DA and ECNL

Soccer said:
Let’s get caught up:

Last Year - RSC and Eagles lost ECNL due to picking DA. They were not allowed to keep both. ECNL had criteria in place that you had to have won an ECNL national championship to keep both. Blues, Surf, Slammers, West Coast did.

Surf was given an ultimatum by DA this year. But struck a deal somehow they are keeping both.

West Coast given same ultimatum. Chose DA. Nothing to due with becoming OC Surf. I think this was an easy choice for West Coast as their ECNL teams are struggling as are their DA teams.

From what I hear ECNL not adding any SoCal clubs this year, but that might change.
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Most Regions have 8-10 ECNL clubs. The Southwest Region has 9. SoCal is a different market than Mass or NJ. SoCal = 22 Million, New Jersey = 9M, and Mass is 6.9 M. SoCal could be broken into two ECNL regions and still be competitive. That said, the DA has effectively performed the split. In SoCal the DA is here to stay and ECNL isn't going to grow, but by 1 club.
 
not sure about the DA being here to stay - seems not everyone is on the same page on that. lots of questions, lots of rumors, lots of different thoughts after this first year.
 
MWN said:
Most Regions have 8-10 ECNL clubs. The Southwest Region has 9. SoCal is a different market than Mass or NJ. SoCal = 22 Million, New Jersey = 9M, and Mass is 6.9 M. SoCal could be broken into two ECNL regions and still be competitive. That said, the DA has effectively performed the split. In SoCal the DA is here to stay and ECNL isn't going to grow, but by 1 club.
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Where are they going to get the talent?
 
Sheriff Joe said:
Where are they going to get the talent?
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Easy...like this.
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In case anyone is interested, below is the e-mail that the Michigan Hawks sent out to their membership about why they chose ECNL over DA and their plans for next year in ECNL. They will have two ECNL teams at each age group. One team is a 10-month commitment, and the other is only a 6-month commitment that allows players to play soccer in high school. Members of both teams are given the choice to play other sports in high school. I believe that the other big clubs who left DA to compete only in ECNL are following the same model.

From the Michigan Hawks:
The ECNL's holistic approach to the development of the entire player was one of the biggest reasons for our decision. We believe that we can provide a better overall experience for each of our players and families within the programming of the ECNL. Another important factor in this decision was our ability to include our first two teams into the ECNL for the 2018-2019 season. They have decided that based on the performance of our teams in the league this year, we will be able to have two teams participate moving forward. This gives us the ability to provide 30-40 kids in each age group the opportunity to compete at this elite level.

So, what does that mean? What will next year look like?

The club's plan in 2018-2019 for the 2005s will be to offer 2 ECNL teams to players. Both teams will be on a 10-month program, that will include conference games, ECNL Showcases and friendly weekends vs top clubs spread over the entire year.

The club's plan for the 2001s-2004s will be to offer 2 different team options to our players. The first will be a 10-month ECNL program, that will include conference games, ECNL Showcases and friendly weekends vs top clubs spread over the entire year. This team will be selected based on ability first and then the willingness of the player to commit to the 10-month calendar. Players on this team will be allowed to participate in other high school sports, just not soccer. This year round program has been a formula for success for our elite players for the last 5 years.

The Michigan Hawks will also offer 6-month ECNL programming for players, for those players that would like to play high school. The only difference for this group will be that they will play their conference schedule and showcases in the fall and winter, finishing up in early March, before high school starts. There will be an option for a spring showcase team for these players on the 6-month team that choose not to play in high school.
 
Simisoccerfan said:
Interesting that they are now going to have a no HS Soccer ECNL team.
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Appreciate that the HS soccer season for Massachusetts in in the fall (in California its Winter) and the ECNL in the NW conference plays from Fall through Spring. In the SW the conference doesn't schedule games in Dec-Feb to accommodate HS soccer). Other areas of the nation simply don't have the weather conditions that allow the flexibility we have in SoCal and must maximize their schedules accordingly.
 
MWN said:
Appreciate that the HS soccer season for Massachusetts in in the fall (in California its Winter) and the ECNL in the NW conference plays from Fall through Spring. In the SW the conference doesn't schedule games in Dec-Feb to accommodate HS soccer). Other areas of the nation simply don't have the weather conditions that allow the flexibility we have in SoCal and must maximize their schedules accordingly.
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This is very similar to the DA program. Various areas of the country play HS in Fall, Winter, or Spring so it makes it very difficult to have any sort of National League and to hold showcases that all can attend and still play HS. Plus every HS I know of bans HS players from playing on outside teams during their season.
 
Simisoccerfan said:
This is very similar to the DA program. Various areas of the country play HS in Fall, Winter, or Spring so it makes it very difficult to have any sort of National League and to hold showcases that all can attend and still play HS. Plus every HS I know of bans HS players from playing on outside teams during their season.
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I don't know what the number is now, but this article claims, as of 2011, 26 states had eliminated the ban on playing on outside teams during the HS season: https://www.mercurynews.com/2014/01...ub-sports-participation-during-school-season/
 
Just curious if anyone has noticed any significant differences in their recruiting experience since the NCAA implemented their new “early recruiting” rules a couple of weeks ago? From what I’ve seen and heard the new rule change haven’t changed things all that much. I can’t speak for DA teams, but I am aware of a couple of teams (‘03 and ‘02 ECNL teams) that have had multiple college coaches attend their practices and games since the rule went into effect. Sounds like there is still a great deal of interest in the younger groups?
 
Pitch pop said:
Just curious if anyone has noticed any significant differences in their recruiting experience since the NCAA implemented their new “early recruiting” rules a couple of weeks ago? From what I’ve seen and heard the new rule change haven’t changed things all that much. I can’t speak for DA teams, but I am aware of a couple of teams (‘03 and ‘02 ECNL teams) that have had multiple college coaches attend their practices and games since the rule went into effect. Sounds like there is still a great deal of interest in the younger groups?
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Based on the communication and analysis I have heard/seen, the most impactful change on youngers is the inability to do an unofficial visit prior to Junior year. Since most of these occur for the dual purpose of the player getting to know the team/culture/school and the team getting to better assess the player's personality/fit prior to the verbal commit, they occur during the school year from September-April. So I think the impact will start to be felt on the '03 (and a lesser extent '04) players next fall.

Some coaches may delay giving verbal offers pending this visit, while some players may be faced with making a decision to verbally commit with less opportunity to get familiar the program they are committing to. Someone who is more a student of game theory may be able to make a more informed prediction on how coaches might react, since the rules do not appear to prohibit verbal commits at any time.

There will also be an impact on '02s starting in the fall, who may now be offered an official visit as a way to show some love and sell the school.
 
Talking to a local coach today he said his club has seen a lot more college coach interest in 03s during April.
 
davin said:
Eclipse Select is now confirmed as dropping DA and is All In for ECNL.

https://www.eclipseselect.org/2018/05/eclipse-select-are-ecnl-all-in-for-the-2018-19-season/
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Multivitamin said:
a 4th Big soccer club based right out of Chicago is done with GDA.
ECLIPSE - ALL IN ECNL!

https://www.socceramerica.com/publi...eclipse-select-sc-is-latest-club-to-leav.html
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....informative reads. Grapevine is that more are to follow. Love/hate DA doesn't matter but this exodus of major clubs was not anticipated. Where this leaves DA as an upstart national league when all is said and done is yet to be known. One thing for sure is that the first DA season is ending on a down note.
 
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