Lightning Red
GOLD
The 3 teams from So Cal (Southwest) at the 04 age group in the ECNL playoffs are all “B” teams. It is what it is.
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- Thread starter SOCCERMINION
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shales1002
GOLD
There aren’t 3 SoCal teams in ECNL playoffs @ 04. Slammers and Surf only. Nevada’s top teams are ECNL.
So no pure ECNL Club made the ‘04 playoffs for SoCal? Surprised to hear Blues Kale ECNL didn’t make it. They are a tough group of young ladies to play against.
1] doubled training hours can and has led to increased injuries (bad)
2] no change in practice field in three clubs with DA that I am familiar with (no difference)
3] coaches assigned were the same coaches that were used in year before for the club's top teams (no difference)
4] level of competition was lower than ECNL as bottom half of the conference was not strong and many blow out games with AYSO scores (bad)
5] paying one game per weekend - same as with ECNL (no difference)
6] exposure to college coaches - all depends on which team/club and coach you have (no difference or could be worse)
Most of everyone's comments all seem to boil down to whether you were on an ECNL team (at a good club) before DA.
8 elite teams before (ECNL) x 18 girls (minimum on roster) = 144 players
20 elite teams (7 ECNL and 13 DA) x 18 girls = 360 players
is it possible that there were that many top elite players floating around out there (minimum of 216) where there would be no dilution of the competition?
looking at the goal differentials is interesting: 18/19 bottom half negative goal differentials, 16/17 bottom half negative goal differential, 15 bottom 5 have negative goal differential
so maybe the 15's are a stronger group overall in So Cal which would explain your positive experience but when you have that many negative goal differentials you have to wonder if there have been many unbalanced games
casper
BRONZE
I don't weigh in much anymore on the forum and I don't expect to educate or change anyone's perspective as I have learned in today's society two people can be exposed two the exact same facts and come away with two opposing perspectives. However having 2 years experience in ECNL and now a year experience in the DA I am willing to share my 2 cents on the leagues. I can see there is a vocal minority of ECNL supporters who have taken shots at the DA in a number of threads throughout this forum. Some have offered good info, others have offered inaccurate or purely subjective info, and most of the info good or bad starts with "What I heard from a DA parent". I have no kool-aid to sell and am not interested in settling the debate which is better Ecnl or DA. I will simply add my own experience with the two competing leagues and you can draw your own conclusions. Prior to this season Ecnl was the top league in So Cal though there were some very good non ECNL team's across different age groups. Each age group with exception of the oldest age group was singular in competition. The league offered elite competition and great college showcase events. There were lots of young ladies over the years that have benefited greatly by ECNL and what it offered. DA came along this year just 2 yrs after the big age change shake up and in its first season established itself as the top league in So Cal, though ECNL retained a number of very good team's and players just like there were very good team's and players on non-Ecnl team's in the years prior to DA. I didn't have a negative experience with ECNL and I found it a highly competitive and enjoyable 2 seasons. DA this past season was a step up from our ECNL experience on several fronts. One because it was a combined 01/02 age group you had less delusion as one would expect creating another league. I saw many 01 and 02 ECNL players I saw the years prior competing on DA teams. The coaching was better because it added new coaches to the mix and some of the very successful ECNL coaches from the past. The training was superior and the data the players recieved was far superior than that of any ECNL experience. Game days were similar to ECNL with all age groups playing that day at the same fields one after the other. DA incorporating the onsite trainer/medic was a plus as well as the videotaping. The college showcase were similar to ECNL that I experienced but I saw more college coaches at practice and league games in the DA than I did in ECNL but that could be a club thing. I don't have an issue with HS or the sub rules as many seem to have with the DA. The training schedule can be very demanding and it's important your player know her body and as well as parents to know when they look tired or run down and take a night off. I believe coaches will keep trying to find the balance between maximum training, but in a way that doesn't risk greater injury. I would say DA isn t for everyone and ECNL is a great option for those that are looking for a very competitive league which allows HS soccer and less training days. After experiencing the first year of DA our daughter decided to play DA next year and having a younger player that will eventually have choices to make we will continue to see how the crazy world of club soccer evolves and hope by the time she gets to this age she will find the right path for her. I don't believe in one approach or one system is best for everyone so find a great coach who believes in your daughter, that offers the appropriate level of competition and hopefully everything works out for her. The greatest advocate for your daughter or son will be you and make sure always keep that in mind and that will help to navigate the long, yet very rewarding soccer journey your family has been on. Good luck to everyone and I know most want the end game to be college soccer and that is a whole another beast, that is a very difficult and nerve racking in its own right to navigate.
