Reply to FCV, Arlington Girls, and Metro United going to Girls Academy

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]You gotta love the armchair experts claiming to know what is best for ECNL. My guess is Lavers knows quite a bit about what is best for ECNL, having managed it since it's inception and not only surviving, but prospering.

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I don’t care what is best for ECNL. I care what is best for American soccer. One league to rule them all that allows for quality competition that also keeps travel to a minimum.

ECNL could have made a nearly all VA division lowering the cost of admission for players, which could be more inclusive of talented and economically challenged players.

ECNL instead chose to cater to a wealthy clientele who can now claim their privilege makes them elite.

Now, everyone gets to drive up and down 95. [/quote]

Meh. The country is too big to have one massive league that allows everyone in like that just so you can travel less. There is a point at which the logistics of showcases cannot reasonably be managed. You think your wishes are noble and built around what is best for the country, but they are actually self serving. You want to play "elite" soccer but you don't want to travel for it. There is no truly "elite" anything without travel, the definition of it presumes that these players are few and far between. The ECNL was not that before DA broke down, and it isn't that now either. But it's as close as we're going to get right now.  There are definitely warts so you can bash it all you want, but right now "it" is the best choice for elite girls soccer at least.

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Really depends on the region. In this region FCV is more elite than any of the ECNL clubs by a good bit.   It is what it is.   If you are in a few other regions, the story may be different.

The picture is still cloudy re elite.[/quote]

Couldn't resist that FCV plug could ya? The few times they have played ECNL clubs, the results do not back up your claim. But it does not matter, all the clubs are watered down compared to where we were pre-DA. The collapse of DA will eventually get us back there, but it will take a couple of years to filter out the best players. We're headed in the right direction with just one elite league. GAL will settle out to be a second tier league which is fine. We need tiers in a country as big as ours.[/quote]

When there were two ECNL clubs in the area ECNL could claim to be elite. The clubs could be highly selective and player admission to the league in NOVA was just 40 kids per age group. Since DA came aboard ECNL expanded to 4 total clubs and 80 kids per ages group.

Sorry, but selectivity is a part of being elite.

Eliteness shipped sail years ago now and frankly it is a buyers market. Nothing wrong with that but all ECNL can really claim to be is the biggest league in the nation now.

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I don't know much about girls, but amongst the boys there are several very good clubs in the DMV area, not all of which are DA teams.  And even more clubs with some very good players.  Trying to pick all the best players at early age, put them in two teams, call those teams elite, and then have them drive long distances for matches against other segregated elite teams doesn;t strike me as the best way to develop players, nor to create a deep pool of talent.

The best way by far would be to let all teams compete together, with the best players gravitating towards the best coaches and the best teams rising to the top.  The more teams that play in such a structure, the more elite players will emerge.

The most important factor of all is getting great coaches.  And there are not enough, although it seems to me that things are definitely improving in this area. albeit slower than one might hope.[/quote]

The ECNL is not about developing players. It is about winning. They try to put together winning teams at each age group. It is not conductive to development. Do you really think they care about a players development at 18 or what the player will be at 24? No. Why would they? At 18 it’s over no more money.[/quote]

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