Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have heard stories of families driving hours for just a hour practice. I'm asking y'all what is your average? my commute is about a hour during rush hour but 45 min with no traffic is that normal? this is for a CCL club and next year we are thinking of joining a ECNL/DA team but all are far for us. Is it really worth it?

If your kid wants to play high-level D1 soccer in college, yes, it is worth it. In fact, to reach the same goal elsewhere, you would probably have to spend far more time and $$ working the recruiting circuit than you’ll spend commuting if your kid does DA/ECNL.

We’re lucky here — for girls, there are so many DA and ECNL clubs in the area right now, from Richmond to Baltimore, that you’re probably within an hour of something. And then the question is whether the kid makes the team. Some people travel further for a lower-level club because it’s the only DA/ECNL level team where their kid can make the roster or start.

The point of these leagues was not to have kids driving to the ends of the earth so they could make the team. I mean, that is the point in reality, but the way it is sold - it is supposed to be for a player that has the talent for the top local offering. If they do not, play at the next level, not drive to tib buk two.

Anonymous wrote:I have heard stories of families driving hours for just a hour practice. I'm asking y'all what is your average? my commute is about a hour during rush hour but 45 min with no traffic is that normal? this is for a CCL club and next year we are thinking of joining a ECNL/DA team but all are far for us. Is it really worth it?

If your kid wants to play high-level D1 soccer in college, yes, it is worth it. In fact, to reach the same goal elsewhere, you would probably have to spend far more time and $$ working the recruiting circuit than you’ll spend commuting if your kid does DA/ECNL.

We’re lucky here — for girls, there are so many DA and ECNL clubs in the area right now, from Richmond to Baltimore, that you’re probably within an hour of something. And then the question is whether the kid makes the team. Some people travel further for a lower-level club because it’s the only DA/ECNL level team where their kid can make the roster or start.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again, my take it that the customers dont really care which one if any ultimately prevails. This is a youth sports product like many others. As long as the customers are paying through the nose, they will choose the option they see as better quality in their neck of the woods. Go ahead and battle it out leagues...how about you all try some promotional coupons...we could all use some of those!

Heck yes. Could this competition please result in some black Friday mega discount deals or a maybe free showcase (including travel) if you buy now type promotion? Please.

I think everyone would like to see this stop. But the how is why this mess continues.

There is significant money in this mess. that is why it will go one and on and on and on

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Again, my take it that the customers dont really care which one if any ultimately prevails. This is a youth sports product like many others. As long as the customers are paying through the nose, they will choose the option they see as better quality in their neck of the woods. Go ahead and battle it out leagues...how about you all try some promotional coupons...we could all use some of those!

Heck yes. Could this competition please result in some black Friday mega discount deals or a maybe free showcase (including travel) if you buy now type promotion? Please.

I think everyone would like to see this stop. But the how is why this mess continues.

Anonymous wrote:Again, my take it that the customers dont really care which one if any ultimately prevails. This is a youth sports product like many others. As long as the customers are paying through the nose, they will choose the option they see as better quality in their neck of the woods. Go ahead and battle it out leagues...how about you all try some promotional coupons...we could all use some of those!

Heck yes. Could this competition please result in some black Friday mega discount deals or a maybe free showcase (including travel) if you buy now type promotion? Please.

Again, my take it that the customers dont really care which one if any ultimately prevails. This is a youth sports product like many others. As long as the customers are paying through the nose, they will choose the option they see as better quality in their neck of the woods. Go ahead and battle it out leagues...how about you all try some promotional coupons...we could all use some of those!

Anonymous wrote:You are neglecting that pesky little tidbit that there are many funded MLS DAs for males. IF and when they have the same for females, of course the best players will attend funded GDAs. Until then, i see it as a regional thing. But it will be be what it will be.

The customers do not really care which one ultimately prevails (except for the HS issue which is significant in some areas). The folks making money form all this will continue to do battle about it. It is Coke vs, Pepsi. Starbucks vs dunkin.....of a little bit of consequence but not too much unless you make a liviing at one or the other.

When ECNL was teh only game in town clubs and coaches heavily discouraged HS play. They allowed it but with little talent dilution at the time only the team Studs or Duds dared play HS. If you were a in between kid you did what your club coach suggested you do for fear of losing minutes or being replaced outright.

And now with GDA on the scene ECNL is marketing their league as the league you don't actually have to play in. "Join ECNL, the league you can miss three months of ECNL to play High School. Yes, we are still charging you for a full 10 months of ECNL training even though you will only train 6 months with the highest quality kids."

Anonymous wrote:You are neglecting that pesky little tidbit that there are many funded MLS DAs for males. IF and when they have the same for females, of course the best players will attend funded GDAs. Until then, i see it as a regional thing. But it will be be what it will be.

The customers do not really care which one ultimately prevails (except for the HS issue which is significant in some areas). The folks making money form all this will continue to do battle about it. It is Coke vs, Pepsi. Starbucks vs dunkin.....of a little bit of consequence but not too much unless you make a liviing at one or the other.

