Girls Development Academy

Swoosh said:
Josh is very passionate about his club and it shows. He has thrived and is now being rewarded. Legends is the obvious choice in the IE.

The Kooiman's were great for the IE as well. But have not been able to replicate the same success they had a Arsenal.
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I agree that Hodges is passionate and also a good soccer player in his own right. I wouldn't say that they are the obvious choice in the IE but a good choice nonetheless. The Kooiman's problem since leaving has been Surf down in SD being the 800 pound gorilla that is Surf. Unfortunately Cle has to deal with Legends and Arsenal in the IE.
 
Good or bad the DA is here, but I do have a few questions.

1) Is this model really going to benefit the overall development of players outside of the top .001% that are being evaluated as and groomed as WNT caliber?

From what I can figure, given the substitution restrictions and age ranges set forth by the DA, the olders in each age group will get the lion share of the playing time (or they wouldn't made the team as an older) while the youngers will be left with much less playing time (of course there will be exceptions, I am speaking in terms of the majority).

2) Is the one extra practice a week going to outweigh less playing time due to fewer scheduled games each season and even less playing time every other year when each girl will be a younger on a given team?

3) Are there going to be really any philosophical changes given the same DOC's and coaches are going to be in charge, just under a different league banner?

I'm still having a difficult time understanding how this will benefit the majority of top level girls outside of the .001%. Obviously training with top level girls all season is a huge advantage. Is it however, worth the sacrifice in potential game minutes? Was the training that much inferior at the ECNL or other top level clubs to begin with? If so how much are you really changing things when many of the same coaches and DOC's are going to be training the DA players.

Not trying to be a naysayer, just trying to understand it all.

Who knows maybe the DA will revolutionize women's soccer in the United States, just as it has on the men's side. Good luck in Rio boys!!....... Oh wait. :(

Sorry couldn't resist.;)
 
Oh, I almost forgot. It seems as though much of the discussions on this forum has assumed that there will be buy in from a vast majority of players out there. Personally, I think people are underestimating the value girls place on high school soccer compared to the boys side. I would be curious how the conversations goes with the DD's out there when the time comes. School pride and spirit can be a powerful thing. As much as having mom, dad and grandma on the sidelines of a club game can be riveting for a teenager. Having your peers, schoolmates and friends at a home game may be a little more intreaguing for some.
 
CaliKlines said:
And Rev, to answer your question, it depends on which side of the fence you're standing. You will not convince a non-DA club supporter of the necessity of DA until they are admitted, or maybe never if they drank enough ECNL Kool-Aid. Just as you will not convince a DA club supporter that women's soccer was fine "as is".
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Then there are the clubs that have DA and ECNL!
 
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Pitch pop said:
Oh, I almost forgot. It seems as though much of the discussions on this forum has assumed that there will be buy in from a vast majority of players out there. Personally, I think people are underestimating the value girls place on high school soccer compared to the boys side. I would be curious how the conversations goes with the DD's out there when the time comes. School pride and spirit can be a powerful thing. As much as having mom, dad and grandma on the sidelines of a club game can be riveting for a teenager. Having your peers, schoolmates and friends at a home game may be a little more intreaguing for some.
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I was thinking the same. With the boys, the DA is the only really viable path for kids in socal to one day play pro. It gives the clubs a lot of leverage to keep everyone in line.

But there isn't a parallel on the girls side. If they haven't figured out how to lower the cost, the DA doesn't really offer anything you can't get on an ECNL team (i.e. they are can offer the same exposure to the college coaches). Meaning it's going to be very hard to herd the cats when the parents have so many options to choose from.
 
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MakeAPlay said:
I agree that Hodges is passionate and also a good soccer player in his own right. I wouldn't say that they are the obvious choice in the IE but a good choice nonetheless. The Kooiman's problem since leaving has been Surf down in SD being the 800 pound gorilla that is Surf. Unfortunately Cle has to deal with Legends and Arsenal in the IE.
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Josh Hodges played college soccer at Azusa Pacific University when they were a NAIA school. Cle Kooiman actually played in a World Cup back in the 90s.
 
NoGoal said:
Josh Hodges played college soccer at Azusa Pacific University when they were a NAIA school. Cle Kooiman actually played in a World Cup back in the 90s.
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Oh don't get me wrong. The Kooiman's are two of the best coaches in SoCal and the country. I know that they have their playing accolades too. Trust me if the Kooimans were still at Arsenal then Legends wouldn't have gotten DA.
 
CaliKlines said:
There are plenty of public dissenters on the Girls Development Academy, just read these forums. But there are also many more supporters of the GDA, such as Christian Lavers, the president of the ECNL. His club, Eclipse, just joined the Girls Development Academy. I'd say that is pretty big endorsement.

