Girls DPL?

Perhaps the hidden rosters/closed circuit is the only way DPL clubs can keep up their pretense that DPL is on par with ECNL.
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I know the conversation started with DPL v. ECNL, but subconsciously the propaganda is already working. After this post everybody here is talking about which one of those 2 leagues is superior, as if it is now assumed that both of those are superior to SCDSL Flight 1 or CSL Gold.

STOP IT!

Speaking specifically for the 04 age group, and quite likely the 03's (and 05's next year), the top teams from all the non-DA leagues are very evenly matched. Which league has the most depth, it's still to be determined, but L.A. Premiere has some balls putting DPL over SCDSL flight 1 and CSL Gold. Their 04 DPL team is marginally a Silver/Flight 2 team. No, I haven't seen them play, but their results at the summer showcase and league tell me that.

Sorry for the rant, but I'm not going to sit idly by and let the narrative (ECNL v. DPL) be repeated so often that we then assume they are both better than Flight 1 and Gold. With respect to individual teams, they are not. With respect to exposure to college recruiters, that's a whole different topic.

Although on that front I will say this, and this may be more relevant to the 05 group, if you have a very good team (flight 1, gold, silver elite) and you stick together (I know it's hard to do in SoCal), your team will be on par with many ECNL and DPL teams (and actually some DA teams). Why is this important? It's important because if the goal is college exposure, you will be invited to play in the top flight of important showcases and tournaments.

DA teams will have their own showcases and so these showcases and tournaments need the next best teams. You'll get to play ECNL teams and have college exposure without having to uproot to go to a DA team (or ECNL or DPL for that matter). Look at the 03 SDSC Navy team. They are arguably the top non-DA team (and I'm sure they can give a few of them a run for their money) and they will be a coveted team for any non-DA showcase or tournament. I don't think they will have any problem attracting college coaches. Coaches will soon figure out that even DA (13 teams) is watered down from last year's ECNL (8 teams).
 
if you have a very good team (flight 1, gold, silver elite) and you stick together (I know it's hard to do in SoCal), your team will be on par with many ECNL and DPL teams (and actually some DA teams).
I have seen this play out dramatically in the 02 age group. That age group has had to endure the most turmoil at the most critical point in gaining college exposure. From the age group change as they went into the U15 season, to the DA & DPL leagues being established, which on top of the usual off-season free agency craziness, means that almost no teams in the top 50 in SoCal stayed intact from U14 to U16. A couple that did in Flight 1 and CSL Gold (mixes of '03 and '02's that 'played up' in U14) look like well oiled machines in games. I've watched some of the DA teams play this summer and a few ECNL teams whose rosters have been shuffled because of the DA, and though they still have top notch athletes, the games are pretty ragged compared to what I saw in years past at the same age groups. Every year there is movement on all teams, but some of the rosters are almost unrecognizable and it does affect quality of play, even if you have great players.
 
And just to top off my rant, what we are blessed with here in SoCal is tremendous depth. If you took our top 50 teams in any age group and put them against any other state's top 50, I think our worst record would be 35-15. We would go 50-0 against many states and only suffer single digit losses against most. SoCal team number 35 would be a top 5-10 team almost anywhere else. On a scale of elite, excellent, very good, good, average, . . .we have a ton of very good. That's where we crush the competition.

On average, you probably have about 5 elite teams, followed by about 10 excellent teams, then about 30 very good teams. The difference within each group is minimal imo. At least in the 04 age group, I believe ECNL, Flight 1, DPL, and CSL gold are filled with mostly very good teams (maybe a couple of excellent teams). Thus, the difference between the top teams in these leagues is minimal imo.
 
Perhaps the hidden rosters/closed circuit is the only way DPL clubs can keep up their pretense that DPL is on par with ECNL.
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[/QUOTE]

WOW!

To be clear, the pyramid explains "INDIVIDUAL PLAYER PATHWAYS" @ LA Premier. And is used to educate parents on the levels a player may be placed into if they have interest in the LA Premier Program. Nothing to do with any other club or a statement on other league levels. However, LA Premier believes DA will be the highest level of play in the country.

Here is the verbiage that accompanies the pyramid... pretty simple stuff.

"These pyramids represent an insight into how our DA staff process initial requests to join our Academy structure and are designed to be a guideline to the selection process and not a rule.

Exceptions are made for players that possess a Defining Quality that the coach believes the squad is in need of, at any specific age group. More information can be sought by discussing your child directly with a member of our LA Premier Academy Staff. "


LA Premier doesn't have ECNL, some clubs have both DA and ECNL.

EACH Clubs pyramid may be different...

There are a few more graphics on the same page, with more information that clearly defines ECNL as a prominent National League.
http://www.lapremierfc.com/football/girlsacademy
 
WOW!

To be clear, the pyramid explains "INDIVIDUAL PLAYER PATHWAYS" @ LA Premier. And is used to educate parents on the levels a player may be placed into if they have interest in the LA Premier Program. Nothing to do with any other club or a statement on other league levels. However, LA Premier believes DA will be the highest level of play in the country.

Here is the verbiage that accompanies the pyramid... pretty simple stuff.

