ECNL vs. DA turf war has created a 'toxic environment'
- Thread starter VegasParent
- Start date
dk_b
GOLD
HS remains the critical piece and will be hard change for GDA w/o decentralizing scheduling. DA's hold on the golden ticket (YNT invite) is pretty significant, too, but that does not impact a large # (though it is in US Soccer's interest to make it seem like it) - those who are impacted by this, however, are really put in a tough spot (esp with such uneven talent and competition in DA in so many places).
I'm a believer in parental and player choice so I'd like to see US Soccer relent on the HS ban. If a player is so good to be youth national team caliber, taking 3 to 4 months to play HS soccer will not hurt development (if it does, either the player or her coaches are not all that). And it allows the kid to be a kid - to connect with community, to play with friends, to relax a bit. Is it right for everyone? It may not be but that should be a parent/player call, not an organizational one. It lines up perfectly for the 6 states that play high school soccer in the winter. The problem are the other 44.
I'm a believer in parental and player choice so I'd like to see US Soccer relent on the HS ban. If a player is so good to be youth national team caliber, taking 3 to 4 months to play HS soccer will not hurt development (if it does, either the player or her coaches are not all that). And it allows the kid to be a kid - to connect with community, to play with friends, to relax a bit. Is it right for everyone? It may not be but that should be a parent/player call, not an organizational one. It lines up perfectly for the 6 states that play high school soccer in the winter. The problem are the other 44.
Dos Equis
GOLD
Agreed -- US Soccer should have worked with ECNL on some training and development initiatives, then created perhaps 20 Girls DA progam's nationwide. Arrange for it to be fully funded (except travel, which would still be selectively funded by needs based scholarships). I have previously outlined how these teams could find competition, provided US Soccer is willing to actually think outside the "league", reciprocate and play nice with others.
Thankfully, we have the excellent competition and coaching in college soccer on the women's side to keep our national team talent pipeline flowing.
I was so looking forward to ECNL back in the day. Then this new drug came out called DA. I was all over it. I thought (like a guy) this is awesome!!!! However, my dd who has a mind of her own said, "no dad, I want to play HS Soccer with my friends and if the DA says no, then I don't play in the league."
Let DA kids play High School. Have "National Team" camps during HS season. If you are called into camp, you choose to play HS or not.
dk_b
GOLD
It’s not that easy when only 6 states play high school in winter and about half of the remainder play in fall and the other group in spring. Hey, I’d like that change but unless US soccer wants to give up scheduling to clubs and teams for league games (as ECNL does), I don’t see it happening. If 50 states played in winter, it would be a different story but how does MN or IL or NY count on decent weather to train and play?
What do DA teams in cold weather states do in the winter?
And not a DA issue but more of a high school issue - Why isnt high school soccer the same season everywhere ?
Football is a fall sport Basketball is a winter sport Baseball is a spring sport Pretty sure that’s the way it is across the entire country
And not a DA issue but more of a high school issue - Why isnt high school soccer the same season everywhere ?
Football is a fall sport Basketball is a winter sport Baseball is a spring sport Pretty sure that’s the way it is across the entire country
dk_b
GOLD
There is little programming in the winter from what I can see - a showcase I think. And prob some off the pitch training (I’m speculating because my kids don’t play DA).
Football - decent fall weather everywhere. Little snow.
Basketball - indoors in the winter.
Baseball - decent spring weather everywhere. Little snow though some states have exceptionally short seasons.
Soccer in the winter everywhere? Do most high schools have access to full-sized indoor fields?
Football - decent fall weather everywhere. Little snow.
Basketball - indoors in the winter.
Baseball - decent spring weather everywhere. Little snow though some states have exceptionally short seasons.
Soccer in the winter everywhere? Do most high schools have access to full-sized indoor fields?
