The ECNL scam?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hint: Basically all youth travel sports teams are a scam.

How exactly are we getting scammed? We know the costs and what we’re getting up front.

[Anonymous]

Start your own league.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So what is the scam? I'm not exactly sure who created ECNL but I'm guessing someone saw a need to create a league to consolidate talent that they can pitch to to college coaches that coming to these ECNL events will be worth their while for recruiting...and it worked. My son, who is white, played for a predominately Latino EDP D1 team. Tons of talent on that team. ECNL level kids. Everyone understood that continuing on this team would not provide the platform to be seen by as many college coaches, so my son left and now plays on an ECNL team, so did others. Is ECNL more expensive? Very much so....especially when you add in the travel costs. His three years at ECNL, plus this year, he has had zero white coaches. His team consists of about 1/3 white kids. less than 25% came from the local mega clubs. All the others started out at small clubs like my son. So I don't understand what the issues are here. I do understand that some kids can't afford ECNL and therefore don't get the opportunity, but I don't see that as ECNL's fault.

What's the ROI in spending all that money and time/expenses for years in ECNL?
Isn't MLS Next the big dog and go-to for college recruiting? (after International players)

How is ECNL measurably 'better' for college/pro future than say EDP1... considering scouts recruit players, not teams?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what is the scam? I'm not exactly sure who created ECNL but I'm guessing someone saw a need to create a league to consolidate talent that they can pitch to to college coaches that coming to these ECNL events will be worth their while for recruiting...and it worked. My son, who is white, played for a predominately Latino EDP D1 team. Tons of talent on that team. ECNL level kids. Everyone understood that continuing on this team would not provide the platform to be seen by as many college coaches, so my son left and now plays on an ECNL team, so did others. Is ECNL more expensive? Very much so....especially when you add in the travel costs. His three years at ECNL, plus this year, he has had zero white coaches. His team consists of about 1/3 white kids. less than 25% came from the local mega clubs. All the others started out at small clubs like my son. So I don't understand what the issues are here. I do understand that some kids can't afford ECNL and therefore don't get the opportunity, but I don't see that as ECNL's fault.

You are answering your own question. Why should clubs that can’t develop players be the destination? Not to mention, on the boys side, colleges aren’t doing nearly as much recruiting from these leagues anymore. For, the 7 ECNL/MLS Next VA clubs, this past spring’s graduating class had something like 15 players go D1 - which includes a few to VMI/Military Academies - and somewhere around 30-40 playing D2/D3. Probably all of those kids could’ve gone D2/D3 out of EDP or another league.

Just because a kid goes D3 doesn't mean that they can't go D1. D1 is 60-80 hours a week including school. I bet many boys don't want it to be there life. They want to have fun. Also, club soccer can be just as good.

Can you please, as close to facts and truths as possible, breakdown what a 80hr soccer week on a D1 college looks like?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People here might be making fun, but yes, ECNL discriminates against Hispanic clubs 100%

+1

I’m in California and this is a big issue here. ECNL has sidelined some of the extremely competitive but cash-poor clubs that used to compete from places like the Salinas Valley or the Central Valley. They were filled with talented players, and predominantly Latino. It used to be that these teams could play high-level competition even if the club was small and scrappy but between MLSNext and ECNL, these teams have been shut out of the high-level competitions in California. Their kids aren’t getting seen by college coaches the same way. It is really a shame and a loss to California soccer IMO.

I realize people are mocking OP because of how OP phrased her post, but there is truth to the underlying premise.

Unfortunately college, semipro and professional soccer is the same way. No small scrappy cash poor clubs in any of these competitions. Shame

This is exactly the issue here. Substitute PG County or east county for Salinas.

