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DA vs ECNL vs everything else
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Anonymous
And you know this how? Do you have a son that plays for either DA? Are you saying they will loose talent to DCU or will be pummeled on the pitch come game day? |
Anonymous
They will lose talent to DCU. DCU is a full DA that is a pro academy as well. Everything is designed to funnel the local talent to DCU as is. Being next door to Loudoun will decimate their talent. |
Anonymous
I think this was a possibility until the exodus of top DA programs to ECNL - Sky Blue, Hawks, etc. The strength of these organizations has shifted the balance slightly. Now D1 colleges and US Soccer cannot simply not miss ECNL National events. This rising tide lifts all ECNL boats and makes ECNL viable for top players. You kid will get exposure at least several times per year. It is not enough for national talent perhaps but it's enough for the 99% of the rest of us. |
Anonymous
As a crow flies, DCU is less than 10-15 miles from Bethesda DA now and they seem to be doing just fine. I do not think that DCU moving next door will decimate Loudoun's talent, you do not try out for DCU, they come to you if they are interested. As such, they would do that regardless of geographic location, so the fact that DCU has not plucked any players from Loudoun in the last two years I do not think that simply being next door to them is going is all the sudden going to "decimate" their talent. As for being a pro academy, I would not put that much weight in that. If we were talking the Union or Red Bulls or LA Galaxy sure, but DCU has a reputation for being the worst pro club DA and one of only a small handful that actually charge for their DA. |
Anonymous
This isn't as a crow flies away from Loudoun. This is literally Bolen park. The programs will be divided by a fence. |
Anonymous
That doesn't address the point that there are too many "elite" level teams in the area. If ECNL is second tier in the area (which it is at least 04 and younger), then the 4 second tier teams are fighting over second tier level players. There just aren't enough of them. For the clubs that left GDA, there are already stories that those teams are losing a number of top players each to neighboring GDAs. That shouldn't surprise anyone. The exiting clubs made a decision to leave in order to make more money and have more control but in the process may have damaged their player pool and their future prospects for success. |
Anonymous
And on top of it, PDA, the Hawks and the Florida team who went back to ECNL will all be fielding two ECNL teams per age group. They are even watering the league down from within. |
Anonymous
My son had played Bethesda DA for many years, and our main practice field is Richard Montgomery HS, while DC mostly practices near RFK. That's around a 30 mile difference, and is definitely part of why we haven't considered DC United more seriously. I don't underestimate how far people are willing to travel for DA as we have friends who have moved from Bethesda to DC United to Baltimore Armour, but we weren't willing to have our son lose so much time to the commute. I do think DC United has improved its DA program quite a bit over the last couple of years, as they finally have had some coaching stability and a committed Academy director. If the stability lasts, I think they will be much more of a draw for a lot of families. It would be great if the DC United owners could invest more in both the pro team and the Academy. |
Anonymous
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Competitive youth soccer is watered down in general. In the MA, GDA may be stronger, but the teams have to travel events and play against teams form regions where GD is weak. IF ECNL is weaker here, then those teams get stuck playing teams from regions when ECNL is strong.
Maybe we will end up with GDA regions and ECNL regions. |
Anonymous
They are moving to Leesburg-DC United Academy |
Anonymous
Or Nah. Here is why this area will keep 7 teams between DA and ECNL. Wealthiest Counties in the US (2016) 1 Loudoun County Virginia $134,464 2 Howard County Maryland $120,941 3 Fairfax County Virginia $115,717 4 Hunterdon County New Jersey $113,684 5 Santa Clara County California $111,069 6 Arlington County Virginia $110,388 7 Douglas County Colorado $109,292 8 San Mateo County California $108,627 9 Morris County New Jersey $106,985 10 Williamson County Tennessee $106,054 11 Nassau County New York $105,870 12 Somerset County New Jersey $104,478 13 Marin County California $103,845 14 San Francisco County California $103,801 15 Delaware County Ohio $101,693 16 Forsyth County Georgia $100,909 17 Montgomery County Maryland $99,763 18 Calvert County Maryland $98,732 19 Prince William County Virginia $97,986 20 Stafford County Virginia $97,484 It's not about the talent. US Soccer is happy to cast a wide net so it's good for them. Plenty of parents willing to drop $10K per annum for DD to have fun for a year. Cheaper than taking the family to Disney. |
Anonymous
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I think the only reason for consolidating the 3xGDA and 4XECNL clubs is if you want to say they are at the same level. The argument is there are not enough "elite" (whatever that is) players in the region to support nationally competitive teams, and that is true. However, these are two separate leagues that do not intersect. Why is it not ok that they be at two different levels? It's not like we, as parents, have any control, but what is happening is that the system is just redefining new tiers of play. Used to be ECNL, then CCL, then perhaps NPL, all with some degree of overlap. Now, we're just redefining the hierarchy as GDA, ECNL, CCL, again with overlap. And who knows, next year, there will likely be other changes or leagues pop up to redefine things again.
Frankly, I am not sure consolidating either GDA or ECNL teams locally changes much. With the degree of congestion locally, it's not like say Spirit MD players are going to go go Spirit VA, or FCV players are going to travel to Arlington. FCV, WS VA, and McLean ECNL are the only 3 that are close enough to not lose a bunch of players via consolidation. As a byproduct, the costs and travel are going up because now our top two tiers have national coverage and college exposure. That might change over time, but for now, that's the case. That's bad for parents, but for someone assessing the health of the country's youth soccer program, you might say this is a positive since more girls are involved in more focused programs. |
Anonymous
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Loudoun 04 lost to Stafford Revolution is state cup.
The #1 Gotsoccer team in America a year prior...lost to Stafford Revolution....bwahhhaaaa. And yet people don't think that a switch in a few good players doesn't effect a team. Gotcha. |
Anonymous
FCV Dad. You are a clown. Nobody wants to be on the sidelines with the Joker. |
Anonymous
Stings. I know |