.S. YOUTH NATIONAL TEAMS RETURN TO ACTION WITH FALL TRAINING CAMPS FOR U-17 AND U-20 USWNT

The money will need to right for the players to leave school early.

Now that it's possible, NWSL teams like the idea of taking players like Shaw before they enter school because those players don't go through the regulars draft process. NWSL players are now scouting the elite youth clubs / players and teams / coaches are seen at their events.

Wouldn't be surprised if Thompson never makes it to Stanford. She's already signed with Nike and they might be able to help offset the difference in the financial value she would be forgoing by passing on the scholarship.

 

NWSL is working on paid college education as a benefit to NWSL players. Also for those with a shot at the full USWNT, you do whatever it takes to get there because the money the women are making now from US soccer is significant and substantially more than a college scholarship. For just a few weeks at Concacaf Championships they made nearly $150,000 each.

 

The WNBA is starting a campaign for equal money and equal pay as the NBA so the NWSL may want to do the same thing. (NBA would have to subsidize it I imagine)

Demand to be paid as much as MLS. It worked at the national team level ( with mens team subsidizing the womens team) so maybe it works at the pro level. It's a popular argument at this time.

 

Judging by watching some college and some NWSL I would say that there is no really big advantage at this time for players to turn pro and there is no big advantage to playing soccer in college. That is it comes down to what each player wants.
The coaching is generally a bit better in the NWSL but that is more because of the the rules of team contact and the restrictions that the NCAA (and other college entities) place on when and how training can happen than it is on pro being truly better. But many of the very best youth coaches are coaching in college.
The overall playing level, once you take into account the overall youth in college, is about the same or even a bit better in college.
Playing conditions are overall better in college. The NWSL just lacks some facilities.
Watching the player's faces and body language it appears that the players are generally happier in college.

While I really would like the best of the young ladies to go straight to pro it is not the huge advantage for the women that it is for the men and it is not really necessary for the development of the top youth players.

Also it is good to win or play well in youth tournaments but it is not really much of an indicator as to the performance of the full national sides either women or men.

I like the fact that the US has multiple routes into the full national team and I hope none of those routes drys up or even becomes secondary for the youth teams.

Yes, having many sources makes the jobs of scouts harder but many, maybe even most, scouts are little more than drains on their team's budgets and making their job harder just might expose many for the upholstered parasites they truly are.

This cycle we (the US) either missed some players or the talent pool at U20 for the US is quite shallow. It does not really matter much unless it dry's up totally. The USWNT will be mostly fine and the talent will always be available to fill out a good or great roster.

Now if you want to talk coaching then that is an area that US teams get shortchanged more often than not. Coaching is mostly between bad and abysmal in all age groups and sexes of soccer. The choices are always politically chosen and who kisses a$$ best is the person that seems to get the cushy spots.

So, for me, player wise we are just fine but coaching wise we are lacking, to say the least.

Many (maybe most) US coaches, when they win or lose, get this befuddled look on their faces that mostly says "I have not a clue as to why what happened did happen."
It also seem that a lot of coaches here in the US have forgotten the old coaches adage, " When the team wins the players did it but when the team loses I did it." That is not what usually happens as coaches use the word "we" a lot and almost never even imply they screwed up. That is neither good coaching nor good leadership.

 

coaching is better in the nwsl ? How so ? On average ? At the top programs ?

 

there ya every reason. Salary cap and a 30k entry salary. I’m confused. That performance makes you think these kids are pro ready? How so? Done if the recent posts are baffling. Yes, if Adidas or Nike etc will give you money maybe. That U 20 team would struggle vs a top College team

 

I think I said that it was only because of the "rules" that coaching appeared better. NWSL coaches are allowed more training time with players and, if the players are any good and the coaches have any ability then the coaching will appear to be "better."

Also college tends to dilute the coaching pool so there is increased probability that poor coaches will get positions of power in college.

