Liv4Life wrote:

Swaggalicious wrote:

Liv4Life wrote:So how important is a GA or ECNL team for a girl who is looking at D3 colleges- schools that make NCAA tournament - maybe even lower level D1 if it fits. My daughter plays on a CCL team and the closest GA/ECNL program practice/games are 45- 1 hour away. She was a 4 year state ODP player before stopping that when she made varsity in HS. One of the 2 best players on her CCL team for reference. We are realistic in the process but do not want to drag her that far if not necessary 3-5 times a week.

Thanks in advance

I’ll take a swing at this but take it for what it’s worth bc there is no set path or definitive rules here. I think of it like applying for jobs out of college. If you go to Stanford, employers know and are familiar with what training and education you received. Does that automatically mean you are smarter than someone that went to GMU? No, it just takes more work to vet a candidate from a less prestigious school. Playing in ecnl gives college coaches a known standard to judge a potential recruit. Are there good players on CCL teams, of course, but it takes more work for the college coach. Maybe there isn’t a ecnl club nearby. Lots of Beach FC players play at top D1 schools. Maybe the player is a top two sport star. Whatever the case, it takes more work from the player to explain and the coach to vet. Can it work. Yes but just a harder path. Coaches recruit players, not teams so whatever the situation, you want your DD to be featured, get a lot of touches, make an impact on the field and not just be seen as a role player. Don’t misinterpret that as being a ball hog but think key passes, big chances, completed passes, interceptions, tackles, etc.

Thank you for the info- this is very consistent with the advice a college coach gave my daughter.

Anyways happy to assist (I was a midfielder growing up

I will also add (again, my two cents) that I and my DD preferred a possession focused coach, especially at younger ages. Acknowledging the post above from the OP, this promotes technical development and more touches, usually at the expense of wins. If the team gels, speed of play comes next and you get beautiful soccer (Barca fan here). Maybe not for everyone as direct play is less risky and can win games, especially at younger ages but also at all ages. If you think your DD will be the biggest and fastest then maybe a direct style will be better suited but we didn’t have that luxury. I will note that at older ages, in more competitive leagues, the gap between the fastest and lowest kept getting smaller.

Swaggalicious wrote:

Liv4Life wrote:So how important is a GA or ECNL team for a girl who is looking at D3 colleges- schools that make NCAA tournament - maybe even lower level D1 if it fits. My daughter plays on a CCL team and the closest GA/ECNL program practice/games are 45- 1 hour away. She was a 4 year state ODP player before stopping that when she made varsity in HS. One of the 2 best players on her CCL team for reference. We are realistic in the process but do not want to drag her that far if not necessary 3-5 times a week.

Thanks in advance

I’ll take a swing at this but take it for what it’s worth bc there is no set path or definitive rules here. I think of it like applying for jobs out of college. If you go to Stanford, employers know and are familiar with what training and education you received. Does that automatically mean you are smarter than someone that went to GMU? No, it just takes more work to vet a candidate from a less prestigious school. Playing in ecnl gives college coaches a known standard to judge a potential recruit. Are there good players on CCL teams, of course, but it takes more work for the college coach. Maybe there isn’t a ecnl club nearby. Lots of Beach FC players play at top D1 schools. Maybe the player is a top two sport star. Whatever the case, it takes more work from the player to explain and the coach to vet. Can it work. Yes but just a harder path. Coaches recruit players, not teams so whatever the situation, you want your DD to be featured, get a lot of touches, make an impact on the field and not just be seen as a role player. Don’t misinterpret that as being a ball hog but think key passes, big chances, completed passes, interceptions, tackles, etc.

Thank you for the info- this is very consistent with the advice a college coach gave my daughter.

Liv4Life wrote:So how important is a GA or ECNL team for a girl who is looking at D3 colleges- schools that make NCAA tournament - maybe even lower level D1 if it fits. My daughter plays on a CCL team and the closest GA/ECNL program practice/games are 45- 1 hour away. She was a 4 year state ODP player before stopping that when she made varsity in HS. One of the 2 best players on her CCL team for reference. We are realistic in the process but do not want to drag her that far if not necessary 3-5 times a week.

Thanks in advance

I’ll take a swing at this but take it for what it’s worth bc there is no set path or definitive rules here. I think of it like applying for jobs out of college. If you go to Stanford, employers know and are familiar with what training and education you received. Does that automatically mean you are smarter than someone that went to GMU? No, it just takes more work to vet a candidate from a less prestigious school. Playing in ecnl gives college coaches a known standard to judge a potential recruit. Are there good players on CCL teams, of course, but it takes more work for the college coach. Maybe there isn’t a ecnl club nearby. Lots of Beach FC players play at top D1 schools. Maybe the player is a top two sport star. Whatever the case, it takes more work from the player to explain and the coach to vet. Can it work. Yes but just a harder path. Coaches recruit players, not teams so whatever the situation, you want your DD to be featured, get a lot of touches, make an impact on the field and not just be seen as a role player. Don’t misinterpret that as being a ball hog but think key passes, big chances, completed passes, interceptions, tackles, etc.

