ECNL moving to school year not calendar

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem for mlsnext is obvious.

If 20% or so of the current mlsnext kids — those with birthdays between August to December — decide being one of the top ECNL players is better than being a bench mlsnext player they shift leagues.

And, who replaces them on the mlsnext squad? The January - June birthday kids currently playing ECNL? No. There are reasons why they aren’t playing mlsnext currently.

That’s the mlsnext problem. They can lose 20% of their kids and not have good replacements. Suddenly the ECNL teams look much “better”.

Seriously stop trying to apply your girl logic to boys.

With boys all the top players play on MLS Academy teams. These players are all under contract through MLS and this is where college recruiters go first when looking for talent. Also with the boys there's much less college spots available so showcases don't carry the same weight as they do on the boys side.

If MLSN stays BY and ECNL goes SY, then MLSN kids are a bit misaligned for college recruiters if colleges want to take advantage of RAE. Will be interesting.

Colleges are prioritizing MLSN over ECNL for boys no matter what.

College coaches don’t give a hoot what league or club a kid plays for. A kid could play for a small town rec league, and if the coach is impressed - they make an offer.


If the best kids for a particular graduate year are playing ECNL boys - they will get recruited.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As far as I’m aware, club teams can’t just choose to join MLS or open an MLS Academy. So MLS is a closed system and only has boys teams.

If MLS Next does BY and ECNL does SY, then boys who are not selected to play on MLS teams/academies will no doubt decide between ECNL teams and MLS Next teams based on which situation is best for them.

So why would ECNL be influenced by MLS when: 1) MLS is not under US Club soccer, 2) going to birth year would help differentiate ECNL from MLS Next, and 3) ECNL was formed in 2009 as a girls league (and didn’t have any boys teams for the first 8 or 9 years of its existence).

So yes, I would imagine ECNL would have no issues going in an opposite direction from MLS.

The thing is MLSN and GA don't tell clubs that you can't have GA if you don't have MLSN and vice versa.

MLSN doesn't care what you do on the girls side. They also don't care what other leagues clubs play in on the boys side. GA also doesn't care which leagues GA clubs participate in on the boys side. This is why many MLSN clubs tend to choose GA for their girls.

ECNL does try to force clubs to participate in boys ECNL if they want girls ECNL. ECNL also takes girls ECNL away from clubs if they bring on MLSN. My personal opinion is that this is a form of tieing and it's illegal. But nobody has brought a case yet to clarify.

Interesting ... I guess I now realize what clubs do in response ... A few years back a top ECNL club for girls in our area basically split off its boys side. The marketing made it sound like it was all Girl power, but thinking back it probably was because the boys -- also historically at top levels -- are MLSN.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem for mlsnext is obvious.

If 20% or so of the current mlsnext kids — those with birthdays between August to December — decide being one of the top ECNL players is better than being a bench mlsnext player they shift leagues.

And, who replaces them on the mlsnext squad? The January - June birthday kids currently playing ECNL? No. There are reasons why they aren’t playing mlsnext currently.

That’s the mlsnext problem. They can lose 20% of their kids and not have good replacements. Suddenly the ECNL teams look much “better”.

Seriously stop trying to apply your girl logic to boys.

With boys all the top players play on MLS Academy teams. These players are all under contract through MLS and this is where college recruiters go first when looking for talent. Also with the boys there's much less college spots available so showcases don't carry the same weight as they do on the boys side.

If MLSN stays BY and ECNL goes SY, then MLSN kids are a bit misaligned for college recruiters if colleges want to take advantage of RAE. Will be interesting.

Colleges are prioritizing MLSN over ECNL for boys no matter what.

College coaches don’t give a hoot what league or club a kid plays for. A kid could play for a small town rec league, and if the coach is impressed - they make an offer.


If the best kids for a particular graduate year are playing ECNL boys - they will get recruited.

Then apparently for every particular graduate year since 2020 the best players outside international transfers are coincidentally from MLS Next league

With limited soccer recruiting budgets, college scouts and coaches aren't scouring every corner of the country like the movies.
They focus on the pond with biggest fish, but will keep options open.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem for mlsnext is obvious.

If 20% or so of the current mlsnext kids — those with birthdays between August to December — decide being one of the top ECNL players is better than being a bench mlsnext player they shift leagues.

And, who replaces them on the mlsnext squad? The January - June birthday kids currently playing ECNL? No. There are reasons why they aren’t playing mlsnext currently.

That’s the mlsnext problem. They can lose 20% of their kids and not have good replacements. Suddenly the ECNL teams look much “better”.

