Category: NWSL

The Changing Face of the NWSL

Posted on by RJ Allen

It has been an offseason of change for the NWSL. In November, it was announced that FC Kansas City—the two-time NWSL champions—were folding. In their place, the Real Salt Lake organization would be bringing the Utah Royals into league. For legal reasons, this was technically one club folding and another expanding, but since FCKC’s roster was transferred over, in practical terms it was a relocation. This week, shortly after the draft and mere weeks before the start of the preseason, it was announced that the Boston Breakers would also be folding.

The Boston Breakers are one of the oldest women’s soccer teams in the country. They have participated in every season of the top professional leagues, starting with the WUSA from 2001-2003. They were then re-established with the start of the WPS in 2007 and have been playing ever since (dropping down to the WPSL Elite level for the gap year between WPS and NWSL). Some of the most famous people to ever play the game on U.S soil came through Boston, including U.S national team stars such as Meghan Klingenberg, Sydney Leroux, and most recently, Rose Lavelle. Just last week, they participated in the NWSL draft, welcoming four new players to their club.

It’s hard to believe that they will not be there on opening day in 2018—even harder for the dedicated fans, staff, and players.

This sort of change in the NWSL is not new. Three teams that have joined the league since 2014—the Houston Dash, the Orlando Pride, and the Utah Royals—have been associated with MLS, while the North Carolina Courage (inheritors of the Western New York Flash) are associated with North Carolina FC, a USL side that has applied to join MLS. These teams have money behind them, and even if they have a bad season, they have the security of a diverse organization to keep them afloat. That’s something Boston didn’t have, and it seems to have been a major factor in them shutting their doors.

As we enter the 6th season of the NWSL, many would argue that this kind of change is necessary. While unsettling at times, the league needs investments of this sort. Partnership with men’s sides has proven to work from multiple angles—marketing, stadium sharing, increased awareness. In that context, an independent team like Boston, which struggled with operation costs and played at a venue that only held 2,500, can seem like a poor fit for the NWSL vision.

But there are problems with this too. No one would deny that the league needs money. Still, for all the focus on growth, it seems we often forget about our roots—about the role that clubs like Boston and Kansas City have played in the history of women’s soccer and the history of the NWSL. And while history isn’t going to pay player’s salaries or pay for a better venue, we lose something when we forget its importance. We lose something when we fail to acknowledge the people who paved the way for us to be here today.

The league is expected to balance out to 10 teams again next year. Reports are saying that there will likely be a partnership between FC Barcelona and LAFC that will result in a new NWSL franchise in Los Angeles. That is an exciting prospect—but we should not simply push aside the old for the new. Maybe there wasn’t a place for Boston in the new order of the NWSL—but there would be no new order if it wasn’t for Boston.

One of the greatest parts of the NWSL is the community that surrounds it. For those of you who aren’t fans of the Boston Breakers, be sensitive. Don’t forget the people who laid the ground for you to be here today. Don’t belittle the sadness of those fans, players, and staff who now have to start anew. And if you are a Boston Breakers fan—let me be one to extend my sincerest apologies that this is something you have to go through. It is never easy to lose the things you love.

The End of the Breakers: How Did It Come to This?

Posted on by RJ Allen

The Boston Breakers have been a part of professional women’s soccer in this country for as long as professional women’s soccer has been a thing. Losing them is a terrible thing for the fans who have spent so much time and energy with them, and who will now never get to see the team they were building grow into something more. It’s terrible for the league, which will always face understandable growing pains but ought to be beyond this sort of thing. It’s terrible for the players, who have just had jobs, livelihoods, and any sense of security ripped out from underneath them.

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The league certainly did not plan for things to go this way. The winter was spent in negotiations to bring in a new owner, only to see that plan fall through, inspiring the recent bout of scrambling. Apparently, the decision was finally made to give up hope and accept defeat. That judgment cannot have been undertaken lightly, and presumably represents a sense of serious concern about whether Boston’s setup could be sustained in anything close to its current form.

The team was, after all, apparently drifting further and further away from the rest of the league on the financial side. Their home ground was expensive and below league standards, the costs of operating in Boston are significant, and it’s not clear that there was any viable path to profitability, even in the long term. In a world increasingly defined by a split between ‘big’ and ‘small’ teams, Boston looked increasingly like an outlier. Eventually, something was going to have to give.

But there is a huge difference between a managed relocation—undertaken during the offseason with plenty of time to smooth out the effects—and abrupt closure less than a month before preseason was scheduled to begin.

