As 2011 beckons, for all of us who love this sport and want to make it sustainable, hope springs eternal.
I lift my glass to the continuing survival of women’s professional soccer in this country and to a USA victory in Germany.
As I dream of US sports media regularly covering women’s football, as I dream of an USSF as committed to the women’s side of the equation as Mother Theresa was committed to those who required help, as I dream of sports companies supporting the grass-roots women’s football as much as they will support a 10th pick in the NBA or NFL drafts this coming year, a Happy New Year, to you and yours.

Its a Habit
A famous American football coach, Vince Lombardi said: “Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all-the-time thing. You don’t win once in a while, you don’t do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.”
Lombardi was right.
Look at any women’s league in the world, its usually the same teams finishing at the top and the same teams at the bottom. Year in, year out. Its because both winning and losing are states of mind and are habit forming.
Ask Paul Riley, Charlie Naimo, Anson Dorrance, Randy Waldrum, Dino McIntyre.

“Nogueira has proved a handful to college defenses over the past four seasons. There are rough edges to her game but good coaching will refine them and she has already improved a lot since I first saw her playing for UNC, when she looked a raw talent but with little appreciation for her teammates or understanding of defending.
At that time, I observed that on number of occasions when dispossessed she stood and watched instead of actively trying to regain possession.
I saw her play again this fall in South Bend against Notre Dame and found her an easy mover with a relaxed running style who can control the ball with ease and she possesses the body movement to deceive or sway past defenders.
She prefers facing defenders rather than playing with her back to goal but, partnered by a talented front player who can hold the ball up, Nogueira could thrive at a higher level if she works hard and learns.
I believe that she has talent required to succeed in WPS but it would not be prudent for any club to expect Nogueira to come in and be the focus player from day one. Playing against 20 year old college defenders is vastly different than facing LePeibelt or Markgraf – she will need time to develop and to excel.”

“WPS draft day is only weeks away and everyone is wondering who will be picked first. Will it be Cheney, Heath, Nogueira or O’Hara?
Draft is like Cinco de Mayo: everyone is happy and not thinking about tomorrow. But eventually once pre-season begins, reality will set in. Coaches will immediately see that some players are much better prepared for the pro game while others struggle.
The most pressure, as you’d expect, is with top picks. There will be intense pressure on the coach, GM, and player, for her to produce immediately. Many highly rated players will be drafted with big expectations only to find out it’s much harder than they expected or their teams have different ideas of how to use them.
I remember last year when the Breakers drafted Amy Rodriguez, the league’s first-ever draft. Highly rated based on her college final four performance and national team play, she struggled in Boston and played sporadically.
What happened with Rodriguez is no different than what happens with a lot of top picks in other sports. The coaches, fans and players realize that expectations are unreasonably high for top rookies and in the end, it wasn’t that the player wasn’t “good.” It was that expectations were simply unrealistic.
Playing against 19 year old college defenders is different from facing Rampone. And there is a gulf between playing for the US WNT; surrounded by very good players, playing against outmatched opponents, and facing seasoned WPS pros every weekend.
Rodriguez will probably go on to have long, productive career with another team (or teams) where the expectations of the team and fans will be different and the system might be better-suited to her style.
Usually, if a player can play right now, she’s going to be on the field. If not, it’s the responsibility of the head coach and his staff to develop the player, creating a plan for helping her develop – in her first year and beyond.”

So do I think that Press can help right away?
No.
With experienced coaching it will take her 2-3 seasons before she can consistently deliver at the pro level.
There is no disputing that she is a top forward in NCAA, but even playing for Pali Blues last season, her goal production was much lower than in college. The gap simply is much bigger than casual fans realize.

Warren Buffet, one of the most successful investors of all time, has been quoted saying “One should never invest in a business they don’t understand” and that “Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing.” That appears to be a very real challenge.
Throughout the interview with Jeff Kassouf, Nancy’s naivety, lack of understanding and inexperience with women’s football comes through. It is laced with phrases such as “we gambled”, “we thought”, “we felt”.
This does not strike me as a sound strategy and it seldom works in business.
I understand that humans make errors. We all make errors of fact and errors of judgment. We have blind spots in our field of vision. These weaknesses put us at a disadvantage. We make decisions with partial information. Occasionally, we are forced to steer by guesswork. We go with our gut feeling. Long term, that rarely works. The “you hope for something and you wish for something” can never substitute a well thought out business strategy. The NeSmiths hired Montoya and Kessler, to give them intelligent guidance and advise when it comes to player acquisition and club building matters. When it came to signing Marta, every coach and GM wants to have the best player play for them. But its experience and prudence that must guide. It appears that it did not work out.
There are simple rules which all potential women’s football owners should pay attention to:
1. Never invest in a business you do not understand.
2. Never confuse charisma with expertise.
3. Never hire people who lack expertise in your business. (If they were never involved in women’s football before WPS came about, do not hire them.)
4. Never gamble your club’s future on one player.
5. There is no substitute for having a winning team.
6. A winning team does not guarantee commercial success, but a losing team guarantees commercial failure.
7. Success, like organic growth, is incremental in nature.
8. Marketing and hype is only useful when you have quality, otherwise its called false advertising and customers will leave in droves.

