Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She will join a different team. What else can she do. She doesn't need a spot for any other reason then she legit makes the team. None of us are paying this giant premium for top dollar super deluxe league soccer for anything less. Alot of parents welcome it. Ecnl is a good league and the stronger each team the better.

LOL. wrong answer. It’s the same calculus as last year. Players who start on their current, strong exDA team will not move to ECNL simply to ride the bench on an ECNL team. They need the valuable minutes to be at peak, and leaving their current teams won’t provide that in most cases.

I smell one poster’s BS in the sudden deluge of confessionals on players moving. Some will and many won’t is the most likely scenario, with some dissatisfied ECNL kids moving the other way. In this area, there’s very little difference overall between ECNL and GAL team quality. Not worth losing a starting spot over.

In other words, the same crap that happens every year.

So earlier there were a bunch of posts from ex-DA'ers about how the top half of FCV's and Arlington's teams would be starters for any local ECNL team.

Now you're saying those girls would ride the bench on a local ECNL team? Why would you now change your tune? Are you now trying to scare the girls so they do not leave the team for an ECNL team?

Simple answer. I didn’t post them, someone else did. Some could go and have the skills to start for sure. Others wouldn’t. Of course, that’s all purely based on merit and doesn’t account for the other factors like politics, commute, fit with other girls/friends......

DA parents didn’t have another option before the idea of simply staying together in essentially the same system of clubs, with better rules when much of that was flying. Now they do. Will some still leave? Maybe. But the idea of leaving as the only option is less compelling now than it was even 24 hours ago. Let’s see what happens. At the end of the day, assuming all DA clubs simply move to GAL, if teams were to stay together as they are, there is no advantage to being ECNL in this region vs GAL, thus no impetus to switch clubs. The platforms are the same as they were before USSF took their action, other than the name. Hell, GAL might benefit from the lack of USSF meddling. They already have with the rule changes

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She will join a different team. What else can she do. She doesn't need a spot for any other reason then she legit makes the team. None of us are paying this giant premium for top dollar super deluxe league soccer for anything less. Alot of parents welcome it. Ecnl is a good league and the stronger each team the better.

LOL. wrong answer. It’s the same calculus as last year. Players who start on their current, strong exDA team will not move to ECNL simply to ride the bench on an ECNL team. They need the valuable minutes to be at peak, and leaving their current teams won’t provide that in most cases.

I smell one poster’s BS in the sudden deluge of confessionals on players moving. Some will and many won’t is the most likely scenario, with some dissatisfied ECNL kids moving the other way. In this area, there’s very little difference overall between ECNL and GAL team quality. Not worth losing a starting spot over.

In other words, the same crap that happens every year.

So earlier there were a bunch of posts from ex-DA'ers about how the top half of FCV's and Arlington's teams would be starters for any local ECNL team.

Now you're saying those girls would ride the bench on a local ECNL team? Why would you now change your tune? Are you now trying to scare the girls so they do not leave the team for an ECNL team?

Anonymous wrote:She will join a different team. What else can she do. She doesn't need a spot for any other reason then she legit makes the team. None of us are paying this giant premium for top dollar super deluxe league soccer for anything less. Alot of parents welcome it. Ecnl is a good league and the stronger each team the better.

LOL. wrong answer. It’s the same calculus as last year. Players who start on their current, strong exDA team will not move to ECNL simply to ride the bench on an ECNL team. They need the valuable minutes to be at peak, and leaving their current teams won’t provide that in most cases.

I smell one poster’s BS in the sudden deluge of confessionals on players moving. Some will and many won’t is the most likely scenario, with some dissatisfied ECNL kids moving the other way. In this area, there’s very little difference overall between ECNL and GAL team quality. Not worth losing a starting spot over.

In other words, the same crap that happens every year.

Situation stinks but anyone paying attention knows youth soccer is strictly biz. None of this constant churn is the fault of the players but they suffer the effects. They also are all getting a good lesson in resilience and how to pay attention to what is done more then what is said.

Anonymous wrote:Don’t underrate the chemistry of a team in assessing whether girls should stick with their old teams or not. Girls who have played together for years will perform better than girls who are thrown together On a field 2 weeks before soccer starts up again Whenever that ends up being. At the 03 and 04 and maybe even 05 ages, Arlington and FCV Players may be considering that too.

The stronger and older the team is, the more likely they stay together. Not just in our area but nation-wide.

She will join a different team. What else can she do. She doesn't need a spot for any other reason then she legit makes the team. None of us are paying this giant premium for top dollar super deluxe league soccer for anything less. Alot of parents welcome it. Ecnl is a good league and the stronger each team the better.

Don’t underrate the chemistry of a team in assessing whether girls should stick with their old teams or not. Girls who have played together for years will perform better than girls who are thrown together On a field 2 weeks before soccer starts up again Whenever that ends up being. At the 03 and 04 and maybe even 05 ages, Arlington and FCV Players may be considering that too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are the top fcv players actually going to stay and play in this league?

I cannot speak for the rest of the girls on our team, but my daughter is not. She loves her teammates, but she does not want to risk her upcoming recruiting years on an unknown platform. The situation sucks. At least she knows several of the girls at the ECNL team that she will be joining, so hopefully it works out.

+1 Same for us. DD loves the girls, just not willing to take the risk after all the hard work. Fairly confident we are not alone in making the change but each family needs to make their own decisions.

Yep. My DD wants to move as well, has played with the coach that will be coaching her new team and wants to play for him again. It will be hard leaving but we are listening to what she wants to do.

