She plays Beach FC DA 16/17 age group as a 13 year old, team is 2nd in their division, she leads the team in scoring while playing the least amount of games as a midfielder. Good luck finding a 13 or 14 year old playing better than she is.
Turning Pro at 13
- Thread starter sdb
- Start date
MakeAPlay
DA
I agree as I know of players that can play pro that choose not to due to better opportunities outside of soccer. I wish her well. I just think that it is odd.
MakeAPlay
DA
The smart ones no that there is very little money in pro soccer. Heck my daughter's old roommate is on the full Canadian National team and could have gone pro last year but is still working hard on her engineering degree. Most of these kids come from upper middle class or better families and know the value of an education. Some absolutely do not care about pro soccer.
MakeAPlay
DA
Most club soccer games are a pretty bad level of play. She may well be the best 13 year old in SoCal. The U15 GNT had several players of the same age and based upon the boxscores from the CONCACAAF U15 championships I don't see the impact that you speak of. I would expect a pro caliber player to stand out even in a YNT setting. Jessie Fleming stood out at 16 playing with pro players. That is my bar for a phenom. I wish her well and Anson usually has a good eye for talent.
MacDre
PREMIER
Only age 12 for that game. By the time she hits 16 we should know if she is Fleming or if she should go get her degree. Can she still play CONCACAAF if she accepts money?
MacDre
PREMIER
Thanks for your insight. I have a daughter that is approximately 2.5 years younger and is the same boat as Olivia in terms of attention from professional clubs and universities. My goal is to keep her in a kid friendly environment as long as possible. However, I am somewhat sympathetic to their position because I do not think it is about the money. Currently, my problem is finding a training environment where my daughter can continue to develop and I suspect that Olivia and her parents are having the same problem.
rainbow_unicorn
PREMIER
That #2 girl is a pretty darn good little 2005 player...not sure if you can say who is better but she looks to be on same level.
cheaper2keeper
SILVER ELITE
Agree. She is also playing DA @ u16/17 age group and is tied for second most goals scored in half the games as a defender. Her sister is amazing as well. (#9 in that same Mexico game, a 2004)
MacDre
PREMIER
My daughter plays in Mexico and it is less organized with less funding. The advantage to playing in Mexico, is the soccer culture where kids get treated like "rock stars" and are having fun.
I sounded a bit harsh on the US girls and I shouldn't. They have skills, but looked like they need to play together more.
MacDre
PREMIER
I thought your statement was accurate. We can't fix a problem that we do not acknowledge. US Soccer is in serious trouble if we can't start talking openly and honestly about our deficits.
From what I have seen, she has not accepted any money for actually playing soccer, only for modeling and/or endorsing soccer gear. That used to be a violation of amateur status in the Avery Brundage days, but I don't think it is anymore.
As someone mentioned above, the sponsorship all but guarantees her a shot on the USWNT at some point. Imo, some of the women on that team are only still there because of Nike sponsorship. But they are probably the one's who are most miffed/mystified by this deal---can you imagine if an unproven 13yr old gets a deal worth similar $$ as xyz (insert your Nike sponsored USWNT player other than highly paid Alex Morgan here). Not sure if she's still eligible as pro to play on the GNTs? In all objectivity, I didn't think she stood out on the GNTu15 last Fall. Good but similar to her teammates. Not "phenom"-level.
Greg norman was asked about Tiger Woods getting the big money when he was just starting. Some guys were jealous but he took it as if he gets X amount then i should get a little more too. IDK but a rising tide lifts all boats.
Maybe Nike will now start making some good quality soccer shoes for kids
[/QUOTE]
Greg norman was asked about Tiger Woods getting the big money when he was just starting. Some guys were jealous but he took it as if he gets X amount then i should get a little more too. IDK but a rising tide lifts all boats.
Maybe Nike will now start making some good quality soccer shoes for kids
[/QUOTE]When Womens World Cup play started up, American women had about a 20-year head start on the rest of the world, founded on Title IX and other cultural differences. Do you know how long it takes to make up a 20-year head start? Apparently about 20 years.
They do. Maybe kids just don’t like the good ones. Often they are very simple and lack the aesthetics.As someone mentioned above, the sponsorship all but guarantees her a shot on the USWNT at some point. Imo, some of the women on that team are only still there because of Nike sponsorship. But they are probably the one's who are most miffed/mystified by this deal---can you imagine if an unproven 13yr old gets a deal worth similar $$ as xyz (insert your Nike sponsored USWNT player other than highly paid Alex Morgan here). Not sure if she's still eligible as pro to play on the GNTs? In all objectivity, I didn't think she stood out on the GNTu15 last Fall. Good but similar to her teammates. Not "phenom"-level.
Greg norman was asked about Tiger Woods getting the big money when he was just starting. Some guys were jealous but he took it as if he gets X amount then i should get a little more too. IDK but a rising tide lifts all boats.
Maybe Nike will now start making some good quality soccer shoes for kids
This is where people miss the point. She doesn’t dominate games. Sometimes she touches the ball very few times. The difference is, in those few times she has the ball, she scores, gets a penalty kick or makes an assist and that’s what the masses of spectators don’t see or understand. She changes games. There’s thousands of kids who touch the ball plenty and get to the ball first across the country. Doesn’t matter if she touches the ball 1,000 times or 10. She’s got the ability to change a game. Not many of those players in men’s or women’s soccer.
Sheriff Joe
DA
[/QUOTE]As someone mentioned above, the sponsorship all but guarantees her a shot on the USWNT at some point. Imo, some of the women on that team are only still there because of Nike sponsorship. But they are probably the one's who are most miffed/mystified by this deal---can you imagine if an unproven 13yr old gets a deal worth similar $$ as xyz (insert your Nike sponsored USWNT player other than highly paid Alex Morgan here). Not sure if she's still eligible as pro to play on the GNTs? In all objectivity, I didn't think she stood out on the GNTu15 last Fall. Good but similar to her teammates. Not "phenom"-level.
Greg norman was asked about Tiger Woods getting the big money when he was just starting. Some guys were jealous but he took it as if he gets X amount then i should get a little more too. IDK but a rising tide lifts all boats.
Maybe Nike will now start making some good quality soccer shoes for kids
Now that they have their basketball shoes perfected maybe they can make soccer shoes worth 250.00.
Sons of Pitches
SILVER ELITE
Now that they have their basketball shoes perfected maybe they can make soccer shoes worth 250.00.[/QUOTE]
Don't worry Nike fired the 8 year kid in vietnam who made Zion Williamson's shoe!
Don't worry Nike fired the 8 year kid in vietnam who made Zion Williamson's shoe!