Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Trying to understand how ECNL is positioning itself as it rolls out more and more RL leagues across the country. Is the idea that with ECNL& RL they will relegate up and down? If a club can't compete in one age group at the NL level, they can still remain in ENCL but compete at the RL level?

Someone lay it out for me!

World domination. lol.

ENCL is second fiddle to MSLNext so they should probably figure that out, but they don’t have the resources like MLSNext.

Anonymous wrote:Trying to understand how ECNL is positioning itself as it rolls out more and more RL leagues across the country. Is the idea that with ECNL& RL they will relegate up and down? If a club can't compete in one age group at the NL level, they can still remain in ENCL but compete at the RL level?

Someone lay it out for me!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you all are missing the point of RL, it isn’t supposed to be a pathway. It’s a league that provides a higher level competition than NPL, but not as intense as ECNL in terms of commitment and competition. But also allows ECNL to extend the collegiate mission to more than the NL teams because we all know a number of very talented athletes that cannot compete on a NL commitment for any number of reasons. It also ads value back to colleges that may not see these athletes in NPL or HS, or in markets where NL is either not, or NL is oversaturated.

In the top 100 ECNL team ranks there are a handful of RL teams, so it’s not necessarily an indication of lower skill.

That’s interesting. As a Marylander with a girl in the USYS NL, her team routinely beats top RL teams in tournaments- so when the discussion comes up, it feels like it would be a step down to join RL (plus extra travel). But I also know USYS is losing clubs to GA/ECNL, so it’s tough to know what the club should do going forward.

The biggest challenge for USYS NL teams (including a few VERY talented Alexandria teams) is they won't have the easier exposure that ECNL National events give them. No one can argue with Bethesda, Arlington and Union's college numbers. We can all agree that there are many external factors, including academic achievement, parent alumni networks, etc, etc that make the path easier, but when local GA clubs advertise D2, and D3 coaches at their college showcases and ECNL clubs have some top programs there it is hard to argue.

And yes, ECNL boy parents, I'm talking to girl parents.

Fnally, everyone needs to hold their powder unless they are worrying about sophomores and up. Much like there are little/no opportunities for non MLS Next to compete with the MLS Next and international above college age players, NIL and the rising interest of internationals in NWSL is going to do a number on the women's college soccer game as well. Quality will rise all around, but less opportunities for Addie from Ashburn.

Women's College soccer will change over time as it should. But I do not see it changing that much. NIL will not change anything and I worry not about international players. Maybe the top and bottom clubs but the middle is pretty well set.

3 days ago I was talking to one of my DD’s coaches who happened to specialize is sending boys to Germany and France for 1st team academy contracts. He said the women’s game is 8-10 years away from being a viable alternative to the current collegiate pathway.

Transfer fees are climbing! And that’s a good sign for those that are coming up after the current crop of HSers.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you all are missing the point of RL, it isn’t supposed to be a pathway. It’s a league that provides a higher level competition than NPL, but not as intense as ECNL in terms of commitment and competition. But also allows ECNL to extend the collegiate mission to more than the NL teams because we all know a number of very talented athletes that cannot compete on a NL commitment for any number of reasons. It also ads value back to colleges that may not see these athletes in NPL or HS, or in markets where NL is either not, or NL is oversaturated.

In the top 100 ECNL team ranks there are a handful of RL teams, so it’s not necessarily an indication of lower skill.

That’s interesting. As a Marylander with a girl in the USYS NL, her team routinely beats top RL teams in tournaments- so when the discussion comes up, it feels like it would be a step down to join RL (plus extra travel). But I also know USYS is losing clubs to GA/ECNL, so it’s tough to know what the club should do going forward.

The biggest challenge for USYS NL teams (including a few VERY talented Alexandria teams) is they won't have the easier exposure that ECNL National events give them. No one can argue with Bethesda, Arlington and Union's college numbers. We can all agree that there are many external factors, including academic achievement, parent alumni networks, etc, etc that make the path easier, but when local GA clubs advertise D2, and D3 coaches at their college showcases and ECNL clubs have some top programs there it is hard to argue.

And yes, ECNL boy parents, I'm talking to girl parents.

Fnally, everyone needs to hold their powder unless they are worrying about sophomores and up. Much like there are little/no opportunities for non MLS Next to compete with the MLS Next and international above college age players, NIL and the rising interest of internationals in NWSL is going to do a number on the women's college soccer game as well. Quality will rise all around, but less opportunities for Addie from Ashburn.

Women's College soccer will change over time as it should. But I do not see it changing that much. NIL will not change anything and I worry not about international players. Maybe the top and bottom clubs but the middle is pretty well set.