If there was only unrest simmering with the power clubs hedging their bets in both leagues, there is clearly a war on now: http://www.michiganwolveshawks.com/ The mega clubs (ECNL power structure) are pulling out of the DA. Essentially the club power structure has issued a vote of no confidence to the USSF regarding girl's youth development. How will the USSF respond if at all? The DA will be left with the very weak teams. Will the USSF fight back with their trump card and only invite non ECNL players to YNT programming? Will they be forced into offering better ID events with the appearance of casting a wider net? Game on...
Interesting that MichiganHhawks pulled their announcement! The link now doesn't show the change. Drama afoot. personally I think the GDA should be much smaller maybe 30 clubs in three geographic regions at least to start. Maybe treat the country as three smaller ones. I think there should be quarterly PDP type ID events and at least semiannual national ID events leading to YNT inclusions. I also think those 30 clubs should be subsidized by the USSF including top dollars for top coaches so that coast is a barrier to no child's participation. But that's me.
before deleted this is some of the text: After several months of discussion, we have decided that the Michigan Hawks will not play in the US Development Academy League in 2018-2019. We will commit our first and second team into the ECNL for this next season, joining several other top clubs across the country who are doing the same. We believe that the ECNL platform will allow us to address the game day needs of all of our players by placing us against the most competitive regional competition possible. Several other top clubs must include at least some of the other mega clubs who's DOCs sit on the ECNL board.
Where is Eclipse Select of Chicago on this? Rory Dames Club? And BTW, does this belong on the USWNT thread?
How are these club DA's run? They are associated with ECNL clubs, right--but under the purview of the USSF? The USSF chooses coaches and runs the DA or no? The USDA has always struck me little more than a power grab by the USSF, which essentially decided to glam onto and co-opt the success of the ECNL club network. The top 30 + Elite ECNL clubs have been producing a lot of very good soccer players. While I don't know how these DA's have been set up, I have to think they are a complication that many of the clubs don't want or need. And really, what is the practical difference between a good ECNL team and a DA team taken from the same club player pool?
Rumor is that eclipse are with hawks at this point but I saw the hawks announcement so that does not appear to be rumor. Gray zone probably on location, but since it's a women's only question and it is centered around the USSF with YNT implications, I thought it fit ok here.
The USSF are supposed to have set minimum standards and parameters for the DA clubs. I also believe they offer some subsidies for scholarships and the events are cheaper or free to enter. For example there is a 10 month curriculum with no contemporaneous high school soccer allowed. There are supposed to be 4 training sessions plus one game per week. There was also supposed to be a certain number of A licensed coaches. All games are recorded. Supposed to have been active scouting for YNT. Just as a start
It has been established several years ago that women's soccer is the fastest growing sport in this country. IMO, maybe the Fed saw money was to be made. Maybe they saw how much parents pay ridiculous fees for their kids to be trained for college and they want a piece of the action so they created their own DA. There is a whole discussion on this in the college thread I believe. They have been discussing this for months now. The problem is the Fed can get nasty about this and start only choosing kids who play in their programs for the Youth National Teams. Then you will see a war. https://www.soccerwire.com/blog-pos...-vs-girls-development-academy-cold-war-rages/
Agree the trump card the USSF holds is YNT invitations. However, the USSF has employed as both assistant and head coaches these very ECNL club's coaches/DOCs. And even further have chosen additional ECNL only (no DA affiliation) DOC/technical directors as regional GDA "scouts" (paid positions). So how will they now separate these people from the YNT selection process? Their influence on YNT rosters is obvious if you know where to look. 3 clubs are withdrawing announcement https://www.socceramerica.com/publi...velopment-academy-defections-three-major.html
ECNL announcement. Note the comment "more to come" http://www.eliteclubsnationalleague...an-hawks-pda-and-more-are-all-in-for-2018-19/
Those are three big and successful ECNL clubs. I'm certainly no expert on how this new DA system works or its relationship to ECNL clubs, but it seems as if the ECNL has as much or more leverage that USSF as I believe the DAs have been, in some if not many cases, piggy-backed on ECNL clubs. If a bunch of ECNL clubs drop out, the DA will have to create even more of its own academies from the ground up, which won't be easy. It's somewhat easy to see how the ECNL clubs help the DA system but less obvious how the new DA system helps the ECNL, which has already put a lot of seat equity into creating a successful development model that turns out a lot of good players, many of whom are able to play collegiate soccer and get a college education. It's a better model than the boys' system in Europe (and Latam, I presume), where kids are sent off to academy at a young age and become soccer/football automatons for years until many are cut. I'd be curious to know how many European kids who've spent multiple years in the DA system end up going to college. I'll bet not many. That's a good system for the pro clubs and the national teams, perhaps, but not for the vast majority of the kids who are sluiced off along the way and left somewhat traumatized by a dashed dream.
