Are you a moron? There is another forum for healthcare, jackass. We are talking about soccer. Skiing, golf and tennis are expensive the world over. Soccer is only expensive in America and it because of clueless parents like yourself who are thrilled with the status quo. We need to get past folks like you. BTW, I love skiing and do it often. I don't ski in the East because the resorts are a joke. If you want good skiing, you have to ski out West. My kid wants to play competitive soccer. It makes zero sense for my kid to have to travel to FL, CA or TX during the year and to drive several thousand miles during the season to play league games. There are more than a dozen competitive travel teams in her age group between Richmond and B-more. |
| Bernie and AOC will ensure that all kids get to play ECNL, regardless of means or ability. It'll be great! |
Bolted above: I don’t know whether or not if you can or can’t afford ECNL/DA but the substance of your argument has been focused on cost not the product on the field. The substance of your argument makes you come off as an entitled Karen. Frankly, ECNL and DA are showcase leagues. That means they play in showcases and to a degree can guarantee a level of exposure to college coaches in a competitive formate. This model works best if the college coaches and the players are all at one location. Things cost more at a indoor shopping mall too but built into that price is the convenience of multiple stores in one place. And while DA and ECNL doubles the showcases for college coaches they can still see twice the number of kids more economically. And the existence of two showcase leagues means more kids have an opportunity to be seen and fewer kids will fall through the cracks. Most kids in these leagues just want to play in college and are not interested in a pyramid geared solely towards the National Team. The kids you speak of would actually be harmed by one gate keeping league. The financial burden of attending ID camp after ID camp can very quickly outpace the cost of ECNL just to be seen. |
In context, I wasn't just criticizing. I was explaining why there is a DA. People complain at the intersection of the DA as a reason not to have it. They say that because they live in a bubble here and have no clue what it looks like overseas. Suggestions have been talked about ad nauseam. However, for sure it starts with accepting a year long model without high school soccer for the top players. It has to. It also includes changing our soccer culture. That one is hard, but what overall is valued here and liked gets you wins at the younger ages but isn't a sustainable model at the top. I'm not sure how welcome people would even be to what it really takes. I see anything that does threaten the status quo models get attacked with intensity on this forum. |
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Sorry, autocorrect:
^People complain at the weaknesses of the DA as a reason not to have it. I don't even know where intersection came from. |
You just love it so fortunate you. If your player wants to play with with and against high level talent at most positions on the team and not with just a few strong players on a team, it is not available with very very few exceptions. Mine has played school sports with and against talent (that is not playing in these super leagues) that surpasses some of the the "elite" talent in these leagues. is what it is. you love it and I do not. The earth spins on. |
| The complaints about the cost are not because of my or your bank account. they exclude talent from the leagues that I want available for my player and your player to compete with and against. |
Kids are playing in ECNL and DA because they are showcase leagues. In general we are not interested in the state of the international game and most are not vested in that outcome. The leagues offer strong competition and exposure to the zero sum game of college. The sooner you accept the real reasons why people are in these leagues the sooner you can come to terms with it. |
| We play in the leagues. It is not required that sit like stupid door mats and quietly tolerate the nonsense inserted into these leagues. |
And strong competition is subject to interpretation of the word strong. |
You can choose another league. There is choice. I’m not sure how you think having a monopoly would make it more accessible. Do colleges offer free ID camps? They have an actual vested interest in turning over every stone and yet they charge. The truth is, more kids have an opportunity to be seen now than ever before. |
I will give you that. I just wish it were different kids. I am entitled to that opinion and you are entitled to like it the way it is. |
Discussion on how number is kids is relevant to a league's showcasing worth because of travel costs is ridiculous. You either find a way if you think it's a must or don't, because it isn't, this isn't difficult. BTW, what's wrong with cchaperones? They exist to keep costs down while letting players participate with some adult responsibility. I easily found http://www.ussoccerda.com/scholarship-program just for travel issues like these. i wasn't able to quickly find ECNL player scholarships online, only scholarships for ECLN alumni |
Let me guess, you think that Little Rich Mia on your team is holding your kid back because you think there is some poor kid out there who would serve your child better. Since you’ve stated that you can afford it then why not just pay for the poor kid yourself? Convince some other parents of the same. Be the change you demand. |
Incorrect. Most do it for cellege, and ECNL is 100% a college showcase league. Always was. The DA was formed to create and foster an environment for the development of professional players capable of competing a talent International level. I have already mentioned a lot of weaknesses, so no need to answer back with "look at how it fails" . It still was formed for that purpose and only a year long model of some kind without high school soccer can do it. Now, it is also used by families for college recruitment and because American culture is mostly focused on that and the majority want that, it makes sense for the DA to incorporate that. Plus, as a model, year long soccer will develop a better player. If we had clones at the exact same talent level, the DA clone would end up a better player. However, there are still a segment of players who want to play professional, boys and girls. I just met a woman the other day in her 20s who has been playing in Holland. And Spirit owner Baldwin's daughter plays for Sporting Portugal. I think everyone can come up with a ton of names of guys, so I'm not letting those. Plus, we do have mal Pugh who sidestep college to play for Spirit. |