Reply to CCL and Virginia NPL: Make the case

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=RantingSoccerDad][quote=Anonymous]So, RSD, here is the case for CCL and NPL:

League soccer shouldn't be primarily focused on results.  It should be about development.  The club v club model allows clubs to focus on that - under the careful and watchful eye of their very involved and highly expert technical directors, by moving players between teams and age groups, playing them out of position at times to work on certain weaknesses in their games, and generally creating a developmental / teaching-focused environment which is simply impossible to do when results have priority.  This is the same developmental model followed by the US Soccer Federation in it's Development Academy -- which is not a promotion/relegation league, for good reason.

That's the case I think they should be making, even though they're not.  Instead, they continue to "compete" with each other, and with EDP, for some illusory perception of "most eliteness" status.

I also think if they took my advice they'd both probably fold within a year or two.

Market forces can do great things with an educated consumer base, but I think we are a generation or two away from attaining that in this country.  [/QUOTE]

This is an excellent post. At least, someone has made the case -- and you're right, it's probably NOT the case the clubs are making. Not when you see any number of press releases with German Peri or another TD/DOC smiling with a CCL/VPL trophy.

I think, ideally, you'd have a league that is *vaguely* pro/rel. In practice, that's what we have with NCSL, anyway. I've seen parents on multiple teams stressing about the pro/rel implications of the last game of a season, not realizing that the turnover in the league in going to make "two up / two down" an impossibility. And I know one team this season that must have convinced NCSL to drop it to the lowest division even though its results didn't merit such a drop.

I'll need to look into this, but I recall one California league worked along these lines. It had three tiers -- self-selected at first, then with teams moving up or down if they were clearly too good or not good enough for their particular tier. They could still experiment with different positions and tactics without the fear of relegation, but teams that weren't at the right competitive level could still move. In CCL and VPL, you're just stuck.

With EDP now offering club-v-club, I wonder if the CCL/VPL time has simply passed. Not that I would expect them to admit it. VPL would always have the prospect of combining somehow with ECNL, which I can't believe it hasn't done already. Braddock Road would probably get competitive games in Richmond without the need to travel to Raleigh.

I actually think club-v-club works better for showcase events, anyway. For a year-round league, it obviously doesn't work.

The DA, incidentally, is taking steps to tweak the schedule so the games are more competitive. An example I cited of a Bay Area team flying to Utah for an uncompetitive game *shouldn't* happen this year. With 70-100 teams in each age group, they have that sort of flexibility. CCL and VPL do not, particularly as long as they stay stuck in the "Vienna's teams will play the Richmond Strikers teams today come hell or high water" mentality.

So thank you for making the case. It's a legitimate concern. But, as you seem to think as well, it's probably one that's easier to fold into other leagues than it would be to fix CCL and VPL's flaws.[/quote]

DP here.  Not much of a case to be honest.  First, a generalized statement about prioritizing development over winning, which few people would disagree with.  Check.  Then some theoretical jargon, without any substantiation, about highly involved and highly expert technical directors, player movement, playing out of position, teaching focused environment, etc.  As if our area is littered with such amazing coaches/technical directors, who are present at every game and developed countless world class players.  Check.  Then lavish some praise to DA as not being promotion relegation league. Check.  Then place some blame on the uneducated parents/consumer base, which are a couple of generations away from being enlightened (i.e., enough time before someone can call the BS on this poorly functioning model).  Check.  I've heard it before and I will hear many times it again.  It's the same old cool-aid.  Not buying it.  [/quote]

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