[Anonymous]

Or Gaithersburg.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what is the scam? I'm not exactly sure who created ECNL but I'm guessing someone saw a need to create a league to consolidate talent that they can pitch to to college coaches that coming to these ECNL events will be worth their while for recruiting...and it worked. My son, who is white, played for a predominately Latino EDP D1 team. Tons of talent on that team. ECNL level kids. Everyone understood that continuing on this team would not provide the platform to be seen by as many college coaches, so my son left and now plays on an ECNL team, so did others. Is ECNL more expensive? Very much so....especially when you add in the travel costs. His three years at ECNL, plus this year, he has had zero white coaches. His team consists of about 1/3 white kids. less than 25% came from the local mega clubs. All the others started out at small clubs like my son. So I don't understand what the issues are here. I do understand that some kids can't afford ECNL and therefore don't get the opportunity, but I don't see that as ECNL's fault.

What's the ROI in spending all that money and time/expenses for years in ECNL?
Isn't MLS Next the big dog and go-to for college recruiting? (after International players)

How is ECNL measurably 'better' for college/pro future than say EDP1... considering scouts recruit players, not teams?

I'm not looking for an ROI. I that THAT"S what wrong with youth sports...parents looking for ROI instead of just wanting their kids to play and challenge themselves.

How is ECNL better for scouts? Look at the side lines? We have DC United and a few other local coaches at almost every home game. When we went to playoffs in the summer, I think we had 25 colleges watching our final game in group play. They watch because the overall quality is better. The teams are better than EDP1 and the opponents are better. So even though the coach is watching an individual player, they are seeing that individual play in a much more competitive environment. Even tournaments like Bethesda and Jeff Cup don't pull the number of colleges like an ECNL showcase....and just to be fair, MLS Next showcases attract even more coaches than ECNL...even though, at least locally, ECNL teams and MLS Next teams are very competitive. Some ECNL teams are stronger than MLS Next teams, but it is what it is. Some kids what to play HS so they choose ECNL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what is the scam? I'm not exactly sure who created ECNL but I'm guessing someone saw a need to create a league to consolidate talent that they can pitch to to college coaches that coming to these ECNL events will be worth their while for recruiting...and it worked. My son, who is white, played for a predominately Latino EDP D1 team. Tons of talent on that team. ECNL level kids. Everyone understood that continuing on this team would not provide the platform to be seen by as many college coaches, so my son left and now plays on an ECNL team, so did others. Is ECNL more expensive? Very much so....especially when you add in the travel costs. His three years at ECNL, plus this year, he has had zero white coaches. His team consists of about 1/3 white kids. less than 25% came from the local mega clubs. All the others started out at small clubs like my son. So I don't understand what the issues are here. I do understand that some kids can't afford ECNL and therefore don't get the opportunity, but I don't see that as ECNL's fault.

What's the ROI in spending all that money and time/expenses for years in ECNL?
Isn't MLS Next the big dog and go-to for college recruiting? (after International players)

How is ECNL measurably 'better' for college/pro future than say EDP1... considering scouts recruit players, not teams?

I'm not looking for an ROI. I that THAT"S what wrong with youth sports...parents looking for ROI instead of just wanting their kids to play and challenge themselves.

How is ECNL better for scouts? Look at the side lines? We have DC United and a few other local coaches at almost every home game. When we went to playoffs in the summer, I think we had 25 colleges watching our final game in group play. They watch because the overall quality is better. The teams are better than EDP1 and the opponents are better. So even though the coach is watching an individual player, they are seeing that individual play in a much more competitive environment. Even tournaments like Bethesda and Jeff Cup don't pull the number of colleges like an ECNL showcase....and just to be fair, MLS Next showcases attract even more coaches than ECNL...even though, at least locally, ECNL teams and MLS Next teams are very competitive. Some ECNL teams are stronger than MLS Next teams, but it is what it is. Some kids what to play HS so they choose ECNL.

And to add to the mess, within MLS Next you have your pro academies and non-pro academies. The non-pro typically are pretty on par with boys ECNL unlike the pro academies.

