There are a lot of opinions when it comes to the Girls DA on here. There are those that are against it, those for it, and those who haven't made up their mind yet. Searching for pro's and con's is a difficult thing a few months into its inaugural season. It will be hard to find a consensus either pro or con on this thread as each poster has their own personal experiences. On a micro level it comes down personal experiences and how it's affected ones own family and daughter. It depends on what one wants to get out of club soccer and does the DA offer the right fit. I will add a little perspective on a macro level. The DA is very demanding and a player and family has to be committed to the process as it will consume 4 nights of training and a game or two on the weekend. If soccer is your players number 1 passion than this can be a good schedule for them to thrive.
Costs are depending on which DA club you are with but at worst they would be similar to ECNL, DPL, EGSL, Tier 1 SCDSL, or CSL Premier team that travels to tournaments throughout the year.
Substitution rules are the same as international rules and many parents seem to not like this rule, but it's how the rest of the world plays the game. Once you are subbed out you cannot re-enter the match. This changes the strategy of the match and coaches have to adapt.
Coaching is the same as any league in the sense that one has to find the best fit for themselves. DA has license standards in place and in its inaugural season has some very good new coaches and some coaches who have had success on the ECNL front for years. Regardless every players experiences with a particular coach is unique to that player so finding the right fit regardless of league is paramount.
Video taping all DA games. This hasn't been touched on much but might be the single biggest difference DA offers vs other league's. Besides players and parents having access to every game for highlight videos, college's, etc the videos are a tremendous tool for the coaches. I can't tell you how many times I have watched a match and listened to parents praise or blame a player during a match. How many times have you heard a coach blame a player or praise a player on a specific play? How many times have you seen written on this forum that the talent pool is diluted and there are only a couple impact players on each team surrounded by role players or movable cones? The video tape doesn't lie and you can have 10 people watch the same game live and have 10 different opinions but when you go back and watch the tape reality is a lot clearer. Coaches see things they missed, player A doesn't look as good as first thought, and player B doesn't look as bad as first thought etc. What some describe as role players or cones had a much greater impact than thought. You can see players movement off the ball and get a better grasp on their soccer IQ. In all watching the video tape after the fact without emotion or suspense gives a clearer picture on what actually took place, the breakdowns, the positives, and the contributions from each player.
Playing time is one of the most talked about and speculated things on this subject. I don't think anyone can speculate on why a kid didn't play unless you are that kid or her parents. Injuries, age, sickness, fatigue, match ups, training that week, flow of the game, and many more things factor into this decision. People have lots of opinions that if a kid isn't playing 100% of the time then its a waste of the kids time. This is a micro decision that each individual should make and decide for themselves.
Training as I mentioned above 4 nights a week is a tremendous commitment for the player and her parents. This is where your daughter will excel or not. She will develop as a player these four days even more so than playing 100% in a match once a week. Find out what the club's approach to their training schedule and if your daughter is already playing DA have you seen her grow as a player, is she in better shape, and after a few months is she feeling burned out or is she just as excited to go to practice? Training is a huge piece to reaching your daughters soccer goals.
High School soccer for most is where the journey ends. If your daughter doesn't have dreams of playing in college or internationally than I would recommend HS soccer. It's level of play, coaching, and practices are all over the map from good to really poor, but it can be fun for every level of player. Time and HS soccer are the two biggest con's one has to sacarfice for the DA and regardless the path each of our daughters take in this journey, if they find the best fit for themselves they will enjoy it all the more. DA, ECNL, DPL, EGSL, SCDSL, CSL, Presidio, AYSO, or HS soccer all have something to offer someone.
