Just curious...It appears that the new girls DA and ECNL will compete for the best clubs. As someone not closely involved in either organization, and just figuring out the landscape of youth soccer, I was wondering if ECNL could choose to go back to the old age groups as a way to differentiate themselves from DA and to try to give themselves a competitive advantage in that regard. It's my understanding that ECNL will still allow their players to play high school soccer, while DA will not. Is there any other reason a top club would choose ECNL over a DA offer, if one was extended?
Unless DA (boys) baased clubs are somehow threatened to participate in DA or leave ECNL altogether, I don't see how they become a tier above ECNL. In my earlier comment - in another thread, DA just allowed for a club in Illinois which would not necessarily make the cut for the ECNL. I am expecting another club to be grated DA status as well on the girls side. These are teams that would not be capable of carying the lunch of Michigan Hawks/Wolves, Eclipse, CASL etc... It's going to be a long strange trip indeed - if you have younger female players!
I'm hearing that some of the newly admitted clubs only have 3-4 teams...I'm glad my daughter has a couple years (assuming she continues to play) before soccer gets serious to see how this all shakes out.
I do think that a soccer program that used school grade based age divisions and allowed HS play would do well. I'm not sure how much ability USCS has to "work around" the birth year mandate, but it is silly for 99.9% of players. I still haven't seen a fix for the 8th grade 02's in our area outside of pay this coach extra money to do academy sessions through the HS season.
Not to go all OT, but my son is an 03 8th grader so we were/are a bit on the frontline regarding this problem/change…to be honest, after all the hand ringing and whatnot (and I did my fair share of it), this season so far has worked out pretty well so far… Our club as basically created a group pool of player (~35 kids with 3 coaches and a couple trainers) …all 8th graders and 7th graders, regardless of birth year for the most part, train and practice together…and then for tournaments/league play the roster is split into a U15 squad and a U14 squad…obviously some of the 03s need to play up in order to field a full U15 team, but so far it seems to be working…mind you, it’s only been 1 tournament so far… It’s not uncommon (at least around me) to do this 2-year roster pooling for HS aged kids…so I think the “fix” might just be starting that type of pooling a little earlier with middle school (7th/8th) grade kids…
I think all kids should be "pooled" and assigned to teams based on their skill level...way above my pay grade though.
If ECNL wants to challenge GDA (and boys), I think they need to focus on their core allure (college recruiting) and just organize grade based teams. Let the 1%ers chase the NT dream and serve the vast majority of your clientele.
In 2015, 90%+ graduating ECNL seniors obtained some sort of college scholarship. 80% of pro womens soccer in the US are former ECNL players. I honestly don't think the GDA has a chance of catching them in the next 10 years.
I think that's really problematic for kids prior to adolescence. Frankly, I think we do this too much already.
Yeah to pull kids based on skill set let's save before you 12 is completely counterproductive to the concept of Child Development both on the mental and physical scale.
Bingo. Plus, given the realities of our current setup, "Skill" will translate to "bigger, faster kids who can help me win a U-12 trophy to impress the parents."
Any coach who will take a kid just because he is big and fast and is over 12 is an Amature. You need quickness in our game and the player has a better chance to do well if he starts at 6 with good coaching. Not with a parent coaching who have never played the game a book coach. Big is not what I look for in a player. Fast is nice you don't have to be big to be fast.
No shit, skilled does not mean bigger or faster. It means technical skills and psychological aptitude. I get that current coaches have no idea/desire to select teams without considering the early maturees, but that is how it should be accomplished.
I think a corner is being approached. Not quite rounded but approached. I think there are some new school coaches coming online that are looking more for the skilled player and that have a deliberate and patient approach to development.
That whole birth year change is completely stupid!! It hurts 8th graders and Seniors who have birthdays from Aug-Dec. What are they to do their Senior year when the rest of their team is in college. Can someone please switch it back and just leave the DA's to the birth year deal.