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?

Olivia Moultrie, the one who paved the way.

Actually Moultrie played for Blues (girls), Beach FC (girls), and TFA (boys) which were all DA at the time. They're all Socal clubs and Moultrie was from Norcal.

She was a big time club hopper. But, what got her in the door everywhere was that someone on the USWNT liked her and was pushing buttons in the background at DA clubs.

When she fought to play professionally on Thorns in court she spent a small amout of time on the Thorns Academy team which was ECNL not DA. But, this was only because NWSL wasnt letting her play on Thorns. When NWSL lost in court she immediately started playing on the pro team.

They were ECNL, then went Da and then went back to ECNL. Either way, she was never GA and that is the point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Who were girls development academy when she played for them.

I wish more people knew the history of clubs. If they did they'd know that the youth sports landscape can change overnight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Who were girls development academy when she played for them.

I wish more people knew the history of clubs. If they did they'd know that the youth sports landscape can change overnight.

It also shows how it doesn’t matter which league or club these players were at. She would have been good no matter where she played and everyone just wants to take credit

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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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?

Olivia Moultrie, the one who paved the way.

Actually Moultrie played for Blues (girls), Beach FC (girls), and TFA (boys) which were all DA at the time. They're all Socal clubs and Moultrie was from Norcal.

She was a big time club hopper. But, what got her in the door everywhere was that someone on the USWNT liked her and was pushing buttons in the background at DA clubs.

When she fought to play professionally on Thorns in court she spent a small amout of time on the Thorns Academy team which was ECNL not DA. But, this was only because NWSL wasnt letting her play on Thorns. When NWSL lost in court she immediately started playing on the pro team.

They were ECNL, then went Da and then went back to ECNL. Either way, she was never GA and that is the point.

No the point is that regardless of league some clubs are just better at developing talent.

Some parents like riding on the accomplishments of others which is why they introduce their kid as an ECNL or GA or MLSN player. This is because the team their kid plays on gets shelled every game. If they were a top club in ECNL, GA, MLSN or whatever they'd say the club their kid plays for before the league the play in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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?

My god you are obtuse.

For the 30,000 time, nobody is arguing against academies, NWSL or otherwise. Nobody is ride or die for ECNL or college soccer.

But you must accept that a true European Academy system will take years to be implemented here. There will be steps to that end but some will be incremental and others will be bigger. But in the scheme of things patience is key.

But, unlike Europe, we do have a very well developed and culturally engrained college athletics system. Europe doesn't even really do HS sports to the extent that we do here. The college sporting experience is not going away anytime soon, NIL or not. That is the trick for NWSL and the USNT have to contend with.

The other problem with your talking points is the contradictory nature of them. When it is mentioned earlier that we should only have 3 or 4 elite league options in Northern Virginia you argue that it cuts out too many kids. But then you also want to dismantle college soccer on the women's side because we need a professional academy system. Even though there are over 300 D1 women's programs compared to 14 NWSL teams to play for. Of the 200 or so kids who migrate to the college ranks each year less than 20 have the potential to play professionally.

Kids still want to play at the highest level they can and those who know they will never play professionally are not interested in pursuing a professional track but will still want to play in college. Any NWSL academy system needs to accept college soccer and college sports. You clearly have a 12 year old girl and believe she is going to go pro so I get your passion but you're letting you passion turn into delusion. You can only place your kid in the best spot in the system that exists now. No amount of predicting and hoping is going to change what is now. IF things change then you are free to do what is best for your kid. That said, I would not waste any time trying to anticipate who is getting what, when and how good it will be based on little more than hopes and dreams.

We all hope what you are dreaming of happens but we live in the now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Who were girls development academy when she played for them.

I wish more people knew the history of clubs. If they did they'd know that the youth sports landscape can change overnight.

And they were ECNL before DA just like 99% of all the former DA clubs.

