MLS next vs ECNL

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One other big difference between ECNL and MLS Next is the affect of Acadamies. This is easier to understand by using boys vs girls as an example because the results are more dramatic.

MLS Acadamies actively recruit top talent from everywhere. Once players are on an Academy team the goal is to get players competing at the highest level asap. The reason for this is if they choose to play professionally they can play as a homegrown player for the club they sign to. (And not have their salary count against the salary cap) Or, they can be sold off to another club via a transfer fee. See how it works? The more talent you develop the more money you make.

ECNL (and MLSN non Academy teams) group players by age and its in the clubs best interest to not play top talent up. This is because not playing talent up guarantees wins and wins means more paying parents want to join your clubs teams.

I pointed out girls vs boys because with girls the top ECNL/GA clubs have no incentive to play players up. What this equates to is that by collecting all the best talent at a certain age group you win. Imagine what would happen to girls ECNL or GA if there was Acadamies recruiting away all the best talent from all the best teams. Now think about all that talent being pushed to play up. Culturally all XYZ league is best gets thrown out the window because it no longer matters

Who is this intelligent person and why don't you post more often

I wish I had time to post more.

Unfortunately parents get taken advantage of by clubs because they don't know any better.

Did you see that 13yr old that Scored a goal for Gotham against Columbia last week? It's ridiculous that a 13 year old is able to be competitive with professional players. Just for fun I looked into her background. Apparently she's from San Francisco but her parents are loaded. For whatever reason they've decided to make her a soccer star. The homeschool and do private training with the top trainers 2-3 hours a day. They also bought a house in Socal so she could play for Slammers Koge (one of the top ECNL clubs in the nation). Now they're working the NIL angle while flirting with NWSL. I have nothing against what they've done as long as she loves playing. However I do wonder how many other players are like her but have never been given the opportunity or private lessons, etc. I think there's a lot.

Well, we've never seen a documentary or interview with a top level soccer player who' didn't make sacrifices (parents and player) plus put in a lot of quality extra work outside their club environment.

Everything isn't for everyone.

What I was hinting at was that the 13 year olds parents basically took it upon themselves to teach their kid how to play the way a top European Academy would. But she had an added advantage of several hours of private lessons each week. The net result is a highly developed player at a younger than normal age.

What would happen if more players had the same opportunities at young ages? At least with MLSN there's a half hearted attempt at Academy style training for boys. Currently for girls nothing outside of doing what the 13yr olds parents did for development exists.

It's frustrating that we have 10x the number of players that most European countries yet we can't develop them to be dominate on the world stage.

[Anonymous]

Can you explain the difference between Academy and Non Academy?

Anonymous wrote:MLS Academy teams are better than MLS Non Academy and ECNL teams.

MLS Non Academy and ECNL teams are similar.

The big advantage of MLSN is that it's setup so you can choose to play professionally or in college. ECNL boys funnels into college only.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can you explain the difference between Academy and Non Academy?

Anonymous wrote:MLS Academy teams are better than MLS Non Academy and ECNL teams.

MLS Non Academy and ECNL teams are similar.

The big advantage of MLSN is that it's setup so you can choose to play professionally or in college. ECNL boys funnels into college only.

MLS Next was setup as a way for MLS Academy teams to have reasonable competition to play against.

MLS Academy teams are directly associated for MLS pro teams (ie there will be a Sounders Academy team playing in MLSN) The Academy teams are generally no to low cost for players (sometimes called funded).

MLS Non Academy teams are club teams that play in MLS Next league against Acadamies and other MLS Non Academy teams.

Think of it this way if all the MLS Acadamies just played each other you'd have something roughly equivalent to Minor League Baseball. But what makes MLSN better in my opinion is MLS Acadamies also play MLS Next club teams in league. The end result is kind of like minor league baseball but with local clubs added in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Boys youth soccer is very different that girls youth soccer.

- If boys/men play professionally average salary is 110k.
- Boys/mens college coaches recruit players internationally. (Not just GA,ECNL,NPL,etc)

Also with boys, puberty and testosterone can completely change a players ability.

