For Doran, there is still a simple truth about the league: it is still here 10 years later. That was hard to imagine in 2013. WPS and the Women’s United Soccer Association, which launched in 2001, each only lasted three seasons. Getting past that point was progress. Each new marker of longevity is still worth celebrating for those who know what came before the glory days.
“I didn’t think much about it until I hit my 100th game,” said Salem, who celebrated that feat in late 2017. “I was kind of like, ‘Oh my God. Players have the opportunity.’ It was more of a sign that the league has been around long enough to hit this mark. It’s growing in a direction where players want to stay in the league.”
Salem and Harvey have seen everything from the perspectives of players and coaches. Harvey admits that many of her reflections about the league at large are tied to the emotions of her teams. Losing the 2015 NWSL Championship, for example, remains a low point for Harvey. She was disappointed that the Reign did not execute the game plan.
Doran and Maynard, meanwhile, have seen the league’s growth away from the cameras and the field of play. In her role interacting with the press, Maynard has uniquely seen the external challenges of a media ecosystem struggling through layoffs and budget cuts. Orlando once had a dedicated soccer writer at the city’s newspaper. That has not been the case for the past two years.
Maynard looks around at the investments being made by some teams and knows that it must continue. Doran sees the “how” of that through the logistical lens of an operations person. Hire more staff at a league level with expertise in a specific field to optimize each area of the league, she says. One of the most pressing examples is the schedule, Doran says.
“Change is difficult because you’re never going to please everyone,” Doran said. “Are we going to have those leaders that come in and be knowledgeable, get the correct information, go to the resources, do your research to be able to make impactful change and keep growing?”
Harvey credits those owners who laid the foundation for the NWSL’s success, but she sees a “narrative shift” going forward. The blueprints for the league were sketched out by a group that took it to a certain point. Now, a group of additional investors have picked up the plan and joined those still remaining to start fully building the ship.
“Do I think that people that have been in and around the sport and investing in women’s sports, do they actually see something in this league that wasn’t seen before,” Harvey asked. “Yes, I actually believe that they do.”
