Noob Question about State Cups

ECNL does not and never has participated because, for Virginia, the fall season is packed with league games and showcases. State Cup in VA during High School years is in the fall to accommodate HS soccer.

ECNL accommodates HS soccer by having a very light spring season

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04/03/2019 13:41

Subject: Noob Question about State Cups

quote

Anonymous

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So does VPL get to go to the same “Nationals” or do they have a different one? Will Vienna and SOCA be the same place?

No, VPL is pretty much a closed tournament and really only includes teams from the league.

VPL is not a closed tournament, it is just that non-NPL teams are not interested.

“Any club team in Virginia can apply to the Virginia State Cup Championship. However, all teams who enter the competition must also be registered with US Club Soccer. ”
https://www.vapremierleague.com/statecup

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04/03/2019 13:54

Subject: Noob Question about State Cups

quote

Anonymous

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So does VPL get to go to the same “Nationals” or do they have a different one? Will Vienna and SOCA be the same place?

No, VPL is pretty much a closed tournament and really only includes teams from the league.

VPL is not a closed tournament, it is just that non-NPL teams are not interested.

“Any club team in Virginia can apply to the Virginia State Cup Championship. However, all teams who enter the competition must also be registered with US Club Soccer. ”
https://www.vapremierleague.com/statecup

So it's open, but since no one but VPL teams participate, it's a closed tournament.

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04/03/2019 14:41

Subject: Noob Question about State Cups

quote

Anonymous

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So does VPL get to go to the same “Nationals” or do they have a different one? Will Vienna and SOCA be the same place?

No, VPL is pretty much a closed tournament and really only includes teams from the league.

VPL is not a closed tournament, it is just that non-NPL teams are not interested.

“Any club team in Virginia can apply to the Virginia State Cup Championship. However, all teams who enter the competition must also be registered with US Club Soccer. ”
https://www.vapremierleague.com/statecup

So it's open, but since no one but VPL teams participate, it's a closed tournament.

No, words matter. It is not in any way shape or form a "closed" tournament. A closed tournament would mean that a non-VPL club would never be accepted. There are already enough misconceptions and bad information that a statement like yours only confuses the matter.

Just like VYSA State Cup the VPL State Cup is OPEN to all Virginia teams to apply to play. FACT

Also fact....Pretty much every team outside of VPL is simply not interested in playing in the VPL State Cup. If they wanted to play in it they could.

But clubs and teams not being interested is not the same thing as VPL being closed to them.

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04/03/2019 18:39

Subject: Re:Noob Question about State Cups

quote

Anonymous

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:VYSA is more established, has a broader set of participants, and hooks into the USYS Regional and National competitions which are also more established. Often teams from EDP, CCL, and NCSL will compete. Even some ECNL teams on occasion and definitely at the pre-ECNL and pre-DA ages the larger clubs that have these programs will compete, unless they have some tie into VPL/NPL then they usually pick the VPL state cup out of a sense of loyalty to that league.

VYSA is a better competition than the NPL (VPL) state cup. The VPL state cup is free for teams already in the VPL league, but there is a fee for non-VPL teams. It is not as strong a competition, but that does not mean that it is not fun and worth the $275 team fee to register - which is pretty cheap (less than $30 or even $20 a player depending on team size / age).

Hope this helps you decide which one to play in … and hopefully this thread does not turn into a Villareal, SYC, LMVSC, FCV, Loudoun, BRYC, VDA, McLean, Wash Spirit thread …

OP, so it's not my decision but I was just wondering how one could crown someone state champions with having a singular path to achieve that status. I'll have to admit since this thread has gone sideways, we do very well in VPL league play but get our butts kicked in virtually all tournaments. Our coach even tries to move us down in brackets, but results are the same.

Agreed. To your point, there is no more "true" state championship (or regional or national) any longer. Once ECNL, DA, US Club and USYS all broke apart into separate competitions sub-leagues etc. that all went away. So lots of crowns, but no true king/queen. Clubs like it though so that they can market their teams' successes. Similar to playing in a lower tournament flight and winning it. Looks good on the Facebook page and in the GotSoccer rankings, but may not really indicate the quality of the team. However, players also enjoy winning and getting the medal, so there is some merit to the approach.

On the other observation, yes VPL (i.e. NPL) is weak, at least in the girls divisions (I have no real first hand knowledge of the boy's). NCSL 1st division is arguably better. CCL is better at younger ages, but also tends to drop off once the ECNL and DA and EDP teams raid all the better players starting at U13. I am actually surprised EDP hasn't tried to make more of an inroads into Northern VA and get the more successful clubs to drop VPL and CCL and NCSL for their top teams and adopt EDP instead. Just a much better platform and competition level. This would only be for the top teams in a club however as there is more travel involved (lots of MD teams and some NJ and PA) … but if there were more VA teams, perhaps the travel would be lessened thru a metro-area approach. Anyhow, enough rambling by me.

State Cup still have pretty decent competition in the older age groups. U19 boys' champion, McLean Green is ranked No. 10 in the country, runner up Arlington is ranked 36 in the country.

That age bracket is the end of era around here. The almost annual launches of the new, better leagues have completely scrambled all of the teams and competitions in the area. No parent will be able to ever say 'I remember when I played in XYZ league' to their son or daughter, since they are changing every 10 minutes.