An open letter to the supporters of women’s soccer in Southern California from Jason Lemire – General Manager of the Pali Blues.
The Pali Blues Soccer Club, back-to-back national champions of women’s soccer in the USL W-League and an organization dedicated to the growth of the women’s game, was greatly saddened by the news that the Los Angeles Sol of Women’s Professional Soccer had been forced to discontinue operations.
The news also reaffirms our resolve to do whatever it takes to keep our own team, the Pali Blues, playing, winning, and inspiring young players right here in Los Angeles, for years to come.
It is no secret that the Pali Blues – an amateur organization dedicated to nurturing top collegiate and international talent – shared a special bond with the Sol.
Blues co-founder Ali Mansouri was one of the Sol’s original owners, along with Blues coach Charlie Naimo the Sol’s General Manager. LA Sol players, including FIFA Player of the Year Marta, were on hand for the Pali Blues thrilling 2009 playoff victory over the Colorado Force at the Pacific Palisades Stadium-by-the-Sea. They even signed halftime autographs.
However the bond between the organizations ran much deeper. Both the Blues and the Sol were founded with the goal of inspiring a generation of girls and young women who are growing up playing soccer in record numbers. Nearly forty years removed from the passage of Title IX, this new generation enjoys unprecedented acceptance and celebration of the female athlete. Yet, if the shuttering of the Sol proves anything, perhaps it is that there is still much work to be done.
Anywhere in the United States, particularly in Los Angeles where the volume of mass media is set perpetually high, girls and young women are still fighting an uphill battle against a pop culture that prefers them…well… as something other than a strong-willed, disciplined and confident individual. For every female executive or female athlete on television there are ten beer commercials or diet pill ads. In sitcoms and movies women are all too often still the shrews or one-note love interest of the male hero. In pop music, the fawning, submissive girl of “I Will Follow Him” and “My Boyfriend’s Back” has been replaced by “girl as sex-object” in a list of songs entirely too long to name, just as one is almost certainly playing on the radio right now. So what can these girls, and their parents, use to help stem this tide? What is the antidote to the tabloids, the gossip girls, the reality show catfights and pop-star-as-stripper ethos? The answer is the same as it has always been: role models.
With the discontinuation of the LA Sol the families of Los Angeles have not only lost an incredible collection of remarkable athletes, they have lost an incredible collection of remarkable women. Do parents take their daughters to see world-class women’s soccer players so they will learn to copy their step over moves, tactics, diving saves and goal scoring heroics? Of course. But the greatest lesson has always been to appreciate the player as whole, the result of years of hard work, dedication, discipline, teamwork and self worth. Jackie Joyner-Kersee has a great quote: “If a young female sees my dreams and goals come true, they will realize their dreams and goals might come true too.”
Most young soccer players will not go on to full-ride college scholarships. Even less will go on to careers as pro athletes. Yet we all hope the young women in our lives will grow up believing in their capacity to pursue their own goals and dreams, whatever they may be. And for those gifted and dedicated few who do achieve the heights of women’s soccer, we must continue to offer them a world class place to play, right here in Los Angeles. Right here in our community.
We encourage all LA Sol fans to continue to press for the return of the WPS to Los Angeles. But in the interim, we hope it is at least a small consolation that your city is still home to one of the most successful women’s soccer organizations in the world. This spring and summer, the Pali Blues will once again be home to some of the best up-and-coming national and international talent in the world. Our team has featured Olympians, NCAA All-Americans and National Team standouts. There is a reason why our motto is “Where Tomorrow’s Stars Play Today.”
If are find are asking yourself, “will the Pali Blues still be around in 2011?” the answer is only with your support.
The good news is we have created a wealth of fantastic ways to support our team. The purchase of just a few season tickets (cheaper than a season parking pass at the Home Depot Center) is one opportunity.
Signing your AYSO/Club team up for a halftime game or ball kid spot is another.
So is attending Pali Blues Summer Camp or Striker and Goalkeeper Camp.
If you are a business leader, we have comprehensive, community-inspired sponsorships available at a variety of levels.
Finally, the Pali Blues Blue Hat Club, the combination ticket/merchandise package and tax-deductible donation, was created with the expressed intent of helping to keep the Blues in our community beyond 2010. (We were proud to welcome our first member family this week!)
We are planning a wide variety of fantastic game day events including our Beat 627 initiative to break the world record for most people in one stadium juggling soccer balls while sending thousands of balls to needy children both here in Los Angeles and around the world. We will also host our 2nd Annual Teddy Bear Toss, this year collecting bears for FirstStar to distribute to some of the most disadvantaged kids in the country. As always you can keep up with all game announcements and team news at www.bluessoccerclub.com.
Though we will never be able to replace the Sol, together we can help keep the passion for women’s soccer and women’s athletics burning bright. Together we can continue to offer the girls and young women of Los Angeles the heroes and role models they deserve.
Jason Lemire – General Manager of The Pali Blues Soccer Club.
Jason can be reached at 310.867.0977 or at Jason@bluesoccerclub.com.
