…would one day have a Div 2, Div 3, and Div 4 team in addition to their Div 1 team. They wouldn’t all be based out of Seattle, and they wouldn’t have the rights to all of the players on the lower division teams, but they’d be giving more players an opportunity to be professional soccer players in the US (and more referees an opportunity to improve their skills) and we’d probably run across a few diamonds in the rough.

It’s really unfortunate, IMO, that there are only two teams in all of Div 2 and Div 3 that are west of the Mississippi, and even those two teams are in different divisions and about as far apart as they can get (LA and Edmonton.) I don’t have a good handle on what NASL’s future is going to be, but USL-Pro seems relatively stable. It’d be nice if MLS could help subsidize a couple more Cali teams and 3-4 NW teams to add to USL-Pro. It could greatly reduce the LA Blues’ travel expenses and if they went with something like a West division, NE division, and SE division.

Aren’t they called the Kitsap Pumas?

LOL.

Just kidding, but I do think some kind of formal relationship and support pledge would be a good thing for the local area.

badger

for the growth of the game, yes. Sounders have shown themselves to be one of the better all-around organisations and I want that quality to trickle down. I want the quality and detail of the coaching staff’s approach to spread like pollen through lower levels. I want a place for academy kids who aren’t quite ready for a senior roster spot to get meaningful minutes in a Sounders-based system.

I think Pumas fits the bill for the most part and the association would do Pumas a world of good in terms of attendance and player draw. There’s no reason we can’t have an agreement with them similar to the way MLB teams handle minor league teams. They’ve shown to be a quality organisation as well and I’m sure they’d welcome the help an organisation of our size could provide.

for the moment. My sense is that we’re likely to get more out of our academy players than our association with or ownership of a PDL team. Perhaps they could strengthen their ties with Kitsap with a bit of money, pr, etc., with a gentlemen’s agreement to slowly expand that support?

we can send our rookies there to get experience and bring up players if they are good bad part keeping both teams competitive cuz money owning two teams is good and bad bad because you pay more attention to one team I like the idea of having a lower division team

If the goal of a PDL team is to increase the quality and quantity of homegrown players it might be more cost effective to spend those dollars strengthening the PDL teams within SSFC catchment area. Maybe pay for an additional coaching slot on each team. They get better training, Sounders get a insiders eye on their player development. Grants for equipment or facilities. Promote their games on the website and at C-Link. Sponsor a local PDL tournament. Add more reserve games with the local PDL teams. A preseason tournament. All those things have the added benefit of increasing the Sounders ties with the broader soccer community.

Similar strategies could be used to improve youth soccer. Find the talented kids whose families can not afford select soccer and provide scholarships.

The way the MLS cap is structured homegrown talent provides a competitive advantage. Decades of Dominance is more likely to continue if regional soccer at all levels can also dominate.

Just take some reserve players, some academy players and play some friendlys against Washington-PDL-Teams like Kitsap Pumas or Tacoma Tide. And players, who were drafted and not signed could start in such friendlies, not?

I guess I don’t understand what the benefit would be under the current MLS rules. If you don’t have exclusive rights to the players on your team, aren’t you just developing players for other teams? Am I missing something? I may very well be, so please let me know. Developing academy players looks like the way to go to me. I know these don’t have to be mutually exclusive, but I am just unclear how a PDL team advances the club. But again, I am probably missing something.

I just don’t see the need and Adrian, a very smart man, says it is not worth it. If it helped the Sounders then I am for it, I just don’t see it happening. The current course is working fine.

I do realize there are guys here that would follow the teams, so I apologize for those of us that just don’t care.