Please explain in detail that even a caveman can understand?

Some boys develop early because they go through puberty early. Some boys develop later.

Do you want a team full of 5'1" superstars at u10 that burn out by u14? Or do you want 6'1" players at u14 that peak at u18?

My sons were 5'4' at 14. 6/1' and 6'2' at 18 (about 5'7" in the middle years 16-17).

A lot of boys, like my own, have a lot of growth related injuries from fast late growth spurts that really mess them in the early HS years---it's when they get through that that you really see their potential--not playing in pain and muscles caught up to bone, etc.

[Anonymous]

All the best players in the country including US National team players play in MLS Next.


There is no comparison with these two leagues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All the best players in the country including US National team players play in MLS Next.


There is no comparison with these two leagues.

Actually, to narrow further.
All but a couple USYNT players in the Regional ID pools are from MLS Clubs. Some are from overseas academies.

[Anonymous]

Main difference is most of the boys who play MLS largely want to go pro so you get really talented players who believe that is their path.

In my POV- ECNL is better for college recruiting as they established a better and programming for college coaches that MLS doesn’t care a lick about.

Other main difference is high school sports

My son really wanted to play for his school and was able to do so and play ECNL

He wanted to play for his school not because the soccer is great (it’s ok at best) but due to the social aspect.

Nothing quite like 100 kids coming out to cheer you on and winning state titles for a teenage boy. Some say serious players don’t care about Hs- but they don’t remember what it’s like to be a teenager

My player doesn’t have any aspirations of going pro- just wants to play in college and loves the sport so ECNL was his route and was the right option. I am glad it exists for those who don’t want to get after the pro path

He is a top player on his team and has been in front of many D1-3 college coaches via ECNL showcases. These coaches are now reaching out to recruit him.

So for him this was the right path as he has zero interest in pro…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One other big difference between ECNL and MLS Next is the affect of Acadamies. This is easier to understand by using boys vs girls as an example because the results are more dramatic.

MLS Acadamies actively recruit top talent from everywhere. Once players are on an Academy team the goal is to get players competing at the highest level asap. The reason for this is if they choose to play professionally they can play as a homegrown player for the club they sign to. (And not have their salary count against the salary cap) Or, they can be sold off to another club via a transfer fee. See how it works? The more talent you develop the more money you make.

ECNL (and MLSN non Academy teams) group players by age and its in the clubs best interest to not play top talent up. This is because not playing talent up guarantees wins and wins means more paying parents want to join your clubs teams.

I pointed out girls vs boys because with girls the top ECNL/GA clubs have no incentive to play players up. What this equates to is that by collecting all the best talent at a certain age group you win. Imagine what would happen to girls ECNL or GA if there was Acadamies recruiting away all the best talent from all the best teams. Now think about all that talent being pushed to play up. Culturally all XYZ league is best gets thrown out the window because it no longer matters

Who is this intelligent person and why don't you post more often

I wish I had time to post more.

Unfortunately parents get taken advantage of by clubs because they don't know any better.

Did you see that 13yr old that Scored a goal for Gotham against Columbia last week? It's ridiculous that a 13 year old is able to be competitive with professional players. Just for fun I looked into her background. Apparently she's from San Francisco but her parents are loaded. For whatever reason they've decided to make her a soccer star. The homeschool and do private training with the top trainers 2-3 hours a day. They also bought a house in Socal so she could play for Slammers Koge (one of the top ECNL clubs in the nation). Now they're working the NIL angle while flirting with NWSL. I have nothing against what they've done as long as she loves playing. However I do wonder how many other players are like her but have never been given the opportunity or private lessons, etc. I think there's a lot.

Well, we've never seen a documentary or interview with a top level soccer player who' didn't make sacrifices (parents and player) plus put in a lot of quality extra work outside their club environment.

Everything isn't for everyone.

