ECNL vs. DA turf war has created a 'toxic environment'

Soccerfan2 said:
Touching a ball on their own time. I bet you $1 back a kid that can’t juggle doesn’t play outside of structured play time that their parent set up for them.
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You win $1 if the bet is changed "a kid that can't juggle 500 times in a row......."
 
I’m not saying it will go away but 7v7 passing leagues/camps are ENORMOUS in Texas. And skill position kids are heavily scouted at those leagues and camps.
 
From the Spot said:
How ironic, the champion of the U15 "Best of the Best" isn't a DA or ECNL team! Big props to Surf Hawaii.
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Congrats to Surf, I guess.... but this same team with one of the worst displays of sportsmanship I've ever seen (at the Las Vegas Showcase earlier this year).

In a consolation bracket game, scoreless late in the game, they get a nice goal to go up 1-0. Their own player then grabs the ball out of the opponent's goal and runs all around the field with it, preventing the other team (from somewhere in the Midwest) from starting play. The ref was already struggling - allowing a lot of dangerous physical play, had no control over the game, doesn't really take any action on this either.

Then, for the rest of the game [8-10 minutes], playing on a field surrounded by desert - cactus and sand and scrub, they go on to kick the ball 50-60 yards out into the desert every chance they get. After someone mentioned the lack of sportsmanship, their parents response was that it didn't matter, that they were Winning the game. So, to a team that sacrifices everything for the W, congrats to you!
 
Ellejustus said:
You win $1 if the bet is changed "a kid that can't juggle 500 times in a row......."
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Some college teams have skills tests in addition to fitness tests. At DD's school one of the skills tests is a juggling test. They have to cross field 1 time juggling with both feet, turn around and cross with the dominant foot and then turn around and cross with the non-dominant foot.
 
outside! said:
Some college teams have skills tests in addition to fitness tests. At DD's school one of the skills tests is a juggling test. They have to cross field 1 time juggling with both feet, turn around and cross with the dominant foot and then turn around and cross with the non-dominant foot.
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Cross that school off. If the ball hits the ground do they have to start over? Thanks for the heads up though :)
 
LMULions said:
Congrats to Surf, I guess.... but this same team with one of the worst displays of sportsmanship I've ever seen (at the Las Vegas Showcase earlier this year).

In a consolation bracket game, scoreless late in the game, they get a nice goal to go up 1-0. Their own player then grabs the ball out of the opponent's goal and runs all around the field with it, preventing the other team (from somewhere in the Midwest) from starting play. The ref was already struggling - allowing a lot of dangerous physical play, had no control over the game, doesn't really take any action on this either.

Then, for the rest of the game [8-10 minutes], playing on a field surrounded by desert - cactus and sand and scrub, they go on to kick the ball 50-60 yards out into the desert every chance they get. After someone mentioned the lack of sportsmanship, their parents response was that it didn't matter, that they were Winning the game. So, to a team that sacrifices everything for the W, congrats to you!
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Running around the field with the ball merits a caution from the referee. Kicking the ball as far as possible out of bounds is good defense.
 
LMULions said:
Congrats to Surf, I guess.... but this same team with one of the worst displays of sportsmanship I've ever seen (at the Las Vegas Showcase earlier this year).

In a consolation bracket game, scoreless late in the game, they get a nice goal to go up 1-0. Their own player then grabs the ball out of the opponent's goal and runs all around the field with it, preventing the other team (from somewhere in the Midwest) from starting play. The ref was already struggling - allowing a lot of dangerous physical play, had no control over the game, doesn't really take any action on this either.

Then, for the rest of the game [8-10 minutes], playing on a field surrounded by desert - cactus and sand and scrub, they go on to kick the ball 50-60 yards out into the desert every chance they get. After someone mentioned the lack of sportsmanship, their parents response was that it didn't matter, that they were Winning the game. So, to a team that sacrifices everything for the W, congrats to you!
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When in doubt, kick it out!!! If this is your team’s main defensive strategy- run away.
(It makes sense once in a while. And a smart player will recognize when it’s the best option).
 
ToonArmy said:
I ran into Kurt rambis having lunch in between games at an la galaxy sb tournament. He didnt acknowledge me when I called him superman. But I did get a photo with Steve Nash at a different soccer tournament and even got a photo with Kobe at a soccer game in Irvine years ago.
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Rambis lives in Marina Del Rey/Playa Del Rey. His sister-in-law in Hermosa Beach. He is a bit aloof. Steve Nash lives in Manhattan Beach. He often plays in a local fundraising soccer tourney. He is usually very engaging and friendly.
 
Ellejustus said:
Cross that school off. If the ball hits the ground do they have to start over? Thanks for the heads up though :)
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Yes, they have to start over if the ball hits the ground. The players compete to finish the test the quickest. My player can do it in a bit over 3 minutes. The point is that it is not just juggling, but controlling the ball in the air while moving with purpose. It is also more interesting to practice than just juggling. It is also a great way of seeing which of the incoming and returning players was serious about practicing on their own over the summer.
 
outside! said:
Yes, they have to start over if the ball hits the ground. The players compete to finish the test the quickest. My player can do it in a bit over 3 minutes. The point is that it is not just juggling, but controlling the ball in the air while moving with purpose. It is also more interesting to practice than just juggling. It is also a great way of seeing which of the incoming and returning players was serious about practicing on their own over the summer.
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I can't argue that. Congrats to your dd. Impressive :) If my dd wants to go to college and play soccer she will have to practice juggling. Right now it's all speed, quickness and a hunger to win. Hopefully she can past those tests if they have them too.
 