That’s a trump card? Let’s see... Jill Ellis got Lindsey Horan, Tobin Heath and a host of other players off ECNL clubs. So now she will develop new players from second tier talent. Sounds more like a Trump card in his effort to get top lawyers.
I don't understand your post. The point is that if the USSF says they will be running YNT ID programming from the DA scouting process AND it becomes evident that the kids selected to camps are preferentially coming from DA clubs, there MAY be a shift of hopeful highest level players from the ECNL to the DA clubs keeping the USSF "sponsored" programming alive. That's the trump card. Often in youth soccer where the best players go the next "almost there" kids follow. The players you name did not play youth soccer when the USSFs DA was an option so your point really is not relevant. It's the same as saying Mallory Pugh played high school soccer so high school soccer is fine for development. Mallory Pugh didn't have an all year round league as an option. I personally think the USSF mishandled the DA this year. They put ECNL club coaches in as regional scouts and YNT coaches and they put their ECNL kids in camps. Where the ECNL ran PDP and national id2 camps with the evaluations forwarded to the USSF, there has been no such programming with the DA. Further although "USSF scouts" do appear at some games, my reasources report that their opinions are not valued. Their presence and reports do not appear to be relevant to selections. I believe that since it is common that a YNT player will not contribute more and often less than several others in the many games I commonly watch. I coach u littles locally and funnel my best players to a DA club. (It's about progression not possession) I watch all ages. I certainly haven't seen a shift in the rosters to include DA players at all. Hence to a parent of a high level player or in the older ages, the player herself, there is little appeal in staying in the DA beyond the consistency of team club and coach. Increasingly it appears that the appeal may not outweigh the developmental disadvantage of competing with and against in both training and formal competition weaker players in the DA. I have coached kids who were ECNL before DA and DA now. Some are my own. The ECNL was excellent last year (2016-17) before the DA fragmented the teams and players. The competition was as good and consistent as I have seen in 20 years of youth soccer. Boys and Girls. It was very similar to the boys DA level. The travel was reasonable. The events were very well run. The variability in team level was much narrower than what is being seen in the DA with double digit goal differentials not uncommon in individual games. I have seen scores in the 16-0 range. Here's another problem. They publish national top tens for goals only. It's clear that the USSF does not value the playmakers. I have posted before that I believe the WNT generally suffers from poor playmaking in its struggle to break down a bunker or manage play through the midfield. The ECNL before it's stupid website "makeover" kept goals and assists readily available. However, It still records assists in the individual box scores but does not keep cumulative accounts. Without the mega clubs the huge (some teams are -80) goal differentials will narrow, but the competition level will decline dramatically. Some of the NWSL programs are doing OK but not all. What will PDA do with their Sky Blue association? Will Sky Blue give it to another local DA club? My personal opinion is that the USSF should have shaken Lavers hand and worked with the ECNL to put out more comprehensive programs instead of going head to head and trying to take down the well run existing top league. Instead of smartly leveraging its substantial infrastructure, the USSF decided to go head to head with the ECNL and now it appears to be losing the battle to declare itself the top league. My opinion is that it's only hope to be able to challenge the ECNL as Top league status is to run meaningful YNT ID programming. For example they should expand market training centers and pull most of the kids from the DA to attend. If only kids without a DA geographically accessible were invited from other leagues the message would be resounding. That practice would start a shift to the DA of the best and others will follow. Not that I am sure that's a good thing. I thought the ECNL did an excellent job at providing a quality venue for development and ID (college and YNT) The DA leftover clubs after this defection is complete, and I am very interested to see how many clubs follow the big boys out, may not offer the best coaching or infrastructure to compete with the expanding ECNL. At least for a few years the DA has been set back by this move of the mega clubs. The USSF and its Hubris...
I posted about this in a thread in the youth soccer forum because that is where it belongs. ( https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/changing-landscapes-chicagoland.2037831/ ) The thread was mostly a Chicagoland thread about changes there. Anyway, here is what I wrote in that thread:
We can disagree on the relevance, but what the issue? Is there skin off your nose that it is discussed here? I wouldn't have found your post as I wouldn't have looked at the "chicagoland" thread. I am sure there is a contingency of youth posters who would say why post this discussion here? who cares about women's soccer put that discussion on the women's set of forums... The USSF initiative for Women's soccer development and the discussion relative to WNT development is at least gray as to their "best" location.. You are concerned with its effect on Eclipse and the local landscape, I am concerned with its effect on YNT selection and development. I also appreciate the intelligence and insights of most of the posters to this forum. The ECNL will be two tiered as it was at its inception. That will largely take care of the watered down factor.
