# SDSC Surf selected for GA



## MicPaPa (Mar 1, 2021)




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## oh canada (Mar 1, 2021)

Further proof that the female league hierarchy in SoCal/NoCal is as follows:

1 - ECNL
2 - ECRL
3 - GA


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## Lavey29 (Mar 1, 2021)

oh canada said:


> Further proof that the female league hierarchy in SoCal/NoCal is as follows:
> 
> 1 - ECNL
> 2 - ECRL
> 3 - GA


I dont disagree with this assessment


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## MicPaPa (Mar 1, 2021)

oh canada said:


> Further proof that the female league hierarchy in SoCal/NoCal is as follows:
> 
> 1 - ECNL
> 2 - ECRL
> 3 - GA


Not even close.

SoCal:
1 - GA / ECNL (certain teams)  
DPL / ECRL et al. - who cares

NoCal:
?


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## Highlander (Mar 2, 2021)

ECRL isn't even a thing in NorCal.
I guess since the #3 rated club in the US is in the GA we could argue the following for NorCal:
1 - GA
2 - ECNL
3 - NPL


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## crush (Mar 2, 2021)

Highlander said:


> ECRL isn't even a thing in NorCal.
> I guess since the #3 rated club in the US is in the GA we could argue the following for NorCal:
> 1 - GA
> 2 - ECNL
> 3 - NPL


Who is #3 club in the country?


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## WestOfFive (Mar 2, 2021)

crush said:


> Who is #3 club in the country?



1




Solar SC2




Tophat3




FC Bay Area4




San Diego Surf5




Legends FC6




So Cal Blues7




Real Colorado8




FC Dallas Youth9




Beach Futbol Club10




LAFC Slammers


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## crush (Mar 2, 2021)

WestOfFive said:


> 1
> 
> 
> 
> ...


No way FC Bay Area is #3.  Plus, Surf was voted #1 club in the country last year.  Here is mine based on my experience.

#1  SD Surf
#2  Solar
#3  So Cal Blues
#4  LAFC
#5  Legends
#6  MLVA
#7  Some other Texas team
#8  Michigan Hawks
#9  Real Colorodo
#10  Strikers FC
#10  Beach FC


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## Highlander (Mar 2, 2021)

Ya, I'm just throwing the argument out there. LOL

One NorCal club on your list...how sad is that. Seems like NorCal used to have more highly rated clubs...what happened? Some have argued to me that NorCal Premier allowing so many clubs in has diluted the talent pool. I think that might be part of it...


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## crush (Mar 2, 2021)

Highlander said:


> Ya, I'm just throwing the argument out there. LOL
> 
> One NorCal club on your list...how sad is that. Seems like NorCal used to have more highly rated clubs...what happened? Some have argued to me that NorCal Premier allowing so many clubs in has diluted the talent pool. I think that might be part of it...


I say Nocal should have two teams but it got diluted.  The Force were top before GDA diluted the talent pool.


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## El Clasico (Mar 2, 2021)

MicPaPa said:


> Not even close.
> 
> SoCal:
> 1 - GA / ECNL (certain teams)
> ...


You may want to lay off the sauce a bit.


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## Giesbock (Mar 2, 2021)

Who has actually seen enough of these teams play to make a blanket assessment?  WCFC (GA) beat Tophat”B” team 5-1. Same WCFC team beat an LA based ECNL team in a scrimmage.  I’m just saying that a lot of these lists are based on conjecture, bias, reputation and not actual head to head competition because there hasn’t been any.


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## MicPaPa (Mar 2, 2021)

El Clasico said:


> You may want to lay off the sauce a bit.


Don't worry, your insecurity of chest beating how good you kids league is will remain in tact. It's just some look at the big picture and follow facts beyond our own sidelines.


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## crush (Mar 2, 2021)

Giesbock said:


> *Who has actually seen enough of these teams play *to make a blanket assessment?  WCFC (GA) beat Tophat”B” team 5-1. Same WCFC team beat an LA based ECNL team in a scrimmage.  I’m just saying that a lot of these lists are based on conjecture, bias, reputation and not actual head to head competition because there hasn’t been any.


I have bro.  I traveled all over the country and watched with me eyes.  My eyes do not lie.  Surf right now is #1.  2021/2022 ECNL is where you want to be. The Southwest Conference 03/04 will be so dam competitive you will be jealous and full of envy being on the outside bro, trust me   This will be pure ganas every weekend, especially with the additions on Legends FC and Beach FC, it will be insane.  Plus, I heard a rumor on the grape vine that if some clubs under perform this season, they might get bumped down to ECRL and then maybe SW adds two more like a WC?