As it stands, Boston is shuttering its doors a mere week after participating in the draft. In many ways, that’s the most heartbreaking part of the whole mess. To hold out the promise of a new career, only to yank it away the following week, feels particularly cruel. And then there are the other players, who have suddenly been cut adrift. Will the league step in to expand roster sizes and disperse these players across the other nine teams? Will they simply become free agents, desperately searching for a European club who will take them before the transfer window closes next week? To force these questions onto players at this point in the year is unconscionable.

Faced with all this, one can’t help but wonder who is to blame. That’s a difficult subject, and we certainly need to exercise some caution. Situations like these are often far more complex than it seems from the outside, and it’s important to remember just how little we actually know so far. Moreover, while the natural inclination is to look for villains, it’s also important to remember that no one wanted this, and that no solution was going to be a perfect one. Everyone involved was likely wary of creating a moral hazard—incentivizing financially risky behavior by providing bailouts—or taking on responsibilities that could ultimately sink the league as a whole. We certainly have had experience with other professional leagues sagging under the weight of commitments that couldn’t be matched. Those are legitimate concerns, and as more details emerge, it’s possible that we will find out why some of the obvious stopgap measures weren’t taken.

All that said, it’s not so early that we can’t draw at least a few initial conclusions.

First and foremost, while this was obviously not the preferred solution for the league, it’s a massive indictment of their ability to successfully manage a known problem and avoid the worst result. Why did the negotiations break down? What were the sticking points? Why did they drag on so long—to the point where a failure to reach a deal would make pursuing other options impossible? Why weren’t secondary choices cultivated? Was there any consideration of a single-year stopgap alternative? Could the league not cobble together the funds to cover a final year and enable an orderly transition in October? Who ultimately was in charge of these decisions? Amanda Duffy is the league’s Managing Director of Operations, and presumably the buck stops with her. But would things have been any different if the league had a genuine Commissioner? There may be good answers to all these questions, or there may not be. But it is certainly fair to expect answers. Perhaps not immediately, but at some point.

Second, there should be serious and probing questions asked of US Soccer. As an organization, they are sitting on well north of $100 million dollars. While no one expects them to invest all of that money into the league, it would take a very small percentage to inject a little stability. Obviously, US Soccer is in a state of flux at the moment, with new elections coming down the pike. But that is hardly an excuse. If anything, it ought to clarify the situation more. As an institution, US Soccer claims to value women’s soccer, and claims to care about the league. Why weren’t those words backed up by action here?

Some might also wonder whether A+E (not just an investor, but an active partner with the league) might have done more. This is a company with a total estimated value of well over $20 billion. Obviously, no one expects them to throw good money after bad, but it’s not difficult to make the case that losing Boston right now will do enough long-term harm that it would be well worth paying a smaller upfront cost to keep them afloat. One of the big selling points of bringing in a big player like A+E was supposed to be that they would have liquid capital available to smooth over situations like this. Why didn’t that make a difference?

Again, I don’t ask these questions in order to suggest that there was any single obvious solution, or to suggest that any particular actor was entirely responsible. While US Soccer and the league have a lot to answer for, we shouldn’t necessarily assume the very worst. That said, neither should we assume the best. This is a bad situation, and it’s important to hold those decision-makers who brought us to this point responsible, if only to help prevent another similar crisis from happening the next time around.

Tonight, my heart goes out to the Boston Breakers family. You deserved better.

Sky Blue’s 2018 Forecast? Cloudy with a Chance of Blue Skies

Posted on by RJ Allen

The 2018 NWSL draft is in the books.

Sky Blue walked away with 5 picks.

Michaela Abam, the listed forward, midfielder, defender out of West Virginia University; Imani Dorsey a forward, midfielder out of Duke University; Kiana Palacios a forward, midfielder from UC Irvine; Amandine Pierre-Louis a defender out of West Virginia University; and not to be without a Rutgers player they picked Casey Murphy, the goalkeeper.

While each of the players drafted are a talented bunch who each could make an impact in different ways for the club, the team left the draft with only one defender taken. Sky Blue might have been wise to bring in a Taylor Isom or a Indigo Gibson to help out the backline along withPierre-Louis. But we can’t really talk about the draft in the bubble. Sky Blue’s mega trade, announced in the middle of the first round and slowly leaked out over the next day, changes the team more than who they drafted.

In short, Sky Blue send Sam Kerr and Nikki Stanton to Chicago, Chicago sent Christen Press to Houston and Houston sent, along with Jen Hoy from Chicago, Carli Lloyd and Janine Beckie to Sky Blue.

