Anonymous
05/22/2025 12:46
Subject: GA Aspire Teams
Anonymous wrote:RL is trash as is GA Aspire. Just reusing names so parents feel better about themselves.
A little intense with the "trash" comment... I know a number of girls that have committed to and/or are currently playing in college from RL over the past few years. Most of them got some good traction with college coaches from the RL showcase events. Not everyone is good enough to play ECNL, MLSnext, etc. That is ok, there are multiple paths and multiple definitions of "success."
Anonymous
05/22/2025 12:05
Subject: GA Aspire Teams
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anyone else starting to regret their decision to stay in RL?
As opposed to do what? Both RL and GA-Aspire will be second tier leagues with the same problems people have detailed on this forum extensively.
Stay in RL rather than go GA.
Our DD is on a top RL team. Every single player on her team could easily make a GA roster, including all bench players. She previously played 2 years in ECNL.
There was plenty of good competition this year in RL, including the teams from the rest of VA. I see zero reason to switch away from friends, drive farther, and play with and against the same level of competition. ECNL is one thing, but why take RL level players and have them travel extensively when there is more than enough competition in Nova?
Definitely were good RL teams this year. But there was not a year of RL that had good competition top to bottom. And it will get worse next year.
If you are an RL parent ask yourself this. How many GA girls tried out for your RL team?
If you are a GA parent, how many RL kids tried out for your team?
We had tons. SYC and ASA had lots of girls out from multiple ECNL RL teams.
Edit: SYC and ASA had lots of girls out from multiple top of table ECNL RL and a few from ECNL teams based on the backpacks.
Any ECNL RL teams have any GA girls at tryouts or was it all NCSL girls?
Anonymous
05/21/2025 23:31
Subject: GA Aspire Teams
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anyone else starting to regret their decision to stay in RL?
As opposed to do what? Both RL and GA-Aspire will be second tier leagues with the same problems people have detailed on this forum extensively.
Stay in RL rather than go GA.
Our DD is on a top RL team. Every single player on her team could easily make a GA roster, including all bench players. She previously played 2 years in ECNL.
There was plenty of good competition this year in RL, including the teams from the rest of VA. I see zero reason to switch away from friends, drive farther, and play with and against the same level of competition. ECNL is one thing, but why take RL level players and have them travel extensively when there is more than enough competition in Nova?
Definitely were good RL teams this year. But there was not a year of RL that had good competition top to bottom. And it will get worse next year.
If you are an RL parent ask yourself this. How many GA girls tried out for your RL team?
If you are a GA parent, how many RL kids tried out for your team?
We had tons. SYC and ASA had lots of girls out from multiple ECNL RL teams.
Edit: SYC and ASA had lots of girls out from multiple top of table ECNL RL and a few from ECNL teams based on the backpacks.
Anonymous
05/21/2025 23:07
Subject: GA Aspire Teams
RL is trash as is GA Aspire. Just reusing names so parents feel better about themselves.
Anonymous
05/21/2025 15:07
Subject: GA Aspire Teams
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anyone else starting to regret their decision to stay in RL?
As opposed to do what? Both RL and GA-Aspire will be second tier leagues with the same problems people have detailed on this forum extensively.
Stay in RL rather than go GA.
Our DD is on a top RL team. Every single player on her team could easily make a GA roster, including all bench players. She previously played 2 years in ECNL.
There was plenty of good competition this year in RL, including the teams from the rest of VA. I see zero reason to switch away from friends, drive farther, and play with and against the same level of competition. ECNL is one thing, but why take RL level players and have them travel extensively when there is more than enough competition in Nova?
Definitely were good RL teams this year. But there was not a year of RL that had good competition top to bottom. And it will get worse next year.
If you are an RL parent ask yourself this. How many GA girls tried out for your RL team?
If you are a GA parent, how many RL kids tried out for your team?
We had tons. SYC and ASA had lots of girls out from multiple ECNL RL teams.
Anonymous
05/21/2025 14:07
Subject: GA Aspire Teams
Anonymous wrote:Is there an equivalent on the ECNL side of clubs that have RL but not ECNL (excluding clubs that are or were part of a union arrangement)? It seems like clubs with a GA team will have an advantage in attracting better players.
