Boys ECNL in Washington

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lol..which came first? TA attempted to hijack DA from Oregon and cover up their Draco Malfoy play by playing in Washington DA. Then, Washington DA teams decided to go ECNL, so TA was left without a home AND the TA Lemmings at WST and Wash T.F.C pulled out. Yawn...who cares? Westside has been boatraced in DA and they really don't care as long as they can continue to suck at the test of mediocrity (Timbers Academy).

Honestly, that makes no sense whatsoever.

So is your club going to stick around in a much smaller DA (UPDX, FC, OPFC, and maybe CFC, if they don't leave too?) That would be precious.

At least if you did BECNL you'd be able to drive to Seattle to get creamed. Of course, if you also come back to OYSA, you'll be able to do that without paying the coach per diem.

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Honestly, that makes no sense whatsoever.

So is your club going to stick around in a much smaller DA (UPDX, FC, OPFC, and maybe CFC, if they don't leave too?) That would be precious.

At least if you did BECNL you'd be able to drive to Seattle to get creamed. Of course, if you also come back to OYSA, you'll be able to do that without paying the coach per diem.

Oysa honk is hilarious. Keep living with that farmers league mentality

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Oysa honk is hilarious. Keep living with that farmers league mentality

OYSA honk knows better than to overrate a patch. Unless the alternate league offers something significantly better, more than free Gatorade or whatever it was, it's just marketing.

DA was an interesting experience. Was Oregon DA better than oysa premier? Only advantage, really, was no driving to Eugene. Maybe a slightly better quality of play, though there is considerable overlap in quality.

But transformative? Not really. Same basic local club training format. Doing something truly transformative would have cost more money than non-profit youth clubs could afford.

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OYSA honk knows better than to overrate a patch. Unless the alternate league offers something significantly better, more than free Gatorade or whatever it was, it's just marketing.

DA was an interesting experience. Was Oregon DA better than oysa premier? Only advantage, really, was no driving to Eugene. Maybe a slightly better quality of play, though there is considerable overlap in quality.

But transformative? Not really. Same basic local club training format. Doing something truly transformative would have cost more money than non-profit youth clubs could afford.

Before my son went to TA It actually was better than oysa- one game per week and did not have to drive to Albany, Medford and Eugene to wax teams by 5+ goals. I guess OYSA was good for bench players because they got a ton of run in those games...

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Before my son went to TA It actually was better than oysa- one game per week and did not have to drive to Albany, Medford and Eugene to wax teams by 5+ goals. I guess OYSA was good for bench players because they got a ton of run in those games...

I'm not talking about Timbers Academy, which is supposed to be a professional academy, not a youth club, and thus offer a much better training environment.

Oregon DA is mainly oysa premier with a few of the weaker teams removed... But not all the weak ones. But the increase in quality at the da clubs really didn't happen, and if it did it was due to talented kids switching, not due to improvements to the programs.

But if prestige means that much to you, by all means find something better than the "farmers league". 4H could probably beat half the da teams, though the top of each division might be a stiff challenge for them.

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I'm not talking about Timbers Academy, which is supposed to be a professional academy, not a youth club, and thus offer a much better training environment.

Oregon DA is mainly oysa premier with a few of the weaker teams removed... But not all the weak ones. But the increase in quality at the da clubs really didn't happen, and if it did it was due to talented kids switching, not due to improvements to the programs.

But if prestige means that much to you, by all means find something better than the "farmers league". 4H could probably beat half the da teams, though the top of each division might be a stiff challenge for them.

You still don't get it. 4H (depending on how many legal players they played...and don't tell me they do not do that, as the last time our club played theirs, they had 6 kids with taped on numbers...and still lost by 6 goals) would not be a stiff challenge for any of the top 5 teams in DA. Nor would Bend, AdF, or Eugene. Sorry, they weren't in OYSA and they aren't now. I get it, you hate the attention the DA clubs have received and are tired of hearing about them...(I agree with you there!) But make no mistake, there is a difference in the competition...DA had teams playing tournaments in the top DA flight against Southern Cal teams, and doing well. Beating top 20 Nationally ranked teams. 4J...not so much.