The MLS ones are funded now, but even when they weren't (like DCU and non-MLS academies), it still attached a ton of players. And there are funded GDAs or ones at reduced cost. I'm paying less now for the DA than we did for the ECNL.

But like I said, it takes time. It took years for the BDA to catch on. The GDA is no different, except the ECNL probably helped it by getting the concept of a National League to take root. That took effort.

You are neglecting that pesky little tidbit that there are many funded MLS DAs for males. IF and when they have the same for females, of course the best players will attend funded GDAs. Until then, i see it as a regional thing. But it will be be what it will be.

The customers do not really care which one ultimately prevails (except for the HS issue which is significant in some areas). The folks making money form all this will continue to do battle about it. It is Coke vs, Pepsi. Starbucks vs dunkin.....of a little bit of consequence but not too much unless you make a liviing at one or the other.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:here we go again

ECNL VS DA (Even though ECNL has a proven track record having better talented girls )

The past is in the past. VCCL used to have the top talent. And then CCL was the top league outside of the DA. The ECNL started out as a joke and had to work hard to become something. If the ECNL thinks it will be able to stay around based on inertia, it won't. Especially when YNT players will choose the DA.

The YNT thing will not drive the success or failure of a league. the ecnl use to carry on about that adnaseum and now gda does the same thing. The 2 dozen ynt kids per age nationwide will have to play GDA but the rest dont care too much about that.

But you are correct that none of these leagues can just sit around and succeed via inertia.

It's not all things, but the issue is that where the top talent goes, others tend to follow. In any case, if we wanted to talk about track records, ODP had a stellar run. Who does ODP now?

Hundreds of kids not on the youth national team. Just like the hundreds of kids not on the national teams playing in GDa and ecnl and lots of other places. I agree the handful of YNT players are forced to choose the GDA but the rest are not. For the rest, it may or may not be a good club for them. In fact, it may or may not be good fit for YNT players but they have no choice.

That's true for the ECNL as it is for the DA. And in that sense, you are right. If a kid doesn't want any of that, it makes perfect sense to choose a local travel team like SYC, Vienna, or whatever else may make sense. In fact, the truth is, travel is optional altogether. I think rec kids are actually the smartest ones.

Of course it is true. ecnl and gda follow almost the identical business model and want the same affluent talent. my sense is it will develop regionally with one or the other being stronger in different regions. Players need to choose a local soccer options and they do. It is fine that gda is a great league in texas or that ecnl is strong in new england but neither does a player from Michigan any good. She will join some club in Michigan and onwards and upwards.

It always depends on what is a geographic option. But in Michigan, if an option the Michigan Hawks are a great club.

People have always traveled to put a kid on a "good" team. When my kid was a young player there was an older age team that was always ranked very high nationally (before DA and before ECNL) and there were girls on that team that came from over 100 miles away.

When my kid was older she played for a team that was nearby for her but still kids came from an hour or more away.

What you need to find is a place where your kid can start and play positions that fit their physical attributes and skills. That is far more important for college recruiting than playing for a particular team. That was a mistake we made, and one that I tell folks all the time. My kid played defensive positions exclusively starting a u11 for club. There was not a college coach who saw her as a defender.

We should have gotten onto a team where she played a mid or forward. In 4 years of college ball she played about 90 minutes as a defender. Ultimately, she ended as a defensive center mid in a diamond formation that her college team used. In the end it worked out, but far better to be getting experience in positions that your kid can play than to be on a particular team.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:here we go again

ECNL VS DA (Even though ECNL has a proven track record having better talented girls )

The past is in the past. VCCL used to have the top talent. And then CCL was the top league outside of the DA. The ECNL started out as a joke and had to work hard to become something. If the ECNL thinks it will be able to stay around based on inertia, it won't. Especially when YNT players will choose the DA.

The YNT thing will not drive the success or failure of a league. the ecnl use to carry on about that adnaseum and now gda does the same thing. The 2 dozen ynt kids per age nationwide will have to play GDA but the rest dont care too much about that.

But you are correct that none of these leagues can just sit around and succeed via inertia.

It's not all things, but the issue is that where the top talent goes, others tend to follow. In any case, if we wanted to talk about track records, ODP had a stellar run. Who does ODP now?

Hundreds of kids not on the youth national team. Just like the hundreds of kids not on the national teams playing in GDa and ecnl and lots of other places. I agree the handful of YNT players are forced to choose the GDA but the rest are not. For the rest, it may or may not be a good club for them. In fact, it may or may not be good fit for YNT players but they have no choice.

That's true for the ECNL as it is for the DA. And in that sense, you are right. If a kid doesn't want any of that, it makes perfect sense to choose a local travel team like SYC, Vienna, or whatever else may make sense. In fact, the truth is, travel is optional altogether. I think rec kids are actually the smartest ones.

Of course it is true. ecnl and gda follow almost the identical business model and want the same affluent talent. my sense is it will develop regionally with one or the other being stronger in different regions. Players need to choose a local soccer options and they do. It is fine that gda is a great league in texas or that ecnl is strong in new england but neither does a player from Michigan any good. She will join some club in Michigan and onwards and upwards.

