Washington Timbers
We’ve previously visited Vancouver, Washington to cover the Vancouver Victory, but this time when we spoke to Sean Janson, Executive Director of the Washington Timbers – it was about their Northwest Premier League side of that very name. Washington Timbers are strategically placed on the north side of the Columbia River, which runs between Oregon and Washington. This is great for away games to Salem, from which they aren’t too far, but it also puts them already right on I-5 and quick routes to their fellow Washingtonians for NWPL away days. We asked Mr. Janson a few quick questions and he was gracious enough to get back to us in a timely manner.
What is the mission of the club; when did you add a top-level women's side and how does it fall into the mission?
The Washington Timbers Football Club is committed to providing opportunities for youth to aspire to their highest level in soccer and in life through competition, teamwork and personal achievement. We added our women's team in 2017 as inaugural members of the NW Premier League. We saw a gap in offerings for our members who have graduated out of the youth system and wanted to make sure they were provided this opportunity.
In addition to playing cousin clubs in the Timbers’ Alliance, Washington Timbers head north to take on women’s teams in Seattle, Olympia and even Yakima.
The Washington Timbers are not only the home of this NWPL team, but also one of the most successful youth programs in the area, how many players on your women's first team have been brought up through the youth system? Where else do you add players from?
It varies from year to year but each of our 1st teams have had roughly 1/2 of its roster from our youth program. It is very important to us that our 1st team represents our youth program. We have quite a few local colleges in the Vancouver/Portland area so we have been very successful in adding players from University of Portland, Concordia University, Warner pacific, Multnomah University, and especially Clark College.
Had you noticed a "World Cup bump;" either in young women interested in playing at a higher level, experienced players coming back to extend their careers, or even new fans looking for a game to walk to in their neighborhood?
Not really. The world I live in is surrounded by people who have been interested in soccer for some time. The World Cup was a great opportunity to celebrate the success of our women's side but didn't really affect what we're doing.
The Northwest Premier League offers women access to elite-level competition, like the Oly-Pen Force, without having to travel outside of the region.
Lower league soccer is catching-on, some markets are doing fairly well at the gates; does your first team have a following and does the organization spend any resources trying to draw fans in?
Our fans for our women's team are mostly comprised of family members and friends of players. We also get youth families out to games. Our men's side, the Vancouver Victory does have a supporter’s group, the Vanguard. Like most other lower-league teams we operate on a very strict budget and don't spend a whole lot on attracting fans to games. We do have the advantage of the youth system underneath where we can email directly about upcoming games. We also try and utilize social media.
Some clubs in our region have decided to join the WPSL, while some have joined the NWPL, and despite there not currently being a Pacific Northwest member of the UWSL, it is an option. How much thought has been put into deciding the right league for the women to play in? What are some of the deciding factors?
Cost is the #1 driving factor. Both in terms of league cost and travel cost. Our mission is to provide a high-level training and playing environment for our alumni and current players who aspire to play in college. We do not aspire to run a professional team. The NWPL has all Oregon & Washington teams and the season has a hard end date. The quality of competition is good.
The NWPL’s Washington Timbers draw their players from all over the region and in turn enjoy healthy rivalries with like-minded clubs in the Pacific Northwest.