Academy vs. ECNL

Real Deal said:
So just curious mbeach: you say no one should play up, but then you say your one daughter plays up now, on 05s-- so when 04/05 Academy rolls around you going to pull her back to 06s? Or are you one of those parents who thinks there daughter's the only one who should be playing up? ;););)
(Just kiddin' around, but is that yur plan?)
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I think it's case specific and I have DEFINETLY seen a very special 06 and a special 05. They are the type of players that "make" a team. They are rare though.
The clubs should not be playing the "my daughter is a great player 05" on an Academy team.
Just a humble opinion.
 
Striker17 said:
I think it's case specific and I have DEFINETLY seen a very special 06 and a special 05. They are the type of players that "make" a team. They are rare though.
The clubs should not be playing the "my daughter is a great player 05" on an Academy team.
Just a humble opinion.
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Agreed. And i guess the question would be, will that player make the same kind of impact playing up 2 years on an Academy team?

The youngers who make the Academy team in a particular age band are playing up anyways! (as in-- the 04s in 03/04 age group Academy). What's the dang rush? Wish they had just mandated it that way.
 
Real Deal said:
Agreed. And i guess the question would be, will that player make the same kind of impact playing up 2 years on an Academy team?

The youngers who make the Academy team in a particular age band are playing up anyways! (as in-- the 04s in 03/04 age group Academy). What's the dang rush? Wish they had just mandated it that way.
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That is right, playing up in these teams actually means playing up 2 years. Maybe possible when older, but very unsafe at 12 vs 14 when playing to win and the older girl lowers the shoulder in a charge at full speed.
 
Real Deal said:
I think a player can be "future elite potential" (which is truly how they should refer to the younger age groups) ... and it can still not be in their best interest to play up all the time. It depends on mental, physical maturity, and whether the social part is important to them or not. It also may be that they are a great team leader in the making... but their growth in that area will be stunted by playing up... I mean seriously, what 12 year old is going to boss around a 14 year old???
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What I have seen in regards to this exact scenario is it was more of a way to feed a parents ego and keep a talented girl at a club.
The studs will choose, then the younger "elites" will shop for someone to take them. It's already happening.
Again I am all for the truly elite player - and many people can see who that usually is on a team.
When I initially started this thread my whole point was that I do believe that the "bubble" a team players or bench players at current teams will shop to be starters at another Club.
For example if you haven't "broken through" at Surf or Blues or Slammers why wouldn't you drive up to Carlsbad or Pats and give it a go? That's what I am hearing .
I think the clubs are expecting those 11-20 girls per age to stay and make up their ECNL team and don't get that the great migration is already on.
Maybe because of more options we will see an increase in club loyalty and developing the bubble and B teams.
I can't even type that with a straight face
 
Real Deal said:
Agreed. And i guess the question would be, will that player make the same kind of impact playing up 2 years on an Academy team?

The youngers who make the Academy team in a particular age band are playing up anyways! (as in-- the 04s in 03/04 age group Academy). What's the dang rush? Wish they had just mandated it that way.
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Parental ego. Plain and simply.
 
Striker17 said:
What I have seen in regards to this exact scenario is it was more of a way to feed a parents ego and keep a talented girl at a club.
The studs will choose, then the younger "elites" will shop for someone to take them. It's already happening.
Again I am all for the truly elite player - and many people can see who that usually is on a team.
When I initially started this thread my whole point was that I do believe that the "bubble" a team players or bench players at current teams will shop to be starters at another Club.
For example if you haven't "broken through" at Surf or Blues or Slammers why wouldn't you drive up to Carlsbad or Pats and give it a go? That's what I am hearing .
I think the clubs are expecting those 11-20 girls per age to stay and make up their ECNL team and don't get that the great migration is already on.
Maybe because of more options we will see an increase in club loyalty and developing the bubble and B teams.
I can't even type that with a straight face
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This is just my two cents. Regarding the 11-20 girls per age group that you are referring to, it seems to me that it is in their best interest to tryout for DA teams in different clubs. And it is clear that they will have more opportunities with DA clubs that have a lesser record with girls. My observation is that clubs have zero loyalty to their players, so there is no need to reciprocate.
Since we are talking about club loyalty to its players, I will go back to a point of discussion that we had a few months ago when we began talking about GDA: how clubs would fund the subsidy to DA families. The more likely way is to increase the fees to all other families in the club, which would be easier to do for very big clubs (please, DA opponents, do not use this to go back into the same old discussion, the increase for big clubs was not that much and it would be too boring again). But how could clubs sell this to the majority of their families? My idea was that the smart clubs would guarantee/advertise that a high percentage of DA positions (not all, but a high percentage) would be filled with girls that had been developed X years in the club. What a better way to advertise club loyalty, and to make sure that the club truly develops players? I have not seen this advertised by any club, and in fact I believe that clubs will take the best 20 girls for their DA teams, regardless of where they come.
 
mbeach said:
That is right, playing up in these teams actually means playing up 2 years. Maybe possible when older, but very unsafe at 12 vs 14 when playing to win and the older girl lowers the shoulder in a charge at full speed.
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Totally agree. Unless she's one of the special ones .....I've witnessed it hinder growth/opportunity rather than foster.
 
