Turning Pro at 13

She did it!! I just looked at ESPN for the first time in over a month and she is front page news. Trinity R got the game winner the other night. Luis dd next? Blues developed both of these girls when the were young players and deserve some compensation as well. Sharing can go a long way. My dd had the honor to battle both every week for two years. Pro is right around the corner now for any female who puts in the hard work. She did it at 15. Congrats 100% :)
 
crush said:
She did it!! I just looked at ESPN for the first time in over a month and she is front page news. Trinity R got the game winner the other night. Luis dd next? Blues developed both of these girls when the were young players and deserve some compensation as well. Sharing can go a long way. My dd had the honor to battle both every week for two years. Pro is right around the corner now for any female who puts in the hard work. She did it at 15. Congrats 100% :)
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If you're paying an arm and a leg for your daughter to potentially make less than a barista at Starbucks (and have less education than the hypothetical barista), then God bless you. Lucky for this young lady her parents have some money, because the worst case scenario is that she washes out of the pros before she's even a legal adult. This isn't similar to a Freddy Adu situation where he bounces out of MLS, but can then go make a living overseas; the money already sucks in women's pro soccer. I'm hoping this young lady succeeds and doesn't become a cautionary tale.
 
Soccer43 said:
Sooo, curious if anyone watched the debut and if it was as exciting as everyone hoped for?
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It was a relatively uneventful debut for the rookie, as late-game debuts often are.

At one point she received a pass and was immediately closed in by two Louisville defenders and she passed it back. Later, she dribbled into the box and slipped a pass to Sophia Smith, who then had a cross blocked. She made a trailing run on a counterattack and was open to get the ball, but the play died before she could.

www.oregonlive.com

15-year-old Olivia Moultrie finally makes NWSL debut as Thorns beat Racing Louisville FC

The Thorns won and teenage phenom Olivia Moultrie made her pro debut.
www.oregonlive.com www.oregonlive.com
 
I wish her whatever success she can achieve. What I don’t like is the hype about it all and the idea that she is a trail blazer for all young female soccer players. That is not the dream for my daughter. I want my daughter to go to college and play professionally after college. I don’t see being a professional soccer player at 15 as some big dream. Why do I want my teenager skipping high school and not having relationships with her peers? Why would I want my teenage daughter spending all her time with adult women that have adult lives that my teenager is not living? Why would I want my player to be striving to make the small salary that most professional female soccer players make? This argument would be 100% different for me if the salary potential was like men’s professional sports? all great things require risk but to have the risk of being a 19 or 20 year old with no college degree and a soccer career that didn’t pan out as expected doesn’t appeal to me. I am most proud of my player choosing college and having that be part of her dream and her future, not chasing a professional contract at this age. Stop making it like this is the holy grail. This is a dream for her and her family but it is not the dream for everyone.
 
Soccer43 said:
I wish her whatever success she can achieve. What I don’t like is the hype about it all and the idea that she is a trail blazer for all young female soccer players. That is not the dream for my daughter. I want my daughter to go to college and play professionally after college. I don’t see being a professional soccer player at 15 as some big dream. Why do I want my teenager skipping high school and not having relationships with her peers? Why would I want my teenage daughter spending all her time with adult women that have adult lives that my teenager is not living? Why would I want my player to be striving to make the small salary that most professional female soccer players make? This argument would be 100% different for me if the salary potential was like men’s professional sports? all great things require risk but to have the risk of being a 19 or 20 year old with no college degree and a soccer career that didn’t pan out as expected doesn’t appeal to me. I am most proud of my player choosing college and having that be part of her dream and her future, not chasing a professional contract at this age. Stop making it like this is the holy grail. This is a dream for her and her family but it is not the dream for everyone.
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Not everyone thinks like you and your dd. Let me help you out bro. First off, freedom of choice is the key here. Freedom to choose full time soccer and get paid under 18 years old for a female or full time soccer + full time school and no pay=full time soccer in college and full time study for 99.9% of the rest of the girls. My dd is all in for four years of college and is now looking to set up two more official visits. Personally, it would be my dream if she skipped college all together and got paid to play soccer. However, it's her life, not mine :) My dd and I have personal experience with OM when she was becoming the best 2023 in the country ((according to some scouts. I think AT is the best 2023 and 100% could handle pro right now)) at the Blues for two years back in the day. She LOVES to play soccer and train 24/7. I'm serious. She is a trailblazer for all female soccer players under 18 that want to go pro and get some dough. I have a friend who has a dd who is 13 and home schooled and all she does is soccer soccer and more soccer. She is so good they are thinking of moving to Spain to train. Lot's of choices for anyone with a dream. Happy 4th of July Soccer43.
 
