Preseason DA Rankings 04

[Monkey]

I do know of 1 or 2 girls that have left GDA teams but it was not due to any GDA structure problem or any reason stated above.


I can’t speak much for the boys side....as for the GDA, I believe to say Girls have decided to quite soccer all together because of the DA structure in the 4 - 5 months into its inaugural season is an exaggeration.

As for weakening the leagues, so did Premier and ECNL. Anytime there is an attempt at consolidating talent, you will see this affect.



This is like when and Person who is overweight and has type 2 diabetes because they eat McDonalds and drink soda a week, blames McDonalds for their health problems.


The GDA may not have been necessary nor is it perfect in its first year. Our experience has been great thus far and my DD is stoked. I’m sure she will assess and decide about next year when that time comes. I’ll be there to advise her if she wants it and cheer her on every time she plays.

I am not saying these parents that feel the need to have their dd play DA did not contribute to them quitting. The mentality that you have to play DA or you are a nobody perpetuates this problem. DA is great for the kids that can juggle school, friends and soccer. But not all kids can and when one area of their life starts to crumble kids start to feel like failures and give up. Maybe these kids will reconsider and join an ECNL, SCDCL or CSL team after the high school break, I don't know.

I know a player that turned down playing on the National team due to grades. Her parents are rational enough to understand their dd's limitations. Unfortunately not all parents are this wise.

 

[splinter]

I have two playing DA and am looking hard next year at moving to ecnl. This year was a great year to experiment since they are not in high school. ECNL has a great model and their showcases get you in front of plenty of college coaches. My dds are very high level at another sport and it is impossible to do it with the DA demands plus no high school is a huge drawback for them. I have seen some great players choose ecnl for the exact same reason but another big one I am hearing about is the amount of players on some DA teams (21 in some cases) and the lack of playing time. Some kids aren’t even suiting up for games and others suit up but don’t get in.

 

[Kicker4Life]

I am not saying these parents that feel the need to have their dd play DA did not contribute to them quitting. The mentality that you have to play DA or you are a nobody perpetuates this problem. DA is great for the kids that can juggle school, friends and soccer. But not all kids can and when one area of their life starts to crumble kids start to feel like failures and give up. Maybe these kids will reconsider and join an ECNL, SCDCL or CSL team after the high school break, I don't know.

I know a player that turned down playing on the National team due to grades. Her parents are rational enough to understand their dd's limitations. Unfortunately not all parents are this wise.

Well put, thanks for clarifying.

 

[Technician72]

I have two playing DA and am looking hard next year at moving to ecnl. This year was a great year to experiment since they are not in high school. ECNL has a great model and their showcases get you in front of plenty of college coaches. My dds are very high level at another sport and it is impossible to do it with the DA demands plus no high school is a huge drawback for them. I have seen some great players choose ecnl for the exact same reason but another big one I am hearing about is the amount of players on some DA teams (21 in some cases) and the lack of playing time. Some kids aren’t even suiting up for games and others suit up but don’t get in.

Right there with you, the lack of flexibility will probably be the reason my DD leaves DA after this season as well. She's heavily involved in academics and other sports and with 9th grade next year, it's very much a "soccer and nothing else" persona with DA and with that little room to breathe it makes the kids chose where as with ECNL they didn't have to.

Best of luck @splinter keep me posted and hit me up. Long time no talk!

 

[Real Deal]

I have two playing DA and am looking hard next year at moving to ecnl. This year was a great year to experiment since they are not in high school. ECNL has a great model and their showcases get you in front of plenty of college coaches. My dds are very high level at another sport and it is impossible to do it with the DA demands plus no high school is a huge drawback for them. I have seen some great players choose ecnl for the exact same reason but another big one I am hearing about is the amount of players on some DA teams (21 in some cases) and the lack of playing time. Some kids aren’t even suiting up for games and others suit up but don’t get in.

