ECNL moving to school year not calendar

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread should give everyone full confidence that the poor youth soccer culture in this country won't be improving anytime soon.

Neurotic parents focused on the wrong things and don't care enough to learn the right things.
Just want to have a say and be heard

You're not even close but I guess that's an easy anecdote. The reality is you need to hate the game, not the players (or their parents). I didn't create this insane web of alphabet soup clubs nor the competitive structure we play in. I didn't create the best path to college recruiting, it was laid long before I got here. My daughter has a dream of playing college soccer. She's a very good 2013, playing up on NPL and Im figuring out what to do for next year. She trapped and its silly she doesn't have the option to play with her classmates but again, this is the game I was given. I'm not asking for change (somebody has to be impacted by RAE and my kid is good enough to overcome it) but if change is coming it's ideally this year. I'd hate for her to go ECNL and fall in love with a team for one season, only to switch everything around. My concern isn't making a team, its being on a top 10 national team and seeing it fall apart when we reshuffle.

Call me neurotic if its easier for you. Im doing what I can to learn this system and help my kid in every way possible for her future. I'd love a simpler, more easy going system but apprentely thats not an option in my area.

No need to worry if your child is on a top 10 national team. Any reshuffle (especially a slight age change by a few months only) will not change anything for teams at that level so he or she should definitely not be concerned about that.

I'm not worried at all. My daughter will end up where she should. But the dirty secret here is that putting her on a team with 2014's is gift. She'll then be playing with a top 10 national club AND she'll be one of the best in that age bracket, which comes with exposure opportunities and invites she wouldn't have otherwise. Again, didn't request the gift but not going to turn it down either.

Lots of discussion on here about 'don't worry, your kid will make the team if they are good enough'. Trapped players at high level aren't concerned with making the team. They are worried about being first team regionals vs second team. They are worried about power 5 schools coming by their showcase vs lower level D1. When you get to that level and know how things work its a different experience to be on the team vs best in a competitive region.

Confused. Thought you were talking about a top 10 national team - not regional level teams. If its a top 10 national team that isn’t a concern.

You definitely ARE confused so I'll help you out.

First off you need to get out of rec league and join ECNL. That's just the beginning...in ECNL there are rankings. Just because you're on a top ten team doesn't mean you play. Just because you play, doesn't mean you are top 5 on a team. Just being on a top 10 team isn't some magic bullet for anything. Doesn't mean your automatically making the national team. Doesn't mean you're automatically getting recruited and definitely doesn't mean you're going power 5 or getting a scholarship. There are levels on top of levels so stop assuming what you want is what everyone wants.

You don't care about trapped players because you're have limited goals. My daughter will get on a team. What the move to SY means is she's not only on a team, she's likely now the best on the team. What does that mean? Things you probably never heard of. All conference, national selection, select team, national camps...do some research. Maybe what a concern is for you isn't what my daughter is thinking about at all. If your kids dream is to make a top team and you can, great. Have fun. Some of us are impacted far beyond making the team or getting playing time and we'd like to get with the team we'll play with through HS and not wait 2 years to get settled.

Not sure if what you said is true or not, but you definitely have a middle-life crisis.

Lol. If only you understood how elite level soccer for girls works in this country. You don't just show up to rec league and run fast, then UNC comes knocking on your door. Trust me I get the insanity of it all. But if your daughter wants to go Power 5 and you think you're going to act above it all and just encourage to have fun and hope for the best you're delusional. I didn't make these rules and if you have no interest in learning, good luck!

Are you the one with the 5th grader? I find it hard to believe your daughter (not you) is already expressing such a high interest in playing soccer for Power 5 school. Sounds like you have been feeding her that idea. That's a lot of pressure on her whether or not you think you are "helping".

A young woman in my family (through marriage) was an outstanding soccer player. She committed to a Power 5 school that was in the top 10 nationally. Apparently it was a big deal locally when she made her college decision. Guess what? She quit her freshman year and refuses to even talk about soccer now. Just got burned out from all the time spent on one thing and all the attention/pressure. She thought it was her dream to play at that level, but it just wasn't what she wanted for her life once she got there.

I sincerely hope you are prepared to be supportive of your daughter if she woke up tomorrow, or 5 years from now, and says she doesn't want to play anymore. You can tell yourself this level of parental involvement is "necessary", but really consider who cares about this more. You should never care more than your child. It doesn't work in the long run.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread should give everyone full confidence that the poor youth soccer culture in this country won't be improving anytime soon.

