Field space - only 2 training sessions per week and indoor space. This was attributed a few years past to DD and the boys side being much larger then anticipated. Last year it was a huge number of girls trying out. As I mentioned - 06/05 trained outside into December and Indoor was only one session per week. Coaches were telling parents who complained to find other avenues to train and play during the winter. NB should not have those problems. They are already 3 times a week this Fall.
They yell at players in not the most supportive ways a lot is one common (and legit) complaint. It ain't great, but I've definitely heard of worse things said to players in college and even at ntc. It is a well known, and well deserved rep. I think the pool process of fielding teams is a bit more destructive, and in a pay to play situation can be considered very bogus. No fun to figure out after writing a check you figure out your kid may be cannon fodder. That said, the OB staff is several ranks above what is on offer up north. See post 2198 for more on that.
For now yes. 100%. Trend no...imo. US Soccer is US Soccer. How they operate is clear. See two tiered academy system -change made out of the blue. No warning. With clubs who wholly bought into their programming and model. Clubs who were just as successful/more so than many MLS clubs that stayed at the top. We’ll see I guess. For me i want power to go to independent clubs. Not leagues. Not franchisees. But US Soccer is far more powerful with far more resources than ECNL and that matters.
It is going back a number of years and I have not heard any examples like this in last 2-3 years but I am not sure you've heard worse at NTC (assuming you mean USSF ID centers formerly called National Training Centers?) then calling girls "lazy cu**s" and "Fat Fu**ers"
Dude, you keep using anecdotes from the Boys' DA... those arguments are not relevant. And if they were, and you followed your own logic FCU GDA (and maybe Sockers) would find themselves being pushed into a second-tier... making GDA even less attractive in these parts. This year's BDA bifurcation was announced abruptly, but it was clearly telegraphed last year when they allowed top tier teams to schedule more games against each other relative to the number of games they had to play in their division. On the boys' side this meant more MLS vs MLS games, where those clubs are mostly fully funded and really have no interest in playing lopsided games. The big split on the boys side this year was only a surprise if you weren't paying attention... and the different dynamics behind BDA and GDA, especially the path to professional play, make the comparisons meaningless.
Crossfire premiere is on record as being flabbergasted... and I'm sure they pay attention. The rumors of DA being an all MLS affair have been rampant for a year. Rumors are rumors. I don't see that happening, but I do see a tiered system becoming the norm in all age groups as they did with 18/19's. Problems in US soccer abound everywhere. Because they exist, and one pays attention to them, that shouldn't tell you that a club like Crossfire Premiere is going to be unjustly demoted. A major policy change just announced out of thin air to the surprise of those who are very invested in the organization that makes the policy? Makes no sense no matter how closely one follows this stuff. Yes MLS (and clubs like Sockers) have big problems playing "DA" competition that blows...especially when there's so much better competition out there...be it MLS Academy v. MLS academy or in Sockers case a ton of amazing, non DA, competition right in it's own backyard. I heard, and have confirmed via a simple search on NISL, that Batata told US Soccer and the DA to go fly a kite last year and moved his DA team to play in NISL as well as DA competition at U12. That's what we need more of... Girls DA is different in many ways but my point holds in girls and boys DA. US Soccer is the 800lb gorilla. The organization that dictates the "Golden Rule" (he who has the gold, makes the rules) This is the point with GDA vs ECNL. And I don't think in the medium term ECNL stands a chance against US Soccer. I hope I'm wrong. My posts about this are not in favor of the DA at all. I want independent, innovative organizations like the ECNL(or like the ECNL was when it started) to thrive. To bring about change and to provide some resistance against a monopoly. There would be nothing better imho than ECNL and DA competing against one another. That would be tremendous and I think great for the girls game and make each org be their best. But no, we have a civil war of egos that has only served to dilute the elite level in girls soccer. That's not good for anyone...but it's only for a short time, b/c the DA will eventually get what it wants. ECNL/DA is in the very earliest of innings and the DA has scored some pretty big wins in a very short time and the trend is clear in my view.... It wasn't long ago ECNL was the absolutely undisputed champ in the top tier of the pyramid. What two, three years ago and now it's even a question of who wins out? Think of it in the reverse...ECNL just announced a boys platform not long ago...you really think that has any chance, any chance at all, of dislodging the boys "DA" side?
