Girls' Academy has also been approved to become a U.S. Soccer member!

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Can someone explain to me why a league adding more clubs is a bad thing?

If the clubs being added are high level there will be competition and maybe different clubs would go to the finals.

If the clubs being added are lower level there won't be added competition and the same dominate clubs will go to the finals.

From a high level recruitment perspective adding more clubs to a league doesn't change anything. The same top clubs get recruited regardless of league.

Adding low level clubs dilutes the talent pool. Ideally, you would encourage the best players to leave low level teams and come together on higher level teams. This encourages them to remain with their current clubs. Just in NOVA, you now have three GA teams. Are there really enough girls choosing GA over ECNL to fill out all of those rosters with even regionally let alone nationally competitive teams?

Yes, but why is diluting the talent pool bad? Bad for who? Isn’t it good for the clubs and the players that get to participate? The top players are still the top players and they will get seen just as much, they’ll just have fewer other top players on their team. What is your concern about having more teams in a league?

Because it is supposed to be "elite". These are showcase leagues and if the process is complicated due to dilution it becomes harder to find top talent even in showcases claiming to have top talent.:

https://www.soccerwire.com/soccer-blog/veteran-scout-college-coaches-growing-frustrated-with-ongoing-duel-between-ecnl-and-girls-academy/

"While the GA remains a clear cut No. 2 on the national landscape with plenty of future NCAA Division 1 players and undoubtedly some future professional players in its ranks, there’s no denying the pattern that is taking place, with top GA clubs continuing to join (or re-join) the ECNL.

This has resulted in the GA adding clubs to its own ranks while the ECNL also expands in other ways. According to the hundreds of college coaches I speak to weekly, this process has added thousands of new recruits to an already overcrowded recruiting landscape. For some, it has made the process of scouting and evaluating potential recruits entirely unmanageable."

I see. So it’s bad for college recruiters who will need to be better at finding players instead of just going to one place? I’m ok having bigger leagues that are better for players and clubs with the trade off that it’s worse for college recruiters that only affects a small number

It's not good for top players if they aren't being challenged on a weekly basis. The never expanding leagues is simply watering down the product and competition for all involved.

It is good for the bubble kid until they spent thousands of dollars to still not stand out.

Having proper tiers is good for the sport and good for the players. A well structured pyramid is needed more than the current state of flattening the access to these leagues while still calling them "elite". It is serving nobody's needs. Not the player, the colleges or our culture of soccer.

Who are you to decide what's good for the bubble kid and how their parents should spend their money? Maybe they are a late developer and keeping them from the national platform is just missing out on a future great player. Or maybe the player just enjoys traveling to events and is happy to spend thousands of dollars on something they enjoy even if there is no pot of gold at the end.

If a player isn't being challenged on a weekly basis they could join a different team, play up an age, guest play, whatever. These unchallenged players might all gravitate to the same club or team and form a super team. Or maybe they don't have the desire to drive 60+ minutes to practice every day and are happy to have a team that plays in the same league that is close by.

More choices is good for players. The tiering and better teams and clubs will sort itself organically, much better than some know it all deciding which clubs, which locations, and which teams should be part of which tier.

There are now 4 ECNL and 3 GA options in Northern Virginia. There are no bubble players with 140 roster spots who are making the national team later.

These leagues are supposed to be the best of the best that the area has to offer. Steel sharpens steel. Top players simply fail to develop when they have to play with kids who turn the ball over at too high a rate for what the league should allow.

There are still places for those "bubble" players to enjoy playing soccer and to develop but their spot in these leagues should be earned not gifted because GA is expanding so aggressively without a thought of depth of talent.

It's so interesting that typically ECNL parents state the stupid "steel sharpens steel" quote.

But at the same time they love when clubs collect talent for wins and not play those players up.

Which is it? Are you playing for wins by collecting a bunch of players that should be playing up. Or, are you trying to do the most for player development by playing talented players up in environments where they will actually be challenged.

I never said anything about wins. If wins were that important then the Nationals would have stayed in GA. But the truth was, as a club they were bored in GA. The last GA loss the 2010 Nationals experienced was in 2022 in a Champions league game. Their only other loss was to a ECNL team. So tell me how are they getting better as players if they regularly win league games 5-1, 8-0, or 3-0?

There should be no more than 4 "elite" options in Northern Virginia and three is probably the sweet spot.

