Anonymous
Post 02/12/2021 12:40     Subject: ECNL rising, GA falling . . . Where will the 06 and younger D1-thinking girls go?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What dilutes the talent at ECNL are false promises of NCSL and CCL. Good talent is there but subpar programs and training


What dilutes the talent is over 100 clubs and counting.


Diluted? Maybe. Yes, there are more clubs in ECNL now. The newest members come from GA, and ECNL RL. The number of elite players in the country hasn't changed, just more of them are in ECNL now. If you're calling that dilution, ok, but the incoming teams are not weak by any stretch. They are expanding to capture a bigger share of the elite level.

Nevertheless, the trouble with one massive league is that at some point, the average skill level drops. It is unavoidable. Ideally, at 120 clubs and growing, there should be another tier above ECNL, which ECNL itself has tried to fill with PDP and other programs. But this top tier should not be, and is not ECNL's primary responsibility. ECNL is designed to feed the college ranks primarily. They've been doing quite well with that, placing upwards of 85%, and the majority of those at the DI level. Even at 130 clubs, they will still be spectacularly successful at it.


I thought GA didn't have elite players?

This explains the rather robust ECNL campaign on these boards that is suspected to be Richmond based. GA is trash until their clubs join ECNL.
Anonymous
Post 02/12/2021 12:35     Subject: ECNL rising, GA falling . . . Where will the 06 and younger D1-thinking girls go?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What dilutes the talent at ECNL are false promises of NCSL and CCL. Good talent is there but subpar programs and training


What dilutes the talent is over 100 clubs and counting.


Diluted? Maybe. Yes, there are more clubs in ECNL now. The newest members come from GA, and ECNL RL. The number of elite players in the country hasn't changed, just more of them are in ECNL now. If you're calling that dilution, ok, but the incoming teams are not weak by any stretch. They are expanding to capture a bigger share of the elite level.

Nevertheless, the trouble with one massive league is that at some point, the average skill level drops. It is unavoidable. Ideally, at 120 clubs and growing, there should be another tier above ECNL, which ECNL itself has tried to fill with PDP and other programs. But this top tier should not be, and is not ECNL's primary responsibility. ECNL is designed to feed the college ranks primarily. They've been doing quite well with that, placing upwards of 85%, and the majority of those at the DI level. Even at 130 clubs, they will still be spectacularly successful at it.
Anonymous
Post 02/12/2021 12:04     Subject: ECNL rising, GA falling . . . Where will the 06 and younger D1-thinking girls go?

Anonymous wrote:I think you folks ignore certain realities. For example, ECNL has expanded to lessen travel demands. Also, you will always have dominate teams that destroy the local competition. That is why you have championships showcases and tournaments. PSG dominates in its conference but plays in the UCL to face serious competition.


NCSL is easy travel too.

Adding more players still dilutes.
Anonymous
Post 02/12/2021 12:01     Subject: ECNL rising, GA falling . . . Where will the 06 and younger D1-thinking girls go?

I think you folks ignore certain realities. For example, ECNL has expanded to lessen travel demands. Also, you will always have dominate teams that destroy the local competition. That is why you have championships showcases and tournaments. PSG dominates in its conference but plays in the UCL to face serious competition.
Anonymous
Post 02/12/2021 11:46     Subject: ECNL rising, GA falling . . . Where will the 06 and younger D1-thinking girls go?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What dilutes the talent at ECNL are false promises of NCSL and CCL. Good talent is there but subpar programs and training


What dilutes the talent is over 100 clubs and counting.


ECNL is up to 119 clubs now.

The top 40 clubs are going to get tired of beating on teams 8-0 in league games. A true consolidated top youth league should be no more than 70-80 clubs.
Anonymous
Post 02/12/2021 11:39     Subject: ECNL rising, GA falling . . . Where will the 06 and younger D1-thinking girls go?

Anonymous wrote:What dilutes the talent at ECNL are false promises of NCSL and CCL. Good talent is there but subpar programs and training


What dilutes the talent is over 100 clubs and counting.
Anonymous
Post 02/12/2021 11:09     Subject: ECNL rising, GA falling . . . Where will the 06 and younger D1-thinking girls go?

Anonymous wrote:^— exactly. BRYC is about to get an influx of talented players now that the dust is settling. ECNL is the better option than GAL, and now that the club shake ups (LMVSC, SYC, Gunston, Alexandria) is over post-COVID, plenty of the talent from non ECNL clubs are going to migrate into BRYC (girls) and Arlington (boys).


No, talent from SYC and Alexandria boys certainly will not be going to ECNL clubs, they will be in MLS Next, DCU, Bethesda, or staying with SYC and Alexandria. Are you high?
Anonymous
Post 02/12/2021 10:55     Subject: ECNL rising, GA falling . . . Where will the 06 and younger D1-thinking girls go?

What dilutes the talent at ECNL are false promises of NCSL and CCL. Good talent is there but subpar programs and training
Anonymous
Post 02/12/2021 10:32     Subject: Re:ECNL rising, GA falling . . . Where will the 06 and younger D1-thinking girls go?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Another GA vs ECNL thread how original

In this area we have so much talent and parents arguing over which club is better is insane. 08 VDA might be the best in the area but 07 Arlington might be the best in the area for that age. Its all relevant!!