In the end, as much as I feel sadness for Nancy and her husband, I very much doubt whether they understand why their club failed.
Today, as I write, WPS clubs are losing relevancy internationally and locally; to potential sponsors, youth clubs and casual fans.
Unfortunately when you ask some WPS owners and GMs what business are WPS teams in,
the most likely answer will be entertainment or pro sports. Wrong on both accounts. Entertainment, really? Good luck competing against Hollywood films, video games, Broadway productions, satellite TV, etc. You can’t comete against the shear volume of options available in today’s world.
Pro sports? How do you compete against the NBA, NFL, MBA and even MLS. You can’t. You will have tough time competing against college handball and basketball.
So what business are you in? Pro football business in general and specifically pro women’s is pure fantasy. A drastically different model is required.
Any league or team can and will become successful only when it becomes relevant to fans and sponsors. Going into their third season, WPS owners still have not figured out how to achieve this. That is their biggest task.
To again quote Buffet: “Your premium brand had better be delivering something special, or it’s not going to get the business.”
And that in a nutshell is the sponsorship and attendance challenges WPS is facing, they can’t deliver, because they don’t know how, to deliver something special for their potential customers.
Reading the NeSmith interview it becomes crystal clear that NeSmiths never knew who their fans were, what they wanted, and how to attract them. Even more important, they did not know how to partner with sponsors and make themselves indispensable to their success.

Will pro women’s football in the USA survive and prosper? Of course it will. Remember that until Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier, before Roger Bannister ran the 4 min/mile, people thought it was impossible. Still, if WPS teams simply continue to cut budgets, they will become another w-league. At that point they will cease to be relevant all together.

Q: USA are always known to have lots and lots of girls playing, especially at the youth levels. But it really hasn’t resulted in a lot of medals in the last few years. Why do you think that is? What do you think is missing?
SB: The problem is twofold. One, youth development needs an overhaul.
Technical and tactical development is not taking place. When I get players from universities, they are very athletic but many of them need remedial technical and tactical work.
Two, the most talented American youth players not playing in adult leagues. Some young players in Germany and Sweden, for example, are playing in professional leagues by the time they are 16. If you look at Umea, they’re really very young this year and their players are getting valuable experience. In USA even the best 16 and 17 year olds are still playing in youth competitions, against players their age.

Q: USA lost 2:1 to Mexico, what is the reaction in the US like?
SB: I would say of disbelief.

Q: Why in your opinion did USA lose?
SB: The days of beating Mexico or Costa Rica 11:0 are gone for good. The world is catching up and in many cases bypassing USA in women’s football. Familiarity breeds contempt, and so many Mexican and Costa Rican players play in USA and they are no longer intimidated by USA. I had a total of 7 Mexican players play for me at FC Indiana and they
are very confident in their ability. Also, internationally, technical, tactical, physical and psychological preparation has evolved so it will be more and more difficult for USA to maintain its elite status.

Q: Can USA get by Italy?
SB: Yes, but it will not be easy. Pietro Ghedin is shrewd and knows how to set up his teams. Italians are experienced and USA will need to play at a higher level than they did in the CONCACAF tournament.

Q: There has been some information that WPS is having some troubles.
SB: As any new league, WPS will face challenges. The question is whether WPS owners are investors or speculators, are they looking to develop long term or are they looking for quick profits. I hope that no WPS owner expected to make a fortune in 2 seasons. I think that many of the owners were like a teenager on a first date and now the reality has hit them, it will be hard work.

Q: What will happen to the game if WPS does not continue?
SB: I suppose that US Soccer will have to reestablish residency program but that would not be good. The other possibility will be that some top players will go overseas, some will continue to play in W-League and some will walk away from the game. I expect that if WPS folds there are 6-8 clubs in North America which will continue to offer good level on $200-400K budgets.

