Anonymous wrote:I don't think anyone is arguing that we need less "elite" clubs in the area. It's HOW the merger is unfolding that is causing problems. The fact that the league has created this problem (they added a terrible club just last year in Potomac) and then turn around and force McLean to absorb Brave after their merger experiment is big red flag for clubs. They are bullying the club and telling them how to run their own teams. It sets a bad precedent that they can use our club like pawns. What leader of a club wants to subject their membership to that kind of treatement. Who here expects the Boys program in either club to be dominant given we are surrounded by MLS. Why force the girls to combine and not just the boys? There are so many other ways to do this. The league is recommending a merger but the terms are up to the clubs. The clubs are dropping the ball big time and that's why people are upset. The leadership at MYS decided to leave their entire Boys staff in the dark and think it will work out. The parents in McLean are against losing the most successful coaches they have had to this merger in the most critical time of their kids recruiting years. That is what's happening here. Does anyone remember how BRYC lost Welsh and Jennings when they merged? Is anyone on here saying that worked out best for those players or even the club the last two years. NEW FLASH it didn't. Why should McLean which HAS had success on the boys but had ONE down year lose all it's coaches to a WORSE boys program in this merger. Make it make sense. The boys program had a U19 team go to the National Finals in 2022 and normally send 1-2 teams to playoffs each year. This year is no exception. The 2008 Boys will be playing in San Diego and they want to fire that coach for the Brave coach which sits bottom of the table with no wins. The boys program has done pretty good given how much competition there is in the division. Wake up people. This is all about the declining GIRLs program not the Boys program which is why the girls leaders are in control of the terms. McLean Girls ECNL used to dominate and now they don't. They don't want to develop their way to the top (which is why Danny Butler and all the talented young coaches leave). Nadir can't poach players from SYC anymore because they got smart and went GA. Vienna is the next target and McLean is selling the Boys program as collateral. This is why parents are upset. If McLean were smart they would let ECNL drop the boys program and apply for MLS next with Vienna and BRYC. Clubs can merge Girls ECNL and we all win. F*ck ECNL. The future for Boys is MLS.

Anonymous wrote:I don't think anyone is arguing that we need less "elite" clubs in the area. It's HOW the merger is unfolding that is causing problems. The fact that the league has created this problem (they added a terrible club just last year in Potomac) and then turn around and force McLean to absorb Brave after their merger experiment is big red flag for clubs. They are bullying the club and telling them how to run their own teams. It sets a bad precedent that they can use our club like pawns. What leader of a club wants to subject their membership to that kind of treatement. Who here expects the Boys program in either club to be dominant given we are surrounded by MLS. Why force the girls to combine and not just the boys? There are so many other ways to do this. The league is recommending a merger but the terms are up to the clubs. The clubs are dropping the ball big time and that's why people are upset. The leadership at MYS decided to leave their entire Boys staff in the dark and think it will work out. The parents in McLean are against losing the most successful coaches they have had to this merger in the most critical time of their kids recruiting years. That is what's happening here. Does anyone remember how BRYC lost Welsh and Jennings when they merged? Is anyone on here saying that worked out best for those players or even the club the last two years. NEW FLASH it didn't. Why should McLean which HAS had success on the boys but had ONE down year lose all it's coaches to a WORSE boys program in this merger. Make it make sense. The boys program had a U19 team go to the National Finals in 2022 and normally send 1-2 teams to playoffs each year. This year is no exception. The 2008 Boys will be playing in San Diego and they want to fire that coach for the Brave coach which sits bottom of the table with no wins. The boys program has done pretty good given how much competition there is in the division. Wake up people. This is all about the declining GIRLs program not the Boys program which is why the girls leaders are in control of the terms. McLean Girls ECNL used to dominate and now they don't. They don't want to develop their way to the top (which is why Danny Butler and all the talented young coaches leave). Nadir can't poach players from SYC anymore because they got smart and went GA. Vienna is the next target and McLean is selling the Boys program as collateral. This is why parents are upset. If McLean were smart they would let ECNL drop the boys program and apply for MLS next with Vienna and BRYC. Clubs can merge Girls ECNL and we all win. F*ck ECNL. The future for Boys is MLS.

Anonymous wrote:Ok but really — did anyone think we’d get to Thursday 2/29 at 2:30pm and NOT KNOW COACHES?! Its just unbelievable.

Anonymous wrote:Ok but really — did anyone think we’d get to Thursday 2/29 at 2:30pm and NOT KNOW COACHES?! Its just unbelievable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here’s the solution:
Each ECNL team will be assigned 3 coaches—1 unanimously selected from each of the 3 club voting groups. The coaches rotate with each practice/game. Rock/paper/scissors decides who starts the rotation. Each player will have the benefit of 3 coaching styles, 3 evaluators, 3 styles of play, and 3 college references. The annual cost will have go up just a little to around $7,500 (uniforms, snacks, and travel not included), but well worth it! Problem solved.

The Judgment of Solomon. Why do you need the Union coaches to come to agreement? Let them out, this is a Deja Vu - old BRYC Boys TD didn’t want to sign off on BRAVE.

Anonymous wrote:Here’s the solution:
Each ECNL team will be assigned 3 coaches—1 unanimously selected from each of the 3 club voting groups. The coaches rotate with each practice/game. Rock/paper/scissors decides who starts the rotation. Each player will have the benefit of 3 coaching styles, 3 evaluators, 3 styles of play, and 3 college references. The annual cost will have go up just a little to around $7,500 (uniforms, snacks, and travel not included), but well worth it! Problem solved.

Anonymous wrote:Here’s the solution:
Each ECNL team will be assigned 3 coaches—1 unanimously selected from each of the 3 club voting groups. The coaches rotate with each practice/game. Rock/paper/scissors decides who starts the rotation. Each player will have the benefit of 3 coaching styles, 3 evaluators, 3 styles of play, and 3 college references. The annual cost will have go up just a little to around $7,500 (uniforms, snacks, and travel not included), but well worth it! Problem solved.

Anonymous wrote:

Lasso911 wrote:I think this could all be avoided if these boys clubs focused on the basic philosophy of building a solid foundation at U littles.

BRYC U littles-Pretty behind across U9-U12
VYS U littles-Very Behind
Mclean- Getting better but U9s seem to be the strongest group out of all.

You're in the single digits, please stop. Some of these kids are still peeing the bed at the ages you are judging talent from

Anonymous wrote:So to sum it up, ECNL decided that the performance of the brave and Union boys teams was not up to snuff. So force them to merge and create problems even on the girls side now which they make zero mention of.

Got it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow the back and forth on here is something!

I have a question as someone who is not nearly as knowledgeable about or invested in this stuff as most on here appear to be

This merger means there is one less ECNL club in the area, correct? And at the oldest age groups, there are these so-called “trapped” players who still have a year of HS left and this will be moving to a younger age group. So the net effect is that there will be a massive influx of kids into the oldest age group, and with far fewer spots available.

It seems like the net effect will be tons of players who are currently on ECNL teams, be it at the oldest or second-oldest age groups, will suddenly be stuck without a team? And for those who haven’t signed with colleges, at a massively important moment in the recruiting process.

So whatever childish arguments are being had on this board between parents, the real losers in this process will be dozens of kids whose careers and recruitments are being totally disrupted due to the incompetence and unprofessionalism of the entire youth soccer enterprise, and particularly the craven antics of the people who run the ECNL.

While the parents on here cry into their travel soccer invoices and lament the loss of their SAHM cocktail party bragging rights about their supertalented kids playing on AN ECNL TEAM!, as always it’s the kids who end up getting totally screwed.

Unfortunately, you are correct.