Anonymous wrote:As the season winds down and wraps up, any suprises or comments? Has the inaugural DA impressed? Has ECNL dipped?

That Spirit VA has one team in playoff contention and a second within reach of a Wildcard spot. FCV is doing just fine with 3 teams in playoff contention and VDA is not doing as well as expected. There are five games left however so there is still lots of soccer left to be played.

As the season winds down and wraps up, any suprises or comments? Has the inaugural DA impressed? Has ECNL dipped?

I see the shift of top Arl players to BRYC and McLean the last two years. The 01s- 03s have lost that critical mass of top talent. They will still win their shares of tourneys but will not be able tocompete for statecup any longer. The 04s and 05s are talent laden so I am curious as to whether Arl will be able to retain this talent or lose it to DAs or ECNLs.

Problem with DA is if your kid is not a top player they will sit the bench quite a bit. For the money you are spending it may not be worth it. Playing time is never guaranteed and your DS has to be ok with that.

I can only speak to boys Club DA. At the 04-06 level it’s basically just the Club’s own former A team. Therefore, not diverse at all.

So in some areas that very well may make sense and be appropriate in regards to top players. If they were already pulling top players, they may be 95%+ therr.

Anonymous wrote:

the people coaching in the girls DA's are the same as were coaching various club teams beforehand. The players playing within DA were the same players playing in various clubs beforehand.

So while that might be true for the 04s, you would expect at the 05s and younger, that attracting more club diverse top players would enable those "same" players and coaches to have better trainings. That's a basic expectation of train and play with the best. If those DA clubs don't do that or can't attract club diverse talent, then the limitation is not the DA league, it's the artificial constraint of the DA clubs.

I can only speak to boys Club DA. At the 04-06 level it’s basically just the Club’s own former A team. Therefore, not diverse at all.

the people coaching in the girls DA's are the same as were coaching various club teams beforehand. The players playing within DA were the same players playing in various clubs beforehand.

So while that might be true for the 04s, you would expect at the 05s and younger, that attracting more club diverse top players would enable those "same" players and coaches to have better trainings. That's a basic expectation of train and play with the best. If those DA clubs don't do that or can't attract club diverse talent, then the limitation is not the DA league, it's the artificial constraint of the DA clubs.

big tournament weekend! anything noteworthy? or was it more of the same? consistent results with expectations?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Increase your chances of being scouted by college coaches in DA / ECNL - please. This means if you put those worlds on your playing resume, D2 and D3 schools will want you after the better players have already picked their schools.

If you're "that good", just attend the summer came of your college of choice and if you are that much of a superstar, you'll be noticed.

The DA gives all these girls a false impression that somehow they will make the national team or that there's a pathway to the national team. Very few. And those few that do were probably going to get there anyway without the DA.

It is also a way for USSF to standardize things coaching the way they like to do it and make things more homogeneous / structured, since we know that they are right about everything.

That's why all of our best players seem to have developed their talent overseas, right?

Name a U.S. women's national team player who developed overseas.

Following up -- I'm not counting players who have spent time in the European pro leagues. Christen Press found a good environment in Sweden when WPS folded and then stayed there for the first season of NWSL play, but she was already an experienced pro. Ali Krieger went to Europe when there was no pro league here and she didn't just want to do U.S. residency (or maybe wasn't invited, being underrated at the time). Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe have gone on loan to France several years into their careers. Crystal Dunn left the NWSL after three years to go to Chelsea, and frankly, she seems to have regressed.

The only WNT player I can think of who went to Europe before age 23 is Lindsey Horan, who skipped college to go pro in France. Even in her case, it's hard to say she "developed her talent" overseas. Refined a bit, sure, and it's an interesting debate to see whether she would've better off going to UNC.

So who am I missing?

Anonymous wrote:Increase your chances of being scouted by college coaches in DA / ECNL - please. This means if you put those worlds on your playing resume, D2 and D3 schools will want you after the better players have already picked their schools.

If you're "that good", just attend the summer came of your college of choice and if you are that much of a superstar, you'll be noticed.

The DA gives all these girls a false impression that somehow they will make the national team or that there's a pathway to the national team. Very few. And those few that do were probably going to get there anyway without the DA.

