I agree as it doesn't come down to a competition between those two and my response was to the post indicating that JJ had an edge. Not going to get into comparing the Youth Female award to the four POY awards won by Dunn this year.
And the bronze ball of course. Basically, the two split the honors international and college. Anyway, the two aren't in competition directly since they both project to different positions although I think college is going to have an effect (i.e. Dunn still needs to go to college and won't be as available and might not even be playing outside back next year, Johnson's already graduated and we need a heir apparent to Boxx more than outside backs atm). Hope both of them have a good showing though.
Johnston is a junior at Santa Clara. U may be thinking of Kendall Johnson who graduated early from Portland and went to SBFC.
Oops, my mistake! Well then, both of them will be affected a bit by that. Speaking of K. Johnson, I hope she and Levin are called in for one of the camps this year to see what they've got.
I hope Levin and Hagen get called in. Im less worried about players in the league. Im sure Sermanni, unlike Pia, will use the league as a resource. Johnson playing left back for SB will give him a good idea if she belongs in camp.
Looks like Bywaters just got called up to camp. No official news from US Soccer as of yet but Bywaters announced it on her Twitter.
I wonder if she slots into the second camp. U have to figure some of players like Press, Averbuck and Engen might only be available for part of the camp because of their other commitments. It might be that a second wave of players replace them in camp. I have it in the back of my head that Mewis said she wasnt going until Feb 12.
Seattle has confirmed it. So the official Reign MIA report reads like this: Megan Rapinoe...somewhere in France...back in June? Amy Rodriguez...having baby....out at least the year? Teresa Noyola...somewhere in Denmark...back in June?
I had not seen a report that she was pregnant. Congratulations to ARod and her family. I disagree--unless that's what ARod wants. In fact, this year is probably the ideal time for a USWNT player in her age bracket to have a child. Players have sufficient time to have the baby, get back in shape, find a team, and prove to the coach that they're in form enough to get a camp call or two before the real meat of the cycle. I expected at least one or two pregnancies this year.
Yeah, I can see HAO getting pregnant this year as well. However, I do think this is likely the end of her national team career. She already had her work cut out for her to prove to Sermanni she deserves that #4 striker spot against Press, within a year that can be between Press, Horan, Hagen, Ohai, etc. and I don't think she'll be able to make her case to be a permanent member of the team again.
Maybe, maybe not. Maybe she's able to make a better conversion to a different position in the next two years. Maybe she isn't. But to just assume that because fans don't think highly of her USWNT forward play that Sermanni feels the same way is short sighted. Doesn't Sermanni have a history of liking the speedsters that hang on the last defender's shoulder? I think he does. And the initial post was that her soccer career, not her USWNT career, was over. And, please let no poster mistake my saying her career (USWNT or otherwise) isn't over as being my saying I believe she's a better player than [insert young forward here] or [insert Olympic alternate forward here]. Because that's not what I'm saying at all.
I'm with you. Female athletes have kids and continue with their sporting careers all the time. The insinuation that a player's career is over is after a pregnancy is one of the dumbest things I've seen typed on here in a minute. Now, ARod's life maybe over but she can still get back into shape and play the game, if she chooses to.
I think her chances of rejoining the USWNT in the future (not simply camp call ups) may be shaky. It's not simply a matter of evaluating her level of performance as subjective onlookers. It's the fact that there is serious competition at forward and on the wing just to be on the roster for the next cycle. In order for A-Rod to have a chance again she may need to prove herself in the NWSL or another league. Because essentially A-Rod would have to bump someone else out of a roster spot if and when she returns. Unless the upstarts are struggling that window may not be there. And there are plenty of upstarts vying for these spots. Sermanni's not going to be playing them just to keep A-Rod's seat warm until she comes back. And let's face it she doesn't have the value that Fawcett and Rampone had when they had children and later resumed playing.
That was always going to be the case. And that's my point: her pregnancy has not altered her USWNT future to the negative. It was always going to be a challenge--just like it's going to be a challenge for every other player.
Not quite like every other player. For her yes. But not everyone is at the same place on the invisible depth chart. Some are on the margins and others much less so. And I do believe that mountain got steeper with her pregnancy even if she was already looking marginal. It seemed you were pitching a more optimistic tenor for her in that regard. There is a fundamental difference between trying to keep your place on a team and trying to win a place back on a team. Whatever the odds were they just got longer in my opinion. I do wish her and her family the best though.
again, you're looking at this from a pia perspective. what if a-rod's game responds to sermanni the way it did to riley in philly? i think he likes the little compact, fast forwards, as in devanna. the same could go for press, who isn't a direct, catch it on the run forward like sydney and morgan, so she probably didn't fit with pia. edwards was considered to soft in the defensive mid-field for pia, so she was out the loop with pia. Press, Horan, Hagen, Ohai ? Ohai just had an ok U20 tournament. I wouldn't put her in the same breathe with Press and Hagen. I'm not sure Horan is any better than Hayes. Outside of signing with a France club, what has she actually done vs Press' credentials in the WPS and Sweden? Dunn is better than those two by a long shot. if this guy employs 3 forwards, then he needs 5, so I'd still have a-rod in my top 5 until Hagen (Wambach clone), Henderson (MIA since college) , and Hayes (MIA in the u20 WC) prove otherwise. Ohai, if she ever makes it, reminds me of a Heather Mitts type reserve, definitely not an elite forward or mid-fielder. That's about it.
Well I dont think Ohai is ready either. I just dont think her ball handling skills r ready for prime time BUT to say she had an "ok U20 tournament" is way off the mark. The US scored 9 goals total in the tournament. Ohai scored two and assisted on two others. That's pretty good production. She also defended like mad the length of the field. I thought she had a great U20 WWC.
I definitely agree Ohai isn't ready now. But I mentioned her above because it'll be some time before we see A-Rod playing again at a high level (who knows how far along she is after all). Within a year, who knows where Ohai will be. Who knows where Horan, Hagen, or Henderson will be. What I believe, though, is that this will make it increasingly more difficult for A-Rod to try and retain a spot on the national team. I highly doubt we'll never see her again and expect her to play professionally but I only meant that her national team days ahead may be limited.