Anonymous
Post 04/14/2024 12:44     Subject: ECNL-RL vs ECNL-NL
Anonymous wrote:Not every college team is Stanford and can pick the best of the best. There are like 650 NCAA programs, not including Junior college and NAIA. Plenty of coaches have to scout lesser teams for talent that the Stanfords and UNC's won't bother looking at.


Ok then why does it matter which league GA or ECNL players play in?

Try and look at things objectively. There's ECNL parents saying GA is "watering down" the league. But then at the same time they say that "recruiters recruit players not teams" and this is why it doesn't matter if an ECNL team is good or bad.

All I see is ridiculous contradictions.

What's interesting is you don't see the cultish type behavior with boys. MLSN and ECNL and the other leagues exist at the same time without all the parent back and forth. Maybe it's because for girls there's no professional pathway so everything becomes nuanced with players and parents forced to hype themselves.
Anonymous
Post 04/13/2024 21:44     Subject: ECNL-RL vs ECNL-NL
Not every college team is Stanford and can pick the best of the best. There are like 650 NCAA programs, not including Junior college and NAIA. Plenty of coaches have to scout lesser teams for talent that the Stanfords and UNC's won't bother looking at.
Anonymous
Post 04/13/2024 21:36     Subject: ECNL-RL vs ECNL-NL
Anonymous wrote:

That's the contradiction.

Some are saying recruiters don't watch teams they watch players and it doesn't matter how good or bad the team is.

Ok, if this is true why does it matter which league your kid plays in?

You can't have it both ways.

We all know truth is that how well team plays in league, how good the player is, what their grades are like, etc all come into play when recruiters choose a player.

It’s both. It doesn’t matter how good or bad your team is but only if the team is going to the big recruiting events, which means they are in the right leagues. Every team in ECNL/GA, even if they are winless, are able to go to the big showcases. Once you are there it’s players not teams that matter.
Anonymous
Post 04/13/2024 21:31     Subject: ECNL-RL vs ECNL-NL
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:That's the contradiction.

Some are saying recruiters don't watch teams they watch players and it doesn't matter how good or bad the team is.

Ok, if this is true why does it matter which league your kid plays in?


Obviously a player wants to make it to events where recruiters show up. That way there's at least a chance to play in front of the recruiters.

Once that happens it's still up to you to play well enough to catch their eye, or at least not scare them off.


Haven't you noticed that leagues mix events like finals, champions cup, with showcases so teams that didn't make the finals can get looked at by recruiters? In theory this is how players on poor teams are able to get noticed.

I'm a firm believer that recruiters care how well a team ranks nationally and in league and that they use these metrics as part of the decision making process.

The "coaches recruit players not teams" comments are a bunch of BS made up so crappy team parents can feel better about the money spent.
Anonymous
Post 04/13/2024 21:15     Subject: ECNL-RL vs ECNL-NL
Anonymous wrote:That's the contradiction.

Some are saying recruiters don't watch teams they watch players and it doesn't matter how good or bad the team is.

Ok, if this is true why does it matter which league your kid plays in?


Obviously a player wants to make it to events where recruiters show up. That way there's at least a chance to play in front of the recruiters.

Once that happens it's still up to you to play well enough to catch their eye, or at least not scare them off.
Anonymous
Post 04/13/2024 21:01     Subject: ECNL-RL vs ECNL-NL
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Coaches don’t watch teams. They watch players. If a player has sent video and has caught their attention, they will watch them no matter how bad the team.




This is spot on. College coaches do not care about how good the team is or even how well the team does at a showcase. I know a few D3 and D1 coaches and their staff walks around the big showcases, playoffs, etc. with a list of players they have connected with (emails, highlight videos, past showcases, ID camps, etc.) and watch matches that their targeted players are in. Now during that match, they may identify someone else that caught their eye and start a connection with them but their standard approach is going to see players on their list. They don't look at the teams, find the best teams and just go watch them because they are the best teams. They don't have the time to do that and normally struggle to find time to go see everyone on their target list at any given event.

So what you're saying is the only thing that matters is getting onto a coaches list.

To get on a coaches list you just need to reach out and establish some type of relationship.

How do coaches decide which players make their list of players to watch? Please tell me how coaches won't take a quick peek at the rankings app to determine if the team a player plays on is in the ballpark of what they're looking for.