For now, I agree. That is precisely what happened. But over time it will change. In 5 years, max 10, GDA will be the top league. Not because of any of us here or our kids. That's just what will happen. People can whine about the BDA all they want, but it still has the bulk of the nation's talent. There are some players who didn't play in the BDA and will amazing, but most are there. That's how it will play out for the GDA.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:here we go again

ECNL VS DA (Even though ECNL has a proven track record having better talented girls )

The past is in the past. VCCL used to have the top talent. And then CCL was the top league outside of the DA. The ECNL started out as a joke and had to work hard to become something. If the ECNL thinks it will be able to stay around based on inertia, it won't. Especially when YNT players will choose the DA.

The YNT thing will not drive the success or failure of a league. the ecnl use to carry on about that adnaseum and now gda does the same thing. The 2 dozen ynt kids per age nationwide will have to play GDA but the rest dont care too much about that.

But you are correct that none of these leagues can just sit around and succeed via inertia.

It's not all things, but the issue is that where the top talent goes, others tend to follow. In any case, if we wanted to talk about track records, ODP had a stellar run. Who does ODP now?

Hundreds of kids not on the youth national team. Just like the hundreds of kids not on the national teams playing in GDa and ecnl and lots of other places. I agree the handful of YNT players are forced to choose the GDA but the rest are not. For the rest, it may or may not be a good club for them. In fact, it may or may not be good fit for YNT players but they have no choice.

That's true for the ECNL as it is for the DA. And in that sense, you are right. If a kid doesn't want any of that, it makes perfect sense to choose a local travel team like SYC, Vienna, or whatever else may make sense. In fact, the truth is, travel is optional altogether. I think rec kids are actually the smartest ones.

Of course it is true. ecnl and gda follow almost the identical business model and want the same affluent talent. my sense is it will develop regionally with one or the other being stronger in different regions. Players need to choose a local soccer options and they do. It is fine that gda is a great league in texas or that ecnl is strong in new england but neither does a player from Michigan any good. She will join some club in Michigan and onwards and upwards.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:here we go again

ECNL VS DA (Even though ECNL has a proven track record having better talented girls )

The past is in the past. VCCL used to have the top talent. And then CCL was the top league outside of the DA. The ECNL started out as a joke and had to work hard to become something. If the ECNL thinks it will be able to stay around based on inertia, it won't. Especially when YNT players will choose the DA.

The YNT thing will not drive the success or failure of a league. the ecnl use to carry on about that adnaseum and now gda does the same thing. The 2 dozen ynt kids per age nationwide will have to play GDA but the rest dont care too much about that.

But you are correct that none of these leagues can just sit around and succeed via inertia.

It's not all things, but the issue is that where the top talent goes, others tend to follow. In any case, if we wanted to talk about track records, ODP had a stellar run. Who does ODP now?

Hundreds of kids not on the youth national team. Just like the hundreds of kids not on the national teams playing in GDa and ecnl and lots of other places. I agree the handful of YNT players are forced to choose the GDA but the rest are not. For the rest, it may or may not be a good club for them. In fact, it may or may not be good fit for YNT players but they have no choice.

And how many of the YNT make the national team? There are just so many kids trying for a few spots and the NT will still take you if you are a great player even if you did not do DA.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We commute 45 minutes to practice on a typical day (actual trip is 20 minutes with zero traffic but practices are ALWAYS during some phase of rush hour).
Practice is 90 minutes, 3 days per week and we carpool with 2 other families. With drop-offs and pick-ups and the time it takes to walk to the field before/after the practices the kids are gone from their home 3.5 hours per practice. It's a lot and getting more significant as the kids get older., Spending 3.5 hours to practice soccer was no big deal in 6th grade. Now in 9th grade it comes at a cost: the kids are up really late for homework and aren't able to do much besides play soccer (really anything besides play soccer). My guess is my child will not be playing college soccer (she's low on an ECNL roster) so I'm almost at the point of pulling the plug and joining a closer (but less competitive) club. More importantly I think she's getting there too. It's hard to spend this much time on the road each week for a single activity when you're in high school.

I am with you. Waiting for the day DD is ready to move on.

I think this is going to become a more common theme. The reality is there are only, what, 45-60 girls per year in the DMV that go DI (or to a very highly competitive DII-DIII). It used to be that most players on an ECNL/DA roster were likely headed to DI. With the explosion in the number of ECNL/DA teams and the over-rostering, there are 3 times as many girls playing at that level...The top 5-6 players on each of these teams might end up playing in college but the majority won’t...And the juice just won’t be worth the squeeze, especially in the GDA where girls have to forgo HS ball to be a backup in the DA.

FCV DA:
17 full time players
16 committed
14 of those committed headed to D1
1 to IVY
1 to Naval Academy

I would say it's still true that DA = D1

Yes for FCV DA THIS YEAR! Arlington and MU are not competitive with FCV at this age group. Wait 3 more years and this will change.