There's a kid over at Bergin's site who is finishing up at an English university, and wants to come over next summer to secure a job in the A-League or D-3. I've been pm'ing him. But I have some questions...which A-League teams pay a living wage to even some of their players? Also, how common would it be for (one example) the Charleston club to set up a player with a part-time job to supplement his income. Finally, is their one good url that has contact info for all of the USL?
Dave: Here's one problem: teams can only have a certain number of visa players. Visas themselves are time-intensive and not always inexpensive, meaning the player should be pretty darn good for most teams to go through the trouble to get him over here and take up one of those (fairly) precious slots. I think the idea that no one in the A-League outside Rochester and Charleston pays a "living wage" is a little overblown. I would say that a great many A-League teams at least make it possible for their players to exist for the six months of the season or so (extravagance and luxury simply not being options, nature of the beast). Most of the time they'll get, say $2k a month, as well as an apartment (which they'll often have to share with one or two or perhaps three, depending on the size, teammates, but at least it's housing). If you're young and especially if you're just wanting to get your foot in the door and coming from England, you can't have that many financial responsibilities (I would think) that you'd be needing to make $200,000 in six months to live. As far as part-time jobs, I would imagine that would depend on the team's training and travel schedules (which vary), but it'd be hard to find an employer who's flexible enough to give you a few hours off during the day and about half of your Fridays (even if you're not a soccer player, those things aren't easy to find), but that's perhaps part of why so many players coach youth players. Sometimes I swore the only reason many of our players wanted to play professional soccer was so they could get a cushy coaching job, and that's only exaggerating a little bit. You can get decent money, I'm told, coaching a club team, and if you're a professional player, you have that much more cachet (and if you can "trade on the accent", as they say, all the better). I don't know if all teams feel this way, but a player had better be able to contribute if a team is going to spend a visa spot on him (I know we had kind of a guideline that we wouldn't use a visa on someone who wasn't going to start, and if we discovered the guy couldn't really play, he was gone, because those spots are pretty valuable). I would tell your guy to avoid D3 like the plague unless he has family over here or some other kind benefactor who doesn't mind him sleeping on the couch and not paying rent or anything. Because from what I understand, the vast majority of D3 doesn't pay anything near a living wage. I'm not sure if they've gotten to the contact info yet, but www.uslsoccer.com is back up and running. Dan Barnes' excellent a-league.com website is also a good resource. Tell him to give it a shot, but he'd better be good, he'd better be flexible, and he'd better not expect the Premiership. He'll be training on inconsistent grounds, taking long bus or van trips, playing back-to-back games, eating at McDonald's, having roommates, and playing in all kinds of facilities (things are better in Rochester and Charleston, obviously). But he'll also be getting paid to play soccer, getting to come to America, and having some fun for six months. If I was 22, 23, that would look like a hell of a deal to me. Hope that helps.
I guess you're following that thread? What I was trying to get across to him is that it's unlikely he'll be able to make his 6 months of soccer pay stretch for 12 months. Plus, he's bringing over his girlfriend. That changes the roommate situation. I was thinking of those summer baseball leagues, where they hook the kids up with jobs. He's studying coaching in school. Heartless bastard.
Actually, I'm not. Very unlikely. Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad idea. This reduces his chances considerably. I don't think much of that goes on. I mean, if the owner owns another business, maybe, I've seen that, but you're pretty much on your own finding a part-time gig, most of the time. And, most of the time, since there's not a lot of heavy lifting or tie-wearing, guys opt to coach kids. Like he needs to. Professional player with an accent? A local club will hire him. You have no idea. This guy couldn't play at all. Hell of a nice guy, though, one of the nicest guys ever. But he couldn't play.
