Majority paying, some scholarships. Having Wave at the polo fields is awesome. The '14 boys RL team is used as cannon fodder (although they can be very competitive depending who is on the field) and just a couple of weeks ago, some of the WAVE players did some training for the 2010 girls that could be there.
My take on the national team is to do it. It is incredibly exciting and can boost a kids confidence. And the experience may not be there later in life. I was never cursed with parent goggles which was a blessing in my assessment of my kids, but a curse to them in that I could be rather blunt on their performance (and harder on them than I would be today). So, since I see the world as I am, my advice to parents is to be objective of your child's current capability and future capabilities. In other words "get real". If they have great athletic genes, live to play soccer, hate losing, have a high level of soccer IQ, have real speed and quickness, and a tremendous work and learning ethic, that is one thing. However, I watch players that are highly trained girls, but are a 3 out of 10 in terms of athleticism. Yet the parents see them on the national team. Stating the obvious, those different players have incredibly different paths. Ultimately my advice is "know your kid". Girls do burn out, so manage them so they don't! Make them have other activities, take the right amount of time off. Eventually, they will either transition from playing for Mom and Dad, to playing for themselves, or as a player I knew well, who after a very successful college career said she wanted to get married and be a mom, even as Dad had visions of the national team.
Know your kid and take off the parent goggles!