Btw GA is better than ECNL at least in this area. How many games did ECNL play this year? I think NCSL teams had more playing time


I agree that TODAY some of the GA teams are better than some of the ECNL teams in this area. But for an 08 girl considering her options, is it more or less likely that four years from now, when she is at prime recruiting age, that she will have developed better and have had better opportunities playing for a GA team for those four years or for an ECNL team for those four years. My DD plays for Arlington now and I love the club and the team and the coaches, but I’m afraid the club will get dragged down by the showcasing platform and competition, so that an 08 girl’s opportunities won’t be as good as those for a comparable 08 girl playing for VDA or Mclean over those four years. I personally thing BRYC is done, so that’s less of an option. And I 100% agree that good coaching and development matters the most, but competition and opportunity to showcase are a good differentiator if all of the clubs you’re considering already have decent coaching and development at your DD’s age.


If you think ECNL is anything other than showcasing, you may want to do more research. ECNL is moving towards having dozens of regional/state showcasing events. Ultimately, only the national playoffs and the super team tournaments are going to attract serious D1 programs. ECNL has created simply too many events and so to truly separate the talent, they’ve had to invent new events. It’s nice that everyone has an opportunity to get a trophy, but you can get the same thing in NCSL, CCL, state cup, etc... In this area, the days of a dominant college feeder club are mostly gone (the 03s are the last group not not be fully impacted by the DA rise and fall). You’ll see with the 04s that college commits are distributed across many GA and ECNL clubs. This reveals that as long as you are at one of the more competitive clubs (ECNL/GA) you have a good shot at playing D1. But, the player has to do the work to engage the targeted schools and they have to be talented and know where they stand relative to their peers. Many Virginia parents harbor thoughts of their kid playing at UVA, but on average UVA takes one player from VA per year. Ask yourself, is my kid the best player in her age in the state? (If not, take UVA off your radar) If you’re an 08 parent, you likely don’t have a complete view of the playing field. I would suggest thinking about what your expectations are for your kids college education and than look closely at those soccer programs to see if they are achievable. (Incidentally, IVY programs have some very competitive players - eg purce). Ultimately, the club may sway a colleges opinion of a bubble player but no club coach is going to risk their college placement reputation for a kid who shouldn’t play there. 08 parents need to be doing their homework now.



Certainly the amount of filtration gimmicks/events that ECNL is creating is an absolute concession to having over expanded, thus diluting their product.
Anonymous
Post 02/12/2021 09:24     Subject: Re:ECNL rising, GA falling . . . Where will the 06 and younger D1-thinking girls go?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Another GA vs ECNL thread how original

In this area we have so much talent and parents arguing over which club is better is insane. 08 VDA might be the best in the area but 07 Arlington might be the best in the area for that age. Its all relevant!!

Btw GA is better than ECNL at least in this area. How many games did ECNL play this year? I think NCSL teams had more playing time


I agree that TODAY some of the GA teams are better than some of the ECNL teams in this area. But for an 08 girl considering her options, is it more or less likely that four years from now, when she is at prime recruiting age, that she will have developed better and have had better opportunities playing for a GA team for those four years or for an ECNL team for those four years. My DD plays for Arlington now and I love the club and the team and the coaches, but I’m afraid the club will get dragged down by the showcasing platform and competition, so that an 08 girl’s opportunities won’t be as good as those for a comparable 08 girl playing for VDA or Mclean over those four years. I personally thing BRYC is done, so that’s less of an option. And I 100% agree that good coaching and development matters the most, but competition and opportunity to showcase are a good differentiator if all of the clubs you’re considering already have decent coaching and development at your DD’s age.


If you think ECNL is anything other than showcasing, you may want to do more research. ECNL is moving towards having dozens of regional/state showcasing events. Ultimately, only the national playoffs and the super team tournaments are going to attract serious D1 programs. ECNL has created simply too many events and so to truly separate the talent, they’ve had to invent new events. It’s nice that everyone has an opportunity to get a trophy, but you can get the same thing in NCSL, CCL, state cup, etc... In this area, the days of a dominant college feeder club are mostly gone (the 03s are the last group not not be fully impacted by the DA rise and fall). You’ll see with the 04s that college commits are distributed across many GA and ECNL clubs. This reveals that as long as you are at one of the more competitive clubs (ECNL/GA) you have a good shot at playing D1. But, the player has to do the work to engage the targeted schools and they have to be talented and know where they stand relative to their peers. Many Virginia parents harbor thoughts of their kid playing at UVA, but on average UVA takes one player from VA per year. Ask yourself, is my kid the best player in her age in the state? (If not, take UVA off your radar) If you’re an 08 parent, you likely don’t have a complete view of the playing field. I would suggest thinking about what your expectations are for your kids college education and than look closely at those soccer programs to see if they are achievable. (Incidentally, IVY programs have some very competitive players - eg purce). Ultimately, the club may sway a colleges opinion of a bubble player but no club coach is going to risk their college placement reputation for a kid who shouldn’t play there. 08 parents need to be doing their homework now.



