I think rather than dump on the coach, you should all ask why your own coach was too stupid to get this plumb recruiting assignment that Jillian Ellis now holds.
Two Players playing the same position: Player "A" plays for UCLA and attended the 1st camp of the year and started for the U-20 team in the 3 games played in Spain! Player "A" spent her freshman year sharing playing time, starting only 5 games. Player "B" was not invited to the 1st camp, but was in this years U-20 player pool, and was invited by Ellis to play in Spain. She did not start and did not get much playing time. Player "B" started all 24 games for her college team. Player "B" was invited to the recent U-23 camp in Portland. Clive and his coaching staff saw something in Player "B" during his camp that Ellis didn't see, because she was added to the U-23 Pool after camp, and was invited to go to Ireland in mid-May to play with the U-23's against the Scottish and Irish National Teams.
Is there a reason not to use names here? It is not like you are bashing any of these fine young ladies...they are all clearly talented and deserve the best. If they are being "played" by recruiting/ coaches, then it is not their fault but some of us would like to be more in the loop. Sorry if this sounds ignorant.
Sorry! You're right. We should wait until she actually wins a NC before talking about any unfair advantage. Till then, it's an unsubstantiated claim.
Re: from US Soccer Wire: Before you say "poaching," you might want to consider that the keeper in question might've left for other reasons.
But it's his ability to communicate those evaluations on this year's U-23 team that I find impressive.
Re: from US Soccer Wire: Certainly a soccer plus for UCLA but this implies she was unhappy for some reason with Villanova. From what I understand this probably wasn't the the case. Whatever the reason -- I'm 99.99999% sure she wasn't poached. Players/Coaches need to make changes for all sorts of reasons. Some things just are/aren't meant to be.
So is it fairly common for people to see Clive on the practice fields at Portland or did he make a special visit for the U-23 camp? And does US Soccer know that Clive is telling Bill Irwin which players to select? Hmm, maybe the Big Gal (hey this is WOMENS soccer afterall) is the one really choosing and is speaking through Clive. Unless you think Clive headed down there and someone else is speaking through him.
In a manner of speaking, every time people see the Pilots play on the practice fields at Portland, they see Clive. In this respect (only), there are elements of truth in the original comment about the U-23 evaluation process.
U.S. U-20 WNT COMES BACK TO THE HDC FOR TRAINING CAMP: U.S. U-20 Women’s National Team head coach Jillian Ellis will hold a training camp for 24 players at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., from May 24-31 as early preparations for the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup continue. Thirteen of the players participated in the USA’s training camp at The HDC in late April, but Ellis will get a chance to see some new players as well as bringing back a few players that traveled to Spain for the La Manga tournament earlier this year. That group includes forward Sydney Leroux, the Golden Ball and Golden Shoe winner as the top player and top scorer at the 2008 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup where she helped the USA to the world title by scoring five times. Ellis called up five members of the USA’s 2008 U-17 team that finished second in the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in New Zealand, including Golden Glove winning goalkeeper Taylor Vancil, defender Crystal Dunn, midfielder Samantha Mewis, midfielder Elizabeth Eddy, and forward Courtney Verloo, who saw some action at defender during the last training camp. U.S. U-20 WNT Roster GOALKEEPERS (3): Bianca Henninger (Santa Clara; Los Gatos, Calif.), Cat Parkhill (Minnesota; Apple Valley, Minn.), Taylor Vancil (Louisville; South Elgin, Ill.) DEFENDERS (5): Zakiya Bywaters (Neusport SC; Las Vegas, Nev.), Crystal Dunn (Albertson SC; Rockville Centre, N.Y.), Cami Levin (Stanford; Newport Coast, Calif.), Bailey Powell (Georgia; Fayetteville), Toni Pressley (Florida State; Melbourne, Fla.) MIDFIELDERS (9): Charney Burk (Portland; North Tuscan, Calif.), Kelly D’Ambrisi (Georgetown; Turnbull, Conn.), Katy Frierson (Auburn; Birmingham, Ala.), Maya Hayes (Aristics Club; West Orange, N.J.), Alev Kelter (Alaska Rush; Eagle River), Teresa Noyola (Stanford; Palo Alto, Caif.), Samantha Mewis (SC Scorpions; Hanson, Mass.), Jenna Richmond (McLean SC; Centreville, Va.), Beth West (Texas A & M; Centennial, Colo.) FORWARDS (7): Lauren Alwine (Virginia; Elizabethtown, Pa.), Kim Castleberry (Dallas Texans; McKinney, Texas), Elizabeth Eddy (So Cal Blues; Costa Mesa, Calif.), Courtney Jones (North Carolina; Danville, Calif.), Sydney Leroux (UCLA; Phoenix, Ariz.), Tiffany McCarty (Laurel, Md.; Florida State), Courtney Verloo (South Side Strikers, Tualatin, Ore.)
It was on this Mondays "Soccer Wire", you can find that under the Articles part of the main menu at USsoccer.com
Played the Sol w/o Marta and lost 2 - 0. Article at http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/component/option,com_topdrawer/Itemid,260/nid,8386/ Also played the Pali Blues and tied 4 - 4.