Just wanted to say I have a lot of empathy for all the DA girls are going through - on top of COVID. We are in ECNL (younger levels - so no dog in this fight) just think the timing is really bad for everyone. I have kids in other sports in prime recruiting ages with uncertainty just given this COVID situation and it’s had a major impact on prime recruiting season / months. Can’t imagine adding something like this on. Just wishing all the girls and families the very best.

That was a very kind sentiment. Unfortunately you might have a dog in this fight. Have you considered what you will do if your dd is displaced from her current team?

Players can and should do what they think is best every year. And share that with your former team mates out of respect so they understand that you are leaving the team and why. They will appreciate knowing.

Roster change is the only constant in youth soccer. Age change, gda launch, clubs in any out of the various leagues every year, sudden cancellation of seasons and events due to virus........the constant chaos is the norm for every girl from 02 to 06 that plays youth soccer. They are very very used to it.

USSF pulled the plug because on the boys side MLS was unhappy with the dynamic, and on the Girls side the ECNL was continuing to dominate. taking 33% of the clubs, well over half of the DA's true top level clubs. PDA, NYCFC, Hawks, Fire, Eclipse, LAFC Slammers, FC Stars, Real Colorado, SD Surf, Orlando, Courage, Crossfire, Concorde et al.

USSF took on the ECNL and lost. Badly. Sucks for the kids, mine included but we cant say we didn't see it coming, you can't lose your top clubs year after year and consider yourself the top league. We all wanted to believe it wasn't true but it was. Year after year it got worse and worse. Don't lie and keep telling yourself you thought the DA was a higher quality league vs the ECNL as a whole. we had some good clubs that could hang but as a whole? Not even close.

I mean look at what just happened.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are the top fcv players actually going to stay and play in this league?

I cannot speak for the rest of the girls on our team, but my daughter is not. She loves her teammates, but she does not want to risk her upcoming recruiting years on an unknown platform. The situation sucks. At least she knows several of the girls at the ECNL team that she will be joining, so hopefully it works out.

+1 Same for us. DD loves the girls, just not willing to take the risk after all the hard work. Fairly confident we are not alone in making the change but each family needs to make their own decisions.

Yep. My DD wants to move as well, has played with the coach that will be coaching her new team and wants to play for him again. It will be hard leaving but we are listening to what she wants to do.

Just wanted to say I have a lot of empathy for all the DA girls are going through - on top of COVID. We are in ECNL (younger levels - so no dog in this fight) just think the timing is really bad for everyone. I have kids in other sports in prime recruiting ages with uncertainty just given this COVID situation and it’s had a major impact on prime recruiting season / months. Can’t imagine adding something like this on. Just wishing all the girls and families the very best.

My did starts on one of the top two DA programs in NOVA. No need to mention who or what team.
She will be a junior and given her age is makes no sense to risk her moving to an unproven league without an established reputation or seemingly any promise of getting her the exposure she hopes for.
The alternative is for her to seek out ECNL for exactly that purpose.
That is the plan and its in motion already.

For all these parents thinking the teams are staying together I see two others on this thread that have basically said the same. How many others are doing so just not posting.

Whatever your choice good luck but his GAL option is not for us

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Per a ECNL Board Member in January...ECNL was set to add 6-10 clubs for 20-21 to keep control of amount teams invited to showcases that they felt they could handle.

Why change their business model for upcoming season just because of the so call "only pathway to National Teams, Top College Programs, etc" that made most non soccer educated parents gullible to believe this

To squash the competition before it has a chance to take root?

Logistics can change and frankly with an uneven opening of the economy looming on the horizon they may have more time to plan than they had ever hoped.

Why is ECNL a villan? GDA was designed to kill ECNL, but GDA was killed by the USSF, the creator of GDA. ECNL has no obligation to the clubs from a rival and now defunct league and does not have to save those clubs. ECNL clubs will certainly benefit for the influx of GDA players that are likely to flee their clubs for ECNL programs. This will also help with the talent dilution problem.

Yes. Ussf just pulled the plug for some reason. Gda had lost some clubs and others were struggling but many were fine and the league was functioning. Ussf is the one that misrepresented this product and used the players for their little experiment. Shame on them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Per a ECNL Board Member in January...ECNL was set to add 6-10 clubs for 20-21 to keep control of amount teams invited to showcases that they felt they could handle.

Why change their business model for upcoming season just because of the so call "only pathway to National Teams, Top College Programs, etc" that made most non soccer educated parents gullible to believe this

To squash the competition before it has a chance to take root?

Logistics can change and frankly with an uneven opening of the economy looming on the horizon they may have more time to plan than they had ever hoped.

Why is ECNL a villan? GDA was designed to kill ECNL, but GDA was killed by the USSF, the creator of GDA. ECNL has no obligation to the clubs from a rival and now defunct league and does not have to save those clubs. ECNL clubs will certainly benefit for the influx of GDA players that are likely to flee their clubs for ECNL programs. This will also help with the talent dilution problem.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are the top fcv players actually going to stay and play in this league?

I cannot speak for the rest of the girls on our team, but my daughter is not. She loves her teammates, but she does not want to risk her upcoming recruiting years on an unknown platform. The situation sucks. At least she knows several of the girls at the ECNL team that she will be joining, so hopefully it works out.

+1 Same for us. DD loves the girls, just not willing to take the risk after all the hard work. Fairly confident we are not alone in making the change but each family needs to make their own decisions.

Yep. My DD wants to move as well, has played with the coach that will be coaching her new team and wants to play for him again. It will be hard leaving but we are listening to what she wants to do.