A little perspective

[Unregistered]

I like OPs original comments. The Thorns at this stage to compete at this caliber of competition, but maybe in time. Onyx has been the only team to represent Oregon as I think they finished the season in the top 25 of ECNL, but even they struggled against the top 10 teams. I can't imagine the Thorns facing the speed of play and athleticism of a team like Slammers. Eventually I think it will be the place to be, but parents it will not be cheap

No Oregon club won even the Mountain Division of the Northwest Conference in the ECNL structure. No single team from CU or FC PDX was relevant in the ECNL over two years. mentioning that one team finished 29th out of 70 some teams is really a stretch to say the finished in the top 25 they didn't.

Having seen first hand what the local clubs faced in the ECNL it's refreshing and encouraging that Oregon will have the opportunity to form one team with the best of the best players developing together with the platform and structure provided by soccer professionals.

It's a great day for Oregon Soccer!

[Unregistered]

Why does everything on this board have to be about Westside v. THUSC? Tom's gone, you won.

Hadn't been reading a vibe in this thread of WST vs THUSC? Maybe it's something on your mind. Anyway Tom's gone we ALL win! The question is will THUSC be able to survive?

[Unregistered]

No Oregon club won even the Mountain Division of the Northwest Conference in the ECNL structure. No single team from CU or FC PDX was relevant in the ECNL over two years. mentioning that one team finished 29th out of 70 some teams is really a stretch to say the finished in the top 25 they didn't.

Having seen first hand what the local clubs faced in the ECNL it's refreshing and encouraging that Oregon will have the opportunity to form one team with the best of the best players developing together with the platform and structure provided by soccer professionals.

It's a great day for Oregon Soccer!

Onyx qualified for the Champions league 2 years in a row (no other team in Oregon had their track record). This year they finished 3rd in their pool earning them a spot in the top 25. Maybe it should have been worded this way: Onyx finished in the top 25 in the National Playoffs for the Champions League. With that being said they aren't at the level of those teams moving East for the Championship.

[Unregistered]

Onyx qualified for the Champions league 2 years in a row (no other team in Oregon had their track record). This year they finished 3rd in their pool earning them a spot in the top 25. Maybe it should have been worded this way: Onyx finished in the top 25 in the National Playoffs for the Champions League. With that being said they aren't at the level of those teams moving East for the Championship.

So what your saying i, in your opinios this team was the best of all the horrible teams from Oregon clubs playing in the ECNL over the last 2 years. Why are you even bringing this up?

29th place out of 70+ teams should be called what it is an also ran.

Finishing tied for 3rd & 4th place in a group of 4 teams in a qualifying pool play for the ECNL championship is called an also ran.

Once they got to a level where they could advance based on performance, they didn't.

Not any different than all other other teams from that entered. They too didn't win the Mountain division and didn't advance towards a championship. We all understand that.

This team while not relevant in the ECNL by measure of performance is worthy of mention because.....you want to talk about them. weird.


What does it matter? The ECNL is being destroyed by US Soccer and you want to talk about 29th place in the table team?

[Unregistered]

The GDA is not about the competition.

You parents need to be re-wired!

Sorry but it is about the competition in DA as well. Fewer teams get to go to playoffs. Better clubs attract better players. Coaches still want the wins - they didn't check their egos at the door. It's the same BS just a different name. You just won't be playing as many games - a much needed change of pace - and will have more training. PT is earned not given. Plenty of players will still be sitting, maybe more in fact given the substitution rules. But playing quality competition develops you even further and teams still want the win.

[Unregistered]

So what your saying i, in your opinios this team was the best of all the horrible teams from Oregon clubs playing in the ECNL over the last 2 years. Why are you even bringing this up?

29th place out of 70+ teams should be called what it is an also ran.

Finishing tied for 3rd & 4th place in a group of 4 teams in a qualifying pool play for the ECNL championship is called an also ran.

Once they got to a level where they could advance based on performance, they didn't.

Not any different than all other other teams from that entered. They too didn't win the Mountain division and didn't advance towards a championship. We all understand that.

This team while not relevant in the ECNL by measure of performance is worthy of mention because.....you want to talk about them. weird.


What does it matter? The ECNL is being destroyed by US Soccer and you want to talk about 29th place in the table team?

