DA vs ECNL vs everything else

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I personally like the ECNL option for players who don’t want 4 practices a week and want to play in high school but also want top level competition and want to play in college. To each their own, but this is a great fit for my daughter! No need for DA and ECNL to destroy each other - both will provide different elite options depending on what is most important to your kid.

^^ This, and my kid is in DA. I think a healthy ECNL makes a great second option. I obviously think DA will end up the top of the pyramid but frankly there are lots of really good kids that are not quite top of the pyramid but are terrific players who need a competitive environment that meets their needs. The organization and structure of ECNL will provide these kids great advantages over being thrown back into CCL, NCSL, EDP or NPL.

Give me a break. Many of the best girl players will not move to DA.

"The girls’ DA, which has a 10-month season, is in its first year and has replaced the Elite Clubs National League as the top level of club play in the country."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Burn out and injury. That’s what pre-DA is great for.

Seriously? 25 games a year and not having training for both high school and club in the same night and then playing a high school game on a crappy field on Friday night and then 3-4 games on a weekend college showcase 6 hours away on 5 hours sleep under the threat of either being kicked off the high school team or missing out on college scouts with club?

[Anonymous]

Not sure what drives this DA/ECNL elitest attitude. From where I stand, the DA is not that elite. The DA concept is great but I don't believe that any of the DA teams at the age groups can beat the top teams in the DMV. Pipeline, Arlington, Loudon are all much stronger. I am not saying that the DMV DA/ECNL teams are not competitive but I am saying that in the DMV, those clubs are not the strongest at the younger ages.

[Anonymous]

One thought on this is that in order for DA to really be top of the pyramid, it should only have one team in NOVA. There should be many fewer DA teams across the country and then you have created a pyramid model. Otherwise it is just watered down like all the other options in the area.

[Anonymous]

If DA had one team and ECNL had 3 teams in NOVA then this would let all the other teams stay together and enjoy soccer at a competitive level. And grow and strength the sport. With too many “elite” options, this battle is going to destroy the small clubs as well as water down each other. It really isn’t necessary. Hoping for some sanity down the road from all groups! Let’s figure out how to work together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure what drives this DA/ECNL elitest attitude. From where I stand, the DA is not that elite. The DA concept is great but I don't believe that any of the DA teams at the age groups can beat the top teams in the DMV. Pipeline, Arlington, Loudon are all much stronger. I am not saying that the DMV DA/ECNL teams are not competitive but I am saying that in the DMV, those clubs are not the strongest at the younger ages.

Well ummm, Arlington is now DA sooo...

Having strong U9 teams does not translate to dominant U16 teams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure what drives this DA/ECNL elitest attitude. From where I stand, the DA is not that elite. The DA concept is great but I don't believe that any of the DA teams at the age groups can beat the top teams in the DMV. Pipeline, Arlington, Loudon are all much stronger. I am not saying that the DMV DA/ECNL teams are not competitive but I am saying that in the DMV, those clubs are not the strongest at the younger ages.

Well ummm, Arlington is now DA sooo...

Having strong U9 teams does not translate to dominant U16 teams.

Not as strong as you think. Very few even made the Finals of their own tournament this weekend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure what drives this DA/ECNL elitest attitude. From where I stand, the DA is not that elite. The DA concept is great but I don't believe that any of the DA teams at the age groups can beat the top teams in the DMV. Pipeline, Arlington, Loudon are all much stronger. I am not saying that the DMV DA/ECNL teams are not competitive but I am saying that in the DMV, those clubs are not the strongest at the younger ages.

Where you stand is currently not in ECNL or DA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure what drives this DA/ECNL elitest attitude. From where I stand, the DA is not that elite. The DA concept is great but I don't believe that any of the DA teams at the age groups can beat the top teams in the DMV. Pipeline, Arlington, Loudon are all much stronger. I am not saying that the DMV DA/ECNL teams are not competitive but I am saying that in the DMV, those clubs are not the strongest at the younger ages.

Well ummm, Arlington is now DA sooo...

Having strong U9 teams does not translate to dominant U16 teams.

Not as strong as you think. Very few even made the Finals of their own tournament this weekend.

Because they were playing stronger non-CCL teams. CCL provides a false sense of greatness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The costs for a good travel team are close to $5k even if you're not in ECNL (and I'm one of the posters who has stated the $5k number on this board before). You're doing WAGS, CASL, Bethesda, Disney, Jeff Cup and PDA for tourneys, and then State Cup on top of league games. Hotels and travel add up quickly.