What I was hinting at was that the 13 year olds parents basically took it upon themselves to teach their kid how to play the way a top European Academy would. But she had an added advantage of several hours of private lessons each week. The net result is a highly developed player at a younger than normal age.

What would happen if more players had the same opportunities at young ages? At least with MLSN there's a half hearted attempt at Academy style training for boys. Currently for girls nothing outside of doing what the 13yr olds parents did for development exists.

It's frustrating that we have 10x the number of players that most European countries yet we can't develop them to be dominate on the world stage.

Europe can't replicate our basketball culture, but they take the best of it and create their own successful version.
We are determined to do things our way with soccer that works for football, baseball, basketball and ice hockey.

Let's be clear, even the academy kids at Arsenal, Man City, Bayern and Madrid are putting in extra work outside academy training.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Main difference is most of the boys who play MLS largely want to go pro so you get really talented players who believe that is their path.

In my POV- ECNL is better for college recruiting as they established a better and programming for college coaches that MLS doesn’t care a lick about.

Other main difference is high school sports

My son really wanted to play for his school and was able to do so and play ECNL

He wanted to play for his school not because the soccer is great (it’s ok at best) but due to the social aspect.

Nothing quite like 100 kids coming out to cheer you on and winning state titles for a teenage boy. Some say serious players don’t care about Hs- but they don’t remember what it’s like to be a teenager

My player doesn’t have any aspirations of going pro- just wants to play in college and loves the sport so ECNL was his route and was the right option. I am glad it exists for those who don’t want to get after the pro path

He is a top player on his team and has been in front of many D1-3 college coaches via ECNL showcases. These coaches are now reaching out to recruit him.

So for him this was the right path as he has zero interest in pro…

The data and facts goes against your statements.

The rosters of top college soccer programs clearly shows ECNL is not a top priority for colleges (recruitment)
International Transfers, MLS Club Academies, MLS Next are the primary fertile ground.

The ECNL showcases on boys side for obvious reasons aren't the top destination for scouts/coaches anymore.
The MLS Next tournaments have that honor.

Not saying there's no interest in ECNL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Main difference is most of the boys who play MLS largely want to go pro so you get really talented players who believe that is their path.

In my POV- ECNL is better for college recruiting as they established a better and programming for college coaches that MLS doesn’t care a lick about.

Other main difference is high school sports

My son really wanted to play for his school and was able to do so and play ECNL

He wanted to play for his school not because the soccer is great (it’s ok at best) but due to the social aspect.

Nothing quite like 100 kids coming out to cheer you on and winning state titles for a teenage boy. Some say serious players don’t care about Hs- but they don’t remember what it’s like to be a teenager

My player doesn’t have any aspirations of going pro- just wants to play in college and loves the sport so ECNL was his route and was the right option. I am glad it exists for those who don’t want to get after the pro path

He is a top player on his team and has been in front of many D1-3 college coaches via ECNL showcases. These coaches are now reaching out to recruit him.

So for him this was the right path as he has zero interest in pro…

Many kids are playing in MLS Next with goals and aspirations of playing college. They are in MLS Next because it's the best and most challenging.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Main difference is most of the boys who play MLS largely want to go pro so you get really talented players who believe that is their path.

In my POV- ECNL is better for college recruiting as they established a better and programming for college coaches that MLS doesn’t care a lick about.

Other main difference is high school sports

My son really wanted to play for his school and was able to do so and play ECNL

He wanted to play for his school not because the soccer is great (it’s ok at best) but due to the social aspect.

Nothing quite like 100 kids coming out to cheer you on and winning state titles for a teenage boy. Some say serious players don’t care about Hs- but they don’t remember what it’s like to be a teenager

My player doesn’t have any aspirations of going pro- just wants to play in college and loves the sport so ECNL was his route and was the right option. I am glad it exists for those who don’t want to get after the pro path

He is a top player on his team and has been in front of many D1-3 college coaches via ECNL showcases. These coaches are now reaching out to recruit him.

So for him this was the right path as he has zero interest in pro…

What you're describing is complely OK and the way things should be.

The problem is that the parents on this site only understand how competitive girls soccer works.