The recent posts talking about records and wins/losses and where they are in the group is the EXACT reason why we need the GDA. Then we can start educating parents that being 29th out of 70 teams means nothing. It is about your DD's training environment.

[Unregistered]

Sorry but it is about the competition in DA as well. Fewer teams get to go to playoffs. Better clubs attract better players. Coaches still want the wins - they didn't check their egos at the door. It's the same BS just a different name. You just won't be playing as many games - a much needed change of pace - and will have more training. PT is earned not given. Plenty of players will still be sitting, maybe more in fact given the substitution rules. But playing quality competition develops you even further and teams still want the win.

GDA playing time will be equal. Everyone plays no matter what the result is.

[Unregistered]

The recent posts talking about records and wins/losses and where they are in the group is the EXACT reason why we need the GDA. Then we can start educating parents that being 29th out of 70 teams means nothing. It is about your DD's training environment.

Any sane person know that being 29th out of 70 teams means nothing.

How this insanity regarding the irrelevance (29th place out of 70 teams) blends into a discussion about why the GDA is needed is really another topic altogether.

Honest spin appreciated :)

[Unregistered]

this is where parents/coaches are failing.

It's not about the competition but about the training. We do not have enough quality staff to coach these kids. We don't have enough parents that even allow their kids to be taught. It's not about playing in high level events all of the time. It is about the training. What is the training environment like. The word "competition" is thrown around so much it has killed what we are supposed to be doing. Take for example the Beaverton Cup for the Thorns. Is it a soft event? On paper, yes. Will it be a soft event? Not if the coach is teaching the game correctly. I could easily play them on age and put them in an environment where they would fail more times than not. I would much rather put them in an environment here locally where I could control it. Traveling to play teams like Surf Academy every 30-60 days is detrimental to their development. Now, should they get games against teams like Surf Academy? Absolutely, just not every game.
You can control the game by giving restrictions that actually force them to learn the game. For example, force the girls to build out of the back. The real trouble is all of you whacko parents that don't have a clue how the game should be taught. Parents are patient enough, are focused on the status of what team their child plays on and want results now.

1. We have enough players in the Portland Metro to be developing more quality players. This will not happen until the parents back away from the game and allow the coaches to coach the game correctly. These parents chasing teams because they play in the highest leagues or go to the highest events need to back down before anything is to go forward. This will allow coaches to do what they need to do and that is to focus on the long term development model.

2. Take the stupid money we spend to travel to all four corners of the country and hire quality coaches and DOC's. U11's going to Surf Cup? Are you serious? although a fun family trip it is a waste of money when it comes to development. You can get the more driving 30 minutes from your house.

3. No league standings until about U16. Focus on the style of play rather than the results. And don't come on here and say that that will take the competition out of it. Trust me, it won't. The players know the scores throughout the game.

4. State Cups at U11? U12? Have you seen how terrible the soccer is at those ages? It's absolutely terrible! Playing the game correctly goes out the door because we are in "competition mode". Most coaches don't have the balls to coach a State Finals game the same way they coach a League game or friendly. These kids don't even know how to play the game yet we put them in to compete. Competition should begin closer to U16.

When you look at the state of soccer in our area and many places around the country it comes down to one thing.

MONEY

It is toxic and creates an environment where parents and coaches are failing their kids/players.

4. We need more quality coaches. There are too many outdated licensed coaches in our area living the old days dream.

The rest of the world creates their own organic playground for Football and the best from these natural playgrounds get elevated to clubs that form teams and playing philosophy.

We have no playgrounds full of kids playing soccer on their own.

There is no NBA, NFL or MLB type of prestige just a socialist watered down backwater MLS.

For girls it's even worse, there is nothing.

In Iceland you can dream of playing for Ajax all you need is ability and your Euro passport. In the U.S. the path to be a pro abroad is not allowed due to visa issues and the path to the MLS is the road to be avoided. No opportunity for the kids to dream about.

Our structure and culture has killed the games for kids.

[Unregistered]

Any sane person know that being 29th out of 70 teams means nothing.

How this insanity regarding the irrelevance (29th place out of 70 teams) blends into a discussion about why the GDA is needed is really another topic altogether.

Honest spin appreciated :)

A combination of clubs, ODP, HS, and college has produced the best soccer women's soccer players in the world.

Boys DA has produced 0.