No, there is no "skin off of my nose." And, in reality, I couldn't care less about what happens to the FC Wisconsin Eclipse. If you were to read my post carefully you would see that there are two parts to it. I only chimed in because there was a poster that inadvertently believed that the Eclipse have a new affiliation with FC Wisconsin when, in reality, the affiliation has been in place for awhile. I added additional comments about the new developments of clubs defecting from the GDA to the ECNL because there was some mention of it in the thread. Personally I would have started a new thread, as you did. My point in stating that I would have started it in the youth soccer forum is that it is probably more pertinent there and not in the USA Women News & Analysis forum though I do understand your point about potential effects on the YNTs. I apologize if I upset you in some manner. To the point of the USSF holding a "trump card" in the selection of YNTs and if they play the card of "you've got to be in the GDA to be selected to an NT", I believe that if they do that it will be at their peril. Clubs like the Hawks, PDA, Stars, Eclipse and Slammers if they pull out of the GDA, will always have outstanding talent with NT potential. If the USSF does play that card, they will run the risk of fielding teams that are not as good as they could be. It would be unwise for the USSF to go down that route. I will reiterate what I wrote in that other post. The ECNL and USSF should come to some sort an agreement and combine in some way. I do not see that happening anytime soon, though. I think that before the GDA was formed that could have been a possibility but that ship has sailed. As an aside, this is what I meant to post as I realize that the ECNL is governed by US Club. I'm almost wondering if cooler heads will prevail in the future and the USSF and ECNL can come to an agreement and form a unified league with unified standards that would also allow some of the freedoms that US Club allows with the ECNL.
I took your tone as admonishment on a busy day when not at my best. I should learn not to post when I am in a hurry. The powerful ECNL clubs did stick out their hand in friendship to the USSF and it was slapped away. Now the gauntlet has been thrown down. I think this has set the GDA back years and that it may not recover if it can't meet the ECNL at some level. What I don't know is if the ECNL leadership wants to now teach the USSF a lesson and generally demonstrate the failure of their initiatives. I personally do not think that the USSF has shown particular intelligence in its approach to girls soccer and YNT selection and development. I agree that they shouldn't exclude top players because of affiliation, but they do that already frankly, just a different set of players. maybe this will point their eyes in different directions. Not that I think they should exclude any kid, but I do think the lens should be wider than it is.
I talked to the heads of 2 ECNL programs in the last year. They are both puzzled why the ussf wants to spend millions to duplicate a program that is already in place. Usually, development is by clubs and selection is by the national teams in most parts of the World and all parts of Latin America. They both said if the ussf wanted to have input that was fine, and if the ussf wanted to ensure that wealth was not an issue they could provide scholarships.. Both would be a lot cheaper.
I think the USSF is doing this because they're doing it with the boys, just as they changed the girls' age group cut-off dates because they did it with the boys. I think they are afraid to treat the girls differently. This is part of Jurgen's legacy. Whatever the reasons for doing it with the boys, I think for the girls it's ridiculous. The US has the #1 women's team in the world and has been near the top forever. Why make these changes, which are not good for girls?
Neither club was ECNL at the time those two players were coming through the youth ranks. Pugh is probably the only regular who actually played in the league.[/QUOTE]
Because current senior team performance is not connected to current youth development set ups. Youth development is about future performance at the senior level. Also remember that as evolve (or don't) other countries are doing things to improve the level of their clubs, players and national teams so we are not operating in a vacuum. So a possible answer to why are we changing is because other nations are changing...and improving dramatically.
While there are not many players on the USNWT that are ECNL alums, I don't believe that you are entiely accurate in stating that Pugh is the only current player that played in the ECNL. I am pretty sure that of the current roster, Savannah McCaskill, Tierna Davidson, Andi Sullivan, and yes, Lindsey Horan, are all ECNL alums. As time goes on and some of the older players retire we will see more.
After reading through this and some other threads about youth development in this country I realize that a long time youth sports person was right when he said at his retirement, "The only thing wrong with youth sports in this country is the adults." The kids will be fine if the adults would quit pushing their own agenda and try to find what is really best for the youths. There is no right side among the groups pushing for power in the youth soccer development programs they all have only one thing in mind and that is power for the so called adults involved. The politics will, if continued, ruin chances for many kids that only want to play at the top level. The ONLY thing of importance is the kids the adults should strive simply to stay out of the way as much as possible. I am very very disappointed in what is being done to harm the kids in the so called development process and everyone involved should be ashamed of their behavior.
I am intrigued by your response. Please share with us a synopsis of your ideas on ideal youth development in the US. What specifically is wrong and how would you right it.
Interesting commentary regarding the USSDA and its association with YNT scouting. Is this a direct response to the mega club's decisions to withdraw? http://www.ussoccerda.com/20180417-feature-spring-showcase-provides-elite-scouting-opportunity