"These pyramids represent an insight into how our DA staff process initial requests to join our Academy structure and are designed to be a guideline to the selection process and not a rule.

Exceptions are made for players that possess a Defining Quality that the coach believes the squad is in need of, at any specific age group. More information can be sought by discussing your child directly with a member of our LA Premier Academy Staff. "


LA Premier doesn't have ECNL, some clubs have both DA and ECNL.

EACH Clubs pyramid may be different...

There are a few more graphics on the same page, with more information that clearly defines ECNL as a prominent National League.
http://www.lapremierfc.com/football/girlsacademy
Hey everybody, sorry for posting a graphic directly from the LA Premier website showing DPL and ECNL on the same level of a talent pyramid. It turns out DPL wouldn't for a minute want us to believe that their teams/players are on par with ECNL. It's entirely our fault for believing they could possibly be trying to communicate something like that with this image.

I further apologize for jumping to the irrational conclusion that a graphic entitled "LA Premier FC Pyramid vs Non DA Clubs" could in any way be interpreted as a statement or commentary on other clubs or leagues.
 
Here is the verbiage that accompanies the pyramid... pretty simple stuff.

"These pyramids represent an insight into how our DA staff process initial requests to join our Academy structure and are designed to be a guideline to the selection process and not a rule.

Exceptions are made for players that possess a Defining Quality that the coach believes the squad is in need of, at any specific age group. More information can be sought by discussing your child directly with a member of our LA Premier Academy Staff. "

Are you implying you expect people to read complete sentences instead of just looking at a picture? Not just any sentences too, but ones so long that they can't be tweeted or texted. Ridiculous.
 

Perhaps the hidden rosters/closed circuit is the only way DPL clubs can keep up their pretense that DPL is on par with ECNL.
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[/QUOTE]

I know the conversation started with DPL v. ECNL, but subconsciously the propaganda is already working. After this post everybody here is talking about which one of those 2 leagues is superior, as if it is now assumed that both of those are superior to SCDSL Flight 1 or CSL Gold.

Well I don't know much about the teams at the younger ages your referring to but I suggest you focus less on who is better than who. You are mostly talking about middle school age girls. By the time puberty is over and they reach their Sophomore year a lot of them will no longer even be playing soccer. Some girls will stop progressing and others will suddenly get a lot better. Teams will fall apart and maybe even leagues too. Cars, jobs, boys, and parental pressure will drive a lot of girls out of soccer. Plus no coaches are looking at your ages yet unless you are in Texas or a national team player. So focus on keeping the game fun for your daughter and make sure she is getting better.

At the older ages it's a different story. ECNL has clearly been far superior to SCDSL or CSL. I suspect this is still the case. DA is new but is set up to be at least equal if not better. You are kidding yourself if you think any other league can even come close to those two leagues. Certainly DPL at the older ages is at least on par with the top tiers of CSL or SCDSL. Every 02/01/00 DPL team would have been either top flight or premier if DPL was not formed. That is where these teams came from. Maybe it's different at the younger ages. There are still great teams in SCDSL and CSL, just less of them.
 

Perhaps the hidden rosters/closed circuit is the only way DPL clubs can keep up their pretense that DPL is on par with ECNL.
View attachment 1432

I know the conversation started with DPL v. ECNL, but subconsciously the propaganda is already working. After this post everybody here is talking about which one of those 2 leagues is superior, as if it is now assumed that both of those are superior to SCDSL Flight 1 or CSL Gold.

Well I don't know much about the teams at the younger ages your referring to but I suggest you focus less on who is better than who. You are mostly talking about middle school age girls. By the time puberty is over and they reach their Sophomore year a lot of them will no longer even be playing soccer. Some girls will stop progressing and others will suddenly get a lot better. Teams will fall apart and maybe even leagues too. Cars, jobs, boys, and parental pressure will drive a lot of girls out of soccer. Plus no coaches are looking at your ages yet unless you are in Texas or a national team player. So focus on keeping the game fun for your daughter and make sure she is getting better.

At the older ages it's a different story. ECNL has clearly been far superior to SCDSL or CSL. I suspect this is still the case. DA is new but is set up to be at least equal if not better. You are kidding yourself if you think any other league can even come close to those two leagues. Certainly DPL at the older ages is at least on par with the top tiers of CSL or SCDSL. Every 02/01/00 DPL team would have been either top flight or premier if DPL was not formed. That is where these teams came from. Maybe it's different at the younger ages. There are still great teams in SCDSL and CSL, just less of them.[/QUOTE]

Although by the time many of our kids are sophomores, US soccer will have changed things up again somehow. It's year by year (month by month maybe) right now, waiting to see what new leagues or rules will be announced to throw yet another wrench into parents and players plans. It's getting harder to just stay focused on your player and their development.
 
IS THE DPL EXPANDING??? Inquiring minds want to know..

The DPL website is showing new teams added in each age group or is this for tournaments? See the attached screen shot.
 

