To many leagues to much money

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So the thorns are willing to invest millions of dollars a year it girls soccer programs and how are they planning on making any revenue on that? You can't sell the rights.

For 97% of girls and parents, the goal is to go to college. Not become Megan Rapino.

And for the other 3%, most of them aren't very candidates for playing pro. You can't be slow.

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And for the other 3%, most of them aren't very candidates for playing pro. You can't be slow.

So what. The Thorn will be free so it will be a good opportunity for all kids. There is room in the the world for kids who are not fast or strong or coordinated. I love the idea and will sign my all my kids up so they can get free soccer and maybe get autographs and do zoom meetings with Parsons. This is going to be so good.

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So what. The Thorn will be free so it will be a good opportunity for all kids. There is room in the the world for kids who are not fast or strong or coordinated. I love the idea and will sign my all my kids up so they can get free soccer and maybe get autographs and do zoom meetings with Parsons. This is going to be so good.

My daughter doesn't get a lot of playing time on her current select team. If the Thorns Academy is truly free and _I want that in writing_ then we will consider putting her on the team. She def wants to be a pro player. I can't wait for Bob Parsons to coach her up. He does a good job with that Tobin Heath.

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My daughter doesn't get a lot of playing time on her current select team. If the Thorns Academy is truly free and _I want that in writing_ then we will consider putting her on the team. She def wants to be a pro player. I can't wait for Bob Parsons to coach her up. He does a good job with that Tobin Heath.

Follow up question do parents get free tickets to the NWSL thorns games? Maybe six free tickets per game and maybe some freebies at the concession stand would be good. If the thorns want to do this right they need to step up to the plate and make it lucrative for the parents to bring their girls. We are going to be doing a lot of sitting in the car during practice. Hopefully there is free parking too. Maybe the first team NWSL players could train with the kids a couple times a week.

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If nothing else, both Thorns Academy and Westside have finally updated their website to look sort of modern.

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My daughter doesn't get a lot of playing time on her current select team. If the Thorns Academy is truly free and _I want that in writing_ then we will consider putting her on the team. She def wants to be a pro player. I can't wait for Bob Parsons to coach her up. He does a good job with that Tobin Heath.

Yes if it is free they might get people to sign up. My kid might consider it to save her parents some bucks. If they cover all the travel and fees and uniforms and it is truly free with no hidden costs, then I will think about it. No promises at this point don't get your hopes up yet.

Do we have anything in writing and certified that says it's 100% free?

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Your all beeing to silly with sew menny posts about sirten teams and leagues. Get a grip.

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Yes if it is free they might get people to sign up. My kid might consider it to save her parents some bucks. If they cover all the travel and fees and uniforms and it is truly free with no hidden costs, then I will think about it. No promises at this point don't get your hopes up yet.

Do we have anything in writing and certified that says it's 100% free?

Nobody is doing anything unless they guarantee it’s totally free. No bait and switch with this girl. I want to hear the small print.

It’s thorns academy is totally free I’ll sign up. But I ain’t paying nothing.

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Nobody is doing anything unless they guarantee it’s totally free. No bait and switch with this girl. I want to hear the small print.

It’s thorns academy is totally free I’ll sign up. But I ain’t paying nothing.

I didn’t know it was going to be free. This is a game changer. I’m spending $400 a month for my kids and they don’t hardly get to play. If they can guarantee playing time this is exactly the program I’m looking for.

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The Thorns Academy and Pre-Academy teams are moving towards a partially, if not fully funded program over the next 5 years. It sounds like the goal is to draw the best players to one club and get out of the pay-to-play system. In the first season of the Pre-Academy program both teams won the OYSA Premier Gold Division (U11 & U12). THE U11 team went undefeated and had a goal ratio of 36 points for, and only 1 goal against for the season. That's a pretty solid foundation to build on.

The post says that they are moving towards being funded "over the next 5 years". For all of you saying that little Sally will go play for them if it's free and have guaranteed playing time, you might want to look into what the Thorns Academy/Pre-Academy is. They have one team at each age level made up of the top girls from across the state, and compete at the highest levels of competition (OYSA Premier Gold for Pre-Academy & ECNL for Academy). It's not a typical club with 3-4 teams at each age group playing anywhere from rec to premier level. They are looking to recruit the top players to be able to compete against the top teams anywhere. It may work, or it may not, but having the two youngest teams (U11 & U12)both win the Premier-Gold Division in their first season is a solid start.

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Nobody is doing anything unless they guarantee it’s totally free. No bait and switch with this girl. I want to hear the small print.

It’s thorns academy is totally free I’ll sign up. But I ain’t paying nothing.

Here's what I recommend. Get on the phone and set up a meeting with the owner. Get the details straight from the person who calls the shots. If it's free I am sure he will tell what you need to know.

They have tried to make it free in the past, but that evaporated.

They tried to make it fancy and bring in better players but that didn't work out.

The thorns academy has typically been the 3rd or 4th best option in the area but not that bad by any means.

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My daughter doesn't get a lot of playing time on her current select team. If the Thorns Academy is truly free and _I want that in writing_ then we will consider putting her on the team. She def wants to be a pro player. I can't wait for Bob Parsons to coach her up. He does a good job with that Tobin Heath.

It is great to hear that your daughter has big dreams. That is always exciting when a kid embraces a dream and goes all in.

We look forward to your documenting her journey here.

[Unregistered]

Nobody is doing anything unless they guarantee it’s totally free. No bait and switch with this girl. I want to hear the small print. It’s thorns academy is totally free I’ll sign up. But I ain’t paying nothing.

It's so unfortunate that title ix mandates/handouts for colleges don't trickle into the real world of business & professional sports. Otherwise it would be free for girls who just showed interest in participating. Keeping the bar low is the way to go and making it free.

Since our club likes charging full fare for travel with no ROI, it's time to make it free everywhere not just the Pro club t otherwise I aint paying for nothing at the local ponzi scheme club. Right on, Right on!!

MM

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The track record here is not inspiring.

Just wait. The olders suffered from any number of ills. The worst being extremely poor oversight by the Thorns ownership and management team for the vision of the academy, structure, leadership and focus. Add to this the challenges of not having younger teams that feed into the older team’s and you need this on the girls side because it is not free. The Timbers Academy can magically start at U15 because it is free. Most importantly, the older teams’ rotating list of players leaving to go to clubs that allowed them to play high school and you end up with weaker older teams. But snap into 2021, the Thorns have younger feeder teams, they are trying to lower their costs over time and the Timbers/Thorns owner has two girls that can go through the program and his GM has one in it now. This connection is quickly solving the lack of focus, lack of vision and mismanagement issues in short order. The youngers will be the top teams in the state, several of her are already, give it time.

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Just wait. The olders suffered from any number of ills. The worst being extremely poor oversight by the Thorns ownership and management team for the vision of the academy, structure, leadership and focus. Add to this the challenges of not having younger teams that feed into the older team’s and you need this on the girls side because it is not free. The Timbers Academy can magically start at U15 because it is free. Most importantly, the older teams’ rotating list of players leaving to go to clubs that allowed them to play high school and you end up with weaker older teams. But snap into 2021, the Thorns have younger feeder teams, they are trying to lower their costs over time and the Timbers/Thorns owner has two girls that can go through the program and his GM has one in it now. This connection is quickly solving the lack of focus, lack of vision and mismanagement issues in short order. The youngers will be the top teams in the state, several of her are already, give it time.

If MP is starting to get a clue, and actually runs to run a real academy rather than an expensive pay-to-play youth club that merely has Thorns branding, then that would be a game changer.

No wonder the usual trolls are here suggesting that if Thorns becomes free, that means that it must essentially be a rec program.