Monday, October 13, 2008 - Kandace Wilson finished 2007 as the WPSL’s leading scorer so her surprise could be forgiven when her new team, the W-League’s Pali Blues, decided to put her on the back line in 2008.

“When we first gave her the role she looked at me crazy,” Pali Blues head coach and WPS Los Angeles General Manager Charlie Naimo said.  “At the same time I told her we were not going to set her up for failure.”

The move to outside back was so successful that Bay Area made Wilson—who describes her playing style simply as “varied”—the 13th overall selection in the WPS General Draft on Oct. 6.

“Kandace is a great example of a player that really, really benefited from Pali Blues,” Naimo said.  “She was always a great athlete, always a great player, but I think we were able to find her a role that really, really fits her for the highest level.”

Placing players in WPS was one of two goals set by Pali Blues Soccer Club at the opening of its debut season this year.  The other was to win the W-League championship.  Remarkably they accomplished both, hitting two late goals—the second of which was assisted by Wilson—to knock off FC Indiana for the trophy, and seeing seven players taken in the WPS General Draft.  An eighth, Australian Sarah Walsh was picked by Sky Blue FC in the International Draft, and still another, fellow Aussie Collette McCallum, was gobbled up by Sky Blue FC as a discovery player.

“They really created a great environment for us to come together and play competitively,” said Liz Bogus, who spent time at outside midfielder and striker and will join Wilson on the Bay Area WPS team.  “They really just allowed us to play and they brought in so many good players for us to train and play with.”

“At the risk of sounding overconfident, no, it was not a surprise,” Naimo said of the draft.  “I do believe we had many of the best players that were not in the National Team, some of which I felt might have had a great shot in the Olympics.  I also believe that another four to six players might find spots (in the WPS).”

Naimo said that while Pali Blues ownership allowed the club necessary resources to bring in quality players and treat them very well, it was the players themselves that boosted the team to such lofty heights.

“Ultimately it really wasn’t us it was them,” he said.  “We worked extra hard in getting the best players possible to compete against each other every day, and they prepared each other for this.”

Among the resources provided by ownership was the ability to have the team train together earlier than most other in the W-League.

“We literally spent all summer together, on and off the field,” said Wilson.  “When we played together in games we knew each other like the backs of our hands which made the game easier because we knew each other’s strong points and weaknesses.  We treated each other like family and I think that is a really big factor when it comes to a team playing together.”

Wilson is hoping that family mentality transfers to Bay Area where along with Bogus, she will be joined by second overall pick Jill Oakes, another Pali Blues alumna.

“It’s always good to see players you’re familiar with,” said Wilson.  “I have no doubt in my mind the Bay Area team will come together as a family.”

One aspect of Pali Blues that had an impact on Bogus was the number of players that left full-time jobs and relocated in order to take their best shot at making it to WPS.

"That is one of the things that is really cool about our Pali Blues team," she said, noting the job she left with the United States Olympic Committee.  "I really sacrificed a lot giving that up.  I knew if I wanted to make it that it’s what I had to do."

Bogus agrees with Naimo that there remain more Pali Blues players capable of making it into WPS when the League holds its next draft in mid-January.

As for Naimo, his Los Angeles side has only been able to secure one Pali Blues player so far, Kendall Fletcher. (Fletcher and the other three Los Angeles draft choices all played for Naimo with the New Jersey Wildcats.)

“We’re kind of a victim of our own creation here,” Naimo said.  “We would have loved to have more of the players stay on the L.A. team, but the environment we created really helped them show themselves well to the other coaches who were watching.”

In the long run, Naimo hopes to eventually formalize an agreement between Los Angeles and Pali Blues to make the W-League an official affiliate.

“I think everybody should work to form a similar model and put the work in and get it done,” Naimo said.

PALI BLUES PLAYERS SELECTED BY WPS TEAMS

Danesha Adams, F/M, Chicago Red Stars (General Draft)
Liz Bogus, F/M, Bay Area (General Draft)
Kendall Fletcher, D, Los Angeles (General Draft)
Amy LePeilbet, D, Boston Breakers (General Draft)
Collette McCallum, M, Sky Blue FC (Discovery Player)
Jill Oakes, D, Bay Area (General Draft)
India Trotter, D/F, St. Louis (General Draft)
Sarah Walsh, F, Sky Blue FC (International Draft)
Kandace Wilson, F, Bay Area (General Draft)

Dan Lauletta is a freelance writer and can be reached at thirtymtp@aol.com . The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author’s, and not necessarily those of Women’s Professional Soccer or womensprosoccer.com.