Girls Development Academy

shales1002 said:
It is not my contention that every state should have a GDA. It is my contention that ECNL definitely reaches far more players and successfully. There are some excellent players in Hawaii, Nevada, Ohio. There are no GDA clubs.

There are more than three girls from Vegas playing in SoCal but hey you said 90% of girls will be servicesd by GDA. Secondly, your map reading skills aren't up to par. Perhaps a geography course would help.
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Sorry Shales, but here was your original contention:
shales1002 said:
Certainly not the nail in the coffin. As is most of the country is not participating in GDA. 3/4 of the country not able to participate in GDA.
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I can't believe that I am having this discussion with you...My map reading skills are phenomenal, and geography is a hobby. Maybe your comprehension of population concentration is off, or maybe you are just trying to promote ECNL over the United States Soccer Girls Development Academy. Either way, you can't be so naive to think that 75% of the country is not able to participate in the GDA. (75% is a fancy way of saying 3/4.) Capeesh? Do you really think that only 25% of the country is exposed to the GDA? Isn't that exactly what you said? Or "most of the country is not participating in GDA"? Just to help you out, again, way more than half of the US population is being serviced by GDA clubs, and colloquially, I would say it is reaching 90% of the population.

shales1002 said:
There are some excellent players in Hawaii, Nevada, Ohio. There are no GDA clubs.
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There is 1 GDA club in Ohio, 1 in Indiana, 3 in Michigan, and 3 in Illinois. Yes, unfortunately, there are a few good players in some unrepresented areas, but to say that "most of the country", or 75% of the country, is not able to participate in the GDA is blatantly false and completely disingenuous.
 
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outside! said:
Everybody seems to be arguing over a point that is an issue for both GDA and ECNL. They are both closed systems with no relegation and more importantly, no way for a deserving team from a small club to get in. At least with USYS Nationals, there is a path for any team from anywhere to make it to the top levels and get exposure (for both the players and the coaches).

ECNL did many good things for girls soccer, but was not serving southern California effectively the last few years. GDA is better for SoCal than ECNL since it broke the Surf monopoly in San Diego county and let in Legends. I also think GDA serves LA/OC better than ECNL since there the clubs cover a larger area. With such a large population of quality players, I don't believe SoCal teams need to travel out of SoCal for good competition on a regular basis. Now if only there were a way for individual teams to break in...
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What can I say. You had me up until you revealed your true anti-Surf agenda . Look everyone can argue the position which benefits one's own best interest all day.

To say that LA is underserved is somewhat true but it came about because the ECNL picked its membership based primarily upon a club's history of winning USYS championships and producing college and national team players. It's sad to say but when the two clubs that would become Real So Cal merged they owned all of the LA county national titles on the girls side for LA. The clubs that have more recently won national titles like Beach, Legends and Carlsbad have done so without having to compete against most of the best teams in the country.

Now let's talk about the Surf "monopoly" in San Diego. Geographically Surf is clearly the largest producer and developer of talent not to mention they win. Carlsbad has come on the scene recently but as I said before they don't have to play the ECNL teams. How many age groups can you honestly say that the Carlsbad team is better than the Surf team? It doesn't matter I guess because now with the DA the talent in San Diego is going to be more spread out. Speaking from my own self interest I prefer talent concentration. Opportunity for more players is good but how much time do north county kids really save going to Carlsbad instead of Del Mar?

I don't want to spend much time on Legends other than to say really? Legends is so new money. All flash no substance. They are like Tomny Hilfiger. All marketing no R & D.

Finally regarding SoCal and it's monopoly of great players. Although Cal South produces more great players than any area we definitely don't have a monopoly on elite players. Great players come from all over. Some areas do a much better job at concentrating their talent so the local competition is not nearly what it is here. However, there is a lot of value in playing those elite out of state teams.

The bottom line in that in SoCal the DA is going to do two things, dilute the talent pool and give US Soccer more control. I would be okay with giving US Soccer control except they fail more often than they succeed and the previous system was working 99.99% of the time. If they were serious the top .01% would be in a residential academy like on the boys side.

Good luck to you and yours.
 
MakeAPlay said:
I don't want to spend much time on Legends other than to say really? Legends is so new money. All flash no substance. They are like Tomny Hilfiger. All marketing no R & D.
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LOL!!

So which club is driving an old beat up Volvo to their 10,000sf horse barn in Eastern PA?
 
CaliKlines said:
Sorry Shales, but here was your original contention:


I can't believe that I am having this discussion with you...My map reading skills are phenomenal, and geography is a hobby. Maybe your comprehension of population concentration is off, or maybe you are just trying to promote ECNL over the United States Soccer Girls Development Academy. Either way, you can't be so naive to think that 75% of the country is not able to participate in the GDA. (75% is a fancy way of saying 3/4.) Capeesh? Do you really think that only 25% of the country is exposed to the GDA? Isn't that exactly what you said? Or "most of the country is not participating in GDA"? Just to help you out, again, way more than half of the US population is being serviced by GDA clubs, and colloquially, I would say it is reaching 90% of the population.



There is 1 GDA club in Ohio, 1 in Indiana, 3 in Michigan, and 3 in Illinois. Yes, unfortunately, there are a few good players in some unrepresented areas, but to say that "most of the country", or 75% of the country, is not able to participate in the GDA is blatantly false and completely disingenuous.
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As I have said time and time again, I have nothing against GDA YET. It's not a make or break for me. However, it sounds like it's something you've been begging for and you are finally in a position to get a patch of some sort . Most of the country will be underserved. That's a fact. No need to go back and forth. The map you provided earlier displayed the limited areas to which the GDA will cover. Also, thanks for the math lesson, BUT I am actually quite good at converting fractions; you however have already proven my point just by displaying
http://www.ussoccerda.com/girls-academy-club-directory.

Enjoy the GDA patch...it's obvious you need it for validation.
 
MakeAPlay said:
To say that LA is underserved is somewhat true but it came about because the ECNL picked its membership based primarily upon a club's history of winning USYS championships and producing college and national team players.

Regarding SoCal and it's monopoly of great players. Although Cal South produces more great players than any area we definitely don't have a monopoly on elite players. Great players come from all over. Some areas do a much better job at concentrating their talent so the local competition is not nearly what it is here. However, there is a lot of value in playing those elite out of state teams.

The bottom line in that in SoCal the DA is going to do two things, dilute the talent pool and give US Soccer more control. I would be okay with giving US Soccer control except they fail more often than they succeed and the previous system was working 99.99% of the time. If they were serious the top .01% would be in a residential academy like on the boys side.

Good luck to you and yours.
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It's all about control and like you said if they were serious there would be a residential component.
Unfortunately, even with the residential component the boy's side hasn't produced positive results on the world stage that ECNL has produced on the girl's side.
 
MAP, I have no "anti-Surf" agenda. I am not in favor of monopolies however. The problem with one club controlling an area with a population as large as San Diego's is that if there are coaching problems with a team, there are no nearby alternatives. In any age group, there are more than one teams worth of elite level players in San Diego county. The club with the monopoly also has less incentive to treat players well. Like ALL clubs, Surf has had issues with coaches and some teams/age groups were more effected than others. While Surf is currently the strongest club overall, at some age groups other clubs have stronger teams. LAGSD is the largest club in San Diego county. Does it really make sense to exclude them from elite level play?. Albion serves south San Diego better than either and with that being a prime growth area for young player, it also does not make sense to ignore. Even though it shares many of the same problems as ECNL, GDA is going to happen. GDA will have its problems, but I think for elite players in SoCal, it will be the best alternative in the near future. With only one more year of club soccer, it doesn't matter much anymore to us. Besides, if I were the ruler ECNL, GDA and DA would all be one big organization where the right group of players with an inspired coach could build a team to take on the world. Oh, and none of that would start until about U15. Youngers don't need to travel that far.

Residential academies are not a bad idea, but I think regional may be better. If SoCal had a regional residential academy, I bet it could turn out teams superior to the current youth "National Teams". Team work matters.
 
shales1002 said:
As I have said time and time again, I have nothing against GDA YET. It's not a make or break for me. However, it sounds like it's something you've been begging for and you are finally in a position to get a patch of some sort . Most of the country will be underserved. That's a fact. No need to go back and forth. The map you provided earlier displayed the limited areas to which the GDA will cover. Also, thanks for the math lesson, BUT I am actually quite good at converting fractions; you however have already proven my point just by displaying
http://www.ussoccerda.com/girls-academy-club-directory.

Enjoy the GDA patch...it's obvious you need it for validation.
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Never said you had anything against GDA...I said you were attempting to promote ECNL. Rather than admit when you are wrong, you lash out at me. Sadly, you still have not learned...
shales1002 said:
Most of the country will be underserved. That's a fact. No need to go back and forth. The map you provided earlier displayed the limited areas to which the GDA will cover.
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Most of the country will be served by GDA. Approaching 90%. It's not about land mass. It's about population density. Get it? Land mass does not participate in the sport...humans do. So I'm not sure why you keep saying GDA will be underserving the country.

As for my player's situation, who knows if she will even be offered a spot on an Academy team? Not sure if she is good enough. And if she is offered a spot, who knows if she will take it? She only has 1 year left, and she may want to play out her high school career. It is her call. Not mine. She has never chased a patch..quite the opposite.
 
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shales1002 said:
... with the residential component the boy's side hasn't produced positive results on the world stage that ECNL has produced on the girl's side.
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You mean like the U20s beating Mexico 2-1 while being thoroughly outshot and thoroughly outplayed with superstar Pugh on the field?

I'd like to know what you consider as "positive results on the world stage" because that's the biggest gripe against ECNL.
 
Swoosh said:
You mean like the U20s beating Mexico 2-1 while being thoroughly outshot and thoroughly outplayed with superstar Pugh on the field?

I'd like to know what you consider as "positive results on the world stage" because that's the biggest gripe against ECNL.
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I disagree, it's rather silly to blame the U20s failure on ECNL. I'm sure you are aware most of the U20s rostered players were college players. Then shouldn't you be blaming D1 college soccer? I don't, because Michelle French had a lot of time preparing this team. She made ALL of the players redshirt this college season, except Ashley who is still in HS. I blame the failure on the YNT coaches style of play and tactics, not the players.

In case you overlooked it. Several of those U20 Mexican players played ECNL.
 
NoGoal said:
I disagree, it's rather silly to blame the U20s failure on ECNL. I'm sure you are aware most of the U20s rostered players are college players. Then shouldn't you be blaming D1 college soccer? I don't, because Michelle French had a lot of time preparing this team. She even made the players redshirt this college season. I blame the failure on the YNT coaches style of play and tactics.

In case you overlooked it. Several of those U20 Mexican players played ECNL.
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There are many failures for many reasons (U17 as well as U20) and not many successes like Shales claims.
 
Swoosh said:
There are many failures for many reasons (U17 as well as U20) and not many successes like Shales claims.
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Like I posted blame YNT coaches. In this case blame BJ Snow's style of play and tactics. He left off Taryn Torres (UVA commit) who was probably his most skillful player and pulled the strings during the 2 year undefeated run-up to the U17 World Cup. Then when the games got tough reverted to defend and counter kick and run....same style as Michelle French.

Like all PRO sports. If the team doesn't win you fire the coach, yet US soccer doesn't fire their YNT coaches. Go figure!
 
Swoosh said:
You mean like the U20s beating Mexico 2-1 while being thoroughly outshot and thoroughly outplayed with superstar Pugh on the field?

I'd like to know what you consider as "positive results on the world stage" because that's the biggest gripe against ECNL.
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So now you are blaming the league? What about the coaches that select the teams? The U17 and U20 teams were not all of the best players. Why else would they have high school aged kids on the team? US Soccer f****d up and now we give them more control? That's giving the inmates not only the keys to the asylum but letting them run the whole damn healthcare system.
 
NoGoal said:
Like I posted blame YNT coaches. In this case blame BJ Snow's style of play and tactics. He left off Taryn Torres (UVA commit) who was probably his most skillful player and pulled the strings during the 2 year undefeated run-up to the U17 World Cup. Then when the games got tough reverted to defend and counter kick and run....same style as Michelle French.

Like all PRO sports. If the team doesn't win you fire the coach, yet US soccer doesn't fire their YNT coaches. Go figure!
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Bingo. It's the coaching and roster selection not the players.
 
MakeAPlay said:
So now you are blaming the league? What about the coaches that select the teams? The U17 and U20 teams were not all of the best players. Why else would they have high school aged kids on the team? US Soccer f****d up and now we give them more control? That's giving the inmates not only the keys to the asylum but letting them run the whole damn healthcare system.
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You make my point: not many successes on the world stage.
 
outside! said:
MAP, I have no "anti-Surf" agenda. I am not in favor of monopolies however. The problem with one club controlling an area with a population as large as San Diego's is that if there are coaching problems with a team, there are no nearby alternatives. In any age group, there are more than one teams worth of elite level players in San Diego county. The club with the monopoly also has less incentive to treat players well. Like ALL clubs, Surf has had issues with coaches and some teams/age groups were more effected than others. While Surf is currently the strongest club overall, at some age groups other clubs have stronger teams. LAGSD is the largest club in San Diego county. Does it really make sense to exclude them from elite level play?. Albion serves south San Diego better than either and with that being a prime growth area for young player, it also does not make sense to ignore. Even though it shares many of the same problems as ECNL, GDA is going to happen. GDA will have its problems, but I think for elite players in SoCal, it will be the best alternative in the near future. With only one more year of club soccer, it doesn't matter much anymore to us. Besides, if I were the ruler ECNL, GDA and DA would all be one big organization where the right group of players with an inspired coach could build a team to take on the world. Oh, and none of that would start until about U15. Youngers don't need to travel that far.

Residential academies are not a bad idea, but I think regional may be better. If SoCal had a regional residential academy, I bet it could turn out teams superior to the current youth "National Teams". Team work matters.
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Again you make some very valid points. I really like the regional academy idea a lot. I am not really that experienced with Albion. They have decent teams but the only elite team I ever remember them having was the team that Noah Kooiman brought over from Arsenal (they were the first U14 ECNL national champs). They fell off as several of their best players (Leah Pruitt, Julia Bingham, Marissa Everett, Ayana Robles) left for ECNL clubs that were closer once he took the team down south. That was a real shame.

I agree that teamwork matters. Maybe the problem is that there really should be separate competitive tracks for the truly elite players and the really good players. GDA is going to have a bunch of really good players. Even in SoCal only a handful per age group are truly elite and that is just the truth. Just look at the 2016 graduating class. Lots of players went on to have good first years of college but less than a dozen had a significant impact on the national scale and even fewer are still in the YNT pipeline. GDA isn't going to solve this issue in SoCal. With so many choices the teams are only going to be weaker than the top ECNL teams are now.

No worries. As you said, your player only has one season left and mine isn't a youth player any longer. Good luck to you and yours.
 
Swoosh said:
You make my point: not many successes on the world stage.
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Our full national team has done fine and our U20 team along with Germany and North Korea are the most successful programs in the world. We did make it to the final 4 with horrible tactics and questionable player selection. You sound like an Alabama fan. Just because you didn't win it all doesn't mean that there weren't any successes.
 
MakeAPlay said:
Our full national team has done fine and our U20 team along with Germany and North Korea are the most successful programs in the world. We did make it to the final 4 with horrible tactics and questionable player selection. You sound like an Alabama fan. Just because you didn't win it all doesn't mean that there weren't any successes.
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You're going off tangents. ECNL=not many successes on the world stage as was claimed by the earlier poster. For many reasons I'm sure we can point those out.

U20 program overall success and full team success not much to do with last 7 years of ECNL influence.
 
Swoosh said:
You're going off tangents. ECNL=not many successes on the world stage as was claimed by the earlier poster. For many reasons I'm sure we can point those out.

U20 program overall success and full team success not much to do with last 7 years of ECNL influence.
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I get it you are a Legends homer but that doesn't make your point valid. The ECNL is made up of clubs that had success in producing not only USYS championships but college and national team players. Or to put it very slowly for you those players that were on the many successful U20(U19) WNT's and the full WNT played mostly for ECNL clubs. Please look this stuff up so you don't sound silly to those that actually do the research.

Now here is a tangent. How are your Trojan's looking?
 
MakeAPlay said:
because the ECNL picked its membership based primarily upon a club's history of winning USYS championships and producing college and national team players.
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MAP: based on the statement you made above, how do you explain Strikers OC being a part of ECNL? To the best of my knowledge, they don't have a strong history of success or USWNT players.

I am not trying to pick a fight, just asking for edification purposes.
 
bababooey said:
MAP: based on the statement you made above, how do you explain Strikers OC being a part of ECNL? To the best of my knowledge, they don't have a strong history of success or USWNT players.

I am not trying to pick a fight, just asking for edification purposes.
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Irvine Strikers does have one USYS national championship in 2006. Striker's OC is a spinoff. If any club got screwed out of ECNL membership it was Laguna Hills Eclipse (they have 2 USYS championships prior to ECNL). Here is a useful link that is pretty self explanatory.

http://www.calsouth.com/es/youth-champ-archive/usyouthsoccer-nationals/
 
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