Of course they care about the level the players play at and is why they focus their energy on the top levels as they only have so much time and that is where the best players are (for the most part). The point this poster is making is that they don't just go find the best teams as the top level and focus on watching them. Most players at the top level are good players. They focus their energy on the players they have the relationships with and have gotten on their radar. This allows them to focus their recruiting. So yes, the team level matters but whether or not the team at that level is the best and always winning is less important than how the player manages and performs within the match compared to what the coach wants/needs from that position. And, grades along with volume of players are the top thing. As a matter of fact, many coaches from all levels face constant pressure from their universities to make their rosters larger to capture more tuition money for the school. This happens all the time and many times it is a bit of a battle between how many players the coach wants on the roster vs how many the school pushes them to have in order to drive income.


That's the contradiction.

Some are saying recruiters don't watch teams they watch players and it doesn't matter how good or bad the team is.

Ok, if this is true why does it matter which league your kid plays in?

You can't have it both ways.

We all know truth is that how well team plays in league, how good the player is, what their grades are like, etc all come into play when recruiters choose a player.
Anonymous
Post 04/13/2024 20:24     Subject: ECNL-RL vs ECNL-NL
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Coaches don’t watch teams. They watch players. If a player has sent video and has caught their attention, they will watch them no matter how bad the team.




This is spot on. College coaches do not care about how good the team is or even how well the team does at a showcase. I know a few D3 and D1 coaches and their staff walks around the big showcases, playoffs, etc. with a list of players they have connected with (emails, highlight videos, past showcases, ID camps, etc.) and watch matches that their targeted players are in. Now during that match, they may identify someone else that caught their eye and start a connection with them but their standard approach is going to see players on their list. They don't look at the teams, find the best teams and just go watch them because they are the best teams. They don't have the time to do that and normally struggle to find time to go see everyone on their target list at any given event.


So what you're saying is the only thing that matters is getting onto a coaches list.

To get on a coaches list you just need to reach out and establish some type of relationship.

How do coaches decide which players make their list of players to watch? Please tell me how coaches won't take a quick peek at the rankings app to determine if the team a player plays on is in the ballpark of what they're looking for.



Of course they care about the level the players play at and is why they focus their energy on the top levels as they only have so much time and that is where the best players are (for the most part). The point this poster is making is that they don't just go find the best teams as the top level and focus on watching them. Most players at the top level are good players. They focus their energy on the players they have the relationships with and have gotten on their radar. This allows them to focus their recruiting. So yes, the team level matters but whether or not the team at that level is the best and always winning is less important than how the player manages and performs within the match compared to what the coach wants/needs from that position. And, grades along with volume of players are the top thing. As a matter of fact, many coaches from all levels face constant pressure from their universities to make their rosters larger to capture more tuition money for the school. This happens all the time and many times it is a bit of a battle between how many players the coach wants on the roster vs how many the school pushes them to have in order to drive income.
Anonymous
Post 04/13/2024 10:00     Subject: ECNL-RL vs ECNL-NL
Anonymous wrote:
Coaches don’t watch teams. They watch players. If a player has sent video and has caught their attention, they will watch them no matter how bad the team.




This is spot on. College coaches do not care about how good the team is or even how well the team does at a showcase. I know a few D3 and D1 coaches and their staff walks around the big showcases, playoffs, etc. with a list of players they have connected with (emails, highlight videos, past showcases, ID camps, etc.) and watch matches that their targeted players are in. Now during that match, they may identify someone else that caught their eye and start a connection with them but their standard approach is going to see players on their list. They don't look at the teams, find the best teams and just go watch them because they are the best teams. They don't have the time to do that and normally struggle to find time to go see everyone on their target list at any given event.


So what you're saying is the only thing that matters is getting onto a coaches list.

To get on a coaches list you just need to reach out and establish some type of relationship.

How do coaches decide which players make their list of players to watch? Please tell me how coaches won't take a quick peek at the rankings app to determine if the team a player plays on is in the ballpark of what they're looking for.
Anonymous
Post 04/13/2024 10:00     Subject: ECNL-RL vs ECNL-NL
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Coaches don’t watch teams. They watch players. If a player has sent video and has caught their attention, they will watch them no matter how bad the team.




