# New Information on GDA?



## Soccer43 (Nov 1, 2016)

Wondering if anyone has new information they have heard about the GDA?  We are coming up to end of league play and the start of high school season so wondering what the word is on the streets about upcoming tryouts or recruitment, costs, start of practices etc???  

With ECNL season not ending until Juneish it will be interesting how that will work.  It seems like many of the current ECNL players may be driving a long way for their ECNL team and if they have more local GDA opportunities that they may want to switch clubs.


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## mahrez (Nov 1, 2016)

Going to be a drawn out process, some tryouts likley first part of the year for the girls not in HS or ECNL.   Have to wait until MAY for the tryout window for ECNL players and whenever the HS playoffs are over.

After NT/ST cups there will be some more tryouts or movement but recruitment will happen between now & then on all fronts.

Limited practice start in spring and they will ramp up slowly for the youngers.  By the start of summer the rosters will get clearer and the older teams will ramp up.   Roster and registration happens in later August for the DA leagues.

Check with clubs you're interested in for the details, when the coaching assignments are made then you should know.


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## SpeedK1llz (Nov 1, 2016)

Just saw on a Nor Cal board that Match Fit Academy has pulled out of GDA for 2016/2017:

http://www.matchfitacademy.net/home/841922.html


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## rainbow_unicorn (Nov 1, 2016)

Interesting...not sure why they wouldn't stay and use ECNL to field remaining players.  Wonder if they'll regret later on if GDA becomes the top tier for girls.


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## timbuck (Nov 2, 2016)

I don't have any insight into why a team would pull out of DA, but my first instinct is to say "Follow the money"


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## SpeedK1llz (Nov 2, 2016)

rainbow_unicorn said:


> Interesting...not sure why they wouldn't stay and use ECNL to field remaining players.  Wonder if they'll regret later on if GDA becomes the top tier for girls.


Match Fit explains the rationale behind their decision in the article I posted. They essentially say that they feel like putting their best players in GDA will dilute the quality of ECNL and that this would not be fair to their constituency.


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## mahrez (Nov 2, 2016)

timbuck said:


> I don't have any insight into why a team would pull out of DA, but my first instinct is to say "Follow the money"


Yep they bite off more than they can chew.

The larger clubs have more resources to be successful both league's, would have been a big stretch for them.

Maybe they don't do the research or homework because there hasn't been any changes in either league's.  Spending time and money to apply for some you change your mind late about is not something done normally


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## MakeAPlay (Nov 4, 2016)

http://www.socceramerica.com/article/71034/april-heinrichs-on-under-17-world-cup-development.html


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## Dos Equis (Nov 4, 2016)

MakeAPlay said:


> http://www.socceramerica.com/article/71034/april-heinrichs-on-under-17-world-cup-development.html


After getting past the increasingly meaningless catch phrases, she expresses some pretty definite opinions:

The GDA is the only option for players who want to be challenged
The GDA is the only option for players who want to play college soccer
ECNL was nice for 7 years (lots of past tense references), but now it is just another outlying program
High school soccer is a waste of time with no redeeming purpose other than feeding your ego to see your name in the paper, and hurts your development
Whether you view her position as confident, arrogant, realistic, dismissive, I would think depends on your perspective.  Definitely not constructive and looking to make any friends.  It never ceases to amaze me how the soccer powers that be in any given moment believe that only they know the way to develop players.


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## MakeAPlay (Nov 4, 2016)

Dos Equis said:


> After getting past the increasingly meaningless catch phrases, she expresses some pretty definite opinions:
> 
> The GDA is the only option for players who want to be challenged
> The GDA is the only option for players who want to play college soccer
> ...



I agree with you 100%.  Thank goodness that mine is past the point of it affecting her.  Sucks that parents of younger players get caught in another turf war for a non-revenue sport!


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## Laced (Nov 4, 2016)

MakeAPlay said:


> I agree with you 100%.  Thank goodness that mine is past the point of it affecting her.  Sucks that parents of younger players get caught in another turf war for a non-revenue sport!


It's a good thing for players to have more options. Plus, they can always switch later. Competition between GDA and ECNL benefits players.


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## meaningless (Nov 5, 2016)

Laced said:


> It's a good thing for players to have more options. Plus, they can always switch later. Competition between GDA and ECNL benefits players.


Having more options will ultimately lead to a level of competition among these clubs that will benefit both players and parents.


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