[Unregistered]

Gold

A combination of clubs, ODP, HS, and college has produced the best soccer women's soccer players in the world.

Boys DA has produced 0.

That's like saying high schools and colleges have created the best male American football players on the planet.all of NFL World Championships, NFL Hall of Famers, all of the very best male American football players come from high schools and colleges. No country in the world can compete with the quality of the players produced in America.

Number of prolific outstanding female American football players produced by high schools and colleges: 0

It's not a comparison.

[Unregistered]

A combination of clubs, ODP, HS, and college has produced the best soccer women's soccer players in the world.

Boys DA has produced 0.

I'm the OP and have a few comments:

I think it's shortsighted to think that any team in our United States is going to thrive without competition and a desire to win. It's what makes us who we are as Americans. The driven, overworking, overspending, wanting to be the "best" people we are. You can't change us and the very fact you are trying is what leads to the "soccer is a Commie sport!" garbage.

Second, I think individual parents need to figure out what their child's end game is. If it's college playing at the highest level possible, you need to get her in front of college coaches. Whether that can be done in a local club (Salmon Creek has a group doing it, Eugene has a group doing it, and Bend had a strong group as well) depends on your kid's age and the club itself. If you can stay homegrown and do it, for heaven's sakes do so. You will save so much money and your life will be so much less stressful. But if you can't then up until now ECNL has been the only game in town. It was for my daughter and while I haven't been able to afford to go to many games, when I do all I can say is wow. Dozens of college coaches at every single game. She has been very happy with the feedback she's gotten, she has a commitment and her future college coach told her that if she wants to compete for playing time as a freshman she needed to keep playing ECNL. So we continue on.

ECNL is far from perfect especially in Oregon and I am by no means an ECNL homer. But for our daughter's end game it worked and it worked well. So what's your end game? And how is your club or elite program getting your player there?

I have heard mixed things about DA. One is that it's a path to the pros and if so, there are a LOT of girls (99.9%) who are in for crushing disappointment. It's inconceivable to think that, of all the current high schoolers playing in Oregon, there's more than one bound for national team. Statistics and history and logistics do not support any other outcome than that.

So if 99.9% won't get to the pros, what are the other ones getting out of DA? Time will tell, but it will be hard for them to be scouted if they aren't playing in very many games. I think what you will see is DA becoming very similar to what ECNL is. All of this will happen long after my family is done with youth soccer, but it makes me very sad to see the sport my daughter has loved since she was three in such disarray. I don't believe anyone - not ECNL or DA or hometown clubs - care about what's best for the players. So parents - you'd better be their advocate. No one else will do it.

[Unregistered]

That's like saying high schools and colleges have created the best male American football players on the planet.all of NFL World Championships, NFL Hall of Famers, all of the very best male American football players come from high schools and colleges. No country in the world can compete with the quality of the players produced in America.

Number of prolific outstanding female American football players produced by high schools and colleges: 0

It's not a comparison.

Weak contrast - the products of ECNL, college, HS, ODP, and US clubs are regularly tested on a global stage and are the best women in the world.

The products of the Boys DA are tested regularly and have worse outcomes than the products of good old clubs did 10 years ago.

The girls DA appears to be a solution looking for a problem. The biggest advocates appear those that would benefit the most from the ECNL losing its spot at the top.

[Unregistered]

You people are laughable. The thorns are a local private club like every other club. It even happens to be run by the same people involved with Oregon soccer forever. Just because they are part of the "Timbers" makes them no more legitimate. Foolish naive people.

[Unregistered]

Weak contrast - the products of ECNL, college, HS, ODP, and US clubs are regularly tested on a global stage and are the best women in the world.

The products of the Boys DA are tested regularly and have worse outcomes than the products of good old clubs did 10 years ago.

The girls DA appears to be a solution looking for a problem. The biggest advocates appear those that would benefit the most from the ECNL losing its spot at the top.

One valid reason why they're pursuing GDA is USSF doesn't like what it sees coming down the pike with the younger talent + world competition getting stronger. They're planning for the future. Or at least, that's their story. We know there's politics and power struggles at play as well.

But even if you buy their story, they have little evidence that the system works on the men's side. If it were working there wouldn't be nearly the same amount of discussion. Granted, the men's side is a tougher climb, but they haven't even made it out of base camp 1 yet in ten years of trying