http://www.sjcyberrays.com/news/rel_20030326.html Barnes' numbers aren't anything, but she's younger and healthier than Clark so that must be among the main reasons as to why she was picked up and Clark was dropped. Good luck to both players! Anyone agree/disagree with this? I think it's a good idea, Clark's health was just too unreliable.
I think it's a good move. Looking over the final roster, Clark really stood out as the most limited player left on the team. She was speedy and dynamic, but the rest of her game never really came together, and when she was at less than 100% due to injury at the end of last season she looked really mediocre. I'm happy to see the Rays take a chance on improving the team. Even if Barnes turns out to be no better than Clark, at least they tried; Clark certainly wasn't ever going to be an impact player in the league.
DS has returned! I hope you continue to stop by before the season starts-we all love your posts. SORO and I were hoping you'd jump into the pre-season thread soon. You're right about the team taking a chance. When you see all of the changes that other teams have made, it makes our team seem behind almost. We haven't added or subtracted very many players from our team, which can be a good thing, and it can be a bad thing. Only the season will tell. The coaches have to take chances if they want to see things change.
I'm kind of surprised by this, just because it seemed like Sawyers was giving Clark 9 million changes to prove herself, including starting her a bunch of times last season when she was looking far less than spectacular. Maybe he finally decided he'd given her enough chances? I wonder if he had the idea in mind all along that he was using her to hold a roster spot on the full roster just for the purpose of being able to pick up someone and put them immediately on the full roster? I know nothing about Barnes, but I think everyone knows that I'm not a big fan of Clark's play, so I'm not crying about it on a soccer-specific level even if I end up thinking Barnes is a bust, too. Obviously, if Clark's not picked up by another team, she could be picked back up by the 'Rays as a deveiopmental player. Still, I'd rather see Bell, or Horvath, in that spot. On a personal NSR level, I do feel bad for Kim, however. I have talked to her on a couple of occasions at fan events (mind you, nothing terribly earth-shattering, just a couple of sentences exchanged), and she's been very cool and geniune and fun each time. I'll miss the person, even if I don't (remotely) miss the soccer player.
Well.. this completely bums me out.. all my girls are gone.. T, Lisa, Megs, Kim.. if Di, Boof of Frenchie are cut I'm officially going to UC Riverside and getting the heck away from CyberRays cause yes I like all of them as people cause they're great but I respect and admire all of them as players.. yes Kim wasn't as productive as some wanted her to be... but you know what? I'm proud of her.. there have been quite a few players on the CyberRays that people have expected a lot out of and they haven't produced either and they seem to get a ton of praise..
Ian Sawyers has taken an interesting approach to improving the Cyberrays. If you look over the last two seasons, almost all of our new players have come through trades or pick ups from other teams. Other teams go for new internationals, college draftees, w leaguers. We added Michelle French, Pretinha, Dawn Greathouse, Maren Hendershot, Mandy Clemens, Keri Sanchez, Ann Cook when we re-signed her, and now Katie Barnes. It's a strategy that relies on Sawyers ability to coach players to their full potential individually and as a unit. Let's hope the gamble works. Katie Barnes' bio says that she played for Jerry Smith on the U-21s. I wonder if he had any input into her selection by Sawyers. It's nice to have the luxury of a talented young striker who we can develop.
This is a positive move for SJ. Clark was given the opportunity to start and to produce the entire season. Even if Barnes turns out to be a disappointment, it will be no worse than Clark.
Clark was given a chance to complement Katia and it didn't work. With the acquisition of Clemens her days with the team were numbered. Cheers!
Here's a WUSA article on Katie Barnes from the beginning of last season: Katie Barnes: From WVU to WUSA http://www.wusa.com/off_the_field/280388.html
Thanks for linking that here. I'm excited to see a new face on the team! I hope the site puts up new bios soon.