MakeAPlay
DA
It was there I saw it. They must be redoing the message.
Girls Development Academy
- Thread starter Swoosh
- Start date
It was there I saw it. They must be redoing the message.
While they are a traditionally strong program, DA is growing rapidly. Look at this same announcement on the Michigan site. Of course, this is a total for Boys and Girls and the majority of the adds are boys, but plenty of girls clubs and teams.
Sheriff Joe
DA
Does anyone know if the Boys DA had this problem early on or do boys not care as much as the girls about HS soccer?
El Clasico
GOLD
Notice my post is specific to the GDA (Girls Development Academy)
El Clasico
GOLD
Boys side has bigger problems....10 years in and they have yet to produce a viable product. I think it is pretty well understood by those participating, that BDA is a pathway to college rather than the original intent of developing players for the MNT.
Does it really matter how many clubs they add if they lose Michigan Hawks, Eclipse and PDA? Michigan and PDA are 2 of the top 10 GDA clubs in the country. Eclipse is top 20. This is big news.
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MakeAPlay
DA
It's a good starting point for the elite boys of the US. The ones that have the chops though try to get on an international team. FC Dallas is awesome for finding overseas destinations for players.
MakeAPlay
DA
You are correct and if you really dig deep over the past 10 years those are 3 of the top 6 clubs in the country.
Added 3 GDAs. Only one I heard of is Utah Royals (NWSL).
So you feel this is a death kneel for the GDA?
I think its a big blow, but the system will continue forward.
I'm not surprised once I looked at the schedules after the Florida showcase. I saw how the middle of the country takes nearly a 3 month break due to weather and how far some of these teams travel.
What are the players suppose to do during that break when their counterparts in So Cal go year around? ECNL allows them to keep playing during high school and keep in shape and developing while playing games. Big difference.
Thing for me is my kids play here in So Cal and the best overall competition for the $ is the GDA to me, along with the cirriculum. If the GDA grows like the BDA, eventually those clubs will return and US Socxer will welcome them with open arms. Look at how many boys clubs are flocking to the DA system now.
The real question is how much patience will US Soccer have to grow the program and make the proper adjustments? No, I don't see them allowing high school.
MakeAPlay
DA
On the boys side serious dilution is going on. When everybody is elite then nobody is elite. The best players on the boys side don't play DA for long. They go pro. We have a flawed system on the boys side of DA and now we have thrown a monkey wrench in the works on the girls side. I am curious as to how this will sort itself out.
Multivitamin
BRONZE
Forums around the country are verifying that these clubs below are leaving GDA.
These are high level clubs with multiple national titles and National players.
There is more but these have let it be known as of today!
PDA
ECLIPSE
FC STARS
HAWKS
These are high level clubs with multiple national titles and National players.
There is more but these have let it be known as of today!
PDA
ECLIPSE
FC STARS
HAWKS
El Clasico
GOLD
I agree but it is only because DA needs FC Dallas more than FC Dallas needs DA. The founder of FC Dallas has been very outspoken about the need for elite players to bail out of DA and head to Europe (if you have the option). You can be sure that USSF is not happy about him being outspoken and they reluctantly roster players developed in Europe out of necessity. They know they can't win without them. I don't see this changing anytime soon. So Sad!
Multivitamin
BRONZE
One of the others that are rumored to be leaving GDA is Crossfire Premier.
The MLS may not be happy, but I don't think the USSF really cares because the USSF knows that the DA is merely phase 1 in development. Phase II for the men, is skip college and go play professionally for 4-6 years. Phase III make National team.
The girls have an entirely different path. Phase I - ECNL/DA. Phase II - College. Phase III make national team and keep you skills up while playing for a semi-professional financially struggling subsidized woman's team.
MakeAPlay
DA
That is yet another top club....
Do you guys think these programs are partially pulling out because they aren't getting the results they are use to concerning victories. With the clubs pulling out I'm seeing that even in the divisions they lead, they aren't just dominating in most cases. What brought this to mind is how the announcement says "most competitive regional competition possible". Reading that I figured these clubs were just drilling the competition and dominating. I see they are winning (like they always have since they are top clubs nationally), but they aren't dominating at will.
Check it out..
http://www.ussoccerda.com/sam/standings/league/standings.php?leagueId=MTAwOA==
Just a sample - #1 and 2 in their conference - #12 & 15 in the playoff contention.
Check it out..
http://www.ussoccerda.com/sam/standings/league/standings.php?leagueId=MTAwOA==
Just a sample - #1 and 2 in their conference - #12 & 15 in the playoff contention.
Thank you. Its one of the shortest posts I have written in a very long time.
The mistake US Soccer is making regarding the girls DA stems from the fact that the girls DA was never needed because of the player path. Digging deeper, appreciate that he girls DA is a response to litigation threats from the women regarding inequality between the men's and woman's national team (i.e. fields and pay). Their position was that the Federation systemically treats women unequally and used the boys DA as evidence of that. Their argument was, we are paid less, we have to play in inferior stadiums and on artifical turf and the Federation doesn't even have a girls DA after 8 years. The response by the federation was to increase pay for the women, avoid artificial turf fields, funnel more subsidies into the WPSL, and start the girls DA (knowing that the clubs via the parents would be paying the lion share of the cost).
At the time, everybody was happy with the ECNL, but truth be told, the women shot themselves in the foot with the girls DA by trying to play under the same rules as the boys. Whether this works out in the end will ultimately depend on the U.S. public finding an appetite for women's team sports and soccer ... so maybe sometime in the year 2093.
MakeAPlay
DA
Those records look pretty dominant.