It is the type of trade that changes the league without tipping too far the balance of it. Christen Press is a world class forward and now replaced in Chicago with Sam Kerr. Carli Lloyd was the face of the Dash marketing now replaced by Christen Press. Sam Kerr was the star power on the Sky Blue roster now replaced by New Jersey’s own Carli Lloyd.

Breaking down the Sky Blue off season so far is a needed step in understanding where they will be two months from now.

So let’s dig in.

The Trades Heard Around WoSo

Christie Pearce, Kelley O’Hara and Sam Kerr all sported the captain’s armband in 2017. Pearce, the former near decade USWNT captain, left the team before the end of the season due to accumulated injuries leaving O’Hara and Kerr to fill the position for the rest of the year.

And their leadership seemed to have a positive influence on the team. They looked ready to step up as 2018 came into focus. Now they, along with veterans Nikki Stanton and Taylor Lytle, wear different crests.

Losing O’Hara and Lytle for Shea Groom and Christina Gibbons was a needed exchange for the club. It brought in two players that can help in a few different ways. Groom can score and Gibbons is as flexible a player as can be hoped for, though her talents shine the most in midfield.

The Kerr and Stanton trade that brings in Lloyd, the likely next captain, Beckie and Hoy may be a harder pill for some to choke down.

In Kerr they are losing a player who many call the best forward in the world. In Stanton a force in the midfield who cleaned up after her teammates. In return they get the already mentioned Lloyd, Janine Beckie, a Canadian international who should be allocated and give them a bit more cap room, and Jen Hoy who went to Princeton and can be a nice depth option in the one area of the field they need less depth than farther back on the pitch.

But they did manage to get something for Kerr. If she had skipped the NWSL for France they would have been left with nothing but memories.

The trade leaves Sky Blue in much the same position as they were in before they made it. They have a large group of attacking options ranging from NT quality to role player, but as soon as you look at the defense you can see how threadbare the lineup is in talent.

It is not as though this team could not put together a back four. Skroski, Freeman, Stott and Gibbons or Mills would make a passable backline. It’s the issue of having little to no depth past that point. Erin Simon runs hot and cold, Doni Richardson is a reserve player at best and all their draft picks would need the time of conversion to be able to take up the position. Barring a trade of 3 or 4 players for another starting level defender or two. In short, I worry about the depth of the backline.

The Carli Lloyd Effect

I’m not sure if it’s possible to speak of Carli Lloyd in neutral terms.

On one hand she scored the winning goal in both the 2008 and 2012 Olympic goal medal games. She had a hat trick in the 2015 Women’s World Cup in the first 16 minutes complete with a half field shot that stunned the world. She has shown up time and time again in big moments when all eyes are on her. She is the reason so many USWNT players have gold medals at home after all.

On the other she is best remembered over the last year or two as often a cause of formational change on both of the teams she finds herself on. She is no longer the first choice number 10 that she tried so hard to be for so many years. She is sometimes viewed as someone who is best left on the bench until two thirds of the game have finished. She blocks people on Twitter for seemingly mentioning her name, media included.

She is both the player who has managed 15 games with 7 goals and 3 assists on just 1200 total minutes in the last 2 seasons and the player who can fire a shot from 30 yards out that no one can stop seemingly at will. She is both a player who has a work ethic that is legendary for how she will not stop training nor does she slack off in her desire to be the best she can be, and someone who will block media on Twitter.

So where does that leave us in 2018 when Lloyd is heading home to New Jersey after a career away from it?

Should Sky Blue fans rejoice that the home town girl is back to lead them to the post season? Should they jeer and criticize the team for trading away a player that scored 17 goals in 2017 in Sam Kerr to end up with Lloyd in return?

Personally? I think they should wait. They and we all need to see what 2018 Lloyd looks like. They should hope that after two years of starts and stops she’s ready to take on the world and show that the two World Player of the Year trophies at home were given on merit and not name recognition.

So Let’s Talk About The Roster

We can talk about who Carli Lloyd is as a player or who might appear in the captain’s armband all we want, but at the end of the day it’s the 18 to 20 players that make the roster that matter.

My projected roster if nothing changes is more straight forward than I would have guessed before looking at the options. Breaking them down section by section it becomes pretty clear getting under the 20 player limit might be harder than expected.

Goalkeeping

Starter: Kailen Sheridan
Backup: Caroline Casey
Overseas: Casey Murphy

With the reports that Casey Murphy, has signed in France the team is left deciding between Kailen Sheridan and Caroline Casey as they were in 2017.

