Wait Tophat was out in SoCal. They slipped away again!
How’s the 2023-24 season going?
- Thread starter CharlieMurfee
- Start date
RobbieNorwood
BRONZE
Decision time's coming fast. Its been a mixed bag of feedback. I'm thinking of just driving out to Orange County for 3-4 months to finish this season. @TeamDadJokes Not sure where your information came from about the Eagles parents because it seems to be the complete opposite of what you said over there. Does anyone know at this point if the coach will be returning for the 2024-2025 season? Really like the Eagles practice facility compared to LAFC's. Anyone else have some information about Guy Azour's team. I've spoken to him a few times and I'm curious how the players being young adjust with his coaching style and communication? FRAM was interesting. The games we got out to see were lopsided. Lots of love for their coach which was refreshing to see. Competition in GA seemed on par of RL games. Its just not the same as ECNL.
The lower end of GA (Southwest) is better than ECRL. It's roughly equivalent to the lower end of ECNL Southwest.
The reason I say this is because with ECRL teams blow up yearly and if there's ever a standout player the clubs ECNL team will steal them. (Same thing happens with DPL) With GA since it's the top team for the club lower end teams will stay together longer + if there's a standout player their only option for higher level of play is to leave the club.
In which aspect is it opposite of what was stated?
blues dismantled eagles at surf cup. Real score was 4-1 as someone posted it incorrectly. Blues looked like a different team this tournament
For those of you interested in TopHat
1st game vs Cincinnati United (W2-1). TopHat is in yellow.
app.veo.co
1st game vs Cincinnati United (W2-1). TopHat is in yellow.
Veo | 11.30.23 - 2pm - Field 6 - GA
Watch Girls Academy League matches on Veo. This video is recorded automatically using Veo's intelligent recording solution.
app.veo.co
Heads up, I've heard that the TH 2010 team that wom GA had 2011s playing up.For those of you interested in TopHat
1st game vs Cincinnati United (W2-1). TopHat is in yellow.
Veo | 11.30.23 - 2pm - Field 6 - GA
Watch Girls Academy League matches on Veo. This video is recorded automatically using Veo's intelligent recording solution.
Those players are now playing on the 2011 TH team now.
RobbieNorwood
BRONZE
People aren't happy with the coaching, player development and the direction the teams going in. With that said any team that has a coach with little to no experience in a top league will struggle.
Coaching's a big part of making a decision where my kid plays. Over the years I've seen players stop loving the sport due to bad coaching. Its already going to be hard on my daughter moving away from her school, friends and teammates to a new state. If a team isn't coached well and the current culture is in a state of chaos, how can my daughter build confidence and improve while dealing with everything else that comes with life? This is why I'm checking out every available option we have.
I guess that’s different than the feedback I got from a few parents at Eagles that I know and speak to. Last year Eagles peaked mid season and hit #1 in the rankings beating out a few top teams along the way. They made it to playoffs and got out of the group stage losing to the eventual national champions, Slammers HB Koge. Currently they’re 8th in the nation and 4th in California.
So I don’t know, but the parents I spoke to on the current roster seemed happy. And bad coaching won’t get you to playoffs.
LAFC has always been a decent team. 12th in the current rankings in California 41st in the nation right ahead of Beach ECRL. Last season they made it to playoffs but didn’t get out of group play. They also played state cup with all the other SoCal non-ecnl teams and won it going to national cup where they lost to Solar’s FDL team.
Like o said, I don’t know much about the current team / coach outside of they scrimmaged a local flight 1 team not too long ago and beat them 2-0 in a competitive match where LAFC scored early and held onto a 1-0 lead until the last few seconds of the scrimmage. Their record this year in ECNL is lackluster imo.
Maybe I got fooled by the Eagles parents and maybe I’m looking at game outcomes in reverse since everything I said was the complete opposite? Either way I wish you the best with whatever pathway you choose.
I suggest looking at the coach first, then location + fields, (how far is the drive from your house? How nice are the fields?) then DOC, then players, and finally club leadership.
All the clubs you are looking at are ranked roughly the same. FRAM is more likely to go to GA finals than LAFC or Beach are likely to go to ECNL finals.
Here's something else to consider GA players can join an ECNL team any time of year as a Discovery player. The opposite is also true ECNL players can join GA teams any time of year. Since they're seperate leagues you don't need any kind of aporovals.
rainbow_unicorn
PREMIER
All of the top players in the south bay area play for Beach ECNL. A few Beach players will go to Fram GA if they did not make Beach ECNL or RL team. There are zero players that chose Fram GA over Beach ECNL.
