(July 14, 2008) – Teams finally have dates to circle on their calendars!
On Tuesday, July 8, Women's Professional Soccer announced the timeline for the allocation of the U.S. Women’s National Team (WNT) players / U.S. WNT Player Pool, as well as all other pertinent dates for player combines, drafts and tryouts.
The announcement was welcomed by WPS team officials who now hold in their hands the schedule of events surrounding the process of building a team roster.
"I'm glad there is a concrete time line," said Jim Gabarra, coach of the Washington Freedom. "There was a lot of talk and banter back and forth about how the whole player allocation process was going to take place. We finally have something concrete to work on."
Freedom head coach Jim Gabarra knows the value of developing local talent.
The process has already begun, as the League is in the midst of player contract discussions with women in the National Team player pool. Those players have already submitted their market preferences to the League. WPS teams are also speaking with international players they are interested in bringing stateside.
From Aug. 5-23, while the Olympics are being contested, there will be no communication between WPS teams and the domestic and international players competing in the Olympics. On Sept. 2, the teams will submit their National Team player preferences, and during the week of Sept. 15 the league will hold its Allocation to disperse three National Team players / pool members to each WPS side.
During the week of Sept. 22, there will be a draft of the rights to top international players, which will be followed by a General WPS Draft for both domestic and international players on Oct. 6. In December the League will hold combines on the East and West Coasts. Then during the week of Jan. 14 there will be a post-combine draft. In February teams will hold tryouts, aiming for the start of the regular season in April.
The teams’ coaches and general managers were aware of the League's plans in advance of the announcement, so there were no surprises. Now, they can build a schedule for player acquisition and recruitment, which will be the key to creating successful clubs.
"Everybody realizes the importance of making sure every team has a good chance to put a good team on the field," Gabarra said.
The WPS teams will be built through the allocation of U.S. national team players, the acquisition of foreign players and the drafting and signing of college and domestic players.
"There are all kinds of variables," Chicago Red Stars General Manager Marcia McDermott said. "Much depends on what you get each step of the way in the timeline. You have to have a strong philosophy and the ability to execute as it unfolds."
During the allocation process, the League will attempt to mesh team desires with player wishes regarding which athletes will land in which cities.
A major consideration in that process will be the "local hero" angle, in which players with childhood, college or former WUSA ties to a WPS city will be placed on that team. It's an instant selling point for that franchise, and it makes for a better comfort level for the player involved.
"The most important thing is to make sure the players have the quality to make your team, and if they are local, I think that is important for each team to develop the local talent," Gabarra said. "That creates deep community ties. A young player can look at the pro team and think 'I want to be there someday, and there is now a viable route to that goal.' They can come out and watch players at the professional level who did the same thing they are doing in the same town."
Marcia McDermott, Chicago's GM, will determine the Red Stars' roster-building philosophy.
"The allocation process is a complex combination of fitting players and teams' desires and I think it will work out well for everybody," McDermott said. "You can't simplify it down to (the local angle). But there is a lot of value to that. There is a tremendous player pool that comes from this region. One way or another you will see great soccer players with some regional factors."
While the scouting process is an ongoing one ("I've never really stopped scouting and evaluating players since the WUSA days," said Gabarra, who has coached the Freedom since 2001), the next step is scouting the Olympics, which will take place in China in August. While the Freedom is not sending a team staffer to the games due to the huge cost involved, the Red Stars will be represented by coach Emma Hayes.
The scouting of foreign talent is done through the use of DVDs sent by teams and players, as well as foreign contacts the team coaches and general managers have developed. There are also many tapes of exhibition matches and Olympic preparatory matches to be viewed, as well as the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup.
"There are plenty of opportunities to see players if you commit time to it," Gabarra said.
What Tuesday's announcement did was put a date on the first step in player acquisition. It allows McDermott to give a more concrete answer to the query she gets asked all the time.
"The number one question we get is 'Who is going to be on the team?'" McDermott said.
Now she can reply, "I'll tell you in mid-September."
Kent McDill is a freelance writer and can be reached at kmcdill@aol.com. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author's, and not necessarily those of Women’s Professional Soccer or womensprosoccer.com.