Neurotic parents focused on the wrong things and don't care enough to learn the right things.
Just want to have a say and be heard

You're not even close but I guess that's an easy anecdote. The reality is you need to hate the game, not the players (or their parents). I didn't create this insane web of alphabet soup clubs nor the competitive structure we play in. I didn't create the best path to college recruiting, it was laid long before I got here. My daughter has a dream of playing college soccer. She's a very good 2013, playing up on NPL and Im figuring out what to do for next year. She trapped and its silly she doesn't have the option to play with her classmates but again, this is the game I was given. I'm not asking for change (somebody has to be impacted by RAE and my kid is good enough to overcome it) but if change is coming it's ideally this year. I'd hate for her to go ECNL and fall in love with a team for one season, only to switch everything around. My concern isn't making a team, its being on a top 10 national team and seeing it fall apart when we reshuffle.

Call me neurotic if its easier for you. Im doing what I can to learn this system and help my kid in every way possible for her future. I'd love a simpler, more easy going system but apprentely thats not an option in my area.

No need to worry if your child is on a top 10 national team. Any reshuffle (especially a slight age change by a few months only) will not change anything for teams at that level so he or she should definitely not be concerned about that.

I'm not worried at all. My daughter will end up where she should. But the dirty secret here is that putting her on a team with 2014's is gift. She'll then be playing with a top 10 national club AND she'll be one of the best in that age bracket, which comes with exposure opportunities and invites she wouldn't have otherwise. Again, didn't request the gift but not going to turn it down either.

Lots of discussion on here about 'don't worry, your kid will make the team if they are good enough'. Trapped players at high level aren't concerned with making the team. They are worried about being first team regionals vs second team. They are worried about power 5 schools coming by their showcase vs lower level D1. When you get to that level and know how things work its a different experience to be on the team vs best in a competitive region.

You are 100% corr3ct unfortunately there's a bunch of B team parents who think SY is their ticket to the A team. It's not, and once they figure it out they'll move onto the next excuse.

I'm curious why most ppl care? Is it simply ego? If you aren't pushing to make the national team or play college ball for one of the top universities in the country then none of this matters. Keep little Suzy or Tommy out there kicking the ball and having fun with great teammates and coaches that double as mentors. If you're kid is in 8th grade and not already being chased by college coaches then at best you're looking at D2 schools and maybe low level D1's. All of which are on the table for a few more years so chill out. If your kid was one of the best in the country you'd know it by now I promise you. Outside the best of the best there are 20,000 other opportunities to play college soccer.

You’re not in the DMV, right? Because parents of ECNL players (and legitimate future ECNL players) in this area don’t realize our best teams and players, with rare exceptions, are not nearly as good as we think they are relative to other parts of the country. With rare exceptions, our coaches are terrible, relative to other parts of the country. We have way too many ECNL teams for the depth of the talent pool in this area, before even factoring in the GA teams. So when comparing our Suzy or Tommy to the local talent, we actually think they’re good, and they are, but only relative to the local talent, which isn’t so good. And that’s before you get to the other 90% of players in the area who can’t touch even our ECNL / GA teams.

I’m speaking only of the girls side, although I suspect it’s not dissimilar for boys.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread should give everyone full confidence that the poor youth soccer culture in this country won't be improving anytime soon.

Neurotic parents focused on the wrong things and don't care enough to learn the right things.
Just want to have a say and be heard

You're not even close but I guess that's an easy anecdote. The reality is you need to hate the game, not the players (or their parents). I didn't create this insane web of alphabet soup clubs nor the competitive structure we play in. I didn't create the best path to college recruiting, it was laid long before I got here. My daughter has a dream of playing college soccer. She's a very good 2013, playing up on NPL and Im figuring out what to do for next year. She trapped and its silly she doesn't have the option to play with her classmates but again, this is the game I was given. I'm not asking for change (somebody has to be impacted by RAE and my kid is good enough to overcome it) but if change is coming it's ideally this year. I'd hate for her to go ECNL and fall in love with a team for one season, only to switch everything around. My concern isn't making a team, its being on a top 10 national team and seeing it fall apart when we reshuffle.

Call me neurotic if its easier for you. Im doing what I can to learn this system and help my kid in every way possible for her future. I'd love a simpler, more easy going system but apprentely thats not an option in my area.

