Cal... What happened?

Cal want 1-9-1 in the pac 12.

Stanford, UCLA, USC are elite

Utah very good and has a recruiting niche.

Colorado, Arizona, WA state good.

Then comes ASU, Oregon, cal, Washington, and OSU. Oregon is improved. I don’t see cal getting out of this pack.
 
Yes.

He’s not taking middle of the pack players and turning them into pros. He’s getting highly rated players, producing middle of the pack teams, and then those players move on to the pros.

And anyways he isn’t paid to develop players. Cal doesn’t make money if the women go pro. He’s paid to win. If developing players helps to that end then cool. But he’s not hired to make pros.


Good evaluation.

A player that has a pathway to go pro would be a good fit for Cal.

A player that wants to play for a team that wins should reconsider.
 
Pro? Nwsl probably won’t be around and there’s no money there.

Cal plays an experienced Portland team this year. That’s a tough game for any freshman.
 
Interesting that those San Jose Earthquakes are all going to Westwood the next few years.

If style of play matters then UCLA, Stanford, Penn State and Florida State are the place for players that can play possession. If kickball is a player’s forte then there are plenty of potential destinations. Cal plays very direct soccer, which shouldn’t be a surprise, their coach is Scottish and they have the fastest soccer player in the country at forward. He likes to recruit a speed forward and play her over the top. That style doesn’t work against the better teams in the PAC 12.
 
If style of play matters then UCLA, Stanford, Penn State and Florida State are the place for players that can play possession. If kickball is a player’s forte then there are plenty of potential destinations. Cal plays very direct soccer, which shouldn’t be a surprise, their coach is Scottish and they have the fastest soccer player in the country at forward. He likes to recruit a speed forward and play her over the top. That style doesn’t work against the better teams in the PAC 12.

Maybe so, but most of this discussion has centered on their WLT record, I believe. No points there for style.
 
Maybe so, but most of this discussion has centered on their WLT record, I believe. No points there for style.



WLT doesn't always reflect a good or bad coach.

Is Cal coach any good based on recent WLT?

My player played for a very reputable coach, by endt of the season the team did not win many games. Players on the team were very talented and the coach was more than qualified and provided high level of quality training, I believe the team did not win many game due to poor chemistry.


Following season played for a coach that was good but not the same quality in comparison to the prior year coach, the team won most of their games. The player work hard and had the same drive to win many games.
 
Summer before her freshman year in high school, my player went to a Cal soccer camp and showed incredibly well. Granted, there were about 50 other girls there of vastly varying skill and ability level but still some talented players. To both mine and my daughter’s surprise, Neil actually called her by her name from the start.

Fast forward to the end of the camp where they play 11 v 11 and my kid is at forward running point like Iverson and assists on two beautiful goals in the first 10 minutes. Not a word from Neil at the end. Cal isn’t my kid’s first choice but wants feedback from the camp. Club coach knows Neil, so he calls and gets, “Yeah she’s a nice player but we don’t think she would be a fit”.
 
Interesting that those San Jose Earthquakes are all going to Westwood the next few years.
Very interesting
Summer before her freshman year in high school, my player went to a Cal soccer camp and showed incredibly well. Granted, there were about 50 other girls there of vastly varying skill and ability level but still some talented players. To both mine and my daughter’s surprise, Neil actually called her by her name from the start.

Fast forward to the end of the camp where they play 11 v 11 and my kid is at forward running point like Iverson and assists on two beautiful goals in the first 10 minutes. Not a word from Neil at the end. Cal isn’t my kid’s first choice but wants feedback from the camp. Club coach knows Neil, so he calls and gets, “Yeah she’s a nice player but we don’t think she would be a fit”.
My player went to a Cal camp and showed really well. As a 10 year old she distinguished herself from the other players. She received positive feedback from Neil & Austin and they posted her on their Instagram page.
My daughter is shy and introverted and Neil & Austin bought something out of her. Seriously, I think my daughter would walk through fire with gasoline draws on for Neil & Austin.
Over spring break she caught the attention of the FSU coach but she still wants to go to Cal.
I also think Neil contacted US Soccer on my players behalf as well.
 
