Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand why ECNL would want Tophat. But why would Tophat want ECNL? They are thriving in GA and and have tons of visibility. USYNT and P4 placements are consistent and in line with top clubs in the nation. And the club is very profitable. A switch to ECNL would have significant uncertainty.

I can think of a couple of reasons. From a club perspective, they want to compete against better teams. You literally have to go back two seasons ago to find conference winner in that area that was NOT TH. In any age group. Their teams are great, but would still likely benefit from playing stronger competition. From a parent perspective, they probably also want better competition, but it is extremely frustrating to travel so far to play teams that aren’t really competitive when you can have more competition in your area if you had a different badge.

I hear that perspective, but I think it assumes that league affiliation is the primary driver of development, and Tophat is proving that’s not necessarily true.

At a certain point, when you’re consistently producing top-level players, placing into top college programs, and getting United States Youth National Team looks, the marginal benefit of switching leagues becomes pretty limited. Tophat is already getting the outcomes most clubs are chasing.

On the competition piece, yes, there’s value in stronger week-to-week games, but Tophat is clearly supplementing that through showcases and national events. The best clubs don’t rely solely on league play to define their level, they create the right competitive environments around it.

From a parent perspective, I get the frustration with travel for uneven games, but that’s more of a league parity issue than a development issue (its one you will find in ECNL leagues as well). It clearly hasn’t slowed down player progression at Tophat at all.

At the end of the day, they’re demonstrating something pretty important: you don’t need to be in the perceived “top” league to develop elite players or achieve elite outcomes. They already have visibility, results, and a strong business model. A move to ECNL introduces uncertainty without a clear upside that they aren’t already capturing.

I think the nationals director on the IHS podcast spoke about this. ECNL has better teams which gives the team more competitive games, it challenges their players to see what areas need improvement and as a club where you might be falling short.

Yes you can stay and be king of the mid sized mountain but you’ll never be the best mountain climber until you goto the tallest mountain and try and goto the top. Iron sharpens iron or so they say.

Also to consider for the Nationals was the location of their club and how with ECNL clubs around them, the move also helped them keep more of their players and/or hindered players from leaving them for ECNL. Also, now they perhaps get some as well. But as another poster said, Detroit area is one of the top area's in the country for talent due to size. most of the big recruits come out of 10 cities. Detroit is one of them, so yes ecnl is king when it comes to that, it is double important in cities like Detroit. multiple reasons for Nationals. Does Top Hat have that same type of compeition for talent as Nationals did - i don't think they do.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand why ECNL would want Tophat. But why would Tophat want ECNL? They are thriving in GA and and have tons of visibility. USYNT and P4 placements are consistent and in line with top clubs in the nation. And the club is very profitable. A switch to ECNL would have significant uncertainty.

I can think of a couple of reasons. From a club perspective, they want to compete against better teams. You literally have to go back two seasons ago to find conference winner in that area that was NOT TH. In any age group. Their teams are great, but would still likely benefit from playing stronger competition. From a parent perspective, they probably also want better competition, but it is extremely frustrating to travel so far to play teams that aren’t really competitive when you can have more competition in your area if you had a different badge.

I hear that perspective, but I think it assumes that league affiliation is the primary driver of development, and Tophat is proving that’s not necessarily true.

At a certain point, when you’re consistently producing top-level players, placing into top college programs, and getting United States Youth National Team looks, the marginal benefit of switching leagues becomes pretty limited. Tophat is already getting the outcomes most clubs are chasing.

On the competition piece, yes, there’s value in stronger week-to-week games, but Tophat is clearly supplementing that through showcases and national events. The best clubs don’t rely solely on league play to define their level, they create the right competitive environments around it.

From a parent perspective, I get the frustration with travel for uneven games, but that’s more of a league parity issue than a development issue (its one you will find in ECNL leagues as well). It clearly hasn’t slowed down player progression at Tophat at all.

At the end of the day, they’re demonstrating something pretty important: you don’t need to be in the perceived “top” league to develop elite players or achieve elite outcomes. They already have visibility, results, and a strong business model. A move to ECNL introduces uncertainty without a clear upside that they aren’t already capturing.

I think the nationals director on the IHS podcast spoke about this. ECNL has better teams which gives the team more competitive games, it challenges their players to see what areas need improvement and as a club where you might be falling short.

Yes you can stay and be king of the mid sized mountain but you’ll never be the best mountain climber until you goto the tallest mountain and try and goto the top. Iron sharpens iron or so they say.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand why ECNL would want Tophat. But why would Tophat want ECNL? They are thriving in GA and and have tons of visibility. USYNT and P4 placements are consistent and in line with top clubs in the nation. And the club is very profitable. A switch to ECNL would have significant uncertainty.

