He wasn’t the academy director for FCU. Snower does still maintain a good relationship with many of the academy families but can’t see eclipse having him involved. That being said I am sure he would be happy to steer kids away from SMP
Ahhh, maybe he left what was a pretty good spot at FCU in order to start the clock on his non-compete / non-solicitation clause. Launching an Eclipse affiliate must have been the plan all along. Genius!
Can’t tell if you are being serious or not. It was pretty well documented what happened with most of the FCU directors over the summer.
Actually, it’s not. Sold the club and most of the top coaches left. Aside from snower being let go for his issues, there really has been a lot of transperancy. So maybe “we’ll speculated”.
Only a small minority of their coaches left, I am fairly sure most of them were shown the door especially on the girls side of the program. Some of the so called better coaches were obviously replaced with less experienced and cheaper options
So, it was a salary dump? Interesting. We really need to build Trump’s wall to protect our youth soccer coaches.
My kid jumped into open play futsal at LifeZone in West Dundee. Our first time there and it was pretty interesting. Very clean compared to other places and lots of other activities throughout the facility. Heard the pizza was good there - so we ordered one after game play along with pretzels. Maybe the hype surpassed the flavor but compared to many other indoor sports facility it was decent. Over all - pretty nice.
Congrats to Sockers for finally getting some of the girls registered for Canlan - long time coming for sure. This will help with recruiting. No love for 2004 or the 2005 teams though?
Anymore information on this? if it is going to happen then surely information will need to come out in the next month or so to prepare for tryouts
Looks like Rickets is bailing on the USL ownership idea as well. Now that it would no longer be part of a slamdunk development, his interest has faded. Sad.
Yes, sad that the Ricketts are no longer involved and it won't be in such a convenient location; but, Sterling Bay still has franchise rights and both they and USL indicated they are still committed to having a team with a stadium in downtown Chicago (even though Lincoln Yards fell through). Let's hope so.
Where else has potential as far as a location? Did Motorola sell it's property in Schaumburg yet or are they just doing a demo? That would be perfect IMO.
As much as I like horse racing, I would love to see Arlington Park turned into a professional sports stadium. With Metra right there it already has mass transit built in, plus parking and easy access to the interstate system - https://www.dailyherald.com/news/20...ino-purchase-future-of-arlington-park-unclear
I am wondering if the new administration in Springfield would make it easier to pass legislation for more gaming at AP? But you are right - location is great and a demo of the outbuildings and stables may provide for additional field space.
Saw a story that the MLS academy teams are considering leaving the DA. That could make things really interesting.
It is on soccer America. Apparently you need to pay or have some sort of account in order to access it.
I hacked OrangeCard's login info and got the story... you're welcome. MLS clubs consider leaving the Development Academy by Mike Woitalla @mikewoitalla Yesterday Nico Romeijn, U.S. Soccer’s Chief Sport Development Officer, has confirmed that MLS clubs are considering pulling out of the Development Academy. “There's always a possibility,” said Romeijn when asked whether U.S. Soccer may be faced with playing its 2019-2020 season without MLS clubs participating in its Development Academy, which was launched in 2007 for the nation’s elite players. “We're still talking with MLS. … “It's possible, because we're not governing MLS. But the thing we are really focused on is that alignment of the pathway. As you know, our landscape is quite fragmented. It's really important for us to have that alignment, so when we think about player development we think about, ‘OK, maybe it's good to have pro competition and then the other clubs.’” Exactly how MLS would operate its youth competition outside of the DA is unclear, but its issues with the DA format include the widening gap of quality between MLS clubs and amateur clubs, and the DA’s restrictions on outside competition, such as international play. Last year, U.S. Soccer responded to complaints from MLS clubs’ about traveling long distances to play against teams that don’t offer meaningful competition. It decreased the number of DA games on the schedule and created “free weekends” for clubs to choose their own competition, such as against foreign teams. The DA has also for years allowed MLS clubs to compete in the Generation adidas Cup. “One of the things [the MLS clubs] really like to do is play against international opponents,” said Romeijn. “And, of course, that's a really good benchmark when you're talking about player development. “Then we say, of course, we will look at the schedule and we will give you the opportunities. It's the same when you're looking at the Generation [adidas] Cup they organize.” For some MLS clubs, the free weekends provided so far aren’t enough to satisfy their quest to take international trips or they fall during inconvenient times of the year. Romeijn says he can envision MLS continuing in the DA with a different format in which MLS clubs are given more flexibility. But … “There are, of course, limitations,” said Romeijn. “One cannot say, all 23 clubs, give your schedule and we will adapt. That's impossible. Because you cannot build a competition on that." An example of adjusting the DA schedule to please MLS clubs would be to allow, within the DA structure, more games between MLS clubs. “You can imagine Philadelphia and Red Bulls,” Romeijn said, “and they say, OK, not only two but four of these games are really valuable for them when you're looking at player development. And that's what we want to do. Focus on player development.” Because of the investment required to travel in a country as large as the USA, it would be difficult to imagine MLS creating its own type of youth leagues similar to Mexico's Liga MX, in which U-17 and U-20 travel with the first team to play in a national youth league that mirrors first-team competition. More likely, MLS academies could design a combination of national, local and international competition for their youth teams, and perhaps combine with USL youth programs. Alternatives to MLS pulling all of its teams out of the DA include keeping its younger teams in the DA and MLS creating its own competition for the older age groups. The DA, for its part, could propose a tiered format based on the quality of its clubs to placate the MLS clubs that believe they’re playing too many games against weaker competition. “We are now in the process of having these conversations,” said Romeijn. “Nothing has been decided yet.”
I heard from a friend of mine who was in Sanford last week for an ECNL event. He suggested any chatter there from college coaches about GDA last weekend was overwhelmingly negative in nature, and coaches there continued to praise ECNL and how they cater to them. There was some mention of ECNL moving back to school year designations instead of birth year as soon as 2019-20 season. That would probably be a good move, and bird flipping gesture to deliver USSF. TopHat still rumored to be considering leaving GDA, as well as a couple east coast clubs. There weren't any west coast clubs there, so no west coast reports. He didn't report hearing any talk of Eclipse working on locating/splitting its ECNL franchise through affiliation, no matter how big of a debacle they have created with their B teams. He also suggested there is little reason to believe ECNL will be handing out any badges north of Oak Brook anytime soon. Sounds like the rumor started on this board hasn't spread too far.
Seriously? I have been a long-time reader here and never posted before. Having a vested interested in a new, unaffiliated, top-tier girls option, it is pretty disappointing that none of the "people in the know" know jack. My take is that all this is coming from hopeful parents or (possibly) hopeful coaches. If you know something concrete, then post it. Conversely, if you know something said by your kid's assistant IWSA coach who heard something at a three v three tourney about a guy who was approached indirectly by group that owns a bubble...., don't post and go hang out on a Ligue 1 thread.