Thorns Academy Year 2

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In your mind perhaps, in my mind they all need alot of work. So, I am rooting for a solution that will have the power to consolidate and be more affordable. I personally believe the Academy will take off and over time will attract more girls. We are looking into the possibility of discovery play out of Seattle and playing Thorns for local practice. Best of both.

Still have to pay for travel as a discovery player. Doesn't reduce the cost one iota.

If you want lower costs you have to have more elite competition close to you. Move to SoCal and you'll be good. Until Oregon has a population of 20 million, don't hold your breath on the travel costs going down.

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In your mind perhaps, in my mind they all need alot of work. So, I am rooting for a solution that will have the power to consolidate and be more affordable. I personally believe the Academy will take off and over time will attract more girls. We are looking into the possibility of discovery play out of Seattle and playing Thorns for local practice. Best of both.

Like the Thorns would agree to letting players play ECNL too. They want to eliminate the ECNL and take over the world with their "Academy" hocus pocus.

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Like the Thorns would agree to letting players play ECNL too. They want to eliminate the ECNL and take over the world with their "Academy" hocus pocus.

Actually they seem to be okay with the idea. We are in discussions. The model works. Does it cost as much as Oregon ECNL? Yes. But, in our minds we are getting solid ongoing training and definitely playing on a better team WITH and against the best.

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Actually they seem to be okay with the idea. We are in discussions. The model works. Does it cost as much as Oregon ECNL? Yes. But, in our minds we are getting solid ongoing training and definitely playing on a better team WITH and against the best.

If you're getting training from the Thorns, you're not getting anything solid or ongoing. And the WA ECNL teams have already filled their discovery spots. Day late and a dollar short, as always in TA lemming land.

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If you're getting training from the Thorns, you're not getting anything solid or ongoing. And the WA ECNL teams have already filled their discovery spots. Day late and a dollar short, as always in TA lemming land.

Shows what you know. My older daughter already plays out of Washington and they have already acquainted themselves with my younger. Thorns training is ever bit as good as what your child is getting so no worries. I can only assume that it makes you feel better to throw insults at people and organizations that you do not know.

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Three reasons off the top:

1) it isn't any better than your typical club program (and worse than some club's programs) that costs a lot less than Thorns Academy

2) it kills off the option of playing on your club team AND doing ODP at the HS ages.

3) it needlessly fragments girls elite youth soccer in Oregon for the sole benefit of the Timbers bottom line.

Thanks for the thoughtful response. Re No. 1, perhaps for now. It will take some more buy in. If it fails due to a lack of buy in, so be it. However, judging it by one year (which wasn't bad, BTW, as far as I'm aware), doesn't seem realistic. It would be no different than me stating that the two Oregon clubs should sever their ECNL ties because they all sucked in year one.
Re No. 2, I'll have to take your word for it. I don't see ODP at the HS ages as being much anyway nowadays.
Re No. 3, that's a bit laughable. Girls elite soccer in Oregon has been fragmented for years, and most certainly has been fragmented since the establishment of the OPL. Now with ECNL, it's even more fragmented. So the answer is that if you are an elite girls soccer player, your sole option should be one of the two ECNL clubs? Why is that a good thing for Oregon soccer. (As an aside, the Oregon ECNL teams will continue to suck in ECNL so long as there are two. The state can't support it.) As for the implication that it's for the Timbers bottom line, wuhhh?! You can't really believe that.
I still don't see that there's a better alternative if a players doesn't or can't do ECNL for whatever reason. The conclusion that the Thorns Academy shouldn't exist because of the existing club structure is not really a viable option, IMO.

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I agree with you. It isn't like the two ECNL clubs were in existence for years and then the Timbers decided that it wasn't diluted enough. They all three came in at the same time. I don't think the ECNL teams will be as big of a draw for the higher level players as the implication of dilution sets in. The Thorns should offer up the ability to play both for a season so that an informed choice can be made. Players would not be able to practice both and that is okay. It isn't like the lack of practice is going to make anyone worse... the ECNL teams did incredibly poor and the Academy was average.

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I agree with you. It isn't like the two ECNL clubs were in existence for years and then the Timbers decided that it wasn't diluted enough. They all three came in at the same time. I don't think the ECNL teams will be as big of a draw for the higher level players as the implication of dilution sets in. The Thorns should offer up the ability to play both for a season so that an informed choice can be made. Players would not be able to practice both and that is okay. It isn't like the lack of practice is going to make anyone worse... the ECNL teams did incredibly poor and the Academy was average.

Just because THUSC and FC's top teams now play in the ECNL doesn't mean that anything has really changed. 80% of the top girl players always moved to those two clubs anyway. Now it'll be 90%+. No biggy.

And if you think the Academy even remotely approached "average" for what was marketed as an "all-star" team of "elite" players training in a "professional" environment, then you really need to rethink your definition of "average".

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Just because THUSC and FC's top teams now play in the ECNL doesn't mean that anything has really changed. 80% of the top girl players always moved to those two clubs anyway. Now it'll be 90%+. No biggy.

And if you think the Academy even remotely approached "average" for what was marketed as an "all-star" team of "elite" players training in a "professional" environment, then you really need to rethink your definition of "average".

80% of the top players already played ECNL and the teams still did that poorly? Not exactly a ringing endorsement or compelling reason to join. Call me when it's one club.
Nationally, about 75% of the top players play ECNL. Cool. What about the other 25%? Did you see any of the Academy games this year. Great? No. Certainly good soccer, especially for a first year program. What do you have to gain by forcing the top players to play ECNL if they want to play high level soccer?

[Unregistered]

Just because THUSC and FC's top teams now play in the ECNL doesn't mean that anything has really changed. 80% of the top girl players always moved to those two clubs anyway. Now it'll be 90%+. No biggy.

And if you think the Academy even remotely approached "average" for what was marketed as an "all-star" team of "elite" players training in a "professional" environment, then you really need to rethink your definition of "average".

I actually think the Academy outperformed ECNL and by your calculations they did it with only 20% of the high level players. I think the point is that ECNL will not be good in Oregon so long as there are two teams. Academy might be worth a try. ECNL will still be there and the really good players can walk on any team, anywhere.

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I actually think the Academy outperformed ECNL and by your calculations they did it with only 20% of the high level players. I think the point is that ECNL will not be good in Oregon so long as there are two teams. Academy might be worth a try. ECNL will still be there and the really good players can walk on any team, anywhere.

Academy is great if you don't want to do anything different, or higher level, than the club you're already at. And you want to spend $5K to do it.

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80% of the top players already played ECNL and the teams still did that poorly? Not exactly a ringing endorsement or compelling reason to join. Call me when it's one club.
Nationally, about 75% of the top players play ECNL. Cool. What about the other 25%? Did you see any of the Academy games this year. Great? No. Certainly good soccer, especially for a first year program. What do you have to gain by forcing the top players to play ECNL if they want to play high level soccer?

Did they even have cuts at the ECNL teams? I heard they took everyone... Everyone willing to cut a check that is.

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Did they even have cuts at the ECNL teams? I heard they took everyone... Everyone willing to cut a check that is.

Lots of cuts. Meanwhile Thorns Academy was out beating the bushes for rec players and toddlers to fill their fake "rosters".

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Did they even have cuts at the ECNL teams? I heard they took everyone... Everyone willing to cut a check that is.

No cuts and they are still recruiting hard to try to get anyone they can.

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Did they even have cuts at the ECNL teams? I heard they took everyone... Everyone willing to cut a check that is.

Very few. Most of the cuts were returning players. They cut terrible players and replaced them with new terrible players.