'23-'24 SoCal and National Forecast and Updates
- Thread starter MARsSPEED
- Start date
rainbow_unicorn
PREMIER
Funny how when we were youngers we would think Blues coaches scouting our games was the coolest thing. Now that our kids our olders it's a bit ridiculous thinking of coaches scouting 8 or 9 year olds.
Shooting Star
SILVER
It's all the Blues faultI had firsthand experience and so did a very dear friend of mind and his dd and what you're saying is not true shooting star. My pals dd was leaving his old Strikers team. AR told the dad if you leave, no ODP invite for your daughter. All this because she went to da Blues. The shit he said about Tad, crazy Larry and the Baker Bros was insane. I was shocked he went to tad after turning down a bag of cash to be the Doc for OC Surf. I read the email by the way to my pal. I will ask my pal to post it for all to read. I do agree he should be in the pros. Sage my ass!!! This guy is a liar bro. He also has the keys to colleges, YNT recommendations and Pros. Trust me, the money is very nice at the youth level, especially the private sessions that allows mom and dad private access to all the keys. Get the cash out daddy and STFU and tell your beautiful dd to obey the master teacher and do as told and all well go with
They all poach/recruit/ “train”
Maybe teaching the game of soccer is a losing proposition now because it doesn’t happen overnight.
Other issues of today -
Looking for immediate top team/trophy/ guarantee to YNT - then
Parents that blame and demean the coach way too easily without humanistic regard and with no consideration to the team
Kids that are entitled
Lack of work ethic
Could be a generational thing and could be that some coaches are not keeping up with the fomo trend.
Slow and steady doesn’t win the race - stroking egos does now.
My dd played for Tad for two years. No one left Tad's teams unless you were cut or moved. Tad is the best coache ever in SoCal regarding his treatment of the ladies on his team. A true class act, trust me. Always honest to me. He NEVER yelled at his player, or demend them and I mean never. He only had 7 teams in 42 years. Do the Math. He would recruit the top youth in Socal and then call his top potential players to come out for some Sunday Scrimmages to get the girls to battle the best of the best and get them ready to play U11 and 11v11 for the first time. Legends and Beach would throw a fit on here about how unfair it was that Tad and Rob worked harder then all of them combine in recruiting. Tad would sit in a chair with paper and pencil and take notes. He did not offer scholarships like the other top clubs do today. He never talked YNT or college. with me or my kid. ECNL was only for high schoolers back then. It all changed in 2016 with the age change and the failed GDA League. Tad got poached for the first time, but clubs were offering full rides, free travel, free everything and some got per diems for travel food and expenses. Full rides were being offered to all the top 04s, who were all let loose to find new GDA teams. Tad lost half of his State Cup Championship team. Blues has never recovered. It's hard to compete with "free soccer" when everyone else is paying $120K to get a college deal.
Connections help big time. Unless your player at the smaller club is a can't miss like a Shaw, many kids get passed over because of who makes the selection. We need 4 Regions of USYNT Teams and let them battle each other. From those four teams, you let an independent and not influenced coach make his selection for U17 World Cup. If we did that, we would win every U17 World Cup. Selection MUST be earned on the field, not from a Doc, coach or club. Recommendations is cool, but let's see what you have done for me lately on the pitch. I have so many ideas to make this all work and help make USA #1.
Orangeteam
SILVER ELITE
If the choices look odd there is some positive news.
If history is a guide after this age group plays their first games the scouts will end up dropping 5-8 players and add in news one. Over the next 12-18months the scouts will bring in a total of 45-50 kids into the domestic camp at least once.
So you can assume they either a) got the early picks wrong, or b) are conintuing to refine and experiment with new players who show they are ready.
Mak stood out last week at camp based on the game I saw.
Is Mak better? I think she has skills and a midset that is very different than alot of really good youth players.
I've know of her since she was in Roseville area back in 2017 time frame and watched her several times before she left for SoCal. Regardless of peopel feelings, she is a special player.
So I gotta lot info about the upcoming ECNL Playoffs with player movement and such. Seems some of the current lower seeded teams are going to be better than what they look like on the outside. It's going to be pretty crazy I think. Truly up for grabs this year. I'll wait for the pools to be announced but I don't even think teams like PDA Blue are going to have an easy go at group play.
LV Surf merging to Heat. Now called Las Vegas Heat Surf. The 09s are going to be really good in arguably the best Conference in the ECNL 09 age group. I see them certainly making the NL playoffs next year with a high seed and making a run. Now know one can complain about traveling to Vegas because it’s not competitive. Pretty cool for the Southwest Conference all the way around.
rainbow_unicorn
PREMIER
Out of curiosity, why didn't the LV Surf players just go play for Heat in the first place?
And don't be so certain about playoffs/high seed...just ask Blues, Eagles and Slammers on how competitive the SW conference is and how hard it is to qualify for playoffs. Every SW team is retooling and making upgrades for next season.
I’m sure they had there reasons or what not. Fact of the matter is they are now going to be a force to be reckoned with. I agree with you, nothings for certain, close games, close match ups, will be fun to watch unfold next season.
Well, LV Surf somehow kept a very strong team despite not having ECNL/GA all these years. Usually that means there's a really exceptional coach and great team vibe. (Or perhaps smart parents who realized early that the letter league doesn't matter until sophomore year
)Now they will have to merge two teams' worth of strong players into one, and that can result in a superteam, or it can end in a clash of cultures. I never saw Heat play, but I always loved to watch LV Surf.
SoccerFan4Life
PREMIER
Lots of movement going on with top SoCal teams trying to consolidate players to make super teams. I heard SoCal teams will not play Las Vegas next year and no more Arizona teams. Only 1 game per weekend due to too many injuries this past season.
I heard the same thing and its music to my sister-in-law ears. I was called so many names for this exact proposal. One game a week is the way to go. Now they need to deal with the 3-day Injury Showcases. I tried to warn everyone in 2021 that the girls are tearing ACLs left and right, besides all the concussions and broken bones in between. I finally had to step in as Hawk Dad and tell coach, "One game bro, choose wisely." So, we compromised. Half game then day off and then another half game=1 game. The businessman in this sport needs to think of the girls first, not their pocketbook.
3 games in 3 days is the light end of the nonsense.
Surf's Olders events are still 4 games in 3 days or 5 games in 4 days.
One side effect is that some strong teams are avoiding the injury fests. Surf's big Memorial Day tournament has almost no 09 ECNL teams. Just Sharks.
Four more at Cerritos- but at least that is 3 in 3 instead of 4 in 3.
Where will LV and Zona teams play at, which conference?