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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Back on topic.   If WS wants to fix the issue of not having the pipeline others do permanently, offer material incentives.   More interaction with the pro team, to include actual training, gifting of sponsored products, subsidizing smaller costs in the short term (for example, uniforms and travel costs/meals), growing to partial and full subsidy as time and profitability emerges/grows.   The tangible benefit of being associated with the pro team has to be larger than the two GAP sessions and wearing the same kit/sharing the same name as the pro team and having training that is the rough equivalent of the competing elite environments.   Making these small but material changes at the margins should be able to help grab the 3-4 players per age group needed to level the field, and more significant subsidies would help elevate the club to DCU like status on the boys side.   It's really not that complicated, nor is the reason for the current struggle that deep.[/quote]

Except for the fact that Spirit's profit margins are likely razor thin. [/quote]

Offering more interaction and practice time with the pro players costs them nothing, as does other events with the pro players.  That can be a big draw for many young women who are in DA precisely for that reason.   It's a big positive factor hardly being exploited right now.   Ditto for the sponsored product offerings.   I imagine they could work a deal with Nike for free kits and shoes for the entire team as part of a marketing strategy.   It would be a pittance in cost from Nike's perspective.  I'm sure there are other, similar business alignments/sponsorships that can be arranged.   Larry's a creative guy, I'm sure he'll come up with something,[/quote]

They have always had meet and greets as well as some players have had practice time with the pro team. While it is nice it would hardly move the needle for most players and parents.

A free kit is nice, but that won't move the needle in a wealthy area either, especially when it is generally good for 2 years anyway.

Reduced training fees, or simply paying for travel would be huge. The travel costs of clubs like DA and ECNL are what kill the bank account. But anything less than that while certainly helpful are not enough. [/quote]

It’s about moving toward a tipping point, and baby steps are helpful in getting there.  Even tipping 1-2 players over per age group would be helpful, and 3-4+ ideal.  It’s not as big a gap as some here would like to believe[/quote]

But those small things have been done and are met with scorn, ridicule or skepticism.

Even when Spirit includes season tickets everyone piles on and says that they are paid for by the parents. At the end of the day nothing will move the needle outside of on field performance or significantly reduced financial benefits.

[/quote]

Sorry, these new things have not been tried, and the proposal is to do them without raising costs.   There’s no argument that can be made that parents are subsidizing in that case.  They are draws and there are people who are at Spirit who could (and have) made other elite squads but have chosen Spirit for the current incentives, the training, and the environment.  Stop pretending that’s not the case just because there are a few there who need more time to develop.  [/quote]

The free for Spirit things have been done.

The cost of the jerseys are already significantly reduced.

Regardless, I don't think most rational people are making a soccer decision based on a free kit. Is it nice? Yes. Is it enough? No, not when travel costs are still expensive, (regardless of club).

Winning cures lots of things. Start there.

If you can win AND provide all those things you describe, then you have something and I agree with everything you have proposed. I just think they need fix the competitive imbalance before they work on gimmicks. [/quote]

It’s about getting more talented players on board.  That’s how you win more games.   3-4 in each age group, that’s all it will take.  Maybe 2-3 in a couple.  Stop treating this like an insoluble problem. It’s not, it’s actually a pretty simple fix.  Do what it takes to get that 3-4 per age group.  [/quote]

From U15-U19 there are not 3-4 difference makers willing to change clubs for a free kit. Sorry, that is fantasy. Nobody is changing in the midst of prime recruiting years for an unknown and a free kit.

The ONLY thing that might motivate a very high quality player to move would be GURANTEED REGULAR training with the Pro team. It would have to be at least once a week for such a player to likely see the benefits of moving.

A kid or two per age group per year can have an impact and likely doesn't require gimmicks to happen.

[b]But where Spirit can make the biggest stride is simply not taking on kids who are just not up to standards[/b].

Start nurturing the Great Falls partnership and seek out other clubs to work with as pipeline. When kids are U10 they have to be in a club that is "all in" to coin a ECNL phrase. For these kids and families DA and Spirit has to be something they aspire to play in.  [/quote]

We tried out last year and this was our biggest issue. They wanted a commitment very early on but would not disclose how many players or who the others were. Many of them were not DA caliber and it’s going to be very hard to convince top players to come over when some of them do not belong in the first place, they just need to fill rosters.[/quote]

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