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## happy9 (Mar 2, 2021)

Giesbock said:


> Who has actually seen enough of these teams play to make a blanket assessment?  WCFC (GA) beat Tophat”B” team 5-1. Same WCFC team beat an LA based ECNL team in a scrimmage.  I’m just saying that a lot of these lists are based on conjecture, bias, reputation and not actual head to head competition because there hasn’t been any.


At least we are back to arguing this again - which is a good thing.

I suppose the best league is the one where you and your player like your coach, your player thrives, develops, and has fun.  If  college play is an aspiration, has a pathway that is feasible.

There will be room for both leagues - there are plenty of families with disposable income and plenty of players that are good enough to move on to the next level.  There are 100s of schools, NAIA-D1, that will attend both league's showcases (virtual and/or in person). The GA and ECNL are pathways, both are connected to assist in getting your player to the next level.  Both will provide YNT players.  Who is the best?  That will be hotly debated.  Maybe the insinuations by ECNL and GA leadership of intra league play come to fruition over the next few seasons.  Only then can anyone claim to be the "best" and then only temporarily.  

CA doesn't need to be in either league, you can be your own league and thrive.  The GA and ECNL could stitch together the rest of the country to provide "top" competition for those that can pay.

But, we will debate who is the better league, which is not a bad thing.  Once we get more league play and maybe an occasional intra league game at a Surf or similar large showcase, we can debate which teams/age groups are better.


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## happy9 (Mar 2, 2021)

crush said:


> I have bro.  I traveled all over the country and watched with me eyes.  My eyes do not lie.  Surf right now is #1.  2021/2022 ECNL is where you want to be. The Southwest Conference 03/04 will be so dam competitive you will be jealous and full of envy being on the outside bro, trust me   This will be pure ganas every weekend, especially with the additions on Legends FC and Beach FC, it will be insane.  Plus, I heard a rumor on the grape vine that if some clubs under perform this season, they might get bumped down to ECRL and then maybe SW adds two more like a WC?


Utah Celtic is a pretty strong club that has age groups that can compete at the highest levels.  You should check them out.  Great coaching staff.  They pull in the best talent in Utah without ever having been in a cool alphabet league - now they are GA, so we will see what happens with them.

I'm thinking the ECNL SW conference will be competitive from teams 1-5, the remaining 30 teams or so will be average at best (see how I did that?).  But, those 30 teams will still get players to play at the next level.


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## dad4 (Mar 2, 2021)

oh canada said:


> Further proof that the female league hierarchy in SoCal/NoCal is as follows:
> 
> 1 - ECNL
> 2 - ECRL
> 3 - GA


I’d swap 2 and 3.

If ECNL keeps adding the top GA clubs, you may eventually be right.  But as long as ECNL excludes good clubs for bad reasons, they add strength to GA.


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## MicPaPa (Mar 2, 2021)

Giesbock said:


> Who has actually seen enough of these teams play to make a blanket assessment?  WCFC (GA) beat Tophat”B” team 5-1. Same WCFC team beat an LA based ECNL team in a scrimmage.  I’m just saying that a lot of these lists are based on conjecture, bias, reputation and not actual head to head competition because there hasn’t been any.


Much has and has not happened in SoCal over the past 12 months. Limited training, minimal game play, physical growth spurts, psychological let downs, Surf's quest for national domination, Cal South breaking into pieces while ECNL & GA are picking up the DA pieces...to name a few.

The SoCal youth soccer landscape has been on the move and very fluid, and will continue as such. There are many variables and unknowns at this time and to think there is currently a clear hierarchy lacks awareness and is foolhardy.


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## Carlsbad7 (Mar 2, 2021)

MicPaPa said:


> Much has and has not happened in SoCal over the past 12 months. Limited training, minimal game play, physical growth spurts, psychological let downs, Surf's quest for national domination, Cal South breaking into pieces while ECNL & GA are picking up the DA pieces...to name a few.
> 
> The SoCal youth soccer landscape has been on the move and very fluid, and will continue as such. There are many variables and unknowns at this time and to think there is currently a clear hierarchy lacks awareness and is foolhardy.


You can't spin the facts.


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## MicPaPa (Mar 2, 2021)

Carlsbad7 said:


> You can't spin the facts.


One mans facts, are another...oh, never mind.

Although, awesome you're able to post from an alternate universe...technology is great.


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## oh canada (Mar 2, 2021)

Giesbock said:


> Who has actually seen enough of these teams play to make a blanket assessment?  WCFC (GA) beat Tophat”B” team 5-1. Same WCFC team beat an LA based ECNL team in a scrimmage.  I’m just saying that a lot of these lists are based on conjecture, bias, reputation and not actual head to head competition because there hasn’t been any.


