Keepermom2
GOLD
Most of the teams you listed offer ECNL boys even if they also offer MLS Next.
Strikers ECNL rumors
- Thread starter Mom of 2
- Start date
We'll see how long allowing clubs to have both ECNL + MLS Next lasts. The leagues compete for top level players/teams.
- ECNL has the ability to allow clubs to play against their girls teams IF they play their boys in ECNL leagues.
- MLS Next has hooks into professional soccer careers (for boys)
Imagine if you were a club with decent boys and girls + looking to join a top level league. The quickest way to get there is to put your boys in MLS Next + be successful + put your girls into GA + be successful. If MLS Next doesn't work out you can always do ECNL. Also, switching from MLS Next to ECNL on the boys side can be leveraged into getting your girls into ECNL.
What's interesting is that many top girls ECNL clubs also do boys ECNL. If MLS Next is considered the top level league for boys how are they going to bridge keeping the girls in ECNL + getting the boys into MLS Next?
100% bro. My sister in law has a little stud soccer player. I won't say where but it's MLS Next and he starts. Some coach recruiting him tried to sell him and his dad ECNL boys team and they laughed at the coach and actually felt offended. True story. I mean no disrespect and I understand why an all girls league that was #1 one day and the next day almost OB, would jump at adding many boy team$. The DA collapsed so the timing was amazing. However, the ECNL boys is not tops, not on the street with the ballers who ball. The GA is also not tops for girls, that goes to ECNL, for now. I have a prediction. One of these top leagues will offer the girls who want to be Pro, a clear Pro pathway and that will sell to the ballers, even to those who just want to ball against the best. Right now, GA just picked up Strikers for the girls. That right there is an improvement in the league but it's 100% a #2 option to who the perceived best is. I think soccer in America will be like they do France and other countries some day. Academies that have pro teams or Academies looking to earn their way by putting a winning club together and join the Pros. France has Top 1 and Top 2 Leagues. Simple and and no words like "Elite" or "Development" and no guessing and wondering. They all play against each in friendlies and tournaments so you all can compete againts each other to test your team. You only need 11 studs and few subs to beat anyone in soccer. You earn respect by winning, not paying to play. Spain has four divisions. I will have a good birds eye view of this soon and I will share with you the difference. Spain has about 20,000 girls trying to be Pro. We have millions and millions trying to get into college. We have by far more players to choose from but their system looks way fairer on paper and nothing to do with GPA and SAT. Great player and great kid are the keys to being a Pro
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Keepermom2
GOLD
Starting with "the answer to all questions is money"....
Definitely a turf war from the boys side that I know nothing about. With ECNL as the gold standard on the girls side, forcing clubs to be in on both or out for girls when the opportunity presented itself seems like a good business strategy from ECNL's perspective if that is what is happening. Of course speculation on my part based on some clicking of clubs nationwide and who is in or out on ECNL down here. ECNL couldn't tap into the boys market prior to GA bailing and after the bailout was the perfect opportunity to do so. My guess is all club higher ups knew about this at least a year ago and chose what market they wanted to hit. I am guessing Strikers will go GA for girls and they are banking on MLS Next being successful and staying the course while offering the girls an "elite" option.
Hopefully there will be some settling down of the craziness over the next couple of years now that clubs picked which sandbox they wanted to play in. Wishful thinking I am sure.
SoccerFan4Life
PREMIER
what was the reasoning for ECNL to eliminate strikers? If it’s due to poor performance, doesn’t Del Mar have a worse record? If it’s because they bailed out on ECNL boys, wouldn’t they need to mandate to the rest of the clubs that they cannot join mls next? I wouldn’t be surprised if lawsuits start turning up. ECNL does whatever they want with these clubs (legends, strikers, beach). Very interesting decision by ECNL on strikers. If strikers joins DA it gives that league a longer life line to expand and grow.
Keepermom2
GOLD
The clubs I looked from the list earlier that are MLS Next also offer ECNL boys. It doesn't look like it is a situation of mandating MLS Next or ECNL for the boys side rather if there is girls ECNL then there also needs to be boys ECNL. Some of the markets may have enough talent to offer both from one club.
Interesting takes. I have no inside information and no one talks to me in the industry at all. The Docs used to call me all the time but not now. My kid is of no use. I do have some old pals who get me that are in the industry and I will ask them for the real scoop. A founding member getting the boot is very interesting and unheard of from what I do know. I'm starting to have way more empathy for the coaches, who just like us, hear the rumor mill and grape vine every freaking year. These coaches are left guessing and selling something they can;t produce. The investment and time commitment a player puts toward the club should be respected and valued, moo and more moo. This should not be taken lightly, moo!!! Girls put in years of service and parents fork over thousands and thousand of dollars over the years. I have gone all the way through this from U6-U18/19 and this is 100% not helping the girls, at all. If one or just a couple players get lied to and banned from a league, who the heck cares. This is now a shit show, moo!!!
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I will wait on the exciting news coming. If you're a boy, your stoked. The girls on the other hand, not so sure. The boys are fired up to get out of the all girls league, moo
I heard rumors that Sharks was presented with an ultimatum to start putting resources and effort into the teams to make them more competitive, thus the hiring of MW as girls director. They likely received some time to let this play out. I will say that MW has not been sitting idle. The coaching staff has been gutted, and some team rosters have seen almost 100% player turnover. There are kids and families getting displaced, kids quitting the game entirely and some painful feelings going on, but I guess that's the cost of being in an elite sports league. Perform or GTFO.