I think you will find the demands of ECNL do not allow much time for other sports as well. ECNL is expensive and requires much travel too. For some, ECNL is not an option in their geographical area, so travel time to practice is a nightmare in itself. That's why I am confused about some of the comments on here and on the Nocal forum regarding travel and cost. That said, I do feel for those DA players in areas of the country that have to travel between states just for league play. DA or ECNL, cost-wise, is getting up in club hockey or volleyball territory (unless you are playing fully funded of course). I also do feel that the sub rules are difficult and unnecessary, just a big "Why?" As for the restrictions to playing other sports, it seems to vary from club to club (coach to coach), so maybe you should check out some other clubs. I understand that there were plenty of college scouts at the DA games at Silverlakes Thanksgiving, as well as US Soccer scouts too. For mine, DA is great. She loves coach, team, club, practices, travel, etc and is super-motivated to continuously get better. That said, with the exact same components (especially coach) she'd probably love any league.

So, as far as those who may be quitting altogether, I agree with some of the posters who say this has not much to do with DA. This is the age where interests change, and will continue to do so through high school. Kids quit because the sport is not for them.

 

[davin]

I think you will find the demands of ECNL do not allow much time for other sports as well. ECNL is expensive and requires much travel too. For some, ECNL is not an option in their geographical area, so travel time to practice is a nightmare in itself. That's why I am confused about some of the comments on here and on the Nocal forum regarding travel and cost. That said, I do feel for those DA players in areas of the country that have to travel between states just for league play. DA or ECNL, cost-wise, is getting up in club hockey or volleyball territory (unless you are playing fully funded of course).

There is a huge difference in travel and cost between ECNL and DA(at least in Nocal).
- DA has 5 day showcases(including Surf Cup) vs. 3 day showcases(3 days Surf Cup) for ECNL
- DA has 5 travel weekends for league games where they have to get on a plane vs. 1 or 2 travel weekends for ECNL Plane tickets, hotels, car rentals, and meals start to add up.
- DA mandates 4 mandatory practice days vs. 2-3 mandatory practice days for ECNL teams in the area. Those costs for the extra training days are passed on as coaching fees.

It may be different in SoCal, but that's the reason why the DA parents in the Nocal forum made those comments about travel and cost.

 

[Real Deal]

There is a huge difference in travel and cost between ECNL and DA(at least in Nocal).
- DA has 5 day showcases(including Surf Cup) vs. 3 day showcases(3 days Surf Cup) for ECNL
- DA has 5 travel weekends for league games where they have to get on a plane vs. 1 or 2 travel weekends for ECNL Plane tickets, hotels, car rentals, and meals start to add up.
- DA mandates 4 mandatory practice days vs. 2-3 mandatory practice days for ECNL teams in the area. Those costs for the extra training days are passed on as coaching fees.

It may be different in SoCal, but that's the reason why the DA parents in the Nocal forum made those comments about travel and cost.

Um, I just looked at MVLA's U16 ECNL schedule, and I see travel to Arizona for three day events-- 2 times in the season-- more travel for a single conference game in Washington and possibly one in Utah. Then even more travel to San Diego for Surf Cup or Silverlakes down in Norco also which I believe they attended in the fall. So yeah.

 

[Real Deal]

From Soccer America (link below):

"It is estimated the average cost to participate in ECNL is about $8,000 to $10,000 annually when all the related expenses are added up."

https://www.socceramerica.com/publications/article/64385/should-my-daughter-play-ecnl.html

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that DA isn't expensive also (unless fully funded)... just is what it is... has become another very high-priced club sport like hockey or volleyball for those on the top teams.

 

[davin]

Um, I just looked at MVLA's U16 ECNL schedule, and I see travel to Arizona for three day events-- 2 times in the season-- more travel for a single conference game in Washington and possibly one in Utah. Then even more travel to San Diego for Surf Cup or Silverlakes down in Norco also which I believe they attended in the fall. So yeah.