It will come to little surprise to anyone that Kailen Sheridan will be the likely starter for the team. The Canadian international is young, green at times but has the greater upside between the two.

Defenders:

Defenders kept: Christina Gibbons, Kayla Mills, Mandy Freeman, Rebekah Stott, Erica Skroski, Erin Simon

Let’s see preseason: Amandine Pierre-Louis

Likely out: Cassidy Benintentem, Domi Richardson

Sky Blue’s defense was thin last year and it remains thin in 2018, albeit in different ways than the year before.

Gibbons is a better midfielder than defender but she will likely be needed on the wing more than the midfield. Mills is an unpolished defender at times but if she can pull her talents together in her second year in the league might be a true blessing for the team. Freeman showed a lot of promise before being injured in 2017. While she had some rookie moments she does look to be a net positive for the team. Stott is a truly great centerback that Sky Blue received in a trade, along with Katie Johnson, for giving up the rights to Caitlin Foord. Skroski is a better centerback than outside back but her ability to play both might be the biggest blessing for head coach Reddy as she readys her lineups each week. Simon can be a nice late game sub on the outside even if her speed can at times be an issue.

Benintentem and Richardson are both likely not making a 20 person roster. The team might try to keep them around for practice purposes but there are just not enough open spots on the roster.

The Attack

Attackers: Thaisa, Daphne Corboz, Sarah Killion, Raquel Rodriguez, Jen Hoy, Shea Groom, Carli Lloyd, Katie Johnson, Maya Hayes, Janine Beckie
Let’s see preseason: Madison Tiernan , McKenzie Meehan, Michaela Abam, Imani Dorsey, Kiana Palacios

The one area Sky Blue is blessed in is attacking talent. They have strong center midfielders, wide players, and center forwards. They have up and coming players, international talent, they have a little bit of everything. I would break them down the way I did the defenders but neither of us have that kind of time.

The 16 attacking players listed above are frankly just too much. There are too many of the same kinds of players, too much talent for the 6 attacking spots in a starting 11.

The bottom line is that Sky Blue needs to make a trade. If they are able to package say 3 of their young talented attackers for a starting level outside back. Otherwise they will be cutting deep into the players newly drafted and likely from those drafted the year before and still coming up short on defense.

This attack will score. They have midfielders who can get the ball down field and forwards who can score. Say what you want about Lloyd but she is good at finding space outside the box and letting off a shot most other players would not try.

So, What Does It All Mean?

Sky Blue has added a new head coach, Denise Reddy, they have traded away fan favorites, they have changed the make up of the team in fundamental ways.

And on paper they look nearly identical in all but player names.

They are still a team with a depth of attacking talent. They are still a team with major defensive questions. They are still a team with a pair of young goalkeepers who are growing in to their gloves.

If the right trades are made, and so far the trading under Reddy has been a solid B, to bring in at least one more starting defender and offload some of the redundant attacking talent?

They have a shot at landing on Cloud 9 at the end of the season with a trophy in hand.

Interviews with Emma: Yael Averbuch

Posted on by RJ Allen

Emma Bayer is an 11 year old who will be doing a recurring interview series for Backline Soccer. You can find more out about how Emma got in to soccer here.

We move from our last interview with Ashley Hatch who has one year of professional experience, to a player with quite a bit more, Yael Averbuch. Yael has been a member of Sky Blue FC, the Washington Spirit, Western New York Flash, FC Kansas City (now Utah Royals) and now the Seattle Reign as well as playing in Russia & Sweden. 

Birthdate: 11/3/86

Nickname from teammates: YaYa

Hometown: Upper Montclair, NJ

Age started playing: 7

College/major: UNC, psychology

Career aspirations after soccer: Continue to grow the business I started, Techne Futbol. And help influence player development on a larger scale.

Why did you pick your particular uniform #: Well, Sydney Leroux actually asked me if she could have my old number (14) to have the same number as her husband Dom Dwyer. So I said yes and #10 was an open number so I took it!

Pregame meal: I love eating breakfast as a pregame meal. So, toast, eggs, fruit and yogurt!

Workout music: old school techno

Favorite cartoon character: Cat Dog

Fave movie: Remember the Titans

Fave actress: Keira Knightly

Hidden talent: I can rap a couple really fast Busta Rhymes songs, shhhhh

Mentor (in soccer or life): my dad

Fave charity/cause: To Write Love on Her Arms

Life motto: Pursue your dreams with every ounce of your being, and above all, love the journey.

Superstitions: I try to avoid them because I get VERY superstitious when I start

Pets: a dog named Ajax

If you were going on Amazing Race, which teammate would you want as a partner, and why? Becky Sauerbrunn because she’s as crazy/competitive as me if not more.

