Paul Riley 05.10.14

Paul Riley

(Randy L. Rasmussen/The Oregonian)

The Portland Thorns were the first NWSL squad to be affiliated with an MLS team. And now the Thorns are starting one of the first girls youth academy programs in the country.

"When we got started on the boys side, we always talked about one day having a girls side," Portland Timbers Academy Director Mike Smith said. "We're tasked at the Portland Timbers and Thorns to be leaders and pioneers in the community."

With the support of U.S. Soccer, the Timbers started boys development academy teams at the U-16 and U-18 age groups in 2012. The boys academy teams compete in the U.S. Soccer Developmental Academy Leagues.

The purpose of the academy teams is to give top youth players advanced training and opportunities to play against elite competition as they get ready to progress to the college and professional levels.

Even though U.S. Soccer has not yet moved to start a girls developmental academy program, the Thorns felt that, with the incredible success of women's professional soccer in Portland, it was imperative for them to start an academy team.

"I put a big blessing behind the academy team because I think it's crucial for the improvement and development of young players," Thorns coach Paul Riley said. "If all the NWSL clubs can do it, that would be great. We're trying to improve the youth game every day."

The organization held tryouts last week for a U-17 girls academy team. The squad will begin competition in December.

"It's helping the local player development in our territory," Smith said. "We will be the first, but we're hoping that in a similar way that MLS teams have looked at our women's program and thought that was a very good way to do things, that teams will look at our academy as a model."

The Thorns have created a developmental ladder to support the growth of girls youth soccer in Oregon and believe the academy program will be an important rung.

At a young age, elite boys and girls can already participate in the Timbers or Thorns regional training centers, where they receive aggressive coaching and training. From there, the top players can move on to the Timbers or Thorns Olympic Development Program teams and have the opportunity to advance to the regional or national Olympic Development Program pool.

But up until now, that's where the developmental ladder has ended for elite girls soccer players interested in participating in developmental programs through the Thorns.

Though elite girls have plenty of options in terms of finding competitive club teams to compete for during their high school years, the Thorns believe that they can offer a cheaper option with the best training and resources for the athletes.

"We have access to resources from two professional football clubs," Smith said. "It's the best experience possible for players to maximize their potential. In other club teams, you don't necessarily have access to athletic trainers, goalkeeper coaches or video tape from games."

An important job of the academy team will be to help players move on to the college level. The academy team will monitor players' academics, give them advice about colleges and connect them with college coaches.

Smith and Riley both said they want there to be ample interaction between the Portland Thorns players and the academy team.

"They can come watch games and come watch us train," Riley said. "We're going to integrate the same training methods that we've been using with the Thorns with the academy team, so hopefully it will be a big plus for them and the area."

Forming a U-17 girls academy team is just the beginning for the Thorns.

The organization plans to form a Women's Premier Soccer League team, which, like the Timbers U-23 Premier Development League team, would be a place for college players to compete during the summer.

The Thorns also hope to expand their girls academy program in the future by adding either a U-15 or U-16 team.

"We want to offer an enhanced developmental pyramid and structure for young girls that want to pursue soccer in college or as a career," Smith said. "There's a buzz around town about soccer and it doesn't necessarily need to be just on the boys side."

-- Jamie Goldberg | @jamiebgoldberg