What to do with a girl who does not want to play ECNL/GA

[Anonymous]

Playing in the EDP doesn't mean it is a good team. Check rankings , use whatever site you like best, for the next best team that is closest to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD has been offered ECNL twice but does not want to do the travel/time commitment. The problem is with so many GA and ECNL options the level of play really falls off if you are not in one of those leagues(this includes the ECNL-r). She wants to play with girls who see the field the way she does and have the technical skills to execute. Guess she is out of luck?

Again we don't know what age your daughter is so it is hard to recommend specific club/team. Sounds like she is playing for a poor second team of a club that has ECNL. (If that club is Loudoun and you are in an older age group, the ECNL teams are not that good either.) You would have to drive further East to either DMV FC or GFR to find a decent non ECNL/GA team. It is a mistake to think you have to stay on a clubs second team if she might have a better experience somewhere else. (Also need to consider how she gets along with coaches and teammates. Try before you buy.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Folks, ECNL and GA are not the end-all-be-all. There are still great clubs out there that are not in either league and some horrible clubs that are.

For the 1,000th time, it is not the letters that matter. Coaching matters. Find a solid coach and if your kid is good and wants to play collage, coaches will find him or her.

In my opinion, ECNL and GA are mostly for girls who are average. The best kids don't need ECNL and GA but the average player does.

+100. We left the ecnl track for a solid , positive coach who works on team and individual weaknesses and team dynamics btwn weekend games. Opps for guest playing and playing up have emerged and enough game time is occurring. U14. We are on the right track to improve skills as needed and we will see what DD wants to do at the older ages but she will have the option to move forward if she chooses.

[Anonymous]

This sounds so familiar with " my kid does not want to go to GT school" for it requires a lot of effort from the kid, for it requires parent driving longer time to send the kid to the school, and the kid wants to stay with friends.

It does not mean GT school provides better chance for their success.
It does not mean the kid will not be successfully if staying in the regular school.

Sports 101, the same as education 101.

Should the parent carry the responsibility to decide for the kid to pick up the "Fit" environment for them to grow?

[Anonymous]

My daughter who played D1 in college left ECNL and went back to state cup team for the last two years. She found a great coach and learned a lot and had a great time and still got recruited. Things have changed in the 4 years between then and now so maybe it would be different, but then at least ECNL was not the only path. If anything leaving ECNL and missing school for trips to Carolina etc. for regular season probably helped her with college recruiting--GPA is at least equally important.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She is a child. Let her decide where she wants to play and enjoy the beautiful game. There are plenty of good teams that are not in ECNL. My daughter was in the same situation and was offered ECNL spots from u15 up to u19. She decided to stay for the team, team culture, friendships, etc. Best decision she ever made. Shoot, her team beat a few same age ECNL teams in showcases and scrimmages along the way. If your DD wants to play college soccer, she does not have to be in ECNL. It is more important that she recruits the schools she wants (assuming she has the talent) vs. relying on ECNL to be the end all (which it is not - you still have to recruit the school even at ECNL). My daughter is in her final year of club soccer and turned down 5 D1 schools across Virginia (including athletic/merit combo $$$ offers at many of them) to play at a D3 school where she felt a better fit with coaches, team culture, the school itself, etc. More importantly a better school for the career she is chasing and her major which is way more important than playing soccer in college. Do not get hung up on ECNL. Let your daughter decide what she wants to do and support her.

This ^^^^^^ 100%

[Anonymous]

A thought to OP. If the team hardly has any players or sounds too good to be true, there's a reason. Doesn't your DD have friends that play in another club. Consider asking for their advice rather than a board loaded with admins and insane parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Folks, ECNL and GA are not the end-all-be-all. There are still great clubs out there that are not in either league and some horrible clubs that are.

For the 1,000th time, it is not the letters that matter. Coaching matters. Find a solid coach and if your kid is good and wants to play collage, coaches will find him or her.

In my opinion, ECNL and GA are mostly for girls who are average. The best kids don't need ECNL and GA but the average player does.

LOL, ROFL. I agree with your first and second points but your third point is WAAAAAYYYYYY off. There are zero "average" girls at the middle to top tier teams in ECNL or perhaps even GA teams. Very bottom teams, yes, and that is why they are at the bottom. Even then, I think the "average" players are only role players or bench players on bottom table teams.

I would probably just change your last opinion to:

"In my opinion, ECNL and GA are mostly for girls who are well above average, especially in an athletic sense, with average girls on some lower teams. The best kids don't need ECNL and GA but playing against average to below average competition else where will provide an uphill and much tougher road if DD wants to play college."