It makes this difficult because you end up with very ignorant uninformed comments and advise. Also for girls it's forcing players that want to play pro to play in college.

I can't wait for NWSL Next to happen. All the parent nonsense will go away and girls will actually be able to focus on playing soccer again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Boys youth soccer is very different that girls youth soccer.

- If boys/men play professionally average salary is 110k.
- Boys/mens college coaches recruit players internationally. (Not just GA,ECNL,NPL,etc)

Also with boys, puberty and testosterone can completely change a players ability.

Please explain in detail that even a caveman can understand?

Some boys develop early because they go through puberty early. Some boys develop later.

Do you want a team full of 5'1" superstars at u10 that burn out by u14? Or do you want 6'1" players at u14 that peak at u18?

My sons were 5'4' at 14. 6/1' and 6'2' at 18 (about 5'7" in the middle years 16-17).

A lot of boys, like my own, have a lot of growth related injuries from fast late growth spurts that really mess them in the early HS years---it's when they get through that that you really see their potential--not playing in pain and muscles caught up to bone, etc.

Poorly handled training programs are the cause for many growth spurt severe or long lasting issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One other big difference between ECNL and MLS Next is the affect of Acadamies. This is easier to understand by using boys vs girls as an example because the results are more dramatic.

MLS Acadamies actively recruit top talent from everywhere. Once players are on an Academy team the goal is to get players competing at the highest level asap. The reason for this is if they choose to play professionally they can play as a homegrown player for the club they sign to. (And not have their salary count against the salary cap) Or, they can be sold off to another club via a transfer fee. See how it works? The more talent you develop the more money you make.

ECNL (and MLSN non Academy teams) group players by age and its in the clubs best interest to not play top talent up. This is because not playing talent up guarantees wins and wins means more paying parents want to join your clubs teams.

I pointed out girls vs boys because with girls the top ECNL/GA clubs have no incentive to play players up. What this equates to is that by collecting all the best talent at a certain age group you win. Imagine what would happen to girls ECNL or GA if there was Acadamies recruiting away all the best talent from all the best teams. Now think about all that talent being pushed to play up. Culturally all XYZ league is best gets thrown out the window because it no longer matters

Who is this intelligent person and why don't you post more often

I wish I had time to post more.

Unfortunately parents get taken advantage of by clubs because they don't know any better.

Did you see that 13yr old that Scored a goal for Gotham against Columbia last week? It's ridiculous that a 13 year old is able to be competitive with professional players. Just for fun I looked into her background. Apparently she's from San Francisco but her parents are loaded. For whatever reason they've decided to make her a soccer star. The homeschool and do private training with the top trainers 2-3 hours a day. They also bought a house in Socal so she could play for Slammers Koge (one of the top ECNL clubs in the nation). Now they're working the NIL angle while flirting with NWSL. I have nothing against what they've done as long as she loves playing. However I do wonder how many other players are like her but have never been given the opportunity or private lessons, etc. I think there's a lot.

Well, we've never seen a documentary or interview with a top level soccer player who' didn't make sacrifices (parents and player) plus put in a lot of quality extra work outside their club environment.

Everything isn't for everyone.

What I was hinting at was that the 13 year olds parents basically took it upon themselves to teach their kid how to play the way a top European Academy would. But she had an added advantage of several hours of private lessons each week. The net result is a highly developed player at a younger than normal age.

What would happen if more players had the same opportunities at young ages? At least with MLSN there's a half hearted attempt at Academy style training for boys. Currently for girls nothing outside of doing what the 13yr olds parents did for development exists.

It's frustrating that we have 10x the number of players that most European countries yet we can't develop them to be dominate on the world stage.

Europe can't replicate our basketball culture, but they take the best of it and create their own successful version.
We are determined to do things our way with soccer that works for football, baseball, basketball and ice hockey.

Let's be clear, even the academy kids at Arsenal, Man City, Bayern and Madrid are putting in extra work outside academy training.