So for ECNL, instead of Disney, you do ECNL Florida so that's a wash. PDA and JeffCup are the same. So you do ECNL Texas or Arizona instead of Bethesda, WAGS, and/or CASL. So that makes ECNL a little higher but then you're not doing State Cup, or Region 1 league, or National League. Out of state travel for league games is a wash because BRYC pays for buses so you don't have to go with the team, pay for your gas and the hotel rooms are split between more people (i/o of paying for one room for me and my kid, I pay for one-third of a room). Yes, you might have to pay to go to ECNL Nationals, but then you might have had to pay for USYS Regionals. All in all, not a notable difference in costs for a good team, and maybe a little more for just a decent team, but then the team is getting more exposure from the ECNL showcases than they otherwise would from playing in lower flights at tournaments.

So again, all in all, I'm very happy that BRYC went to ECNL.

Wow we must not be on a good club team. Pay nowhere near that and we are at a strong ccl club on a decent team.

Have you really added up all of your expenses? I'm not talking about just how big a check you write to the club, but also out-of-pocket travel expenses. And as bad as that $5k might sound to someone who isn't part of a good team, I'd beat you'll find similar costs at the good teams at your club. If you're at Loudoun, ask how much last season cost for the 02Gs who made it to Nationals. If you're at Arlington, ask the 01Gs who are doing National League, Regional league, State Cup, Olney, WAGS, Bethesda, Jeff Cup and presumably a Memorial Day tournament on top of a CCL schedule this year. If you're at SYA or LMVSC, quit deluding yourself about being at a strong CCL club.

So, yes I have taken a look at the costs we will have from BRYC this year. Remember that qualifying for Nationals and/or which showcases your team does (based on age group) will also determine your costs. By choice I spend more by traveling to watch the girls play. I think my all in costs will be $5-$5.5k this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One thought on this is that in order for DA to really be top of the pyramid, it should only have one team in NOVA. There should be many fewer DA teams across the country and then you have created a pyramid model. Otherwise it is just watered down like all the other options in the area.

There are two FULL DAs: Spirit and FCV. Pyramid like boys. ASA is a base.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every ECNL club goes to all of the ECNL National events of which there are 5:
Florida
Phoenix (twice)
Texas
NJ

And THAT is before Jeff Cup, Disney Showcase, CASL. Every ECNL event will set you back $1000 other than NJ.

You have no clue what you're talking about here. For ECNL, the U16 and U17 teams have to do 3 showcases of their choice. U18 and U14 have to do two. I forget if U15 is 2 or 3 but it's easy to check if you want to go to the ECNL website. No one has to do all five. In fact, if a team attends more than the required number of showcases then at PDA, the team will usually be put into a non-ECNL bracket, ie, treated like any other non-ECNL team at the event.

Also, very few, if any, ECNL clubs do Disney because they can just do ECNL Florida during the same time frame and it counts as one of the required showcases.

At least have some clue what you're talking about

U14 it is optional to do the national Events

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure what drives this DA/ECNL elitest attitude. From where I stand, the DA is not that elite. The DA concept is great but I don't believe that any of the DA teams at the age groups can beat the top teams in the DMV. Pipeline, Arlington, Loudon are all much stronger. I am not saying that the DMV DA/ECNL teams are not competitive but I am saying that in the DMV, those clubs are not the strongest at the younger ages.

Where you stand is currently not in ECNL or DA.

+1

Nice one. LOL

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every ECNL club goes to all of the ECNL National events of which there are 5:
Florida
Phoenix (twice)
Texas
NJ

And THAT is before Jeff Cup, Disney Showcase, CASL. Every ECNL event will set you back $1000 other than NJ.

You have no clue what you're talking about here. For ECNL, the U16 and U17 teams have to do 3 showcases of their choice. U18 and U14 have to do two. I forget if U15 is 2 or 3 but it's easy to check if you want to go to the ECNL website. No one has to do all five. In fact, if a team attends more than the required number of showcases then at PDA, the team will usually be put into a non-ECNL bracket, ie, treated like any other non-ECNL team at the event.

Also, very few, if any, ECNL clubs do Disney because they can just do ECNL Florida during the same time frame and it counts as one of the required showcases.

At least have some clue what you're talking about

U14 it is optional to do the national Events

The listed tournaments are all ECNL events. Have a clue yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One thought on this is that in order for DA to really be top of the pyramid, it should only have one team in NOVA. There should be many fewer DA teams across the country and then you have created a pyramid model. Otherwise it is just watered down like all the other options in the area.

There are two FULL DAs: Spirit and FCV. Pyramid like boys. ASA is a base.

No not really a pyramid. Why do you need Spirit and FCV? Not that far from each other? No need for both of those - there is not more than 1 team of true national team level players in the area even if there are more parents wanting it for themselves and their kids. Not going to be truly elite until there is only one team in the area. There is 1 national team feeding from all the DA teams around the country -- DA teams should be truly elite and selective. Get rid of many DA teams and have focus on the USTC level kids only. Just my view on things....