I can think of a couple of reasons. From a club perspective, they want to compete against better teams. You literally have to go back two seasons ago to find conference winner in that area that was NOT TH. In any age group. Their teams are great, but would still likely benefit from playing stronger competition. From a parent perspective, they probably also want better competition, but it is extremely frustrating to travel so far to play teams that aren’t really competitive when you can have more competition in your area if you had a different badge.

I hear that perspective, but I think it assumes that league affiliation is the primary driver of development, and Tophat is proving that’s not necessarily true.

At a certain point, when you’re consistently producing top-level players, placing into top college programs, and getting United States Youth National Team looks, the marginal benefit of switching leagues becomes pretty limited. Tophat is already getting the outcomes most clubs are chasing.

On the competition piece, yes, there’s value in stronger week-to-week games, but Tophat is clearly supplementing that through showcases and national events. The best clubs don’t rely solely on league play to define their level, they create the right competitive environments around it.

From a parent perspective, I get the frustration with travel for uneven games, but that’s more of a league parity issue than a development issue (its one you will find in ECNL leagues as well). It clearly hasn’t slowed down player progression at Tophat at all.

At the end of the day, they’re demonstrating something pretty important: you don’t need to be in the perceived “top” league to develop elite players or achieve elite outcomes. They already have visibility, results, and a strong business model. A move to ECNL introduces uncertainty without a clear upside that they aren’t already capturing.

I think the nationals director on the IHS podcast spoke about this. ECNL has better teams which gives the team more competitive games, it challenges their players to see what areas need improvement and as a club where you might be falling short.

Yes you can stay and be king of the mid sized mountain but you’ll never be the best mountain climber until you goto the tallest mountain and try and goto the top. Iron sharpens iron or so they say.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand why ECNL would want Tophat. But why would Tophat want ECNL? They are thriving in GA and and have tons of visibility. USYNT and P4 placements are consistent and in line with top clubs in the nation. And the club is very profitable. A switch to ECNL would have significant uncertainty.

I can think of a couple of reasons. From a club perspective, they want to compete against better teams. You literally have to go back two seasons ago to find conference winner in that area that was NOT TH. In any age group. Their teams are great, but would still likely benefit from playing stronger competition. From a parent perspective, they probably also want better competition, but it is extremely frustrating to travel so far to play teams that aren’t really competitive when you can have more competition in your area if you had a different badge.

I hear that perspective, but I think it assumes that league affiliation is the primary driver of development, and Tophat is proving that’s not necessarily true.

At a certain point, when you’re consistently producing top-level players, placing into top college programs, and getting United States Youth National Team looks, the marginal benefit of switching leagues becomes pretty limited. Tophat is already getting the outcomes most clubs are chasing.

On the competition piece, yes, there’s value in stronger week-to-week games, but Tophat is clearly supplementing that through showcases and national events. The best clubs don’t rely solely on league play to define their level, they create the right competitive environments around it.

From a parent perspective, I get the frustration with travel for uneven games, but that’s more of a league parity issue than a development issue (its one you will find in ECNL leagues as well). It clearly hasn’t slowed down player progression at Tophat at all.

At the end of the day, they’re demonstrating something pretty important: you don’t need to be in the perceived “top” league to develop elite players or achieve elite outcomes. They already have visibility, results, and a strong business model. A move to ECNL introduces uncertainty without a clear upside that they aren’t already capturing.

No, I firmly believe that training sessions are the primary driver of development that a club can provide. I just think if we are making a pros/cons list, competition and travel are definitely in the cons list for GA and pros list for ECNL….for this particular club. They’ve clearly demonstrated that they don’t NEED to be in ECNL to be successful though.

The top 5 performing clubs from both GA and ECNL should have a big tournament each year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand why ECNL would want Tophat. But why would Tophat want ECNL? They are thriving in GA and and have tons of visibility. USYNT and P4 placements are consistent and in line with top clubs in the nation. And the club is very profitable. A switch to ECNL would have significant uncertainty.

I can think of a couple of reasons. From a club perspective, they want to compete against better teams. You literally have to go back two seasons ago to find conference winner in that area that was NOT TH. In any age group. Their teams are great, but would still likely benefit from playing stronger competition. From a parent perspective, they probably also want better competition, but it is extremely frustrating to travel so far to play teams that aren’t really competitive when you can have more competition in your area if you had a different badge.

