ECNL moving to school year not calendar

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am parent of a B - one of best on team though also one of youngest who has played up for years…he will absolutely be switching and playing with his grade group because his primary interest is getting recruited to play in college and facts are facts. Coaches don’t show up for U-19 games (which is the only age group when he would meet NCAA requirements). Sorry, not sorry. By U-17 it’s no longer about ‘developing’ it’s about being seen in the games you play. We don’t have thousands to fork out for ID camps all over the country once he is grade eligible at U-19. Can’t be seen if coaches bypass your age group. No matter how many emails you may send or how many videos you post- a coach wants ROI for their time- they go to games whete 80% of players are recruitable not 20. Coaches need to maximize their time.

College coaches can only watch a certain number of games during the showcase. Of course, they will spend their time watching U-17 games. Trapped players must be star players in the older grade team so the coach can remember them one year later.

Good luck with that. I am so sure a coach will remember a player a full 12 -18 months later. Not happening unless you are Cavan- and let’s be real 99.9% of kids are not good enough to be ‘remembered’ a full year later. Congrats if your kid is the top .1%. You don’t have to be to Cavan to play college. If this switch happens - my player will very happily be moving to a team where the kids are all in the same graduating class

My previous post points out the extra difficulty a trapped player has to face during college recruiting. You have to be a star player to stand out on the older grade team when they are juniors and you are a sophomore. Otherwise, the college coach will ignore you during the next showcase when they focus on the junior team, and you play on the senior team. No college coach will spend precious game time only watching you instead of the whole team unless you are truly special.

Very interesting. My child has a Dec bday and was just called up to their first USYNT ID camp. Plays for one of the top ECNL clubs in the country. I would definitely advocate for them to continue "playing up" on the same team for as long as possible to maximize the benefits of going against (slightly) older players.

RAE does put most kids at a disadvantage. But it might be the accelerator / difference-maker for some who can find a way to overcome those challenges, especially in the earlier years.

Your kid belongs to the 1%, which does not address the issue of the other 99% trapped players deserving a fair recruiting process against the same-grade players.

What's currently unfair about the recruiting process?
Did you reach out to college recruiters and they refused to show interest just because your kid is born Sep-Dec?

Yes- said they weren’t going to any u-19 games- only u-17.

You obviously didn't provide video and recommendations and references to the recruiters
If you're just waiting and hoping a recruiter comes to your kid's game and they shine in that game, you're playing the low odds

The recruiters don't go to the games once a majority of the girls on the team have been recruited.

[Anonymous]

Birth Year vs School Year 🚨

What we’ve been told recently:

ECNL seems to be the one pushing this the hardest. As of now they are voting to go back to School Year but ECNL cannot stand alone with this rule change.

They need U.S 🇺🇸 Soccer Approval and the other club leagues to be behind it too.

A survey has been sent out and meetings are being held and for what we have gathered, a lot of Club Directors don’t believe it will be approved as there is no real desire from U.S 🇺🇸 Club soccer to change it again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Birth Year vs School Year 🚨

What we’ve been told recently:

ECNL seems to be the one pushing this the hardest. As of now they are voting to go back to School Year but ECNL cannot stand alone with this rule change.

They need U.S 🇺🇸 Soccer Approval and the other club leagues to be behind it too.

A survey has been sent out and meetings are being held and for what we have gathered, a lot of Club Directors don’t believe it will be approved as there is no real desire from U.S 🇺🇸 Club soccer to change it again.

This is from college insider post in X this morning. The information he posted seems to align and not align with what I’ve been told and what the ECNL president stated recently. Yes there are a directors ECNL and otherwise that don’t want to deal with a change and the uncertainty that could bring for their club but the majority of club directors are on board. US Club/ECNL are hand in hand on this and want to change things back. It’s USYS who as of last month was holding out. But from what the president of ECNL said it sounded like they are starting to turn the corner on the idea of change.

The email survey sent out was months ago so not sure if they sent out another but I saw that same email in late June or July.

Will be interesting to see how this all unfolds because ECNL obviously wants the change and USSF seems to not care to change back unless that’s what everyone wants to do.

[Anonymous]

Isn't ECNL the only league that sits out seasons to accommodate for HS play? Feels like this has more to do with that than anything else, there are things in place to give trapped players playing time if their team is done with league play. Does any other league accommodate for HS? And let's be real, it's not like HS soccer is that serious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Isn't ECNL the only league that sits out seasons to accommodate for HS play? Feels like this has more to do with that than anything else, there are things in place to give trapped players playing time if their team is done with league play. Does any other league accommodate for HS? And let's be real, it's not like HS soccer is that serious.