How is that different than anything I wrote?
MVLA U16 has 2 ECNL showcases that are 3 days long and some 3 day tournaments. Earthquakes DA has 2 mandatory showcases that are 5 days long and spent 5 days at Surf.
MVLA U16 has 2 travel weekends out of area for league games. Earthquakes DA has 5 travel weekends out of area for league games.

 

[Real Deal]

How is that different than anything I wrote?
MVLA U16 has 2 ECNL showcases that are 3 days long and some 3 day tournaments. Earthquakes DA has 2 mandatory showcases that are 5 days long and spent 5 days at Surf.
MVLA U16 has 2 travel weekends out of area for league games. Earthquakes DA has 5 travel weekends out of area for league games.

Look, I don't want to argue. Both formats have a good deal of travel and cost a lot of money. Period.

 

[MarkM]

How is that different than anything I wrote?
MVLA U16 has 2 ECNL showcases that are 3 days long and some 3 day tournaments. Earthquakes DA has 2 mandatory showcases that are 5 days long and spent 5 days at Surf.
MVLA U16 has 2 travel weekends out of area for league games. Earthquakes DA has 5 travel weekends out of area for league games.

Teams play 3 games over 4 days. The entire event is 5 days for all the age groups, but showcase games for each team are over 4 days. So it's 3 days for ECNL vs. 4 days for GDA.

Sounds like Socal has it much easier than Nocal. But one thing you are totally ignoring is that MVLA will travel out of area for more non-league games than the Earthquakes. All good Nocal teams have to travel out of area if they want to get consistently good competition. Either you can do it all under one league format (GDA) or you can do some of it in the league (ECNL) and some of it through independent tournaments, such as Surf. There should be more of an apples to apples to comparison of total costs.

 

[davin]

Teams play 3 games over 4 days. The entire event is 5 days for all the age groups, but showcase games for each team are over 4 days. So it's 3 days for ECNL vs. 4 days for GDA.

Sounds like Socal has it much easier than Nocal. But one thing you are totally ignoring is that MVLA will travel out of area for more non-league games than the Earthquakes. All good Nocal teams have to travel out of area if they want to get consistently good competition. Either you can do it all under one league format (GDA) or you can do some of it in the league (ECNL) and some of it through independent tournaments, such as Surf. There should be more of an apples to apples to comparison of total costs.

My kid is an MVLA 04. We travel out of the area for more games than the Quakes? Please...

 

[davin]

Look, I don't want to argue. Both formats have a good deal of travel and cost a lot of money. Period.

Not trying to argue, either. Just trying to give you background on why the Nocal DA parents were complaining about cost and travel, since you were wondering about it in your previous post.

 

[SimpleSoccer]

I think it’s fair to say that SoCal DA are very fortunate compared to NorCal and other states due to the amount of local teams. Having 13 out of the 14 teams in the conference being from SoCal makes the travel expense for league cheaper and the fact that the only team not from the area is within (a long) drivable distance means you can get away with no flights for a single league games if you really want. Showcases are comparable other than you may get an extra night in a hotel etc which could be $100-$200 more but doesn’t impact travel costs.

For SoCal, ECNL has more travel cost for league games as there are 2 out of state teams (Heat & Sereno) and last year actually had 3 as Del Sol were there to. This might mean ECNL last year was more than DA is this year for league.

Interesting about the comment in club fees going up because of the 4 days training as opposed to doing 2/3. If you’re right and this has happened in NorCal is this also the case at all the SoCal teams? Has the cost of club/coaching fees at programs like Slammers, Blues, Surf etc changed drastically for their DA teams as opposed to what it was for the same players the previous year in ECNL? Also has this years ECNL players club fees gone up this year to subcidize the DA Program?

Hard to compare the difference in clubs like Beach or Legends as they weren’t in ECNL so if their fees changed a lot I could understand. I suppose Real SoCal and Eagles may be interesting ones to as they don’t have both but have dropped ECNL for DA so did their fees stay consistent of go up?

