Honestly, I'm not trying to make a big deal of the loss.., but it is a sympton of a larger problem which is selectivty based on what league you play in. This you cannot deny. I'm not blaming the league itself but I am blaming the folks running it and making decisions based on ego as Sheriff Joe mentions above.
DA and ECNL
- Thread starter Desert Hound
- Start date
People how is this dumb? Look at the numbers... they're not right. It's biased. Again, I'm not bagging on the kids that are there, but the selection process is super flawed because of league bias.
shales1002
GOLD
As @MakeAPlay has said time and time again, if our country is to be successful, you have to pick the best players and best coaches. Until we do that this we will continue to lag behind.
shales1002
GOLD
The 04/05 players this year have ONE year GDA. No ECNL. Most of those players play up on 03 teams anyways. Girls are talented, but conclusions can be drawn on this fact alone.
MakeAPlay
DA
When you make statements backed up by facts that fly in the face of people’s ignorance it brings out the haters. Great post!
MakeAPlay
DA
US Soccer is to blame. The GDA is just an illustration and symptom of their lunacy.
So this incompetence by US Soccer for not taking more 03’s right? That’s your excuse for the loss, so they f’d up by not taking more 03’s, whose fault is that?
I “think” US Soccer cares most about the full senior team. So maybe by sacrificing a loss in a youth national team game, USSF feels that playing younger players gives us a better chance at remaining on top when these players are adults.
But probably not. They probably just took players they knew would be loyal to DA or that had a connection with USSF or were willing to give up time at the mall or going on a family vacation to play a silly tournament.
Simisoccerfan
PREMIER
Dude it’s just one loss. Take a chill pill.
Simisoccerfan
PREMIER
I think it’s silly that you make this into a DA vs ECNL thing. There are 32 teams in this tournament. Only one team will win it.
Just calling you out on being so quick to make an excuse. Your knee-jerk excuse actually put you in a “logical” hole because either what Dubs said is right or US Soccer is incompetent for not taking more 03’s.
If you would have omitted the “excuse” I would agree with you that one game doesn’t tell the whole story. In fact I watched most of the 1st half of the Jamaica game and they looked damn good! Crisp, clean passing, nice midfield play, and very creative in the final 3rd. They looked 1000x better than the U-20’s. But again, I only watched one half and it was against Jamaica.
Simisoccerfan
PREMIER
That was not an excuse, just sharing some facts that this is a very young team An excuse would have been saying something like they would have won if they picked the best 03’s. Or they lost because they picked players loyal to the DA. Or US Soccer cares more about the senior team. Or the selection process is flawed. If I had said any of those statements then I would have been offering excuses.
It's not about one loss and not about DA vs ECNL. This loss is just a manifestation of the mistakes that are being made. US Soccer seems to select individual "superstars" that are not necessarily creative play makers that can perform as a team under intense competition. Of course the team looked good against Jamaica, it wasn't a very good team so most teams can look good when playing a lesser quality team.
The team is very young but that is most likely because the older U15 team is going to the China tournament next week. It stills is indicative of US Soccer thinking certain players are the best no matter what age and repeatedly overlook other players to pull up youngers. Are there no other '03's that deserve an opportunity to prove their value to the system. There was one superstar in the Portugal game that couldn't seem to figure out how to get into the game and make a contribution.
The team is very young but that is most likely because the older U15 team is going to the China tournament next week. It stills is indicative of US Soccer thinking certain players are the best no matter what age and repeatedly overlook other players to pull up youngers. Are there no other '03's that deserve an opportunity to prove their value to the system. There was one superstar in the Portugal game that couldn't seem to figure out how to get into the game and make a contribution.
I cannot believe how bias that US Soccer is toward SoCal players. The numbers don't lie.
LadiesMan217
GOLD
I cannot believe anyone expects the US women to win these days now that other countries are building programs. Our training has been driven by clubs that are popular with the good players and their parents like Slammers and Blues, etc. where development is not a priority and getting all the good players on one team, egos, and winning is most important.
Chris Knight
SILVER
Agreed timbuck --
Not only were the majority of the current club coaches of these U15 WNT kids coaching at the same level for the same clubs in the ECNL just over a year ago, but, even more pertinent to the argument, the majority of the 03 kids were playing in the ECNL and the majority of the 04/05 kids would've been now. (Not to say that a handful haven't now gone back, but ...) It just happens to be a fact that the majority of the traditionally top performing ECNL clubs went DA prior to last year ... Thus, the majority of the top talent currently selected for those teams are from DA clubs.
Easy peasy.
Soccerfan2
GOLD
Good article. A difference the author neglected to highlight is GDA club oversight by and accountability to US Soccer. A number of posters on this forum think little of US Soccer, but I wonder how many of those criticisms come from actual experience and how many are just grumbling based on uninformed assumptions. I see the oversight as a definite positive so far. I’d like to see ECNL survive just long enough to pressure GDA into relaxing the HS prohibition. After that, I hope it collapses because there are a handful of players sticking to ECNL that I’d like my kid to play against. One national platform is better than two.
MakeAPlay
DA
Says the uLittle parent....
Soccerfan2
GOLD
Your position is noted MAP, and I do respect your experience. I’ll keep my eyes open.
The ECNL is not going to collapse. Pick your team, coach, and league based on what you think is best for your player but don't be confused about US Soccer.