A little perspective

[Unregistered]

This board has been nuts the last 24 hours. But let's put this news into perspective.

The Thorns academy getting selected for DA was a done deal before they applied. There is no way a DA program could turn down an academy team. They took Reign's and those teams haven't even played in a league yet. Maybe not even in a game.

The DA will be very patient with their academy programs because they know they will struggle at first, especially if clubs like So Cal Blues and Slammers do end up putting their best teams in DA.

The worry the Thorns academy should have right now is parents being patient. Their entire club was built on a premise of disloyalty for a better opportunity. Leave your OYSA club and join together and play in OYSA league. Play against the old teammates you left behind or girls who could only make your B or C team in tournaments. They not only found girls willing to do it, they found girls who think it's a fantastic idea. So the pool of players they have will likely not be loyal if they see another better opportunity. Thorns academy's big drawing point is "same experience as ECNL for half the price." If the price goes up significantly, or the experience turns out to be not the same, they may have trouble getting and keeping quality players.

I am not criticizing this willingness to bail. These girls are high schoolers and don't have time to be loyal to something that is floundering or may take a few years to get off its feet. If my kid was doing any program and it wasn't meeting her needs, now that she's in high school I would not be patient either. And she would definitely not be patient because she is all about being recruited right now.

Thorns staff and especially EL should view the news coming out of CU with some concern or at least take heed. A club being willing to get rid of someone like TA proves two things. First, no job is safe no matter how long you've been there and how much of an icon you think you are. Second, unhappy parents hold a lot of power. Thorns needs to deliver on what they are telling parents. We have friends who joined Thorns who are very unhappy about the Beaverton cup. The word the mom used was an "embarrassment." Thorns staff, you have one chance to get this right. Beaverton cup was a stumble right out of the gate and you're lucky the news about DA was released and bailed you out. You might not be so lucky next time.

Final thought - the state of U.S. women's youth and developmental soccer is so sad right now. I think every program is out for your money. Pick your poison and know you will be whipping out the checkbook way more than you think. I can tell you from firsthand experience ECNL does a great job of keeping costs low by doing everything in a group, rooming girls in rooms of 4, etc - and I will still pay nearly $7500 this year without doing any traveling myself. Both Portland clubs do offer scholarships but your income needs to be pretty low to qualify. IF the DA is able to get financial support the way the boys side has, and significantly decrease that $7500, they will shut ECNL down in a few years. After my daughter has gone off to college and we've left you loony birds behind. But that is a huge IF. I see no source of that money and it will require a LOT of money - 25 clubs (so far) times 3 teams/club times 20 girls/team based on current thorns academy roster numbers times, say, a $2500 fee reduction per player is $5.6 million. Per year. And that still leaves a balance due for families of $5000. I don't see the money out there. And keep in mind that $5.6 million goes up significantly every time they add new clubs. My guess is you will see a nominally smaller registration fee (ECNL charges about $2000-$2500 depending on your club) which will save you a few hundred. But travel is travel and will be the same. Time will tell.

[Unregistered]

Good post.
Will be bumps for sure because neighborhood clubs are easier for families and no HS soccer or other sports. My kid did ODP and ECNL and if she had to give up other sport she wouldn't have played. Hope DA can be successful as we are Timbers and Thorns season tix holder. Good luck!

[Unregistered]

I couldn't agree with you more and appreciate the thoughtful post. I have to admit I usually don't bother posting because there are so many crazies on here. For a while, there will be dilution of talent over three teams and if Thorns DA able to cut cost AND provide exposure for their players then they may be the team everyone scrambling to get on but I don't see that unless lives up to promises and it will take a few years. Too late for many of us who have older kids and want to play in college showcases and optimize exposure in next year or two...

[Unregistered]

This board has been nuts the last 24 hours. But let's put this news into perspective.

The Thorns academy getting selected for DA was a done deal before they applied. There is no way a DA program could turn down an academy team. They took Reign's and those teams haven't even played in a league yet. Maybe not even in a game.

The DA will be very patient with their academy programs because they know they will struggle at first, especially if clubs like So Cal Blues and Slammers do end up putting their best teams in DA.

The worry the Thorns academy should have right now is parents being patient. Their entire club was built on a premise of disloyalty for a better opportunity. Leave your OYSA club and join together and play in OYSA league. Play against the old teammates you left behind or girls who could only make your B or C team in tournaments. They not only found girls willing to do it, they found girls who think it's a fantastic idea. So the pool of players they have will likely not be loyal if they see another better opportunity. Thorns academy's big drawing point is "same experience as ECNL for half the price." If the price goes up significantly, or the experience turns out to be not the same, they may have trouble getting and keeping quality players.