In fact the GA clubs who developed were former DA and former ECNL clubs. So, it is the clubs that have a history of developing the players and not GA or ECNL.

This is why if NWSL creates a league they will ask clubs to join before they partner with a current league. NWSL will seek out the clubs with the best developmental history while being blind to the ECNL/GA patch.

"It's the clubs stupid", it just so happens that ECNL has most of the top clubs in the country with proven track records of developing college, pro and national team players.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Who were girls development academy when she played for them.

I wish more people knew the history of clubs. If they did they'd know that the youth sports landscape can change overnight.

And they were ECNL before DA just like 99% of all the former DA clubs.

In fact the GA clubs who developed were former DA and former ECNL clubs. So, it is the clubs that have a history of developing the players and not GA or ECNL.

This is why if NWSL creates a league they will ask clubs to join before they partner with a current league. NWSL will seek out the clubs with the best developmental history while being blind to the ECNL/GA patch.

"It's the clubs stupid", it just so happens that ECNL has most of the top clubs in the country with proven track records of developing college, pro and national team players.

It's not the clubs. It's the players stupid. Clubs can only work with the players they have. When a great player comes along, the club likes to claim they developed them, when in reality that player had the internal drive and talent and resources to succeed and any club would have worked for them

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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?

My god you are obtuse.

For the 30,000 time, nobody is arguing against academies, NWSL or otherwise. Nobody is ride or die for ECNL or college soccer.

But you must accept that a true European Academy system will take years to be implemented here. There will be steps to that end but some will be incremental and others will be bigger. But in the scheme of things patience is key.

But, unlike Europe, we do have a very well developed and culturally engrained college athletics system. Europe doesn't even really do HS sports to the extent that we do here. The college sporting experience is not going away anytime soon, NIL or not. That is the trick for NWSL and the USNT have to contend with.

The other problem with your talking points is the contradictory nature of them. When it is mentioned earlier that we should only have 3 or 4 elite league options in Northern Virginia you argue that it cuts out too many kids. But then you also want to dismantle college soccer on the women's side because we need a professional academy system. Even though there are over 300 D1 women's programs compared to 14 NWSL teams to play for. Of the 200 or so kids who migrate to the college ranks each year less than 20 have the potential to play professionally.

Kids still want to play at the highest level they can and those who know they will never play professionally are not interested in pursuing a professional track but will still want to play in college. Any NWSL academy system needs to accept college soccer and college sports. You clearly have a 12 year old girl and believe she is going to go pro so I get your passion but you're letting you passion turn into delusion. You can only place your kid in the best spot in the system that exists now. No amount of predicting and hoping is going to change what is now. IF things change then you are free to do what is best for your kid. That said, I would not waste any time trying to anticipate who is getting what, when and how good it will be based on little more than hopes and dreams.

We all hope what you are dreaming of happens but we live in the now.

What you don't get is that I don't care about college soccer or scholarships or showcases or anything like that.

All I care about is fielding the best possible talent at the professional level.

Everything else can fend for itself. Which I'm sure ECNL can handle just like they do on the boys side.

What I'm saying upsets lots of people involved with the girls side because Acadamies are going to blow up the pay to play culture and many make their living this way because girls youth soccer is a cash cow.

[Anonymous]

This is what I want to happen to pay to play soccer in America. NWSL has the opportunity to change the world's perspective on women's sports.

[Anonymous]

Tracker...

