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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous] How we would all love to be able to answer this question...

take for instance the older girls coach who was selected coach of the year by whatever organization, his successful team had significant recruits last year. I’d wonder how many starters were with that same organization at u13, u14, and even u15.

Since it appears many players at the older age groups didnt make a move to DA due to college recruiting issues creates an even murkier pool. Are those ECNL coaches just at the right place, right time?

I get the feeling that the older girls coaching staffs have to be very very good at recruiting. What does that imply for you?[/quote]

I think that is a fair question. Having seen the coach in question in action (Bethesda Cup), he does a great job of teaching the players how to play the game and other coaches respect his abilities at that level but I don't know how well that coach develops players but maybe his role is different at this stage. This gets back to why I asked for the best coaches at U15 and under and U16 and older.  [/quote]

Slightly disagree on whether this "recruiting" question is fair one, at least as it is being framed above by the PP.  For starters, I think we'd all agree that coaches of the top team at every club would like to add a player that is objectively better than those currently on the roster.  Doesn't matter if we're talking about a coach at a rec team, a mid-level travel team, a good travel team not in ECNL or DA, or any of the ECNL or DA teams:  If a coach of any of those teams knows of a talented player who is unhappy at their current team and is considering a switch, then why wouldn't the coach reach out and "recruit" the player to his/her team?  I don't think this is a bad thing or bad attribute of any of those coaches.

More importantly, I think this "Club [fill in the blank] just recruits/fails to develop their own players" accusation gets unfairly leveled at the older age brackets of the original ECNL teams (e.g., McLean, FCV, BSC, MD United), before DA started and before new teams were added to ECNL.  The PP above expressly makes this point about an older age group.  Yet, until 2 years ago, if you accept the premise that the ECNL teams were the most "elite" in the area, then McLean, FCV, BSC, MD United were the only game in town if you had a daughter who wanted to play on one of the most elite teams in the area.  It is not fair to criticize any of those original ECNL club's ability to "develop" their own players, just because a good player from, for example, SAC Blue, Loudoun Red, Arlington Red, etc. decided to join the ECNL team at FCV, McLean, BSC, etc.  After all, most parents of U8s and U9s pick a club that is "good" and is convenient to where they live. It is not until soccer gets more serious at the ECNL ages that parents (generally speaking) are more willing to drive further distances to have their kids play for a club that gives their child a better platform than their current club. And that is exactly what used to happen with parents of kids who were at the Loudoun's of the world, but wanted their kids to play in the ECNL.  Yet, the PP seems to imply that McLean, BSC, etc. are bad programs because their U18/19 ECNL team, for example, is not comprised entirely of girls who started at those clubs in the U8 program.

So while I think it is unfair to criticize the older age brackets at those clubs for recruiting, I think it is fair to look at a couple of things now that the game has changed with the DA teams and the newly added ECNL teams.

First, for the original ECNL clubs and their older age group teams (i.e., those that were primarily formed when ECNL was the only game in town), how have those clubs and coaches developed those girls?  How many college commitments are they getting in those older age groups?  What is the quality of the colleges they are attending?  Are there any YNT or national ID camp girls on their rosters and, if so, how long have they been with the club?  For example, if a YNT girl switched clubs as a U15 or older, then that may be a sign that she was not happy with her prior coach, her development at that prior club, etc.  On the other hand, a YNT player who has stayed with her current club for several years is presumably happy with her club, coach and development there.

Second, I think you should look at the two youngest age groups for all of the ECNL and DA clubs, since the 2006 and 2005 age groups were the first to experience the dilution from the DA teams.  On those 2006 and 2005 teams, how many players were recruited from outside the club vs. developed internally, and how are those teams doing at the 2006 and 2005 age levels.  Obviously, this is not applicable for a new DA team like Spirit or a new ECNL team like Loudoun, but it is definitely applicable to teams like FCV, McLean, BSC, etc. and might give you some sense of how that club is developing its girls in this new, more competitive, talent-diluted market.  One could argue that, if a team is struggling at the 2006 and 2005 age groups, then perhaps that is a sign that the club does not develop as well from within, and was more dependent on recruiting to achieve success with their teams.

With all of that said, I completely agree with the PP's excellent observation about DA and the new ECNL team creating an "even murkier pool."  It will be very interesting to see how the various ECNL and DA clubs and coaches are regarded in 4-5 years from now, after the newer ECNL teams like Loudoun, or newer DA teams like Arlington, have had some time to try to stop the historical talent drain from their U12s, retain those players in their ECNL/DA programs, and then try to develop them.  It will also be interesting to see the impact Spirit's DA teams will have in the area over the next 4-5 years, now that their new leadership seems to have doubled down on their DA programs and after they have had some time to try to correct some of the issues that plague any new club.  And lastly, I'm very curious to see how the original teams like McLean, FCV, BSC and MD United handle the next 4-5 years.  It is definitely an interesting time for all of the ECNL and DA clubs. [/quote]

Very insightful. Thanks for sharing. Definitely worth considering. [/quote]

It's definitely unfair to those ECNL coaches, they haven't really had to prove themselves as best coaches over the the time ECNL has been in place. They are probably pretty good though. But they were the only game in town for those platforms. They could, and for the most part still can for the older players, choose the best of the best player who are looking for that platform whether or not they were the "best" coach. It wasn't about the coach, it was about the platform. It's at the younger ages mentioned by PP (next 4-5 years) that we'll be able to see what these coaches can do for the players.

OP, can you provide your "best"? what do you value? wins, college (D1 vs D3), YNT, etc... wins at u13,u14,u15 may may not translate to wins at u16, connections to YNT camps may be better at a certain club, is D1 the goal).

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