Meaning being a Helicopter and Snowplow parent.

All she has to do is focus on her individual development.
The rest is noise.

No college coach or scout cares about her team ranking, only about her performance.

lol. Your kid must be playing rec league. Just dropping a kid off at practice at letting things take their course? Are you really that naive? Team rankings don't matter? This is the ECNL thread right? Or did I slip into the AYSO discussion?

Focusing on individual development means rec league and just dropping kid off at practice?
The top players don't do individual development?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread should give everyone full confidence that the poor youth soccer culture in this country won't be improving anytime soon.

Neurotic parents focused on the wrong things and don't care enough to learn the right things.
Just want to have a say and be heard

You're not even close but I guess that's an easy anecdote. The reality is you need to hate the game, not the players (or their parents). I didn't create this insane web of alphabet soup clubs nor the competitive structure we play in. I didn't create the best path to college recruiting, it was laid long before I got here. My daughter has a dream of playing college soccer. She's a very good 2013, playing up on NPL and Im figuring out what to do for next year. She trapped and its silly she doesn't have the option to play with her classmates but again, this is the game I was given. I'm not asking for change (somebody has to be impacted by RAE and my kid is good enough to overcome it) but if change is coming it's ideally this year. I'd hate for her to go ECNL and fall in love with a team for one season, only to switch everything around. My concern isn't making a team, its being on a top 10 national team and seeing it fall apart when we reshuffle.

Call me neurotic if its easier for you. Im doing what I can to learn this system and help my kid in every way possible for her future. I'd love a simpler, more easy going system but apprentely thats not an option in my area.

No need to worry if your child is on a top 10 national team. Any reshuffle (especially a slight age change by a few months only) will not change anything for teams at that level so he or she should definitely not be concerned about that.

I'm not worried at all. My daughter will end up where she should. But the dirty secret here is that putting her on a team with 2014's is gift. She'll then be playing with a top 10 national club AND she'll be one of the best in that age bracket, which comes with exposure opportunities and invites she wouldn't have otherwise. Again, didn't request the gift but not going to turn it down either.

Lots of discussion on here about 'don't worry, your kid will make the team if they are good enough'. Trapped players at high level aren't concerned with making the team. They are worried about being first team regionals vs second team. They are worried about power 5 schools coming by their showcase vs lower level D1. When you get to that level and know how things work its a different experience to be on the team vs best in a competitive region.

Confused. Thought you were talking about a top 10 national team - not regional level teams. If its a top 10 national team that isn’t a concern.

You definitely ARE confused so I'll help you out.

First off you need to get out of rec league and join ECNL. That's just the beginning...in ECNL there are rankings. Just because you're on a top ten team doesn't mean you play. Just because you play, doesn't mean you are top 5 on a team. Just being on a top 10 team isn't some magic bullet for anything. Doesn't mean your automatically making the national team. Doesn't mean you're automatically getting recruited and definitely doesn't mean you're going power 5 or getting a scholarship. There are levels on top of levels so stop assuming what you want is what everyone wants.

You don't care about trapped players because you're have limited goals. My daughter will get on a team. What the move to SY means is she's not only on a team, she's likely now the best on the team. What does that mean? Things you probably never heard of. All conference, national selection, select team, national camps...do some research. Maybe what a concern is for you isn't what my daughter is thinking about at all. If your kids dream is to make a top team and you can, great. Have fun. Some of us are impacted far beyond making the team or getting playing time and we'd like to get with the team we'll play with through HS and not wait 2 years to get settled.

Not sure if what you said is true or not, but you definitely have a middle-life crisis.

Lol. If only you understood how elite level soccer for girls works in this country. You don't just show up to rec league and run fast, then UNC comes knocking on your door. Trust me I get the insanity of it all. But if your daughter wants to go Power 5 and you think you're going to act above it all and just encourage to have fun and hope for the best you're delusional. I didn't make these rules and if you have no interest in learning, good luck!

Are you the one with the 5th grader? I find it hard to believe your daughter (not you) is already expressing such a high interest in playing soccer for Power 5 school. Sounds like you have been feeding her that idea. That's a lot of pressure on her whether or not you think you are "helping".