Ellejustus said:
I can't argue that. Congrats to your dd. Impressive :) If my dd wants to go to college and play soccer she will have to practice juggling. Right now it's all speed, quickness and a hunger to win. Hopefully she can past those tests if they have them too.
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Good luck to your daughter. Don't get too hung up on the DA/ECNL politics. Find a good coach and team and let her play and most importantly have fun. College soccer only matters if it is something she wants.
 
Dof3 said:
Ok, so then based on the Surf Cup and Silverlakes samples (which appear to show that either ECNL had a healthy advantage in win totals or things were closer to even, depending on how certain clubs are counted etc., but no reasonable conclusion that the DA teams substantially outperformed ECNL teams overall), is it fair to conclude that, after 2 years, the DA program is not producing teams that are substantially better than their ECNL counterparts on any consistent basis? Is two years a fair timeline? If not, how much of a grace period should DA expect? Given that it was DA who came into the market that already had an established league, identifying a different methodology and asserting that its uniform program was a superior approach to developing the highest level player, is it delivering the promised better mousetrap? If the argument is that one can't reach that conclusion on the basis of DA teams, but instead on the goal of developing the highest caliber individual players, then perhaps it is delivering the better mousetrap if the best players are now (or at least beginning to on a clear basis) come out of that program. So, then two questions: (1) if DA is not producing clearly superior players at the highest end, is DA achieving any of its stated objectives?, and (2) since its teams are not broadly superior to ECNL teams, is DA a better option for any but perhaps the very highest caliber players (and then only assuming the answer to (1) is yes)? If the answer to (1) is no, it appears the program needs to change that quickly or it could be fairly considered a failure, and if the answer to (2) is no, then it seems the YNT already serves this function and DA is a redundancy in the context of the YNT and ECNL. Either way, it seems to me like it was a bad weekend for the DA program. When you show up with the new, better idea, even or worse two years later gets you fired in my business.
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Essentially the timeline is not until the established Pre GDA ECNL teams age out and the post GDA teams in age groups from 06 and younger actually come through the ranks will we really know. 04 and 05 are still age groups very much stuck in the middle with staying with their established team and some kids moving around a bit.
 
Dof3 said:
Using the YNT as leverage doesn’t make it a better mousetrap. If it is compelling on its own merits, why is that exclusionary position necessary? Sort of like Microsoft making people use Explorer over Google, isn’t it? That was great for business until it was an antitrust violation. May not be illegal in this context, but pretty punitive to the kids who aren’t buying the product (which today has not been shown to be clearly better) and its antithetical to the mission of fielding the best possible teams to represent the country.
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Simple, if a kid is playing in ECNL just so they can play in high school then that is not a player that US Soccer believes to be serious about their development. At least that is the logic that US Soccer can use against participation in high school over club practice and games.
 
Ellejustus said:
I can't argue that. Congrats to your dd. Impressive :) If my dd wants to go to college and play soccer she will have to practice juggling. Right now it's all speed, quickness and a hunger to win. Hopefully she can past those tests if they have them too.
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Back when Deza (from Quakes) ran the Northern California NTCs, the girls had to juggle-walk the field (both directions) before they could start practicing (keepers, too). This is when they were 13 or 14. High stress for the first timers.
 
LASTMAN14 said:
Rambis lives in Marina Del Rey/Playa Del Rey. His sister-in-law in Hermosa Beach. He is a bit aloof. Steve Nash lives in Manhattan Beach. He often plays in a local fundraising soccer tourney. He is usually very engaging and friendly.
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Nash was very engaging.
I stumbled upon some highlight video of his tournament because a Newcastle United player at the time Sammy Ameobi was playing in it. Noticed Joakim Noah ex nba player playing also. It's too bad basketball and soccer in socal are the same season in school we were forced to choose one or the other as early as Jr High back when scholastic sports teams were the thing as most played rec before the boom of club sports. Now it's the 1 sport from day 1 and the choice is HS and ECNL or DA haha
 
outside! said:
Good luck to your daughter. Don't get too hung up on the DA/ECNL politics. Find a good coach and team and let her play and most importantly have fun. College soccer only matters if it is something she wants.
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Found a great coach and she's on a team of great girls and most importantly, she's having fun. She's not a fan of 4 days a week, games not meaning that much in the DA, practice juggling 500 times, kicking against the wall and so on and being told "you can't play HS soccer."
 
Mullet said:
Simple, if a kid is playing in ECNL just so they can play in high school then that is not a player that US Soccer believes to be serious about their development. At least that is the logic that US Soccer can use against participation in high school over club practice and games.
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And not willing to put in the time to juggle 500 times :)
 
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