How are PPA and Potomac U12/13 teams looking? Is Aspire helping keep players who otherwise would have left?
As a PP mentioned, Aspire-only isn’t really moving the needle in terms of incoming players. PPA and Potomac really needed a GA team to retain and attract players, but obviously neither one got one. Without GA, there is no real reason for most players to leave an existing Aspire or RL team to go to these clubs. In terms of player retention at the rising U12/U13 level, one of the clubs is doing okay and the other is struggling.
Anonymous
05/21/2025 10:53
Subject: GA Aspire Teams
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anyone else starting to regret their decision to stay in RL?
As opposed to do what? Both RL and GA-Aspire will be second tier leagues with the same problems people have detailed on this forum extensively.
Stay in RL rather than go GA.
Our DD is on a top RL team. Every single player on her team could easily make a GA roster, including all bench players. She previously played 2 years in ECNL.
There was plenty of good competition this year in RL, including the teams from the rest of VA. I see zero reason to switch away from friends, drive farther, and play with and against the same level of competition. ECNL is one thing, but why take RL level players and have them travel extensively when there is more than enough competition in Nova?
Cause all the top RL teams are in GA Aspire in VA now. Have you been under a rock?
Anonymous
05/21/2025 10:33
Subject: GA Aspire Teams
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anyone else starting to regret their decision to stay in RL?
As opposed to do what? Both RL and GA-Aspire will be second tier leagues with the same problems people have detailed on this forum extensively.
Stay in RL rather than go GA.
Our DD is on a top RL team. Every single player on her team could easily make a GA roster, including all bench players. She previously played 2 years in ECNL.
There was plenty of good competition this year in RL, including the teams from the rest of VA. I see zero reason to switch away from friends, drive farther, and play with and against the same level of competition. ECNL is one thing, but why take RL level players and have them travel extensively when there is more than enough competition in Nova?
Definitely were good RL teams this year. But there was not a year of RL that had good competition top to bottom. And it will get worse next year.
If you are an RL parent ask yourself this. How many GA girls tried out for your RL team?
If you are a GA parent, how many RL kids tried out for your team?
Anonymous
05/21/2025 08:50
Subject: GA Aspire Teams
Is there an equivalent on the ECNL side of clubs that have RL but not ECNL (excluding clubs that are or were part of a union arrangement)? It seems like clubs with a GA team will have an advantage in attracting better players.
How are PPA and Potomac U12/13 teams looking? Is Aspire helping keep players who otherwise would have left?
How are PPA and Potomac U12/13 teams looking? Is Aspire helping keep players who otherwise would have left?
Anonymous
05/20/2025 23:18
Subject: GA Aspire Teams
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anyone else starting to regret their decision to stay in RL?
As opposed to do what? Both RL and GA-Aspire will be second tier leagues with the same problems people have detailed on this forum extensively.
Stay in RL rather than go GA.
Our DD is on a top RL team. Every single player on her team could easily make a GA roster, including all bench players. She previously played 2 years in ECNL.
There was plenty of good competition this year in RL, including the teams from the rest of VA. I see zero reason to switch away from friends, drive farther, and play with and against the same level of competition. ECNL is one thing, but why take RL level players and have them travel extensively when there is more than enough competition in Nova?
This is not the case at U14 and below as most GA teams are far too strong now. That might be the case at the older age groups where GA was not established. Lots of girls are leaving their clubs for GA now. SYC 2012, 2013, 2014 & 2015 GA teams are STACKED! It will take time to see how the new GA teams do though... so your comment above might partially apply.
Anonymous
05/20/2025 19:33
Subject: GA Aspire Teams
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anyone else starting to regret their decision to stay in RL?
As opposed to do what? Both RL and GA-Aspire will be second tier leagues with the same problems people have detailed on this forum extensively.
Stay in RL rather than go GA.
If your daughter wants to play in college there are better showcase opportunities in GA (first team) than RL. There are also a lot higher travel costs so it depends on what you can afford.
It seems GA Aspire is also setting up more showcase opportunities for its teams than RL currently provides.
There are currently nine ECRL showcases schedule for 2025-2026. Two are for u13-U14, so that still leaves seven for high school age recruitable girls.