A Move Across the Pond: The NWSL vs. European Leagues

Posted on by RJ Allen

It’s that time of year again–the offseason. It’s a time when the shape of our teams are changing as players and coaches move around. Some will stay in the NWSL, content to stay where they are or potentially switching clubs. But others will consider a move across the pond– such as U.S Women’s National Team midfielder Morgan Brian, who recently signed a two-year contract for Olympique Lyonnais in France. A player’s decision to leave their league is never a simple one. Players give up something when they leave the NWSL– but European leagues also have a lot to offer.

One of the biggest benefits players gain from moving to Europe is the opportunity to play in Champion’s League. In general, European teams often play more frequently and in multiple competitions. But Champions League is something special. It gives players an opportunity to challenge clubs from other countries and really test their skills against some of the best clubs in the world. It’s something that many players dream of competing in, and it can have a very strong emotional appeal to players.

But while Champions League may be a particularly competitive competition, many of the European domestic leagues are not. In leagues such as the FA WSL and Division 1 Feminine, there are usually one or two clubs that dominate. They have the money to invest in their team and buy the best players around the world, while many of the teams around them do not. This often builds great rosters, but it also leads to mismatched opponents. For example, in their last five league matches, Lyon has scored 24 goals and allowed none. With the exception of their match against PSG, they won each of those matches by four or more goals. In fact, Lyon has only allowed two goals in the whole season as of January 1st.

By contrast, the NWSL is a much more competitive league. Every week is a fight, and blow out scores that are common for Lyon are much rarer in the NWSL. The biggest margin of difference in the NWSL is five goals, and even that is an unlikely occurrence. This stems partially from salary caps, which restrain the teams with the most money from simply buying the best players. Limiting the number of international players on each roster also helps keep the league balanced.

Another appeal of moving to European leagues is 12-month contracts. Ella Masar McLeod talked about this issue when she left the Houston Dash to join FC Rosengard with her wife, Erin McLeod. She noted that the 6-month contracts and lower salary paid by the NWSL can make it difficult for players to make ends meet. Many NWSL players go to the Australian W-League in the offseason, offsetting the problem a bit. But the W-League doesn’t pay a high salary and players often aren’t taking home a lot of money.

Some players may also want to go to Europe to learn a different style of play. Some say the game in the United States is much more physical, while the game in Europe is much more technical. There aren’t many European players that play in the NWSL or vice versa. So when a player does make the swap, it allows them to learn from a whole new group of people. Staying close to home has it’s advantages too– especially when it comes to the national team players who want to stay on Jill Ellis’s radar. Going to Europe separates American players from everything going on at home– sometimes that is good and sometimes it’s not, depending on what point a player is at in their career.

Overall, there are many pros and cons to going to Europe vs. staying in the NWSL. The pay is often better in Europe, there are more leagues to compete in, and players get the opportunity to experiment with their style of play. But there are benefits to staying in the NWSL too– such as staying on the national team radar and playing in a more competitive league. Ultimately, it is up to each individual player to make their own decisions and different things will be right for different people. But don’t be surprised if we see more stars make the hop across the pond this offseason.

Long Traded To Seattle, Stott and Johnson To Sky Blue, Foord to Portland

Posted on by RJ Allen

A three-team trade has shuffled several players around the National Women’s Soccer League.

Sky Blue FC acquired the rights to New Zealand Women’s National Team defender Rebekah Stott and Mexico Women’s National Team forward Katie Johnson from Seattle Reign FC in exchange for the rights to Australian international Caitlin Foord.

“We are incredibly excited to welcome Rebekah and Katie to Sky Blue FC,” said Tony Novo, Sky Blue FC President & General Manager. “Both have performed on the world stage and have been exceptionally productive at every level in which they have played. They are two young players with high-rising trajectories, and we cannot wait to have them on the field for our club.”

Seattle Reign FC traded the rights to Foord and a 2020 NWSL draft pick to Portland Thorns FC in exchange for U.S. Women’s National Team midfielder Allie Long.

“We are very appreciative of Allie’s contributions to the club over the past five seasons,” said Thorns FC general manager and president of soccer Gavin Wilkinson. “She accomplished a great deal during her time in Portland, winning two NWSL Championships and achieving her goal of making it to the national team, and we wish her all the best.”

Embracing the Fan/Media Conundrum in Women’s Soccer

Posted on by RJ Allen

There has been something on my mind lately that I can’t seem to shake.