RandomSoccerFan
PREMIER
Seems reasonable, but the expectations show that Fram GA vs Beach ECRL would be a toss-up every day of the week, so somehow they are able to recruit (and coach, and retain) enough talent to put together a top 20 team in California, where over 500 competitive 2010G teams in CA would be ecstatic to trade places with them. We are talking about the 98.5 percentile (Beach ECNL) vs. the 97.6 percentile (Beach ECRL) vs. the 97.4 percentile (Fram GA), it's a pretty slim difference from that perspective.
You might want to choose a different example than Beach vs FRAM. There are several other ECNL teams that align with what you're trying to say.
- Currently FRAM G2010 is ranked #5 in all of GA + has a freeride at IMG later this season
- Beach is #4 in regional Mojave G2010 + looking at the numbers they likely won't be #3 which means no finals for Beach. (Unless you consider attending the consolation showcase a win)
I bet multiple Beach players and Parents have FRAM as a maybe.
FRAM 2010 is an anomaly as it is really Ole and Walter Merino's team. They just put on the FRAM jersey to play and still practice up in the valley. No Beach player is considering FRAM just given the distance. It has nothing to do with how good FRAM is as Walter is a very good coach.
Funny how you're labeling FRAM as an "anomaly". I assume because they're playing + winning in GA.
The truth, (that many are trying so hard to avoid) is that FRAM is doing well in GA + has a similar ranking as Beach.
RandomSoccerFan
PREMIER
You're probably right, logistics are always going to win out - even if there are plenty of examples of people driving hours each week to practice. For what it's worth, Fram has other strong teams other than 2010G, including 2008G and 2015G, and overall the club is 25th in state. But you're right - the selected team is one of, if not the strongest teams wearing that jersey.
RandomSoccerFan
PREMIER
I think he was just labelling Fram 2010G as not really a Fram team that was developed in-house - he's not talking about the club as a whole.
I'm not talking about playing + winning in GA. I'm happy they are winning.
I called them an anomaly because they are the only FRAM team that is not home-grown. When FRAM became GA, they made an agreement and Walter's Ole team up in the valley became the new 2010 GA team. Good for them as they have always been a good team and need the competition.
Every other FRAM GA team (and all their teams) are teams that have always been FRAM with coaches that have been with FRAM and with players from the local area.
RobbieNorwood
BRONZE
Don't worry about it. A teams PAST record never tells the full story. Its why I keep making trips out and talking to everyone I can. Not too many ECNL options available out where ill be living. As for being fooled, people are usually blinded until a team starts struggling.
Saw the following on a u17 thread about Next...
"Even worse is they scheduled the third game for Friday which is a blackout period for D1 coaches due to the Final 4 so there will be no D1 coaches at your games. Oh and there are over 600 names in the transfer portal so a bunch of head coaches aren't there because they are staying home to do Zooms with potential transfers. "
Not sure why you have to have to stay home to do zooms. Seems like something that can be done anywhere.
So on the boys side players have to deal with playing in the right league, foreign (likely 24yr old+) academy washouts, other players your age around the nation, transfer portal players, and players on your own team. If you want to play soccer in college. Seems like a significant amount of competition for a limited number of spots.
Regarding girls I bet the transfer portal numbers keep going up. Players aren't being properly vetted at the youth level and talent is either being over looked or over hyped.
"Even worse is they scheduled the third game for Friday which is a blackout period for D1 coaches due to the Final 4 so there will be no D1 coaches at your games. Oh and there are over 600 names in the transfer portal so a bunch of head coaches aren't there because they are staying home to do Zooms with potential transfers. "
Not sure why you have to have to stay home to do zooms. Seems like something that can be done anywhere.
So on the boys side players have to deal with playing in the right league, foreign (likely 24yr old+) academy washouts, other players your age around the nation, transfer portal players, and players on your own team. If you want to play soccer in college. Seems like a significant amount of competition for a limited number of spots.
Regarding girls I bet the transfer portal numbers keep going up. Players aren't being properly vetted at the youth level and talent is either being over looked or over hyped.
rainbow_unicorn
PREMIER
You're the one that picked this example. I'm only speaking to it since that's my area and my kids have tried out or play for both clubs. And there are zero starting Beach ECNL players that would consider going to Fram. Possibly those who are not getting enough playing time may consider.