Thorns Academy is a joke

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I’m replying to my own post but from the website for reference:

“This will be her second year with the Academy as a Head Coach. Erin worked with the University of North Carolina women’s team on match analytics for 5 seasons and has been coaching soccer for over 15 years. She has experience coaching youth in Oregon, North Carolina, and Canada. She played collegiately in Canada and was a college assistant in Canada for 3 years following graduation.”

I don’t know much about the other coaches but we got to know Rhode a bit as he covered for the head coach while she was on maternity leave (I think it was only a month she was gone, not 6...). The girls enjoyed him and he did a great job... his daughters are good little players too.

Erin is a good coach. Totally support that. But this forum is meant to inform parents of the real story behind the clubs around the state, not the BS sales pitch Westside Timbers and Thorns put out there.

It’s a toxic mess of a club at the leadership level. Believe me when I say that they don’t care about your daughter’s development, they only care about the money....

Remember the posts that were going around saying that Thorns were trying to be a low cost/ no-cost club? And they had a huge fundraiser to support that? They raised over $150k in 1 night.... well? What happened? Oh yeah they raised their fees. Suckers....

[Unregistered]

Erin is a good coach. Totally support that. But this forum is meant to inform parents of the real story behind the clubs around the state, not the BS sales pitch Westside Timbers and Thorns put out there.

It’s a toxic mess of a club at the leadership level. Believe me when I say that they don’t care about your daughter’s development, they only care about the money....

Remember the posts that were going around saying that Thorns were trying to be a low cost/ no-cost club? And they had a huge fundraiser to support that? They raised over $150k in 1 night.... well? What happened? Oh yeah they raised their fees. Suckers....

Bull. You're a rival coach, spreading rumors. We weren't born yesterday.

[Unregistered]

[QUOTE=Unregistered;2976054]Bull. You're a rival coach, spreading rumors. We weren't born yesterday.[/

How many for the YNT have they produced? How many pro? Ok. I’m sure yours will be the first who benefits from the program.

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[QUOTE=Unregistered;2976078]

Bull. You're a rival coach, spreading rumors. We weren't born yesterday.[/

How many for the YNT have they produced? How many pro? Ok. I’m sure yours will be the first who benefits from the program.

Westside, historically, has produced quite a few. Thorns Academy hasn't produce any yet (excluding OM from the discussion).

I can only think of one recent CU player at this level, and if I'm not mistaken she's aging out at the end of the year. She was a black swan talent, who would be successful in any club. If CU is claiming credit for her "development", LOL.

You were better off boasting about how many of your kids have landed 0.1FTE schollys at Grand Canyon College. Other than Tiffeny Milbrett, who played on a boys' team in her youth career, Oregon has been a girls' soccer wasteland. And CU and Thorns are fighting to be king of the garbage heap.

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[QUOTE=Unregistered;2976088]

Westside, historically, has produced quite a few. Thorns Academy hasn't produce any yet (excluding OM from the discussion).

I can only think of one recent CU player at this level, and if I'm not mistaken she's aging out at the end of the year. She was a black swan talent, who would be successful in any club. If CU is claiming credit for her "development", LOL.

You were better off boasting about how many of your kids have landed 0.1FTE schollys at Grand Canyon College. Other than Tiffeny Milbrett, who played on a boys' team in her youth career, Oregon has been a girls' soccer wasteland. And CU and Thorns are fighting to be king of the garbage heap.

It’s a garbage heap, not because of the lack of talent....it’s a garbage heap due to the club level lack of development and coaching in this city. How does Kansas City produce way better teams, or Indianapolis, or Columbus, OH, or Louisville? Isn’t this soccer city? It is! There are crazy good girls in this city! But they are being destroyed by awful coaching year after year.
Coaching that tells them to “get the ball to 1-2 players at all time” vs playing as a team and developing everyone on the team.

Like any toxic company or sports franchise, if you keep recycling the same failed ideas and never evolve, you will continue to destroy the talent you have.

[Unregistered]

Bull. You're a rival coach, spreading rumors. We weren't born yesterday.

I doubt this person is a rival coach! Get your head out of the sand.

They obviously have some inside knowledge of the Thorns Academy, and they are not saying anything about other clubs being better.

