CCL and Virginia NPL: Make the case

[Anonymous]

The purpose is to make money but as a grown adult, why would anyone care so much about youth soccer, sort of creepy.

[Anonymous]

RantingSoccerDad wrote:Let's say at the outset -- I have no doubt CCL started with good intentions. And Virginia NPL also served some purpose.

But now we have DA. And ECNL. A lot of the CCL clubs actually have teams in one or the other. (It's worse in Georgia -- on their message board, I referred to the new SCCL as "Southern Clubs' C-teams League," and I'm not really kidding.)

And now we have EDP, which offers one fluid system that includes club vs. club brackets as well as opportunities for teams that may be better than the rest of their clubs. The top tier replaces the old Region I leagues.

So with all of these leagues available, what's the purpose of CCL and Virginia NPL? Does the club vs. club concept make any sense now that you're talking about B teams? Why wall yourself off from other competition? And why not let your teams find the right level in a pro/rel system, either in EDP or NCSL or ODSL?

It helps clubs to market themselves as elite level programs regardless of whether they can demonstrate it on the field. It ensures job security for the technical staff and a steady stream of money from gullible parents.

[Anonymous]

RantingSoccerDad wrote:Let's say at the outset -- I have no doubt CCL started with good intentions. And Virginia NPL also served some purpose.

But now we have DA. And ECNL. A lot of the CCL clubs actually have teams in one or the other. (It's worse in Georgia -- on their message board, I referred to the new SCCL as "Southern Clubs' C-teams League," and I'm not really kidding.)

And now we have EDP, which offers one fluid system that includes club vs. club brackets as well as opportunities for teams that may be better than the rest of their clubs. The top tier replaces the old Region I leagues.

So with all of these leagues available, what's the purpose of CCL and Virginia NPL? Does the club vs. club concept make any sense now that you're talking about B teams? Why wall yourself off from other competition? And why not let your teams find the right level in a pro/rel system, either in EDP or NCSL or ODSL?

Good questions. My take:

No, the club v club concept does not make any sense now that you're talking about B teams.

The only purpose of CCL and NPL now is to wall themselves off from other competition. That way they can sell themselves as, if not "elite", at least better than [fill in the blank with some other, supposedly less prestigious league].

The reason they don't want their teams to simply find their right level in a pro/rel system is that then they will be found out. They can't claim to be in an "elite" league if they can't earn it on the field.

Put another way, it's about parent ego more than anything. It makes some feel better to say their kid's team plays in CCL or NPL than in NCSL. Clubs know this and capitalize on it to draw/retain players.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The purpose is to make money but as a grown adult, why would anyone care so much about youth soccer, sort of creepy.

I think you are a bit off re creepy part. RSD is a local journalist/writer with focus on soccer. He uses the name of his blog for his posts unlike many anonymous posters here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The purpose is to make money but as a grown adult, why would anyone care so much about youth soccer, sort of creepy.

I think you are a bit off re creepy part. RSD is a local journalist/writer with focus on soccer. He uses the name of his blog for his posts unlike many anonymous posters here.

Agree with this. That comment was completely uncalled for.

[Anonymous]

RantingSoccerDad wrote:So my cynicism seems to be well-founded.

Do you have the same cynicism about MLS, another closed system with no competition? It all starts at the top and then trickles down to youth levels, doesn't it?

[Anonymous]

NP who is a grown adult, and I care about youth soccer because I spend a significant amount of my free time and a not negligible amount of cash on my kids' youth soccer events. I also love the game and wish the system in the US was better at producing top players and significantly cheaper.

Back to the topic, I see no need for CCL or NPL in our area, and eventually no need for ECNL either. I think we need NCSL as the base/local travel league that covers the larger DC metro area. It would stay pro-rel at the ages above U10/U11, and be open to more clubs than it currently is. Kids on non-DA teams can move to EDP for region 1 and there would be a national league structured like the current one for the non DA teams who are at the top of each region. There could continue to be hyper local leagues like OBSL or ODSL for younger ages. It would also be ideal if more of this area had access to a strong, affordable rec system like MSI.

A lot of people claimed a lot of different things about CCL when it came to NoVa (and some well-intentioned people clearly believed the "superior development" claims, but its primarily purpose in this area has always been to allow clubs that didn't have boys' DA status to claim that they were offering an elite product for top kids in the hopes that unwary consumers would find that appealing. Having kids who played in the top divisions of NCSL before CCL came here and in CCL, I can tell you that NCSL (or another pro-rel league) is vastly more enjoyable and better for development than being stuck in CCL playing the same clubs and mismatched teams all the time.

