# Elite Academy League



## PracticeWYpreach (May 28, 2021)

Yay another league! Anyone know what this one is about? The design seems like it’s all part of GA plus it has a lot of the same teams.


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## SoccerFan4Life (May 28, 2021)

PracticeWYpreach said:


> Yay another league! Anyone know what this one is about? The design seems like it’s all part of GA plus it has a lot of the same teams.


These wouldn’t exist if parents would just settle for flight 1 and just let the very elite players do ECNL and DA.     Everything else would just go away


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## PracticeWYpreach (May 28, 2021)

SoccerFan4Life said:


> These wouldn’t exist if parents would just settle for flight 1 and just let the very elite players do ECNL and DA.     Everything else would just go away


Right! What’s Strikers doing in here?


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## mlx (May 28, 2021)

ECRL is to ECNL what EAL is to MLS Next


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## mlx (May 28, 2021)

SoccerFan4Life said:


> These wouldn’t exist if parents would just settle for flight 1 and just let the very elite players do ECNL and DA.     Everything else would just go away


There's no DA anymore. MLS Next is supposed to fill that space. This league is thought to have the MLS Next "second" teams. Just like ECRL has the ECNL second teams.


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## Chelsea dad g09 (May 28, 2021)

PracticeWYpreach said:


> Right! What’s Strikers doing in here?


Seeing as soccerfans dd is flight 1 and not a letter league,  looks like hes practicing what he preaches.


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## SoccerFan4Life (May 28, 2021)

PracticeWYpreach said:


> Right! What’s Strikers doing in here?


No clue on that one.  It could be that to be part of mls next you have to make second team for EAL.  So is EAL a boys only league?


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## PracticeWYpreach (May 28, 2021)

SoccerFan4Life said:


> No clue on that one.  It could be that to be part of mls next you have to make second team for EAL.  So is EAL a boys only league?


Oh yea you are right. My bad I didn’t realize boys only.


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## RedCard (May 28, 2021)

My son joined an EAL team a couple of months ago after leaving his ECNL team (which is a dumpster fire right now). So "technically" he took a step down but in reality, it was a better move to make. Team is more solid and no a bunch of individuals. League wise, it's just like any other league. You got your 1 or 2 super stud teams, your 1 or 2 bottom dweller teams, then there's everyone else in the middle; which is where his team is currently. He's enjoying himself and so are the other 3 players that left that same ECNL team. Seems like a pretty good league so far. They are playing in the Cerritos Memorial Cup this weekend so we will see how that goes. He does plans on trying out for the MLS NXT team once this season ends.


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## Publius (May 28, 2021)

SoccerFan4Life said:


> No clue on that one.  It could be that to be part of mls next you have to make second team for EAL.  So is EAL a boys only league?


 Just a wild guess, but I’d put my money on some kind of requirement like that to try to push more money and teams into MLS platform and member clubs.  It’s like Groundhog Day, you just change the order of the words elite and academy and maybe sub in or out development or another popular buzz word (I can’t believe platform or pathway hasn’t been in an actual league name yet) and you’ve got the new league for the year,


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## Dargle (May 28, 2021)

You’ve got it backwards.  MLS has nothing to do with EAL and certainly didn’t require it.  It was started by some MLS Next clubs that wanted a place for their pre-Academy teams.  It’s more like the DP league was to Girls DA (and now is to GA) than ECRL is to ECNL, since in the latter case they are part of the same platform and in the former they are not.  Just like in DP, there are clubs in EAL that have no affiliation with MLS Next, which fills out a schedule in all age groups and often raises the competition level since those clubs place their top teams in the league.


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## Publius (May 28, 2021)

Publius said:


> Just a wild guess, but I’d put my money on some kind of requirement like that to try to push more money and teams into MLS platform and member clubs.  It’s like Groundhog Day, you just change the order of the words elite and academy and maybe sub in or out development or another popular buzz word (I can’t believe platform or pathway hasn’t been in an actual league name yet) and you’ve got the new league for the year,


And  better buy new $250 plus kits instead of pulling off your ECNL patch and putting on a new one.