It is also a way for USSF to standardize things coaching the way they like to do it and make things more homogeneous / structured, since we know that they are right about everything.

That's why all of our best players seem to have developed their talent overseas, right?

I dunno, I don't think there are many DA girls/families that think they are enroute to the national team. I think most are simply happy to play at the highest level available, and at the same time, giving themselves the best chance at continuing their career in college.
As for our best girls players developing overseas, that is incorrect.

Anonymous wrote:Increase your chances of being scouted by college coaches in DA / ECNL - please. This means if you put those worlds on your playing resume, D2 and D3 schools will want you after the better players have already picked their schools.

If you're "that good", just attend the summer came of your college of choice and if you are that much of a superstar, you'll be noticed.

The DA gives all these girls a false impression that somehow they will make the national team or that there's a pathway to the national team. Very few. And those few that do were probably going to get there anyway without the DA.

It is also a way for USSF to standardize things coaching the way they like to do it and make things more homogeneous / structured, since we know that they are right about everything.

That's why all of our best players seem to have developed their talent overseas, right?

Name a U.S. women's national team player who developed overseas.

^^ The PP are the reason why I have said that people will not flock to ECNL over NPL or CCL. A few of the things the PPs are off base but the sentiment is accurate.

Increase your chances of being scouted by college coaches in DA / ECNL - please. This means if you put those worlds on your playing resume, D2 and D3 schools will want you after the better players have already picked their schools.

If you're "that good", just attend the summer came of your college of choice and if you are that much of a superstar, you'll be noticed.

The DA gives all these girls a false impression that somehow they will make the national team or that there's a pathway to the national team. Very few. And those few that do were probably going to get there anyway without the DA.

It is also a way for USSF to standardize things coaching the way they like to do it and make things more homogeneous / structured, since we know that they are right about everything.

That's why all of our best players seem to have developed their talent overseas, right?

the people coaching in the girls DA's are the same as were coaching various club teams beforehand. The players playing within DA were the same players playing in various clubs beforehand.

There is nothing magical about DA which makes it better - only that you are likely to be around other serious players.

Before all of this ECNL / DA stuff, you would just find that same environment within a local club that had a strong girls program and a solid coaching staff - Bethesda, Braddock Road, SYA are some that come to mind.

Now the environment shifts to those DA teams, maybe leaving more spots open at those clubs for more players, except that many of the stronger girls programs in the area are also DA or ECNL now anyway, so there is really no difference except you play more opponents from out of town on a regular basis.

One difference with DA is now it's more convenient for USYNT scouts to find players for the youth national teams. However, when they form the U14 youth national teams, there are already players in the pipeline and that were identified earlier, so if you are joining a DA for the first time at U14, you have about a .0001% chance of being "discovered" if you are really that good.

But if you are really that good, you didn't need the DA anyway to begin with. Also, from what I have heard, youth national team players on the girls side are being told that they need to be playing on a DA team if there is one near where they live.

So there's the marketing hook - if you play girls DA, maybe you will have a chance to "play with the best", aka there will be 1 youth national team player on your team who is way better than you.

If you are really the best, you will be bumped up age groups or training with a reserve squad if you're with a NWSL club or etc.

Other than that, its pretty much just the standard conveyor belt to the NCAA that has always been there.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have an 06 serious player and this recent discussion seems consistent to our thinking. No one we know inside the Beltway is going to travel and fight traffic to McLean or Braddock Road or Bethesda. If we have to do a drive, then it might as well be on a toll road to a DA. I think they will have single age groups for DA, maybe even starting thoughts of expanding at 13U and 12U like the boys. I am a little envious of those that came before and just had it simple with ECNL. But this is here and unavoidable. I hope the Spirit have better teams by then. Sounds like they do not have the best players right now based on the other message board.

Last I checked, most of McLean was inside the Beltway. Lewinsville Park is inside; Spring Hill Rec Center is less than a mile outside.

I think their point was acknowledging what PPs have said about given the choice of DA or ECNL that they will likely choose DA. ECNL will likely only maintain brand and status within the clubs themselves.