 

[Justafan]

Right there with you, the lack of flexibility will probably be the reason my DD leaves DA after this season as well. She's heavily involved in academics and other sports and with 9th grade next year, it's very much a "soccer and nothing else" persona with DA and with that little room to breathe it makes the kids chose where as with ECNL they didn't have to.

Best of luck @splinter keep me posted and hit me up. Long time no talk!

Got a spot waiting for you on our team.

 

[splinter]

I think both DA and ECNL have plenty of travel but I know for a fact there are more ecnl teams and coaches that are willing to work with players that do multiple sports. If you do DA I don’t know one program that will support your dd playing another sport. I think there is more flexibility with ecnl and top flight 1 teams as well.

 

[shales1002]

The only parents that seem obsessed with GDA are those with kids playing in ECNL, particularly those national team parents that are forced to play their kids in ECNL because of GDA's geographic limitations.

GDA is a league with slightly different rules and requirements than ECNL. You all need to get over it. We are fortunate to have so many options.

Why would a "National Team Parent" whose kid is already there be obsessed with being in GDA? The geographic limitations apparently haven't hurt their player, they haven't given up everything to try to make the cut, they are still playing at high level in ECNL, and they still get to be teenage girls. @MarkM your logic seems kinda off to me.

 

[MarkM]

Why would a "National Team Parent" whose kid is already there be obsessed with being in GDA? The geographic limitations apparently haven't hurt their player, they haven't given up everything to try to make the cut, they are still playing at high level in ECNL, and they still get to be teenage girls. @MarkM your logic seems kinda off to me.

I didn't say those parents are obsessed with being in GDA. I said obsessed with GDA - as in obsessed with trolling GDA.

 

[LadiesMan217]

I think it’s fair to say that SoCal DA are very fortunate compared to NorCal and other states due to the amount of local teams. Having 13 out of the 14 teams in the conference being from SoCal makes the travel expense for league cheaper and the fact that the only team not from the area is within (a long) drivable distance means you can get away with no flights for a single league games if you really want. Showcases are comparable other than you may get an extra night in a hotel etc which could be $100-$200 more but doesn’t impact travel costs.

For SoCal, ECNL has more travel cost for league games as there are 2 out of state teams (Heat & Sereno) and last year actually had 3 as Del Sol were there to. This might mean ECNL last year was more than DA is this year for league.

Interesting about the comment in club fees going up because of the 4 days training as opposed to doing 2/3. If you’re right and this has happened in NorCal is this also the case at all the SoCal teams? Has the cost of club/coaching fees at programs like Slammers, Blues, Surf etc changed drastically for their DA teams as opposed to what it was for the same players the previous year in ECNL? Also has this years ECNL players club fees gone up this year to subcidize the DA Program?

Hard to compare the difference in clubs like Beach or Legends as they weren’t in ECNL so if their fees changed a lot I could understand. I suppose Real SoCal and Eagles may be interesting ones to as they don’t have both but have dropped ECNL for DA so did their fees stay consistent of go up?

Fees went down in all cases that I know of.

 

[Real Deal]

I think both DA and ECNL have plenty of travel but I know for a fact there are more ecnl teams and coaches that are willing to work with players that do multiple sports. If you do DA I don’t know one program that will support your dd playing another sport. I think there is more flexibility with ecnl and top flight 1 teams as well.

I've had kids in several sports. If your child is on a top, high level team in any team sport, and they consistently miss practices and/or games for another sport, they will jeopardize their starting spot and see less playing time. As the kids get older, the expected level of commitment increases in every sport. I'm not saying that is good, but it's how it is.

 

[shales1002]

I didn't say those parents are obsessed with being in GDA. I said obsessed with GDA - as in obsessed with trolling GDA.

Honestly, I don't hear ECNL parents complaining. Their DD now get to do EVERYTHING that GDA players can't. So, I see the exact opposite. GDA parents are trying to convince themselves that it's worth the sacrifice. No high school, no social life, nothing more than soccer. I understand if GDA is in your backyard makes total sense. I Understand if your player is that 1%. However, commuting long distances four times a week is asinine.