I have a hard time calling myself a fan of women’s soccer in the way I call myself a fan of baseball.

Maybe it’s because I’ve been a baseball fan since my uncle, who lived just outside of Boston at the time, placed a Red Sox hat on my head in the second grade. The draw of Fenway has been an unwavering part of my identity since. Baseball gave me something to share with my grandmother, a staunch Yankee fan; a woman whose own father walked her down the aisle on her wedding day in 1952 only to leave the church shortly after to go to his car to listen to the Yankees’ playoff game on the radio. The then Brooklyn Dodgers won that game, by the way, 6 to 5 in 11 innings before the Yankees won the Series. 

Women’s soccer is a much more recent addition to my sport loving heart, though often my devotion to the sport feels more academic than passionate. It’s the kind of non-casual pursuit that forces my attention to be directly on it versus simply having it hum along in the background of my life the way baseball does.

I put on a baseball game in the summer and go on with my life, looking up from my laptop to check the score or to see where the ball is going when I catch the start of action out of the top of my visual field.

When I put on a soccer game, on the other hand, my attention leaves the screen only so long as to compose a tweet or write a note to talk about later on a podcast or for a piece I’m writing. My attention is more focused, more exclusionary to the rest of life.

If I were to be honest though, I think one of the strongest subconscious processes that drives my aversion the title of “fan” is a part of me that struggles with the idea of claiming to be a fan while I also act as media.

Soccer, women’s soccer more than soccer in general, relies on a network of largely unpaid writers who write for small to slightly less small sites for much of the coverage. It’s not SportsCenter breaking down the USWNT January camp roster, it’s the (mostly) unpaid masses of women’s soccer sites who have built reputations and followings for covering a sport that is often on the outside looking in at more mainstream coverage.

While the debate about unpaid labor taking over a job that should be paid will have to wait for another day, it is the most common model of women’s soccer coverage we have.

And that presents some interesting side effects for the people in those media roles. 

We are a (largely) self-trained group who do the jobs we do out of a devotion to supporting a game while often times paying for the pleasure of doing so. We are fans who felt a calling to help cover a game we feel is being sidestepped by those media outlets that sports fans would usually look to for coverage. While sometimes it might look from the outside like we’re fans who have found ourselves “in the loop” there is more than that at play. We are, by and large, a bit like puppies who might slobber a little as we learn how to sit, stay and roll over on our way toward covering the game in the way we believe it deserves. 

And for me, that is where a lot of the tension lives.

I am not a perfect soccer writer, nor am I a flawless as an editor in chief. I’ve made mistakes. I’ve put out pieces that were a little (or a lot) undercooked. I’ve signed off on letting pieces go out without first weighing their full impact. I sometimes open my mouth and insert my whole foot inside of it.

But I do try to be better with each piece I write and with each piece Backline Soccer puts out. Every podcast episode I record, I try to get a little better at stating my case for my varied opinions. I try to form those opinions based on facts, watching a whole lot of games and talking to other media types. 

But one of the dilemmas I face, more internally (maybe) than not, is how much of a fan do I get to be?

There are some boundaries I have no choice but to abide by.

No cheering in the press box. No asking players to sign things or take personal photos. Don’t get personal with the players. Be respectful when speaking with coaches and players. (It has been, on occasion, very hard to not ask, “what the hell were you thinking?” to either a player or coach, I won’t lie.)

But there are other boundaries that aren’t so clear.

How do you articulate your biases as you create content? How do you figure out what those biases are in the first place? Do you still get to be a fan of one team before all others if you cover that league? How public should your support be if you are? How do you turn off your fan brain when you are trying to evaluate talent or a coach or a system a team is playing in? How do you get others to take you seriously when you have doubts about how seriously you are able to take yourself? How do you report things people might not want to hear? How do you get verification that would stand up if you were questioned about a fact?

Often the answers to these questions aren’t taught. Each of us has to figure them out for ourselves. And it’s often messy. And complicated. And hard.

It is hard to go from just some random fan of a team or a sport to someone who is trying to cover it at the very best of times. And throw in no money and little support (more if you’re lucky to find a good site with a strong copy editor), and it becomes a battle of your will to do this thing against a viewership that can feel like a school of sharks waiting to hit up your social media the moment they sense a bit of blood in the water. Or worse, a viewership that just doesn’t care. 

But I have been lucky too. Luckier than a lot of people who decided one day this was what they wanted to do. 