I am not criticizing this willingness to bail. These girls are high schoolers and don't have time to be loyal to something that is floundering or may take a few years to get off its feet. If my kid was doing any program and it wasn't meeting her needs, now that she's in high school I would not be patient either. And she would definitely not be patient because she is all about being recruited right now.

Thorns staff and especially EL should view the news coming out of CU with some concern or at least take heed. A club being willing to get rid of someone like TA proves two things. First, no job is safe no matter how long you've been there and how much of an icon you think you are. Second, unhappy parents hold a lot of power. Thorns needs to deliver on what they are telling parents. We have friends who joined Thorns who are very unhappy about the Beaverton cup. The word the mom used was an "embarrassment." Thorns staff, you have one chance to get this right. Beaverton cup was a stumble right out of the gate and you're lucky the news about DA was released and bailed you out. You might not be so lucky next time.

Final thought - the state of U.S. women's youth and developmental soccer is so sad right now. I think every program is out for your money. Pick your poison and know you will be whipping out the checkbook way more than you think. I can tell you from firsthand experience ECNL does a great job of keeping costs low by doing everything in a group, rooming girls in rooms of 4, etc - and I will still pay nearly $7500 this year without doing any traveling myself. Both Portland clubs do offer scholarships but your income needs to be pretty low to qualify. IF the DA is able to get financial support the way the boys side has, and significantly decrease that $7500, they will shut ECNL down in a few years. After my daughter has gone off to college and we've left you loony birds behind. But that is a huge IF. I see no source of that money and it will require a LOT of money - 25 clubs (so far) times 3 teams/club times 20 girls/team based on current thorns academy roster numbers times, say, a $2500 fee reduction per player is $5.6 million. Per year. And that still leaves a balance due for families of $5000. I don't see the money out there. And keep in mind that $5.6 million goes up significantly every time they add new clubs. My guess is you will see a nominally smaller registration fee (ECNL charges about $2000-$2500 depending on your club) which will save you a few hundred. But travel is travel and will be the same. Time will tell.

Wow your perspective is as skewed as donald trumps. If your ranting about a summer tournament you are as bad as the lies you wrote here.

[Unregistered]

Wow your perspective is as skewed as donald trumps. If your ranting about a summer tournament you are as bad as the lies you wrote here.

If all you took from the many sentences I wrote was that I "ranted" about a summer tournament, I think you have the skewed perspective. I never said ECNL was perfect or wonderful or without flaws. It worked for my daughter and she enjoys the challenge and feels like the level of play is getting her ready to compete for a starting spot in college. But it is very expensive and I have missed watching her play. I wish Thorns WOULD be the solution although it's too late for us. But, as I "ranted" (apparently) about, I don't see where the money will come from. It's obvious you are excited about the DA and I wish you well. Enjoy however many years you have left because it'll be gone before you know it.

[Unregistered]

A different perspective, from a room with a view

This board has been nuts the last 24 hours. But let's put this news into perspective.

The Thorns academy getting selected for DA was a done deal before they applied. There is no way a DA program could turn down an academy team. They took Reign's and those teams haven't even played in a league yet. Maybe not even in a game.

The DA will be very patient with their academy programs because they know they will struggle at first, especially if clubs like So Cal Blues and Slammers do end up putting their best teams in DA.

The worry the Thorns academy should have right now is parents being patient. Their entire club was built on a premise of disloyalty for a better opportunity. Leave your OYSA club and join together and play in OYSA league. Play against the old teammates you left behind or girls who could only make your B or C team in tournaments. They not only found girls willing to do it, they found girls who think it's a fantastic idea. So the pool of players they have will likely not be loyal if they see another better opportunity. Thorns academy's big drawing point is "same experience as ECNL for half the price." If the price goes up significantly, or the experience turns out to be not the same, they may have trouble getting and keeping quality players.

I am not criticizing this willingness to bail. These girls are high schoolers and don't have time to be loyal to something that is floundering or may take a few years to get off its feet. If my kid was doing any program and it wasn't meeting her needs, now that she's in high school I would not be patient either. And she would definitely not be patient because she is all about being recruited right now.

Thorns staff and especially EL should view the news coming out of CU with some concern or at least take heed. A club being willing to get rid of someone like TA proves two things. First, no job is safe no matter how long you've been there and how much of an icon you think you are. Second, unhappy parents hold a lot of power. Thorns needs to deliver on what they are telling parents. We have friends who joined Thorns who are very unhappy about the Beaverton cup. The word the mom used was an "embarrassment." Thorns staff, you have one chance to get this right. Beaverton cup was a stumble right out of the gate and you're lucky the news about DA was released and bailed you out. You might not be so lucky next time.