So how important is a GA or ECNL team for a girl who is looking at D3 colleges- schools that make NCAA tournament - maybe even lower level D1 if it fits. My daughter plays on a CCL team and the closest GA/ECNL program practice/games are 45- 1 hour away. She was a 4 year state ODP player before stopping that when she made varsity in HS. One of the 2 best players on her CCL team for reference. We are realistic in the process but do not want to drag her that far if not necessary 3-5 times a week.

Thanks in advance

I'd be very interested in similar for boys - one of my major complaints is information asymmetry between the clubs and parents and the difficulty in finding quality information.

(Based around Charlotte, where there is no forum dedicated to youth soccer)

The vast majority of players play in ECNL/GA are there because their end goal is to play in college. Some best practices from our experience.

- Re-evaluate your club options every year. There are dangers in staying too long just as there are dangers in club hopping.
- There are many paths through this forest. You must find your own. This is your process, not anyone elses.
- Players at upper end of ECNL typically have an easier route to college play. The farther down the ladder you start, the harder you must work.
- The college recruiting process is too complex for most teens to navigate alone. Parents need to be involved.
- Develop realistic expectations of the level of play that you can target but don't be afraid to extend your net beyond it. Do not be limited by the opinion of just one coach or club.
- There are 3 phases of recruiting: identification(getting on their list), evaluation(getting to the top of their list), and closing. Be aware of the stage you are in with each school.
- Create your list of schools, keep it broad for as long as you can, but develop your short list in parallel.
- As you tour the country, visit as many schools as you can to get a flavor for big and small, rural and urban, old and new, etc
- Do not assume that private or out-of-state schools are too expensive. Many have amazing financial aid.
- Start early with communications, be persistent. It is easy to fall off the radar.
- Put together some form of video. A good video is an ice breaker to entice a coach to come and see you.
- ID camps for schools you really love can help. If you are talented and persistent, they will remember you.
- Large group style ID camps are only good for your familiarization. They are not great recruiting opportunities due to their size.
- Your grades really matter. Once a coach identifies you, the first thing they will do is evaluate if you can get into their school on your own merits. Whether that is a deal breaker or not, depends on your talent level.
- Develop your ability to talk to adults on the phone. Your ability to communicate in this process is very important.

For my player, the ODP program was a motivator and a difference maker. My DC wasn't a top team player and was always okay with just making one of the travel teams. I had encouraged my DC to go to the ODP tryouts for a couple of years, but when they finally did, something clicked.

They made the local Northern Virginia roster (which a majority of the players trying out will). This group practiced once a week, but now my DC was playing with much better and more motivated players. This drove their desire to improve.

Getting selected to the Virginia State ODP roster really drove the desire to play at a higher level. And getting invited to 2 Region 1 ODP Camps just fueled their drive.

soccer_dc wrote:My DD is just getting started. What are some lessons particularly for the pre-HS years in ECNL or GA? What should she focus most on, not worry about? What matters most in those early years. Extra coaching, skills, conditioning, teammates? I’ve mostly tried to stay hands off and just want her to keep going as long as she continues to love it.

Technical ball handling and foot skills, then speed of play (this is often more mental than physical), then speed/stamina. Lots of great YouTube training videos.

Thanks for the advice OP!

My DD is just getting started. What are some lessons particularly for the pre-HS years in ECNL or GA? What should she focus most on, not worry about? What matters most in those early years. Extra coaching, skills, conditioning, teammates? I’ve mostly tried to stay hands off and just want her to keep going as long as she continues to love it.

With this being my DD’s final club soccer year, and in some ways to test out the new user-name-required forum, i thought I’d throw a classic question out there. My DD is graduating from high school and will be playing in college. So the youth soccer journey ended where she wanted it to, but we definitely learned a few things along the way that might be useful to the younger kids looking for the same goal.
- Being at an ECNL and maybe a GA club matters for college recruiting and it matters sooner than you think. Like, 8th grade it starts mattering.
- WHICH ECNL/GA club matters nowhere near as much as earlier threads might lead you to believe.
- Be honest with yourself about how good (or not) your DD is. Get an opinion on that from someone outside of your club structure or a club that’s trying to woo your DD away if you can’t realistically gauge it yourself. All of the girls who play ECNL/GA and also in other leagues can play college soccer somewhere, but you need to know if you’re way off base with whether your DD is good enough to play at a top 30 NCAA D1 college.
- Targeting schools early on also matters. Your DD needs to be in contact with a narrow list of college coaches by December of her sophomore year in HS if she does think she can play at one of those top 30s, or even the top 50/70 soccer schools. Which includes all the Ivys, basically.
- Grades really matter.

I wish I had known a few of these things five years ago! Any other thoughts out there?