Lucky that I have been largely welcomed by the women’s soccer media. Lucky that Sky Blue, the club I cover most often, and I have a solid working relationship. Lucky I have gotten to do player interviews where I think (I hope) I come out of them looking like I know what I’m doing. (I am still amazed I got Nicole Barnhart to agree to an interview, a personal high point for me.) Lucky I have friends in the media world who help challenge me and guide me and teach me. Lucky I have Backline Soccer and one of the most supportive groups working with me there. Lucky I have the Ride of the Valkyries crew to talk goalkeeping and Laura Harvey with (Side note: Harvey will never stop being talked about by Seattle people. It is as sure as death and taxes.).

I am coming around to the idea that admitting I enjoy the way Marta floats with the ball or that I am a fan of Fishlock or Zerboni in their “take no prisoners” style. I’m learning this isn’t a problem with me as a media member but just a part of who I am as a soccer fan. Having nerves before a big interview, not always feeling I know what I’m doing, those things are part of the deal too. 

I’m not sure I will ever feel like anything other than some nobody from upstate New York who has to try over and over to prove themselves. But I do know I am starting to slowly get more comfortable in my own skin when it comes to life and soccer. And that does have a positive effect on my work (I think. I hope). I invest a lot of time, a lot of money, a lot of mental energy into women’s soccer. I hope people who are not me and who are not my friends get something out of my work, both written and podcasting. 

I haven’t made any New Years resolutions yet. But I think allowing myself to be a little more open about the things I love in soccer without worrying that my excitement is somehow antithetical to the role I have in women’s soccer media might be a good place to start. 

So to start 2018 off? A confession. 

I’m a Raquel Rodriguez fan.

There, I said it. Feels pretty good. 

Interviews with Emma: Ashley Hatch

Posted on by RJ Allen

Emma Bayer is an 11 year old who will be doing a recurring interview series for Backline Soccer. You can find more out about how Emma got in to soccer here.

Ashley Hatch has had a short, but successful NWSL career. She was Rookie of the Year with the North Carolina Courage this season, and is currently playing in Australia. 

Birthdate:

May 25, 1995

Nickname from teammates:

In college my nick name was Ash Smash or just Smash. For the Courage my nickname is Hatchey

Hometown:

Gilbert Arizona

Age you started playing soccer:

Age 8

College/major:

Family Life

Career aspirations after soccer:

My dream job besides playing soccer is to one day be a mother but I would also love to go back to school and get my masters to be a social worker of some sort and soccer coach.

Why did you pick your particular uniform number:

My favorite number is 33. That was my number growing up in college and I choose it because I wanted a number that wasn’t common and I also have 6 members in my family and 3+3 = 6. I didn’t choose #12 for my rookie season in the NWSL. 

Pregame meal:

I don’t eat anything specific. I just make sure I eat enough of whatever sounds good at the time but when we have away trips I usually find myself eating pancakes for the meal before the game.

Workout music:

I love listening to all types of music when I’m working out but one of my favorite bands is the Chainsmokers.

Favorite cartoon character:

Bugs Bunny

Fave movie:

“She’s the Man” will always be a movie at the top of my list but I love so many movies so it’s hard to pick just one.

Fave actress:

Blake Lively

Hidden talent:

I love water painting and I am really good at telling cheesy jokes.

Mentor (in soccer or life):

My Dad is my mentor in life and in soccer. He’s the one I go to for everything because he knows how to help me get through all the hard time and all the good times.

Fave charity/cause:

Helping Hands through The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Life motto:

“Life is to be enjoyed… not just endured.” Gordon B. Hinckley

Superstitions:

Blue pre-wrap headband for game-days is a must!

Any pets?:

I had a pet bunny named “Fluffy” growing up. I don’t have any pets currently.

If you were going on Amazing Race, which teammate would you want as a partner, and why?:

I would want Meredith Speck as my partner because she is super smart and also hilarious so we would win and have a good time.

Route Two Soccer – A Good Trade for Sky Blue

Posted on by RJ Allen

In the first big NWSL blockbuster deal of the offseason, Sky Blue traded away one of their key players. It will be hard to imagine the New Jersey side without Kelley O’Hara, who has been a bulwark of the team’s structure, formation, and identity since the founding of the league. However, while it’s obviously never a good thing to lose a world-class player, this was a good deal for Sky Blue, which should help them compete not just in 2017, but for years to come.

The key difficulty with replacing a player like O’Hara is her versatility and adaptability. From her hybrid wingback position last year, she covered almost the entire right flank, offering pace and precision in the attack, wide possession in the midfield, and defensive coverage at the back. There is probably no single player in the league who can fill all those responsibilities. However, this deal does a very good job of covering that gap with two players, and in doing so provides critical depth.