Final thought - the state of U.S. women's youth and developmental soccer is so sad right now. I think every program is out for your money. Pick your poison and know you will be whipping out the checkbook way more than you think. I can tell you from firsthand experience ECNL does a great job of keeping costs low by doing everything in a group, rooming girls in rooms of 4, etc - and I will still pay nearly $7500 this year without doing any traveling myself. Both Portland clubs do offer scholarships but your income needs to be pretty low to qualify. IF the DA is able to get financial support the way the boys side has, and significantly decrease that $7500, they will shut ECNL down in a few years. After my daughter has gone off to college and we've left you loony birds behind. But that is a huge IF. I see no source of that money and it will require a LOT of money - 25 clubs (so far) times 3 teams/club times 20 girls/team based on current thorns academy roster numbers times, say, a $2500 fee reduction per player is $5.6 million. Per year. And that still leaves a balance due for families of $5000. I don't see the money out there. And keep in mind that $5.6 million goes up significantly every time they add new clubs. My guess is you will see a nominally smaller registration fee (ECNL charges about $2000-$2500 depending on your club) which will save you a few hundred. But travel is travel and will be the same. Time will tell.

First and foremost this soccer forum for Oregon has been nuts ever since it was introduced as the outlet for Girls Soccer in Oregon. It's level of participation and opinion are at full tilt as most of the discussion it is centered around a subject matter that is rarely even mentioned in general public, your daughter's club soccer experience in Oregon.

You need to understand that the DA coming to town, it is, not unlike the MLS Timbers replacing the USL Timbers. To any and everyone interested, it doesn't need a special marketing plan or ad nauseum justification regarding the costs or benefits. Portland Thorns DA is coming and any girl that is interested in playing in the Development Academy structure against this country's best female players will tryout.

This platform, the DA has no resemblance to the local club machinations you elude to above.

So whatever league (local, regional or national) or tournaments the local clubs choose to play in is their independent choice and given their reliance on their paying membership every decision will need justification, explanation and when the costs approach the 1000's of dollars some selling and more convincing. Guess what, the parents and clubs will either agree or disagree. Most often they compromise and the programming for the club matches it's community memberships ambitions and level of achievement. Clubs grow and evolve serving their unique non profit mission while delivering membership services to recreational and classic constituency.

The Portland Thorns DA directives come directly from the governing body of US Soccer, so if you have concerns or issues with this new type of soccer platform you will need to have influence with these powerful leaders, as you are well aware no person in this community outside of NIKE or ADIDAS will every be heard.

Unlike the disgruntled parents at local clubs who can run out a DOC with little effort by bending the ear of their daughter's teammate parent who also happens to be the local club President. Firings at these local clubs is commonplace and really speaks more to the incompetence of the club for letting con men run the show for so long without change.

Local clubs are run by volunteer parent boards the Portland Thorns are a professional business created off the millions investment of dollars provided by (fmr) Goldman Saks CEO & US Secretary of Treasury, Hank Paulson who has placed his son in the role of Owner/President of the Timbers & Thorns Merrit Paulson.

Don't every confuse the world of a THUSC soccer mom & dad with reality.

[Unregistered]

This board has been nuts the last 24 hours. But let's put this news into perspective.

The Thorns academy getting selected for DA was a done deal before they applied. There is no way a DA program could turn down an academy team. They took Reign's and those teams haven't even played in a league yet. Maybe not even in a game.

The DA will be very patient with their academy programs because they know they will struggle at first, especially if clubs like So Cal Blues and Slammers do end up putting their best teams in DA.

The worry the Thorns academy should have right now is parents being patient. Their entire club was built on a premise of disloyalty for a better opportunity. Leave your OYSA club and join together and play in OYSA league. Play against the old teammates you left behind or girls who could only make your B or C team in tournaments. They not only found girls willing to do it, they found girls who think it's a fantastic idea. So the pool of players they have will likely not be loyal if they see another better opportunity. Thorns academy's big drawing point is "same experience as ECNL for half the price." If the price goes up significantly, or the experience turns out to be not the same, they may have trouble getting and keeping quality players.

I am not criticizing this willingness to bail. These girls are high schoolers and don't have time to be loyal to something that is floundering or may take a few years to get off its feet. If my kid was doing any program and it wasn't meeting her needs, now that she's in high school I would not be patient either. And she would definitely not be patient because she is all about being recruited right now.