younothat
PREMIER
Regardless of how parents score the first year all players had the opportunity to express there opinions of the DA program, coaches, teammates, etc via the DA player survey that all players should have completed by 5/26
Your club should have given the players a survey link to : https://virginia.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/ I didn't include the form part as your club has to give that to you, I think the girls is different vs the boys link.
Our daughter played in ECNL again this season and going into her senior year we've been happy with the program and will likely finish out.
Your club should have given the players a survey link to : https://virginia.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/ I didn't include the form part as your club has to give that to you, I think the girls is different vs the boys link.
Our daughter played in ECNL again this season and going into her senior year we've been happy with the program and will likely finish out.
Simisoccerfan
PREMIER
That's a survey for the boys U13 and U14 boys only.
younothat
PREMIER
Nope: players age U-13 through U-18/19 all across the DA.
"This is the second annual online survey. Last year over 4,200 players participated. The purpose of the survey is to understand the thoughts and experiences of players age U-13 through U-18/19 all across the DA. This survey is especially exciting because it will be one of the largest soccer-specific surveys ever conducted"
Heard they sent it out to every club in the Southwest Division, at least all the boy clubs regardless of the age groups. Hopefully they included the girls clubs, good chance for them to express there opinions.
Simisoccerfan
PREMIER
The reason I said it was for U13 and U14 boys is because I clicked on the link. It starts with identifying who you are and those age groups were the only option.
younothat
PREMIER
There is another part of the URL I didn't include that is targeted at the different divisions or groups but if you select certain clubs you will only see those ages because that's all the had in DA. For example if your club is LA Galaxy you will see U13-U18/19.
soccer dude
SILVER ELITE
I like what you say and agree with it all. As an ECNL parent who has DP'd on a few academy games I would say the level of the DA games is higher. As I beat a dead horse a bit we should as a country consolidate ECNL and DA with some hybrid type of merge. It's sad when some of the best teams in the country are still ECNL (mostly east coast and Cal North). Let's combine both leagues taking away the HS rule and sub rules and you'll find that everyone will be on board and we can truly say we are in the "best" league. ECNL should have added Beach, Legends and LA Galaxys since they are great clubs. This probably would have kept ECNL on "top". Come on ECNL and DA. Figure this out. I'm tired of DA trying to squash ECNL with the overlapping showcase dates and playoffs. This only hurts the girls and the college coaches who are trying to see the best girls out there.
For those of us who really don’t have another option, it doesn’t really matter does it.
If your not able to make the sacrifice, is it really an option? With ECNL letting in the newly formed LA Breakers there could be an option, but I haven’t seen enough from their Coaching Staff to think they could be an option should my DD want to make a change.
Someone is willing to drive 3 hours to practice? In my day 30 minutes each way was too much.
It seems to me that most everything that needed to be figured out was figured out long ago by US Soccer. It was hungry, and it wanted to take ECNL’s lunch. It broke ECNL’s (and everyone other club team’s) lunch box with the age change. Before everything could be put back in order, it scooped up as much of it as it could in its’ DA lunch box. Now US Soccer has half of ECNL’s lunch, which means that their lunch box is now half full.
DA clubs figured out how to collect a few more scraps with DPL. My guess is that DA will gradually change its program over time to become more similar to ECNL to try to take more of what ECNL still has.
This DA-ECNL conflict is not about practice days or substitution rules. Nor is it about creating a unified program that maximizes on the potential of unicorns (or that encourages the development of local programs that provide a worthwhile, low cost youth soccer experience for non-unicorns). It is about who gets to collect administration fees and kickbacks from big travel events.
Simisoccerfan
PREMIER
One side benefit of the DA program is that there is no charge for parking at Oceanside for the end of the year event!