A young woman in my family (through marriage) was an outstanding soccer player. She committed to a Power 5 school that was in the top 10 nationally. Apparently it was a big deal locally when she made her college decision. Guess what? She quit her freshman year and refuses to even talk about soccer now. Just got burned out from all the time spent on one thing and all the attention/pressure. She thought it was her dream to play at that level, but it just wasn't what she wanted for her life once she got there.

I sincerely hope you are prepared to be supportive of your daughter if she woke up tomorrow, or 5 years from now, and says she doesn't want to play anymore. You can tell yourself this level of parental involvement is "necessary", but really consider who cares about this more. You should never care more than your child. It doesn't work in the long run.

Tough stroy about someone that didn't make it. Don't care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread should give everyone full confidence that the poor youth soccer culture in this country won't be improving anytime soon.

Neurotic parents focused on the wrong things and don't care enough to learn the right things.
Just want to have a say and be heard

You're not even close but I guess that's an easy anecdote. The reality is you need to hate the game, not the players (or their parents). I didn't create this insane web of alphabet soup clubs nor the competitive structure we play in. I didn't create the best path to college recruiting, it was laid long before I got here. My daughter has a dream of playing college soccer. She's a very good 2013, playing up on NPL and Im figuring out what to do for next year. She trapped and its silly she doesn't have the option to play with her classmates but again, this is the game I was given. I'm not asking for change (somebody has to be impacted by RAE and my kid is good enough to overcome it) but if change is coming it's ideally this year. I'd hate for her to go ECNL and fall in love with a team for one season, only to switch everything around. My concern isn't making a team, its being on a top 10 national team and seeing it fall apart when we reshuffle.

Call me neurotic if its easier for you. Im doing what I can to learn this system and help my kid in every way possible for her future. I'd love a simpler, more easy going system but apprentely thats not an option in my area.

No need to worry if your child is on a top 10 national team. Any reshuffle (especially a slight age change by a few months only) will not change anything for teams at that level so he or she should definitely not be concerned about that.

I'm not worried at all. My daughter will end up where she should. But the dirty secret here is that putting her on a team with 2014's is gift. She'll then be playing with a top 10 national club AND she'll be one of the best in that age bracket, which comes with exposure opportunities and invites she wouldn't have otherwise. Again, didn't request the gift but not going to turn it down either.

Lots of discussion on here about 'don't worry, your kid will make the team if they are good enough'. Trapped players at high level aren't concerned with making the team. They are worried about being first team regionals vs second team. They are worried about power 5 schools coming by their showcase vs lower level D1. When you get to that level and know how things work its a different experience to be on the team vs best in a competitive region.

Confused. Thought you were talking about a top 10 national team - not regional level teams. If its a top 10 national team that isn’t a concern.

You definitely ARE confused so I'll help you out.

First off you need to get out of rec league and join ECNL. That's just the beginning...in ECNL there are rankings. Just because you're on a top ten team doesn't mean you play. Just because you play, doesn't mean you are top 5 on a team. Just being on a top 10 team isn't some magic bullet for anything. Doesn't mean your automatically making the national team. Doesn't mean you're automatically getting recruited and definitely doesn't mean you're going power 5 or getting a scholarship. There are levels on top of levels so stop assuming what you want is what everyone wants.

You don't care about trapped players because you're have limited goals. My daughter will get on a team. What the move to SY means is she's not only on a team, she's likely now the best on the team. What does that mean? Things you probably never heard of. All conference, national selection, select team, national camps...do some research. Maybe what a concern is for you isn't what my daughter is thinking about at all. If your kids dream is to make a top team and you can, great. Have fun. Some of us are impacted far beyond making the team or getting playing time and we'd like to get with the team we'll play with through HS and not wait 2 years to get settled.

Not sure if what you said is true or not, but you definitely have a middle-life crisis.

Lol. If only you understood how elite level soccer for girls works in this country. You don't just show up to rec league and run fast, then UNC comes knocking on your door. Trust me I get the insanity of it all. But if your daughter wants to go Power 5 and you think you're going to act above it all and just encourage to have fun and hope for the best you're delusional. I didn't make these rules and if you have no interest in learning, good luck!

Are you the one with the 5th grader? I find it hard to believe your daughter (not you) is already expressing such a high interest in playing soccer for Power 5 school. Sounds like you have been feeding her that idea. That's a lot of pressure on her whether or not you think you are "helping".