If you exclude Champions Cup (which you have to qualify for any only a few teams do), GA currently only has three showcases per year. The idea the GA-Aspire will have more than GA or come close to seven isn't realistic.
Are you talking about the ECNL RL national event schedule posted on their IG? Don’t teams have to qualify to play at those? And you can only go to the one for your region not all 7.
Absolutely incorrect. There is no qualification - open to all teams in RL and not limited to one. They have a bidding process where teams rank the showcases in order of priority and then they match up and fill the showcase spots. ECNL does the same. Some teams may only go to one, but some teams go to as many as three in a year.
Thanks very helpful. Would assume teams from NOVA would go to the one in Richmond at a minimum.
Anonymous
05/20/2025 17:33
Subject: GA Aspire Teams
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anyone else starting to regret their decision to stay in RL?
As opposed to do what? Both RL and GA-Aspire will be second tier leagues with the same problems people have detailed on this forum extensively.
Stay in RL rather than go GA.
Our DD is on a top RL team. Every single player on her team could easily make a GA roster, including all bench players. She previously played 2 years in ECNL.
There was plenty of good competition this year in RL, including the teams from the rest of VA. I see zero reason to switch away from friends, drive farther, and play with and against the same level of competition. ECNL is one thing, but why take RL level players and have them travel extensively when there is more than enough competition in Nova?
Anonymous
05/20/2025 13:26
Subject: GA Aspire Teams
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anyone else starting to regret their decision to stay in RL?
As opposed to do what? Both RL and GA-Aspire will be second tier leagues with the same problems people have detailed on this forum extensively.
Stay in RL rather than go GA.
If your daughter wants to play in college there are better showcase opportunities in GA (first team) than RL. There are also a lot higher travel costs so it depends on what you can afford.
It seems GA Aspire is also setting up more showcase opportunities for its teams than RL currently provides.
There are currently nine ECRL showcases schedule for 2025-2026. Two are for u13-U14, so that still leaves seven for high school age recruitable girls.
If you exclude Champions Cup (which you have to qualify for any only a few teams do), GA currently only has three showcases per year. The idea the GA-Aspire will have more than GA or come close to seven isn't realistic.
Problem is how are you going to convince a college coach to go see an RL showcase? They will need to bring a pillow or load up on advil while watching lol
We had almost 20 coaches come to one of our games at ECNL RL Florida in January... half of our team is now committed to DIV II, DIV III, or NAIA schools. The others do not plan on playing past HS. There are plenty of coaches recruiting at these events. I am sorry to tell you, unless your daughter (making an assumption here) is going to a P4 school, she is going to be playing with some of these girls... she might even end up getting beat out by a couple...
Anonymous
05/20/2025 13:13
Subject: GA Aspire Teams
Anonymous wrote:If your DD is on an RL team that they really like, it isn't a bad choice to stay for next year. There is going to be a lot of growing pains on the GA teams and then there likely will be the age group change for the following year. It makes sense to see where things land before you make a jump.
Agreed. We waited as well and will make the jump next year.
Anonymous
05/20/2025 13:00
Subject: GA Aspire Teams
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anyone else starting to regret their decision to stay in RL?
As opposed to do what? Both RL and GA-Aspire will be second tier leagues with the same problems people have detailed on this forum extensively.
Stay in RL rather than go GA.
If your daughter wants to play in college there are better showcase opportunities in GA (first team) than RL. There are also a lot higher travel costs so it depends on what you can afford.
It seems GA Aspire is also setting up more showcase opportunities for its teams than RL currently provides.
There are currently nine ECRL showcases schedule for 2025-2026. Two are for u13-U14, so that still leaves seven for high school age recruitable girls.
If you exclude Champions Cup (which you have to qualify for any only a few teams do), GA currently only has three showcases per year. The idea the GA-Aspire will have more than GA or come close to seven isn't realistic.
Are you talking about the ECNL RL national event schedule posted on their IG? Don’t teams have to qualify to play at those? And you can only go to the one for your region not all 7.
Absolutely incorrect. There is no qualification - open to all teams in RL and not limited to one. They have a bidding process where teams rank the showcases in order of priority and then they match up and fill the showcase spots. ECNL does the same. Some teams may only go to one, but some teams go to as many as three in a year.