Thorns staff and especially EL should view the news coming out of CU with some concern or at least take heed. A club being willing to get rid of someone like TA proves two things. First, no job is safe no matter how long you've been there and how much of an icon you think you are. Second, unhappy parents hold a lot of power. Thorns needs to deliver on what they are telling parents. We have friends who joined Thorns who are very unhappy about the Beaverton cup. The word the mom used was an "embarrassment." Thorns staff, you have one chance to get this right. Beaverton cup was a stumble right out of the gate and you're lucky the news about DA was released and bailed you out. You might not be so lucky next time.

Final thought - the state of U.S. women's youth and developmental soccer is so sad right now. I think every program is out for your money. Pick your poison and know you will be whipping out the checkbook way more than you think. I can tell you from firsthand experience ECNL does a great job of keeping costs low by doing everything in a group, rooming girls in rooms of 4, etc - and I will still pay nearly $7500 this year without doing any traveling myself. Both Portland clubs do offer scholarships but your income needs to be pretty low to qualify. IF the DA is able to get financial support the way the boys side has, and significantly decrease that $7500, they will shut ECNL down in a few years. After my daughter has gone off to college and we've left you loony birds behind. But that is a huge IF. I see no source of that money and it will require a LOT of money - 25 clubs (so far) times 3 teams/club times 20 girls/team based on current thorns academy roster numbers times, say, a $2500 fee reduction per player is $5.6 million. Per year. And that still leaves a balance due for families of $5000. I don't see the money out there. And keep in mind that $5.6 million goes up significantly every time they add new clubs. My guess is you will see a nominally smaller registration fee (ECNL charges about $2000-$2500 depending on your club) which will save you a few hundred. But travel is travel and will be the same. Time will tell.

You raise an interesting point about loyalty that I want to expand upon. First of all I want to acknowledge that no player or family owes ANYONE loyalty beyond their player. That being said, the ECNL model, when it works as intended (not the Oregon teams as I will explain later), is a true developmental program. Players come in at ULittles and move up through the system. Eventually if they are good enough and have the desire they age into the ECNL program.

In bigger market clubs this works really well. Let's take So Cal Blues for example. Their 01/02 girls won OYSA region IV regionals several years in a row and finished top two in the nation a few of those years. This year, their 02 team won region IV regionals again and is headed to national finals. Their 01's won a national title in ECNL. They obviously have the numbers (multiple teams per age group throughout high school) and are in a big enough market that they can cultivate home grown talent and reward those talented and loyal girls with a pretty remarkable soccer journey. For more info look at their success placing players on national teams.

As I said, this homegrown talent model works great - in big markets. It is not working in Oregon. We don't have a big enough population in Oregon as a whole, let alone the Portland and Vancouver area, to "homegrow" players for two ECNL teams. Those teams are forced to fill their rosters with players who were developed by other clubs. Many posters on here attribute that to the superior coaching at those non ECNL clubs. I'm not so sure that it's not just a matter of numbers, but who really knows. The bottom line is the travel partner requirement and the low population of Oregon has created two ECNL clubs who don't grow their own players. But the intent is there.

What has always troubled me about thorns academy is the fact there isn't even a pretense of developing their own talent. The academy process as a whole is built on the idea of plucking the best players off their home teams to make an elite team. If you are providing an elite experience that the hometown clubs can't, I guess that's ok. But that hasn't been the case at least yet. Maybe it'll change.

One last thing to remember is the ever present law of unintended consequences. Creating a squad full of players who are eager to jump ship for better opportunities creates teams who will jump ship for better opportunities. I think that's why we see very high turnover rates at thorns academy and both ECNL clubs. We are creating a generation of club hoppers, and that concerns me thinking about their success in college and life in general. Will they switch schools because the coach is mean or doesn't play them enough? Where is the lesson about resilience and working hard to improve yourself? Will they quit a job the first time they have to do an unpleasant task or a marriage the first time they bicker with their spouse?

I worry about the message we are sending our young women with this model of soccer. There are many "experts" in college basketball who believe the AAU system did the same thing to boys hoops - created a generation of selfish, me first, "Swaggy P" athletes who care more about getting their buckets than they do about winning as a team. I sure hope that's not what we are doing to our girls.

[Unregistered]

This board has been nuts the last 24 hours. But let's put this news into perspective.

The Thorns academy getting selected for DA was a done deal before they applied. There is no way a DA program could turn down an academy team. They took Reign's and those teams haven't even played in a league yet. Maybe not even in a game.

The DA will be very patient with their academy programs because they know they will struggle at first, especially if clubs like So Cal Blues and Slammers do end up putting their best teams in DA.

