Thank you for posting the article. It is really eye-opening though not totally surprising. Perhaps what might be a little surprising, though, are these statistics: "What’s more, 321 players were taken in MLS Superdrafts from 2015-18. Of those, only 30% have got into MLS matches so far. More than two-thirds have yet to play in an MLS game. And, looking at players taken from 2015-17, the chances are only one in five that you’ll stay with an MLS club for a second season if you’re selected outside of the top 10." This all emphasizes the point that players can be pretty darn good and not be able to make a living playing soccer. It should also serve to reinforce that the players should not count on soccer as being a source of a large income. The vast majority of players are going to need an education. The article should also be used to make the men aware that there are opportunities outside of the MLS. I hope that everything works out for Zajac. He seems like a decent person and someone that could potentially see bigger things in the future. Perhaps he could parlay his Canadian PL career into something bigger like a career in Europe or elsewhere. Before any of you scoff at that idea, please recall Zip DeAndre Yedlin. He took used an MLS career and a good World Cup showing and parlayed that into a career in the EPL. His success has been mixed but he made the "big time." There are a good number of Canadian players that are abroad. Here are some details on that: https://us.soccerway.com/players/players_abroad/canada/ Granted, most of those Canadian players are playing abroad in the MLS but there are opportunities in other leagues as well. This is a little off topic but I'm using it to emphasize that those not wanting to play in the States is not unique to men's soccer. I also thinks that this anecdotal story will demonstrate how far soccer still has to go in this country. I'm not a big fan of women's professional soccer but the same phenomena happens there. I mostly follow women's soccer because I have daughters that play/played collegiately and personally know some of the players in various NT pools. I follow the USWNT somewhat around the time of the World Cup and other some other competitions like the horrible friendlies that they recently played against France & Spain. Anyway, very few of the players selected in the NWSL draft will actually make it. It's sort of akin to the MLS situation though, comparatively, the MLS is a much stronger league. Hailie Mace, a UCLA player that was the 2nd overall pick in this year's draft, opted to play professionally in the Australian W-league instead of with Sky Blue in the NWSL. In many ways, soccer-wise, we have come a long way in the United States but we still have a long way to go. Also, I am hoping that men like Zajac are well-informed before making the decision to leave school early and that all options about where to play, career choices, education, and all of that are considered. Zajac seems to be a smart guy and more than likely made a well-informed choice but there are many that don't.
I don't want to get too off topic either, but, as a coach for 12+ years with all kinds of ages in youth and amateur soccer, I regularly tell players/parents to take their kids overseas to chase pro careers. At the current rate, there continues to be less and less (seemingly) chances for domestic players to get opportunities in the US for a pro soccer career. It's not getting any better. Unfortunately. And, it seems to trickle down (or up) from the college scene as well -- just look at the Akron roster over the years and how international it's gone since Porter's years, it's no different with many college programs in the entire country.
You liked it also, eh? Oh my, the USWNT has been very painful to watch. It's like some of the players have forgotten basic technical skills like trapping, passing, etc. A lot of them seem to have also forgotten the tactical side of the game. It's just really bad soccer. The conversation belongs elsewhere but I know of women players that are definitely being overlooked and should be in the NT pool.
Well the World Cup will be in our lovely country this year. So indeed I enjoyed the French victory…. My favorite players come from the club I support, Olympique Lyonnais: Amandine Henry, Delphine Cascarino, Eugénie Le Sommer and the mighty Wendy Renard. With the new coach, finally a woman, Corinne Diacre we seem to have found a new spirit. We have great hope to be champions. After the men, it would be cool to be world champions at the same time in both categories. For the USWNT, I believe they were less prepared, as the French players are in the middle of their league schedule, whilst yours are only just starting. Isn't it?
THERE IT IS! 🇺🇸🙌@SLletget's glorious return to @AvayaStadium gets the #USMNT on the board! pic.twitter.com/HBd416sbsY— U.S. Soccer Men's National Team (@USMNT) February 2, 2019 Wil Trapp with the sublime long ball to Jonathan Lewis who delivers the sweet cross for Sebastian Lletget’s nice header.
ZipsNation! This is just how close we came to losing Jared Embick to Louisville. Read. Sigh. https://www.courier-journal.com/sto...big-raise-off-louisville-interest/2790313002/
https://gozips.com/news/2019/2/7/mens-soccer-lundt-inks-mls-contract-with-fc-cincinnati.aspx And then Ben Lundt almost immediately gets loaned out to Louisville City FC. I wonder if John Hackworth has seen Ben play. Mmm. https://www.louisvillecityfc.com/news_article/show/993039
ZipsNation! More Info on the new deal https://www.ohio.com/sports/2019020...eceive-raise-after-declining-louisville-offer
For those not getting the joke, John's son, Morgan Hackworth, played at Akron last year. So presumingly, he saw a lot of Akron. #NotJustToBeSnarky #Helping?
Also, read the article links, pretty interesting. Thanks for including these. I don't blame Jared, seems like a win-win thing.
Yes. It has been a privilege watching Morgan Hackworth blossom over the past three seasons in Akron. Best of luck in Memphis, Morgan! #OAZ;AAZ!
Thank you for posting the link to the article. One thing in the article bothered me, though: Text messages obtained through a public records request show Embick emerged from a preliminary meeting telling Williams he “didn’t feel appreciated,” and was “discouraged” about the university’s commitment to him and his program. I fully understand the need to allow public records requests and it often allows the citizens to be protected from abuses of power. There are some things, though, that I feel should remain private and not disclosed to the public. Sometimes I feel that the media can abuse the right of a public record request and do not use it judiciously. I suppose that if Embick was at a private school such as Syracuse and was negotiating a contract and using Notre Dame as leverage, we would never hear about it.
No one made him go work at a public university, where he's one of its highest paid employees. Those are all choices Embick, and any other employee of a public school made. The benefits of the media using FOIs far, far outweighs any drawbacks. And as we've seen, Embick is very well compensated for his loss of privacy. And if he didn't want his salary negotiations made public, he should have gone to work at a private school. Or a pro team. And to be clear, there is zero indication Embick has a problem with this all being made public. If anything, he probably likes it as A) it sets a bar for any offers for future jobs, B) shows recruits how seriously Akron takes soccer and C) makes him a high-paid stud among his peers, who are probably thrilled he has set the bar this high. I mean, if Akron is paying Jared this much without him having ever won a national title, what kind of leverage do you think that gives the coaches like Sasho, Gunn, Gelnovatch, Yeagley, Jr. and Somoano who have won a national title?
https://gozips.com/news/2019/2/14/akron-mens-soccer-unveils-challenging-spring-schedule.aspx I am a bit disappointed. I really thought the Maryland roady was going to happen.
https://gozips.com/news/2019/2/15/m...spx?path=msoc&camefrom=EMCL_2746380_128869156 Just another article on Jared Embick's contract extension, this time from Akron AD.
Morgan Hackworth @HackworthMorgan Not the result we wanted, but always great seeing the old man @hackworthsoccer Memphis 901 FC @Memphis901FC It's not often you get to play a team coached by your father. @HackworthMorgan got that opportunity today in Nashville. No matter the score, it's all about family. : @loucityfc #901FC | #DefendMemphis 42 6:08 PM - Feb 20, 2019 Twitter Ads info and privacy See Morgan Hackworth's other Tweets