1. GA was Promoted by US Soccer
2. GA added Liverpool FC International Academy (CA)
3. GA added SYC
4. GA added Revolution
5. GA added Seattle Celtic
6. GA added Westside Metros FC
7. GA added Oregon Premier
8. GA added South Valley Surf
9. GA added KC Scott Gallagher
10. GA added Coppermine SC
11. GA added Cap City SC
12. GA added Columbus United SC
13. GA added Bayside FC
14. GA added Rhode Island Surf SC
15. GA gave City SC a 2nd GA team
16. GA gave Cincinnati United a 2nd GA team

1. DPL added FC Sarasota
2. DPL added Georgia Impact
3. DPL added Inter Connecticut FC
4. DPL added San Antonio FC
5. DPL added Idaho Inferno
6. DPL added Augusta Arsenal
7. DPL added Wasatch SC
8. DPL added Dallas Hornets SC
9. DPL added 956 United
10. DPL added North Coast FC
11. DPL OPEN added Lanier Soccer Academy
12. DPL added NEFC South
13. DPL added Western Washington Surf
14. DPL added San Antonio Athenian SC

1. ECNL added Colorado Rush
2. ECNL added Nationals
3. ECNL added Ukies
4. ECNL added South Shore Select

1. ECRL added Lonestar

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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?

My god you are obtuse.

For the 30,000 time, nobody is arguing against academies, NWSL or otherwise. Nobody is ride or die for ECNL or college soccer.

But you must accept that a true European Academy system will take years to be implemented here. There will be steps to that end but some will be incremental and others will be bigger. But in the scheme of things patience is key.

But, unlike Europe, we do have a very well developed and culturally engrained college athletics system. Europe doesn't even really do HS sports to the extent that we do here. The college sporting experience is not going away anytime soon, NIL or not. That is the trick for NWSL and the USNT have to contend with.

The other problem with your talking points is the contradictory nature of them. When it is mentioned earlier that we should only have 3 or 4 elite league options in Northern Virginia you argue that it cuts out too many kids. But then you also want to dismantle college soccer on the women's side because we need a professional academy system. Even though there are over 300 D1 women's programs compared to 14 NWSL teams to play for. Of the 200 or so kids who migrate to the college ranks each year less than 20 have the potential to play professionally.

Kids still want to play at the highest level they can and those who know they will never play professionally are not interested in pursuing a professional track but will still want to play in college. Any NWSL academy system needs to accept college soccer and college sports. You clearly have a 12 year old girl and believe she is going to go pro so I get your passion but you're letting you passion turn into delusion. You can only place your kid in the best spot in the system that exists now. No amount of predicting and hoping is going to change what is now. IF things change then you are free to do what is best for your kid. That said, I would not waste any time trying to anticipate who is getting what, when and how good it will be based on little more than hopes and dreams.

We all hope what you are dreaming of happens but we live in the now.

And missing the point that 90% plus of girl players are not looking to go pro but to go to college and play.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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?

My god you are obtuse.

For the 30,000 time, nobody is arguing against academies, NWSL or otherwise. Nobody is ride or die for ECNL or college soccer.

But you must accept that a true European Academy system will take years to be implemented here. There will be steps to that end but some will be incremental and others will be bigger. But in the scheme of things patience is key.

But, unlike Europe, we do have a very well developed and culturally engrained college athletics system. Europe doesn't even really do HS sports to the extent that we do here. The college sporting experience is not going away anytime soon, NIL or not. That is the trick for NWSL and the USNT have to contend with.

The other problem with your talking points is the contradictory nature of them. When it is mentioned earlier that we should only have 3 or 4 elite league options in Northern Virginia you argue that it cuts out too many kids. But then you also want to dismantle college soccer on the women's side because we need a professional academy system. Even though there are over 300 D1 women's programs compared to 14 NWSL teams to play for. Of the 200 or so kids who migrate to the college ranks each year less than 20 have the potential to play professionally.

Kids still want to play at the highest level they can and those who know they will never play professionally are not interested in pursuing a professional track but will still want to play in college. Any NWSL academy system needs to accept college soccer and college sports. You clearly have a 12 year old girl and believe she is going to go pro so I get your passion but you're letting you passion turn into delusion. You can only place your kid in the best spot in the system that exists now. No amount of predicting and hoping is going to change what is now. IF things change then you are free to do what is best for your kid. That said, I would not waste any time trying to anticipate who is getting what, when and how good it will be based on little more than hopes and dreams.