Soccerhelper said:
Not everyone thinks like you and your dd. Let me help you out bro. First off, freedom of choice is the key here. Freedom to choose full time soccer and get paid under 18 years old for a female or full time soccer + full time school and no pay=full time soccer in college and full time study for 99.9% of the rest of the girls. My dd is all in for four years of college and is now looking to set up two more official visits. Personally, it would be my dream if she skipped college all together and got paid to play soccer. However, it's her life, not mine :) My dd and I have personal experience with OM when she was becoming the best 2023 in the country ((according to some scouts. I think AT is the best 2023 and 100% could handle pro right now)) at the Blues for two years back in the day. She LOVES to play soccer and train 24/7. I'm serious. She is a trailblazer for all female soccer players under 18 that want to go pro and get some dough. I have a friend who has a dd who is 13 and home schooled and all she does is soccer soccer and more soccer. She is so good they are thinking of moving to Spain to train. Lot's of choices for anyone with a dream. Happy 4th of July Soccer43.
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Being good is a given, in this situation good/talent didn’t really matter did it. What really mattered was money, power and resolve. Her parents have the means to do things most won’t and honestly can’t. Right now there are 10-15 players in the 05-03 age range who could be training and maybe earn a roster spot with a NWSL team. All can’t because in reality they don’t have the power to do so. Wasserman is not going to be their agent, Nike is not behind them, and most parents are not hiring a legal team. Getting an good agent, lawyer, accountant, PR, and team around you costs money. Moving to Spain costs money. FIFA is going to stop you there also. Even with a EU passport. Training yes maybe, no way you ever play a real game. No club right now risks it. Even if the kid is good. Clubs already have good and most don’t need to import it from America. In the end my point is, good for this girl for getting in the game and doing her thing. But I don’t think this moves the needle at all for other players this season or next, just her. This fight was her fight alone and is less about trail blazing for others and more for her to be first. The next player who try’s is also in for fight as well.
 
suzysoccer1 said:
Being good is a given, in this situation good/talent didn’t really matter did it. What really mattered was money, power and resolve. Her parents have the means to do things most won’t and honestly can’t. Right now there are 10-15 players in the 05-03 age range who could be training and maybe earn a roster spot with a NWSL team. All can’t because in reality they don’t have the power to do so. Wasserman is not going to be their agent, Nike is not behind them, and most parents are not hiring a legal team. Getting an good agent, lawyer, accountant, PR, and team around you costs money. Moving to Spain costs money. FIFA is going to stop you there also. Even with a EU passport. Training yes maybe, no way you ever play a real game. No club right now risks it. Even if the kid is good. Clubs already have good and most don’t need to import it from America. In the end my point is, good for this girl for getting in the game and doing her thing. But I don’t think this moves the needle at all for other players this season or next, just her. This fight was her fight alone and is less about trail blazing for others and more for her to be first. The next player who try’s is also in for fight as well.
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The court order applies to the NWSL as a whole. They aren't allowed to enforce the age limit against anyone.

But it is moot. Most parents see more value in a Stanford scholarship or Harvard admission than in an NWSL contract.

And they are right. A female soccer player can't make real money without cracking the long term WNT roster. And, even if you are a top 10 player, your odds of doing that are less than 10%.
 
dad4 said:
The court order applies to the NWSL as a whole. They aren't allowed to enforce the age limit against anyone.

But it is moot. Most parents see more value in a Stanford scholarship or Harvard admission than in an NWSL contract.

And they are right. A female soccer player can't make real money without cracking the long term WNT roster. And, even if you are a top 10 player, your odds of doing that are less than 10%.
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That is exactly my point. Families and players can choose whatever path they want - I am all about choice. If a 15 year dreams about playing pro at that age and they have the ability to make it happen I am all for that.

As I said before, the end game on the revenue for most female professional sports is short. Even if players go pro at 15 or 16 there are only a few spots on the WNT roster and that is what you have to get to if you want real money. I would think that AS, SS, and MP would hope to be first in line for those roster spots as they have sacrificed and worked hard as much as OM has. I don't know that OM will be better than them or others that come along when those spots open up. MP was a superstar and on the fast track and her path has gotten sidetracked with some lingering injuries and obstacles. Much can happen along the way.

What I object to is the glorification of all of this, as this is the dream and should be the dream of all teenage female players and that going pro as early as you can is the holy grail. Choosing to take a "traditional route" is just as legitimate and worthwhile and a variety of options should be open to young female athletes. I also look at this from a social-emotional development perspective. If it were my player I would be a bit sad about my 15-year-old being alone on the road with adult women out living adult lives when they aren't on the field while my 15 year isn't old enough to join in on any of that (drinking, adult sexual relationships, having children, getting married, etc). What does she have in common with them from a social-emotional stance in terms of having meaningful relationships with her now "peers"?
 
Simple questions-

If Olivia was born into a middle class family with two working parents, would she be in the same situation?

If any top player from a major club was born into the Moultrie Household, would they have the same outcome?

How many households can afford to build their own turf field in their backyard, a full-time personal trainer and full-time at home schooling?

Do Christian Pulisic and Claudio Reyna share similar/same but different privileges'?

If any Billionaire gave their 15 year old kid $10m dollars to start a business after going to the best private school and the business was successful, would you be impressed?

Answer these questions on your own and perhaps you will fully understand how hard this is to achieve. It's the players that push through the lack of privileges' and succeed at the highest level that should be celebrated and not kids like Olivia, Christian, and Claudio. It's people like Ronaldo and Mal Pugh who are truly examples of kids that beat the odds.
 
MARsSPEED said:
Simple questions-

If Olivia was born into a middle class family with two working parents, would she be in the same situation?

If any top player from a major club was born into the Moultrie Household, would they have the same outcome?

How many households can afford to build their own turf field in their backyard, a full-time personal trainer and full-time at home schooling?

Do Christian Pulisic and Claudio Reyna share similar/same but different privileges'?

If any Billionaire gave their 15 year old kid $10m dollars to start a business after going to the best private school and the business was successful, would you be impressed?

Answer these questions on your own and perhaps you will fully understand how hard this is to achieve. It's the players that push through the lack of privileges' and succeed at the highest level that should be celebrated and not kids like Olivia, Christian, and Claudio. It's people like Ronaldo and Mal Pugh who are truly examples of kids that beat the odds.
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While I agree, Olivia's case did open the door for other young women.
 
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