I hear that perspective, but I think it assumes that league affiliation is the primary driver of development, and Tophat is proving that’s not necessarily true.

At a certain point, when you’re consistently producing top-level players, placing into top college programs, and getting United States Youth National Team looks, the marginal benefit of switching leagues becomes pretty limited. Tophat is already getting the outcomes most clubs are chasing.

On the competition piece, yes, there’s value in stronger week-to-week games, but Tophat is clearly supplementing that through showcases and national events. The best clubs don’t rely solely on league play to define their level, they create the right competitive environments around it.

From a parent perspective, I get the frustration with travel for uneven games, but that’s more of a league parity issue than a development issue (its one you will find in ECNL leagues as well). It clearly hasn’t slowed down player progression at Tophat at all.

At the end of the day, they’re demonstrating something pretty important: you don’t need to be in the perceived “top” league to develop elite players or achieve elite outcomes. They already have visibility, results, and a strong business model. A move to ECNL introduces uncertainty without a clear upside that they aren’t already capturing.

Anonymous wrote:Still no word.

I am under the impression that the X post was smoke and mirrors.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand why ECNL would want Tophat. But why would Tophat want ECNL? They are thriving in GA and and have tons of visibility. USYNT and P4 placements are consistent and in line with top clubs in the nation. And the club is very profitable. A switch to ECNL would have significant uncertainty.

I can think of a couple of reasons. From a club perspective, they want to compete against better teams. You literally have to go back two seasons ago to find conference winner in that area that was NOT TH. In any age group. Their teams are great, but would still likely benefit from playing stronger competition. From a parent perspective, they probably also want better competition, but it is extremely frustrating to travel so far to play teams that aren’t really competitive when you can have more competition in your area if you had a different badge.

I hear that perspective, but I think it assumes that league affiliation is the primary driver of development, and Tophat is proving that’s not necessarily true.

At a certain point, when you’re consistently producing top-level players, placing into top college programs, and getting United States Youth National Team looks, the marginal benefit of switching leagues becomes pretty limited. Tophat is already getting the outcomes most clubs are chasing.

On the competition piece, yes, there’s value in stronger week-to-week games, but Tophat is clearly supplementing that through showcases and national events. The best clubs don’t rely solely on league play to define their level, they create the right competitive environments around it.

From a parent perspective, I get the frustration with travel for uneven games, but that’s more of a league parity issue than a development issue (its one you will find in ECNL leagues as well). It clearly hasn’t slowed down player progression at Tophat at all.

At the end of the day, they’re demonstrating something pretty important: you don’t need to be in the perceived “top” league to develop elite players or achieve elite outcomes. They already have visibility, results, and a strong business model. A move to ECNL introduces uncertainty without a clear upside that they aren’t already capturing.

No, I firmly believe that training sessions are the primary driver of development that a club can provide. I just think if we are making a pros/cons list, competition and travel are definitely in the cons list for GA and pros list for ECNL….for this particular club. They’ve clearly demonstrated that they don’t NEED to be in ECNL to be successful though.

The top 5 performing clubs from both GA and ECNL should have a big tournament each year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand why ECNL would want Tophat. But why would Tophat want ECNL? They are thriving in GA and and have tons of visibility. USYNT and P4 placements are consistent and in line with top clubs in the nation. And the club is very profitable. A switch to ECNL would have significant uncertainty.

I can think of a couple of reasons. From a club perspective, they want to compete against better teams. You literally have to go back two seasons ago to find conference winner in that area that was NOT TH. In any age group. Their teams are great, but would still likely benefit from playing stronger competition. From a parent perspective, they probably also want better competition, but it is extremely frustrating to travel so far to play teams that aren’t really competitive when you can have more competition in your area if you had a different badge.

I hear that perspective, but I think it assumes that league affiliation is the primary driver of development, and Tophat is proving that’s not necessarily true.

At a certain point, when you’re consistently producing top-level players, placing into top college programs, and getting United States Youth National Team looks, the marginal benefit of switching leagues becomes pretty limited. Tophat is already getting the outcomes most clubs are chasing.

On the competition piece, yes, there’s value in stronger week-to-week games, but Tophat is clearly supplementing that through showcases and national events. The best clubs don’t rely solely on league play to define their level, they create the right competitive environments around it.

From a parent perspective, I get the frustration with travel for uneven games, but that’s more of a league parity issue than a development issue (its one you will find in ECNL leagues as well). It clearly hasn’t slowed down player progression at Tophat at all.