Seriously stop trying to apply your girl logic to boys.

With boys all the top players play on MLS Academy teams. These players are all under contract through MLS and this is where college recruiters go first when looking for talent. Also with the boys there's much less college spots available so showcases don't carry the same weight as they do on the boys side.

If MLSN stays BY and ECNL goes SY, then MLSN kids are a bit misaligned for college recruiters if colleges want to take advantage of RAE. Will be interesting.

MLS Next has biobanding so RAE doesn't matter. Also the top players on MLS Acadamies are usually playing up 1-2 years.

Your girl dad mind doesn't comprehend how MLS Acadamies function because there's no equivalent for a true Acadamy club on the girls side. (In the US)

For boys college teams are FULL of 24 year old freshman that just recently washed out of XYZ foreign Academy. This is who American youth soccer players are competing for roster spots with on college teams. RAE doesn't matter in this type of environment after u14. You can play in a regular MLS Next club and do biobanding but once you hit puberty it's done. Either you're the next top player or you don't matter.

Makes you wonder why MLSN was threatened enough to try to block the other leagues from going to SY. And why are MLSN rosters mostly Q1 and 2 kids again?

Nobody cares.

I'm sorry that you've just discovered that MLS runs US Soccer.

Huh? The block attempt didn't work, almost all leagues other than MLSN (and NAL) going to SY in fall 2026 or possibly sooner.

Huh? When and where exactly have all these leagues announced these Fall 2026 plans officially? That’s right, not 1 has— but nice try.

The denial is amusing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem for mlsnext is obvious.

If 20% or so of the current mlsnext kids — those with birthdays between August to December — decide being one of the top ECNL players is better than being a bench mlsnext player they shift leagues.

And, who replaces them on the mlsnext squad? The January - June birthday kids currently playing ECNL? No. There are reasons why they aren’t playing mlsnext currently.

That’s the mlsnext problem. They can lose 20% of their kids and not have good replacements. Suddenly the ECNL teams look much “better”.

Seriously stop trying to apply your girl logic to boys.

With boys all the top players play on MLS Academy teams. These players are all under contract through MLS and this is where college recruiters go first when looking for talent. Also with the boys there's much less college spots available so showcases don't carry the same weight as they do on the boys side.

If MLSN stays BY and ECNL goes SY, then MLSN kids are a bit misaligned for college recruiters if colleges want to take advantage of RAE. Will be interesting.

MLS Next has biobanding so RAE doesn't matter. Also the top players on MLS Acadamies are usually playing up 1-2 years.

Your girl dad mind doesn't comprehend how MLS Acadamies function because there's no equivalent for a true Acadamy club on the girls side. (In the US)

For boys college teams are FULL of 24 year old freshman that just recently washed out of XYZ foreign Academy. This is who American youth soccer players are competing for roster spots with on college teams. RAE doesn't matter in this type of environment after u14. You can play in a regular MLS Next club and do biobanding but once you hit puberty it's done. Either you're the next top player or you don't matter.

Makes you wonder why MLSN was threatened enough to try to block the other leagues from going to SY. And why are MLSN rosters mostly Q1 and 2 kids again?

Nobody cares.

I'm sorry that you've just discovered that MLS runs US Soccer.

Huh? The block attempt didn't work, almost all leagues other than MLSN (and NAL) going to SY in fall 2026 or possibly sooner.

Huh? When and where exactly have all these leagues announced these Fall 2026 plans officially? That’s right, not 1 has— but nice try.

The denial is amusing.

The oscillation between "they need to take their time and do it right" and "they haven't announced any plans, not happening" has to be exhausting.

[Anonymous]

College coaches aren’t scouring any ponds. Period. They need kids who (a) want to go to their college; and (b) have the grades/test scores to get in as an athletic recruit; and (c) have the financial ability to pay/get loans for what is not covered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem for mlsnext is obvious.

If 20% or so of the current mlsnext kids — those with birthdays between August to December — decide being one of the top ECNL players is better than being a bench mlsnext player they shift leagues.

And, who replaces them on the mlsnext squad? The January - June birthday kids currently playing ECNL? No. There are reasons why they aren’t playing mlsnext currently.

That’s the mlsnext problem. They can lose 20% of their kids and not have good replacements. Suddenly the ECNL teams look much “better”.

Seriously stop trying to apply your girl logic to boys.

With boys all the top players play on MLS Academy teams. These players are all under contract through MLS and this is where college recruiters go first when looking for talent. Also with the boys there's much less college spots available so showcases don't carry the same weight as they do on the boys side.