This is spot on. College coaches do not care about how good the team is or even how well the team does at a showcase. I know a few D3 and D1 coaches and their staff walks around the big showcases, playoffs, etc. with a list of players they have connected with (emails, highlight videos, past showcases, ID camps, etc.) and watch matches that their targeted players are in. Now during that match, they may identify someone else that caught their eye and start a connection with them but their standard approach is going to see players on their list. They don't look at the teams, find the best teams and just go watch them because they are the best teams. They don't have the time to do that and normally struggle to find time to go see everyone on their target list at any given event.


If coaches don't care how good the team they play on is then why would they care if they play in GA or ECNL?

You can't have it both ways.

The truth is teams ability to win is one of the many aspects coaches look at when evaluating players. One of the biggest things coaches look for is good grades. This is because if players have good grades all coaches have to do is tell admissions is that they want XYZ player and it gets approved. With bad grades the coach will need to jump through all kinds of hoops to get players through admissions. Coaches might be willing to do this for 1-2 super players but there's enough talent out there with good grades that they don't need to do it very often.


The league matters because coaches can only choose to attend a limited number of events and the ones they attend are mostly ECNL and GA national events so you need to be at those events.
Anonymous
Post 04/13/2024 09:51     Subject: ECNL-RL vs ECNL-NL
Anonymous wrote:
Coaches don’t watch teams. They watch players. If a player has sent video and has caught their attention, they will watch them no matter how bad the team.




This is spot on. College coaches do not care about how good the team is or even how well the team does at a showcase. I know a few D3 and D1 coaches and their staff walks around the big showcases, playoffs, etc. with a list of players they have connected with (emails, highlight videos, past showcases, ID camps, etc.) and watch matches that their targeted players are in. Now during that match, they may identify someone else that caught their eye and start a connection with them but their standard approach is going to see players on their list. They don't look at the teams, find the best teams and just go watch them because they are the best teams. They don't have the time to do that and normally struggle to find time to go see everyone on their target list at any given event.


If coaches don't care how good the team they play on is then why would they care if they play in GA or ECNL?

You can't have it both ways.

The truth is teams ability to win is one of the many aspects coaches look at when evaluating players. One of the biggest things coaches look for is good grades. This is because if players have good grades all coaches have to do is tell admissions is that they want XYZ player and it gets approved. With bad grades the coach will need to jump through all kinds of hoops to get players through admissions. Coaches might be willing to do this for 1-2 super players but there's enough talent out there with good grades that they don't need to do it very often.
Anonymous
Post 04/13/2024 09:00     Subject: ECNL-RL vs ECNL-NL
ECNL has made it very clear that they do not want any more ECNL clubs in NoVa. I believe part of the FVU deal is that ECNL will not grant any new programs in the area.
Anonymous
Post 04/12/2024 06:27     Subject: ECNL-RL vs ECNL-NL

Coaches don’t watch teams. They watch players. If a player has sent video and has caught their attention, they will watch them no matter how bad the team.




This is spot on. College coaches do not care about how good the team is or even how well the team does at a showcase. I know a few D3 and D1 coaches and their staff walks around the big showcases, playoffs, etc. with a list of players they have connected with (emails, highlight videos, past showcases, ID camps, etc.) and watch matches that their targeted players are in. Now during that match, they may identify someone else that caught their eye and start a connection with them but their standard approach is going to see players on their list. They don't look at the teams, find the best teams and just go watch them because they are the best teams. They don't have the time to do that and normally struggle to find time to go see everyone on their target list at any given event.
Anonymous
Post 04/11/2024 17:01     Subject: ECNL-RL vs ECNL-NL
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:See 240+ thread about FVU for collaboration


That is not at all why brave and union had to merge.

I think another Ecnl club in nova is possible in the next two years. It was not the number but the performance.


More clubs leads to dilution of talent which then leads to poor performance on the National level. These teams are not strong outside of Virginia.


+100 we need less clubs that play in a national platform league, not more. On the girls side, between GA and ECNL there is 7-8 clubs for NOVA alone - if our best 20 in any age group are spread out 3~4 per team, how do we expect to compete at a National level? It's all about the $$$ the market is over saturated because the demand is high with families willing to pay (we're part of the problem).

