2012 General PDL discussions

It's the latest incarnation of what started out as the Los Angeles Legends. I think it's the third name total - they went from Legends, to Azul, to Misioneros - but it's basically the same franchise.

can't believe they're playin' Chicago Fire and Chicago Inferno this year. a little more creativity would be nice...

still trying to see the logic in moving Nashville to the eastern conference, and not having Baltimore Bohs & Real Maryland in different divisions and not playing each other even once while being 40ish miles apart. A second West Virginia team is pretty interesting also.

In the mean time, the schedule has been released http://pdl.uslsoccer.com/schedules/

I am disappointed not to see DCU U23, I thought it was a done deal.

I read a long article talking about how MLS reserve teams in the future should play in lower leagues, but the truth is that in DC it hasn't happened, and the Reserves team will be playing 10 friendlies this year too and that's it. A real shame!

not if he wants to keep his NCAA eligability. Which isn't a problem for the Canadian team, but it is for Seattle & Portland

Could the schedule be any worse for Real Maryland? Stating the season with six away matches? None of those games are against Northern Virginia which could attract Monarchs fans. Its home match against the Royals is midweek, so do not expect much of a bump. (Admittedly it may be maybe a couple dozen extra bodies in the stands, but that is better than expecting anyone to track out during rush hour on a Thursday.) The road match at the Royals is similarly midweek. The USL may not have control over DC United U23, but what not have the Baltimore team in the same division? The two West Virginia teams are played on Thursday and Saturday; was Friday and Sunday not an option? Palmetto and Nashville in the same weekend will be a long trip.

Why not have Nashville in the Great Lakes and shift Baltimore to the South Atlantic, giving the Mid-Atlantic nine teams for a balanced schedule?

I know that I am griping, but the plans for my family to attend all games home and away just evaporated. Ideally, add Baltimore, DCU U23, and the second team in WV and you have a nice tidy league. Even Palmetto instead of DCU is fine, especially for Carolina. Plenty of potential pairing if a road trip against two teams is needed.

You won't lose NCAA eligibility playing in the PDL or for any amateur team. There's recently been some tweaks to the NCAA's rules on eligibility, but part of the relevant policy is:

An individual loses amateur status and thus shall not be eligible for intercollegiate competition in a particular sport if the individual:
(a) Uses his or her athletics skill (directly or indirectly) for pay in any form in that sport;
(b) Accepts a promise of pay even if such pay is to be received following completion of intercollegiate athletics participation;
(c) Signs a contract or commitment of any kind to play professional athletics, regardless of its legal enforceability or any consideration received, except as permitted in Bylaw 12.2.5.1; (Revised: 4/29/10 effective 8/1/10)
(d) Receives, directly or indirectly, a salary, reimbursement of expenses or any other form of financial assistance from a professional sports organization based on athletics skill or participation, except as permitted by NCAA rules and regulations;
(e) Competes on any professional athletics team per Bylaw 12.02.4, even if no pay or remuneration for expenses was received, except as permitted in Bylaw 12.2.3.2.1; (Revised: 4/25/02 effective 8/1/02, 4/29/10 effective 8/1/10)

The sticky wicket, I guess, is whether or not an MLS Reserve League team is considered a "professional athletics team." More bylaws:

12.02.4 Professional Athletics Team. A professional team is any organized team that:
(a) Provides any of its players more than actual and necessary expenses for participation on the team, except as otherwise permitted by NCAA legislation. Actual and necessary expenses are limited to the following, provided the value of these items is commensurate with the fair market value in the locality of the player(s) and is not excessive in nature: (Revised: 4/25/02 effective 8/1/02)
(1) Meals directly tied to competition and practice held in preparation for such competition;
(2) Lodging directly tied to competition and practice held in preparation for such competition;
(3) Apparel, equipment and supplies;
(4) Coaching and instruction;
(5) Health/medical insurance;
(6) Transportation (expenses to and from practice competition, cost of transportation from home to training/practice site at the beginning of the season and from training/practice site to home at the end of season);
(7) Medical treatment and physical therapy;
(8) Facility usage; (Revised: 4/24/03)
(9) Entry fees; and (Revised: 4/24/03)
(10) Other reasonable expenses; or (Adopted: 4/24/03, Revised: 10/28/04)
(b) Declares itself to be professional (see Bylaw 12.2.3.2.4). (Revised: 8/8/02)

Given an MLS team does (and its Reserve Teams do) provide players more than just expenses, and given they aren't (to my knowledge) wholly separate organizations, you'd probably have a hard time making the case that an MLS Reserve League team isn't a professional team.