Ultimately it doesn't matter, as more top players will gravitate to ECNL over time anyways and the top players who play in GA will grow to be bored at the lack of depth of talent.

GA is wisely migrating to be a second tier league which is a useful option as I believe kids should play and they should be able to play at the highest level possible for their skill set. I'm all for a place for bubble players to have a well run national platform to grow and develop. The problem is for the leagues and the customers to accept a true pyramid and having seven clubs in the area all claiming to be the same thing isn't helping to define that pyramid.

IF NWSL comes in and somehow flips the pyramid, so be it, but it still must be a pyramid.

So which organization gets to make the determination that there should be just 3 or 4 "elite" options in NoVA? And also decide which locations and clubs should be included? There is no organization with the authority to dictate this. That's not how it works in this country for any youth sport. Clubs and leagues are all just businesses, and like any business, driven by market demand. If there is enough demand more will enter the market. Some will succeed, some will fail, some will combine together out of necessity, all of which we're seeing this year.

The perfect pyramid world you fantasize about is just that, a fantasy. Some of us live in the real world.

NWSL Next will take care of all of this.

100% correct!

I wish I could see the faces all the ECNL nimbys that starting to realize what GA is doing.

How will NWSL Next and GA impact what ECNL does for college recruiting when ECNL has 75% of the market?

They can't. This is all dumb talk. If GA says we are the path to the pros they will get a few takers. Not a lot. They also have to say with a straight face they are the path to college which they are to a limited extent. But what do they have to beat out ECNL? What can they say? When the 80 girls across the whole country that could go pro move to GA -- why would anyone else follow?

Keep telling yourself that.

NWSL Next is coming...

It definitely is. The GA just produced a teenager for San Diego wave. How many teenage pros has ECNL produced?

Chloe Ricketts

Ricketts played in GA.

There are pro teens from both leagues. ECNL recent signings are Kennedy Fuller, Emeri Adames. Jaedyn Shaw also was ECNL, all three of those are from Solar SC in TX, but even going beyond that, there's plenty of GA and ECNL Alum that went to college and then into the pros. First overall pick this year was a GA player, and locally Ellie Wheeler played at FCV before PSU and now KC Current.

[Anonymous]

Ricketts played for Michigan Jags which is a GA club at one point, I think after that she played for a USLW team.

Regardless there's been plenty of contributions to NWSL from GA and ECNL. First pick this year played in GA prior to UNC and now at Utah. More known locally, Ellie Wheeler played at FCV and then went on to PSU and now at KC Current.

[Anonymous]

Let's be real any kid who goes pro has parents who are pulling strings behind the scenes big time.

[Anonymous]

Have you read the article about the extent that Olivia Moltries parents went to get her on a pro team? They built a soccer turf in their backyard and flew her to other countries to train and try out. And flew her all around the country for training at younger ages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you read the article about the extent that Olivia Moltries parents went to get her on a pro team? They built a soccer turf in their backyard and flew her to other countries to train and try out. And flew her all around the country for training at younger ages.

That’s supporting their child. That’s not pulling strings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone explain to me why a league adding more clubs is a bad thing?

If the clubs being added are high level there will be competition and maybe different clubs would go to the finals.

If the clubs being added are lower level there won't be added competition and the same dominate clubs will go to the finals.

From a high level recruitment perspective adding more clubs to a league doesn't change anything. The same top clubs get recruited regardless of league.

Adding low level clubs dilutes the talent pool. Ideally, you would encourage the best players to leave low level teams and come together on higher level teams. This encourages them to remain with their current clubs. Just in NOVA, you now have three GA teams. Are there really enough girls choosing GA over ECNL to fill out all of those rosters with even regionally let alone nationally competitive teams?

Yes, but why is diluting the talent pool bad? Bad for who? Isn’t it good for the clubs and the players that get to participate? The top players are still the top players and they will get seen just as much, they’ll just have fewer other top players on their team. What is your concern about having more teams in a league?

Because it is supposed to be "elite". These are showcase leagues and if the process is complicated due to dilution it becomes harder to find top talent even in showcases claiming to have top talent.:

https://www.soccerwire.com/soccer-blog/veteran-scout-college-coaches-growing-frustrated-with-ongoing-duel-between-ecnl-and-girls-academy/

"While the GA remains a clear cut No. 2 on the national landscape with plenty of future NCAA Division 1 players and undoubtedly some future professional players in its ranks, there’s no denying the pattern that is taking place, with top GA clubs continuing to join (or re-join) the ECNL.

