Yes, travel is ridiculous in both GA and ECNL. However, part of it is mindset vs. "we have to". Make day trips out of the destination(s). My youngest is in it and committed and I feel like the conversation on car rides alone is worth it. Now that doesn't mean you need to travel multiple states away to get that, but kids feed off their parents, if it is a chore and dreaded to the parent it will rub off on them. Some people buy new F-150s with customs, I'd rather spend it on my kid even if the financial return on investment is nothing.

Should be travel soccer is for suckers.
Doesn’t GA have a mandatory California trip?
Non Academy MLS Cup normally has Adidas Cup often in Florida. And the local teams that qualified this year are lucky Flex is in Maryland.
I know EDP teams that fly to Florida twice a year and SYC loves sending their U-littles to Dallas and Florida.
ECNL has no monopoly on madness.

Anonymous wrote:Just competed my third trip to Charlotte this year. Heading to Seattle next month.

League Fees, Hotel Rooms, Gas, Flights, Restaurants, etc . I think we have spent more than 20k for one child to play ECNL soccer this year.

When will parents say enough is enough?
What a rip off!

This correct, but not specific to ECNL. It's true of any "elite" competition that that regularly sends teams out of the region.

I have heard GA is trying to fix many of these issues. For example if two teams are far from each other they ask one of their clubs in the middle to host the game. The commissioner Trish Hughes is advancing a lot of new ideas to distinguish themselves from ECNL and making it point to come visit clubs to share.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just competed my third trip to Charlotte this year. Heading to Seattle next month.

League Fees, Hotel Rooms, Gas, Flights, Restaurants, etc . I think we have spent more than 20k for one child to play ECNL soccer this year.

When will parents say enough is enough?
What a rip off!

Clear troll post; what’s in Seattle next month?

ECNL Boys playoffs

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just competed my third trip to Charlotte this year. Heading to Seattle next month.

League Fees, Hotel Rooms, Gas, Flights, Restaurants, etc . I think we have spent more than 20k for one child to play ECNL soccer this year.

When will parents say enough is enough?
What a rip off!

Clear troll post; what’s in Seattle next month?

The playoffs are in Seattle. It's not a troll statement.

Finally something that everyone agrees on.

It is insanely expensive

Wouldn’t it make more sense to do an East vs West conference playoff?

If you are top two in the East than you play two in the West in a place like Chicago or St Louis or Indianapolis. That way you don’t have thousands of cash strapped families overpaying for hotel rooms rental cars and flights all at once in the same overpriced city.

Anonymous wrote:Just competed my third trip to Charlotte this year. Heading to Seattle next month.

League Fees, Hotel Rooms, Gas, Flights, Restaurants, etc . I think we have spent more than 20k for one child to play ECNL soccer this year.

When will parents say enough is enough?
What a rip off!

Clear troll post; what’s in Seattle next month?

The silver lining is all the memories you create traveling with your child and all the fun that goes along with that. If you count travel soccer as a bunch of mini vacations to places you may never otherwise visit then it doesn't seem like the money spent is totally wasted. But you're right that from a purely competitive point of view this is all unnecessary.

I have to concur with the sentiment. It's a giant money grab. But it's not just ECNL. It's the entire youth soccer landscape. There's this BS either-or that you have to travel far and wide to play top competition or stay local and play mid-level talent. There is more than enough talent in this area to keep everyone within a 90 minute travel area. The most it should ever be is Philly to Raleigh. No need to travel to New York or Charlotte.

Haha….

You first

Just competed my third trip to Charlotte this year. Heading to Seattle next month.

League Fees, Hotel Rooms, Gas, Flights, Restaurants, etc . I think we have spent more than 20k for one child to play ECNL soccer this year.

When will parents say enough is enough?
What a rip off!