Homework is done. If you’re not in ECNL or GAL, you better be amazing cause other leagues just don’t deliver the promises.
Anonymous
Post 02/12/2021 09:08     Subject: Re:ECNL rising, GA falling . . . Where will the 06 and younger D1-thinking girls go?

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Another GA vs ECNL thread how original

In this area we have so much talent and parents arguing over which club is better is insane. 08 VDA might be the best in the area but 07 Arlington might be the best in the area for that age. Its all relevant!!

Btw GA is better than ECNL at least in this area. How many games did ECNL play this year? I think NCSL teams had more playing time


I agree that TODAY some of the GA teams are better than some of the ECNL teams in this area. But for an 08 girl considering her options, is it more or less likely that four years from now, when she is at prime recruiting age, that she will have developed better and have had better opportunities playing for a GA team for those four years or for an ECNL team for those four years. My DD plays for Arlington now and I love the club and the team and the coaches, but I’m afraid the club will get dragged down by the showcasing platform and competition, so that an 08 girl’s opportunities won’t be as good as those for a comparable 08 girl playing for VDA or Mclean over those four years. I personally thing BRYC is done, so that’s less of an option. And I 100% agree that good coaching and development matters the most, but competition and opportunity to showcase are a good differentiator if all of the clubs you’re considering already have decent coaching and development at your DD’s age.


If you think ECNL is anything other than showcasing, you may want to do more research. ECNL is moving towards having dozens of regional/state showcasing events. Ultimately, only the national playoffs and the super team tournaments are going to attract serious D1 programs. ECNL has created simply too many events and so to truly separate the talent, they’ve had to invent new events. It’s nice that everyone has an opportunity to get a trophy, but you can get the same thing in NCSL, CCL, state cup, etc... In this area, the days of a dominant college feeder club are mostly gone (the 03s are the last group not not be fully impacted by the DA rise and fall). You’ll see with the 04s that college commits are distributed across many GA and ECNL clubs. This reveals that as long as you are at one of the more competitive clubs (ECNL/GA) you have a good shot at playing D1. But, the player has to do the work to engage the targeted schools and they have to be talented and know where they stand relative to their peers. Many Virginia parents harbor thoughts of their kid playing at UVA, but on average UVA takes one player from VA per year. Ask yourself, is my kid the best player in her age in the state? (If not, take UVA off your radar) If you’re an 08 parent, you likely don’t have a complete view of the playing field. I would suggest thinking about what your expectations are for your kids college education and than look closely at those soccer programs to see if they are achievable. (Incidentally, IVY programs have some very competitive players - eg purce). Ultimately, the club may sway a colleges opinion of a bubble player but no club coach is going to risk their college placement reputation for a kid who shouldn’t play there. 08 parents need to be doing their homework now.

Anonymous
Post 02/12/2021 08:51     Subject: ECNL rising, GA falling . . . Where will the 06 and younger D1-thinking girls go?

^— exactly. BRYC is about to get an influx of talented players now that the dust is settling. ECNL is the better option than GAL, and now that the club shake ups (LMVSC, SYC, Gunston, Alexandria) is over post-COVID, plenty of the talent from non ECNL clubs are going to migrate into BRYC (girls) and Arlington (boys).
Anonymous
Post 02/12/2021 08:40     Subject: Re:ECNL rising, GA falling . . . Where will the 06 and younger D1-thinking girls go?

BRYC is far from done people forget they have a national title

Now Arlington might be done unless they get in ECNL which won't ever happen. If you want real opportunity join BRCY or Mclean
Anonymous
Post 02/12/2021 08:30     Subject: Re:ECNL rising, GA falling . . . Where will the 06 and younger D1-thinking girls go?

Anonymous wrote:Another GA vs ECNL thread how original

In this area we have so much talent and parents arguing over which club is better is insane. 08 VDA might be the best in the area but 07 Arlington might be the best in the area for that age. Its all relevant!!

Btw GA is better than ECNL at least in this area. How many games did ECNL play this year? I think NCSL teams had more playing time


I agree that TODAY some of the GA teams are better than some of the ECNL teams in this area. But for an 08 girl considering her options, is it more or less likely that four years from now, when she is at prime recruiting age, that she will have developed better and have had better opportunities playing for a GA team for those four years or for an ECNL team for those four years. My DD plays for Arlington now and I love the club and the team and the coaches, but I’m afraid the club will get dragged down by the showcasing platform and competition, so that an 08 girl’s opportunities won’t be as good as those for a comparable 08 girl playing for VDA or Mclean over those four years. I personally thing BRYC is done, so that’s less of an option. And I 100% agree that good coaching and development matters the most, but competition and opportunity to showcase are a good differentiator if all of the clubs you’re considering already have decent coaching and development at your DD’s age.
Anonymous
Post 02/12/2021 08:10     Subject: ECNL rising, GA falling . . . Where will the 06 and younger D1-thinking girls go?

Mr. ECNL rising, Mr. ECNL rising, rising, rising ... rising, rising.