If MLSN stays BY and ECNL goes SY, then MLSN kids are a bit misaligned for college recruiters if colleges want to take advantage of RAE. Will be interesting.

Colleges are prioritizing MLSN over ECNL for boys no matter what.

College coaches don’t give a hoot what league or club a kid plays for. A kid could play for a small town rec league, and if the coach is impressed - they make an offer.


If the best kids for a particular graduate year are playing ECNL boys - they will get recruited.

Awww....that would make for a heartfelt movie wouldn't it. Small town AYSO kid has D1 coaches knocking on their door because they are good at soccer.

Now let's leave fantasy land and come back to the reality of limited budgets and time. No college coach is scouring AYSO fields for hidden talent. They are on the sidelines at the big showcases and they have their whisper network they trust. If you don't end up on their radar that way you better show up to an ID camp and show that you are FAR superior to every other player out there. Not easy when everyone out there is D1 talent.

Small town rec league getting recruited....haha....that was cute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:College coaches aren’t scouring any ponds. Period. They need kids who (a) want to go to their college; and (b) have the grades/test scores to get in as an athletic recruit; and (c) have the financial ability to pay/get loans for what is not covered.

So they'll take a player from NCSL 3rd team who meets a, b and c?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As far as I’m aware, club teams can’t just choose to join MLS or open an MLS Academy. So MLS is a closed system and only has boys teams.

If MLS Next does BY and ECNL does SY, then boys who are not selected to play on MLS teams/academies will no doubt decide between ECNL teams and MLS Next teams based on which situation is best for them.

So why would ECNL be influenced by MLS when: 1) MLS is not under US Club soccer, 2) going to birth year would help differentiate ECNL from MLS Next, and 3) ECNL was formed in 2009 as a girls league (and didn’t have any boys teams for the first 8 or 9 years of its existence).

So yes, I would imagine ECNL would have no issues going in an opposite direction from MLS.

The thing is MLSN and GA don't tell clubs that you can't have GA if you don't have MLSN and vice versa.

MLSN doesn't care what you do on the girls side. They also don't care what other leagues clubs play in on the boys side. GA also doesn't care which leagues GA clubs participate in on the boys side. This is why many MLSN clubs tend to choose GA for their girls.

ECNL does try to force clubs to participate in boys ECNL if they want girls ECNL. ECNL also takes girls ECNL away from clubs if they bring on MLSN. My personal opinion is that this is a form of tieing and it's illegal. But nobody has brought a case yet to clarify.

Interesting ... I guess I now realize what clubs do in response ... A few years back a top ECNL club for girls in our area basically split off its boys side. The marketing made it sound like it was all Girl power, but thinking back it probably was because the boys -- also historically at top levels -- are MLSN.

Yep + now you know why many clubs hate ECNL. It's hard to explain to the ECNL hats because all they care about is their kid and typically they're girl dads.

But, ECNL does punish clubs for going MLSN and they also won't allow clubs with MLSN to have girls ECNL.

Think about this next time you look down your nose at a GA club that has MLSN. They're just trying to provide the best environment for their players both boys and girls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As far as I’m aware, club teams can’t just choose to join MLS or open an MLS Academy. So MLS is a closed system and only has boys teams.

If MLS Next does BY and ECNL does SY, then boys who are not selected to play on MLS teams/academies will no doubt decide between ECNL teams and MLS Next teams based on which situation is best for them.

So why would ECNL be influenced by MLS when: 1) MLS is not under US Club soccer, 2) going to birth year would help differentiate ECNL from MLS Next, and 3) ECNL was formed in 2009 as a girls league (and didn’t have any boys teams for the first 8 or 9 years of its existence).

So yes, I would imagine ECNL would have no issues going in an opposite direction from MLS.

The thing is MLSN and GA don't tell clubs that you can't have GA if you don't have MLSN and vice versa.

MLSN doesn't care what you do on the girls side. They also don't care what other leagues clubs play in on the boys side. GA also doesn't care which leagues GA clubs participate in on the boys side. This is why many MLSN clubs tend to choose GA for their girls.

ECNL does try to force clubs to participate in boys ECNL if they want girls ECNL. ECNL also takes girls ECNL away from clubs if they bring on MLSN. My personal opinion is that this is a form of tieing and it's illegal. But nobody has brought a case yet to clarify.

Interesting ... I guess I now realize what clubs do in response ... A few years back a top ECNL club for girls in our area basically split off its boys side. The marketing made it sound like it was all Girl power, but thinking back it probably was because the boys -- also historically at top levels -- are MLSN.

