you also have to weigh the fact that the ECNL is a much larger league, and that can account for a portion of the higher percentage going into D1 "Power 5" or whatever the latest brass ring is called. If 75% are ECNL, I would consider it a very good sign that 25% are coming from other places, including GA. That's a lot of players. For those who need that brass ring, this stat seems to indicate that a strong player will make it from whichever league they play in club. The player just needs to have the skills, the grades and parents with $30k+ to throw into the youth soccer machine.
Better team vs. more play time
- Thread starter NotFromCali
- Start date
RandomSoccerFan
PREMIER
This is missing the denominator. ECNL girls is not a much larger league by number of participants compared to GA. If it's slightly larger, and has 3 times the number of recruits, it is incorrect to label the chances equivalent, and make the inference that the same strong player would have the same likelihood regardless of venue.
From Nov 2023: https://socalsoccer.com/threads/ecnl-vs-ecrl.21225/post-460038
If ECNL had ~3 times the number of participants and ~3 times the number of D1 recruits. P5 recruits, or whatever attribute being measured, it would be a non-story and the leagues would in fact be mathematically equivalent.
Here you go from GA website.
CLASS OF 2024
Congratulations to the Class of 2024! In total, more than 700 athletes will continue their soccer journey in college with over 80 Girls Academy clubs represented. Learn more about the class and their destinations below. Looking for specific commitments? Check out the commitments by conference, as well.
Class of 2024 | Girls Academy League
girlsacademyleague.com
I didn't say the chances are equivalent, but I appreciate your straw man argument
Even by the stats you link to, and the link Socalkdg provided, it is very apparent that a player with the skills and grades has more than ample opportunity to make their D1 / P5 dreams come true while playing in GA. I'm not sure how it can even be a controversial statement at this point, but apparently it always will be.
RandomSoccerFan
PREMIER
You posted that it makes sense that one league has more commits because it is larger. This is wrong on its face. It doesn't require a straw man argument to be posed to point out that it is wrong, it's just math. But of course your statement that a player has opportunities in either league shouldn't be controversial, they certainly do.I didn't say the chances are equivalent, but I appreciate your straw man argument
Even by the stats you link to, and the link Socalkdg provided, it is very apparent that a player with the skills and grades has more than ample opportunity to make their D1 / P5 dreams come true while playing in GA. I'm not sure how it can even be a controversial statement at this point, but apparently it always will be.
I posted the same link previously but I also included 2022 and 2021 earlier in this thread. GA is trying to convey that their college commitments are going up by 100 per year.Here you go from GA website.
CLASS OF 2024
Congratulations to the Class of 2024! In total, more than 700 athletes will continue their soccer journey in college with over 80 Girls Academy clubs represented. Learn more about the class and their destinations below. Looking for specific commitments? Check out the commitments by conference, as well.
View attachment 21351
Class of 2024 | Girls Academy League
Are there nuances in the details? Maybe, unfortunately both GA and ECNL have switched from specific numbers of commits to % of an overall number of commits. Theoretically you can trace it back to some kind of actual number. However because of rounding and half percentages the end result will always be a little fuzzy.
None of this changes the fact that GA is growing and with a larger net theoretically there should be more potential commits.
What is the goal for your child? Most people are pursuing the elusive scholarship, right? If so, the goal should be to place your child at the highest level they are capable of playing at. Most schools/scouts are looking at individual players and their skill set. Personally, I don't think schools/scouts really care about the system your coach runs and/or the team's record. If your kid stands out, they will find them. Realistically, ECNL and GA is the only way to go for the girls side. My daughter plays on a major ECNL club whose players are all committed to D1 colleges, while the ECRL side has only a few D2 offers.
This is very interesting. So non academy MLS is like which clubs? And ECNL boys you are saying have average talent? I was under the impression they are very talented on ECNL?
Non-academy MLS teams are all MLS teams in SoCal that aren't LAFC and La Galaxy. By the time kids reach about 15, many of the boys left on the non-academy MLS teams and ECNL teams are kids that would be previously considered Tier 2 or sometimes lower kids. The reason for this is due to attrition because the very best have left to play Academy or have left to play other sports in high school. Average is probably the wrong term, but many, not all, of the kids at 15+ on non-Academy MLS and ECNL were the kids you were used to seeing on lower tier teams from ages 11-14. From my perspective any decent soccer player should be able to make most non-academy MLS and ECNL teams at age 15+. Its much harder at the U12-U14 age groups.
In regards to ECNL, ECNL is generally tier 2 in relation to MLS Next (with some exceptions).
Code
GOLD
Here is how the leagues stacked up against each other about 6 months ago.
So the kids left on MLS non academy or ECNL at 15+ getting scholarships are still ones previously considered tier 2 or lower kids?
This seems reasonable. There is a lot of overlap between MLSN and boys ECNL. Think of clubs that used to be DA, like Surf, Pats, Legends, etc
Not necessarily. There are still quality kids on those teams that aren't there because of attrition. I'm not being critical of tier 2 kids, their solid players. I'm just pointing out that the makeup of those teams changes significantly at the older age groups because the "best of the best" go to Academy or switch sports.
Pursuing a scholarship isn't a great reason to have your kid play soccer. Shouldn't even cross a parent's mind until your kid is in their middle teens. It will only lead to bad decisions prior to that.
Some pro teams run their own youth programs, complete with schools.
LA Galaxy
Since '96. The latest news, scores, highlights and stats from the LA Galaxy.
www.lagalaxy.com
ECNL boys are far above average talent. But the talent scale, and the crazy scale, always have a little more room at the top end.
Many though are just on-line schools like LA Galaxy's. Philly Union and Real Salt Lake have legit brick and mortar schools. Philly's school is very impressive.Some pro teams run their own youth programs, complete with schools.
LA Galaxy
Since '96. The latest news, scores, highlights and stats from the LA Galaxy.
Check out the credentials of the teachers.
Ok thanks makes sense. Yes agree about scholarships. It’s not even something we even want. I just know many go to ECNL thinking of scholarships.
You'll pay far more in ECNL dues than a scholarship will ever reimburse you unless your kid is the 1%'er.
shirivelli
SILVER
What is your ultimate goal in mind? Playing college, playing varsity at your local high school, for fun, and so on. If playing college, I suggest staying at your current big club and playing down at his age. The reason is that these big clubs have the college network, reputation, and recruiting pipeline to get your kid to college placement down the road if the kid is still good. Once you move out of this club and wants to rejoin at the top level down the road, the club politics would make it really difficult to join as there would be +20 kids at the summer tryouts for a handful of open spots. Again, unless your kid is somewhat exceptional, it would be hard to join later. These big clubs prioritize the talented players first and then their legacy and royal customers as bench if they are more for pay-to-play individuals with subpar skills.
Play your age level, get plenty of game time, and your team will be good as these clubs will attract top talents in the area. And your older kid and his team will play at the national playoffs with lots of recruiting exposure. But if your player is playing fun and enjoying, I am sure there are many local clubs at much lower price, and you don't need to think about all these.
How much are ECNL dues typically?
3k per year, more or less.
Travel‘s the hard part. 2-3 weekend events (airfare plus 3 day stay). For top teams, add in playoffs and maybe nationals. Each adds airfare plus 6-7 days hotel each. When you add it up, it’s easy to get to 5 roundtrip airplane trips, plus 20+ days of hotel and car rental.
Travel also varies widely by club. Some are flying all over the place, while other try to keep it local. The local ones are bound to be a lot cheaper. You can use SR to get a sense for how many out of state events they go to. Each one adds another thousand or two.