The worry the Thorns academy should have right now is parents being patient. Their entire club was built on a premise of disloyalty for a better opportunity. Leave your OYSA club and join together and play in OYSA league. Play against the old teammates you left behind or girls who could only make your B or C team in tournaments. They not only found girls willing to do it, they found girls who think it's a fantastic idea. So the pool of players they have will likely not be loyal if they see another better opportunity. Thorns academy's big drawing point is "same experience as ECNL for half the price." If the price goes up significantly, or the experience turns out to be not the same, they may have trouble getting and keeping quality players.

I am not criticizing this willingness to bail. These girls are high schoolers and don't have time to be loyal to something that is floundering or may take a few years to get off its feet. If my kid was doing any program and it wasn't meeting her needs, now that she's in high school I would not be patient either. And she would definitely not be patient because she is all about being recruited right now.

Thorns staff and especially EL should view the news coming out of CU with some concern or at least take heed. A club being willing to get rid of someone like TA proves two things. First, no job is safe no matter how long you've been there and how much of an icon you think you are. Second, unhappy parents hold a lot of power. Thorns needs to deliver on what they are telling parents. We have friends who joined Thorns who are very unhappy about the Beaverton cup. The word the mom used was an "embarrassment." Thorns staff, you have one chance to get this right. Beaverton cup was a stumble right out of the gate and you're lucky the news about DA was released and bailed you out. You might not be so lucky next time.

Final thought - the state of U.S. women's youth and developmental soccer is so sad right now. I think every program is out for your money. Pick your poison and know you will be whipping out the checkbook way more than you think. I can tell you from firsthand experience ECNL does a great job of keeping costs low by doing everything in a group, rooming girls in rooms of 4, etc - and I will still pay nearly $7500 this year without doing any traveling myself. Both Portland clubs do offer scholarships but your income needs to be pretty low to qualify. IF the DA is able to get financial support the way the boys side has, and significantly decrease that $7500, they will shut ECNL down in a few years. After my daughter has gone off to college and we've left you loony birds behind. But that is a huge IF. I see no source of that money and it will require a LOT of money - 25 clubs (so far) times 3 teams/club times 20 girls/team based on current thorns academy roster numbers times, say, a $2500 fee reduction per player is $5.6 million. Per year. And that still leaves a balance due for families of $5000. I don't see the money out there. And keep in mind that $5.6 million goes up significantly every time they add new clubs. My guess is you will see a nominally smaller registration fee (ECNL charges about $2000-$2500 depending on your club) which will save you a few hundred. But travel is travel and will be the same. Time will tell.

About as fair a perspective on this that I have seen. My sense from an out-of-state ECNL DOC is that this a giant game of chess at the national level.

Also don't think what THUSC did can be understated - like him or hate him, but not sure there has been a more successful girls' program director than Tom in this state over the last 10 years. No scandal, they just concluded he wasn't the right person for the next stage of the club. Familiar with the background of their board members - not lite weights, experience in the corporate world.

Will say Timbers/Thorns have enough strength that they can survive mistakes in a way that is different from your neighborhood club. They are a hard organization to fight for precisely that reason.

I don't know any current Thorns parents; don't know how they feel about Beaverton Cup. I do know how some OYSA clubs feel about the Thorns approach to OYSA clubs, and "irritation" would be charitable, although that really isn't the point of your post.

[Unregistered]

This board has been nuts the last 24 hours. But let's put this news into perspective.

Actually this forum is at it's regular volume and speed, the news that the THORNS are a DA program/club is driving many parents nuts.

The Thorns academy getting selected for DA was a done deal before they applied. There is no way a DA program could turn down an academy team. They took Reign's and those teams haven't even played in a league yet. Maybe not even in a game.

Armed with this knowledge, they still can't believe it happened.

The DA will be very patient with their academy programs because they know they will struggle at first, especially if clubs like So Cal Blues and Slammers do end up putting their best teams in DA.

Actually the Portland Thorns will create an avenue for Oregon's Best female players across 3 age groups to perform against the country's elite teams & players.

The worry the Thorns academy should have right now is parents being patient. Their entire club was built on a premise of disloyalty for a better opportunity. Leave your OYSA club and join together and play in OYSA league. Play against the old teammates you left behind or girls who could only make your B or C team in tournaments. They not only found girls willing to do it, they found girls who think it's a fantastic idea. So the pool of players they have will likely not be loyal if they see another better opportunity. Thorns academy's big drawing point is "same experience as ECNL for half the price." If the price goes up significantly, or the experience turns out to be not the same, they may have trouble getting and keeping quality players.

The DA's biggest drawing point: it is legitimate without any rival, it's not a private local club sending it's little fishes into the Shark talk, like a couple of local clubs attempted with miserable results on the playing field. What the ECNL league offered to the Oregon minnow clubs was evidenced to all, having to pay $10K to do this was viewed as insanity by most observers.