Why do we need to solve for competing at the national level? If that were the case, there should only be 1 ECNL team in NOVA. The goal of ECNL is to provide a college recruiting platform for clubs. Having more clubs and players helps that goal.


Our teams need to compete at a national level to get more opportunities to be seen by college coaches. How many college coaches come to the Icebreaker tournament vs the Jeff Cup (of Jeff Cup level tournaments across the US)?


Any ECNL team can go to the national showcases where all the college scouts attend. There was one in Phoenix last week. It doesn’t matter if your team is good or not. Coaches don’t just wander around at these events watching random games. They go to watch specific players who have contacted them with game film and they have them on their radar.

Players on the worst ECNL teams have the same opportunity to be “seen” as players on the best ECNL teams because they can go to the same showcase events.


Agreed college coaches just don't walk around looking for players, but college recruiting budgets are limited. If 20 players reach out that a coach is interested in and 15 are at a major national level event and 5 are at a local regional event...where do you think the college coach is going to go?

This whole thread was about how too many ECNL teams in NOVA was hurting players ability to be seen at national events, and I’m saying that’s not true because all the ECNL teams in NOVA can all go to the same national events.
but coaches dont go watch bottom level ECNL teams. The word of out ECNL is not as Elite as it use to be.

Coaches don’t watch teams. They watch players. If a player has sent video and has caught their attention, they will watch them no matter how bad the team.
Anonymous
Post 04/11/2024 15:59     Subject: ECNL-RL vs ECNL-NL
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:See 240+ thread about FVU for collaboration


That is not at all why brave and union had to merge.

I think another Ecnl club in nova is possible in the next two years. It was not the number but the performance.


More clubs leads to dilution of talent which then leads to poor performance on the National level. These teams are not strong outside of Virginia.


+100 we need less clubs that play in a national platform league, not more. On the girls side, between GA and ECNL there is 7-8 clubs for NOVA alone - if our best 20 in any age group are spread out 3~4 per team, how do we expect to compete at a National level? It's all about the $$$ the market is over saturated because the demand is high with families willing to pay (we're part of the problem).

Why do we need to solve for competing at the national level? If that were the case, there should only be 1 ECNL team in NOVA. The goal of ECNL is to provide a college recruiting platform for clubs. Having more clubs and players helps that goal.


Our teams need to compete at a national level to get more opportunities to be seen by college coaches. How many college coaches come to the Icebreaker tournament vs the Jeff Cup (of Jeff Cup level tournaments across the US)?


Any ECNL team can go to the national showcases where all the college scouts attend. There was one in Phoenix last week. It doesn’t matter if your team is good or not. Coaches don’t just wander around at these events watching random games. They go to watch specific players who have contacted them with game film and they have them on their radar.

Players on the worst ECNL teams have the same opportunity to be “seen” as players on the best ECNL teams because they can go to the same showcase events.


Agreed college coaches just don't walk around looking for players, but college recruiting budgets are limited. If 20 players reach out that a coach is interested in and 15 are at a major national level event and 5 are at a local regional event...where do you think the college coach is going to go?

This whole thread was about how too many ECNL teams in NOVA was hurting players ability to be seen at national events, and I’m saying that’s not true because all the ECNL teams in NOVA can all go to the same national events.
but coaches dont go watch bottom level ECNL teams. The word of out ECNL is not as Elite as it use to be.

I've been saying this for a while.

What you're starting to see is each league has a handful of top teams and varying degrees of crap teams.
Anonymous
Post 04/11/2024 15:40     Subject: ECNL-RL vs ECNL-NL
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:See 240+ thread about FVU for collaboration


That is not at all why brave and union had to merge.

I think another Ecnl club in nova is possible in the next two years. It was not the number but the performance.


More clubs leads to dilution of talent which then leads to poor performance on the National level. These teams are not strong outside of Virginia.


+100 we need less clubs that play in a national platform league, not more. On the girls side, between GA and ECNL there is 7-8 clubs for NOVA alone - if our best 20 in any age group are spread out 3~4 per team, how do we expect to compete at a National level? It's all about the $$$ the market is over saturated because the demand is high with families willing to pay (we're part of the problem).


That should be ODP VA, but then each league (ECNL/GA) wants to do their own thing.


So VYSA should be running everything? VYSA coaches should coach the best teams? Why?