A young woman in my family (through marriage) was an outstanding soccer player. She committed to a Power 5 school that was in the top 10 nationally. Apparently it was a big deal locally when she made her college decision. Guess what? She quit her freshman year and refuses to even talk about soccer now. Just got burned out from all the time spent on one thing and all the attention/pressure. She thought it was her dream to play at that level, but it just wasn't what she wanted for her life once she got there.

I sincerely hope you are prepared to be supportive of your daughter if she woke up tomorrow, or 5 years from now, and says she doesn't want to play anymore. You can tell yourself this level of parental involvement is "necessary", but really consider who cares about this more. You should never care more than your child. It doesn't work in the long run.

Reasonable perspective actually. I hear the same stories all the time, kids getting burned out on soccer after a dozen years of playing every day. Power 5 school experiences often are not what kids expect and many quit or ride the bench for four years. Its actually NOT what I want for my daughter and I often wish she was a normal player that enjoyed academics and rec ball. Instead I was given a soccer beast that is obsessed with the sport. She's only in 5th grade and lately I've been trying to convince her that a D2 experience and being a big fish could be an amazing experience. So far she's not having it. Like most kids the dazzling lights and televised games are pulling her in but I'll keep trying.

I can see how one would sound like a crazy helicopter parent but most on here don't have a kid with the will or skill to play at a high level. ECNL is the pinnacle and 90% of the girls don't have it. I first saw it as a gift in my DD but more and more it concerns me. The travel requirements, time away from friends, the intense physical toll. Nothing is more sad than a parent pushing a kid beyond their desires. I'm in the opposite boat. My biggest fear is an injury. It would save me time and money but my dd would be devastated and her identity would be lost. I'm aware of all these things but followed this route after watching my kid score tons of goals in boredom and frustration that she couldn't be around players built like her that thinks like she does. Parents of these types of kids understand my dilemma.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread should give everyone full confidence that the poor youth soccer culture in this country won't be improving anytime soon.

Neurotic parents focused on the wrong things and don't care enough to learn the right things.
Just want to have a say and be heard

You're not even close but I guess that's an easy anecdote. The reality is you need to hate the game, not the players (or their parents). I didn't create this insane web of alphabet soup clubs nor the competitive structure we play in. I didn't create the best path to college recruiting, it was laid long before I got here. My daughter has a dream of playing college soccer. She's a very good 2013, playing up on NPL and Im figuring out what to do for next year. She trapped and its silly she doesn't have the option to play with her classmates but again, this is the game I was given. I'm not asking for change (somebody has to be impacted by RAE and my kid is good enough to overcome it) but if change is coming it's ideally this year. I'd hate for her to go ECNL and fall in love with a team for one season, only to switch everything around. My concern isn't making a team, its being on a top 10 national team and seeing it fall apart when we reshuffle.

Call me neurotic if its easier for you. Im doing what I can to learn this system and help my kid in every way possible for her future. I'd love a simpler, more easy going system but apprentely thats not an option in my area.

Meaning being a Helicopter and Snowplow parent.

All she has to do is focus on her individual development.
The rest is noise.

No college coach or scout cares about her team ranking, only about her performance.

lol. Your kid must be playing rec league. Just dropping a kid off at practice at letting things take their course? Are you really that naive? Team rankings don't matter? This is the ECNL thread right? Or did I slip into the AYSO discussion?

Focusing on individual development means rec league and just dropping kid off at practice?
The top players don't do individual development?

I'm not sure what a snowplow parent is, lol, but its funny. 'ALL she has to do is focus on development?' That indicates you don't understand the myriad of things that go into it. It takes much more than that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread should give everyone full confidence that the poor youth soccer culture in this country won't be improving anytime soon.

Neurotic parents focused on the wrong things and don't care enough to learn the right things.
Just want to have a say and be heard

You're not even close but I guess that's an easy anecdote. The reality is you need to hate the game, not the players (or their parents). I didn't create this insane web of alphabet soup clubs nor the competitive structure we play in. I didn't create the best path to college recruiting, it was laid long before I got here. My daughter has a dream of playing college soccer. She's a very good 2013, playing up on NPL and Im figuring out what to do for next year. She trapped and its silly she doesn't have the option to play with her classmates but again, this is the game I was given. I'm not asking for change (somebody has to be impacted by RAE and my kid is good enough to overcome it) but if change is coming it's ideally this year. I'd hate for her to go ECNL and fall in love with a team for one season, only to switch everything around. My concern isn't making a team, its being on a top 10 national team and seeing it fall apart when we reshuffle.