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Well, after two days at Silverlakes here are the numbers of ECNL vs DPL - They seem pretty evenly matched from the results that are posted

There were 5 ECNL clubs: Sereno, Slammers, West Coast, San Juan, Solar
6 DPL clubs: Beach, Legends, Real So Cal, LA Premier, Eagles, Pateadores

18 match ups between ECNL vs DPL (across all of the 5 ages groups)

There were 6 ECNL wins: Sereno, Slammers, West Coast, Solar
5 DPL wins: Legends, Beach
7 ties: 5 DPL clubs (Real So Cal, Beach, Eagles, Pateadores, LA Premier)-3 ECNL clubs (West Coast, Sereno, Slammers,)

Here are the scores for each game:
99/00
Slammers ECNL U18/19 1:2 Legends 99/00 DPL
Beach DPL 99 0:1 Slammers ECNL U18/19 Composite
Legends 99/00 DPL 2:3 Solar ECNL U18/19
Sereno ECNL U18/19 0:3 Beach DPL 99

2001
Sereno ECNL U17 4:0 Beach 01 DPL
Legends 01 DPL 0:3 Slammers ECNL U17
West Coast ECNL U17 1:1 Real So Cal 01 DPL
San Juan ECNL U17 1:3 Legend 01 DPL
Beach 01 DPL 3:3 West Coast ECNL U17
Real So Cal 01 DPL 1:2 Sereno ECNL U17

2002
Sereno ECNL U16 1:1 Beach 02 DPL
Slammers ECNL U16 1:1 Real So Cal 02 DPL
LA Premier 02 DPL 1:5 West Coast ECNL U16

2003
Eagles 03 DPL 0:0 Sereno ECNL U15
West Coast ECNL U15 1:1 Pateadores 03 DPL
Legends 03 DPL 1:0 Slammers ECNL U15
LA Premier 03 DPL 1:1 West Coast ECNL U15

2004
West Coast ECNL U14 0:1 Legends 04 DPL
 
I have seen several ecnl and dpl teams play. It is fairly even. But most clubs aren’t in both DA and ecnl, so you’re talking some 1st teams against 2 teams.

I’ve also seen SCDSL. It’s definitely a few shades lower.
 
Well, after two days at Silverlakes here are the numbers of ECNL vs DPL - They seem pretty evenly matched from the results that are posted
If you take a closer look, while DPL didn't do poorly, it is a stretch to say the scores show the leagues to be "evenly matched."

Ignoring 99/00, which includes composite teams and other anomalies (and correcting the Slammers/Legends U15 score), DPL has only a single win against an ECNL team so far. Legends, the top DPL U17 team with a +25 goal differential beat San Juan, a weaker ECNL team from Northern California. Notably, when that same Legends team played a decent ECNL team from SoCal (Slammers), they lost 3-0.

DPL's overall record vs ECNL so far in U15, U16 and U17 is 1-5-7. The 7 ties is not bad (and better than I expected), but again, if you take a closer look, you can see the ties were mostly the better DPL teams playing the weaker ECNL teams. I added the current ranking and goal differential for all the teams so you can see the relative level of the teams.

2001
Sereno ECNL U17 (7th, -5) 4:0 Beach 01 DPL (4th, +11)
Legends 01 DPL (1st, +25) 0:3 Slammers ECNL U17 (3rd, +6)
West Coast ECNL U17 (6th, -6) 1:1 Real So Cal 01 DPL (3rd, +10)
San Juan ECNL U17 (4th of 6, Bay Area ECNL, -3) 1:3 Legends 01 DPL (1st, +25)
Beach 01 DPL (4th, +11) 3:3 West Coast ECNL U17 (6th, -6)
Real So Cal 01 DPL (3rd, +10) 1:2 Sereno ECNL U17 (7th, -5)

2002
Sereno ECNL U16 (7th, -14) 1:1 Beach 02 DPL (5th, +1)
Slammers ECNL U16 (3rd, +1) 1:1 Real So Cal 02 DPL (2nd, +19)
LA Premier 02 DPL (9, -21) 1:5 West Coast ECNL U16 (6th, -11)

2003
Eagles 03 DPL (2nd, +5) 0:0 Sereno ECNL U15 (9th, -26)
West Coast ECNL U15 (6th, -10) 1:1 Pateadores 03 DPL (7th, +2)
Legends 03 DPL (6th, +5) 0:1 Slammers ECNL U15 (3rd, +11)
LA Premier 03 DPL (4, +0) 1:1 West Coast ECNL U15 (7th, -10)
 
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I’ve also seen SCDSL. It’s definitely a few shades lower.

04's SCDSL/CSL v. DPL (SoCal) - 6 wins, 1 loss, 2 ties. No games against ECNL teams.

03's SCDSL/CSL v. DPL (SoCal) - 5 wins, 4 losses, 2 ties. 1 win, 2 losses v. ECNL teams.

I'm sure your probably speaking to the older age groups, but just shedding some light on the younger age groups.
 
I’m not a great defender of DPL. I’ve seen DPL teams play. But the truth is, they are B teams. It’s not out of the ordinary to lose as a B team to another club’s A team, whether they are ecnl or DA or not.

When you look at where most of the talented teams are, it lines up on DA and ecnl.

And there are some fourth teams out there at some clubs that play SCDSL that will beat other clubs A teams. Slammers comes to mind.
 
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