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You still don't get it. 4H (depending on how many legal players they played...and don't tell me they do not do that, as the last time our club played theirs, they had 6 kids with taped on numbers...and still lost by 6 goals) would not be a stiff challenge for any of the top 5 teams in DA. Nor would Bend, AdF, or Eugene. Sorry, they weren't in OYSA and they aren't now. I get it, you hate the attention the DA clubs have received and are tired of hearing about them...(I agree with you there!) But make no mistake, there is a difference in the competition...DA had teams playing tournaments in the top DA flight against Southern Cal teams, and doing well. Beating top 20 Nationally ranked teams. 4J...not so much.

Agreed. Oysa teams do not get challenged unless they travel to out of state tourneys and then look how those results turn out.

<Cliffs notes : it turns out badly>

I don’t like Most things about DA but they still attracted the majority of the better kids around that’s a fact .

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Agreed. Oysa teams do not get challenged unless they travel to out of state tourneys and then look how those results turn out.

<Cliffs notes : it turns out badly>

I don’t like Most things about DA but they still attracted the majority of the better kids around that’s a fact .

If the only reason is talent consolidation... I guess that's not nothing, but it's not a lot.

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If the only reason is talent consolidation... I guess that's not nothing, but it's not a lot.

Sure it is, why do you have to kid yourself?

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Sure it is, why do you have to kid yourself?

But is it?

Is FC's DA team better than Navy was two years ago, before its top 05 talent got raptured to TA (and it's top 06s stolen by UPDX)? No.

OPFC? Possibly; they gained GR, but their main improvement was seeing their primary competitors raided by the Timbers.

How would Copa of two years ago do against Westside today? (Only five players on the current Westside DA played for Copa, keep in mind; there's more kids on the current roster who were promoted from the B team than who played for Jaime).

Has DA improved the lot of WashT or Capital, allowing them to attract talent from neighboring non-DA clubs like Salmon Creek or 4H? Perhaps, but in general these clubs were the alphas of their region before, and remain so now.

(UPDX, being a new club, is a hard compare; but BSC generally stank last year across the board).

And DA did squat for Eastside; which is probably why they were the first local club to leave.

OTOH, ADF was badly damaged by DA, losing several key players to other DA clubs. OTOH, when part of your club's business model is wealthy parents looking to pay a premium to get a leg up, don't be surprised if they leave when the Next Big Thing shows up.

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But is it?

Is FC's DA team better than Navy was two years ago, before its top 05 talent got raptured to TA (and it's top 06s stolen by UPDX)? No.

OPFC? Possibly; they gained GR, but their main improvement was seeing their primary competitors raided by the Timbers.

How would Copa of two years ago do against Westside today? (Only five players on the current Westside DA played for Copa, keep in mind; there's more kids on the current roster who were promoted from the B team than who played for Jaime).

Has DA improved the lot of WashT or Capital, allowing them to attract talent from neighboring non-DA clubs like Salmon Creek or 4H? Perhaps, but in general these clubs were the alphas of their region before, and remain so now.

(UPDX, being a new club, is a hard compare; but BSC generally stank last year across the board).

And DA did squat for Eastside; which is probably why they were the first local club to leave.

OTOH, ADF was badly damaged by DA, losing several key players to other DA clubs. OTOH, when part of your club's business model is wealthy parents looking to pay a premium to get a leg up, don't be surprised if they leave when the Next Big Thing shows up.

Still don't get...which is okay, it is beyond the likes of you. I am not sure I have the patience (or desire to point out all of the incongruencies of your argument. However, I will comment with these...

FC is not better off, but it has nothing to do with DA or the loss of kids to TA. It has to do with business decisions they have made.

OPFC is better off, but not due to competitors losing kids to TA, but due to continuity of kids playing together. Keep in mind that OPFC had beaten and tied FC back in the day.

Westside....here is where you show your bias. You are all over this board talking about your 05 team. I hate to remind you that they underperformed and accomplished little together. As to your absurd question of how Copa 2016-2017 would do against this team, my initial answer would be....probably not as well as you think. Those kids on Copa were not as good as you remember, nor as good as you mistakenly think they are now. This Westside team is a very good team. You insult your club and your kids to say differently. Oh, and remember...puberty is upon this age group. So many kids that were labeled as being incredible at U12 are now not so much. This was and is true for Westside.