Q: You coached in USA and in Europe, what are some big differences.
SB: Better athleticism in USA, stronger players technically in Europe. Also, player approach to training is different.

Q: How did you decide to coach in Russia and what are you thoughts about it?
SB: My agent Anton Maksimov suggested it and the UEFA Champions League
was the main reason I wanted to go there. Russia is a new experience, people with different mentality and habits, but that is the beauty of coaching in different countries. It gives me another perspective on the business of women’s football.
Story from Wsoccernews.com. Read full story: http://wsoccernews.com/fullStory.php?id=1494#ixzz16IoSHFpy

After last week’s earthshaking news that multiple WPS teams are considering folding and the U.S.’s loss against Mexico in the CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers, Soccer 365 caught up with respected women’s coach Shek Borkowski. Borkowski co-founded FC Indiana ten years ago in tiny Goshen, Indiana (population 30,000) and led the team to two WPSL titles, a W-League final, two U.S. Open Cup titles and exhibition victories over Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago and WPS teams. FC Indiana sent nine former players to WPS in 2009 and was involved in the original development of the Chicago Red Stars franchise. Borkowski always ran FCI like a professional European club; in late 2009 he took over one–the two time reigning Russian champion and UEFA Champions League runners-ups Zvezda-2005.

Soccer 365: Will the U.S. qualify for the World Cup versus Italy and win the World Cup?
SB: I know Italy head coach Pietro Ghedin well so I am sure that Italy will be well organized, will defend deep and counterattack, and will be difficult to play against. Overall the U.S. has enough quality to qualify. As far as the World Cup finals, Germany are my favorites but anything can happen.

Soccer 365: WPS has made many personnel cuts at league and club levels. What are your thoughts about the league’s chances to survive?
SB: WPS faces important challenges at this time. While the economy plays its role, I would say that the biggest problem is the clubs’ business model and structure. I suspect that in five out of seven cases, clubs struggle because there is no proper structure and no long-term strategic plan in place. Blind spending can’t take precedence over strategy. The current WPS business model is flawed. It’s simply a scaled-down WUSA model. [WUSA lost over $100 million on 8 clubs over 3 seasons.] Right now, the clubs recognized that the model they bought into is not sustainable and they are making changes in order to avoid the unthinkable. Personally I hope the owners are in it for the long haul and understand they will have to keep investing in their teams.

Soccer 365: Can the league be profitable?
SB: Yes. Leading clubs in the USA must and can make a profit. Investing $2 to $3 million a year in a club with players on large salaries and competing in a sport where even winning league titles means financial losses is not the stuff shrewd investors are interested in unless they are vanity owners. So, profitability is the key but progress must be organic. Good examples for growing women’s football in North America are Ottawa Fury, Vancouver Whitecaps, Buffalo Flash and FC Indiana, where they are successful on 5% of WPS budgets.

Soccer 365: We have seen many coaching changes and player turnover in WPS during their two seasons. Why do you think that is?
SB: You have to understand that most WPS owners have very little or no experience in professional women’s football. Many of them lack experienced women’s football people advising them, which leads to poor decisions and the challenges get compounded. Make no mistake, men’s and women’s football are different, so someone who worked in sales for a men’s club will not necessarily make a good manager in leading a women’s club. As far as the players, one could wonder what analytical data/information is underpinning the selection or evaluation of players. Poor acquisitions lead to turnover, which makes it harder for clubs to market their players to fans.

Soccer 365: Is there a difference in working with American and European players?
SB: Yes, the training expectations are different. European players are used to more tactical work and specific opponent preparation. American players enjoy the physical aspect of preparation more. [While in Russia, Borkowski discovered that his Russian players treated soccer simply as a job. They came to train and then returned home to their other interests. North American players expect social bonding with their squads, spending a lot of time with their teammates off the field, because that’s what they experienced in college.]

Soccer 365: What tactical trends in women’s football are you noticing?
SB: For the most part top teams are very good in the first three phases of the game—possessing the ball, transitioning after losing the ball, and when the opponent possess the ball. What separates Germany from others is their dominant play in the fourth phase—transitions after winning the ball. The power, speed, purpose of their movement, and understanding when they win the ball sets them apart from the competition. Current German success, I believe, is based on their superiority in that fourth phase.

