ENCL Nationals - Girls

[Anonymous]

I don’t think SD Surf dad has a DD at the club but wants everyone on DCUM to think he does. Fake credibility. #POSER

[Anonymous]

Which SoCal ECNL club are you affiliated with Cali dad?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought the 07 union team had lots of fancy college commits. Can someone explain how they don’t go further?

The truth is starting to show for clubs like Union, NVA, VDA and others. Getting to National Playoffs is really the minimum, I mean these huge clubs are attracting the top players in the DMV. These kids put so much of their time and money into personal training and getting better. Just from watching the matches, the technical and athletic level is really not that big of a difference, its the team development aspect that is the biggest factor.

Union 07s are a perfect example- extremely talented group of players...if its just a one off year then sure, but they have gotten bounced two years in a row now. For all clubs- Union, NVA, VDA etc....I would be taking a real hard look at the coaches, I mean these kids are all top D1 players....its really coming down to coaching. Regardless of what your "play style" is...its not being executed well and DMV is consistently losing in Nationals every single year. It's time for a big wake up call for clubs IMO, there needs to be a real look into what is actually being coached and where the gaps are, because the individual players are 100% not the problem. This isn't all teams and no single club in focus, just the DMV area as a whole....the coaching is really letting these girls down if they truly want to compete at Nationals.

You are exactly correct.

But it's not all the coaches fault. DMV parents watch local wins very closely and will jump ship in a heartbeat. What ends up happening is coach's teach players to play the way that gives parents what they want, wins. This means from a young age players are taught to play direct and coaches and clubs recruit the biggest and fastest players they can find.

Unfortunately or fortunately depending on your perspective big and fast individual players that play direct is what college coaches are also looking for. Because the college game has infinite subs it makes more sense for college coaches to look for big fast and aggressive. This is because it's easier and faster to create a winning team this way.

Clubs like San Diego Surf teach players to play a combination of possession and direct. They teach defined set pieces from a young age for offense, mids, and defense. What ends up happening is they switch between possession (to wear direct teams out) and direct (once teams are worn out). The defined set pieces let Surf work the ball up the field and score at will especially after the other team is worn out from playing direct and chasing the ball when Surf is playing possession.

If you want to win on a national level coaches and parents need to change their thinking and focus on playing more like Surf. The problem with this is that DMV girls ECNL mentalities won't allow it to happen. Ironically it would be easier to implement a San Diego Surf style development program with a GA club in DMV. This is because there would be less expectations for local wins which would allow coaches to train in a more possession/direct style vs direct only.

I am the OP and I agree with your overall view but I really don’t think it has to do with play style at all. Coaches need to commit to a play style and it’s got to be executed at the highest level. The difference is Surf players know what good looks in all phases of the game, they are crystal clear of what the coach wants in each phase of the game. There’s way too much randomness in VA clubs, yes it will look like “boot it to the fast player” at times but there’s nothing wrong with that if the coach actually has a plan on when to play the long ball and what situation it’s most effective.

That’s the main problem with me for coaches in this area. Everyone says they want to play possession soccer but no coach understands or is crystal clear in what they are even looking for, not the type of players that they need to fit the style of play. Why? Because most coaches operate individually, and when you operate solo, it never will go well. That’s what separates amateur to a top or pro academy setup- the level of detail that goes into player recruitment, development, training, play style..everything is crystal clear and collaborative. How can players be crystal clear on what the coach wants when the coach isn’t crystal clear themselves?

Get your player to Ask their coach and ask them what the game model is, tell them to break down what they want in every phase of the game and part of the field and I would be shocked if any coach had a clue on what to say at a detailed level.

[Anonymous]

FYI, SoCal includes LA, San Diego, and San Bernadino. That’s a population of around 20m people. Contrast that of DC and Baltimore, a population just under 10m. SoCal has 2x the player pool.

Take PDA and the NY/NJ Metro area with access to the most players, and it is also why you PDA win Nationals.

