Keep an eye on Surf. The improvement in the last 3 months has been very very observable. They have the director of coaching as their coach and been very successful recruiting.
Things can change pretty quickly. Look at the 2010's thread.
And the 09s - Koge falling to 5th and AZ in first undefeated. Surf losing to Ph Rising. Games tighten as kids age and talent moves around for playtime and grass is greener…
Unfortunately the best part about soccer doesn’t consist of “consistent” results. All it takes is that simple mistake to cause the team a title. Blues records don’t lie! They are on top of the league but I do believe Koge and Surf are right behind them and they are hungry to beat the top team.
Improvement and Successful Recruiting lol.
The 10’s only had the #1 defense in the Nation heading into Virginia for the National Title.
I hear you. I would suggest it is not the best for players and not the best for team morale. It IS good for clubs trying to pay its bills. So it creates tension. My preference would be for teams to carry 16 field players and two goal keepers, but who asked me...... Older teams need more players because of injuries are more prevalent. However, a lot of players are willing to get less game playing time to get the quality training.
What are the thoughts on weekly trainings now. I've been hearing 2, 3, 4, video reviews. What are the expectations now for a ECNL team to compete for the top talent? My thoughts are 2 a week at 90 mins each just doesn't cut the mustard anymore.
For the serious youth soccer players today that aspire to be a professional player or top collegiate player, kids Are training in one way or another everyday, with the caveat that rest and recovery is part of training. Probably too many parents think their kids will be on that track and they eventually will be told by their kids that they don’t aspire to that level and want to have fun doing something else. Surf and similar programs provide that on a partial basis, but there are so many other aspects that can enhance the organized programs depending on the individual needs of the player that is the players responsibility to integrate into their development. Only you can make those judgments because only you know your child and love them. However, most parents have parent goggles on when evaluating their child’s potential.
I think this is where the problem with Club Soccer in the US surfaces. Once kids enter the serious stages of soccer, there is less direction and training at the ECNL level and parents are expected to figure out what trainings their kids need. In America, where we are less knowledgeable about soccer, this is a serious problem. At the ECNL level, the team training is only 4.5 hours per week and there is no direction for individual training or recommendations for them, except goalies.
It's also why the US needs a girls academy system. If you were to gear up training to 20 hours per week, everyone who is not on the pro/D1 recruited track would drop out, which is not enough athletes to support the girl's ECNL (or boys MLS Next) side. There's just simply no way to manage school work (let alone an honors or arts curriculum), maintain grades and do the other things which are required (fake charities), while at the same time also socializing to keep your social score up. The truly elite athletes that will compete on an international stage need to be separated from everyone else. There's also the expense issue, since someone has to pay for the field spaces (it's one of the reasons why most of the academies don't have U16 teams). In Los Angeles, we also have a traffic problem (which is why most of the older academy players need to rearrange their schooling).
I think the Clubs should add these types of quality trainings for athletes interested, an extra 8-12 hours a week and charge an extra 2K. It's cheaper than what most are doing and the quality would be better.
Most ECNL girls do want to train at 15-20 hours per week because once they start ECNL, they're pretty serious about soccer. The problem is, there is no known quality training program that does this. People just pick up trainings where they can and they're not sure if it's even helping.
Totally agree. I can’t imagine the tension between some of the parents whose DD only plays 10-15 minutes. Our current roster sits with 16 players and that alone brings drama.
The 10s are a perfect example of how the 11s will turn out. I might be wrong and only taking a wild guess but something tells me next years Blues 2011 team will be different. Slammers Koge will soak some of those top players from Blues. A handful of the current Koge girls will be dropped to Slammers NL and some will voluntarily leave to other clubs. Word is some players are already in communication with different coaches for next season. Hold on tight because some unexpected changes might come soon! We saw it with Surf NL and Beach.
