SA's Top 25 Girls Clubs

How the heck can you have Eclipse number one when they did not have one team go to the nationals or even on team make a final at regional. I know there is a lot of criterias but........................great club but number one?

 

Has to do with National championships over last 3 years and the ability to generate (develop) national team players.
How about SoCal...7 teams?

 

Understand but.......................still did not have one team in the regional finals. When you talk about developement, Eclipse gets the best kids at the older ages like 14, these kids have developed so many of their skills already. What they do very well is recruit. All of these clubs recruit. Most in the top 20 take these young ladies at 8 and 9 not at 14.

Southern California, great clubs but they have so many kids to pull from. I applaud the clubs like Edmonds, St Louis, Carmel etc....... great clubs but not much to pull from. It is also nice to play all year round. Is this an excuse? No population pull and climate has a lot to do with successes of clubs.

 

Get your facts straight tjd. Eclipse Select had two teams in the Regional finals and in both cases the weaker team won the finals, the 14's was very controversial. You would have been accurate if you would have said that they had no teams in Nationals. That was an oddity and may not happen again.

 

TJD is right....no eclipse teams made the regional finals. the 14/16/18/19 teams all lost in the semis, none made it to the finals though.

Now thats not to say that i dont agree with where eclipse was ranked. they did lose some very close games in the knockout rounds at regionals, but just as easily as they had 4 teams lose in the semis, all 4 of those teams could have easily been regional champions. the eclipse program is very impressive, and i cant argue with their #1 ranking based on their entire body of work the past couple of years.

 

They had NO teams in the finals, a few in the semi's but NONE in the finals. 14's, would of could have should have whatever......did the best team win that age. I don't think so but..........that is soccer. We both have seen that many times. You need to check out the region II scores.

Eclipse is a great club, no doubt about it, I just question remaining at number one without one team in a regional final or at nationals. I would keep them in the top 5 but not number one.

Great recruiting club, they end up by a certain age getting some really good kids but other clubs are developing these kids. 8,9,10,11,12 are kids most formative years. Eclipse does not really get these kids until after that. Who is developing these kids at the early ages, normally NSA, Team Chicago etc.......Nothing wrong with getting the best kids from an area together at the older ages. Eventually that is what most clubs do. My point is that most clubs have teams and are developing kids at younger ages. I find the clubs like St Louis, PDA are more the typical grass roots clubs. By the way, I mention both clubs, not affiliated with either.

 

Granted, Eclipse did not have the success it saw the previous 2 years at Regionals, but the overall numbers at Regionals were pretty good and I would think most clubs would be happy with:

13-6-4 with 47 Goals Scored and 17 Goals Allowed.

They had 4 teams lose in the semis (2-1, 1-0, 1-0 and 2-1) -- I believe 2 of those loses were in shootouts (but I may be mistaken). They had one team go 2-0-1 and not advance due to Goal Differential or they would have had a team in the Finals guaranteed.

Should they be the number 1 club still? Maybe not -- probably not -- the Hawks and Carmel each picked up two Regional championships and the Texans also sent two teams.

But really -- they had one bad afternoon and saw 4 teams get bounced in the semi's...I guess time will tell if they are slipping back to the pack in R2 or not.

 

I would be willing to bet that Eclipse puts at least 2 teams into nationals this year.

 

I would say that should have at least 2 teams in the Regional Finals with a chance at sending teams to Nationals.

 

I agree, very, very good club. I would like to get both of your comments on recruiting vs development. I think most clubs do both. Long term, I would think Eclipse would be able to starts programs at younger ages. There is a lot of money out there.

Eclipse style of play? What do you think? I see a lot of kick and chase. Not at all the possession game Hawks and Carmel play. Kind of like the womens national team with Ryan. He got ousted because of the kick and chase theory.

It does work. I saw Nesci's now all sophomore's in college destroy teams by playing that style. Eclipse will NOT have a better team in the club than that one. Kids at Notre Dame, ILL, Florida State etc.... what a great team.