Dargle said:


> You’ve got it backwards.  MLS has nothing to do with EAL and certainly didn’t require it.  It was started by some MLS Next clubs that wanted a place for their pre-Academy teams.  It’s more like the DP league was to Girls DA (and now is to GA) than ECRL is to ECNL, since in the latter case they are part of the same platform and in the former they are not.  Just like in DP, there are clubs in EAL that have no affiliation with MLS Next, which fills out a schedule in all age groups and often raises the competition level since those clubs place their top teams in the league.


MLS as in MLS Next gaming circuit.  Not MLS 


Dargle said:


> You’ve got it backwards.  MLS has nothing to do with EAL and certainly didn’t require it.  It was started by some MLS Next clubs that wanted a place for their pre-Academy teams.  It’s more like the DP league was to Girls DA (and now is to GA) than ECRL is to ECNL, since in the latter case they are part of the same platform and in the former they are not.  Just like in DP, there are clubs in EAL that have no affiliation with MLS Next, which fills out a schedule in all age groups and often raises the competition level since those clubs place their top teams in the league.


MLS as in MLS Next league/clubs.  Yes, exactly like DPL to Girls DA and some particular clubs/DOCs creating DPL.


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## Dargle (May 28, 2021)

Publius said:


> And  better buy new $250 plus kits instead of pulling off your ECNL patch and putting on a new one.
> 
> MLS as in MLS Next gaming circuit.  Not MLS
> 
> MLS as in MLS Next league/clubs.  Yes, exactly like DPL to Girls DA and some particular clubs/DOCs creating DPL.


MLS itself runs the MLS Next league out of the MLS offices using employees from their Player Development division.  They don’t have anything to do with with EAL.  Most MLS Next clubs also have nothing to do with EAL.

The MLS Next clubs who started EAL were just some Southern California clubs.  They have aspirations of being national, but I think they’ve only gotten teams to join in a few parts of the country.  It may grow though in the same way DP grew.


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## Publius (May 28, 2021)

Dargle said:


> MLS itself runs the MLS Next league out of the MLS offices using employees from their Player Development division.  They don’t have anything to do with with EAL.  Most MLS Next clubs also have nothing to do with EAL.
> 
> The MLS Next clubs who started EAL were just some Southern California clubs.  They have aspirations of being national, but I think they’ve only gotten teams to join in a few parts of the country.  It may grow though in the same way DP grew.


Got it.  I very cynically remember all the quotes and hype folks like the albion doc and la premier doc were putting into DPL when it was created and this feels like a similar fact pattern.  And for the so cal clubs I’m aware of moving their ECNL and ECRL into EAL it certainly wasn’t for lack of competition in the ECNL platform.


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## Dargle (May 29, 2021)

Here is a bit more detail on the Elite Academy League.  Looks like they are expanding pretty rapidly and more as an independent national platform than just as a place for second teams of MLS Next clubs, which is what Strikers is using it for.









						What exactly is the Elite Academy League (EA)?
					

A guide on the up-and-coming Elite Academy League.




					www.soccerwire.com


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## mlx (May 30, 2021)

RedCard said:


> My son joined an EAL team a couple of months ago after leaving his ECNL team (which is a dumpster fire right now). So "technically" he took a step down but in reality, it was a better move to make. Team is more solid and no a bunch of individuals. League wise, it's just like any other league. You got your 1 or 2 super stud teams, your 1 or 2 bottom dweller teams, then there's everyone else in the middle; which is where his team is currently. He's enjoying himself and so are the other 3 players that left that same ECNL team. Seems like a pretty good league so far. They are playing in the Cerritos Memorial Cup this weekend so we will see how that goes. He does plans on trying out for the MLS NXT team once this season ends.


Do you know if LA Breakers disbanded their B07 ECNL team?


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## RedCard (May 31, 2021)

mlx said:


> Do you know if LA Breakers disbanded their B07 ECNL team?


I don't know. He wasn't with Breakers.


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## JuliVeee (Jun 8, 2021)

Are the boys Strikers (Formerly ECNL) teams in Elite Academy or the MLS Next?


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## lafalafa (Jun 8, 2021)

JuliVeee said:


> Are the boys Strikers (Formerly ECNL) teams in Elite Academy or the MLS Next?


In Both leagues: NExT and EA.  Socal (SCDSL) also for 21-22'.


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## Dargle (Jun 8, 2021)

JuliVeee said:


> Are the boys Strikers (Formerly ECNL) teams in Elite Academy or the MLS Next?


Presumably, the ECNL teams will be in MLS Next and the ECRL teams in EA


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