You are right about this. Not just the devrlopment but being

round players of equivalent skill with variety of experience. I've watched as a Portland Thorns fan how far Olivia Moutrie who became pro at 13 and sued the NWSL so she could play. This is a girl who at 11 accepted a full scholarship offer to play soccer for UNC when she reached college age, becoming the youngest girls' soccer player to publicly accept a college offer at the time. So instead of UNC currently at 17, she's a seasoned pro who has a good chance to start on NWSL defending champ Thorns this cming season. She;s been developed well and mentored by experienced players most noteably Christine Sinclair.

But the real story of success forgoing elibility has to be Sophia Smith, also a Thorn, who with Covid could have played 3 more years at Stanford after that 2019 National Championship. Instead she leaves early, becomes #1 NWSL draft pick, and as a 3 year pro she's a 4 time champion (NWSL Championship-2022, NWSL Challenge Cup-2021, NWSL Community Shield-2020. & Women's International Champions Cup-2021) and in 2022 she achieves NWSL season MVP, NWSL Championship game MVP, and US Soccer Female Player of the Year. No wonder Christine Brennan wrote the linked article: "How Sophia Smith Has Risen to the Top of Women’s Soccer"

Obviously Players like Michelle Cooper and Korbin want to follow Sophia's path. Still what Olivia did may become the new model. Even with Cooper's talent she wasn't picked #1 in the NWSL draft as Alyssa Thompson went straight from high school to become the #1 pick in 2023. She gave up her 4 year scholarship to Stanford she had accepted to instead turn pro. I guess it's the way it will be.

Click here for link at https://flipboard.com/topic/portlandsports/how-sophia-smith-