But the NWSL does not really appear "better" for player development than college and college is not "better" than the NWSL either and I think that is what my original post said.
"I know you think you understand what you thought I said but what you don't understand is that what I said was not what I meant."

 

Players are much better. Competition is much better.

 

NWSL teams need more depth. These U20 players are better than many NWSL players. Jadyn Shaw earned a start right out of the gate with SD Wave. The coach said she was good enough to start.

Also, 30K salary is in addition to housing. So those salaries are closer to 55,000 (higher depending where you live). They also get benefits. The big payday is with the USWNT. If you have a shot at making it you do what you can to get there because the pay there is big time now.

Here’s a rundown of NWSL benefits.

• Health insurance — medical, dental and vision at no cost to players
• Life insurance — at least $50,000 per player
• Long-term disability — insurance benefits for players paid for by NWSL
• Workers’ compensation — at minimum in accordance with all local laws
• Housing — either team-provided housing with a max of three players per unit and each player having their own bedroom or a monthly housing stipend
• Relocation — up to $2,500 for moving expenses and up to $5,000 compensation for players forced to break a lease
• Automobiles — team-provided shared car or monthly stipend
• 401(k) — NWSL matches 100 percent of deferrals up to 1.5% of a player’s salary in 2023, increasing to 2.5% by 2026
• Profit sharing — if the NWSL becomes profitable in the coming years, 10 percent (capped at to the amount of the NWSL breaking even) of the net media/broadcasting revenues will go toward player compensation
• Per diem — players will receive payment for meals while on the road, starting at $21 for breakfast, $25 for lunch and $35 for dinner in 2022, increasing to $24 for breakfast, $31 for lunch and $42 for dinner by 2026
• Meals — players will receive “reasonable pre-training and post-training meals”
• Pregnancy — players receive full salary while pregnant
• Dependent care assistance program — pre-tax benefits to pay for child services such as preschool, day care and other child or adult care
• Nursing — clubs must provide adequate accommodations for nursing players
• Parental leave — eight weeks of fully pay (birth or adoption)
• Flexible spending account — option to enroll to use pre-tax dollars for medical expenses
• Vacation — 42 days per year (including 32 consecutive for offseason) with a seven-day summer break
• Time off — teams must try their best to provide at least one day off per week, with no teams allowed to go more than 14 days without a day off and at least 10 days off per 10 weeks
• Bereavement — five days leave with full pay for close family deaths
• Sports psychologists — clubs must provide clinical sports psychology services to players
• Surgery — players retain the right to use the surgeon of their choice for surgery
• Mental fitness — players can take a leave of absence for a mental health diagnosis from a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist
• Game tickets — players may request four complimentary tickets per home game and two per away game, with six additional tickets available for purchase
• Tuition benefit — NWSL will establish a college or university to provide subsidized online or in-person education
• Coaching licensing pathway — The NWSL will provide up to $25,000 per year to subsidize enrollment costs for players wishing to participate in U.S. Soccer’s Coaching Licensing Pathway
• Promotional compensation — Players receive $200 plus $100 for every hour past two for promotional appearances beyond three for a club and two for the league; players receive $450 per commercial appearance plus $300 for each hour over three for the club and $800 per commercial appearance plus $400 per hour over four for the NWSL

 

Missimo was Top Draw’s 2021 #1 college pick. Other notable’s missing;
Reilynn Turner, first soccer collegian to be sign an contract under NIke’s NIL deal
Trinity Rodman, recently made FIFA’s short list of top 20 players nominated for the Ballon D’Or(only u20 eligible player on that list)

 

Maybe some of the top US youth players start heading over to Euro academies at 18 (or earlier in some cases) like on the men's side. Women's game seems to be taking off across the pond at the moment.

 

money talks. At the top end, College is better imo. hard to compare 500+ coaches in College between D1/2/3 etc to a handful i the NWSL, but I would put the top coaches in College ahead of NWSL. Look at some of the recent NWSL hires.