We all hope what you are dreaming of happens but we live in the now.

And missing the point that 90% plus of girl players are not looking to go pro but to go to college and play.

You know this how?

Please tell me more about how everywhere else (both sexes) dream of playing professionally over everything else.

But somehow in America girls dream about playing in college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
What you don't get is that I don't care about college soccer or scholarships or showcases or anything like that.

All I care about is fielding the best possible talent at the professional level.

Everything else can fend for itself. Which I'm sure ECNL can handle just like they do on the boys side.

What I'm saying upsets lots of people involved with the girls side because Acadamies are going to blow up the pay to play culture and many make their living this way because girls youth soccer is a cash cow.

This explains a lot of this discussion. Most of the people here are the opposite. We don’t care about the professional level. Let pro fend for itself.

There is more interest, more money, more participation in youth leagues and college sports for soccer in the US which is what drives the landscape.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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?

My god you are obtuse.

For the 30,000 time, nobody is arguing against academies, NWSL or otherwise. Nobody is ride or die for ECNL or college soccer.

But you must accept that a true European Academy system will take years to be implemented here. There will be steps to that end but some will be incremental and others will be bigger. But in the scheme of things patience is key.

But, unlike Europe, we do have a very well developed and culturally engrained college athletics system. Europe doesn't even really do HS sports to the extent that we do here. The college sporting experience is not going away anytime soon, NIL or not. That is the trick for NWSL and the USNT have to contend with.

The other problem with your talking points is the contradictory nature of them. When it is mentioned earlier that we should only have 3 or 4 elite league options in Northern Virginia you argue that it cuts out too many kids. But then you also want to dismantle college soccer on the women's side because we need a professional academy system. Even though there are over 300 D1 women's programs compared to 14 NWSL teams to play for. Of the 200 or so kids who migrate to the college ranks each year less than 20 have the potential to play professionally.

Kids still want to play at the highest level they can and those who know they will never play professionally are not interested in pursuing a professional track but will still want to play in college. Any NWSL academy system needs to accept college soccer and college sports. You clearly have a 12 year old girl and believe she is going to go pro so I get your passion but you're letting you passion turn into delusion. You can only place your kid in the best spot in the system that exists now. No amount of predicting and hoping is going to change what is now. IF things change then you are free to do what is best for your kid. That said, I would not waste any time trying to anticipate who is getting what, when and how good it will be based on little more than hopes and dreams.

We all hope what you are dreaming of happens but we live in the now.

What you don't get is that I don't care about college soccer or scholarships or showcases or anything like that.

All I care about is fielding the best possible talent at the professional level.

Everything else can fend for itself. Which I'm sure ECNL can handle just like they do on the boys side.

What I'm saying upsets lots of people involved with the girls side because Acadamies are going to blow up the pay to play culture and many make their living this way because girls youth soccer is a cash cow.

You keep saying this like anyone cares. Kids will play in the system that exists.

It’s like you don’t read a damn thing people have said to you.

And for someone who champions academies so hard it would be great if you could actually spell it correctly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
What you don't get is that I don't care about college soccer or scholarships or showcases or anything like that.

All I care about is fielding the best possible talent at the professional level.

Everything else can fend for itself. Which I'm sure ECNL can handle just like they do on the boys side.

What I'm saying upsets lots of people involved with the girls side because Acadamies are going to blow up the pay to play culture and many make their living this way because girls youth soccer is a cash cow.

This explains a lot of this discussion. Most of the people here are the opposite. We don’t care about the professional level. Let pro fend for itself.

There is more interest, more money, more participation in youth leagues and college sports for soccer in the US which is what drives the landscape.

I’m a parent, I’ve got no money riding on the success of ECNL.

NWSL blows up ECNL!!!!

So what, why would I care if it happens. You conflate any attempts at constructive dialog with obstructionism.

Sorry if people both agree with your desire but disagree on the timeline of it happening.

What the hell is wrong with you?