I am not criticizing this willingness to bail. These girls are high schoolers and don't have time to be loyal to something that is floundering or may take a few years to get off its feet. If my kid was doing any program and it wasn't meeting her needs, now that she's in high school I would not be patient either. And she would definitely not be patient because she is all about being recruited right now.

Sorry you forgot to edit that paragraph out of your manifesto.

Thorns staff and especially EL should view the news coming out of CU with some concern or at least take heed. A club being willing to get rid of someone like TA proves two things. First, no job is safe no matter how long you've been there and how much of an icon you think you are. Second, unhappy parents hold a lot of power. Thorns needs to deliver on what they are telling parents. We have friends who joined Thorns who are very unhappy about the Beaverton cup. The word the mom used was an "embarrassment." Thorns staff, you have one chance to get this right. Beaverton cup was a stumble right out of the gate and you're lucky the news about DA was released and bailed you out. You might not be so lucky next time.

Thorns staff have not been hired or placed yet, as the DA was announced just 2 days ago. CU may not even been in existence by the time they hire professional coaches. A club taking nearly 15 years to remove a cancerous agent like the one you mention speaks volumes of the lunacy and sickness that has been allowed to fester at this club. Congrats on the chemotherapy, working finally, good luck in recovery. Unhappy parents leave local clubs every week, so what. The world and on-goings of the neighborhood club bear no resemblance or comparison to a professional sports academy. What's embarrassing is you actually think the current version of the Thorns Academy is related to the upcoming Thorns DA.

Final thought - the state of U.S. women's youth and developmental soccer is so sad right now. I think every program is out for your money. Pick your poison and know you will be whipping out the checkbook way more than you think. I can tell you from firsthand experience ECNL does a great job of keeping costs low by doing everything in a group, rooming girls in rooms of 4, etc - and I will still pay nearly $7500 this year without doing any traveling myself. Both Portland clubs do offer scholarships but your income needs to be pretty low to qualify. IF the DA is able to get financial support the way the boys side has, and significantly decrease that $7500, they will shut ECNL down in a few years. After my daughter has gone off to college and we've left you loony birds behind. But that is a huge IF. I see no source of that money and it will require a LOT of money - 25 clubs (so far) times 3 teams/club times 20 girls/team based on current thorns academy roster numbers times, say, a $2500 fee reduction per player is $5.6 million. Per year. And that still leaves a balance due for families of $5000. I don't see the money out there. And keep in mind that $5.6 million goes up significantly every time they add new clubs. My guess is you will see a nominally smaller registration fee (ECNL charges about $2000-$2500 depending on your club) which will save you a few hundred. But travel is travel and will be the same. Time will tell.

Everybody is out for your money in a capitalist society, thanks for heads up. Sorry this DA level wasn't available for your daughter.

[Unregistered]

This board has been nuts the last 24 hours. But let's put this news into perspective.

The Thorns academy getting selected for DA was a done deal before they applied. There is no way a DA program could turn down an academy team. They took Reign's and those teams haven't even played in a league yet. Maybe not even in a game.

The DA will be very patient with their academy programs because they know they will struggle at first, especially if clubs like So Cal Blues and Slammers do end up putting their best teams in DA.

The worry the Thorns academy should have right now is parents being patient. Their entire club was built on a premise of disloyalty for a better opportunity. Leave your OYSA club and join together and play in OYSA league. Play against the old teammates you left behind or girls who could only make your B or C team in tournaments. They not only found girls willing to do it, they found girls who think it's a fantastic idea. So the pool of players they have will likely not be loyal if they see another better opportunity. Thorns academy's big drawing point is "same experience as ECNL for half the price." If the price goes up significantly, or the experience turns out to be not the same, they may have trouble getting and keeping quality players.

I am not criticizing this willingness to bail. These girls are high schoolers and don't have time to be loyal to something that is floundering or may take a few years to get off its feet. If my kid was doing any program and it wasn't meeting her needs, now that she's in high school I would not be patient either. And she would definitely not be patient because she is all about being recruited right now.

Thorns staff and especially EL should view the news coming out of CU with some concern or at least take heed. A club being willing to get rid of someone like TA proves two things. First, no job is safe no matter how long you've been there and how much of an icon you think you are. Second, unhappy parents hold a lot of power. Thorns needs to deliver on what they are telling parents. We have friends who joined Thorns who are very unhappy about the Beaverton cup. The word the mom used was an "embarrassment." Thorns staff, you have one chance to get this right. Beaverton cup was a stumble right out of the gate and you're lucky the news about DA was released and bailed you out. You might not be so lucky next time.