This has resulted in the GA adding clubs to its own ranks while the ECNL also expands in other ways. According to the hundreds of college coaches I speak to weekly, this process has added thousands of new recruits to an already overcrowded recruiting landscape. For some, it has made the process of scouting and evaluating potential recruits entirely unmanageable."

I see. So it’s bad for college recruiters who will need to be better at finding players instead of just going to one place? I’m ok having bigger leagues that are better for players and clubs with the trade off that it’s worse for college recruiters that only affects a small number

It's not good for top players if they aren't being challenged on a weekly basis. The never expanding leagues is simply watering down the product and competition for all involved.

It is good for the bubble kid until they spent thousands of dollars to still not stand out.

Having proper tiers is good for the sport and good for the players. A well structured pyramid is needed more than the current state of flattening the access to these leagues while still calling them "elite". It is serving nobody's needs. Not the player, the colleges or our culture of soccer.

Who are you to decide what's good for the bubble kid and how their parents should spend their money? Maybe they are a late developer and keeping them from the national platform is just missing out on a future great player. Or maybe the player just enjoys traveling to events and is happy to spend thousands of dollars on something they enjoy even if there is no pot of gold at the end.

If a player isn't being challenged on a weekly basis they could join a different team, play up an age, guest play, whatever. These unchallenged players might all gravitate to the same club or team and form a super team. Or maybe they don't have the desire to drive 60+ minutes to practice every day and are happy to have a team that plays in the same league that is close by.

More choices is good for players. The tiering and better teams and clubs will sort itself organically, much better than some know it all deciding which clubs, which locations, and which teams should be part of which tier.

There are now 4 ECNL and 3 GA options in Northern Virginia. There are no bubble players with 140 roster spots who are making the national team later.

These leagues are supposed to be the best of the best that the area has to offer. Steel sharpens steel. Top players simply fail to develop when they have to play with kids who turn the ball over at too high a rate for what the league should allow.

There are still places for those "bubble" players to enjoy playing soccer and to develop but their spot in these leagues should be earned not gifted because GA is expanding so aggressively without a thought of depth of talent.

It's so interesting that typically ECNL parents state the stupid "steel sharpens steel" quote.

But at the same time they love when clubs collect talent for wins and not play those players up.

Which is it? Are you playing for wins by collecting a bunch of players that should be playing up. Or, are you trying to do the most for player development by playing talented players up in environments where they will actually be challenged.

I never said anything about wins. If wins were that important then the Nationals would have stayed in GA. But the truth was, as a club they were bored in GA. The last GA loss the 2010 Nationals experienced was in 2022 in a Champions league game. Their only other loss was to a ECNL team. So tell me how are they getting better as players if they regularly win league games 5-1, 8-0, or 3-0?

There should be no more than 4 "elite" options in Northern Virginia and three is probably the sweet spot.

Ultimately it doesn't matter, as more top players will gravitate to ECNL over time anyways and the top players who play in GA will grow to be bored at the lack of depth of talent.

GA is wisely migrating to be a second tier league which is a useful option as I believe kids should play and they should be able to play at the highest level possible for their skill set. I'm all for a place for bubble players to have a well run national platform to grow and develop. The problem is for the leagues and the customers to accept a true pyramid and having seven clubs in the area all claiming to be the same thing isn't helping to define that pyramid.

IF NWSL comes in and somehow flips the pyramid, so be it, but it still must be a pyramid.

So which organization gets to make the determination that there should be just 3 or 4 "elite" options in NoVA? And also decide which locations and clubs should be included? There is no organization with the authority to dictate this. That's not how it works in this country for any youth sport. Clubs and leagues are all just businesses, and like any business, driven by market demand. If there is enough demand more will enter the market. Some will succeed, some will fail, some will combine together out of necessity, all of which we're seeing this year.

The perfect pyramid world you fantasize about is just that, a fantasy. Some of us live in the real world.

NWSL Next will take care of all of this.

100% correct!

I wish I could see the faces all the ECNL nimbys that starting to realize what GA is doing.

How will NWSL Next and GA impact what ECNL does for college recruiting when ECNL has 75% of the market?