Q: You have been a long time critic of US Soccer why is it?
SB: Because the federation is guilty of mismanagement when it comes to women’s football.

Q: In what way?
SB: Their mission statement is to “develop soccer at all recreational and competitive levels.” Ask any WPS, W-League or WPSL club in the country if they have received any assistance in physical infrastructure development or player development. MLS lost money for years and US Soccer directly or through its influence subsidized it for years.
Do you think they will support and rescue the WPS?
The federation has been a beneficiary of the NCAA generosity in facilities development and player development. Imagine where the sport would be today if it wasn’t for the NCAA? Outside of WNT player pool, US Soccer has done nothing for female players and infrastructure development for female players.

Q: But I understand that US Soccer is financially supporting WPS.
SB: No, they are subsidizing part of WNT players salaries.

Q: Why do you think US Soccer is not doing enough to support women’s soccer?
You must realize that US Soccer is an administrative and representative arm of Soccer United Marketing. As such it focuses on the men’s game and simply does enough to keep the women’s side quiet. Today, US Soccer, outside of WNT, spends less per registered female player than Chile.
Ask successful women’s clubs like Ajax America or New Jersey Wildcats how it benefits them to be affiliated with US Soccer. Right now, ask FC Gold Pride how it helped them being affiliated with US Soccer. Do you think what happened to FC Gold Pride would be permitted to happen to LA Galaxy? And LA has lost a lot more money than FC Gold Pride ever would.
If you are an investor in the men’s game you will be subsidized when needed. Not so on the women’s side.

Q: What can be done to change this?
SB: Nothing will be changed because change would require difficult decisions, choices and action by those involved with and fans of the women’s game. Those involved in women’s football in general are content with being neglected and being taken advantage of. It will continue.

Q: Can you be more specific?
US Soccer, SUM and their partners are interested in the bottom line, so all of us involved in women’s football would need to impact it negatively by boycotting Nike, Adidas, Gatorade and other US Soccer partners. Don’t support the MLS. Demand that US Soccer spends at least 33% of their budget on women’s football development; supporting women’s leagues, clubs, creating infrastructure and long term player development. Without financial pressures there will be no change.
But I just can’t imagine that women’s teams; youth, high school, college, W-League or WPSL would stop buying Nike or Adidas products. Can you imagine, for the good of women’s football, any US WNT players refusing Nike or Adidas endorsements? Not a chance.
All involved in the women’s game are content to get the crumbs and that is why the situation is getting worse.

Q: But for Nike and other US Soccer partners it has to make business sense to invest in women’s soccer.
SB: I agree, and that is why we need to demonstrate to them why it is a smart BUSINESS decision to support women’s football and a poor BUSINESS decision to ignore it. Companies like Nike spend more money on one basketball athlete than on entire women’s football in the country.

Q: You must admit that basketball is entirely different from women’s soccer.
SB: Of course, but it wasn’t so in the 70s. It took a leap of faith for a number of companies to support and grow the NBA and look where it is now. The same is required for WPS but we will have to press and we must start with US Soccer.

“FC Indiana coach Shek Borkowski has been outspoken about the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) in the past, and now he is calling for improved investment in women’s soccer at the grass root level.
Borkowski is very adamant that the U.S. is losing ground to other countries, especially to Germany, and the federation needs to tackle some of the serious problems surrounding the women’s game if the U.S. wants to remain in the position of a global leader in the sport.
“The money, I am told, is there and it should mean better facilities for women’s clubs and investment in the sport in general,” said Borkowski. “But it isn¹t so, financial resources are very simply misallocated. The USSF President Sunil Gulati must reexamine how we are allocating money.
It would be really unfortunate but the way things are going, the rest of the world is catching up to the U.S. in terms of player development and even bypassing us in terms of investment in the game, Borkowski said.
Borkowski believes that some sweeping changes are in order.
Unless concrete steps are taken to boost women’s soccer at all levels, the game will stagnate. The new pro league will have spots for maybe 80 non-national team players, it won’t be enough.
But the truth is that the investment in the game is revolving around just the national players. Following Germany’s example, it needs to be broader a lot of work needs to be done to lift the infrastructure and there are too many promising post college players who walk away from the game because they see no future in it.
Borkowski also offered his support to United Soccer Leagues (USL) Executive Vice President Tim Holt efforts to establish a federation operated US Open Women’s Cup. This, according to Borkowski, would be of benefit to all clubs, pro and amateur alike, and bring added attention to women’s soccer in the country.”