Except for a very, very few teams, PDL teams are amateur teams. The restriction is that you can't compete for them until May 1 of a given year and there can't be more than five players from any one school on said "out of season" team. That's one reason most PDL teams don't start playing until May.

But if you can name players who played on an MLS Reserve League team while retaining their NCAA eligibility, that would be good information. Details about who plays in MLS Reserve League games isn't as easy to come by as other leagues.

The Baltimore Bohemians of the PDL released their kit. I like it.

Per twitter, the El Paso Patriots are back to their original name.

(Due to an agreement with Chivas de Guadalajara, they were called Chivas El Paso Patriots the past couple seasons)

Not bad, but the colors make it look like they replaced Crystal Palace with Wolverhampton Wanderers.

I like it as well. Definitely unique. I hope they do well.

Depends on if they have signed a paying contract with the club. PDL teams(most of them) don't pay players so it doesn't affect college eligibility. Some PDL teams pay but that means they can't have any college players on the team. College players can play against professionals, but not along with professionals.

I don't know the specifics of how the Reserve League works. If the players are paid, they lose college eligibility. But they could play on a PDL team against college players.

Not along with professionals who are getting paid.

A guy can have, officially, "professional" status (you're either one or the other in the eyes of the USSF) and be playing for a PDL team without getting paid without impacting any amateur players who also happen to be on that team.

Doesn't happen a lot, but you can get guys who played professionally for years and for whatever reason, they play for a PDL team in or near where they live near the end of their careers (Dario Brose comes to mind). Unless they "buy back" their amateur status (which you can do), they are, officially, "professional" players. But unless their PDL team is paying them over and above expenses incurred, they're fine. And so are the NCAA players who play with them.

NCAA student-athletes can't play on a professional team and retain their eligibility (whether or not they, themselves, get paid). A professional team is defined by the NCAA in an earlier post in this thread. But the mere presence of players with "professional" status (usually ex-pros or guys in career flux) doesn't necessarily make a team a professional team. And doesn't necessarily impact your eligibility.

MLS' Reserve League is a different animal, in that you'd be hard-pressed to make the case that they're not professional teams as they consist of players who are getting paid to play soccer and receive all the other benefits the NCAA lists that it considers make a team professional.

Monday, February 27, 2012

WORCESTER, Mass. -- Worcester Hydra FC has signed goalkeeper Michael Eade as the first player in franchise history. The team enters its first season as a member of the United Soccer League’s (USL) Premier Development League (PDL) in 2012.

A native of Buckhurst Hill, England, Eade is a graduate of NAIA institution Park University in Parkville, Mo. where he served as a goalkeeper for the Pirates from 2007-2009. He was named the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2008 posting a 0.96 goals against average with 68 saves in 17 games.

Eade posted 16 shutouts in his career, including a shutout of eventual NAIA national champion Lindsey Wilson in 2009. He recorded a 0.94 career goals against average and helped lead the Pirates to two NAIA national tournament games.

Before his career at Park, Eade played with two professional clubs in England, Tottenham Hotspur Academy and Luton Town FC Youth Training Scheme. He has also served as an assistant women’s soccer coach at Bloomsburg (Pa.) University.

“I am very happy to announce that we’ve signed Michael Eade,” said Hydra general manager Craig Scriven. “He becomes part of our club’s history as Worcester Hydra’s first signing. As with every successful soccer team, you must start at the back and in Michael we have a very competent and experienced goalkeeper who has played in big games.”

The Hydra open their inaugural season on Saturday, May 5 when they host the Seacost United Phantoms of New Hampshire at 7 p.m. at Commerce Bank Field at Foley Stadium. Season tickets are available now at www.HydraFC.com.

For any additional information on the Worcester Hydra Football Club (FC), please visit our website at HydraFC.com or our Facebook page.

My club WSA Winnipeg recently unveiled it's 2012 Jerseys. I think they're pretty sharp.



http://wsawinnipeg.com/index.php/news/134-plays-fc-edmonton-on-march-24th-and-25th

The two guys on the left might be wearing tracksuit tops.

Looks like a jacket/pants combo here: http://wsawinnipeg.ca/index.php/news/136-wsa-mail-bag

Nice outfits for WSA Winnipeg.

I normally post over in the RSL, MLS, and USMNT forums, but I also support my local PDL team, the BYU Cougars. In fact, they play about a mile from my house, so it's a nice walk over to catch a game.

In the past, I've blogged a bit about them, but I'm trying to get more serious about it. I've posted a pre-season game write-up and a a pair of videos from interviews w/ the coaching staff over at my blog. I'm hoping to be a bit more regular about posting stuff this season, but I wanted to trot these out and ask for feedback before things really get rolling.

TIA for taking a look and helping me improve.