Shea Groom is very good and should be even better at Sky Blue

Shea Groom is already among the league’s best players, a fact which has gone slightly unrecognized due to FCKC’s broader struggles, and her role as a supporting forward rather than a pure goal-scorer. But look at the work she did playing behind Sydney Leroux, and then imagine that same inventiveness, aggression, and movement being leveraged by the world’s best player. Groom was already a very good player, but the chance to play off Sam Kerr for an entire year could be what it takes to launch her up to the next level. Her game is based on inventive movement into space, insightful passing, and sheer relentless aggression. Those qualities will fit perfectly into the Sky Blue attack. With Kerr as the focal point, Groom will be free to pull strings from behind and then burst into unlocked spaces.

This is something that Sky Blue desperately missed in 2017, with O’Hara offering some support, and players like Maya Hayes often making critical contributions as well. But O’Hara’s defensive responsibilities kept her too deep to sustain useful wide possession on a regular basis, and the other forward options were too inconsistent. Groom should fill that space, and free up everyone else to focus more on their own positional responsibilities as well.

That is an important, underlooked feature of this deal. Obviously, Sky Blue’s problem in 2017 wasn’t in the attack (they were among the league leaders in goal scored), but rather the defense. However, those things are connected. Their attack was strong, but often extremely chaotic. They scored by throwing numbers forward, trying to get the ball to Kerr, and hoping for the best. Bringing in a player like Groom – who offers inventiveness, skill in possession, and the potential to form a unified strike force with Kerr – could enable a far more coherent team structure. If so, it will significantly bolster the defense, rendering them less susceptible to being ripped apart in transition.

Christina Gibbons will make a big difference

Bringing in Christina Gibbons should also help on that front. She offers the sort of smooth possession and creative passing from deep positions that Sky Blue was desperately missing last year. Her skill on the ball, and her off-the-charts passing IQ, could be critical to a smoother game.

The big question with Gibbons is her best position. She started last season at left back, before moving to the central midfield halfway through the season. The transition was generally successfully, if not a perfect fit. The problem is that she simply isn’t as fast or as physical as you’d like from a modern attacking fullback, while also not (yet) showing the positional acumen you’d like in a central midfielder. Those are not huge liabilities, and even without being a perfect fit in either role she remains an extremely good player. But if she is able to settle into one role, and learn to compensate more effectively for her modest limitations, she could be a truly excellent player.

If the team is willing to think a little outside the box, there are a lot of options here. For example, while Sky Blue is already possessed of some solid midfield depth, a 3-5-2 setup might be able to leverage their strengths and manage some of their weaknesses. Adding a third body to the backline could stabilize the defense, and give Gibbons a bit more freedom to play a more expansive role upfield, without needing to use her exclusively in the already-clogged central midfield positions. This is just one idea. Surely, there are plenty of other options.

The other piece of the deal – the swap in draft picks – is not likely to have major immediate consequences, but does give Sky Blue some additional options. Their biggest needs are: 1) a pure defensive midfielder, 2) depth in defense, and 3) wingers. Unfortunately, the pickings in those areas are somewhat slim. But with two consecutive picks, they may now be able to spend one on filling those gaps, while using the other on a better player, even if she doesn’t necessarily fit a particular need.

Losing O’Hara is tough, but this deal is a good one

In the end, Sky Blue have done a superb job managing the loss of a club talisman. O’Hara provided on all three lines, and no single player could have replaced her. But the combination of Groom and Gibbons gives them a reasonably close approximation of O’Hara’s contributions, while also adding significantly to the club’s depth. Last year, they often felt like the Sam and Kelley show, with everyone else just trying to the boat from sinking. Under those conditions, trading out one world-class player for two good-to-great players makes a lot of sense. Particularly when those two players are young, and have enormous breakout potential.

Any trade which gives up a player as good as Kelley O’Hara will be tough to swallow. And by itself, this is probably only a lateral move for 2017. It doesn’t fix the core problem of the defense, and it actually magnifies the problem of relative inexperience in the team. Still, by adding several players of great quality, it does a lot to improve the team’s chances in the long term. And if one or both of Groom and Gibbons take that next step forward, we might just look back on this as a key moment in Sky Blue’s transition from a solid mid-table team to a title contender.

That doesn’t make it a bad trade for Utah, especially given Laura Harvey’s noted skill at using the international market to bolster her team. And there is still plenty of time for other big moves (with the rumored return of Caitlin Foord very much in the mix) to complicate the picture. But this is certainly a strong start to the Reddy era at Sky Blue.