Slammers FC Summer Cup

It was an exciting semi-final game. Strikers EGSL was the toughest team we played in the tournament. Solid defense and a dangerous striker that gave us a few heart stopping scares throughout the game. Strikers EGSL will give most of the top teams a run for their money.
I think CZ Elite will give most top teams a run for there money. Consider they came out on top in a tournament filled with ECNL teams . I think CZ Elite should be flight 2 at Surf Cup, the girls can play.
Surf Cup Teams at Slammers Cup:
So Cal Blues SC - Bobak/Rennie 03ECNL- Flight 1
Strikers FC-Orange County - 2003 EGSL- Flight 2
WCFC Filipovic 2003- Flight 2
 
I think CZ Elite will give most top teams a run for there money. Consider they came out on top in a tournament filled with ECNL teams . I think CZ Elite should be flight 2 at Surf Cup, the girls can play.
Surf Cup Teams at Slammers Cup:
So Cal Blues SC - Bobak/Rennie 03ECNL- Flight 1
Strikers FC-Orange County - 2003 EGSL- Flight 2
WCFC Filipovic 2003- Flight 2

Ecnl teams at this tourney will undoubtly get better with each day and by Fall Season be primed. They had only a couple workouts prior to this tourney. My DD not at this age group, but I witnessed an ECNL game at this age group on the second day of the tourney (Slammers v. West Coast)that at times had a very high level of skill. I noticed the goalies for both teams play excellent; a WC gal hit a goal from 25 plus yards out after a great skill; individual skill there on both teams just need to be organized more, which will come with time.
 
Ecnl teams at this tourney will undoubtly get better with each day and by Fall Season be primed. They had only a couple workouts prior to this tourney. My DD not at this age group, but I witnessed an ECNL game at this age group on the second day of the tourney (Slammers v. West Coast)that at times had a very high level of skill. I noticed the goalies for both teams play excellent; a WC gal hit a goal from 25 plus yards out after a great skill; individual skill there on both teams just need to be organized more, which will come with time.
Agreed, I believe one of the contributing factors that will helps alot of teams this year is cohesion. As this year has had a larger shake up than most years. Teams that have managed to maintain a more cohesive roster will obviously due better in the earlier tournaments. But as soon as the ECNL girl begin working better together as a team, things will change. My comments were on the skill sets of the CZelite team. After watching them play on the field and their girls match up with high caliber girls/teams, I see no reason why they should not have been considered competative in Flight 2. They proved they could compete at the level of many teams seeded in flight 2 at Surf cup.
 
Ecnl teams at this tourney will undoubtly get better with each day and by Fall Season be primed. They had only a couple workouts prior to this tourney. My DD not at this age group, but I witnessed an ECNL game at this age group on the second day of the tourney (Slammers v. West Coast)that at times had a very high level of skill. I noticed the goalies for both teams play excellent; a WC gal hit a goal from 25 plus yards out after a great skill; individual skill there on both teams just need to be organized more, which will come with time.

I agree that the lack of practice time and games has contributed to the slow start by some of the ECNL teams, but let's be honest here.....it's not like the non-ECNL teams have been together for multiple years and had been practicing for long stretches leading up to this tourney. My dd's team had only come back from a three week layoff to practice two weeks leading up to this tourney.

I think there may be a bigger issue at hand with the ECNL teams........coaches recruited players that were the focus of their former teams, so bringing these players together and expecting it all to fit together may have something to do with it. These ECNL teams are kind of like All-Star teams. No one doubts the level of skill these players possess, but they need to learn to play together better. That will come in time and I think we will see much more fluidity with all teams by the time the Fall season starts.

Outside of Blues last game, all games were very close. This says to me that the talent disparity between the teams is very slight at this time of the year.
 
Of course the disparity is only slight at this time if any at all, ECNL teams will be playing their main soccer season through April of next year. It's a long year.... ECNL Coaches could care less about summer tournament results the year prior to the end game of ECNL playoffs, that's why some teams had 2-3 practices in a 7-8 week span. ECNL team's momentum will climb slowly until beginning of fall season.. I agree on your analogue of All-Star team, look at the England mens NT. ...Now, that's a team of All Stars that couldnt perform together.. IMHO it will come down to coaching to have the girls work hard together as one unit....
 
Consistency is the key. As noted here, rust or injury can prevent a team from playing to their potential. Cz is a talented team, yet didn't make it into crl this year. It is possible that Surf took last seasons crl performance as we as this year's crl play in as indicators for flight placements. The Surf flight placement could be a win win long term. I feel that cz will win that flight and use those results as well as this summer's results to catapult them to flight 1 of Surf next summer.
 
Hey Generik, Hope your daughter is doing better and will recover soon. We were looking forward to possibly playing you guys this past weekend just to see how we matched up (even though we were still missing players) but the stars weren't aligned. To answer your previous post the Slammers ECNL Reserve team is the step in between the ECNL team and the EGSL team. We train a lot together with the ECNL team and during the regular season will have opportunities at the coaches discretion to move players up as their development shows. Slammers Cup was a great first tournament for our girls after taking 6 weeks off with a newly formed team. Props to CZ Elite who made the finals a tough game to play. I thought our girls still played well and showed what an opponent they are going to be after gelling a bit more even though the scoreline didn't show it. We had our chances but the game just didn't go our way at certain times. Hope to still see you guys at Surf Cup even though we are down in the "Mayor's division" (Flight 3).
 
