Arlington Red team vs Arlington DA

[Anonymous]

Thoughts on pros and cons?

[Anonymous]

If you get invited to DA, play DA.

[Anonymous]

If you want to play any other sport or for high school, don't go DA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you want to play any other sport or for high school, don't go DA.

More accurately: If your daughter values playing high school soccer over playing club soccer, choose red. (You can play non-soccer sports in high school while playing DA, but it will be difficult in fall and spring.)

If your daughter is all-in on soccer and has aspirations to play in college or beyond, choose DA.

[Anonymous]

Arlington DA is pre-HS. It doesn’t matter yet. She can quit DA if she wants to play HS down the road.

Frankly, I think DA is a gimmick and don’t like 4 practices per week and large rosters.

But I assume the majority of her current red team will do it and if she wants to stick with them she does it unless you all band together and say f@ck it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you want to play any other sport or for high school, don't go DA.

More accurately: If your daughter values playing high school soccer over playing club soccer, choose red. (You can play non-soccer sports in high school while playing DA, but it will be difficult in fall and spring.)

If your daughter is all-in on soccer and has aspirations to play in college or beyond, choose DA.

Players on teams can play other sports only if 1) they play on a U12 or U13 team, 2) they get prior permission from their Coach and Academy Director, and 3) it does not interfere with DA trainings or games. Players who play other sports must do so knowing that playing for the DA is a significant commitment and that the DA will come first over other extracurricular priorities. U18, U16, and U14 DA players are not allowed to play other sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Arlington DA is pre-HS. It doesn’t matter yet. She can quit DA if she wants to play HS down the road.

Frankly, I think DA is a gimmick and don’t like 4 practices per week and large rosters.

But I assume the majority of her current red team will do it and if she wants to stick with them she does it unless you all band together and say f@ck it.

Once DA and ECNL begin kids get separated. Trying to keep the team together just does not work past U12 as this is a transition year. Your "band together" comment sounds like many parents who's kids made friends though Rec and also wanted to keep them together when they look into going into travel.

You will need to determine what it is important to your daughter. DA or ECNL are college showcase leagues primarily. If your daughter wishes to play in college then you should look into which league can provide a proven pathway as well as the best fit for your daughter. IF she is primarily interested in the social aspects then it is likely that neither league is a good fit and perhaps regardless of the team makeup playing on Red might be the best choice.

But DO NOT try and convince parents to choose one or the other just to keep the team together. To do so would do a tremendous disservice to all involved. All of your daughter's teammates at this point, just like when leaving Rec, must choose what is in their best interests based on their long term goals not short term comfort or compatibility.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Arlington DA is pre-HS. It doesn’t matter yet. She can quit DA if she wants to play HS down the road.

Frankly, I think DA is a gimmick and don’t like 4 practices per week and large rosters.

But I assume the majority of her current red team will do it and if she wants to stick with them she does it unless you all band together and say f@ck it.

Once DA and ECNL begin kids get separated. Trying to keep the team together just does not work past U12 as this is a transition year. Your "band together" comment sounds like many parents who's kids made friends though Rec and also wanted to keep them together when they look into going into travel.

You will need to determine what it is important to your daughter. DA or ECNL are college showcase leagues primarily. If your daughter wishes to play in college then you should look into which league can provide a proven pathway as well as the best fit for your daughter. IF she is primarily interested in the social aspects then it is likely that neither league is a good fit and perhaps regardless of the team makeup playing on Red might be the best choice.

But DO NOT try and convince parents to choose one or the other just to keep the team together. To do so would do a tremendous disservice to all involved. All of your daughter's teammates at this point, just like when leaving Rec, must choose what is in their best interests based on their long term goals not short term comfort or compatibility.

Ok, coach. We will all commit to traveling out of state every other weekend. Thanks for the tip.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Arlington DA is pre-HS. It doesn’t matter yet. She can quit DA if she wants to play HS down the road.

Frankly, I think DA is a gimmick and don’t like 4 practices per week and large rosters.

But I assume the majority of her current red team will do it and if she wants to stick with them she does it unless you all band together and say f@ck it.

Once DA and ECNL begin kids get separated. Trying to keep the team together just does not work past U12 as this is a transition year. Your "band together" comment sounds like many parents who's kids made friends though Rec and also wanted to keep them together when they look into going into travel.

You will need to determine what it is important to your daughter. DA or ECNL are college showcase leagues primarily. If your daughter wishes to play in college then you should look into which league can provide a proven pathway as well as the best fit for your daughter. IF she is primarily interested in the social aspects then it is likely that neither league is a good fit and perhaps regardless of the team makeup playing on Red might be the best choice.

But DO NOT try and convince parents to choose one or the other just to keep the team together. To do so would do a tremendous disservice to all involved. All of your daughter's teammates at this point, just like when leaving Rec, must choose what is in their best interests based on their long term goals not short term comfort or compatibility.

Ok, coach. We will all commit to traveling out of state every other weekend. Thanks for the tip.

