Socal named as Operator for National 1 League

That's unfortunately the situation - the weaker teams in Norcal RL are *really* weak. The #1 team in that 2010B bracket is at #25 in state, and would be expected to beat them (the last place team) by 8 goals. I can't see anyone arguing with a straight face that they shouldn't be relegated to a lower bracket where they may be able to better compete.

There's nothing to tell about SoCal until they lay out what they actually have in mind about pro/rel between RL & RL Socal, and RL Socal and N1L. I can't find anything documented about it in the ECNL or ECNL-RL rules.
 
CleatSniffer said:
Just for my own education is it possible for a Club's ECRL team and their ECRL II (or NPL) team play in ECRL if the ECRL II (or NPL) gets promoted? Or is it blocked like how Barcelona B cannot go to La Liga even if they win La Liga 2?
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The clubs have access to the leagues and place teams accordingly. Players are then promoted and relegated to various levels vs the entire team based on performance.
 
Scrub It Kook said:
The clubs have access to the leagues and place teams accordingly. Players are then promoted and relegated to various levels vs the entire team based on performance.
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So in NorCal if an NPL1 team finishes at the top of their league, the team doesn't get promoted, just players? So the recently promoted NPL1 kids go to their clubs ECRL team that's in the ECRL tier and then they dump the ECRL kids to where? The NPL1 team which stays in the NPL1? That's confusing.

Or are you saying clubs in general manage players by moving them around? That is not what I am talking about. I understand that some kids move up/down at year end.
 
He's not describing norcal. He's explaining how socal - which doesn't have pro/rel - deals with players that are performing at a level too low (or too high) for their current team placement.

In NorCal, it will happen exactly as you describe. A high-performing NPL1 team will move to RL. A low-performing RL team will move down to NPL (now called N1L).
 
I figured. It was just such a random comment that had nothing to do with the topic at hand I tried to rationalize it into something that fit the conversation and it sounded crazy written out.
 
RandomSoccerFan said:
He's not describing norcal. He's explaining how socal - which doesn't have pro/rel - deals with players that are performing at a level too low (or too high) for their current team placement.
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Well, sorta for SoCal. What actually happens, at least in my experience:

Players are almost never "demoted" from their current teams, as this would encourage them to seek other clubs, so clubs almost never do this. The general "workaround" is that as age groups go higher, more higher leagues "open up", and players/teams which are under-performing are simply held in place. So for example, a team playing Flight 1 at U10, which is still playing Flight 1 at U15, has effectively gone down 2+ levels (compared to other teams, where they would have moved F1 -> NPL -> letter league in that same time).

Players who participate in 1-1 sessions with coaches often get elevated beyond their ability, to keep them paying for such. One could speculate that there are some two-directional incentives there too (ie: to demonstrate the value of the 1-1 training, the player would be elevated based on their "improvement" from such).

Players feel pressure to play on "letter league" teams, and if/when their clubs don't have them, they often leave for clubs/teams in those leagues, even if it may mean less playing time, less local practices, a worse environment, etc. This is in addition to the standard way players would "move up" in levels, by moving to clubs with teams at higher levels (eg: ECRL/ECNL primarily, as these are tightly controlled ecosystems of clubs).

That's what I see in my son's club, anyway.
 
Makes sense. It's no different here (NorCal), or many other places as well, I imagine - as clubs often have higher level teams available in the olders compared to the youngers. One thing that has changed over the years is that more and more clubs now have a clearly denoted "top team" even down to U8, and names them Pre-MLS or Pre-ECNL. Kids on that team generally have the opportunity to stay with that top team, as it continues to be placed in the highest available league for that age. Some clubs also consistently play that top team up one year, sometimes all the way to U12. So the U8 top "Pre-MLS" team plays U9. But the U8 "Pre-MLS2" team plays the same highest available league, but at U8. Bay Area Surf is one of the better known clubs that sets themself up this way.
 
RandomSoccerFan said:
He's not describing norcal. He's explaining how socal - which doesn't have pro/rel - deals with players that are performing at a level too low (or too high) for their current team placement.

In NorCal, it will happen exactly as you describe. A high-performing NPL1 team will move to RL. A low-performing RL team will move down to NPL (now called N1L).
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Yes, apologies. That is largely how SoCal has functioned. Random's post earlier with the De Anza Force example was an interesting one in terms of how the pro/rel is functioning.

SoCal put out an FAQ with the below.

"Q: Could you please clarify if the promotion of N1 goes into RL Southwest or RL SoCal?
A: From our understanding, the clubs that meet the criteria would be accepted into the ECNL-RL (Southwest). This will hopefully be defined shortly by the ECNL."
 
sigmabody said:
Players who participate in 1-1 sessions with coaches often get elevated beyond their ability, to keep them paying for such. One could speculate that there are some two-directional incentives there too (ie: to demonstrate the value of the 1-1 training, the player would be elevated based on their "improvement" from such).
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Believe it or not, there are still coaches with enough integrity not to offer private training sessions to players on their own team. In my experience, the coaches who blur that line by pushing privates eventually develop a bad reputation. I know one who lost his team because of this and couldn’t get another job. DOCs all talk to each other, if enough parents complain, it will get you fired.
 
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