Call me neurotic if its easier for you. Im doing what I can to learn this system and help my kid in every way possible for her future. I'd love a simpler, more easy going system but apprentely thats not an option in my area.

No need to worry if your child is on a top 10 national team. Any reshuffle (especially a slight age change by a few months only) will not change anything for teams at that level so he or she should definitely not be concerned about that.

I'm not worried at all. My daughter will end up where she should. But the dirty secret here is that putting her on a team with 2014's is gift. She'll then be playing with a top 10 national club AND she'll be one of the best in that age bracket, which comes with exposure opportunities and invites she wouldn't have otherwise. Again, didn't request the gift but not going to turn it down either.

Lots of discussion on here about 'don't worry, your kid will make the team if they are good enough'. Trapped players at high level aren't concerned with making the team. They are worried about being first team regionals vs second team. They are worried about power 5 schools coming by their showcase vs lower level D1. When you get to that level and know how things work its a different experience to be on the team vs best in a competitive region.

You are 100% corr3ct unfortunately there's a bunch of B team parents who think SY is their ticket to the A team. It's not, and once they figure it out they'll move onto the next excuse.

I'm curious why most ppl care? Is it simply ego? If you aren't pushing to make the national team or play college ball for one of the top universities in the country then none of this matters. Keep little Suzy or Tommy out there kicking the ball and having fun with great teammates and coaches that double as mentors. If you're kid is in 8th grade and not already being chased by college coaches then at best you're looking at D2 schools and maybe low level D1's. All of which are on the table for a few more years so chill out. If your kid was one of the best in the country you'd know it by now I promise you. Outside the best of the best there are 20,000 other opportunities to play college soccer.

You’re not in the DMV, right? Because parents of ECNL players (and legitimate future ECNL players) in this area don’t realize our best teams and players, with rare exceptions, are not nearly as good as we think they are relative to other parts of the country. With rare exceptions, our coaches are terrible, relative to other parts of the country. We have way too many ECNL teams for the depth of the talent pool in this area, before even factoring in the GA teams. So when comparing our Suzy or Tommy to the local talent, we actually think they’re good, and they are, but only relative to the local talent, which isn’t so good. And that’s before you get to the other 90% of players in the area who can’t touch even our ECNL / GA teams.

I’m speaking only of the girls side, although I suspect it’s not dissimilar for boys.

Not in the DMV but that sounds terrible. As ECNL expands I wonder how much that problem will get worse. Tons of teams wearing the patch and making the assumption they in the top percentage of players nationwide. What is really scary to me is GA. My younger daughter is deciding between GA (which is nearby) or ECNL (which is 1 hour away). I SOOO wish the GA team was good. I could care less about the letters at her age, if she's good enough she'll figure it out later but wow, the team is terrible. They are highly ranked team in GA but what they do hardly looks like soccer to me compared the ECNL teams. I'm nervous if she plays there for 2 years she'll never catch up with her ECNL counterparts.

[Anonymous]

How many top 10 teams are there? 25?

[Anonymous]

Hey guys...they made a decision. We can go home now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How many top 10 teams are there? 25?

Exactly. And each elite league has its own national championship. And all the "elite" leagues conveniently have its share of teams/clubs that hardly win.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread should give everyone full confidence that the poor youth soccer culture in this country won't be improving anytime soon.

Neurotic parents focused on the wrong things and don't care enough to learn the right things.
Just want to have a say and be heard

You're not even close but I guess that's an easy anecdote. The reality is you need to hate the game, not the players (or their parents). I didn't create this insane web of alphabet soup clubs nor the competitive structure we play in. I didn't create the best path to college recruiting, it was laid long before I got here. My daughter has a dream of playing college soccer. She's a very good 2013, playing up on NPL and Im figuring out what to do for next year. She trapped and its silly she doesn't have the option to play with her classmates but again, this is the game I was given. I'm not asking for change (somebody has to be impacted by RAE and my kid is good enough to overcome it) but if change is coming it's ideally this year. I'd hate for her to go ECNL and fall in love with a team for one season, only to switch everything around. My concern isn't making a team, its being on a top 10 national team and seeing it fall apart when we reshuffle.

Call me neurotic if its easier for you. Im doing what I can to learn this system and help my kid in every way possible for her future. I'd love a simpler, more easy going system but apprentely thats not an option in my area.