And Rev, to answer your question, it depends on which side of the fence you're standing. You will not convince a non-DA club supporter of the necessity of DA until they are admitted, or maybe never if they drank enough ECNL Kool-Aid. Just as you will not convince a DA club supporter that women's soccer was fine "as is".
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You can't be serious? :rolleyes:. You sound like someone who just got DA and never had ECNL. The fact of the matter is DA is not creating something new . Player 15-20 will get little to NO time. The same clubs that are DA are also ECNL. To be one of the top ten now is a blessing and a curse.
 
What does a high end female player do after college?
I get the argument that being an athlete can open doors to colleges that might be out of reach otherwise.
But - Aside from 5-10 females in the entire country, there is no living to be made as a professional soccer player.
I saw this post on Hope Solo's blog about the deplorable conditions that NWSL players deal with. All for a measly $8-$14,000 per year.
http://hopesolo.com/2016/07/12/time-for-change/
 
timbuck said:
What does a high end female player do after college?
I get the argument that being an athlete can open doors to colleges that might be out of reach otherwise.
But - Aside from 5-10 females in the entire country, there is no living to be made as a professional soccer player.
I saw this post on Hope Solo's blog about the deplorable conditions that NWSL players deal with. All for a measly $8-$14,000 per year.
http://hopesolo.com/2016/07/12/time-for-change/
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Have to focus on academics. Too many stories of highly recruited ladies getting into D1, D2 etc. schools getting redshirted, injured or losing interest in the game, then and not being able to stay in school due to poor academic ability. Our kids are all working to be the best on the field, but the academics are what will ensure future success.
 
CaliKlines said:
And Rev, to answer your question, it depends on which side of the fence you're standing. You will not convince a non-ECNL club supporter of the necessity of ECNL until they are admitted, or maybe never if they drank enough National League Kool-Aid. Just as you will not convince a ECNL club supporter that women's soccer was fine "as is".
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It's ironic what we uncover by simply switching out a few words in RED.
 
timbuck said:
What does a high end female player do after college?
I get the argument that being an athlete can open doors to colleges that might be out of reach otherwise.
But - Aside from 5-10 females in the entire country, there is no living to be made as a professional soccer player.
I saw this post on Hope Solo's blog about the deplorable conditions that NWSL players deal with. All for a measly $8-$14,000 per year.
http://hopesolo.com/2016/07/12/time-for-change/
Click to expand...
And why my DD knows her soccer playing days ends during or after college. The only women making a living playing professional women soccer are the rostered Womens National Team players, which is a roster of 22. Based on prior US Soccer tax filings, if the women win Olympic Gold in Rio...they will get somewhere around a 180K bonus with the victory tour they will play afterwards.
 
DA isn't all it is cracked up to be for kids that want more to their life than soccer. My son played preacademy last year and decided not to do academy because he wanted to play high school with his friends and was looking to play one other sport also. Also, my son decided the travel and 4 days of practice a week would be tough with the top academic program he is taking.
I know my daughters both really want to play high school soccer and volleyball as well. They both have a very good chance of making DA but I am leaving it up to them. I think Beach and Legends have showed in the past that you don't have to play the top gaming circuit to get to a good college.
 
I want to focus on this excerpt from US soccer's press release:

The 25 teams accepted originally into the program have produced 307 players for U.S. Soccer’s National Teams (youth and senior) as well as 84 professional players. These clubs will provide 276 full scholarships with a total of $1.49 million of scholarship funds being contributed.

Creating the Girl’s Development Academy allows U.S. Soccer to continue to develop world class players because it supports an improved player development model in which players can focus solely on training together four times per week and play meaningful games on the weekend nearly year-round.



Every player has a choice to play high school soccer or be part of the Development Academy. High school soccer will continue to have an important place in the girls’ soccer landscape.

http://goalnation.com/u-s-soccer-girls-da-adds-28-more-clubs/

This says that they are full scholarships which means all but 5 girls per club are going to be paying full pop for travel and training. also they emphasize that they can play DA or high school soccer. Missing high school soccer wouldn't have worked for my player. She missed enough games due to outside soccer commitments and wouldn't have wanted to opt out entirely.
 
Ultimately I think that those clubs that used ecnl as the end all be all will eventually have to come up with a different sales pitch to keep their top level players from jumping ship. Maybe that free soccer pitch will continue to work, or not. Change is good. Makes everyone work harder.
 
If a club is both DA and ECNL, how will they decide who plays where?
In "theory", the better players go to DA.
But what if 16 year old Suzie wants to also play in HS and sticks turns down the DA spot and decides to stay with her ECNL team. Does the club then go to the next ranked player on the team and offer her the spot that they originally offered to Suzie? Or do they try to poach a player from a club that doesn't have DA?
Gonna be fun just like the age group change was.
 
With the DA's substitution rules(3 subs/game, no re-entry), that means only 14 players play each game. I don't see what the incentive is for a kid who is not one of the top 12-13 players on the team to remain in the DA. If you are not one of the top players, you will barely see the field. Couple that with the DA's restrictive rules for playing high school ball, ECNL seems to be the much more attractive option.
 
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