Reply to CCL and Virginia NPL: Make the case

Forum Index » Soccer

Reply to "CCL and Virginia NPL: Make the case"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=RantingSoccerDad]Let's say at the outset -- I have no doubt CCL started with good intentions. And Virginia NPL also served some purpose.

But now we have DA. And ECNL. A lot of the CCL clubs actually have teams in one or the other. (It's worse in Georgia -- on their message board, I referred to the new SCCL as "Southern Clubs' C-teams League," and I'm not really kidding.)

And now we have EDP, which offers one fluid system that includes club vs. club brackets as well as opportunities for teams that may be better than the rest of their clubs. The top tier replaces the old Region I leagues.

So with all of these leagues available, what's the purpose of CCL and Virginia NPL? Does the club vs. club concept make any sense now that you're talking about B teams? Why wall yourself off from other competition? And why not let your teams find the right level in a pro/rel system, either in EDP or NCSL or ODSL?[/quote]

Good questions.  My take:

No, the club v club concept does not make any sense now that you're talking about B teams.

The only purpose of CCL and NPL now [u]is[/u] to wall themselves off from other competition.  That way they can sell themselves as, if not "elite", at least better than [fill in the blank with some other, supposedly less prestigious league].

The reason they don't want their teams to simply find their right level in a pro/rel system is that then they will be found out.  They can't claim to be in an "elite" league if they can't earn it on the field.

Put another way, it's about parent ego more than anything.  It makes some feel better to say their kid's team plays in CCL or NPL than in NCSL.  Clubs know this and capitalize on it to draw/retain players.

[/quote]

NP. I completely agree! We are in a D2 NCSL team and regularly beat CCL and NPL teams in tournaments and scrimmages. The opposing parents always look so confused leaving the field... Yes, DA and EDP are all the 'elite' needed. Then NCSL for the rest of us. Down to decent rec leagues like SFL and MSI. [/quote]

EDP isn't really any more "elite" than NCSL outside of the top divisions, especially as they expand.   I'd say the main difference is that one is local and the other isn't.  They are both pro/rel, which is good.

Why do people need "elite" leagues?  Is that just a way to feel better about your choice?  Let's just settle on what works.[/quote]

That's true, but I do think the EDP top divisions are at a higher level than NCSL D1, which makes them the de facto 2nd tier behind boys DA and girls DA/ECNL.[/quote]

Yes, that is true. The very top divisions of EDP are better than NCSL top divisions, on average.  As stated though that doesn't make EDP in whole elite.  In general, it's DA as elite, then the rest, depending on whether teams want regional or local travel.  If you want to be "elite" (whatever that means to you, and it's different for different people), then go DA. [/quote]

EDP offers both elite level of play (top divisions) and a pathway to national level competitions (US Soccer National League and Regional Championships in the National Championship Series).  It also has promotion/relegation, which weeds out weaker teams from the top divisions and moves them to divisions with appropriate level of the competition.   So, yes, they are elite at the top divisions and not-elite in lower divisions, but that is fine. It is an open system in which you can prove your elite status and division placement on the field.  This is more in line with how youth soccer operates in the rest of the world.  NCSL also offers an open system, but at a local level.   This is different from CCL, which has a closed system.  [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics