Was asking if this new GPS had gotten ECNL or DA as the poster described it as a "Truly elite option" and I'm somewhat out the loop of the SD region since moving. The description just doesn't seem accurate when teams/kids are shut out of competing against and with the best teams/kids at under 13 and above.....I'm not a fan of the way things are but it's the environment that's been created, at least in so cal. I'm pleased Mindes (appreciate your insight on him) is going to offer a good coaching option to the other names in the area as it's truly sad how mega clubs have been created and all families funneled into them....pleased to hear soccer in your family is going well and hopefully your younger DD gets the multiple D1-D3 offers that your older one got
I will say that the entire system has really had a changeup with the recruiting rules. At 11, my older was already positioned for an ECNL team (this was prior to DA) and preparing to start ID camps this summer. It was a ridiculous time. Had it not been for injury, my older would have committed in 9th grade and would now be regretting that decision. But, times have changed, for the better...
Fast forward to today, my younger isn't even playing on a girls team permanently. She plays with boys and guests on girls' teams for tourneys. She's now 11 and we have NO pressure to get her on an ECNL or DA team. We have no recruiting pressure to start ID camps this summer either. Everything has slowed down with the new recruiting rules and we are taking advantage of that. Now we have time.
You talk about visibility and player level, my older is headed to a school she found on her own, while attending another ID camp back east. Not one coach from her first DA club helped facilitate anything! She had all the conversations herself, sent the coaches film, gave them her tourney schedule and built the relationship herself. I'm not going to say that there aren't a ton of college coaches at DA and ECNL events, but many of these same coaches also attend Surf Cup, Silverlakes Showcase, Jefferson Cup and a few other large ones in the East and South. There are great teams in ECNL and DA and some pretty sucky ones as well. Just take a look at some of the game scores from last week in Florida.
At 15/16, our older DD became VERY focused on her career path and what degree and type of school she wanted to study at. So her top 7 schools were very narrow and specific. If our younger ends up this focused, I would say our money is better spent at 7 ID camps and building a relationship with her top choices and playing on the top team in her league, whatever that may be. Playing up is also an option, which I have seen work very well for good players.
If a player shows interest and has talent, schools take note, regardless if their club is DA or ENCL or DPL or none of the above. Maybe if they are YNT (aka, a unicorn) or something like that, it might make a huge difference, but for the above average player that wants to play in college, the game has changed and coaches know it. Talent can be found on various levels as the talent pool is spread more and more thin. Again, I won't say it isn't "easier" to be seen more often at DA or ECNL, but it's not the "end al be al"l either. There are plenty of DA and ECNL players at U18, not recruited yet and many colleges are still needing players. I'll put a link up below.
I can't tell our future for our younger, but I can say the soccer climate is very different than it was 6 years ago. I just don't know if I feel the pressure to be on a DA or ECNL team without consideration of the coach or club culture, the way I did for my older. I hope I'm right and more competition will generate more choices. There should be many paths, not just 1 or 2.
Here's the college "need" list:
We polled DI college coaches nationwide to see what recruiting needs they still have for the 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 graduating classes. See what positions they are still looking to fill.
www.topdrawersoccer.com