What do people in Courageland think about Sherrill Kester's ultimatum to be traded to Carolina? Here's an excerpt from what was posted in the San Diego Union-Tribune's Goal! section this past Wednesday: Here's the link (the brief article PRO SPORTS 101 can be found towards the bottom of the right column): Goal!
Here's another quote from the Soccer America Women's Soccer Insider newsletter that FearM9 posted over in the Spirit Forum: Sherrill Kester is a good player, but I personally think that she would have a very difficult time even making the Courage's 18 player roster. I don't think that a player who has scored only one goal and has just two assists in 40 WUSA games has any leverage to be issuing ultimatums to anyone.
I'm not sure why we would want Kester or who we would trade for her. See this further quote from GOAL:
Kester Sherrill was a mighty good college player at Duke, I'll give her that. She was a four-year starter and a regular on the All-ACC teams. She is from High Point, I believe, a born-and-raised North Carolinian. We also used to watch her playing for the Raleigh Wings after she graduated and before the WUSA was formed. Good luck to her. I'd like to see her win a spot with the Blue Lions.
It also reflects the "career prospects" of WUSA. Many of the players are sacrificing better career opportunities by playing for a relative pittance in WUSA. Except for a handful of players who garner appearance money or advertising contracts, playing professional soccer is at best a career diversion. A handful will stay with soccer or sports in management or coaching, but most players will eventually have to take up other careers.
This sounds eerily similar to what Meredith Florance did to the Courage after year one. She told them she wanted to be traded to the Freedom to be with her husband. Once the Courage realized they wouldn't get much for her in a trade they gave her outright release a couple of weeks before the pre-season. She eventually tried out and made the Freedom as a free agent. Very similar in that both were great college players, but their pro careers really haven't panned out. I wouldn't be suprised to see the Spirt do the same, and then you will probably see Kester trying to make the Courage roster as a free agent in the spring.
Kester barely made the Spirit 18 player roster last season. Sherrill is a good player who seems to have carved our a niche for herself in San Diego as an occassional starter and a second half substitute, but I don't know what role she could potentially play for the Courage. I completely agree with Heeligan2 and don't see who the Courage would be willing to give up in trade for Kester. If the Courage end up signing midfielder Solveig Gulbrandsen as their fourth international player, then I don't think that there is much chance at all of Kester even making the Courage roster. If Sherrill really wants to continue playing professional soccer it would probably be in her best interest to "report to training camp" in San Diego next week and work hard to earn a roster spot for herself.