They can't. This is all dumb talk. If GA says we are the path to the pros they will get a few takers. Not a lot. They also have to say with a straight face they are the path to college which they are to a limited extent. But what do they have to beat out ECNL? What can they say? When the 80 girls across the whole country that could go pro move to GA -- why would anyone else follow?

Keep telling yourself that.

NWSL Next is coming...

It definitely is. The GA just produced a teenager for San Diego wave. How many teenage pros has ECNL produced?

Chloe Ricketts

Chloe Rickets played for Michigan Hawks (girls) who were DA at the time then Michigan Tigers (boys) and won a national championship. She Also played for Michigan Jaguars who were DA then GA.

She went pro and played on a USL team and scored a goal ay 14. NWSL found out about her and now she plays for Spirit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you read the article about the extent that Olivia Moltries parents went to get her on a pro team? They built a soccer turf in their backyard and flew her to other countries to train and try out. And flew her all around the country for training at younger ages.

That’s supporting their child. That’s not pulling strings.

Supporting your child is fine but the parents shouldn't need to be flying their kids around the world just for soccer Development.

Moultrie might be the real deal she also might be the result of crazy parents raining $$$ on anyone and everyone. This is the problem with women's soccer in America. It's still a game of who you know.

ECNL personifies pay to play. The people that defend it like their private club and don't want others getting in.

Women's soccer needs acadamies to get to the next level. If this doesn't happen Europe and other countries will catch up with America and NWSL will become a 2nd rate league. (Just like MLS)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you read the article about the extent that Olivia Moltries parents went to get her on a pro team? They built a soccer turf in their backyard and flew her to other countries to train and try out. And flew her all around the country for training at younger ages.

That’s supporting their child. That’s not pulling strings.

Supporting your child is fine but the parents shouldn't need to be flying their kids around the world just for soccer Development.

Moultrie might be the real deal she also might be the result of crazy parents raining $$$ on anyone and everyone. This is the problem with women's soccer in America. It's still a game of who you know.

ECNL personifies pay to play. The people that defend it like their private club and don't want others getting in.

Women's soccer needs acadamies to get to the next level. If this doesn't happen Europe and other countries will catch up with America and NWSL will become a 2nd rate league. (Just like MLS)

Nwsl will have academies in 10 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you read the article about the extent that Olivia Moltries parents went to get her on a pro team? They built a soccer turf in their backyard and flew her to other countries to train and try out. And flew her all around the country for training at younger ages.

That’s supporting their child. That’s not pulling strings.

Supporting your child is fine but the parents shouldn't need to be flying their kids around the world just for soccer Development.

Moultrie might be the real deal she also might be the result of crazy parents raining $$$ on anyone and everyone. This is the problem with women's soccer in America. It's still a game of who you know.

ECNL personifies pay to play. The people that defend it like their private club and don't want others getting in.

Women's soccer needs acadamies to get to the next level. If this doesn't happen Europe and other countries will catch up with America and NWSL will become a 2nd rate league. (Just like MLS)

Nwsl will have academies in 10 years.

I bet within 3 and within 1-2 years an announcement will be made which will cause all the youth clubs to run to get involved.

Some clubs like SD Surf (where SD Wave practices) are already setting up for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you read the article about the extent that Olivia Moltries parents went to get her on a pro team? They built a soccer turf in their backyard and flew her to other countries to train and try out. And flew her all around the country for training at younger ages.

That’s supporting their child. That’s not pulling strings.

Supporting your child is fine but the parents shouldn't need to be flying their kids around the world just for soccer Development.

Moultrie might be the real deal she also might be the result of crazy parents raining $$$ on anyone and everyone. This is the problem with women's soccer in America. It's still a game of who you know.

ECNL personifies pay to play. The people that defend it like their private club and don't want others getting in.

Women's soccer needs acadamies to get to the next level. If this doesn't happen Europe and other countries will catch up with America and NWSL will become a 2nd rate league. (Just like MLS)

Nwsl will have academies in 10 years.

I bet within 3 and within 1-2 years an announcement will be made which will cause all the youth clubs to run to get involved.

Some clubs like SD Surf (where SD Wave practices) are already setting up for it.

