VA MD DC Girls soccer - thoughts, opinions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:. . . so ODP is going to survive because U13 ECNL players already spending $5K+ a year are going to spend another $2K to get to and possibly make the Region I team?

No, older age groups of ODP might continue to be a decent option if DA keeps combined age groups. Kids that bounce out of DA may go to ECNL or some other league which would put ODP back in play for those kids.

ODP will stick around, like State Cup.

Isn't DA going to single age groups? In this area, they will have single ages for U13, U14, U15, and talk is that U16 is being split from U17 in other divisions then just Frontier. And if a split doesn't happen this year, then it will eventually.

That leaves only the combined U18/19 group, which is a little late for an elite player to make a run at a Regional ODP team, no? A player looking at an ODP run at that point is probably a little late in the game. ODP may hang around like State Cup, agree, but it doesn't sound really relevant anymore for the ELITE player in THIS area, certainly not when they split the combined U16/17 group up.

That split could be the nail in the coffin for ODP in this area. For the next class of 2006s, with single age groups for both DA and ECNL over the next couple years, I tend to agree with you and PPs that think the quality of player doing ODP drops dramatically? this summer at the tryouts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question from a European who watched high school soccer here. Is club and travel soccer much higher level than high school soccer? In general?

In general yes, but not “much higher” in all cases.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:. . . so ODP is going to survive because U13 ECNL players already spending $5K+ a year are going to spend another $2K to get to and possibly make the Region I team?

No, older age groups of ODP might continue to be a decent option if DA keeps combined age groups. Kids that bounce out of DA may go to ECNL or some other league which would put ODP back in play for those kids.

ODP will stick around, like State Cup.

Isn't DA going to single age groups? In this area, they will have single ages for U13, U14, U15, and talk is that U16 is being split from U17 in other divisions then just Frontier. And if a split doesn't happen this year, then it will eventually.

That leaves only the combined U18/19 group, which is a little late for an elite player to make a run at a Regional ODP team, no? A player looking at an ODP run at that point is probably a little late in the game. ODP may hang around like State Cup, agree, but it doesn't sound really relevant anymore for the ELITE player in THIS area, certainly not when they split the combined U16/17 group up.

That split could be the nail in the coffin for ODP in this area. For the next class of 2006s, with single age groups for both DA and ECNL over the next couple years, I tend to agree with you and PPs that think the quality of player doing ODP drops dramatically? this summer at the tryouts.

It certainly seems that in time U16/17 DA age groups get split but until it happens....

If it does happens, not only is ODP severly impacted but also ECNL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question from a European who watched high school soccer here. Is club and travel soccer much higher level than high school soccer? In general?

In general yes, but not “much higher” in all cases.

+1
The very best players cannot play on their High School teams (due to DA rules) so the typical high school teams around here have 3-4 higher level club/travel players, but the rest of the kids are usually "average" travel players. So most teams play at a level roughly equal to an average travel team -- but well below the level of the top travel teams.

[Anonymous]

another one talking about all this stuff here, Odp vs. the ECNL vs. girls Academy and us training center s, id camp ........

same FL guy from pp:

https://www.collegecommitted.com/free-resources/ecnl-da-odp-pdp-tcs-id2-id-camps-what-are-all-these-initials-and-should-i-be-participating-in-them/

[Anonymous]

^^^ sorry same woman. this read is all about girls soccer of course

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Question from a European who watched high school soccer here. Is club and travel soccer much higher level than high school soccer? In general?

In general yes, but not “much higher” in all cases.

Thanks!

There are a bunch of tournaments in the area coming up if you want to watch want Club Soccer- girl and boys. Alexandria and Arlington are in a month or so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:another one talking about all this stuff here, Odp vs. the ECNL vs. girls Academy and us training center s, id camp ........

same FL guy from pp:

https://www.collegecommitted.com/free-resources/ecnl-da-odp-pdp-tcs-id2-id-camps-what-are-all-these-initials-and-should-i-be-participating-in-them/

That link is a very nice breakdown. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Between u9 and u13, have you parents seen a lot of increased development of girls on a B team or did some of the A team players were just bubble to begin with and relied too much on that natural athleticism?

