I just want to add - apropos of nothing - that the WPS draft was great fun. The league and team people could not have been nicer or more accommodating, the players were gracious and patient, the crowd was very much into it, the room was absolutely jammed to the point that, at the beginning at least, there were probably 50 or more people standing outside the hall trying to hear what was going on inside. The President of NSCAA spoke just before the draft started (which he did at MLS also) and said it was clear that next year he was going to have to give WPS a much bigger room. I was also bowled over by how much all the players were pulling for each other. As I mentioned in my blog, after a player was drafted and went through some photos and interviews they all - from Tobin and Lauren on down - went back to the players-only area and sat with everybody else and cheered loudly for everybody else as they got picked. My thanks to everyone for a terrific event. See you next year in Baltimore.
No, Philly and Atlanta had an international draft back in October but the other WPS teams were allowed to get the rights to a certain amount of internationals if they had room in their lineups for them as teams can only have 5. They all gained rights to two internationals of which most have been signed.
I went last year in St. Louis and thoroughly enjoyed it as well. I highly recommend to everyone that gets a chance to attend one.
So was there still a lot of talented players not drafted? What about those that are not in college.e.g playing for a w-league team...how will they get seen?
Yes. Case in point, Maggie Tomecka was not drafted last year...She came to the Breakers tryout and (as I predicted!) made the roster. By the end of last season she was a solid starter!
thanks to all those who did draft day pbp. i was able to follow at work. but probably more importantly, michelle enyeart followed draft day via you guys. “I had my therapist’s laptop, but when we got there we realized Twitter was blocked,” Enyeart said a few hours after being selected. “So we went on BigSoccer to follow it.” http://www.womensprosoccer.com/Home/news/columnist/100116-lauletta-draft-post.aspx
oh wow, players actually go on here and look at all our threads? I wonder if Han Duan did that and thats why she left?
Hi Enyeart family! Another interesting tidbit from the article: Who was it that kept wondering why Olsen hadn't been drafted?
Just wanted to make sure everyone saw Scott French's good work on his assessment of the draft: (Scott has covered soccer with special emphasis on the women's game for longer than I can remember.) http://www.dailysoccerfix.com/2010/1/16/1254373/grading-the-wps-draft-fc-gold
that's very cool that she turned to BigSoccer. Take that, PilotNation! Me, among others. Thanks for posting that. And thanks for that heads up, too. I'll keep that website in mind. I was about to ask the best resources (besides BigSoccer, of course) for fans trying to follow the WPS.
With regards to Olsen, I was wondering, too, although I don't remember if I wondered out loud. She isn't the first for sure. Last year, if I remember correctly, Erin Hardy of UCLA did the exact same thing. I guess considering most of these young women aren't going to make a lot of money playing soccer, it's a very tough decision for them. Yes it is great that some of the players, etc., follow on big soccer...but also it can be dangerous. I remember last season, I think it was Lori Chalupny's stepmom was talking with me and somehow knew my Big Soccer name. For the next hour, I think in my mind I was going over every single post I had ever made, wondering if I had ever said anything negative about Lori.
Yeah, really! While I didn't say anything negative about Enyeart (and in fact I've said elsewhere she was a special player up in Portland), I was thinking how I was saying we needed D!
I agree I am on a UK forum and one player of my favorite team did not like my criticism ( that was probably unfair ), pm'ed me about it and is still unhappy about it couple years later. Her dad also is a big guy, so I make sure I am not in his way at a game.
As some of you already know who I am, I will avoid the full extent of shameless self-promotion and just say that there is a lot of stuff on The Equalizer (www.equalizersoccer.com) that you might like to see. Plenty more from draft day coming...it is just being spread out. And really, that goes for any bit of WPS news. Anyway, to address the Tweeting halt after Taylor...that was a double-whammy of work with her being a Quickstrike player, and that was right about when first-round interviews were grouped into this massive free-for-all, so there was a lot less time being spent at the computer. I hope it everything helped provide some insight. All the best. Jeff
a quick aside. just discovered that she is the sister of brandon mcdonald who plays for the mls' earthquakes and recently got called into the usmnt camp, while she got called into the women's u23 camp. must be heady stuff for the family. don't know of any other brother/sister combo like this. now the lead story on: http://www.ussoccer.com/
Their male counterparts get much worse. These are elite athletes and if an internet board gets them all worked up then how are they going to react to opposing fans? eta: cobi13, thanks for your coverage of the draft & WPS. I appreciate it. If you are able to add the #wps tag to your twitter feed folks that do a twitter search of that #wps will find your feed and you'll get more eyeballs to your site.
I'm probably alone in thinking this, but I wish that international players that play their college soccer in the US would get a 1 or 2 year exemption from the international limit. I think Lang would have went in the first 2 or 3 rounds, had she been an American citizen. A one or two year exemption would give teams time to decide whether the player is worth an international exemption and would give the player time to get a green card. I know the argument is going to be why make exceptions, but I think the number players involved would be minimal. I was thinking of players like Lang and Emily Zurrer (who I think might play in Europe now). Another good player will be coming out next year, Sophie Schmidt of Portland. But if she doesn't have dual citizenship or a green card, chances are, teams will pass on her.
I agree. If you're able to be chosen in the college draft, you shouldn't count as an international spot.
I wouldn't have a problem with that, though the problem might solve itself as the league expands - 12 teams divvying up 60 internationals won't be as picky as 8 teams with 40.
I know this was an old post - but if anyone is interested sis/bro combo on Pride and EQs. Kristin and Mike Graczyk: http://www.womensprosoccer.com/bayarea/team/bios/kristen-graczyk http://sjearthquakes.mlsnet.com/pla...graczyk_m&playerId=gra146014&statType=current