At the end of the day, they’re demonstrating something pretty important: you don’t need to be in the perceived “top” league to develop elite players or achieve elite outcomes. They already have visibility, results, and a strong business model. A move to ECNL introduces uncertainty without a clear upside that they aren’t already capturing.

No, I firmly believe that training sessions are the primary driver of development that a club can provide. I just think if we are making a pros/cons list, competition and travel are definitely in the cons list for GA and pros list for ECNL….for this particular club. They’ve clearly demonstrated that they don’t NEED to be in ECNL to be successful though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand why ECNL would want Tophat. But why would Tophat want ECNL? They are thriving in GA and and have tons of visibility. USYNT and P4 placements are consistent and in line with top clubs in the nation. And the club is very profitable. A switch to ECNL would have significant uncertainty.

I can think of a couple of reasons. From a club perspective, they want to compete against better teams. You literally have to go back two seasons ago to find conference winner in that area that was NOT TH. In any age group. Their teams are great, but would still likely benefit from playing stronger competition. From a parent perspective, they probably also want better competition, but it is extremely frustrating to travel so far to play teams that aren’t really competitive when you can have more competition in your area if you had a different badge.

I hear that perspective, but I think it assumes that league affiliation is the primary driver of development, and Tophat is proving that’s not necessarily true.

At a certain point, when you’re consistently producing top-level players, placing into top college programs, and getting United States Youth National Team looks, the marginal benefit of switching leagues becomes pretty limited. Tophat is already getting the outcomes most clubs are chasing.

On the competition piece, yes, there’s value in stronger week-to-week games, but Tophat is clearly supplementing that through showcases and national events. The best clubs don’t rely solely on league play to define their level, they create the right competitive environments around it.

From a parent perspective, I get the frustration with travel for uneven games, but that’s more of a league parity issue than a development issue (its one you will find in ECNL leagues as well). It clearly hasn’t slowed down player progression at Tophat at all.

At the end of the day, they’re demonstrating something pretty important: you don’t need to be in the perceived “top” league to develop elite players or achieve elite outcomes. They already have visibility, results, and a strong business model. A move to ECNL introduces uncertainty without a clear upside that they aren’t already capturing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand why ECNL would want Tophat. But why would Tophat want ECNL? They are thriving in GA and and have tons of visibility. USYNT and P4 placements are consistent and in line with top clubs in the nation. And the club is very profitable. A switch to ECNL would have significant uncertainty.

I can think of a couple of reasons. From a club perspective, they want to compete against better teams. You literally have to go back two seasons ago to find conference winner in that area that was NOT TH. In any age group. Their teams are great, but would still likely benefit from playing stronger competition. From a parent perspective, they probably also want better competition, but it is extremely frustrating to travel so far to play teams that aren’t really competitive when you can have more competition in your area if you had a different badge.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand why ECNL would want Tophat. But why would Tophat want ECNL? They are thriving in GA and and have tons of visibility. USYNT and P4 placements are consistent and in line with top clubs in the nation. And the club is very profitable. A switch to ECNL would have significant uncertainty.

I can think of a couple of reasons. From a club perspective, they want to compete against better teams. You literally have to go back two seasons ago to find conference winner in that area that was NOT TH. In any age group. Their teams are great, but would still likely benefit from playing stronger competition. From a parent perspective, they probably also want better competition, but it is extremely frustrating to travel so far to play teams that aren’t really competitive when you can have more competition in your area if you had a different badge.

this. last year, GA redid the southeast conference they dropped a local team AFC to Aspire and Wake FC was moved to another GA conference. They brought in a new terrible Florida club Space Coast and an average club Pinecrest (Miami Area) which was added the year before to a temporary conference they had created then year before which now doesn't exist. That added a 3rd weekend trip down to Florida. Tophat blocked the move unless they worked it out where they didn't have to make a third trip to Florida. So several teams in Florida are not playing a full 16 game schedule and are missing out on 2 games cause Tophat refused to make another trip.

Would the extra trip/game have made a difference? The answer is no.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I understand why ECNL would want Tophat. But why would Tophat want ECNL? They are thriving in GA and and have tons of visibility. USYNT and P4 placements are consistent and in line with top clubs in the nation. And the club is very profitable. A switch to ECNL would have significant uncertainty.

I can think of a couple of reasons. From a club perspective, they want to compete against better teams. You literally have to go back two seasons ago to find conference winner in that area that was NOT TH. In any age group. Their teams are great, but would still likely benefit from playing stronger competition. From a parent perspective, they probably also want better competition, but it is extremely frustrating to travel so far to play teams that aren’t really competitive when you can have more competition in your area if you had a different badge.