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DA vs ECNL vs everything else
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Anonymous
DA at U12 is 11 and 12-year olds. There are MANY years ahead. No need to rush into DA so young. Parents are convinced they have to get the kid in as early as humanly possible to 'maintain' a spot. Sadly, it is a bit true depending on the DA---more for the club-based ones than the MLS-based ones. But, personally, I would never choose something just because I felt it necessary to get in on the ground floor. Choices are always about where the kid is going to develop the best. At U12/13, that is often just as good, if not better, at a regular old club with supplemental training and full-game time play. |
Anonymous
| The costs and travel are insane. There are enough quality teams between Richmond and Baltimore or even Philly to play in 20+ games against national-level competition. There is no need to have to travel to Boston or South Carolina to find quality teams. Jefferson, Bethesda, DELCO, EDP Showcase, WAGS, and Spirit are all top 25, nationally-ranked showcase tournaments within three hours of DC. Why spend the tens of thousands of dollars and travel time and costs to chase some dream to play college soccer when there are other ways to do so. |
Anonymous
You are probably being idealistic with your statement and in a perfect world, I would agree that high quality competition can be had with less travel than either DA or ECNL currently does. The reason ppl pay the fees for ECNL and DA is because that is what it takes within our current system to get the best development environments, competition, and exposure. Is it ideal? Certainly not, but it is the system in which we live. The top 20 teams within say 100 miles of DC do not play in the same leagues or enroll in the same tournaments. You can do quite well developing technical skills at HP Elite, with private training, on your own, etc, but it is very difficult to replace the game experience of playing with and against top quality players. Right now, you can't get that in our local leagues, CCL, VPL, NCSL, etc. |
Anonymous
Play up. People all over the world do it to find challenging competition in their local environ. |
Anonymous
US soccer limits this and travel clubs very rarely let it happen. |
Anonymous
US Soccer actually encourages playing up. |
Anonymous
If you have the money and time to invest in and access to ECNL/DA then by all means do so. But for those who don't, there are other means to play with competitive teams. If I look at Reg I u18, there are ateast ten non-ECNL/DA teams ranked in the top 25 that are within a three hour drive of DC. I know the pro-ECNL/DA folks have bought into the idea that ECNL/DA the only game in town but the evidence does not bare that out. Sure, the ECNL is pound-for-pound the best and the DA has potential to produce teams as strong or stronger than the ECNL but today there are many non-ECNL/DA teams that are stronger. Again, Pipeline, Arlington, Loundon (Pre-ECNL), etc. produce teams that consistantly beat the strongest ECNL teams. Again, if you live in Baltimore why the hell would you take your DD out of Pipeline and commute 50 miles to play for Bethesda or Maryland United ECNL when your DD's Pipeline team beats the hell out of said teams several times a year at local tournaments. Please tell me when Duke or USNWT calls the coaches of said teams looking for talent, those coaches wont reference your DD. Again, I know that the ECNL/DA are strong leagues with strong teams but for those parents who don't have access, there are other avenues. As much as some people want to make soccer exclusive to those who have access to ECNL/DA there are other avenues. You don;t have to spend $10,000 a year or spend your weekends drivign to New England for games to play against the top teams. |
Anonymous
Wrong on the former, and on the latter, you must not be working hard enough to make it happen. |
Anonymous
You realize this isn’t a debate? If DA or ECNL are not logistically feasible then obviously you choose the best option nearby. Just don’t try and convince yourself that they are the same, they are not. But there is no shame in picking a strong team locally that saves some time and money. But don’t conflate your best option with the overall landscape. Did it occur to you that some Baltimore teams remain strong because there is no realistic, logistic DA/ECNL option for those kids? |
Anonymous
NP here. We live next to the Beltway and here's the ironic flip side to this discussion. So many of the local clubs with strong teams and respected coaches have now gone to either da or ecnl, that there isn't a good club like pipeline nearby anymore for those who want to seek an alternative outside of Da or ecnl. You're forced to spend the money if you keep wanting to play up with your friends that love soccer like ours. Looks like there won't be enough of those kids around anymore that would be willing to play on a B team or smaller club. Would be so much better if there were only one or at most 2 Elite options in Northern Virginia. I don't buy the line that we need more of these Elite options in order to cast a wider net. |
Anonymous
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^^PP
I don't disagree but I don't think most parents really care about the motives of US Soccer or ECNL. If both leagues offer a platform for their kids to be easily seen and US Soccer wants to claim "casting a wider" net, well it might just be a good idea to get caught in THAT net versus trying your luck hoping you get on a great team that gets into top brackets at the remaining "open" showcases. |
Anonymous
If you are looking for fun and competitive soccer and have NO COLLEGE FOCUS, then you should not be trying to keep playing up with soccer at that level and that crowd anyway. Your DC will have no life but soccer through the next several years. Do you want that? Nothing wrong with "playing down" on some lower B team at one of those clubs, or better yet, go to a smaller club and be a superstar if you think they will not have the same caliber of player (some do, some don't). Believe it or not, he/she will have fun, and you'll soon get over the lost of "prestige." I say this as a parent of one of the best players in DC's age group who opted out of ECNL when it was all the rage. |
Anonymous
A caveat: ONLY KNOWINGLY LET YOUR DC GET CAUGHT IN THAT DA OR ECNL NET IF ONE OF THE FOLLOWING TRUE: (1) Your semi-elite DC (with no college aspirations) and family has the cache of money (8-10K a year) and time to blow on soccer and nothing else and doesn't want to play other sports through middle and high school; or (2) Your DC has enough college aspirations right now such that they (as in the DC, not the parents living the dream) want that option so they can play in college and be seen by scouts from 8th grade to sophomore year HS. [In that case, it is a rare middle schooler that knows this, and nothing wrong with waiting. PPs mentioned DAs should start at high school age, as the parents of middle schoolers are only jumping in out of fear they won't later be able to get in. Just not true for a great player who later decided as an 8th grader or HS freshman to make college ball the end game.] If, and only if, you meet one on the 2 caveats, then you are a lucky dog to live in the oversaturated DMV with every flavor of DA and ECNL you can imagine. |
Anonymous
My kids do have aspirations to play in college and so far appear to have to potential to be able to play in college. When the time comes and they either change their mind or their abilities are not up to snuff then they will play the game in a more relaxed and hopefully fun environment. It is always a game by game and year by year proposition. |
Anonymous
and anyone who thinks ECNL will allow you the time to play other sports is not being honest about the demands of AP, extracurriculars, etc. You can't play ECNL and do other sports. It is very difficult to even play HS soccer at some ECNL clubs. They certainly aren't encouraging their players to do it as some form of great complimentary training, plus the time demands of both is pretty rough. |