Dallas/Ft. Worth is the 4th most populated area.

We are not talking rocket science here. Its numbers and which club can recruit the top players from those numbers.

SoCal Dad is a homer. We are no different. We have clubs that play direct and we have clubs that play possession.

Watch VDA 09s next year with BP. Seems that team could be the first to really bring in the best players in our area on the same team. His style is direct but not kickball! There is a difference.

[Anonymous]

All hail the magnanimous Cali Dad, educate us!

[Anonymous]

One more thing, look at Penn Fusion. Fantastic results thus far. Also, anyone familiar with PF knows they also play direct. Same with PDA.

To clear up “direct” vs “possession”, direct is possession with an emphasis on playing forward. Possession is control whether forward or backward with a slow build up. Another style which you see some teams play is “Counter” and can be hard to tell the difference vs kickball. Loudoun and Maryland United play this style. Other clubs in our area style depends on the coach.

[Anonymous]

Cali dad knows all

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All hail the magnanimous Cali Dad, educate us!

I've already given you enough hints.

Continue being yourself. I'm sure you'll be a breakaway success.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FYI, SoCal includes LA, San Diego, and San Bernadino. That’s a population of around 20m people. Contrast that of DC and Baltimore, a population just under 10m. SoCal has 2x the player pool.

Take PDA and the NY/NJ Metro area with access to the most players, and it is also why you PDA win Nationals.

Dallas/Ft. Worth is the 4th most populated area.

We are not talking rocket science here. Its numbers and which club can recruit the top players from those numbers.

SoCal Dad is a homer. We are no different. We have clubs that play direct and we have clubs that play possession.

Watch VDA 09s next year with BP. Seems that team could be the first to really bring in the best players in our area on the same team. His style is direct but not kickball! There is a difference.

It's not a numbers game.

There's specific actions players, coaches, parents, and clubs are doing that enable success.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One more thing, look at Penn Fusion. Fantastic results thus far. Also, anyone familiar with PF knows they also play direct. Same with PDA.

To clear up “direct” vs “possession”, direct is possession with an emphasis on playing forward. Possession is control whether forward or backward with a slow build up. Another style which you see some teams play is “Counter” and can be hard to tell the difference vs kickball. Loudoun and Maryland United play this style. Other clubs in our area style depends on the coach.

This is correct + thank you for additional context and clarity.

[Anonymous]

There are 44 teams at 'Nationals' and many are getting blown out and not winning a single game

This means the overall quality is low.

Why are there 44 teams?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are 44 teams at 'Nationals' and many are getting blown out and not winning a single game

This means the overall quality is low.

Why are there 44 teams?

There are 44 teams at champions league.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are 44 teams at 'Nationals' and many are getting blown out and not winning a single game

This means the overall quality is low.

Why are there 44 teams?

There are 44 teams at champions league.

I'll assume you're not dumb enough to be drawing comparison between watered down pay-to-play ecnl with parents spending thousands to attend pseudo 'nationals' with the UEFA Champions League

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are 44 teams at 'Nationals' and many are getting blown out and not winning a single game

This means the overall quality is low.

Why are there 44 teams?

There are 44 teams at champions league.

I'll assume you're not dumb enough to be drawing comparison between watered down pay-to-play ecnl with parents spending thousands to attend pseudo 'nationals' with the UEFA Champions League

Please tell us about a league that isn’t pay to play with the same level of competition in the US. Otherwise, STFU.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are 44 teams at 'Nationals' and many are getting blown out and not winning a single game

This means the overall quality is low.

Why are there 44 teams?

There are 44 teams at champions league.

I'll assume you're not dumb enough to be drawing comparison between watered down pay-to-play ecnl with parents spending thousands to attend pseudo 'nationals' with the UEFA Champions League

Please tell us about a league that isn’t pay to play with the same level of competition in the US. Otherwise, STFU.

What level of competition are you talking about?
Multiple teams going 0:3 or 0:2:1 after flying across country at high costs