[Anonymous]

On the girl's side, NPL and CCL are inferior to ECNL, DA and EDP Div I and EDP Club vs. Club. There was an argument prior to the start of last season before Arlington and Loudoun left that CCL was very competitive at the top at the younger ages (13-u15) but with those teams moving on, I don't see the argument. There is a role but it is no longer for elite teams and I imagine that if you are an elite player, it does not have the same attraction as ECNL/DA or the top division of EDP, especially above u15.

[Anonymous]

With ECNL and Boys DA, CCL has always been a B league.

[Anonymous]

RantingSoccerDad wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

RantingSoccerDad wrote:So my cynicism seems to be well-founded.

Do you have the same cynicism about MLS, another closed system with no competition? It all starts at the top and then trickles down to youth levels, doesn't it?

Not really. Totally different forces in play.

So what are these different forces? USSF/SUM/MLS? The rest of the world has open system in pretty much every professional league with real pressure on the clubs to perform well. It is the norm in virtually every country in the world. It seem to me that if a closed system is bad for youth soccer, it can't be healthy for professional soccer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

RantingSoccerDad wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

RantingSoccerDad wrote:So my cynicism seems to be well-founded.

Do you have the same cynicism about MLS, another closed system with no competition? It all starts at the top and then trickles down to youth levels, doesn't it?

Not really. Totally different forces in play.

So what are these different forces? USSF/SUM/MLS? The rest of the world has open system in pretty much every professional league with real pressure on the clubs to perform well. It is the norm in virtually every country in the world. It seem to me that if a closed system is bad for youth soccer, it can't be healthy for professional soccer.

Can you please start a different thread for this conversation? I don't want to see a good discussion about the local leagues get side-tracked. Thanks.

Back on topic, is there anyone on here who sees a good reason for the continuation of CCL and VA NPL? Who would be hurt if they were phased out?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

RantingSoccerDad wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

RantingSoccerDad wrote:So my cynicism seems to be well-founded.

Do you have the same cynicism about MLS, another closed system with no competition? It all starts at the top and then trickles down to youth levels, doesn't it?

Not really. Totally different forces in play.

So what are these different forces? USSF/SUM/MLS? The rest of the world has open system in pretty much every professional league with real pressure on the clubs to perform well. It is the norm in virtually every country in the world. It seem to me that if a closed system is bad for youth soccer, it can't be healthy for professional soccer.

Can you please start a different thread for this conversation? I don't want to see a good discussion about the local leagues get side-tracked. Thanks.

Back on topic, is there anyone on here who sees a good reason for the continuation of CCL and VA NPL? Who would be hurt if they were phased out?

This was a question to RSD, who originated this thread. I am just trying to understand a media member's prospective. You can relax and continue discussing whatever makes you happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

RantingSoccerDad wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

RantingSoccerDad wrote:So my cynicism seems to be well-founded.

Do you have the same cynicism about MLS, another closed system with no competition? It all starts at the top and then trickles down to youth levels, doesn't it?

Not really. Totally different forces in play.

So what are these different forces? USSF/SUM/MLS? The rest of the world has open system in pretty much every professional league with real pressure on the clubs to perform well. It is the norm in virtually every country in the world. It seem to me that if a closed system is bad for youth soccer, it can't be healthy for professional soccer.

Can you please start a different thread for this conversation? I don't want to see a good discussion about the local leagues get side-tracked. Thanks.

Back on topic, is there anyone on here who sees a good reason for the continuation of CCL and VA NPL? Who would be hurt if they were phased out?

Egos would be hurt. The players would benefit.

[Anonymous]

I think the main benefit is for the coaches. Instead of driving all over dmv, sometimes with conflicting game times, they can coach multiple teams at one location each week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the main benefit is for the coaches. Instead of driving all over dmv, sometimes with conflicting game times, they can coach multiple teams at one location each week.

The CCL clubs are well aware of the increasing irrelevance of the league. Last Spring, my DC's CCL club, apparently spooked by an exodus of players to DA/EDP clubs, organized a meeting aimed at trumpeting the advantages of CCL over the other leagues. It was so unconvincing and such a waste of time that it contributed to a larger exodus.
Rather than claiming that they are an avenue to college soccer, they should sell the product as what it is: a more organized, better coached, version of rec soccer. Might be insufficient to justify the price tag though.