 

They are starting younger and younger at the club -- just 2 years ago had a team as young as U12 -- they have now partnered with GLSA -- the local affiliate which runs rec through club level all the way down to U6.

Do they develop? I guess it is a question of what you consider develop. DO they excpect you to have some skill when you get on their U12, 13 or 14 team -- sure, of course they do -- they then work the tactical side of the game...

I don't see that kick and chase mentality as prevelant in the club as you say -- as a matter of fact, they rarely have less than 5-6 passes to move the ball from their own 18 to the other side of the field's 18 in just about every game I have seen -- at times it almost seems like they have to work too many passes into the attack (for instance on a counter for the other team's corner -- that could be a kick and chase play, but Eclipse will still try and build an attack)...Does that mean some games could turn "ugly" and go kick and chase? Sure -- of course it can. But I have heard many parents from FCM, Carmel, Hawks, StLSC say that they like the games with Eclipse because both sides play without the kick and chase.

Now there are many, many more Eclipse teams out there now -- B, C teams -- so you may be seeing Eclipse jersies playing that style, but not generally the Select teams.

 

Plus they have Team Chicago feeding into their program now which is probably one of the best girls clubs in Illinois when it comes to developing. Actually Team Chicago produced a number of players that went to Eclipse around 14/15.

At the U16s they have so much talent & Depth (3 Top Notch Keepers, and around 25 field players all capable of starting on the other top local clubs.)

Plus they took over Hinsdale Hurricanes. So they expanded their club with some very solid porgrams that will Develop.

Their current U14 South team was State Cup runner-up under Team Chicago at the U13 level.

REGIONALS:
Eclipse 14's lost in PKs in Semis (State Champ beating Eclipse East)
Sketchy Match. Poor officials. If they improve their forwards they will win regionals next year.

Eclipse 15s went 1-1-1 (the team they beat moved on) (MRL Bid)

Eclipse North 16s losts in PKs in Semis (State Champ)

Eclipse South 16s went 2-0-1 in Group Play tying the team North lost to. (MRL Bid)

Eclipse 17s went 1-1-1 (MRL Bid)

Eclipse 18s lost 1-0 in Semis (Heavily injured Squad)

Eclipse 19s lost 2-1 in Semis to a STACKED Carmel Team though Eclipse had the run of the play the 2nd half and really only made 2 defensive errors that led to goals. This game also had poor officials. (State Champs)

Yes none of the teams went to nationals but they were represented U14-U19 with 7 teams in 2007 Regionals. Thats pretty impressive.

 

The Eclipse style of play will continue to improve. Necsi and Dames are not as similar as people think when it comes to their team's style of play. However, they are developing versatile players that can play with the best in different style categories.

 

Again, I say Eclipse is a great club. Morjam, I guess so when Eclipse loses, there is an excuse? Poor officiating, injured squad? Come on. The Carmel team stacked at 19? Added some kids but also 2 or 3 starters did not return, pretty much a wash. The 19 age group, really does not count teams are different. PDA got beat by a team that was totally recruited in region I.

 

Excuse? No excuse, just reality. Were you at these games? You really have envy/jealousy towards Eclipse, what gives? Carmel is a good team, good club but they were very fortunate... If you would have seen these games, you would have seen that Eclipse possessed the ball 75% of the game (so much for your continuing kick and run allegations) and Carmel got lucky when one of maybe two shots was dropped by the GK in front of her standing closer to the 6 yd line than the goal line and the AR and CR were eager to give Carmel the goal. That still wouldn't have mattered if the reffing crew wouldn't have taken away another Eclipse goal off of a deflection from a corner for offside, the GK and the defender guarding the near post kept her on... Is that an excuse?

 

Right on Stinky. That is exactly what happened at the U14 level. The ARs really messed up that game.