Final thought - the state of U.S. women's youth and developmental soccer is so sad right now. I think every program is out for your money. Pick your poison and know you will be whipping out the checkbook way more than you think. I can tell you from firsthand experience ECNL does a great job of keeping costs low by doing everything in a group, rooming girls in rooms of 4, etc - and I will still pay nearly $7500 this year without doing any traveling myself. Both Portland clubs do offer scholarships but your income needs to be pretty low to qualify. IF the DA is able to get financial support the way the boys side has, and significantly decrease that $7500, they will shut ECNL down in a few years. After my daughter has gone off to college and we've left you loony birds behind. But that is a huge IF. I see no source of that money and it will require a LOT of money - 25 clubs (so far) times 3 teams/club times 20 girls/team based on current thorns academy roster numbers times, say, a $2500 fee reduction per player is $5.6 million. Per year. And that still leaves a balance due for families of $5000. I don't see the money out there. And keep in mind that $5.6 million goes up significantly every time they add new clubs. My guess is you will see a nominally smaller registration fee (ECNL charges about $2000-$2500 depending on your club) which will save you a few hundred. But travel is travel and will be the same. Time will tell.

Very well written and a pleasure to read. Thank you.


The GDA is a new entity which generates discussion. Some people will actually spend the time talking with their daughters to learn if they believe that they want to tryout for a team and are they willing to give up their high school's athletic sports programs. It's about them and what they want for their futures.

I've been through so many years of leagues, tournaments, ODP, and college showcases for my kids and grandkids. What's new for some of you now is just a repeat for someone like me; someone who lived through similar experiences in southern California and Arizona.

You can trash talk a summer tournament like Beaverton Cup but it shouldn't be that way. THUSC had to cancel its tournament this summer due to very low applications. received. Our local clubs need these tournaments to offset club expenses such as field rentals, player registration fees, coaches salaries, operating expenses.

You might make fun of a tournament by name but I've seen kids come here from other countries and other states play as teams or guest play on teams. Out-of-area recruiters do come to local tournaments too.

When people talk about how poorly our players do against teams from other states, I like to say that it's about time to realize that high school team years are good for showcasing at all levels of play. There is always a level for someone. Quit making fun of these players. I played soccer, I coached it, I watched my kids and now get to watch their kids.

Every child is unique. What I've seen here through all of these years, is that when these kids travel out of state is that sometimes they lose and sometimes they tie, and sometimes the win. They learn a lot. They make new friends. They go off to college. Sometimes they get to play along side of players that they might have previously competed against in their youth; no matter the level of collegiate play.

Fees to play and travel expenses will always be there, so always be cautious of anyone that promises a better deal elsewhere.

[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

[Unregistered]

This board has been nuts the last 24 hours. But let's put this news into perspective.

The Thorns academy getting selected for DA was a done deal before they applied. There is no way a DA program could turn down an academy team. They took Reign's and those teams haven't even played in a league yet. Maybe not even in a game.

The DA will be very patient with their academy programs because they know they will struggle at first, especially if clubs like So Cal Blues and Slammers do end up putting their best teams in DA.

The worry the Thorns academy should have right now is parents being patient. Their entire club was built on a premise of disloyalty for a better opportunity. Leave your OYSA club and join together and play in OYSA league. Play against the old teammates you left behind or girls who could only make your B or C team in tournaments. They not only found girls willing to do it, they found girls who think it's a fantastic idea. So the pool of players they have will likely not be loyal if they see another better opportunity. Thorns academy's big drawing point is "same experience as ECNL for half the price." If the price goes up significantly, or the experience turns out to be not the same, they may have trouble getting and keeping quality players.

I am not criticizing this willingness to bail. These girls are high schoolers and don't have time to be loyal to something that is floundering or may take a few years to get off its feet. If my kid was doing any program and it wasn't meeting her needs, now that she's in high school I would not be patient either. And she would definitely not be patient because she is all about being recruited right now.

Thorns staff and especially EL should view the news coming out of CU with some concern or at least take heed. A club being willing to get rid of someone like TA proves two things. First, no job is safe no matter how long you've been there and how much of an icon you think you are. Second, unhappy parents hold a lot of power. Thorns needs to deliver on what they are telling parents. We have friends who joined Thorns who are very unhappy about the Beaverton cup. The word the mom used was an "embarrassment." Thorns staff, you have one chance to get this right. Beaverton cup was a stumble right out of the gate and you're lucky the news about DA was released and bailed you out. You might not be so lucky next time.