Go ahead and spend $10k for bad coaching and see how far that will get you. Better off taking pressure off of your kid and letting her enjoy the game, get better and play with confidence. I bet that is not the result of most of their players.

I’ve watched their games, they can be found on YouTube now. They are sloppy and selfish. Not well coached

I think some of the OYSA teams could beat the Thorns teams. I would bet money on it

[Unregistered]

I doubt this person is a rival coach! Get your head out of the sand.

They obviously have some inside knowledge of the Thorns Academy, and they are not saying anything about other clubs being better.

Go ahead and spend $10k for bad coaching and see how far that will get you. Better off taking pressure off of your kid and letting her enjoy the game, get better and play with confidence. I bet that is not the result of most of their players.

I’ve watched their games, they can be found on YouTube now. They are sloppy and selfish. Not well coached

I think some of the OYSA teams could beat the Thorns teams. I would bet money on it

This^^^

[Unregistered]

[QUOTE=Unregistered;2976216]

It’s a garbage heap, not because of the lack of talent....it’s a garbage heap due to the club level lack of development and coaching in this city. How does Kansas City produce way better teams, or Indianapolis, or Columbus, OH, or Louisville? Isn’t this soccer city? It is! There are crazy good girls in this city! But they are being destroyed by awful coaching year after year.
Coaching that tells them to “get the ball to 1-2 players at all time” vs playing as a team and developing everyone on the team.

Like any toxic company or sports franchise, if you keep recycling the same failed ideas and never evolve, you will continue to destroy the talent you have.

And CU is part of this toxic ecosystem, and has been since before Thorns Academy even existed.

It's all about "get the best talent on one team", and using travel leagues as an inducement to get families to switch. It's about teams playing bootball, because that wins State Cups and other tournaments (especially at the younger ages), and then you can recruit more and better athletes. And hopefully land those whales, rich parents who pay thousands and thousands on personal training and other extras.

I've said it before--if the Thorns were serious, it would be free. Like Timbers Academy is. Since it isn't free, they're not serious. But CU is a trophy-chasing pay-to-play club and always has been. They're two peas in the same pod.

The soccer cultures that produce high levels of talent, are the ones where the local soccer culture discourages bootball; where coaches get yelled at by parents (and sacked by directors) for NOT playing it out of the back. Around here, the worst yelling from the sideline seems to come when a team DOES try to play it out of the back and gives up a cheap goal to the other team's pressure defense.

[Unregistered]

[QUOTE=Unregistered;2976260]

And CU is part of this toxic ecosystem, and has been since before Thorns Academy even existed.

It's all about "get the best talent on one team", and using travel leagues as an inducement to get families to switch. It's about teams playing bootball, because that wins State Cups and other tournaments (especially at the younger ages), and then you can recruit more and better athletes. And hopefully land those whales, rich parents who pay thousands and thousands on personal training and other extras.

I've said it before--if the Thorns were serious, it would be free. Like Timbers Academy is. Since it isn't free, they're not serious. But CU is a trophy-chasing pay-to-play club and always has been. They're two peas in the same pod.

The soccer cultures that produce high levels of talent, are the ones where the local soccer culture discourages bootball; where coaches get yelled at by parents (and sacked by directors) for NOT playing it out of the back. Around here, the worst yelling from the sideline seems to come when a team DOES try to play it out of the back and gives up a cheap goal to the other team's pressure defense.

This is completely accurate. Bravo

I would also add that it seems like the trophy chasers are easy to spot. They are the ones with the coach on the sideline losing their sh-t on kids for making mistakes. And constantly yelling at them to “get back in position” etc... meanwhile they have no idea what most of it means because they practice boot all scrimmage during all training sessions. Or some BS 1v1 drill.

100%!! If they were about development they wouldn’t try to charge 3x what other clubs do. This is all a way to get wealthy parents to bankroll these awful DOC’s and coaches. Fleece/scam

[Unregistered]

[QUOTE=Unregistered;2976260]

And CU is part of this toxic ecosystem, and has been since before Thorns Academy even existed.

It's all about "get the best talent on one team", and using travel leagues as an inducement to get families to switch. It's about teams playing bootball, because that wins State Cups and other tournaments (especially at the younger ages), and then you can recruit more and better athletes. And hopefully land those whales, rich parents who pay thousands and thousands on personal training and other extras.