The road I am speaking of would look like this, at least USYS EDP League (which also will require some travel), ODP (Which will also require some travel), and a very strong High School performance. One could easily argue that this road in the end could cost just as much as ECNL/GA.

So, if and only if DD wants to play College Soccer, you can take the road above or ECNL/GA. If DD could care less about playing college soccer, play where ever she wants. If she changes her mind, she could always be a walk on at college as well.

Remember, iron sharpens iron, and playing against lower level teams will not help DD if and when she will face much better competition. Those who want to debate that USYS/EDP teams and similar leagues are on the same level as ECNL/GA teams only have blinders on and refuse to accept obvious statistical facts. Just as an example, the 2021 USYS 2008 National Champion just lost to FC Virginia at the final at WAGS last month. While that ANBRY team is excellent, there are only about 5 teams per age in the ENTIRE US outside of ECNL/GA that can compete with better ECNL/GA teams. They are extremely rare to see. I cannot emphasize that enough.

/thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She is a child. Let her decide where she wants to play and enjoy the beautiful game. There are plenty of good teams that are not in ECNL. My daughter was in the same situation and was offered ECNL spots from u15 up to u19. She decided to stay for the team, team culture, friendships, etc. Best decision she ever made. Shoot, her team beat a few same age ECNL teams in showcases and scrimmages along the way. If your DD wants to play college soccer, she does not have to be in ECNL. It is more important that she recruits the schools she wants (assuming she has the talent) vs. relying on ECNL to be the end all (which it is not - you still have to recruit the school even at ECNL). My daughter is in her final year of club soccer and turned down 5 D1 schools across Virginia (including athletic/merit combo $$$ offers at many of them) to play at a D3 school where she felt a better fit with coaches, team culture, the school itself, etc. More importantly a better school for the career she is chasing and her major which is way more important than playing soccer in college. Do not get hung up on ECNL. Let your daughter decide what she wants to do and support her.

I'm calling boshie on this post. Whoever this poster was obviously had DD playing when DA was in effect as well. Not a single mention of that or GA. Your DD had five D1 Soccer offers in the state of VA alone and didn't play in a letter league??? I see no mention of State Cup Champions or USYS or High School? No mention of ID camps? No mention of ODP? No mention of Wash Post All-Met? No mention of multiple sports?

What we have here is an over-zealous parent with a D3 (which is absolutely fine!) agenda against Letter Clubs. I have never heard of a modern day player, boys or girls with D1 offers in there own state without any accolades. Would absolutely love to know more about this even more rare animal than a Unicorn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She is a child. Let her decide where she wants to play and enjoy the beautiful game. There are plenty of good teams that are not in ECNL. My daughter was in the same situation and was offered ECNL spots from u15 up to u19. She decided to stay for the team, team culture, friendships, etc. Best decision she ever made. Shoot, her team beat a few same age ECNL teams in showcases and scrimmages along the way. If your DD wants to play college soccer, she does not have to be in ECNL. It is more important that she recruits the schools she wants (assuming she has the talent) vs. relying on ECNL to be the end all (which it is not - you still have to recruit the school even at ECNL). My daughter is in her final year of club soccer and turned down 5 D1 schools across Virginia (including athletic/merit combo $$$ offers at many of them) to play at a D3 school where she felt a better fit with coaches, team culture, the school itself, etc. More importantly a better school for the career she is chasing and her major which is way more important than playing soccer in college. Do not get hung up on ECNL. Let your daughter decide what she wants to do and support her.

I'm calling boshie on this post. Whoever this poster was obviously had DD playing when DA was in effect as well. Not a single mention of that or GA. Your DD had five D1 Soccer offers in the state of VA alone and didn't play in a letter league??? I see no mention of State Cup Champions or USYS or High School? No mention of ID camps? No mention of ODP? No mention of Wash Post All-Met? No mention of multiple sports?

What we have here is an over-zealous parent with a D3 (which is absolutely fine!) agenda against Letter Clubs. I have never heard of a modern day player, boys or girls with D1 offers in there own state without any accolades. Would absolutely love to know more about this even more rare animal than a Unicorn.

Not just 5 offers, offers with scholarship money.

[Anonymous]

I think clubs like Alexandria are good options for non-ECNL players.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Folks, ECNL and GA are not the end-all-be-all. There are still great clubs out there that are not in either league and some horrible clubs that are.

For the 1,000th time, it is not the letters that matter. Coaching matters. Find a solid coach and if your kid is good and wants to play collage, coaches will find him or her.

In my opinion, ECNL and GA are mostly for girls who are average. The best kids don't need ECNL and GA but the average player does.

The delusion is real with this one....

[Anonymous]

Seems like this thread is about promoting an edp team and not as much about a girl turning down ECNL twice and looking for a balanced team.