 

Yes I was there at the game and in fact I was right in line with the Eclipse goal when the incident where the Eclipse keeper dropped the ball happened. She dropped the ball through her legs and it looked like it was going to roll in but the keeper managed to recover and clearly got the ball before it crossed the line no question.

 

Eclipse certainly did not catch any breaks during the regional semi final games...and the 14s might have gotten the worst batch of bad luck/bad decision making out of all their teams. Like I said, with all the bad luck they had last year, I think it has served as motivation to the coaches and kids at Eclipse, and their teams seem to have a new sense of purpose this year. they are doing extremely well for this point in the calendar year...and i stand by my prediction that they will place multiple teams into nationals this year.

Also, as far as playing style goes....I have never thought of Eclipse as a kick and run type program. Now that doesnt mean that sometimes the coaches and players figure out that they have an athletic/speed advantage, and use that advantage to win games, rather than their usual possession based game. overall however, i think that eclipse is a very good program...and while they may not "develop" these kids at the ground floor levels, they certainly raise the level of the individuals and groups once they do get a hold of them at 13/14 and above.

 

Yep, I find it an excuse. If you are a good team, you win the close games. Guys, all of us have been through games like that. I am sure you won games the same way. With the forwards the Eclipse group had at 16 through 18. I would have played kick and chase. Eager to give Carmel the goal, I did not see the game but guys, these refs are picked by the region, this was not a homer deal. You Eclipse guys are a bunch of spoiled brats I am sorry. great Eclipse team but like the Patriots, Ding Dong the Witch is Dead.........................

 

I agree, the 14 group is much better than any of the other teams. If the Eclipse coaches are doing a good job, they need to get these kids at the earliest ages to form good habits

 

You think Eclipse is "dead" because they lost some regional semi final games by a goal...lol COME ON!! Take a look at the national league scores from this year (through a combined 9 games from two ages...yes they qualified at both ages...they are yet to lose a game), or the scores at some of the showcase/tournaments that eclipse has gone to. they arent going ANYWHERE...and are far from dead.

 

You have to look at my threads. The comments towards dead is for the whining attitude of the would have could have should have thread. That team Nesci had, two national titles, one final I think. Carmel just got them this year. I get so sick of parents saying well we got beat but..............kid slipped, offside goal, ref call etc..... Whatever,

Look back at my threads, I call Eclipse a great club. Not number one in the nation but top 5 I think I said. It would benefit the club if they got these kids at earlier ages like 8 or 9 rather than later? That is what most clubs do. Eclipse has recruited very well but they will need to expand to the younger ages I think. I am not a big fan of Dames, I think he treats these girls like,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Nesci would be a better choice to run the club. A little more politically correct.

 

From what I know about Eclipse, it seems they have now gone to picking up feeder clubs at the younger ages, and then having them pool into the Eclipse teams as they get older. A perfect example of this is Team Chicago. They have the kids at the youngest ages, and then as they get older they fold into Eclipse, now to me Eclipse is still helping to develop these players, although it is in an indirect way.

I will agree it is a different way of doing the youth development, when compared to St. Louis Soccer Club, Carmel and others like that, but it is a formula that is working well for Eclipse. It is also something that I think will continue to evolve and a part of the program that they will fine tune if needed.

As for the Dames/Nesci comments. I do not know either of them that well...but from what i do know, both are very good coaches, and both seem to bring a lot to the table. They look to have a lil bit of a "good cop/bad cop" thing going, and the girls are responding to it without question. Now I can see where Dames might rub some the wrong way, but its hard to argue with his success on and off the field (several championships/players with individual success on the field and the eclipse brand name has boomed under his guidance).

 

Good points. Hard to argue I agree.

Team Chicago has a good U-13 group. They are suppose to merge but play down in or practice south rather than Libertyville. Team Chicago has good trainers. That will be a good team.

A lot of competition out there, we will see long term what will happen.