ted Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 So, a little while ago the USL made this announcement: PDL+ Extends U23 League Calendar Fall season offers additional games for pro prospects Friday, May 9, 2014 TAMPA, Fla. – The PDL, the most established and respected national U23 men’s league, is pleased to announce the launch of a fall season - PDL+ - commencing in 2015. Designed to supplement the primary PDL summer season, PDL+ will provide existing league members an expanded competition window into late autumn of each year. [full press release] This has led to some discussions around Victoria Highlanders games and I am wondering how other people see this proposed change. From my perspective I think in the short term it looks like an absurd idea. Victoria, like most PDL teams, relies on college kids (both NCAA and CIS) to fill the roster. This was the original intent of the PDL: to offer college players extra seasoning and extend their competitive season which is very short for both NCAA and CIS. However, as we have been discussing and as I have been thinking, maybe they are going to take the plunge that many of us have been advocating for years: abandon the flawed college draft model altogether. Could that be the end game? Anyway, thoughts anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Bob Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 PDL+ is such a weird idea. One presumes that USL checked and there are enough teams with non-collegiate rosters to make it work... but you never can tell with them. It's like an attempt to build a full-time American fourth division on top of what they already have. Which is fine for them, I guess. I can also see academy teams like Vancouver and Montreal going for it, though they'd run over the USSDA season even more than they already do. But yeah. It's not awful. It's just odd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue and White Army Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 USL getting nervous about rapid NPSL expansion, methinks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ted Posted May 27, 2014 Author Share Posted May 27, 2014 ^ Good point. I have no idea what is going on with NPSL. Maybe it is mostly just a way to offer something different/better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 I think USL has heard over and over again that the PDL season is too short. However, they view the foundation of the PDL being college kids playing in the summer. So they don`t want to mess with the foundation, but they want to provide an option for clubs that complain about the too short season. This fall league will give these clubs the option to extend their season (with increased fees to USL I would expect) if they desire. They could recruit non-college players to fill in the gaps such as high school age players. I also would not be surprised if they increased the quota of over 23 year old players to help give these clubs more options. I guess the big question is how many teams will buy in to the concept. They will not get everyone, but they have to make sure the divisions are geographically close enough that travel expenses won`t skyrocket. I think it`s a reasonable idea, especially for a club that perhaps has aspirations to move up to a pro level. This is another incremental step. I think it`s great that it`s optional and doesn`t mess with the original formula, which is flawed but has its place. Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue and White Army Posted May 29, 2014 Share Posted May 29, 2014 Agreed. I suppose the PDL+ will almost be like a Clausura season for a select few. Travel distances would be more akin to USL Pro distances, and is perhaps meant to groom some of the more ambitious PDL clubs into making the jump up to USL Pro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fussball_eh Posted May 30, 2014 Share Posted May 30, 2014 I am totally uneducated on this subject matter, but would this perhaps be an opportunity for the Ottawa Fury to have have a second team that plays in the pdl in the summer, just like they used to and then a few academy players or unused players can play in the fall extension as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ted Posted May 30, 2014 Author Share Posted May 30, 2014 ^ That sounds like it might be possible. The league has not yet had a sit-down meeting with mamenegment of the existing clubs to discuss this idea. I am hoiping that once they do we will have a better idea what this is really all about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coppercanuck Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Bizarre. I'd have to do some serious research to find out which teams have non-collegite rosters. I guess the ideal would be for colleges to "employ" their players for a longer season and put a team in the PDL? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ted Posted June 10, 2014 Author Share Posted June 10, 2014 ^ NCAA rules do not allow for paying players (currently). They have a lot of strict rules about professional status that makes this a non-starter for most teams. Here in the Cascadia (aka Northwest) Division I know that Kitsap Pumas - currently topping the table - are trying to move away from using college players. I believe they would like to move up to a D3 like USL Pro if a few more teams were long for the ride to make a regional conference possible. If this is really about creating a new D4 free for the shackles of NCAA interference it would be a huge step forward IMO for soccer in North America. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 ^ NCAA rules do not allow for paying players (currently). They have a lot of strict rules about professional status that makes this a non-starter for most teams. Here in the Cascadia (aka Northwest) Division I know that Kitsap Pumas - currently topping the table - are trying to move away from using college players. I believe they would like to move up to a D3 like USL Pro if a few more teams were long for the ride to make a regional conference possible. If this is really about creating a new D4 free for the shackles of NCAA interference it would be a huge step forward IMO for soccer in North America. I'm not sure if you know much about it or not, but it sounds like Kitsap might be a better fit in the new Evergreen league. What have you heard about this league? It sounds somewhat promising - smaller regional league that is D4 that is semi-pro without NCAA players. I heard the Sounders are putting a team in USL Pro next year. Is there any talk of Victoria moving up? Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 I am totally uneducated on this subject matter, but would this perhaps be an opportunity for the Ottawa Fury to have have a second team that plays in the pdl in the summer, just like they used to and then a few academy players or unused players can play in the fall extension as well? I thought that the PDL would not be possible for the Fury anymore now that their top men's team is in the rival NASL. Has Fury management ever specifically said why they're not fielding a PDL team this year? I just assumed this was the reason, even if it hadn't been actually said. Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ted Posted June 13, 2014 Author Share Posted June 13, 2014 I'm not sure if you know much about it or not, but it sounds like Kitsap might be a better fit in the new Evergreen league. What have you heard about this league? It sounds somewhat promising - smaller regional league that is D4 that is semi-pro without NCAA players. I heard the Sounders are putting a team in USL Pro next year. Is there any talk of Victoria moving up? I have been following the EPLWA with great interest via GoalWA from the beginning and have been impressed - and disappointed there was no team in Port Angeles which I could go see. I was rather surprised that Kitsap did not join but I think they have more ambition and are hoping for a move to USL Pro. Otherwise I see no major difference for them between EPLWA and PDL and if I was the owner I would have probably jumped ship. But will the Sounders put a local team in USL Pro or do like some have done and create a reserve team out of state? If they did go local then Victoria starts to look more viable as well. I know the club would like to move up but are concerned with travel costs. More teams within a reasonable distance (and maybe even a new "conference") are, IMO a prerequisite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ClaytonA Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 re Evergree Premier League and other Washington State attendances; http://goalwa.wordpress.com/2014/07/24/small-club-attendance-eplwa-makes-mark-in-first-year/ http://goalwa.wordpress.com/2014/07/24/small-club-attendance-eplwa-makes-mark-in-first-year/ The home seasons of Washington’s summer “Small Clubs” are done and we can now get our first look at home attendance averages for two of the three leagues. Washington’s two NPSL clubs, Seattle Sporting FC and Inter United FC, did not report their home crowd numbers. So we will look at how the PDL and EPLWA clubs in the state drew. Each of these clubs played 7 regular season home matches. What do the numbers say to you? Post in the comments section! Place / Club / (League) / Average per home match 1. SPOKANE SHADOW (EPLWA) – 571* 2. BELLINGHAM UNITED (EPLWA) – 545 3. KITSAP PUMAS (PDL) – 463 4. SOUNDERS U23 (PDL) – 414 5. VANCOUVER VICTORY FC (EPLWA) – 356 6. YAKIMA UNITED FC (EPLWA) – 296* 7. WENATCHEE UNITED FC (EPLWA) – 287 8. SOUTH SOUND FC (EPLWA) – 165 9. SEATTLE STARS FC (EPLWA) – 148 10. WESTSOUND FC (EPLWA) – 135 11. PUGET SOUND GUNNERS (PDL) – 133^ 12. WASHINGTON CROSSFIRE (PDL) – 113 13. SEATTLE SPORTING FC (NPSL) - not available 14. INTER UNITED FC (NPSL) - not available * = could be adjusted upwards as 2014 season accounting is completed ^ = only announced #’s for first three matches of season Apparently Bellingham United, partnered with a pub, has four beers named after/for them; - Island Hoppin Brewery called the “Soccer Mom Saison”, Mattson describes the brew as “a very citrus forward farmhouse style” - Wander Brewing called the “Belling-hammer Wee Heavy - Kulshan Brewery Full 90 - Chuckanut Brewery Yellow Card http://eplwa.wordpress.com/2014/04/06/eplwa-says-cheers-to-local-gathering-spots/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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