Final thought - the state of U.S. women's youth and developmental soccer is so sad right now. I think every program is out for your money. Pick your poison and know you will be whipping out the checkbook way more than you think. I can tell you from firsthand experience ECNL does a great job of keeping costs low by doing everything in a group, rooming girls in rooms of 4, etc - and I will still pay nearly $7500 this year without doing any traveling myself. Both Portland clubs do offer scholarships but your income needs to be pretty low to qualify. IF the DA is able to get financial support the way the boys side has, and significantly decrease that $7500, they will shut ECNL down in a few years. After my daughter has gone off to college and we've left you loony birds behind. But that is a huge IF. I see no source of that money and it will require a LOT of money - 25 clubs (so far) times 3 teams/club times 20 girls/team based on current thorns academy roster numbers times, say, a $2500 fee reduction per player is $5.6 million. Per year. And that still leaves a balance due for families of $5000. I don't see the money out there. And keep in mind that $5.6 million goes up significantly every time they add new clubs. My guess is you will see a nominally smaller registration fee (ECNL charges about $2000-$2500 depending on your club) which will save you a few hundred. But travel is travel and will be the same. Time will tell.

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.

[Unregistered]

About as fair a perspective on this that I have seen. My sense from an out-of-state ECNL DOC is that this a giant game of chess at the national level.

A game of chess where one side has all pawns and no King the other all the requisite pieces for annihilation. That game is over, before it started.

don't think what THUSC did can be understated - like him or hate him, but not sure there has been a more successful girls' program director than Tom in this state over the last 10 years. No scandal, they just concluded he wasn't the right person for the next stage of the club. Familiar with the background of their board members - not lite weights, experience in the corporate world.

Let this not be understated THUSC is not a girls program, believe it or not THUSC was the most successful prominent club: boys & girls in the early 90's, they have never returned to this form over the last 25 years.

The most recent former DOC did have a handful of successful girls teams over 15 years, not unlike nearly every other local club that would win it's share of titles, it's not like THUSC was leading at any level with girls championships, the hardware for girls team has been spread out pretty evenly over the last 15 years to girls teams at clubs like FC PDX, LOSC, SSC, Bend, Eugene, Eastside, Westside and a few other clubs.

It may of been highlighted to you because they were never had any boys teams to balance out this occurrence. Which really highlights how bad a DOC you kept for so long as you have no balance of boys & girls teams, which makes you this bizarre manifestation of girls only soccer. Maybe your board did read the club bylaws and realized we've gotten away from our mission to provide classic soccer to the THJSL base of 15,000+ players of boys and girls. I know the group that supplies your fields THPRD is well aware of this strange evolution into Girls only soccer club that doesn't serve it's funding base

Will say Timbers/Thorns have enough strength that they can survive mistakes in a way that is different from your neighborhood club. They are a hard organization to fight for precisely that reason. .

Precisely they are not your local neighborhood club. They are not fighting your club they are a different level all together. Once you realize this maybe you stop the insanity of thinking you're in a fight and know your place in the soccer community.

I don't know any current Thorns parents; don't know how they feel about Beaverton Cup. I do know how some OYSA clubs feel about the Thorns approach to OYSA clubs, and "irritation" would be charitable, although that really isn't the point of your post.

I don't know, I don't know...pretty well sums it up.

[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

The GDA is not about the competition.

You parents need to be re-wired!

[Unregistered]

A game of chess where one side has all pawns and no King the other all the requisite pieces for annihilation. That game is over, before it started.



Let this not be understated THUSC is not a girls program, believe it or not THUSC was the most successful prominent club: boys & girls in the early 90's, they have never returned to this form over the last 25 years.

The most recent former DOC did have a handful of successful girls teams over 15 years, not unlike nearly every other local club that would win it's share of titles, it's not like THUSC was leading at any level with girls championships, the hardware for girls team has been spread out pretty evenly over the last 15 years to girls teams at clubs like FC PDX, LOSC, SSC, Bend, Eugene, Eastside, Westside and a few other clubs.

It may of been highlighted to you because they were never had any boys teams to balance out this occurrence. Which really highlights how bad a DOC you kept for so long as you have no balance of boys & girls teams, which makes you this bizarre manifestation of girls only soccer. Maybe your board did read the club bylaws and realized we've gotten away from our mission to provide classic soccer to the THJSL base of 15,000+ players of boys and girls. I know the group that supplies your fields THPRD is well aware of this strange evolution into Girls only soccer club that doesn't serve it's funding base



Precisely they are not your local neighborhood club. They are not fighting your club they are a different level all together. Once you realize this maybe you stop the insanity of thinking you're in a fight and know your place in the soccer community.



I don't know, I don't know...pretty well sums it up.

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

As for the Timbers - yes, yes I get it, they are the borg, resistance is futile . . . but it can be fun. ( :