What will Washington Spirit do? They were a terrible program in DA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you read the article about the extent that Olivia Moltries parents went to get her on a pro team? They built a soccer turf in their backyard and flew her to other countries to train and try out. And flew her all around the country for training at younger ages.

That’s supporting their child. That’s not pulling strings.

Supporting your child is fine but the parents shouldn't need to be flying their kids around the world just for soccer Development.

Moultrie might be the real deal she also might be the result of crazy parents raining $$$ on anyone and everyone. This is the problem with women's soccer in America. It's still a game of who you know.

ECNL personifies pay to play. The people that defend it like their private club and don't want others getting in.

Women's soccer needs acadamies to get to the next level. If this doesn't happen Europe and other countries will catch up with America and NWSL will become a 2nd rate league. (Just like MLS)

Of all the possible scenarios, NWSL becoming a 2nd rate league behind Europe is by far the most likely. Not because of anything NWSL does or doesn’t do, or how youth leagues are structured. But because of the soccer culture in the US vs Europe. Already we see the best pro women players are going to play in Europe. Just like the men have done. Europe is the pinnacle of soccer because it’s the #1 sport in their culture. I don’t see that changing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you read the article about the extent that Olivia Moltries parents went to get her on a pro team? They built a soccer turf in their backyard and flew her to other countries to train and try out. And flew her all around the country for training at younger ages.

That’s supporting their child. That’s not pulling strings.

Supporting your child is fine but the parents shouldn't need to be flying their kids around the world just for soccer Development.

Moultrie might be the real deal she also might be the result of crazy parents raining $$$ on anyone and everyone. This is the problem with women's soccer in America. It's still a game of who you know.

ECNL personifies pay to play. The people that defend it like their private club and don't want others getting in.

Women's soccer needs acadamies to get to the next level. If this doesn't happen Europe and other countries will catch up with America and NWSL will become a 2nd rate league. (Just like MLS)

Nwsl will have academies in 10 years.

I bet within 3 and within 1-2 years an announcement will be made which will cause all the youth clubs to run to get involved.

Some clubs like SD Surf (where SD Wave practices) are already setting up for it.

What will Washington Spirit do? They were a terrible program in DA.

No idea but SD Wave has the highest attendance in the NWSL and they win all the time.

My experience with sports is there's a reason why some teams win and there's a reason why other teams lose.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you read the article about the extent that Olivia Moltries parents went to get her on a pro team? They built a soccer turf in their backyard and flew her to other countries to train and try out. And flew her all around the country for training at younger ages.

That’s supporting their child. That’s not pulling strings.

Supporting your child is fine but the parents shouldn't need to be flying their kids around the world just for soccer Development.

Moultrie might be the real deal she also might be the result of crazy parents raining $$$ on anyone and everyone. This is the problem with women's soccer in America. It's still a game of who you know.

ECNL personifies pay to play. The people that defend it like their private club and don't want others getting in.

Women's soccer needs acadamies to get to the next level. If this doesn't happen Europe and other countries will catch up with America and NWSL will become a 2nd rate league. (Just like MLS)

Of all the possible scenarios, NWSL becoming a 2nd rate league behind Europe is by far the most likely. Not because of anything NWSL does or doesn’t do, or how youth leagues are structured. But because of the soccer culture in the US vs Europe. Already we see the best pro women players are going to play in Europe. Just like the men have done. Europe is the pinnacle of soccer because it’s the #1 sport in their culture. I don’t see that changing.

Maybe but America is in a unique position right now with women's soccer. We're the leaders of the world.

If NWSL plays its cards right they might be able to overcome all the other leagues. If they play their cards incorrectly Europe will take over.

The one glaring hole in NWSL is that there's no youth Acadamies.

[Anonymous]

What I find funny is that people defend college soccer as some kind of incubator for talent between youth and playing pro. Yet foreign youth academy washouts are highly coveted players and recruited by college coaches.

How is college developing players to a higher level when foreign Academy washouts are highly prized? College coaches are literally amazed by the players foreign acadamies think aren't good enough.

Do you see the disconnect?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ricketts played for Michigan Jags which is a GA club at one point, I think after that she played for a USLW team.

Regardless there's been plenty of contributions to NWSL from GA and ECNL. First pick this year played in GA prior to UNC and now at Utah. More known locally, Ellie Wheeler played at FCV and then went on to PSU and now at KC Current.

She also played for Michigan Hawks which is ECNL.