I wonder what measure they used to boot a founding member? ECNL should let the parents know what the real ultimatum was. Sharks are on thin ice. What should these players and parents do now that they have gotten the boot as well? Should they leave the team now and go look for Green Pasture down South or up North. I think this sucks, no real reason except to say as a founding member we got kicked out for no reason. I do have some good friends with U14 and their in limbo. They love their team and coach and now they are scared and with no future for next year. They pissed off and burned the only bridge close to their house so their only choice is to head North. This is real fear that all families and players and coaches go through. ECNL club players are not allowed to be in contact until May 1st. However, this player is not the best but damn good and pops thinks he should start making calls himself and you can;t blame him. I told him to finish what you start and be honorable. It will work itself out in the long run.......
The problem with Sharks is no matter how good they get on the girls side all players would jump to Surf if given the chance.
On top of that MW gutted several teams when he first came on + created some hurt feelings for players and parents.
Also Surf brought on AW to manage the youngers. He'll recruit any talent from Sharks before they even hit 11v11/ECNL levels.
While true, there is only so much room on a roster, and there are plenty of talented players North of the 8 and South of Oceanside. Enough to beat Surf regularly? No. Enough to settle in around mid table? Sure. Better than the bottom of the barrel across all the ages.
I don;t know any of the coaches at Surf anymore. Those guys got back to back National Championships and parley that into some nice jobs and opportunities. Is Surf doing the fully funded offers to the top players in Socal still? That and their connections can;t be beat, moo. Are Sharks giving full rides to the top players to keep them from looking at the Green Pasture? Boys do give free, right?
The girls Strikers ECNL teams are not even guaranteed GA at this point, and I would wager no one is excited about it even if it were.
A likely exodus from the girls Strikers teams is right around the corner and it seems like the Strikers just don't know it yet -- or maybe they don't care?!?
A likely exodus from the girls Strikers teams is right around the corner and it seems like the Strikers just don't know it yet -- or maybe they don't care?!?
soccermail2020
SILVER
I have been on the youth girls club soccer circuit now for 11 years. Welcome to soccer and all the changes girls have to go through every year. It gets nasty after 8th grade. Every year something big happens to a league or a club or a Doc or something big goes down and many families and players get smacked in the face and are caught in the middle. I know parents who went GDA, DPL, GAL, ECNL and now back to GAL ((if they saty for their final year of Socal Soccer)). I want to add coaches to the list of being kicked hard. My wife got email saying Strikers got kicked out for no good reason, except they were not invited back to the #1 Girls league in the country. No real rhyme to any reason except to say they got some exciting news coming soon for the girls. The boys got what they wanted and boys got Pro path and MLS-Next. I heard from the Grape Vine that the GAL Family Soccer League is waiting with open arms to except one of the original 8 Socal ECNL Founding Members. This is like the Big West getting Oregon from the one of the Originals of the Pac 12.
So how do we separate the "business" side of youth sports from the actually developing our youth soccer players? The 501(c)(3) status of most if not all of the soccer clubs I can think of are supposed to have the best interest of the organization's mission above the best interests of those associated with it. (e.g., CEO, CFO, Board of Directors, etc.) I know, I know... I'm just being naive thinking that a business would put the well-being and development of youth players above profits. Maybe there should be some monetary incentive to develop players/teams - at the team level? Just thinking outside of the box.It's a multi billion dollar industry that "we" the consumers are responsible for perpetuating. Pay to play sports is here to stay unless 1) Enough consumers (parents) divest from the system 2) Regulations are created that completely change the youth sports industry
Youth sports needs a reset. Child athletes are pushed to professionalize too early.
COVID-19 forced the multi-billion dollar youth sports industry to put be put on hold. Let's take advantage of this time to look at it with fresh eyes.www.usatoday.com
Oh my! No warning?? WOW! ...and the kids and coaches probably take the brunt of the situation. How is this any good for the sport?
Great points. I know people think I just want attention but I do have experience and have been on many sides of club soccer the last 11 years. I was laughed at almost 4 years ago for asking one question: Why did the GDA have a rule that forbid all girls from playing high school soccer because the world is watching and all that BS and then when a few top players made the tough call to play HSS only to see waivers for the rich was insane as well. I told all that many bad things are going on and grown men lie to little girls to their face. This is wrong and needs to stop. This is all playing head trips on many kids and their families. I know families that have paid over $40,000 to get right to the brink of signing a deal for college and then, Bamb!!!! The carpet is pulled from under the child who has worked her ass off in school, during two years of Covid, playing ECNL for three years and now her team is kicked out. That is cruel 100%. I know we have dads that think this is funny and hahahahahaha and "you should have stayed with your original club and pay back is fair play." This is only about "Elite" soccer that is truly Elite for girls and now their out because te BOD said so and no reason. What is Elite Soccer and who can be Elite? Who decides who is Elite? I think we need to get Papi out of the business and off all these BODs, CEO and important and key positions. The Big Guy ((Dad)) needs to go sit on the sidelines and hope his kid gets in the game just like the rest of us. What is the mission statement in youth soccer? We need a Fun Path and then a Pro & College Path for those who want it more. Where do the girls rank in the pyramid of success in club soccer? The girls should be #1 and protected and respected, all girls.