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A road map to women's professional soccer

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    A road map to women's professional soccer

    Saw this interview and thought it would be a great starting off point for a discussion about what it takes to make the jump from a women's college player to a women's pro player. Please hold the negative commentary about women's professional soccer not being worth it because not everyone dreams of working in an office or going to grad school.

    http://www.globalimagesports.com/02/...s-experiences/

    #2
    Seems like there is a very confusing mix of semi-pro and professional women's leagues around the globe. Can anyone give a ranking of where the best leagues are around the world for women's soccer?

    Comment


      #3
      Reminds me of a conversation I had with someone recently.

      I'd love to know the actual percentages of kid playing soccer at the age of 10 let say, who don't play in high school, and then what percentage of kids playing in high school don't play in college, then lastly what percentage of kids playing in college ever earn a living playing in a pro league.

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
        Saw this interview and thought it would be a great starting off point for a discussion about what it takes to make the jump from a women's college player to a women's pro player. Please hold the negative commentary about women's professional soccer not being worth it because not everyone dreams of working in an office or going to grad school.

        http://www.globalimagesports.com/02/...s-experiences/
        They all lead to a financial dead end

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
          They all lead to a financial dead end
          Still, like player said, a great life experience. She doesn't sound like she regrets her time in the pros at all. Any female player with any sense knows she cannot make money playing professionally. If she makes it to the pros it's because of passion for the sport and props for being considered a member of a very small elite category of player. A real job with real money can wait a few years.

          The only pros I know of who really raked in serious cash are Mia Hamm and Alex Morgan (seven- and six-figures) that money came from product endorsement deals with Nike and the like.

          Comment


            #6
            I followed that link and read a few other blog posts. Pretty interesting stuff. Here is a post that sheds some light on the compensation issue

            http://www.globalimagesports.com/11/...n-womens-game/

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
              Still, like player said, a great life experience. She doesn't sound like she regrets her time in the pros at all. Any female player with any sense knows she cannot make money playing professionally. If she makes it to the pros it's because of passion for the sport and props for being considered a member of a very small elite category of player. A real job with real money can wait a few years.

              The only pros I know of who really raked in serious cash are Mia Hamm and Alex Morgan (seven- and six-figures) that money came from product endorsement deals with Nike and the like.
              Solo could have out-earned all of them if she was such trailer trash.

              Any player who goes the pro route must must must keep his/her head in the outside world. For most, to play at this level requires putting their mind and body in a bubble. They don't read the WSJ, they don't watch CNBC or even Meet the Press. Even committed college athletes can have this defect. They take some classes but are, otherwise, rather disconnected from the world outside of their sport and it shows quickly in an interview situation or casual even conversation.

              If they fail to keep their head in the real world then that "great life experience" that pushes back entry into the world of work by "a few years" ends up being a permanent barrier and an entrée into the wonderful world of youth coaching.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                Solo could have out-earned all of them if she was such trailer trash.

                Any player who goes the pro route must must must keep his/her head in the outside world. For most, to play at this level requires putting their mind and body in a bubble. They don't read the WSJ, they don't watch CNBC or even Meet the Press. Even committed college athletes can have this defect. They take some classes but are, otherwise, rather disconnected from the world outside of their sport and it shows quickly in an interview situation or casual even conversation.

                If they fail to keep their head in the real world then that "great life experience" that pushes back entry into the world of work by "a few years" ends up being a permanent barrier and an entrée into the wonderful world of youth coaching.
                Gross generalization. It is not difficult for a professional athlete to keep in touch with "the real world". What you are referring to are those who have no interest in anything but their sport and their own training. That would be a choice, not an inevitability. Do you think all pros. Spend 24/7 on the field and the gym?

                You find the insular types in every walk of life. I can name on two hands colleagues who consider watching the nightly news being well informed. Sadly I can name many more of my children's peers who do not read any news, tabloid or your esteemed WSJ or NY Times. Who are politically apathetic and wrapped up only in their own personal concerns like you assume about the pro athlete's bubble.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                  Gross generalization. It is not difficult for a professional athlete to keep in touch with "the real world". What you are referring to are those who have no interest in anything but their sport and their own training. That would be a choice, not an inevitability. Do you think all pros. Spend 24/7 on the field and the gym?