SOCCERMINION said:
Its 7 spots per age group ony 14 girls will see play time each game, I'm figuring only 8 of the studs on the teams will not ride the bench and the rest will share some kind of game/bench rotation to try to keep them happy. And there are many Top tier teams in Socal that are full of studs besides ECNL teams. I understand the DA model is focused and evaluated on developement, but make no mistake , the coaches will be playing to win all games, this means fielding their best players all the time. Because the Club system has always been, "You have to win to keep the Talent coming to your club".....
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With all due respect, I have not in 10 years of watching club soccer seen a team other than a YNT that are full of studs. Not ECNL, not ODP, not PDP. The truth is that per age group there are probably 20-25 top tier players and about half of them might be studs and maybe 5 of them actually are.
 
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mbeach said:
And I have also read from a US Soccer source (which I cannot find and reference now) that every player has to start a minimum of 25% games. So the bottom line is that playing time for everybody/anybody is not really a different issue from what is going on now. Everybody (especially PARENTS) wants to win every game, whether it is DA, ECNL, SCDSL, tournaments, etc. What I can see that will be different is that even a bigger premium will be placed in athletic players, or more exactly on players with stamina, because of the longer playing period without a break. But stamina is something that, unlike speed, can "easily" be acquired.
Regarding whether the rosters will be maxed out or not, it is difficult to tell. There are arguments to be made for both cases. I think that a few posts ago C.A.M., who gave great information associated with his experience in Boys DA, said that the rosters in her/his club were on the short side.
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The quote that you are referencing had to do with the Boys DA. I have not seen a PT mandate from the GDA.
 
MakeAPlay said:
The quote that you are referencing had to do with the Boys DA. I have not seen a PT mandate from the GDA.
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You are probably right, it is indeed not stated in the application. But in the FAQ page, the following comment is made to answer the question "Are the rules & regulations exactly the same as the boys DA?":
"The vast majority of the current Academy rules and regulations will be the same".
It would be odd that a major regulation such as minimum number of starts were not part of the vast majority, but it could happen.
 
MakeAPlay said:
With all due respect, I have not in 10 years of watching club soccer seen a team other than a YNT that are full of studs. Not ECNL, not ODP, not PDP. The truth is that per age group there are probably 20-25 top tier players and about half of them might be studs and maybe 5 of them actually are.
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Glad this point was touched on. On many top teams the impact players drive the play. They should be the the DA. The impact players can make the rest look good. On a roster of 18 we are talking about 5-6 players.
On 9 DA clubs that's 45-50 players per age group.
If they make it truly elite and stop placating to politics and parents is the only way this could work. Let's see how great these "elite teams" are when you take their four impact players off the pitch and the rest have to be taught to play soccer and be developed.
 
MakeAPlay said:
With all due respect, I have not in 10 years of watching club soccer seen a team other than a YNT that are full of studs. Not ECNL, not ODP, not PDP. The truth is that per age group there are probably 20-25 top tier players and about half of them might be studs and maybe 5 of them actually are.
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Agreed....U surface a good point, as parents are looking/searching for new DA/Ecnl clubs, ive found direct and ancillary value for dd's to be playing with (same team) top level/special/stud/YNT level player(s). Most top teams (Ecnl & non) usually will have 1, maybe 2 of them. Parents/players (your dd's will know who they are) should seek those Ecnl & or DA teams.
 
ESPNANALYST said:
Glad this point was touched on. On many top teams the impact players drive the play. They should be the the DA. The impact players can make the rest look good. On a roster of 18 we are talking about 5-6 players.
On 9 DA clubs that's 45-50 players per age group.
If they make it truly elite and stop placating to politics and parents is the only way this could work. Let's see how great these "elite teams" are when you take their four impact players off the pitch and the rest have to be taught to play soccer and be developed.
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And those 5-6 (that's a bit of a stretch) will head to the top 5-10 soccer universities - awesome.....Thank god there's several hundred other academic institutions that will fight for the scraps left over:)
 
Among many arguments, my infinite wisdom tells me that 98% of the girls playing soccer would not make it to practice four days a week; a requirement of the envelopment academy. With so many fun things to do besides soccer why would they want to? Again the majority of serious players only want to play in college and would prefer to be much more well rounded.

No weight jokes please.
 
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ESPNANALYST said:
I agree. I will be happy to enjoy D3 spoils.
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Shoot....there's a hell of a lot more D1's than 10.

But be as it be..... D3 be alright w/me ;)

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For me, college soccer is just a way for my dd to get her degree. If I can get some financial assistance along the way, great.

I would prefer she played for an Ivy League school versus any top tier D1 school. The soccer career will be over long before the "real" career ends.
 
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