Point well taken, but I actually believe it’s super easy. Who cares when HS season is! When it rolls around you take the 24-30 super talented kids and put them in a camp with YNT coaches and you can play boys teams, travel to play other countries (in SoCal you’d have thanksgiving, Christmas, MLK, & presidents vacation days). The point is to identify YNT team players right? So it would give these coaches a chance to see kids from all parts of the country at different times. They do not have to play against each other in a league. AND of course, let all the rest play HS.
dk_b
GOLD
But it is always high school season in this country. You can’t make it be X season of the year because it is more convenient for YNT camps. For example, how many SoCal high schools can accommodate fall high school with football also using the fields? Or spring with track or (in NorCal) lacrosse? (When I was a kid, soccer was fall but they used the crap fields not the HS stadium)
We are really talking about 3-4 kids per state, per age group- at the most.
And really if we are taking about pulling in 40 kids for national team consideration it probably breaks down like this:
5 from CA (south and north)
5 from TX
5 from FL
4 from IL
4 from NY
17 from the “rest of the country”. (Michigan, Carolinas, Georgia, Pac NW, AZ/NM/NV/UT will each have at least 1)
And really if we are taking about pulling in 40 kids for national team consideration it probably breaks down like this:
5 from CA (south and north)
5 from TX
5 from FL
4 from IL
4 from NY
17 from the “rest of the country”. (Michigan, Carolinas, Georgia, Pac NW, AZ/NM/NV/UT will each have at least 1)
dk_b
GOLD
And because the "goal" for US Soccer is to find those 40, the only concern about "the rest" is whether they help to adequately allow the 40 or so to be identified. The high-end elite athletes make plenty of sacrifices that it is a bummer (to me, anyway) that literally thousands have to shut off playing for their schools in service to the 40 (don't jump on me if your player eschews HS soccer - I respect that choice and support it IF it is being made by the player and parent)
MakeAPlay
DA
They tend to do that. Just wait for when she is in college and you are funding her life and you have to ask HER to give you all of her grades and you have to walk HER through all the "adulting" that they have to do since as 18 year olds they are legally adults....
I will tell you that for my player, playing for her high school team for 4 years has been just as important for her success in college as playing ECNL/ODP/YNT was for her. Your player will be playing with and against players that are up to 5 years older than them. That matters.....
Make no mistake...The biggest egomaniac in this equation is US Soccer. ECNL tried to work with them from the beginning once they announced DA. It would only make sense to come together collaboratively, but US Soccer gave ECNL the finger and now here we are. The pissing match continues with a bunch of kids getting overlooked. It's a joke.
Explain please.
Let's move HS Soccer to middle of August. 2 months plus playoffs. ECNL/DA can start November 1st. Be open until Dec 15. Pick up Jan 5th and go until May. Have one showcase during Spring Break on the West Coast and one on East Coast. Run your YNT Camps during high school season. If you're a stud and you get called in then you have a choice to make. Being told crap like this, "the scouts see some real positives things with ur dd and she "could" get the call so dont play HS" is the problem. Its laughable today but two years ago it wasnt. #letthemdoboth........
vegasguy
GOLD
Wouldn't it be cool to have a relegation system for the two leagues on both the boys and girls side. Now player movement would be a huge concern but the matches would always be good and fighting for something. National Events could be like Champions League and Europa League.. You could have regional tournaments blending the the two flights like the FA Cup.. oh wait we need to all be on the same page... I forgot about that.
MakeAPlay
DA
Summer break is travel season for families. Putting it during August assures that the top college coaches can't come see the kids play (outside of Surf Cup they are dark during August due to double days and training camp). With a country as vast as ours there is no single solution other than to let them play and take a break for the camp if they are called in. It was working before why change that component.
dk_b
GOLD
I live in an urban area, like a lot of folks around the country. Having boys/girls soccer/football simultaneously would be an impossibility given our field constraints. As it is, my kid’s HS has 6 teams - frosh/JV/Var - that have to be accommodated on a single field during school hours. Adding in JV/Var football (or maybe even frosh/JV/Var) is a non-starter. I suspect we are not terribly unique. Suggestions that are broadly applicable have to consider all variables - many that may not appear in SoCal or NorCal (weather, for example). I like the theory behind your suggestion but I think there are many practical constraints.
Kinda of like the Greasers vs the Socs...lol