You're the parent and recruiters show up for your kid. BYU, Utah, or Stanford? Not really much of a dilemma. Especially considering that about 2% of college athletes make it to the pros.
I don't actually have a problem with it. Go where you believe is best for you. Especially if you aren't going to be a pro. People don't need to attend a school in their state, or one affiliated with the church they attend. One of my BYU roommates was 6'7", 235, and could dunk two-handed from a stop, or touch the top of the backboard with a running start. He was offered a full basketball scholarship, but turned it down because he was doing well enough for an academic scholarship which was nearly as good and he wanted to become a doctor. He thought the time demands of NCAA basketball would make that harder, and he doubted he was good enough to become a professional either in the NBA or abroad. His interest was satisfied by intramurals during the school year, pickup games, and summer training with the team. My niece was a solid softball prospect; her offers included multiple mid-level Big Ten, Big XII, and ACC schools. She now attends a D-II college in small Indiana town, because that's what she thought was best for her personal interests. She's quite happy with the decision.
Trying to get this thread back on topic (which, as always, is partly/mostly my fault): why is this such a big thing in NWSL? The draft coverage was plagued with "but where will this player actually play on the (insert club)?" Why is NWSL so keen on the idea of moving players around? Is the jump from the top D1 schools to the league THAT big? On the men's side it is, but I thought that it wasn't so wide on the women's side.
I'd hazard a guess that this is largely down to the very limited number of roster slots available. There are only 10 teams, and each is limited to 18-20 players total. I was shocked when I tuned into an NWSL game last year and saw that the visiting team (Boston, I think) only had 4 subs available that day, including a backup keeper. If you're on the fringes (and most of the draftees are), you'd better be versatile.
Good point. It still irked me more than it should have with how much of the commentary was "well she played position x in college but I think she could work in position a, b, c, and y with (club)". The roster size point, though, makes me understand the desire for versatile players. Given that, I think that the commentators had it backwards, then. Instead of framing player discussions as "well we don't know where this player will fit" they should have presented it with "she is good here but also could plug in here here and here". It felt like the commentators specifically DIDNT want the players in positions they played in college at the pro club. It's being picky but if that's not what BS is for then what is
Of course it would be Boston. That team does not know how to exist without at least some misfortune. I think part of the whole "where does Player fit in" question is due to the huge step up from college to pro. There are a number of players who were decent at a position in college, but had to be moved as a pro because they weren't a physical fit for that same position as a pro- not big enough to be a CB or fast enough to play out wide. Or a team might already have depth in a position, but will still draft a player just because she's too good to pass up and can slot in where depth is lacking.
Absolutely. When I first started watching women's soccer a few years ago, I found it difficult to not contextualize what I was seeing in terms of the men's game. From that lens, everything - high school, college, pro, even the USWNT - looked slow and methodical. Almost like a more cerebral soccer, because the players weren't as explosive. The more I watch it on its own terms, though, the more I see that there is a huge difference in the athleticism and especially in the speed of play between college and the NWSL. Even the weakest NWSL team is closer to a top national team than it is to any college side.
Even with all that said, agree or disagree, this goal is one of the most amazing athletic moments in any sport, IMO.
It is, hands down. By the same token, Carli Lloyd's hat trick against Japan in 2015 was one of the most clutch performances I've ever seen, regardless of sport or gender.
To be fair, if she hadn't been impeded by the defender (who had one of the worst days ever- gave up the OG in the 2nd minute, likely caused just enough interference on the keeper to allow Abby to score, and was the only one not to convert her penalty in the shootout), the keeper probably gets to that ball and the US loses. But really, everything leading up to the goal was perfect- Rampone forcing the turnover, Krieger's interception, Lloyd drawing the defenders to her and freeing up Rapinoe, and of course Rapinoe's Hail Mary cross.
Still makes me chuckle that I went to college with Rapinoe, had a class with her and Stephanie Lopez.
I've got a coworker who coached her when she was in high school. He always laughs when I bring her up after a WNT game.
For those of you wondering why the schedule hasn't been released yet- the league is dropping down to 9 teams this year, as Boston is folding.
Too bad. I heard rummors Boston wasn't going last long. Originally I heard it was hopped SKC would take on the KC franchise and RSL would take on Boston franchise in a year. will there be a dispersal draft?
That has yet to be determined. The league is supposed to officially announce the Breakers folding later today. It would be the most likely thing to happen, though. From what I understand, there was a new ownership group lined up to take over, but they pulled out of the deal last week. From an objective perspective, this was inevitable. Boston hasn't been pulling its weight for a while now, and if the league is going to grow, there is a need for ownership groups that are both willing and able to handle the monetary losses that come with owning a sports team. But from the perspective of a fan, it hurts. The Breakers have been around since the WUSA days in 2001. They are the oldest professional WoSo team in the US. And to see them just fold is sad.
The other negative part is that this will likely increase the number of midweek games to accommodate having an odd number of teams.
Ugh is right. Going through that crap back in 2014 was painful. KC had a brutal stretch that year of playing both midweek and weekend matches for over a month. It was shocking that they got through that with no injuries. It might even have been worse than the Road Trip of Suck that WNY got scheduled the year before that. The RTOS was Chicago on July 4, KC on the 7th, Seattle on the 11th, and Portland on the 14th. Playing 4 road games in 11 days is cruel. But the one silver lining was getting big scores in Fantasy League from players who had two games in one week.
Ha. Not a lot of people know this, but Megan has a twin sister, Rachael, who also played at the University of Portland with her. I had a number of classes with Rachael, she was a life science major (I was biology), I always thought Rachael was cuter because she had a very different (non-bleached) hair style. The Rapinoes, along with Christine Sinclair, where the "hot shit" people on campus, that's for sure.