I think over time MLS Acadamies will get better. I wish more MLS cross league play would occur. Maybe embarrassing MLS over and over can drive change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Boys youth soccer is very different that girls youth soccer.

- If boys/men play professionally average salary is 110k.
- Boys/mens college coaches recruit players internationally. (Not just GA,ECNL,NPL,etc)

Also with boys, puberty and testosterone can completely change a players ability.

Please explain in detail that even a caveman can understand?

Some boys develop early because they go through puberty early. Some boys develop later.

Do you want a team full of 5'1" superstars at u10 that burn out by u14? Or do you want 6'1" players at u14 that peak at u18?

My sons were 5'4' at 14. 6/1' and 6'2' at 18 (about 5'7" in the middle years 16-17).

A lot of boys, like my own, have a lot of growth related injuries from fast late growth spurts that really mess them in the early HS years---it's when they get through that that you really see their potential--not playing in pain and muscles caught up to bone, etc.

Poorly handled training programs are the cause for many growth spurt severe or long lasting issues.

Yep. It was his idiotic fkkkkkg HS coach.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One other big difference between ECNL and MLS Next is the affect of Acadamies. This is easier to understand by using boys vs girls as an example because the results are more dramatic.

MLS Acadamies actively recruit top talent from everywhere. Once players are on an Academy team the goal is to get players competing at the highest level asap. The reason for this is if they choose to play professionally they can play as a homegrown player for the club they sign to. (And not have their salary count against the salary cap) Or, they can be sold off to another club via a transfer fee. See how it works? The more talent you develop the more money you make.

ECNL (and MLSN non Academy teams) group players by age and its in the clubs best interest to not play top talent up. This is because not playing talent up guarantees wins and wins means more paying parents want to join your clubs teams.

I pointed out girls vs boys because with girls the top ECNL/GA clubs have no incentive to play players up. What this equates to is that by collecting all the best talent at a certain age group you win. Imagine what would happen to girls ECNL or GA if there was Acadamies recruiting away all the best talent from all the best teams. Now think about all that talent being pushed to play up. Culturally all XYZ league is best gets thrown out the window because it no longer matters

Who is this intelligent person and why don't you post more often

I wish I had time to post more.

Unfortunately parents get taken advantage of by clubs because they don't know any better.

Did you see that 13yr old that Scored a goal for Gotham against Columbia last week? It's ridiculous that a 13 year old is able to be competitive with professional players. Just for fun I looked into her background. Apparently she's from San Francisco but her parents are loaded. For whatever reason they've decided to make her a soccer star. The homeschool and do private training with the top trainers 2-3 hours a day. They also bought a house in Socal so she could play for Slammers Koge (one of the top ECNL clubs in the nation). Now they're working the NIL angle while flirting with NWSL. I have nothing against what they've done as long as she loves playing. However I do wonder how many other players are like her but have never been given the opportunity or private lessons, etc. I think there's a lot.

Well, we've never seen a documentary or interview with a top level soccer player who' didn't make sacrifices (parents and player) plus put in a lot of quality extra work outside their club environment.

Everything isn't for everyone.

What I was hinting at was that the 13 year olds parents basically took it upon themselves to teach their kid how to play the way a top European Academy would. But she had an added advantage of several hours of private lessons each week. The net result is a highly developed player at a younger than normal age.

What would happen if more players had the same opportunities at young ages? At least with MLSN there's a half hearted attempt at Academy style training for boys. Currently for girls nothing outside of doing what the 13yr olds parents did for development exists.

It's frustrating that we have 10x the number of players that most European countries yet we can't develop them to be dominate on the world stage.

Europe can't replicate our basketball culture, but they take the best of it and create their own successful version.
We are determined to do things our way with soccer that works for football, baseball, basketball and ice hockey.

Let's be clear, even the academy kids at Arsenal, Man City, Bayern and Madrid are putting in extra work outside academy training.

I think over time MLS Acadamies will get better. I wish more MLS cross league play would occur. Maybe embarrassing MLS over and over can drive change.

Explain please