New League: National Academy League

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Was looking at the NAL MidAtlantic U-15 schedule. All Spring games. A mix of teams from Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and 2 from Virginia. How can this be any advantage to a SYC or Alexandria player? Schedule conflicts with high school, tons of travel for second level teams. What am I missing?

Yes and no. MD HS soccer is in the fall. PA too, I believe.

[Anonymous]

League was already existing but MLS clubs in ECNL added their 2nd teams to NAL b/c ECNL told clubs that they either had to put their “top” team in ECNL or leave ECNL. The clubs in MLS Next balked and left. (Exs. Sporting Delaware, FC Delco, etc.). Don’t know how good the league will be compared to others (EDP, ECNL, etc) but at this point it has no national events or showcases or national or regional championships. Some clubs will have teams that play in the “new” NAL and other leagues (like EDP), some will not.

I’ve been told that it will eventually be similar to the Elite Academy League (https://eliteacademyleague.com/), which is more established, but who knows.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:League was already existing but MLS clubs in ECNL added their 2nd teams to NAL b/c ECNL told clubs that they either had to put their “top” team in ECNL or leave ECNL. The clubs in MLS Next balked and left. (Exs. Sporting Delaware, FC Delco, etc.). Don’t know how good the league will be compared to others (EDP, ECNL, etc) but at this point it has no national events or showcases or national or regional championships. Some clubs will have teams that play in the “new” NAL and other leagues (like EDP), some will not.

I’ve been told that it will eventually be similar to the Elite Academy League (https://eliteacademyleague.com/), which is more established, but who knows.

Wait. Re explain. This doesn't make sense. Mls next Clubs took their 2nd team from edp because they didn't want to put their MLS next team in ecnl? After the switch their 1st team is still in mls next now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Was looking at the NAL MidAtlantic U-15 schedule. All Spring games. A mix of teams from Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and 2 from Virginia. How can this be any advantage to a SYC or Alexandria player? Schedule conflicts with high school, tons of travel for second level teams. What am I missing?

My kid only had 4 regular season games last Fall with Alexandria and just a few in the spring. None of the MD teams would play us in the Fall. It was awful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:League was already existing but MLS clubs in ECNL added their 2nd teams to NAL b/c ECNL told clubs that they either had to put their “top” team in ECNL or leave ECNL. The clubs in MLS Next balked and left. (Exs. Sporting Delaware, FC Delco, etc.). Don’t know how good the league will be compared to others (EDP, ECNL, etc) but at this point it has no national events or showcases or national or regional championships. Some clubs will have teams that play in the “new” NAL and other leagues (like EDP), some will not.

I’ve been told that it will eventually be similar to the Elite Academy League (https://eliteacademyleague.com/), which is more established, but who knows.

Wait. Re explain. This doesn't make sense. Mls next Clubs took their 2nd team from edp because they didn't want to put their MLS next team in ecnl? After the switch their 1st team is still in mls next now.

Nope. ECNL didn't want the clubs' second teams in ECNL. That's what those clubs were doing. Top teams in MLS Next and second teams in ECNL. I wonder if Virginia Union gets around this by essentially keeping their McLean and SYC teams separate. (Or maybe it's not really a "union")

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]League was already existing but [b]MLS clubs in ECNL added their 2nd teams to NAL b/c ECNL told clubs that they either had to put their “top” team in ECNL or leave ECNL. The clubs in MLS Next balked[/b] and left. (Exs. Sporting Delaware, FC Delco, etc.). Don’t know how good the league will be compared to others (EDP, ECNL, etc) but at this point it has no national events or showcases or national or regional championships. Some clubs will have teams that play in the “new” NAL and other leagues (like EDP), some will not.

I’ve been told that it will eventually be similar to the Elite Academy League (https://eliteacademyleague.com/), which is more established, but who knows.[/quote]

Wait. Re explain. This doesn't make sense. Mls next Clubs took their 2nd team from edp because they didn't want to put their MLS next team in ecnl? After the switch their 1st team is still in mls next now. [/quote]

No, some MLS Next clubs had a top team in MLS Next and a second level team in ECNL (ex. FC Delco). ECNL gave ultimatum that either clubs put top team in ECNL or club can’t be in ECNL anymore. So severla cluns in the east coast left ECNL and joined NAL, where their second level team will play.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Was looking at the NAL MidAtlantic U-15 schedule. All Spring games. A mix of teams from Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and 2 from Virginia. How can this be any advantage to a SYC or Alexandria player? Schedule conflicts with high school, tons of travel for second level teams. What am I missing?