No need to worry if your child is on a top 10 national team. Any reshuffle (especially a slight age change by a few months only) will not change anything for teams at that level so he or she should definitely not be concerned about that.

I'm not worried at all. My daughter will end up where she should. But the dirty secret here is that putting her on a team with 2014's is gift. She'll then be playing with a top 10 national club AND she'll be one of the best in that age bracket, which comes with exposure opportunities and invites she wouldn't have otherwise. Again, didn't request the gift but not going to turn it down either.

Lots of discussion on here about 'don't worry, your kid will make the team if they are good enough'. Trapped players at high level aren't concerned with making the team. They are worried about being first team regionals vs second team. They are worried about power 5 schools coming by their showcase vs lower level D1. When you get to that level and know how things work its a different experience to be on the team vs best in a competitive region.

You are 100% corr3ct unfortunately there's a bunch of B team parents who think SY is their ticket to the A team. It's not, and once they figure it out they'll move onto the next excuse.

I'm curious why most ppl care? Is it simply ego? If you aren't pushing to make the national team or play college ball for one of the top universities in the country then none of this matters. Keep little Suzy or Tommy out there kicking the ball and having fun with great teammates and coaches that double as mentors. If you're kid is in 8th grade and not already being chased by college coaches then at best you're looking at D2 schools and maybe low level D1's. All of which are on the table for a few more years so chill out. If your kid was one of the best in the country you'd know it by now I promise you. Outside the best of the best there are 20,000 other opportunities to play college soccer.

You’re not in the DMV, right? Because parents of ECNL players (and legitimate future ECNL players) in this area don’t realize our best teams and players, with rare exceptions, are not nearly as good as we think they are relative to other parts of the country. With rare exceptions, our coaches are terrible, relative to other parts of the country. We have way too many ECNL teams for the depth of the talent pool in this area, before even factoring in the GA teams. So when comparing our Suzy or Tommy to the local talent, we actually think they’re good, and they are, but only relative to the local talent, which isn’t so good. And that’s before you get to the other 90% of players in the area who can’t touch even our ECNL / GA teams.

I’m speaking only of the girls side, although I suspect it’s not dissimilar for boys.

Not in the DMV but that sounds terrible. As ECNL expands I wonder how much that problem will get worse. Tons of teams wearing the patch and making the assumption they in the top percentage of players nationwide. What is really scary to me is GA. My younger daughter is deciding between GA (which is nearby) or ECNL (which is 1 hour away). I SOOO wish the GA team was good. I could care less about the letters at her age, if she's good enough she'll figure it out later but wow, the team is terrible. They are highly ranked team in GA but what they do hardly looks like soccer to me compared the ECNL teams. I'm nervous if she plays there for 2 years she'll never catch up with her ECNL counterparts.

Not recommended over simply the logistics, but some top players actually do both leagues. Maybe spend most of the time with GA since its closer but work something out to also play with the ECNL team, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread should give everyone full confidence that the poor youth soccer culture in this country won't be improving anytime soon.

Neurotic parents focused on the wrong things and don't care enough to learn the right things.
Just want to have a say and be heard

You're not even close but I guess that's an easy anecdote. The reality is you need to hate the game, not the players (or their parents). I didn't create this insane web of alphabet soup clubs nor the competitive structure we play in. I didn't create the best path to college recruiting, it was laid long before I got here. My daughter has a dream of playing college soccer. She's a very good 2013, playing up on NPL and Im figuring out what to do for next year. She trapped and its silly she doesn't have the option to play with her classmates but again, this is the game I was given. I'm not asking for change (somebody has to be impacted by RAE and my kid is good enough to overcome it) but if change is coming it's ideally this year. I'd hate for her to go ECNL and fall in love with a team for one season, only to switch everything around. My concern isn't making a team, its being on a top 10 national team and seeing it fall apart when we reshuffle.

Call me neurotic if its easier for you. Im doing what I can to learn this system and help my kid in every way possible for her future. I'd love a simpler, more easy going system but apprentely thats not an option in my area.

No need to worry if your child is on a top 10 national team. Any reshuffle (especially a slight age change by a few months only) will not change anything for teams at that level so he or she should definitely not be concerned about that.

I'm not worried at all. My daughter will end up where she should. But the dirty secret here is that putting her on a team with 2014's is gift. She'll then be playing with a top 10 national club AND she'll be one of the best in that age bracket, which comes with exposure opportunities and invites she wouldn't have otherwise. Again, didn't request the gift but not going to turn it down either.