Not so sure. Our team of top players all have said f*ck it to stuff as a unit and there really wasn't much they could do except cut their best 15 players in the age group...which they did not.

Some times it takes a village to stand up to the horseshit that has become US Youth soccer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Arlington DA is pre-HS. It doesn’t matter yet. She can quit DA if she wants to play HS down the road.

Frankly, I think DA is a gimmick and don’t like 4 practices per week and large rosters.

But I assume the majority of her current red team will do it and if she wants to stick with them she does it unless you all band together and say f@ck it.

Once DA and ECNL begin kids get separated. Trying to keep the team together just does not work past U12 as this is a transition year. Your "band together" comment sounds like many parents who's kids made friends though Rec and also wanted to keep them together when they look into going into travel.

You will need to determine what it is important to your daughter. DA or ECNL are college showcase leagues primarily. If your daughter wishes to play in college then you should look into which league can provide a proven pathway as well as the best fit for your daughter. IF she is primarily interested in the social aspects then it is likely that neither league is a good fit and perhaps regardless of the team makeup playing on Red might be the best choice.

But DO NOT try and convince parents to choose one or the other just to keep the team together. To do so would do a tremendous disservice to all involved. All of your daughter's teammates at this point, just like when leaving Rec, must choose what is in their best interests based on their long term goals not short term comfort or compatibility.

Ok, coach. We will all commit to traveling out of state every other weekend. Thanks for the tip.

Not so sure. Our team of top players all have said f*ck it to stuff as a unit and there really wasn't much they could do except cut their best 15 players in the age group...which they did not.

Some times it takes a village to stand up to the horseshit that has become US Youth soccer.

You’re not a village. You’re a small group of parents with 12 year old girls. Feel free to do what is best for you or your kid but don’t presume that your motives, goals or objectives are shared with the other kids or parents. You may all come to the same conclusion but because it is what is best for each kid and not because you are scared of having your click disbanded or disrupted.

[Anonymous]

Why the presumption that the OP has a daughter?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you want to play any other sport or for high school, don't go DA.

More accurately: If your daughter values playing high school soccer over playing club soccer, choose red. (You can play non-soccer sports in high school while playing DA, but it will be difficult in fall and spring.)

If your daughter is all-in on soccer and has aspirations to play in college or beyond, choose DA.

What girls DA players play a non-soccer HS sport?

Answer: none.

Sure it's allowed, but this has been confirmed for some time on the main thread with the boys.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Arlington DA is pre-HS. It doesn’t matter yet. She can quit DA if she wants to play HS down the road.

Frankly, I think DA is a gimmick and don’t like 4 practices per week and large rosters.

But I assume the majority of her current red team will do it and if she wants to stick with them she does it unless you all band together and say f@ck it.

Once DA and ECNL begin kids get separated. Trying to keep the team together just does not work past U12 as this is a transition year. Your "band together" comment sounds like many parents who's kids made friends though Rec and also wanted to keep them together when they look into going into travel.

You will need to determine what it is important to your daughter. DA or ECNL are college showcase leagues primarily. If your daughter wishes to play in college then you should look into which league can provide a proven pathway as well as the best fit for your daughter. IF she is primarily interested in the social aspects then it is likely that neither league is a good fit and perhaps regardless of the team makeup playing on Red might be the best choice.

But DO NOT try and convince parents to choose one or the other just to keep the team together. To do so would do a tremendous disservice to all involved. All of your daughter's teammates at this point, just like when leaving Rec, must choose what is in their best interests based on their long term goals not short term comfort or compatibility.

Ok, coach. We will all commit to traveling out of state every other weekend. Thanks for the tip.

From that typical coach answer you would think that anyone who doesn't want DA or ECNL is mainly interested in social aspects. This is the lunacy. What a jackass. There are players who are interested in better environments then 2nd tier Red teams, who don't care about the social stuff one iota, who are great at soccer, and who do not want to play in college. ECNL would be a prefect fit for them if it lowered the cost, became more local, and stopped trying to pretend it was Elite. Once the ECNL chooses to accept that role, then there may be some good options for those who care about more then soccer 24/7/365 in some quest that DC be scouted at a showcase so they can eventually be distracted by battling for a starting position all through college.

Does the ECNL really need all the travel and showcases? Please leave those for the crowd that thinks DA is the golden ticket.

[Anonymous]

^^ ECNL is a showcase league. It’s purpose upon inception was to create an elite showcase environment and strip ODP of this designation. If you are in ECNL for anything but showcases you fundamentally don’t understand the purpose. Play in CCL or NPL but to ask a showcase league to not play in so many showcases is ignorance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^ ECNL is a showcase league. It’s purpose upon inception was to create an elite showcase environment and strip ODP of this designation. If you are in ECNL for anything but showcases you fundamentally don’t understand the purpose. Play in CCL or NPL but to ask a showcase league to not play in so many showcases is ignorance.

Umm - I think the post was that the ECNL needs to realize that it soon will be wasting parents money and players time by trying to sell itself as a showcase platform to college, and should just accept it's fate.