Better team vs. more play time

Carlsbad7 said:
More GA clubs means a wider net. A wider net means more opportunities to have college/pro players come up from within the system. If top talent feels like GA is mature and able to highlight them to recruiters they won't switch leagues.

Above is not unreasonable to assume.
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Losing most good GA clubs, with the ones being left facing little high-level competition, means parents that are concerned about it are realizing that if their kid is shooting for D1, GA is not the best choice. A wider net is not what those parents, kids, or recruiters are interested in.
 
RandomSoccerFan said:
Losing most good GA clubs, with the ones being left facing little high-level competition, means parents that are concerned about it are realizing that if their kid is shooting for D1, GA is not the best choice. A wider net is not what those parents, kids, or recruiters are interested in.
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I’m lost. How does this discussion help the parents of a 9 year old boy decide where to play?
 
RandomSoccerFan said:
Fair point. It took a turn when someone returned to form and used yet another thread to shill GA right here.
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It's ironc who's being labeled as a shill.

The original statement was that GA D1 commitments are going down. I started that without yoy data it's hard to determine. I also posted links to the GA website where they are claiming college commitments are going up by 100 each year for the last 3 years. (Without clearly identifying if D1, D2, D3 NAIA, etc)

Other "non shills" started posting ECNL percentage type marketing info.

Give me a break...
 
Carlsbad7 said:
That's nice marketing. However the question was if GA D1 commitments are increasing or decreasing. Without tracking the data it's hard to say.

Notice how leagues like to use percentages to convey a message not real numbers.
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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.
 
Larzby said:
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.
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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.
 
I've noticed when a team needs a last minute add to their incoming freshman class(more transfers away from the school, injuries, players quitting), adding a player from ECNL/ECRL is an easy play for coaches. At least here in socal I see late additions to rosters.
 
Carlsbad7 said:
That's nice marketing. However the question was if GA D1 commitments are increasing or decreasing. Without tracking the data it's hard to say.

Notice how leagues like to use percentages to convey a message not real numbers.
Click to expand...
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.

1717795191261.png


Class of 2024 | Girls Academy League

girlsacademyleague.com girlsacademyleague.com
 
RandomSoccerFan said:
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.
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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.
 
Larzby said:
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.
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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.
 
socalkdg said:
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

girlsacademyleague.com girlsacademyleague.com
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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.

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.
 
watfly said:
No offense to your wife, but this mentality is what the big clubs prey on. IMHO this mentality can lead to burnout of your child in the long run. Talent doesn't ruin chances, but FOMO can ruin passion.

Dirty little secret. By the time kids reach 15-16 the truly passionate and talented kids are at least playing at an MLS Academy. Most (not all) of the other kids left playing for non-academy MLS Next and ECNL boys teams are passionate kids with average talent, because the other athletically gifted kids have moved on to other sports.
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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?
 
lulu9155 said:
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?
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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).
 
watfly said:
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).
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So the kids left on MLS non academy or ECNL at 15+ getting scholarships are still ones previously considered tier 2 or lower kids?
 
lulu9155 said:
So the kids left on MLS non academy or ECNL at 15+ getting scholarships are still ones previously considered tier 2 or lower kids?
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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.
 
lulu9155 said:
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?
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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 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.
 
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