That's why you can't take ECNL that seriously as the parents do.
Sitting out season to play HS kick-ball demolition rugby

Here's what happens if ECNL changes to SY.
They may slip even further below International Transfers, MLS Clubs and MLS Next in boys college recruitment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn't ECNL the only league that sits out seasons to accommodate for HS play? Feels like this has more to do with that than anything else, there are things in place to give trapped players playing time if their team is done with league play. Does any other league accommodate for HS? And let's be real, it's not like HS soccer is that serious.

That's why you can't take ECNL that seriously as the parents do.
Sitting out season to play HS kick-ball demolition rugby

Here's what happens if ECNL changes to SY.
They may slip even further below International Transfers, MLS Clubs and MLS Next in boys college recruitment.

I will stop taking ECNL seriously when they no longer ship kids out to the MLS academies, D1 schools, or USYNT ID sessions. They may not be in the same numbers as MLS Next, but it is still an avenue to higher play. If that dries up, then the league is officially dead.

[Anonymous]

Can anybody explain how this hurts trapped players in recruiting? Don't they play the same showcases where the coaches are? And if they're a trapped player in 8th grade while most of the team are freshman in HS, isn't that a plus to be at that same showcase and you still have more years?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can anybody explain how this hurts trapped players in recruiting? Don't they play the same showcases where the coaches are? And if they're a trapped player in 8th grade while most of the team are freshman in HS, isn't that a plus to be at that same showcase and you still have more years?

I did up above. The recruiters of big schools stop coming to the games once the majority are done being recruited.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Isn't ECNL the only league that sits out seasons to accommodate for HS play? Feels like this has more to do with that than anything else, there are things in place to give trapped players playing time if their team is done with league play. Does any other league accommodate for HS? And let's be real, it's not like HS soccer is that serious.

Pretty much all of California does not have league games for high school ages from November to March. Everything shuts down for high school ages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can anybody explain how this hurts trapped players in recruiting? Don't they play the same showcases where the coaches are? And if they're a trapped player in 8th grade while most of the team are freshman in HS, isn't that a plus to be at that same showcase and you still have more years?

I did up above. The recruiters of big schools stop coming to the games once the majority are done being recruited.

This is definitely real my buddies daughter is running into the problem of the seniors have been recruited and don’t want to travel for far showcases and the juniors obviously still want to go if they have not. It is a mess for many teams obviously not all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn't ECNL the only league that sits out seasons to accommodate for HS play? Feels like this has more to do with that than anything else, there are things in place to give trapped players playing time if their team is done with league play. Does any other league accommodate for HS? And let's be real, it's not like HS soccer is that serious.

That's why you can't take ECNL that seriously as the parents do.
Sitting out season to play HS kick-ball demolition rugby

Here's what happens if ECNL changes to SY.
They may slip even further below International Transfers, MLS Clubs and MLS Next in boys college recruitment.

I will stop taking ECNL seriously when they no longer ship kids out to the MLS academies, D1 schools, or USYNT ID sessions. They may not be in the same numbers as MLS Next, but it is still an avenue to higher play. If that dries up, then the league is officially dead.

There is no maybe about it.

After the first cut of first USYNT local ID sessions, your statement doesn't age well.

You need to look at the rosters of the top 25 D1 schools again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn't ECNL the only league that sits out seasons to accommodate for HS play? Feels like this has more to do with that than anything else, there are things in place to give trapped players playing time if their team is done with league play. Does any other league accommodate for HS? And let's be real, it's not like HS soccer is that serious.

That's why you can't take ECNL that seriously as the parents do.
Sitting out season to play HS kick-ball demolition rugby

Here's what happens if ECNL changes to SY.
They may slip even further below International Transfers, MLS Clubs and MLS Next in boys college recruitment.

Pretty much all teams under the US Club governance do not have leagues for the majority of teams during their high school seasons. So you run into the issue of what to do with the left over kids who are in 8th grade. Usually they go practice with the U14 teams but that causes issues because well parents. Parents don’t like extra kids at practice especially if clubs already have big rosters.

There are definitely issues with birth year will it be enough to turn back to grad year or school year. Time will tell.

[Anonymous]

The ECNL podcast already implied they would do it. Their core customers are college coaches and players paying $$$ to get recruited. They don't give a Fs to other leagues. All the words are just politically correct to justify their move. The decision has already been made and will be announced in Nov., just before the tryouts.

[Anonymous]

There is more to the story pal.
Why haven’t other leagues mentioned anything.

is ECNL the spokes person for the rest of the leagues? Seems like they are putting this news out to get people to want to switch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The ECNL podcast already implied they would do it. Their core customers are college coaches and players paying $$$ to get recruited. They don't give a Fs to other leagues. All the words are just politically correct to justify their move. The decision has already been made and will be announced in Nov., just before the tryouts.

This is nonsense. They cannot do it alone and right now no one else wants to move. In any event this is still under study. Do not expect an answer until mid-next year at best.