 

judging players based on how many subjective awards they win can be dangerous. Missimo and Turner may be great players, but i would need to see a more than the "awards" you mention. Nike are not making that call on soccer alone. What does topdrawer #1 pick mean? in all of college?

 

who is going to pay them?

 

By pro ready, I mean good enough to consistently impact games at a high level. I could give you a long list Of College players who are "good enough" to make a team. Also, what is the coach going to say other than that? Is that better than a full ride to a great school and NIL opportunities? I dont know, but the money is not enough to create incentive for most young players with big potential. The assumption is that any payer who chooses the direct to pro route must be too good for college or a phenom. I disagree. many non soccer factors impact that. Just my opinion

 

here's listed some of Messimo's accomplishments
Lexi Missimo - Soccer - University of Texas Athletics
note; impressive too that she got picked as the fourth best youth players in the world by NXGN/the top 3 picks YNT's didn't qualify for this tourney

here's more info on Turner's Nike deal
Nike signs UCLA soccer's Reilyn Turner to company's first NCAA NIL deal

FIFA's Ballon D'Or shorr list(what FIFA percieves as the best 20 woso players of the year(Rodman would of been the only one young enough to be elgible for the u20)
Morgan, Macario, Rodman among USWNT players nominated for 2022 Women’s Ballon d’Or - The Athletic

 

no need to repeat myself. i said my piece above. nothing you write here changes that. Soccer is played on the field and we can all have different opinions

 

How does it work with the women in Europe? I would assume (maybe mistakenly) that clubs sign top prospects and develop them like they do with the men.

 

There is no comparison between college and pros. NWSL is a much better training/game environment to develop in. Perhaps you forget how short the college season is too and the training restrictions.

Someone else pointed out elsewhere that the U20 players all come from top college programs where they are not challenged to truly defend or keep the ball under immense pressure because their teams dominate. When they were challenged like that at the World Cup ...well the results speak for themselves.

 

Why? If they are top youth players at 18, go pro in the NWSL. It is the most competitive league in the world right now. Why would our top youth players go to an academy?

 

I pointed it out. And I stand by my comment. Agree to disagree.

 

I find that to be a rather questionable statement but I may have misread it a bit. But, maybe you meant "competitive" to mean that any team can beat any other team on any given day and that is a definition of "competitive" that is reasonable.

Yes, players that are not challenged in college should go pro but I do not see the NWSL as an ideal destination for player development. There are many leagues around the world that are at least as good as the NWSL and many are clearly better.

I think player development is just fine overall but there is a lack in quality coaches for the youth levels. I have been thinking for some time that we (the soccer world) makes a mistake by assigning our best coaches to the top levels of our sport. But that is unlikely to change and many of what we consider "best" are not really good coaches but they are good politicians and there are a good number that I, for one, would never want leading truly young people. Simply go back in history and try and picture Bora Milutinovic coaching a U13 girls team. They might not let him live past the first practice.

 

Money. Radcliffe Swanson until recently Krikorian I’m sure make more than NWSL coaches and are imo better at xos and developing than all the nwsl coaches.

 

Krikorian went to the NWSL. I have observed and spoken with some of the youth players who have trained with the pros and their games grew exponentially. Jadyn Shaw, who has a likely future on the USWNT would be foolish to go to college, when she is already succeeding at a higher level. They will make more playing in the NWSL than going to college, and they will make MUCH MUCH more if they make the full USWNT. I spoke to a top youth player who has trained with one of the top collegiate teams in the country and an NWSL team. She said, there is no comparison between the two. The level of play was so much faster and technical. She said that the NWSL was what she hoped for in college. College level is easy for her.

I am talking about the top players who have potential futures with the USWNT. They have big money in front of them, if they make it.

 

College level was easy for her. Depends on which college. FSU. UVA. Duke. UNC etc are not easy. Am confident in saying I have spoken and observed as many players as you have. Let’s agree to disagree.