[Anonymous]

ECNL Boys tries to sell that they are the go-to league for college recruiting — just look at their website — but the reality is that most ECNL Boys in this area aren’t getting much, if any, recruiting interest. For the class of 2024, locally, 2 Arlington players committed to Ivy League schools…and 1 was a DCU Academy player previously. There are all sorts of commitments on the girls side that VDA, NVA, Union, etc have been announcing, but it’s crickets on the boys side from these clubs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ECNL Boys tries to sell that they are the go-to league for college recruiting — just look at their website — but the reality is that most ECNL Boys in this area aren’t getting much, if any, recruiting interest. For the class of 2024, locally, 2 Arlington players committed to Ivy League schools…and 1 was a DCU Academy player previously. There are all sorts of commitments on the girls side that VDA, NVA, Union, etc have been announcing, but it’s crickets on the boys side from these clubs.

Two things- there are 205 men's D1 soccer teams and 333 women's D1 teams and the mens teams are heavily international

[Anonymous]

For girls, ENCL is the top spot for college recruiting. Whether that's best for US Women overall to be competitive with up and coming European leagues is up for debate.

For boys, ENCL is competing with MLS-Next and more importantly overseas players for college attention and losing. Long term I can't see how ENCL wins vs. MLS-Next as the professional pipeline will draw in the best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For girls, ENCL is the top spot for college recruiting. Whether that's best for US Women overall to be competitive with up and coming European leagues is up for debate.

For boys, ENCL is competing with MLS-Next and more importantly overseas players for college attention and losing. Long term I can't see how ENCL wins vs. MLS-Next as the professional pipeline will draw in the best.

ECNL relies on MLS next membership being limited and the large clubs that are left on the outside being able to effectively market themselves and ECNL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For girls, ENCL is the top spot for college recruiting. Whether that's best for US Women overall to be competitive with up and coming European leagues is up for debate.

For boys, ENCL is competing with MLS-Next and more importantly overseas players for college attention and losing. Long term I can't see how ENCL wins vs. MLS-Next as the professional pipeline will draw in the best.

ECNL for girls is just a college prep league. Their “developmental” work is building muscle and creating physical players because that is the college game and it is the easiest way to get the most girls in college. Colleges use women soccer to balance football in terms of title 9 and 95% of the women college soccer programs are at best part time amateur leagues.

Parents see ECNL as a hook to get their kid in to college. Though the scholarship money is not really there for freshmen and many could get in to a “higher” ranked or better known school without soccer. So there is some elements of scam to the whole thing.

[Anonymous]

These posts are accurate about boys not really getting any looks. But here's the thing....no one promised the parents or the kids anything. Most of the ECNL clubs have coaches that help players with their recruiting but MOST of the work is on the kid. And you are right in that these boys have less options that girls and the boys are competing with MLS Next kids and internationals. Coaches don't want to rely too heavily on recruiting until they want to see what's in the portal, etc. But again, there are no promises made. The only thing I believe is that ECNL gets more attention from college scouts than EDP or any other league besides MLS Next. So there is no scam. It's up to individual families to determine if it's worth it. That's it. Don't expect your kid to play soccer in college and you will go through this and come out of it much happier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For girls, ENCL is the top spot for college recruiting. Whether that's best for US Women overall to be competitive with up and coming European leagues is up for debate.

For boys, ENCL is competing with MLS-Next and more importantly overseas players for college attention and losing. Long term I can't see how ENCL wins vs. MLS-Next as the professional pipeline will draw in the best.

ECNL for girls is just a college prep league. Their “developmental” work is building muscle and creating physical players because that is the college game and it is the easiest way to get the most girls in college. Colleges use women soccer to balance football in terms of title 9 and 95% of the women college soccer programs are at best part time amateur leagues.

Parents see ECNL as a hook to get their kid in to college. Though the scholarship money is not really there for freshmen and many could get in to a “higher” ranked or better known school without soccer. So there is some elements of scam to the whole thing.

ECNL is a UMC sport. The point is getting in not getting a scholarship.