San Jose Earthquakes (Luca Deza’s dad is DOC), Lamorinda, and Mustang where Neil also coaches.
Not only did he coach there, it looks like a lot of players coming in this year are from his dd’s club and high school team. With all the trips he takes to SoCal and in particular San Diego, you would think there would be more of our local girls on the roster.
 
Not only did he coach there, it looks like a lot of players coming in this year are from his dd’s club and high school team. With all the trips he takes to SoCal and in particular San Diego, you would think there would be more of our local girls on the roster.
Good point. I’ve heard that Cal was having budget problems because they spent too much money retrofitting their stadium. So, if Neil can recruit rich kids from Danville, Moraga, & San Jose he probably doesn’t have to come off of any scholarship money. IDK, just speculating.
 
I don’t think we should be critical for coaches having a bad year or even a couple. Chemistry, leadership, injuries can wreck a team.

But it is fair to look at several years of results combined with personnel on the team and make a realistic judgement.

Take Oregon. She’s been a head coach for over a decade at several stops and has had 1 winning season in that time. 1. I know Oregon is getting lots of talented kids but how much talent do you need to have a winning record? And in over a decade of coaching she’s NEVER had enough talent? If she needs 15 studs to win more than half her games that’s not a great sign.

And I am critical of style and hate how Arizona plays but at least he’s committed to it and he’s won. Cal goes after all these athletes and doesn’t win anyways.
 
Yeah, but I think Cal has done a better job than most of producing professional/International players. So, how does one measure success?
Also, if most players are students before athletes, maybe Cal is producing better results.
I was surprised to learn that all of the players at FSU are constantly wearing GPS monitors to see if they are putting forth max effort and resting. Maybe the programs that are constantly winning are putting athletics over scholarship.
 
Good point. I’ve heard that Cal was having budget problems because they spent too much money retrofitting their stadium. So, if Neil can recruit rich kids from Danville, Moraga, & San Jose he probably doesn’t have to come off of any scholarship money. IDK, just speculating.


Well if they did then to maximize the $$ for Recruitment they would have to select majority of players from "in-state".

Maybe the $$ to fund for class of 2021, 22, 23 has grown, as I metion they have pick up a few out of state players.
 
If style of play matters then UCLA, Stanford, Penn State and Florida State are the place for players that can play possession. If kickball is a player’s forte then there are plenty of potential destinations. Cal plays very direct soccer, which shouldn’t be a surprise, their coach is Scottish and they have the fastest soccer player in the country at forward. He likes to recruit a speed forward and play her over the top. That style doesn’t work against the better teams in the PAC 12.
I enjoyed watching Vandy thought they did a good job moving the ball. Oregon not bad either. But neither of them are Stanford or UCLA.
 
Well if they did then to maximize the $$ for Recruitment they would have to select majority of players from "in-state".

Maybe the $$ to fund for class of 2021, 22, 23 has grown, as I metion they have pick up a few out of state players.


Scholarship money doesn’t change. They won’t limit who he can go get. That’s not how it works. But recruiting rich kids means you can offer less scholarship money to them, and then go get more players. The lack of money WILL impact why he hasn’t been fired. It’s expensive to fire a coach and go pay market rate to get a top candidate. Who will then ask hard questions like “why doesn’t our stadium have lights? Why can’t I pay my assistants more?

I think that’s why he’s still there.
 
Scholarship money doesn’t change. They won’t limit who he can go get. That’s not how it works. But recruiting rich kids means you can offer less scholarship money to them, and then go get more players. The lack of money WILL impact why he hasn’t been fired. It’s expensive to fire a coach and go pay market rate to get a top candidate. Who will then ask hard questions like “why doesn’t our stadium have lights? Why can’t I pay my assistants more?

I think that’s why he’s still there.
Neil coached Alex Morgan who will probably Captain the USWNT in France. He is also the current coach of Abi Kim who went to the U20 world cup and is currently on the U23 USWNT. I think that’s why he’s still there.
 
Yeah, but I think Cal has done a better job than most of producing professional/International players. So, how does one measure success?
Also, if most players are students before athletes, maybe Cal is producing better results.
I was surprised to learn that all of the players at FSU are constantly wearing GPS monitors to see if they are putting forth max effort and resting. Maybe the programs that are constantly winning are putting athletics over scholarship.
GPS is common practice across all D1 programs
 
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