Quote:
Originally Posted by CliffFletcher
The experience of international football academies is very different from the CHL. The players aren’t being used to sell tickets. They aren’t living in small towns and cities where they’re treated like celebrities. The team they play for is focused on their long-term development and training, not winning the big game on Saturday night in front of a bunch of yahoos in an old mill town. Bayern, Liverpool, etc have vastly more resources and incentive to ensure a healthy environment for young athletes than the PA Raiders or Sudbury Wolves.
The problem with the CHL is it basically serves the same purpose as Div 2 and Div 3 leagues in football - provide professional teams in cities too small or poor to support top-level pro teams. Except instead of employing minor pro players, it employs unpaid teenagers.
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Yep, and Owen took 4 years to make his first team debut.