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DA vs ECNL vs everything else
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Anonymous
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As an aside -- college coaches really do not care what league a kid plays in. They are more than happy to look at any kid. The advantage of particular teams/leagues is that they will tend to gather together better players, and coaches can get some $ to travel to tournaments (and vacation) to take a look at those players. Coaches are also more than happy to look at kids at camps, high school or local games. What you find out, as a parent, is that all the travel means very little. There are 1-2 kids per team who maybe have some actual interest in looking at teams from outside the NE. The rest of the kids from even the best teams are looking at schools within 150 miles from their home. Take a look at the rosters of the teams your kid has an interest in -- where do those kids come from and how many seniors are on the team? Now go back 4 years and see how many freshman were on the team to make up those current seniors.
Coaches do care about (a) how they stand athletically relative to their peers -- size, speed are the keys, but only for a year. After that they either are good players or they get cut for the next year's batch; (b) whether they are a decent player for their system. Again, size and speed are important, but now you need to actually be able to play within the coach's system. Again, kids get a year or maybe two to make that transistion happen. Absent an injury, if your kid is not playing significant minutes freshman year the odds they will be playing as a senior are not good at all. Kids can transfer -- happens all the time after the freshman season. Kids can quit. Also happens all the time. |
Anonymous
Much of this is putting the cart before the horse. Step One, be at the same place the college coach is. That can be a tournament, a ID Camp etc. And really, that is what matters most. |
Anonymous
| Any word on new GDA additions out there? i.e. Arlington? |
Anonymous
Arlington isn't getting GDA. |
Anonymous
Where they informed or is this educated speculation? |
Anonymous
Not PP but Arlington should know by now and someone always leaks on DCUM PPs seem to think they will probably only get a U13 team because they snubbed WS last year and made it harder for USSDA to have a reach inside the beltway |
Anonymous
So, speculation. it's possible ASA doesn't know yet. I think if it's a yes, even for a limited GDA, that will be shouted from the rooftops quickly. If it's a 'no', Arlington will need to figure out its messaging to existing teams and players to try not to lose girls to ECNL and DA teams. Although, to echo various PPs, if the Arlington teams can stay together and get into showcases where college coaches will be, that's probably just as good for those girls as being on an ECNL or DA team. |
Anonymous
I don't think anyone made the connection to snubbing Spirit but the reality a 4th full GDA in NoVA is to many. I do think there is a need for more clubs to support a potential U12 age group and the newly added U13 age group though. |
Anonymous
Unless you work for Arlington and dealt with Hummer many have described it as a snub and not just here on DCUM where the quote was "Arlington chose not to be a Development Academy partner. According to Hummer, the Spirit made several attempts to address Arlington’s concerns, but [Arlington] ultimately decided to not partner with the Spirit." https://www.blackandredunited.com/youth-development/2017/2/6/14526454/washington-spirit-girls-development-academy-bryc-loudoun-arlington-soccer-nwsl |
Anonymous
This is simply not true. Coaches absolutely care what league your kid plays in as they want to know they are facing good competition, and being forced to develop. I know of college coaches who have directly asked a non-ECNL player (before the DA) why didn't they play ECNL, even though that kid played on a team that was always in the top flights of tournaments. I know of other college coaches who encourage kids to play DA over ECNL because they think the training and competition is better. This doesn't that you can't get a college offer when you're not on a DA or ECNL team, but coaches most definitely take into consideration what league you're in. |
Anonymous
Are you joking? Why would ASA apply for a FULL Girls DA if they thought what they had was just as good? Drink the kool-aid ASA thinks it owns its players and everyone must stay will be the messaging you get Back when they tried that MYS ASA partnership for the ECNL there was an ASA fact sheet posted here that made its ownership mentality clear "What this partnership is not: - ASA is not merging its girls Travel program with MYS - ASA is not giving away its best female players. Participants stay with their native clubs, and some may be dual-rostered to provide maximum flexibility and opportunity. - ASA is not forcing its players to play with MYS’s ECNL teams. No one has to participate in this program." |
Anonymous
NP here. Can you at least say whether this is first-hand verified info? I notice you did not say . . . "didn't get GDA." Also, what about U13-only Pilot idea like Rise SC in the Frontier Division? I get the pyramid of USSDA, but I don't believe that one year of U13 is a development pathway anymore then the U12-only clubs on the boys side. So, what do you actually know? |
Anonymous
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All this talk about logistics and leagues and "giving away its players" (as if the club decides), and quoting media reports to guess reasons things happen.
So little talk about the best training environment for players to align with their goals and abilities. Soccer is actually MUCH easier than all this. It's all the politics and PPs with egos and under-qualified coaches trying to make a living coaching kids full time that are ruining the game. I know there is a total lack of system to judge who the best coaches really are. I would ignore ALL the noise for your DDs until they're 15. Put them with the best coach where they learn the most and are NEVER the best player on the team. They need to be challenged. Play up. Play with boys if that's not good enough. Avoid u9 and u10 teams that win everything like the plague, unless everyone is getting equal time and playing every position, and the focus isn't on winning game but on technical skill. That's a unicorn team for sure. For the rest, avoid those teams because your DD will not get better from ages 10-15 if they win everything when they're 9 and 10. It will feel like regression, but because those coaches are focusing on the wrong thing the false positive is like a drug that makes you think you're good and at the right club. You're not. And by the time you snap out of it, if you snap out of it, at 15 it will be too late to make it past high school at any competitive level. And if your answer is "that's fine, she loves the game and doesn't need to be a pro", then WHAT THE HELL are you doing debating all this now? You're here at U9 and U10 because you actually don't know what your DD wants, no one does. But as parents, everyone wants to make sure their kids of the OPPORTUNITY in the future. And they won't have the opportunity if they're ruined by adult egos now. 1. Find the best coach. They'll be the ones that: - Focus on technical skills, rotate positions in games, provide equal playing time, almost exclusively before 13 - Don't ask for more money from their team players for extra training - Don't jump clubs every other year - Make an effort to educate themselves and those around them - Promote watching live soccer and following pro teams on TV - Always have a smile, but are serious between the lines and inspire kids - Will be the first to recommend DD moves up/on to more competitive situations vs. telling you every other club and coach sucks 2. Then every 2 years, find ANOTHER coach. 3. Then at 15, make sure you're on a team that gets college exposure while continuing to focus on developing players for the next level (aim for pro, college soccer is not real soccer, it makes great 18 year olds into average american 22 year old players with bad habits. DD may not have many pro options, but that's changing. She'll also be a better, healthier, college athlete with pro mentality and habits) |
Anonymous
On other threads, people are concerned about U9 and U10, but on this thread, the concerns seem to be more about high school aged girls and where they should be. I take it your perspective is that moving to DA or ECNL is probably the right choice for a girl who at this time believes she wants to go pro and/or play in college AND who is at a point (age 14-15) to be making that decision. I agree. |
Anonymous
Good post, but wrong thread. DA and ECNL are not for U9 and U10 families to be even worrying about. Maybe put this on the Girls soccer thread, but for some olders they need to really parse through these options and times and costs. There is not a lot of time to make decisions this Spring, and the landscape is changing, and paths have to start somewhere, and some locations are being left behind. on your post though - From U9 through U12/U13, I believe the best development path is often not even at a club worrying about a team. Find a training environment that floats your development boat and go with that......you don't even have to seek out a coaching change every two years, just find where you will develop with a trainer, programs, etc. |