To be honest, i dont have a ton of experience with it, but I noticed some up and down movement that was not particularly definable by talent increase. More just more spaces available or a coach choosing speed hoping to develop skills in that player.

I’m just not seeing the “so much changes in 6 months” maybe because i’m either too close to see it or it’s just not happening where my daughters are at.

I can get it when the girls go through a growth spurt or stop or spend a summer training/playing.. but over the course of the 10 months , it seems to be more if a coach gives them minutes in appropriate spots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Between u9 and u13, have you parents seen a lot of increased development of girls on a B team or did some of the A team players were just bubble to begin with and relied too much on that natural athleticism?

To be honest, i dont have a ton of experience with it, but I noticed some up and down movement that was not particularly definable by talent increase. More just more spaces available or a coach choosing speed hoping to develop skills in that player.

I’m just not seeing the “so much changes in 6 months” maybe because i’m either too close to see it or it’s just not happening where my daughters are at.

I can get it when the girls go through a growth spurt or stop or spend a summer training/playing.. but over the course of the 10 months , it seems to be more if a coach gives them minutes in appropriate spots.

Bench A team players and starting B team players are pretty much the same player with the actual edge going to the starting B team player.

As roster sizes increase B team players often move up and it is pretty common to overtake many A team players in the process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Between u9 and u13, have you parents seen a lot of increased development of girls on a B team or did some of the A team players were just bubble to begin with and relied too much on that natural athleticism?

To be honest, i dont have a ton of experience with it, but I noticed some up and down movement that was not particularly definable by talent increase. More just more spaces available or a coach choosing speed hoping to develop skills in that player.

I’m just not seeing the “so much changes in 6 months” maybe because i’m either too close to see it or it’s just not happening where my daughters are at.

I can get it when the girls go through a growth spurt or stop or spend a summer training/playing.. but over the course of the 10 months , it seems to be more if a coach gives them minutes in appropriate spots.

Bench A team players and starting B team players are pretty much the same player with the actual edge going to the starting B team player.

As roster sizes increase B team players often move up and it is pretty common to overtake many A team players in the process.

I've noticed that B team players who hit their growth spurts earlier can displace a *similarly skilled* A team player who hasn't grown yet. Size and strength, especially with speed, can result in lots of good tournament outcomes (and the B team players often guest with the A team as a tryout before moving up).

[Anonymous]

So basically you’re both saying its not skills development for the Bs, it’s more physical and roster increase.

Sadly, i also think there is a ceiling in what foot skills can do without adequate speed/strength in development, especially for girls. I dont know how you overcome that, realistically.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So basically you’re both saying its not skills development for the Bs, it’s more physical and roster increase.

Sadly, i also think there is a ceiling in what foot skills can do without adequate speed/strength in development, especially for girls. I dont know how you overcome that, realistically.

No, that is not what I implied at all. What I implied is that a B team starter is more likely to actually develop in soccer ways over the A team bench player. While training with the A team in theory should help the A team bench player the reality is there is likely very little that separates the A team kid form the B team kid. But, given a good environment and far more playing time the B team starter can easily pass the A team Bench player. Keep in mind that rosters are small at the young ages. If you look at a U9 A/B team as a eventual 11v11 player pool good training and playing is more important than which group of kids your kid is paired with.

The back end of A teams are filled with squeaky wheels who are no better than their B team counterparts. Most player pools are similar to a Bell Curve. Out of 20 kids you have your top 5, your bottom 5 and everyone else is packed in the middle, separated only by a coaches early hunch. The line that separates kid 10 from 11 is razor thin.

[Anonymous]

Don't get caught up in this teams and clubs stuff. Training on your own or outside your team is what most people know (who have gone through this with their DDs) matters more then worrying about one's stupid A or B team placement. You want ECNL or DA? Stop worrying about when or how you might move up or displace an A team player and get down to the wall and start working.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't get caught up in this teams and clubs stuff. Training on your own or outside your team is what most people know (who have gone through this with their DDs) matters more then worrying about one's stupid A or B team placement. You want ECNL or DA? Stop worrying about when or how you might move up or displace an A team player and get down to the wall and start working.

^^Pretty much this.