My kid only had 4 regular season games last Fall with Alexandria and just a few in the spring. None of the MD teams would play us in the Fall. It was awful.

What age group? Starting in the high school years, they split the md and va teams since they have different high school schedules. MD plays high school soccer in the fall and has no practices until late October.

[Anonymous]

CleansheetDad wrote:

westsidesoccer wrote:

You may think it is irrelevant to your son that ECNL allows for top play for both girls and boys, but you would by wrong. Clubs must have both their boys and girls teams in the ECNL National league to be a member. This is one reason why Arlington is in ECNL and not in MLSNext.

If this is true, why does Bethesda play boys in MLS Next and girls in ECNL? They have no participation in ECNL on the boys side.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

CleansheetDad wrote:

westsidesoccer wrote:

You may think it is irrelevant to your son that ECNL allows for top play for both girls and boys, but you would by wrong. Clubs must have both their boys and girls teams in the ECNL National league to be a member. This is one reason why Arlington is in ECNL and not in MLSNext.

If this is true, why does Bethesda play boys in MLS Next and girls in ECNL? They have no participation in ECNL on the boys side.

They don't have any boys in ECNL. That appears to be the difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

CleansheetDad wrote:

westsidesoccer wrote:

You may think it is irrelevant to your son that ECNL allows for top play for both girls and boys, but you would by wrong. Clubs must have both their boys and girls teams in the ECNL National league to be a member. This is one reason why Arlington is in ECNL and not in MLSNext.

If this is true, why does Bethesda play boys in MLS Next and girls in ECNL? They have no participation in ECNL on the boys side.

They don't have any boys in ECNL. That appears to be the difference.

The previous poster said that you must play ECNL across the board. My point was questioning that by saying Bethesda splits leagues between genders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

CleansheetDad wrote:

westsidesoccer wrote:

You may think it is irrelevant to your son that ECNL allows for top play for both girls and boys, but you would by wrong. Clubs must have both their boys and girls teams in the ECNL National league to be a member. This is one reason why Arlington is in ECNL and not in MLSNext.

If this is true, why does Bethesda play boys in MLS Next and girls in ECNL? They have no participation in ECNL on the boys side.

They don't have any boys in ECNL. That appears to be the difference.

The previous poster said that you must play ECNL across the board. My point was questioning that by saying Bethesda splits leagues between genders.

I believe the situation is as follows.

1. ECNL would like all member clubs to enter only top teams into ECNL leagues.
2. ECNL would like clubs to have both boys and girls top teams in ECNL.
3. Historically these policies either did not exist, or were not enforced. Consequently a number of clubs are not in compliance with these rules.
4. Both (1) and (2) have been enforced for new league applicants for a few years now (basically since the big shakeup which followed the end of the DA) and in some cases a carrot and stick approach has been used. For example Arlington was promised girls' ECNL as a carrot for moving the boys to ECNL. They were then later told that they would lose girls' ECNL if they subsequently moved the top boys' teams to MLS Next.
5. It appears that ECDNL have now laid down the law on (1), and required clubs to remove boys' second teams from ECNL.
6. It does not appear that they have yet laid down the law to clubs who have entered their girls' teams in ECNL and their boys' teams in MLS Next. I suspect they will not do this either - as it would likely rebound and the consequences would hurt ECNL more than help. Still - something to watch out for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Was looking at the NAL MidAtlantic U-15 schedule. All Spring games. A mix of teams from Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and 2 from Virginia. How can this be any advantage to a SYC or Alexandria player? Schedule conflicts with high school, tons of travel for second level teams. What am I missing?

My kid only had 4 regular season games last Fall with Alexandria and just a few in the spring. None of the MD teams would play us in the Fall. It was awful.

Was this girls or boys?

[Anonymous]

I looked at the schedule, and only saw spring games. Do they play in the fall?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I looked at the schedule, and only saw spring games. Do they play in the fall?

Virginia HS ages play only the fall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I looked at the schedule, and only saw spring games. Do they play in the fall?

I think the NA league teams (mostly a boys only league for now) in the DMV also play in EDP to supplement the schedule when other teams in the league are taking a HS break.