Yep + now you know why many clubs hate ECNL. It's hard to explain to the ECNL hats because all they care about is their kid and typically they're girl dads.

But, ECNL does punish clubs for going MLSN and they also won't allow clubs with MLSN to have girls ECNL.

Think about this next time you look down your nose at a GA club that has MLSN. They're just trying to provide the best environment for their players both boys and girls.

The 'best' environment, lol. Love the objective quantitative analysis. Why so much hate for ECNL from the boy dads. MLSN is the best for boys. If your kid can't make it with the best and you're forced to join a second rate league, how is that our problem? Get over it.

[Anonymous]

So far this 476 page thread has gone from school year/grad year discussion, to multiple thesis's on RAE, to pissing matches on the best leagues between boys and girls, to how recruiting works, to when/how/where and why the "announcement" will be made, to ... what else did I miss? I think we're getting to 650!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As far as I’m aware, club teams can’t just choose to join MLS or open an MLS Academy. So MLS is a closed system and only has boys teams.

If MLS Next does BY and ECNL does SY, then boys who are not selected to play on MLS teams/academies will no doubt decide between ECNL teams and MLS Next teams based on which situation is best for them.

So why would ECNL be influenced by MLS when: 1) MLS is not under US Club soccer, 2) going to birth year would help differentiate ECNL from MLS Next, and 3) ECNL was formed in 2009 as a girls league (and didn’t have any boys teams for the first 8 or 9 years of its existence).

So yes, I would imagine ECNL would have no issues going in an opposite direction from MLS.

The thing is MLSN and GA don't tell clubs that you can't have GA if you don't have MLSN and vice versa.

MLSN doesn't care what you do on the girls side. They also don't care what other leagues clubs play in on the boys side. GA also doesn't care which leagues GA clubs participate in on the boys side. This is why many MLSN clubs tend to choose GA for their girls.

ECNL does try to force clubs to participate in boys ECNL if they want girls ECNL. ECNL also takes girls ECNL away from clubs if they bring on MLSN. My personal opinion is that this is a form of tieing and it's illegal. But nobody has brought a case yet to clarify.

Interesting ... I guess I now realize what clubs do in response ... A few years back a top ECNL club for girls in our area basically split off its boys side. The marketing made it sound like it was all Girl power, but thinking back it probably was because the boys -- also historically at top levels -- are MLSN.

Yep + now you know why many clubs hate ECNL. It's hard to explain to the ECNL hats because all they care about is their kid and typically they're girl dads.

But, ECNL does punish clubs for going MLSN and they also won't allow clubs with MLSN to have girls ECNL.

Think about this next time you look down your nose at a GA club that has MLSN. They're just trying to provide the best environment for their players both boys and girls.

ECNL has leagues for both girls and boys. MLS/NWSL only has boys. USSF killed DA. Who is the bad again?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As far as I’m aware, club teams can’t just choose to join MLS or open an MLS Academy. So MLS is a closed system and only has boys teams.

If MLS Next does BY and ECNL does SY, then boys who are not selected to play on MLS teams/academies will no doubt decide between ECNL teams and MLS Next teams based on which situation is best for them.

So why would ECNL be influenced by MLS when: 1) MLS is not under US Club soccer, 2) going to birth year would help differentiate ECNL from MLS Next, and 3) ECNL was formed in 2009 as a girls league (and didn’t have any boys teams for the first 8 or 9 years of its existence).

So yes, I would imagine ECNL would have no issues going in an opposite direction from MLS.

The thing is MLSN and GA don't tell clubs that you can't have GA if you don't have MLSN and vice versa.

MLSN doesn't care what you do on the girls side. They also don't care what other leagues clubs play in on the boys side. GA also doesn't care which leagues GA clubs participate in on the boys side. This is why many MLSN clubs tend to choose GA for their girls.

ECNL does try to force clubs to participate in boys ECNL if they want girls ECNL. ECNL also takes girls ECNL away from clubs if they bring on MLSN. My personal opinion is that this is a form of tieing and it's illegal. But nobody has brought a case yet to clarify.

Interesting ... I guess I now realize what clubs do in response ... A few years back a top ECNL club for girls in our area basically split off its boys side. The marketing made it sound like it was all Girl power, but thinking back it probably was because the boys -- also historically at top levels -- are MLSN.

Yep + now you know why many clubs hate ECNL. It's hard to explain to the ECNL hats because all they care about is their kid and typically they're girl dads.

But, ECNL does punish clubs for going MLSN and they also won't allow clubs with MLSN to have girls ECNL.

