USWNT, 2019 World & U.S. Champs!

There has been a lot of controversy of the United States Women's National Soccer Team before, during, and after this past 2019 World Cup in France. A few players, mainly Megan Rapinoe, have been put under heavy criticism during and after the World Cup about their comments and actions on the White House, equal pay, post-World Cup celebrations, etc... You name it, and they've been criticized on it, and now I want to give my opinion about this 2019 U.S. Women's National Soccer Team. I'm going to break this down into three sections of 1) Equal Pay, 2) White House comments, and 3) post-World Cup celebrations.

1) Equal Pay
First off, I am not going to sit here and type this issue like I know every detail of it, because I don't. I just want to give my opinion of the situation from research that I've been doing. According to the research, "Equal Pay" is not possible, not yet! It is not because the men bring in more money (because they haven't), but because as the economics show, there just is not enough investment in the women's game at this moment in time. I think Megan Rapinoe and the rest of the Women's National Team know this, which is why crying out for equal pay after a World Cup win is brilliant.

From a marketing point of view, the women know that every four years they get the biggest stage soccer has to offer, and during those 2-3 months they are doing everything they can to be heard. They know that equal pay will not come instantly, but they also know that being on the World's stage gives them a platform to try and connect and market to more investors and fans. I  think it's a brilliant marketing strategy, and it seems to be working. Whether good or bad, women's soccer has been discussed at the highest-level on a consistent basis over the past few months. I'm not sure if it will fade but this team is doing something special for the Women's game.

2) White House Comments
WHO CARES! There's plenty of athletes, NBA teams, and NFL teams who refused to go to the White House and they were praised for using their freedom of speech. The USWNT's response shouldn't be treated any different, because whether you agree with them or not, its literally their right to do whatever they want. I don't think the President will lose any sleep if Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan don't come to the White House, same as he didn't lose sleep when the Golden State Warriors refused to go.

3) Post World Cup Celebrations
Nobody should have a problem with their post World Cup celebrations because all athletes dance, chant, drink, and cheer after they win a championship. And the USWNT should be able to celebrate more because they didn't just win a domestic league, they won the highest level of international soccer you can play. Megan Rapinoe dancing on stage during a celebration of her team shouldn't be looked down on any more than J.R. Smith walking around with his shirt off and drinking a bottle of Hennessy during the Cleveland Cavaliers post NBA Championship celebration-parade, which everyone thought was hilarious and it was! Realistically these women only get a few months every 4 years to be the main focus of soccer, especially in the U.S., so they are just trying to have fun while it lasts.

Did I think the USWNT were the best and most consistent team at the 2019 Women's World Cup? Nope. Did I think they played the best soccer technically? I really didn't. Do I care about either one of those points? No, because it doesn't matter... They won the World Cup, and this being the most competitive the Women's World Cup has ever been, I think they have reason to celebrate. Some might say they got lucky in the knockout stages getting two penalty kicks to help them advance, but as Ernest Hemingway said, "You make your own luck." Lucky to get those two PKs? Maybe. But it was more important to be in those positions to make themselves lucky.

So, let the women celebrate because they earned it. And if you're all about "Equal Pay" and getting the ladies paid more, then make sure you're supporting the NWSL, buying USWNT and NWSL merchandise, posting about the women's league, and help them get their sales to go up so that investors recognize them. That is the best way these women will get paid, not fairly (because according to the economics they are already getting paid fairly), but making sure they are getting paid better.

Weekend Goalkeeper Coaching Course Review

While most people spent this past Easter weekend at home with family and friends, I spent Easter day driving home from Kansas City while coming back from a goalkeeper coaching course. Although I am not complaining because most of the Level 2 goalkeeper coaching classes are two days and usually nine hours, I found this one for my Tiger Goalkeeping Academy coaches and it was one day and only five hours. Through this post I just want to give my experience and opinion of the course, as it was my first ever goalkeeper coaching course that I physically attended.

At Tiger Goalkeeping Academy one of my biggest things as the director is to make sure all my coaches are licensed and knowledgeable about the latest goalkeeper position fundamentals and trends. Some programs don't care that their coaches are licensed and I respect that, because if you played the position for so long and after taking this course on Friday I thought me and my other coaches should all be Nationally licensed already. Level 1 was about fundamentals, but Level 2 just seemed to be about fundamentals but more in depth. So, in my opinion I was not really able to take away much of what the course taught as it was basic review. However, I did like the opportunity I had to talk with other coaches while sharing ideas, methodology, and new drill concepts/ideas.

I was never a classroom student as I was always more hands on, so sitting on a field for 5 hours just watching the instructor teach was not my most favorite thing in the world, but I did come back to Chicago with new drill ideas, new training concepts, and from talking with other coaches, some more activities that I believe will help my players become better. I do not think I will be getting my Level 3 until the end of the year or early next year, so I will the takeaways I received from this course and implement them into our Tiger Goalkeeping Academy training program this upcoming summer in Chicago.