If you want to play in college, you really need to go to the ID camps at the schools you are interested in. You get to work with the staff and figure out if you like the school or not. If they are interested you, they will come see you play in a showcase or league play if they are local. My friend’s ECNL DD college came to 5-6 matches before offering…and they were not all showcases in the main complex. One thing in this thread that is unclear is that colleges are actually coming to events to see players that they know are interested in their school. They come with lists of who they are looking at, they don’t normally look at players that haven’t reached out to them. Showcases do try to get all the teams at least one match at the main complex to make it easier for coaches to see all the players on their list. I guess the point is that normal players need to pursue the colleges where they want to play.

OP, I’m in the same boat. I have a very passionate kid who wants to play on a national team someday. As a single mom, I can’t afford to pay 5 or 10k for DA or ECNL. I make enough to not qualify for assistance, and I have 2 other kids to support and we need that money for other things like housing etc. it’s frustrating as hell.

Anonymous wrote:^^^ I can't disagree but the point is that there are paths to playing elite soccer without selling your soul, your daughter's souls and that of your family to ECNL/DA.

Not sure why you'd call it "selling your soul" just because it's ECNL/DA. There are certainly very good non-ECNL/DA teams, but they are likely also spending a fair amount of money to travel to the big events where college coaches are. If they're playing National League, that's all out of state travel of 4 or 5 days at a time. To be in National League, you also have to play in the Region 1 Premier League which has a similar format of multiple tournament weekend games. And if the team also makes a run through State Cup, Regionals, Nationals, then there's more money on multiple days of out of state travel.

^^^ I can't disagree but the point is that there are paths to playing elite soccer without selling your soul, your daughter's souls and that of your family to ECNL/DA.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Still learning about the soccer world as we just have a 10 year old playing right now. Just curious if it's enough to attend these showcases even if your team loses all their games? I was looking at the above links and the DC area teams aren't winning much at these showcases...

Scouts are looking for players, not teams... So yes, it's okay if you are a notable player.

Showcase W/L record does not matter. What does matter is that your team is in a bracket near the top, since those games are usually at the "main field" for a showcase -- makes it more convenient for the coaches to come watch your player if it's a matter of walking to a different sideline vs getting in the car and driving to a satellite field that has lower level games. If your team is in lower brackets, you'll need to make yourself known to the coaches in other ways, like attending their ID camps at their schools.

So, you can pay less for a non ECNL/DA team, but you may end up sinking the savings into other things to get your player noticed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Still learning about the soccer world as we just have a 10 year old playing right now. Just curious if it's enough to attend these showcases even if your team loses all their games? I was looking at the above links and the DC area teams aren't winning much at these showcases...

Scouts are looking for players, not teams... So yes, it's okay if you are a notable player.

Problem with this approach is that your superstar player doesn't get much quality competition when playing isolated on a lower tier team. Playing on in ECNL/DA ensures a higher overall/average level of competition which helps the player get better and better.

Anonymous wrote:Still learning about the soccer world as we just have a 10 year old playing right now. Just curious if it's enough to attend these showcases even if your team loses all their games? I was looking at the above links and the DC area teams aren't winning much at these showcases...

Scouts are looking for players, not teams... So yes, it's okay if you are a notable player.

Still learning about the soccer world as we just have a 10 year old playing right now. Just curious if it's enough to attend these showcases even if your team loses all their games? I was looking at the above links and the DC area teams aren't winning much at these showcases...

There’s ODP, you stay with your club team and try out for state level team.

On a related note, if you compare the college coaches list above to the list of those attending Jefferson Cup, the most elite tournament on the East Coast, you will notice that the JeffCup will include few coaches from the top college programs. That is the big difference between ECNL or DA and independent teams. College coaches know that an ECNL or DA event will include more elite players than JeffCup so if you are the coach at Stanford, UNC, UCLA or Duke, your time is better spent at the ECNL and DA events. The other reality is that if your DD is god enough to play for UNC, word will get to the UNC coaches and they will come see you play or invite you to their college ID.

http://events.gotsport.com/events/collegecoaches.aspx?EventID=66908

I disagree with the poster above. The point has some validity but in general, is just wrong.

ECNL and DA attract the elite players and if you are a coach, you will attend the showcases involving ECNL or DA teams or events sponsored by those leagues.

That being said, there are valid options for those who do not want to spend $10,000 a year and travel all over the region.

1. Look for the top independent clubs in the area. In Baltimore, you have Pipeline, SAC, Baltimore Celtics and Navy Premier that have elite teams and place elite players at top schools. In the DC area, Maryland Rush, FC Bordeaux and Herndon also place girls in college. This route will require that you attend ID camps and do your own leg work to attract the attention of colleges.

2. Join the B team of an ECNL or DA club and ask to be a part-time player or guest player on the ECNL or DA team. Both leagues allow for such players and it will allow your DD to play for a top team that plays in college showcases but also gives her the chance to practice and play for an elite team without the financial or travel commitment.

You can't deny the draw of coaches to ECNL and DA events. The links below are to the ECNL Texas Showcase this weekend which drew in coaches from the top programs in the country including UVA, Duke, WVU, Pittsburg, Stanford and ND. The Penn Fusion Showcase included DA, ECNL and elite independent teams and attracted a mix of regional programs including Penn State, Princeton, UMD, and Pittsburg.

https://tgs.totalglobalsports.com/public/collgecoachattending.aspx?eid=958

http://events.gotsport.com/events/collegecoaches.aspx?EventID=67761

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if there are any good non-ECNL and non-DA options in our area for girls whose parents don't want to spend $10K+ per year?

It depends on your daughter. If she wants to play in college, it’s really best to go ECNL or DA. College coaches only have so much time and so many contacts, and most of those go to the showcase teams. But if she’s too young to know whether that’s a goal or not, or if it’s not a primary goal, then there are many options outside of DA or ECNL, and you should choose based on friends and location and plan to play high school soccer as a soccer capstone.

Depending on where your DD goes to school, many of the players may be ECNL players these days. The competition is tougher than it once was.

High school players.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if there are any good non-ECNL and non-DA options in our area for girls whose parents don't want to spend $10K+ per year?

It depends on your daughter. If she wants to play in college, it’s really best to go ECNL or DA. College coaches only have so much time and so many contacts, and most of those go to the showcase teams. But if she’s too young to know whether that’s a goal or not, or if it’s not a primary goal, then there are many options outside of DA or ECNL, and you should choose based on friends and location and plan to play high school soccer as a soccer capstone.

Depending on where your DD goes to school, many of the players may be ECNL players these days. The competition is tougher than it once was.

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if there are any good non-ECNL and non-DA options in our area for girls whose parents don't want to spend $10K+ per year?

It depends on your daughter. If she wants to play in college, it’s really best to go ECNL or DA. College coaches only have so much time and so many contacts, and most of those go to the showcase teams. But if she’s too young to know whether that’s a goal or not, or if it’s not a primary goal, then there are many options outside of DA or ECNL, and you should choose based on friends and location and plan to play high school soccer as a soccer capstone.

I wonder if there are any good non-ECNL and non-DA options in our area for girls whose parents don't want to spend $10K+ per year?