I've said it before--if the Thorns were serious, it would be free. Like Timbers Academy is. Since it isn't free, they're not serious. But CU is a trophy-chasing pay-to-play club and always has been. They're two peas in the same pod.

The soccer cultures that produce high levels of talent, are the ones where the local soccer culture discourages bootball; where coaches get yelled at by parents (and sacked by directors) for NOT playing it out of the back. Around here, the worst yelling from the sideline seems to come when a team DOES try to play it out of the back and gives up a cheap goal to the other team's pressure defense.

This is completely accurate. Bravo

I would also add that it seems like the trophy chasers are easy to spot. They are the ones with the coach on the sideline losing their sh-t on kids for making mistakes. And constantly yelling at them to “get back in position” etc... meanwhile they have no idea what most of it means because they practice boot all scrimmage during all training sessions. Or some BS 1v1 drill.

100%!! If they were about development they wouldn’t try to charge 3x what other clubs do. This is all a way to get wealthy parents to bankroll these awful DOC’s and coaches. Fleece/scam

[Unregistered]

This entire thread is stupid. There are pros and cons for every club. Not every club is going to be a good fit for every kid/family. Find somewhere where your kid is happy and able to develop as a player and person. I know lots of families that are happy at Thorns Academy. I’m sure it isn’t a good fit for everyone...just like every other club!

[Unregistered]

This entire thread is stupid. There are pros and cons for every club. Not every club is going to be a good fit for every kid/family. Find somewhere where your kid is happy and able to develop as a player and person. I know lots of families that are happy at Thorns Academy. I’m sure it isn’t a good fit for everyone...just like every other club!

I am sure there are a lot of people who are happy to smoke crack, doesn’t mean they should do it.

I think you are missing the point of these folks posting. They are sharing their own insights. Insights that may help parents make an informed decision before paying up for a club and possibly exposing their child to a toxic sports experience.

I welcome all of the info I can get from people who know. Are there 2 sides? Sure. But please keep posting experiences, good and bad on this site. How else will parents know?

A lot of sh-tty coaches out there. Just saying.

[Unregistered]

(Sing this to "The Wellerman")

Oh, my beer money has all been spent
Me playin' career has come and went
And a coach's wage it don't pay the rent
I need to find a whale

Oh, may, the collegeman come
Waving tickets to Division One
And when the training is done
We'll go out for some ale

I see him in the parkin' lot
In an S-Class Benz with a wife whose hot
I tell him his daughter has a shot
And what it will entail

Oh, may the trainerman come
With private lessons that are one-on-one
Available for a modest sum
For those who will prevail

Our team it flies throughout the West
We need to travel 'cause we're the best
I tell parents that and they're impressed
And sign up without fail

Oh, may, the collegeman come
To showcase tournaments in the sun
They stand by the chute and watch the cattle run
And step onto the scale

These girls have talent, I'll admit
But my instincts tell me that none are "it"
I'll break it to them gently, bit by bit
So lessons don't curtail

Oh, may, the collegeman come
I'm sorry, young lady, but you're not the one
You can watch us play in the stadium
When tickets go on sale

Sometimes when I go to the watering hole
I see a former player up on the pole
Although she's eighteen I fear for my soul
At least I don't fear jail

Oh, may, the collegeman come
Another year of suckers, here they come
Rich girls' daddies they sure are dumb
This racket don't get stale

Oh, may, the collegeman come
'Cuz working on a crew it ain't no fun
I love me the life of a soccer bum
I've reached the Holy Grail

[Unregistered]

Question

Serious question:

Where the Thorns Academy end and the Westside Timbers start in their relationship.

Is Westside just the administration staff or are they managing the program too?

[Unregistered]

Serious question:

Where the Thorns Academy end and the Westside Timbers start in their relationship.

Is Westside just the administration staff or are they managing the program too?

Westside is admin and gets fields for Thorns. Thorns hire their own coaches, have their own director, run their programming completely separate, don’t train alongside WS coaches or teams (although there may be more integration with that with the inclusion of ECRL), use Providence Park etc. It is the same relationship as CU and THUSC.