Lots of discussion on here about 'don't worry, your kid will make the team if they are good enough'. Trapped players at high level aren't concerned with making the team. They are worried about being first team regionals vs second team. They are worried about power 5 schools coming by their showcase vs lower level D1. When you get to that level and know how things work its a different experience to be on the team vs best in a competitive region.

You are 100% corr3ct unfortunately there's a bunch of B team parents who think SY is their ticket to the A team. It's not, and once they figure it out they'll move onto the next excuse.

I'm curious why most ppl care? Is it simply ego? If you aren't pushing to make the national team or play college ball for one of the top universities in the country then none of this matters. Keep little Suzy or Tommy out there kicking the ball and having fun with great teammates and coaches that double as mentors. If you're kid is in 8th grade and not already being chased by college coaches then at best you're looking at D2 schools and maybe low level D1's. All of which are on the table for a few more years so chill out. If your kid was one of the best in the country you'd know it by now I promise you. Outside the best of the best there are 20,000 other opportunities to play college soccer.

You’re not in the DMV, right? Because parents of ECNL players (and legitimate future ECNL players) in this area don’t realize our best teams and players, with rare exceptions, are not nearly as good as we think they are relative to other parts of the country. With rare exceptions, our coaches are terrible, relative to other parts of the country. We have way too many ECNL teams for the depth of the talent pool in this area, before even factoring in the GA teams. So when comparing our Suzy or Tommy to the local talent, we actually think they’re good, and they are, but only relative to the local talent, which isn’t so good. And that’s before you get to the other 90% of players in the area who can’t touch even our ECNL / GA teams.

I’m speaking only of the girls side, although I suspect it’s not dissimilar for boys.

Not in the DMV but that sounds terrible. As ECNL expands I wonder how much that problem will get worse. Tons of teams wearing the patch and making the assumption they in the top percentage of players nationwide. What is really scary to me is GA. My younger daughter is deciding between GA (which is nearby) or ECNL (which is 1 hour away). I SOOO wish the GA team was good. I could care less about the letters at her age, if she's good enough she'll figure it out later but wow, the team is terrible. They are highly ranked team in GA but what they do hardly looks like soccer to me compared the ECNL teams. I'm nervous if she plays there for 2 years she'll never catch up with her ECNL counterparts.

That's a lot of smoke you're blowing.

Which GA + ECNL clubs are you referring to?

If you decide to drive 2 hours a day for youth soccer make sure you pick up an ECNL hat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hey guys...they made a decision. We can go home now.

Something more than the recent USSF memo? People here are waiting on the next set of details. Also, the thread has now exceeded more than 400K in views -- which underscores interest in this topic! (Would be fascinating to know actual users, tho).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey guys...they made a decision. We can go home now.

Something more than the recent USSF memo? People here are waiting on the next set of details. Also, the thread has now exceeded more than 400K in views -- which underscores interest in this topic! (Would be fascinating to know actual users, tho).

Bet it's one of the most active places on the public internet for content around the change.

This used to be a daily read and comment for me, but now we are just rehashing the same items. I've posted before about this, really the interesting questions left are when ENCL will move - this year or next - and what the other leagues, especially MLS Next will do in 26/27.

For girls this doesn't seem as interesting, NWSL/pro play is much smaller than the college path where SY aligns better, regardless of the short term trauma of mid-pack Q1/Q2 kids getting pushed to lower teams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey guys...they made a decision. We can go home now.

Something more than the recent USSF memo? People here are waiting on the next set of details. Also, the thread has now exceeded more than 400K in views -- which underscores interest in this topic! (Would be fascinating to know actual users, tho).

Bet it's one of the most active places on the public internet for content around the change.

This used to be a daily read and comment for me, but now we are just rehashing the same items. I've posted before about this, really the interesting questions left are when ENCL will move - this year or next - and what the other leagues, especially MLS Next will do in 26/27.

For girls this doesn't seem as interesting, NWSL/pro play is much smaller than the college path where SY aligns better, regardless of the short term trauma of mid-pack Q1/Q2 kids getting pushed to lower teams.

I'm not sure there actual enough Q3/Q4 high-achievers numbers-wise to push that many down, really. Those who are will also be pushing to still play on the older teams (or will switch clubs) -- And sorry, we are falling into rehash!