So in summary,
Let us keep education and soccer on the same path (apperently, because you keep talking about education and degrees, while i am talking about soccer in a soccer discussion) and have the majority of our homegrown talent age out and hang em up at 24, because it is more important to find a regular job
We will never have a successful professional womens league ( not sure who on here said it would be a major sports attraction)
Got it, US Soccer should have hired you as a consultant instead bro
The only way it evolves is when corporations INVEST in purchasing TV commercial adds in the millions to billions. Then mens salary can increase across the board. Refer to NBA's new TV deal! MLS is not in it's infancy, I believe the league has been around for 2 decades. Tough to be a major U.S. mens sports attraction competing against matured leagues like the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, NASCAR, PGA and European Soccer Leagues such as La Liga, EPL and Bundesliga for lucrative TV adds.
You live in lala land, if you seriously think womens soccer will be a major sports attraction. US WNT is #1 in the world and already draws millions to watch them play in the Olympics and World Cup, yet NWSL continues to struggle drawing any form of attendance at their games. Women soccer has been around for almost 3 decades in the US (world leader in the womens game) it sure is taking a long time to evolve. Wait, it has evolved after 2 defunct leagues...NWSL learned they have to pay their rank and file players poverty level salaries to remain solvent. Refer to Hope Solo's recent article. Yet, you post with US Soccer creating a GDA that will all change in a decade. I will bet you $$$$, that a decade from now....it will be the same!
In conclusion, yes...I will inform my DD to play college soccer, get her degree, continue working hard when she enters the work force and the result will be guaranteed a higher salary than the average NWSL player!
You keep talking about degrees and education....i am not talking about degrees and education, i am talking about soccer, stop intertwining soccer with education and maybe you will be fully able to grasp the concept of what some of us are talking about and what DA is about...i told you since day one i am talking strictly about soccer...soccer, the current quality, possible improvements, development etc etc...you keep going back to "i'm telling my daughter to get a degree and a job and to make lots of money", although that's great and all that is not what my point of this discussion is about. I am here to talk about soccer and to discuss making someones dream of playing professional soccer a reality.
If you don't want to be a professional player than yes go play college soccer and age out, be done.
If you want to play professionally as a job and you have the skills it takes early and full commitment as well as many risks and that is what DA is for both men and someday women. If you don't like those risks then don't friggin do it. Opportunities are still slim, but things are growing and evolving.
My point is that the DA system is a proven system to develop PROFESSIONAL soccer players and a proven feeder system to both professional clubs and national squads around the soccer playing world and we are using a broken system, with no pyramid and a system were college soccer is way to high up on the chain. College soccer can be part of a soccer pyramid, no doubt but it has to be on the amateur level and way lower than it currently is and right now it is right below MLS's only "flight".
How many of our good players hang em up at 24 or leave the country to go play level 2, 3 or 4 soccer because there are no other good playing opportunities here after college other than one flight of MLS? Thats the age when most good players in other nations are starting to rake in good contracts (mens side).
secondly no one here ever said that a womens soccer league would me a major sports attraction ,lets dial it back a few notches and go back to what i actually said which is a "successful league", meaning it can survive, pay competitive wages and benefits. If you think i'm in lala land on that more power to you. You probably thought women would never have the ability to vote either, yes?
you don't think the majority would have rather had a professional soccer career if that path was available than having to go to college and play and the hang them up, which currently is the only option? c'mon man i'm talking about soccer and soccer players that are passionate about the sport they play, not education and degrees.
there is a reason US soccer rolled out DA, there is a bigger picture and plan, you just either don't see it or you don't want to see it. and that's ok. for the 5th time probably, this is a long term project with a bigger picture at the end of the tunnel.
embrace the change and be part of it or get left behind my man, either way I could care less.