I always focus on the individual players, not the teams, not the scores, not who beat who in one game head-to-head.  And I'll limit my comments to SoCal since I've only seen a few NorCal teams play of late.  Overwhelmingly, the best female players in SoCal are now playing ECNL.  ECNL already had good players during DA days and now many (most) top DA players switched to ECNL.  And because of those additions, quite a few of the larger clubs also have talented B teams which play in the ECRL.  Maybe those B teams are on par with GA clubs in SoCal, but they certainly are not inferior to GA.  Beach and Legends are moving to ECNL.  SDSC is going to GA.  If you're being honest, that should be a clear writing on the wall re where the top talent is going in SoCal.

It surprises me that Surf could not get SDSC into the ECRL, which could then be a feeder into Surf's ECRL team and/or their ECNL team.  I really have no idea what benefit these Surf partnerships are for the capitulating clubs?  Guessing the pandemic simply was the final nail in the coffin for a club struggling to make profits.  Which is surprising because I thought they did pretty well on the boys side, but San Diego locals would have a better sense.


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## keeprunning (Mar 2, 2021)

*Congrats to SDSC*. Good program, good guys leading it that teach good soccer. Not sure about the depth, but the top teams are usually very good.


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## Sike (Mar 3, 2021)

oh canada said:


> I always focus on the individual players, not the teams, not the scores, not who beat who in one game head-to-head.  And I'll limit my comments to SoCal since I've only seen a few NorCal teams play of late.  Overwhelmingly, the best female players in SoCal are now playing ECNL.  ECNL already had good players during DA days and now many (most) top DA players switched to ECNL.  And because of those additions, quite a few of the larger clubs also have talented B teams which play in the ECRL.  Maybe those B teams are on par with GA clubs in SoCal, but they certainly are not inferior to GA.


I think it depends on the club and what shifts occur now that the best teams are clearly ECNL.  Certainly, Blues and Surf will have very strong B teams playing ECRL, and likely at every single age group.  Historically, I have not seen very strong B teams across the board from other clubs in SoCal though (certainly some here and there, but not consistently).  However, I could see some of those B teams getting better as they attract more talent.  But let's be honest, there are a few ECNL teams who still have pretty weak A teams, so their B teams in ECRL will also not be strong.


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## Desert Hound (Mar 3, 2021)

Sike said:


> I think it depends on the club and what shifts occur now that the best teams are clearly ECNL.  Certainly, Blues and Surf will have very strong B teams playing ECRL, and likely at every single age group.  Historically, I have not seen very strong B teams across the board from other clubs in SoCal though (certainly some here and there, but not consistently).  However, I could see some of those B teams getting better as they attract more talent.  But let's be honest, there are a few ECNL teams who still have pretty weak A teams, so their B teams in ECRL will also not be strong.


From a B team perspective. 

IF...and this is a big IF. If ecRl becomes national in scope and is seen as a good place to be (either from exposure to colleges (smaller ones) or getting onto the top ECNL team) then you likely see more players interested and moving to clubs to play ecRl. If that happens, then the B team quality would go up a lot. 

That is a lot of IFs though.


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## soccermgr4 (Mar 3, 2021)

One way to look at the leagues is that the ECNL girls (I can't speak to the newer boys side since I have experience only on the girls side) are aiming to be D1/D2 college players and the ECRL girls are aiming to play at the D3/NAIA college level.  There are no scholarships at the D3 level, of course, but soccer can help a little to get into a better "liberal arts" D3 school so that's very useful.  Obviously, not all ECNL players will be shooting to only play D1 or D2 - they can also use soccer to help them stand out when applying to elite D3 schools like Williams College, Claremont, etc.

The GA girls will matriculate to all levels of college soccer depending on their skill level.  The elite GA girls are certainly shooting for D1 soccer while the other players are shooting for the lower levels.

Next year, the ECRL teams will join the ECNL teams at the two big ECNL showcases so this will obviously make it very convenient for all college coaches at every level (D1-3 + NAIA) to scout a LOT of players in one location in January and April of 2022.  I assume these coaches will also go to one or two national GA showcases to identify players as well (or one ECNL event and one GA event?) and they can simplify their recruiting efforts and keep costs down.

It seems like budgets are going to be really tight for the next 2-3 years as schools recover from a limited football season of sorts this past year.


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## timbuck (Mar 3, 2021)

SDSC Surf moves to GA.  
Do they fill the void that Beach and Legends left when they make the move to ECNL?


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## LASTMAN14 (Mar 3, 2021)

timbuck said:


> SDSC Surf moves to GA.
> Do they fill the void that Beach and Legends left when they make the move to ECNL?


Geographically, no. Filling for those clubs leaving, yes.


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## Riggins (Mar 3, 2021)

In our little area called OC the only teams in GA are the ones that were not accepted into ECNL. They wanted to belong to something "national" so joined GA, but will still petition to join ECNL next year. That is clearly the top league as witnessed by how many DA clubs already left to return/jin ECNL before DA actually disbanded.


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