Both leagues will posture about playing each other but do nothing about it unless they can get a lopsided victory. Last year (like BDA) GDA introduced more breaks in the schedule to encourage friendlies with top local competition. Almost none of that happened. Christian Lavers (ECNL president From FC Wisconsin) did an interview very recently saying he is encouraging ECNL GDA cross matches. Has FC Wisconsin tried any friendlies against GDA? Of course not because the only club they would agree to play would be whatever Minnesota team is in GDA
XF Premiere (boys) got screwed by the Federation that is beholden to its relationship with the MLS clubs. The Fire dropped their oldest team from DA because they are tired of losing money. I believe they have been trying to dump the whole program, not just the the olders. I'm not sure how either of those help advance your argument. Speaking of XF Premiere... you are aware that their girls program jumped back to ECNL this year from DA, right? Look it up, easy to find their DOC explaining the reasons. You ask about thinking of something in reverse...? stop it. the two leagues are mutually exclusive. Girls' goals, generally speaking, are very different than boys' goals at the highest level. Just take a look at where the two local U19 national team players will be playing next year. That tells you everything you need to know about the goals of girls playing at the highest levels, It's a pathway to the best schools... and for many, the freedom to play for their high school as well. I'm too cheap to get a SoccerAmerica subscription, so you may have more info than me on some things... but this is a good podcast that discusses some of the most recent issues with DA: https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=a...E4YTc1MmI2MDdhODY&hl=en&ep=6&at=1568484990518 Now go help MB50 and that lonely Chicagoland Boys thread he started last week... and please don't feed the Eyebrow guy.
You’re still not getting it. Five years from now you will. US soccer wins. The DA becomes what the ECNL was....(and yes maybe that takes them capitulating on HS soccer) Fire is a horribly run franchise. Get rid of a youth academy? I doubt they’re that dumb but wouldn’t doubt it. (They’re not getting rid of it. Reality is if you’re not on the path to first team by 18/19 you’re a liability 100% in a program they fund 100%. Every age group prior to that technically has hope to get to the first team. They’re not doing away with it, they’re just dumb and way behind the curve that other MLS franchises are way ahead of (FC Dallas). I’ll go to the other thread (stay strong MB50!) as soon as you let go of this ridiculous notion that if you pay you should know what team your kid is on before the fall season. Deal? ;-)
You’re still not getting or acknowledging the difference between girls and boys within the context of DA. Girls DA is far less appealing than ECNL for many girls. First, U.S. Soccer is way too arrogant to capitulate and start allowing high school soccer. Ditto on getting rid of international sub rules. U.S. Soccer has among the most unwarranted God complexes of all-time. And while girls DA will have a big slice of the pie — and may even become the definitive platform for the very top players (those who can legit play on the GNT in their age group), it will not “win” by superseding girls ECNL, which still offers the most player friendly pathway for girls who want to play college soccer. Most top girls are only thinking about college soccer and don’t even contemplate playing for the WNT or going pro, and for good reasons. The vast majority are not good enough for the former, and those who want a well-paying career scoff at the latter. Youth soccer on the girls side skews toward upper income, professional families as compared to the boys side. As Upper Left mentioned to you many girls are using soccer as a springboard to get into elite academic schools. Five years from now it's more likely that boys ECNL will have closed the gap on boys DA than girls DA superseding girls ECNL. As has been much discussed, many non-MLS affiliated DA clubs are unhappy with U.S. Soccer. Don't be surprised if some prominent boys DA clubs don't bolt for ECNL sooner rather than later.
