^^^^ there have been years where McLean has sent 20+ seniors to play college soccer. You are right that McLean does not have a track record of sending non-ECNL players to college but McLean has never had a team like MSI White that just moved over to McLean and was coached by Nadir. That team has beaten McLean, Bethesda and Loudoun and other top teams in the area and has at least a dozen girls capable of playing at the next level. MSI parents had the choice of going to a non-McLean ECNL team or keep the team together and move to McLean ro remain with Nadir. Some of the top players on the team were already playing McLean ECNL and others will have the opportunity to do so while others will play on the Composite where they will showcase at the top non-ECNL showcases. Given Nadir’s reputation among and connection to college coaches, moving to McLean is not a bad place. Are the players guaranteed college recruiting? No but clearly you can recognize that the opportunity is there.

Anonymous wrote:I wonder how the dynamic at practice would be with that many kids, but with everyone knowing who was and wasnt actually on the team. Are the composite kids getting any attention from the coaches?

I'm sure it varies depending on the actual kids involved, but our experience thus far has been great. Given the fact that the girls are constantly competing for playing time, it's actually a little surprising that this is the least amount of drama between the kids that we've probably ever experienced. They are all of a similar mindset - they show up and work hard. Yes, composite kids get plenty of attention from the coaches. Most nights are spent running large drills and then full field scrimmaging - one upside to having so many of them is there is enough to play full field scrimmages all the time.

There is no composite team for 2006. So are there are just 28 players taking turns playing in ECNL? How will this work?

These girls are not playing down to '06 green because they have a separate 19 players.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the thinking?
I don't get it.
Can someone explain the thinking?
Do kids beyond the top 11 get recruited to college?

05 technically has upwards of 40 on the roster... There are 2 teams wearing the VA Union name on the girls side at some age groups - one ECNL, one "composite". The composite team at 05, for example, will play EDP, NL PRO, and tournaments, but still trains with the ECNL girls -- so they aren't actually just "watching their teammates play".

And why? I'll answer for my family... maybe some of the toxic responders will get it and knock it off. For us, Mclean is conveniently located, which is a big deal for larger families. Composite gives my kiddo the opportunity to play in bigger tournaments, enjoy some of the travel experience, train with quality players, and have "room to grow" while still not keeping us out of traffic for an hour + in the evenings. For recruiting, yes, kids beyond the top 11 get recruited to college, they might just have to do a little more legwork. They may not go to Power 5 schools, but if "playing in college" is all your kid wants, Mclean's composite teams are still a great option.

OP here. But Mclean has no history of sending composite team members to college. They have only sent straight ECNL players.
Over the last 5 years they have sent 13 to 21 ECNL players each year to college (all divisions).

You're making it up when you say that Mclean composite teams are a great option for playing in college.

McLean parent here. The current 05 structure makes sense. McLean has always carried large rosters because it has many kids playing HS in the Fall, which is ECNL MA season. The composite allows those not getting meaningful ECNL minutes to play high-level competition thru EDP and NL. The MSI team that moved to McLean or VA Union is a strong team with the top players also the top players on McLean / VA Union. The composite team will play in the top brackets at Bethesda Cup, NCFC Showcase and JefCup. Nadir clearly has a track record of preparing girls for the next level.

You're all kidding yourself if you think 20+ kids on a "team" is good for anything other than raking in $. Absolutely absurd and only people defending it are those with kids are stuck in that trap and need to justify the time and money spent. Of course you'll back up this crazy plan. No other sport on earth would do this at the highest (ECNL) level. Find me that AAU basketball team with 30 kids on it so they can take 15 to a tourney. Seriously, you are delusional at best and naïve at worst.

At 2006 Boys, it looks like Mclean dropped the 25 - 30 player pool approach this year. I see 18-20 player rosters for ECNL and Green and no Mclean EDP team. I take that as a sign that they decided the 27 - 28 player ECNL player pool approach did not work out well. Curious if anyone is willing to provide an inside perspective on whether the large player pool damaged team cohesion.

The other 11 will be playing on a composite age combined team. I would be more concerned if you are the 18th on the roaster on any team and would rather get playing minutes playing. Pool teams are actually better for training which is why many top clubs do this. Clearly the poster doesn’t understand.

Anonymous wrote:There are 28 on 2006 girls ECNL, 19 different players on 2006 girls green.
A number of the green players came from other ECNL or DA programs this year.
Mclean generally sends about 18 girls to college soccer programs each year. The commits are listed on their site.

Having 28 players on the roster will hurt playing time no matter how you slice it. Only 11 players can be on the field at the same time, which means 17 will be either on the bench or at home.

Anonymous wrote:I wonder how the dynamic at practice would be with that many kids, but with everyone knowing who was and wasnt actually on the team. Are the composite kids getting any attention from the coaches?

Bethesda parent here...what is the confusion with this McLean structure. It works. Mclean has a very good track record of success. Parents obviously buy in on the academy style and it works.

I wonder how the dynamic at practice would be with that many kids, but with everyone knowing who was and wasnt actually on the team. Are the composite kids getting any attention from the coaches?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This over saturation of players on one team is laughable. Barely and team cohesion and obviously each player (save for a couple) will get like 8-10 minute stretches on the field... a very small amount to really get going. Unless McLean is just trying to beat the heat and replace players like last weekend, to no avail. Pretty crap club management imo

You have failed to read the post explaining how it works. The kids who are not the top 18 simply play together in other league games. Some occasionally fill in at a ECNL game as injury or development creates an opportunity. Some of those dual roster kids earn theri spots outright and some never do but none are asked to watch a ECNL game they are not rostered to play in.

Still gross. #fail

Anonymous wrote:This over saturation of players on one team is laughable. Barely and team cohesion and obviously each player (save for a couple) will get like 8-10 minute stretches on the field... a very small amount to really get going. Unless McLean is just trying to beat the heat and replace players like last weekend, to no avail. Pretty crap club management imo

You have failed to read the post explaining how it works. The kids who are not the top 18 simply play together in other league games. Some occasionally fill in at a ECNL game as injury or development creates an opportunity. Some of those dual roster kids earn theri spots outright and some never do but none are asked to watch a ECNL game they are not rostered to play in.

This over saturation of players on one team is laughable. Barely and team cohesion and obviously each player (save for a couple) will get like 8-10 minute stretches on the field... a very small amount to really get going. Unless McLean is just trying to beat the heat and replace players like last weekend, to no avail. Pretty crap club management imo

Anonymous wrote:NP here. What are composite teams? Thanks

"Composite" is a term that ECNL was using in other markets - mid-atlantic didn't officially have composite, but clubs with bigger rosters at certain age age groups would pool HS age kids into one team to make sure they were getting playing time, even if they weren't playing on the main ECNL team. Mclean started doing this per age group this year instead of pooling into 1 HS -age team. Up until last year, ECNL offered composite league scheduling and a showcase or two for composite teams in certain markets... They are ending that program, but some clubs (I think Bethesda on the boys side and Mclean on the girls side) still roster enough to field a team.

Composite is basically the reserve squad to compare it to a higher-level soccer set-up... Composite also allows clubs to roster enough girls to field a decent team, even when the girls are playing other sports or HS soccer, or if there are injuries, which are unfortunately common at this level and age.