Think about this next time you look down your nose at a GA club that has MLSN. They're just trying to provide the best environment for their players both boys and girls.

ECNL has leagues for both girls and boys. MLS/NWSL only has boys. USSF killed DA. Who is the bad again?

And DA was replaced by MLS Next and Girls Academy. What's your point?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As far as I’m aware, club teams can’t just choose to join MLS or open an MLS Academy. So MLS is a closed system and only has boys teams.

If MLS Next does BY and ECNL does SY, then boys who are not selected to play on MLS teams/academies will no doubt decide between ECNL teams and MLS Next teams based on which situation is best for them.

So why would ECNL be influenced by MLS when: 1) MLS is not under US Club soccer, 2) going to birth year would help differentiate ECNL from MLS Next, and 3) ECNL was formed in 2009 as a girls league (and didn’t have any boys teams for the first 8 or 9 years of its existence).

So yes, I would imagine ECNL would have no issues going in an opposite direction from MLS.

The thing is MLSN and GA don't tell clubs that you can't have GA if you don't have MLSN and vice versa.

MLSN doesn't care what you do on the girls side. They also don't care what other leagues clubs play in on the boys side. GA also doesn't care which leagues GA clubs participate in on the boys side. This is why many MLSN clubs tend to choose GA for their girls.

ECNL does try to force clubs to participate in boys ECNL if they want girls ECNL. ECNL also takes girls ECNL away from clubs if they bring on MLSN. My personal opinion is that this is a form of tieing and it's illegal. But nobody has brought a case yet to clarify.

Interesting ... I guess I now realize what clubs do in response ... A few years back a top ECNL club for girls in our area basically split off its boys side. The marketing made it sound like it was all Girl power, but thinking back it probably was because the boys -- also historically at top levels -- are MLSN.

Yep + now you know why many clubs hate ECNL. It's hard to explain to the ECNL hats because all they care about is their kid and typically they're girl dads.

But, ECNL does punish clubs for going MLSN and they also won't allow clubs with MLSN to have girls ECNL.

Think about this next time you look down your nose at a GA club that has MLSN. They're just trying to provide the best environment for their players both boys and girls.

ECNL has leagues for both girls and boys. MLS/NWSL only has boys. USSF killed DA. Who is the bad again?

And DA was replaced by MLS Next and Girls Academy. What's your point?

Wasn't replaced, they a long with ECNL filled voids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As far as I’m aware, club teams can’t just choose to join MLS or open an MLS Academy. So MLS is a closed system and only has boys teams.

If MLS Next does BY and ECNL does SY, then boys who are not selected to play on MLS teams/academies will no doubt decide between ECNL teams and MLS Next teams based on which situation is best for them.

So why would ECNL be influenced by MLS when: 1) MLS is not under US Club soccer, 2) going to birth year would help differentiate ECNL from MLS Next, and 3) ECNL was formed in 2009 as a girls league (and didn’t have any boys teams for the first 8 or 9 years of its existence).

So yes, I would imagine ECNL would have no issues going in an opposite direction from MLS.

The thing is MLSN and GA don't tell clubs that you can't have GA if you don't have MLSN and vice versa.

MLSN doesn't care what you do on the girls side. They also don't care what other leagues clubs play in on the boys side. GA also doesn't care which leagues GA clubs participate in on the boys side. This is why many MLSN clubs tend to choose GA for their girls.

ECNL does try to force clubs to participate in boys ECNL if they want girls ECNL. ECNL also takes girls ECNL away from clubs if they bring on MLSN. My personal opinion is that this is a form of tieing and it's illegal. But nobody has brought a case yet to clarify.

Interesting ... I guess I now realize what clubs do in response ... A few years back a top ECNL club for girls in our area basically split off its boys side. The marketing made it sound like it was all Girl power, but thinking back it probably was because the boys -- also historically at top levels -- are MLSN.

Yep + now you know why many clubs hate ECNL. It's hard to explain to the ECNL hats because all they care about is their kid and typically they're girl dads.

But, ECNL does punish clubs for going MLSN and they also won't allow clubs with MLSN to have girls ECNL.

Think about this next time you look down your nose at a GA club that has MLSN. They're just trying to provide the best environment for their players both boys and girls.

ECNL has leagues for both girls and boys. MLS/NWSL only has boys. USSF killed DA. Who is the bad again?

And DA was replaced by MLS Next and Girls Academy. What's your point?

Wasn't replaced, they a long with ECNL filled voids.

MLS replaced DA with MLS Next that is a fact. MLS wanted more control over the Academy pipelines.

GA was put together to fill a void.