                  You find the insular types in every walk of life. I can name on two hands colleagues who consider watching the nightly news being well informed. Sadly I can name many more of my children's peers who do not read any news, tabloid or your esteemed WSJ or NY Times. Who are politically apathetic and wrapped up only in their own personal concerns like you assume about the pro athlete's bubble.
                  Don't think that either of you are actually all that correct. The both of you seem to look at becoming a professional as a part time type of gig when the reality is if you are going to be any good at the professional level of soccer you had been be completely in or you are not going go anywhere. It is not any different than any other profession. Could you imagine a doctor going into their residency with a mindset that they were only going to put half their effort into it? There is money to be made in sports and quite frankly some of it is a heck of a lot more lucrative than what is available to kid coming out of college with a degree in something like English or a teaching certificate. Soccer world wide is not the dead end you are portraying it to be.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                    Don't think that either of you are actually all that correct. The both of you seem to look at becoming a professional as a part time type of gig when the reality is if you are going to be any good at the professional level of soccer you had been be completely in or you are not going go anywhere. It is not any different than any other profession. Could you imagine a doctor going into their residency with a mindset that they were only going to put half their effort into it? There is money to be made in sports and quite frankly some of it is a heck of a lot more lucrative than what is available to kid coming out of college with a degree in something like English or a teaching certificate. Soccer world wide is not the dead end you are portraying it to be.
                    Specifically to your point about turning a playing career overseas into a pretty well paying gig. Blatt is a local boy.

                    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Blatt

                    Comment


                      #11
                      On the boys side there are 412,000 playing HS soccer and that leads to about 36,000 playing in college.


                      http://www.scholarshipstats.com/varsityodds.html

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                        Don't think that either of you are actually all that correct. The both of you seem to look at becoming a professional as a part time type of gig when the reality is if you are going to be any good at the professional level of soccer you had been be completely in or you are not going go anywhere. It is not any different than any other profession. Could you imagine a doctor going into their residency with a mindset that they were only going to put half their effort into it? There is money to be made in sports and quite frankly some of it is a heck of a lot more lucrative than what is available to kid coming out of college with a degree in something like English or a teaching certificate. Soccer world wide is not the dead end you are portraying it to be.
                        Don't think that you actually comprehended correctly what I wrote. How does being completely devoted to becoming a pro obviate a player's cognizance of the larger world?
                        Are they sealed inside a bubble and forbidden to read, communicate with others, watch television etc. during their downtime?

                        I also never mentioned word one about whether or not there is any money to be made. That is a different topic entirely.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                          Don't think that either of you are actually all that correct. The both of you seem to look at becoming a professional as a part time type of gig when the reality is if you are going to be any good at the professional level of soccer you had been be completely in or you are not going go anywhere. It is not any different than any other profession. Could you imagine a doctor going into their residency with a mindset that they were only going to put half their effort into it? There is money to be made in sports and quite frankly some of it is a heck of a lot more lucrative than what is available to kid coming out of college with a degree in something like English or a teaching certificate. Soccer world wide is not the dead end you are portraying it to be.
                          BTDT, did you enjoy your break?

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                            Don't think that you actually comprehended correctly what I wrote. How does being completely devoted to becoming a pro obviate a player's cognizance of the larger world?
                            Are they sealed inside a bubble and forbidden to read, communicate with others, watch television etc. during their downtime?

                            I also never mentioned word one about whether or not there is any money to be made. That is a different topic entirely.
                            You were insulting athletes for being myopically focused on being athletes. Know plenty of doctors who couldn't tell a single thing about what the issues on the nightly news are.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                              You were insulting athletes for being myopically focused on being athletes. Know plenty of doctors who couldn't tell a single thing about what the issues on the nightly news are.
                              Actually, if you read my original post, I was saying the exact opposite. I was refuting another poster's claim that pro athletes must live in a bubble and have no idea about what's happening in the real world.
                              Please try to comprehend better before berating me.

                              Comment

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