Re: more friendly. Some thoughts: 1. When DA came onto scene many of the best ECNL teams had their first teams in DA and second teams ECNL... Eclipse, etc. everyone was brag about the da logo on their sleeve. 2. Everyone wants to go with what’s *perceived as best*. That’s what drives parents from the IWSL to the ECNL to DA. 3. 99% aren’t playing for WNT and 85% aware of that fact. WNT aspirations not a factor at all for 80% of players by u14. 4. Someone mentioned predictable if paying attention re: split tiers in boys u18/19 DA. This x10000 when DA arrived on scene and the shi* show that would ensue trying to sort out the two leagues. 5. DA has learned if only because hand has been forced. Getting rid of U12 boys is perfect example. They learned that that decision was a bad one that was very expensive. 6. DA training is 4x/week. What girl/parent who wants to play in college doesn’t see that as beneficial to accomplishing that goal? Being a part time DA player is the best of all worlds imo. You get the training but get to play *many* more games. (Yes I’m aware many of those games vs weak teams...so what you’re still playing). 7. They’d all jump over in a NY minute if DA was the definitive competitive platform. It’s not. ECNL is good enough and in many regions better. So they’re holding off. 8. They want to play HS is overblown. Not sure if it’s true but I was always told Eclipse/Sockers ECNL girls couldn’t play HS pre DA days too.
I agree with Ryan. In the first season US Soccer stood up the GDA it created a league that is on par with (and in IMO better than) ECNL. You can see from the debate about which league is better that there is no clear winner. Probably depends on the soccer experience or club availability that you are looking for. But both leagues are suffering because of competition from the other. ECNL initially went on a binge to pull into their league almost any club who wanted to join in order to replace the defections to the GDA. But both seem to pull in sub-par clubs at this point. And there is no debate about boys DA vs Boys ECNL. Very few non-DA teams (not even clubs) can compete against boys DA teams. Boys ECNL didn’t come close to providing even a sniff of competition for the boys DA. And in season 3 it still has not. And GDA is clearly winning the pull for the top talent. If you look at the YNT rosters for girls, 80%+ are playing for GDA clubs.
It’s inevitable. GDA will eventually get their act together in context of most competitive platform. GDA started what-2017-2018 season was it? So they’re just starting their third season of existence. Five more years and it’s game over.
Huh, so in US Soccer you trust? Ha. Let's agree to disagree. Why? 1) I don't believe boys had an exisitng ECNL leagues when DA started. So not a great comp. 2) There are well over 2X the number of D1 scholarships for women than men. DA comes across, at best, as indifferent to the recruiting process (restrictions on allowable games, limits on number of back-to-backs, one-game weekends, non re-entry rule, etc.). 3) HS is important to DA's most-fertile recruiting grounds: So California and Texas. 4) DA has already backed away from its 2017 rule that you had to opt to play for a local DA club (if available) to be considered for GNTs. I do think that DA could come up with a better model of maybe 24 teams or so that could work which would really make it elite and worth the hastle. But if they keep the number at 80+/- like ECNL, both will suffer. And DA will really have no objective advantages to ECNL and flounder.
I'll agree to anything, just go.... Now please go to the boy's board and celebrate the greatest model of youth sports ever... USSF BOYS development academy, yeah!! I'm sure you will find lots of support and great ideas of how USSF is on track to qualify for the next Men's World Cup. Get going. Here's the link: https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/chicagoland-boys.2106246/
Really thought I was super clear on this but guess I need to spell it out. I think US Soccer is the villain in all of this... the evil empire. The organization charged with creating a healthy soccer landscape but one that does the opposite. Makes it monolithic and monopolistic. The Death Star. And they (cough MLS) have taken over the boys and my bet US Soccer applies similar methods to overtake the girls(ECNL) in time. (Why didn’t they just support/guide the ECNL that was doing a fine job of creating elite women players?) Since some of us disagree on the latter let’s agee to disagree for the moment and watch it all play out and get back to what this board is really all about.... Let’s all also agree this board is not gender or league specific. And that further it was started (apparently) to discuss the ever changing and dynamic landscape that is competitive youth soccer. And if it leans towards the female player it isn’t even close to all about the female game. Plenty of boards for specific topics like “All In ECNL”, etc. p.s. In other news the good guys (aka Sockers - a non MLS club) beat SKC in the two elder age group games this week. Sticking yet another finger in the eye of the organization that single handedly keeps the game back decades from Int’l standards..
Nah..changed my mind.. I now want you to collapse into a fetal position, beg for my mercy and repeat "I know nothing about youth soccer. GDA was ill conceived, badly executed and is destined for Super Y League irrelevancy....I know nothing about youth soccer. GDA was ill conceived, badly executed and is destined for Super Y League irrelevancy....I know nothing about youth soccer. GDA was ill conceived, badly executed and is destined for Super Y League irrelevancy....."