Thanks for the update, information, and well-wishes GMillx2....and looking forward to catching up at Surf Cup.
 
I agree that the lack of practice time and games has contributed to the slow start by some of the ECNL teams, but let's be honest here.....it's not like the non-ECNL teams have been together for multiple years and had been practicing for long stretches leading up to this tourney. My dd's team had only come back from a three week layoff to practice two weeks leading up to this tourney.

I think there may be a bigger issue at hand with the ECNL teams........coaches recruited players that were the focus of their former teams, so bringing these players together and expecting it all to fit together may have something to do with it. These ECNL teams are kind of like All-Star teams. No one doubts the level of skill these players possess, but they need to learn to play together better. That will come in time and I think we will see much more fluidity with all teams by the time the Fall season starts.

Outside of Blues last game, all games were very close. This says to me that the talent disparity between the teams is very slight at this time of the year.

Bababooey translator: "After being initially disappointed that my dd wasn't picked for our club's ECNL team, I saved more $ by staying on our flight 1 team than switching to Geico and although our team may not be all-stars, we look forward to beating you again the next go round."

There are plenty of teams like OC Strikers EGSL that will put pressure on ECNL teams to win now. But the cream will rise to the top. If the ECNL coaches didn't pick the "right" kids out of the 90 kids at their tryouts, they will get them eventually. Between injuries, burnout, and the late bloomers, this year should be interesting.
 
Bababooey translator: "After being initially disappointed that my dd wasn't picked for our club's ECNL team, I saved more $ by staying on our flight 1 team than switching to Geico and although our team may not be all-stars, we look forward to beating you again the next go round."

There are plenty of teams like OC Strikers EGSL that will put pressure on ECNL teams to win now. But the cream will rise to the top. If the ECNL coaches didn't pick the "right" kids out of the 90 kids at their tryouts, they will get them eventually. Between injuries, burnout, and the late bloomers, this year should be interesting.

I am not really sure if this is a dig at me or just a general observation.

However, I don't really care about ECNL...it's the dd that does. She was disappointed that she was not selected. As her father, I was sad that she was sad. In hindsight, I am glad that she was not selected by the ECNL team for a few reasons. First, she wants to play a different position. If she had made the ECNL team, she would not play her desired position and she doesn't start. I see very little value in having my kid on an ECNL roster so she can watch the games from the bench. Second, I have seen multiple training sessions between the ECNL team and her team and I feel the training is better where she is. Lastly, her two best soccer friends are on her team and not on the ECNL team. As parents of daughters, I think we know how valuable the social angle is.

I don't know what the future holds for my dd, but I will tell you, if it were only my choice we would not play for any ECNL or DA club moving forward.
 
I am not really sure if this is a dig at me or just a general observation.
I read it as a complement.

It sounds to me like even though she was disappointed, the best thing happened for your daughter. I'm sure she'll come to realize it if she hasn't already.
 
Booey, your daughter is a very good player in a great situation. Maybe it's a "thank God for unanswered prayers" deal. It's obvious you do everything to support your kid and give her the best you can.

The ECNL teams may be the top teams but do they all have the best coaches available? I dont know if they do. I am sure the coaches will be impatient with players who don't perform and the parents will be equally impatient if they don't get what they were expecting.
They will always have a target on their backs with all the hype and $ surrounding it. By age 16 those teams are pretty amazing to watch.
 
I am not really sure if this is a dig at me or just a general observation.

However, I don't really care about ECNL...it's the dd that does. She was disappointed that she was not selected. As her father, I was sad that she was sad. In hindsight, I am glad that she was not selected by the ECNL team for a few reasons. First, she wants to play a different position. If she had made the ECNL team, she would not play her desired position and she doesn't start. I see very little value in having my kid on an ECNL roster so she can watch the games from the bench. Second, I have seen multiple training sessions between the ECNL team and her team and I feel the training is better where she is. Lastly, her two best soccer friends are on her team and not on the ECNL team. As parents of daughters, I think we know how valuable the social angle is.

I don't know what the future holds for my dd, but I will tell you, if it were only my choice we would not play for any ECNL or DA club moving forward.

There is alot fo soccer out there and we as parents need to keep things in perspective and at times sometimes initially what we believe is best for our DD may not be whats best for her long term developement. My DD is in the same situation. Her initial disappointment at not making an ECNL team has turned into a blessing. As she is playing a position she loves to play, gets plenty of playtime and is recieving great training at practice . This is not to detract from any of the ECNL teams or players, Its just at this stage of my DD's developement, i believe this is a better place for her to be.
As far as ECNL and DA in the future, time will tell. With all the team training , private lessons, futsal and pick up games my DD plays now, I'm sure eventually her passion for the sport will take to wherever she wants to be.
 
Booey, your daughter is a very good player in a great situation. Maybe it's a "thank God for unanswered prayers" deal. It's obvious you do everything to support your kid and give her the best you can.

The ECNL teams may be the top teams but do they all have the best coaches available? I dont know if they do. I am sure the coaches will be impatient with players who don't perform and the parents will be equally impatient if they don't get what they were expecting.
They will always have a target on their backs with all the hype and $ surrounding it. By age 16 those teams are pretty amazing to watch.

Got it. Thanks.
 
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