No, his chances of a team providing him housing. It throws off the whole equation. Unless he finds another player with a girlfriend and team lets the four of them stay in one two-bedroom place. They could generate more revenue by letting them install webcams, I guess, and charging $9.95 a month for memberships. He's reducing the chances of a team helping out with his living arrangements (unless they just want to or are able to throw him some money every month towards their rent somewhere), which, combined with the whole visa thing and the fact that they can probably find some 22 year old American kid who will take about 15 minutes to negotiate with, sign, and get into uniform, he's just reducing his chances. That's all I'm saying.
At Bergin's site, he sez his wife (not girlfriend) has money. So the whole thing may not be a problem.
First off that webcam idea doesn't sound like a bad idea, and at $9.95 is a bargin!!! Just to throw in my uneducated opinion here, last year the Riverhounds had a young kid from Columbia (?). He said he had a wife and kids which the team was going to bring to the States. It was later found out that she was just a girlfriend and the kids weren't his. I think they ended up bring her here but not the kids. Long story short - it depends on the team and how badly they want the player. If he's that good and willing to play on the cheap then the chances of the team getting an apartment for him and his girl are increased. It would also help if he doesn't mind working in the office or can help out in the schools, etc. A degree in buisness also helps.
If at all. See Dave Ungrady's book "Unlucky." I don't quite see the point of D3 except in this respect -- they can have players the PDL can't thanks to the NCAA's counterproductive rules. I'd rather see D3 and the PDL merge into a bunch of regional leagues with a national "League Cup" competition. If the NCAA allowed soccer players the same courtesies as golfers and let them play without compensation against pros, I wonder if D3 would continue to exist. As far as the A-League goes -- I've often wondered about the part-time situation. I think that's the way to go for a lot of sports. Stop by a Home Depot near Salt Lake City, and you're likely to be helped by an Olympic gold medalist. Go to First Mariner Bank in Baltimore, and you might bump into a Baltimore Blast player. And if you play the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant softball team, you might meet Jose Canseco.
mr. dure, appreciate your insights. on this and many other boards, i've heard steady references to the "counterproductive ncaa" rules. is there any significant movement toward getting this changed? it seems like most of those rules and regulations are way out of step with the realities of soccer in this country, perhaps more reflective of a time 20-30 years ago when the game was much less popular. without knowing the background or inside information on this, i'm puzzled. it seems there must be a tremendous number of soccer enthusiasts in this country who can make the argument that the ncaa stance should be changed. if this is not being done, why not? is it lack of organization, or motivation? and what on earth is the argument for keeping things as they are? i don't get it. thanks for any insights that can be provided.
All good questions with few answers. If it's any consolation, NCAA rules can be counterproductive in a number of sports. We just notice it more in soccer because it's so easy to see the opportunities that are being denied. Essentially, they're run by college officials with little real interest in giving athletes genuine opportunities.
I know many A-League players have supplemented their salaries in the past with part-time jobs. To my understanding, it's a common practice because A-League salaries are not enough to live off. That's why some players pursue both the indoor game and A-League. Steer your friend clear of expansion teams unless they offer him a good contract, as we know, teams come and go quickly, especially expansion teams. From an investor's standpoint, the profitability of the A-League is highly questionable in some markets. In regards to the NCAA, I guess some college players compete against pros in the US Open Cup, so you'd think they'd change the rules as long as no compensation occurs. But think about how hard it would be to mandate. Where do you draw the line? If a player receives gatorade, medical attention, or anything from their club it'd be a violation. I wish the rules would change, but it'd need to be a good plan so the NCAA wouldn't have to police it too much.
Apparently the NCAA can't say a thing about the Open Cup. I'm a little hazy on the explanation I received, but it something to do with Olympic development. That sounds strange, but remember that U.S. Soccer is officially the Olympic program in this country. I might be able to find the details when I'm back at another computer.
I do believe most teams have a built in opportunity that allows their players to make a few extra bucks during the summer. Make sure them team that you send your friend to runs soccer camps. If the kid puts in af ew appearances and teaches some kids a few pointers, he can earn some extra dough.