Washington is in great shape and will remain so. DA has served them well. Same with Capitol and BSC/UPDX. You may site Eastside all you want, but they should never have been granted DA. Their boys numbers and talent for 04, 05 and 06 were pretty bad. Good club, but just didn't have it for those age groups.

As to ADF...and? Who honestly cares? They did not qualify, and why should anybody feel bad for them? They did not and could not win anything at these ages. Even with the top tier kids moving to DA, ADF was still at best...average in a secondary, washed down league.

DA was the desired league. Not because of a patch, but because of the competition. You were not invited and were not able to get invited. I am sorry. However, that does not mean DA did not work.

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But is it?

Is FC's DA team better than Navy was two years ago, before its top 05 talent got raptured to TA (and it's top 06s stolen by UPDX)? No.

You do realize FC thumped UPDX 4- zilch for the 2006s couple weeks ago? Yeah, I didn’t think so.

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Still don't get...which is okay, it is beyond the likes of you. I am not sure I have the patience (or desire to point out all of the incongruencies of your argument. However, I will comment with these...

FC is not better off, but it has nothing to do with DA or the loss of kids to TA. It has to do with business decisions they have made.

Fair enough, though I don't know enough about these "business decisions", other than possibly partnering with NEU might not have been a bright move.

OPFC is better off, but not due to competitors losing kids to TA, but due to continuity of kids playing together. Keep in mind that OPFC had beaten and tied FC back in the day.

That, too--part of continuity is not losing your own players to TA.

Westside....here is where you show your bias. You are all over this board talking about your 05 team. I hate to remind you that they underperformed and accomplished little together. As to your absurd question of how Copa 2016-2017 would do against this team, my initial answer would be....probably not as well as you think. Those kids on Copa were not as good as you remember, nor as good as you mistakenly think they are now. This Westside team is a very good team. You insult your club and your kids to say differently. Oh, and remember...puberty is upon this age group. So many kids that were labeled as being incredible at U12 are now not so much. This was and is true for Westside.

You assume a bit much... that said, I'll agree that excellence at U12 doesn't mean excellence at U14, which doesn't mean excellence at U17, U20, or U23. But it's a marathon and not a sprint, out of the four 05s WT sent up, three are doing well and one has garnered national attention. (All have a long way to go to merit consideration for a call-up, however; I can't think of any Oregon 05s that ought to be in the NT pool).

And while this year's team is mostly not Copa, I consider it a good thing that WT is doing well with a mostly different cast of characters. It's no slight on the current kids to say nice things about JB or RTR or AB, and it's no slight on them to praise any of the current roster.

A lot has to do with style of play. What Jaime looks for vs what Cony or SE looks for, simply aren't the same.

Washington is in great shape and will remain so. DA has served them well. Same with Capitol and BSC/UPDX. You may site Eastside all you want, but they should never have been granted DA. Their boys numbers and talent for 04, 05 and 06 were pretty bad. Good club, but just didn't have it for those age groups.

WashT is a great club and does not need DA. They've been doing much right for a long time, and being across the river (and having received essentially an official sanction from the county as the preferred premier youth soccer club), they don't need any "patch" to recruit kids.

Capitol serves a more economically distressed community, and one could argue that the extra expense of DA is more of a burden than a benefit for them.

Eastside, I'm not sure what happened to them.

UPDX--is an interesting case. They actually have a lot of good teams quickly, though as much through recruiting as organic player development.

As to ADF...and? Who honestly cares? They did not qualify, and why should anybody feel bad for them? They did not and could not win anything at these ages. Even with the top tier kids moving to DA, ADF was still at best...average in a secondary, washed down league.

DA was the desired league. Not because of a patch, but because of the competition. You were not invited and were not able to get invited. I am sorry. However, that does not mean DA did not work.

ADF did lose a lot of players after the 16-17 season. Some to TA (though many of them Slytherins), but many to other clubs, including both Westside and BSC. They didn't qualify for DA (reportedly they applied) due to not having the necessary licenses on the coaching staff. They have a somewhat unique business model, which I give them credit for--it may not be a good one, but at least they are trying something different.

That said, it will be interesting to once again play the ADFs and 4Hs and Eugenes of the world--even though I expect to usually beat them. Quite a few of them employ styles of play you don't see in the current local DA, and being exposed to that is useful.

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Why does every thread devolve into an 05 cry fest.

[Unregistered]

Vantucky Timbers will be in this league also