus and did nothing with the money". That is a whole different breed of incompetence...the timbers make make a profit, but they have also been re-investing this money into youth soccer. Perhaps you don't like where it is put, but at least it isn't just sitting there idle.

Dear Poster: How can you possibly be so unintelligent to accept as fact that OPL made great gobs of money and are now sitting on it? Where is your reasonable proof of this unholy profit? Do you not know that starting something costs more initially, the first few years, than when you have done it for years and accumulated stuff? Please show me where the Timbers have improved youth soccer -be specific. Then, and only then, can you make Quisling pronouncements.

[Unregistered]

So how is that a positive? In your own words "the OPL run at a surplus and did nothing with the money". That is a whole different breed of incompetence...the timbers make make a profit, but they have also been re-investing this money into youth soccer. Perhaps you don't like where it is put, but at least it isn't just sitting there idle.

Are you retarded? The Timbers are reinvesting money into youth soccer? Seriously? Do you suck on exhaust pipes? The Timbers are PROFITING from youth soccer you mouth breathing simpleton!

[Unregistered]

Are you retarded? The Timbers are reinvesting money into youth soccer? Seriously? Do you suck on exhaust pipes? The Timbers are PROFITING from youth soccer you mouth breathing simpleton!

Since all you are doing is insulting and the repeating tired arguments why don't you waste someone else's time. OPL has had far more time to invest the surplus (didn't want to call it a profit because that seems to bother you), and they have done nothing. The Timbers winter league is just nearing completion of its first season. I trust them to do something a lot more than I trust OPL who have had 5 years and have done nothing. Sorry if that is too simple for you to understand.

[Unregistered]

The OPL was/is sitting on hundreds of thousands of dollars. What are they doing with that money? Do you know what they said they were going to do with that money? (I do)

Please don't used the word retarded in a negative fashion. It is very offensive.