Now that is funny. Like there are no other clubs in the area (S. Cal) that have problems with integrity and transparency.
DA and ECNL
- Thread starter Desert Hound
- Start date
Ooh. Was there a meeting tonight?
Any discussion on their affiliates and how that cash cow has been performing?
Just need clubs to start boycotting surf cup / man city cup and then the grand plan all falls apart. (Will never happen. People want that jacket!!!!)
No meeting, rather a sales pitch on why DPL will be better than ECNL. I heard it was quiet the crowd.
.....Wow! Trying anything to keep that ECNL $$$ from leaving the club. How does the saying go? Fool me once, shame on you......
Desert Hound
DA
What was the pitch? What were they claiming that makes DPL better vs ECNL?
Bruddah IZ
DA
It's not what was pitched, it's when.
I wonder if anybody recorded last year’s meeting where the sales pitch was why ECNL was better than DPL?
Bruddah IZ
DA
Competition probably. Recordings? Hmmm?
Mystery Train
GOLD
Last night the surf cup olders schedule was posted and it showed "Surf ECNL" teams in several age groups. The schedules were taken down and I can't pull them up again. But I did get this screen shot of the '04 Super White flight. This indicates to me that this drop from ECNL has been sudden and unplanned...which means that any spin they are putting on it like this is a positive thing is bogus. If it was planned, the hubris and ineptitude in how it was handled is alarming. I've generally respected Surf (from a distance at least) but this isn't a good look no matter how you slice it.
Attachments
Surf actively recruited girls for ECNL this year from other clubs. They signed players up to be on ECNL teams. Parents paid to have their dd on ECNL teams. Then ECNL came out with their map/list of clubs participating in ECNL next year. ONLY AFTER this list appeared did Surf send parents an email saying that the list was not final but rather tentative and that it came as a complete surprise to them that they were not on the list. They said that they had “jumped through all the hoops ECNL asked them to” so that they did not understand the problem. They also stressed that the list was tenitive and that they were still working with ECNL to “jump through more hoops.” (Nice way to continue to string them along).
Don’t ask me to post it. I don’t have it but saw it last weekend from a Surf friend.
Sheriff Joe
DA
Fsur-oops!
Mystery Train
GOLD
If it's true that ECNL pulled the rug out from under them, and that's what they are saying to parents, then I can sympathize with the club. But if ECNL yanked away their membership and then Surf is trying to sell DPL as a better product, then I would be taking my kids' talents to "south beach" ... along with a full refund!
Surf Cup uses the GotSoccer software. If a team's manager hasn't gotten around to updating its GotSoccer profile yet, that's how it is going to show up in the tournament schedule. Looks like the other Surf teams haven't updated their GotSoccer profiles either. Perhaps they don't know what to change it to yet.
2004 ECNL: https://home.gotsoccer.com/rankings/team.aspx?TeamID=1002341
Other teams: https://home.gotsoccer.com/rankings/club.aspx?ClubID=8766
kidzsoccerfan
BRONZE
I heard same thing on Sharks 04’s. A couple players away from being a very good team. I believe they have Coach Goran- great coach, lots of college contacts.
Mystery Train
GOLD
Yep. Point being that this wasn't something planned ahead.
You’re making a big assumption that Surf was telling them the truth. I find it very hard to believe that the first notice they received was ECNL’s announcement. I also find it hard to believe that ECNL’s announcement was a “tentative” list. If Surf was truly blindsided they would not pass the buck and make their players pay. They should be upfront about refunding anyone that wants to leave. But of course they will never do that.
What team is not a couple players away from being very good? Why not be more specific and list the positions needed and how many are on the team now? Looking at Sharks rosters it looks like teams were good sized. Of course many ECNL teams carry 20+ especially during the high school years.
The 04 team had 14 FT players last years - coach was very selective. He only added a couple of players this year.
Seems like you know a lot more about this team then you let on “I believe”. ........hahahahahha homeboy!
Mystery Train
GOLD
No assumptions made. I said, "IF."
I think in your zest to bash them, you've misunderstood my posts. I don't know what is going on behind the scenes and have no sources in San Diego. This is all an amusing sideshow to me. But I do feel bad for any families who are caught in no-man's land so late in the year and may have to scramble to find high level opportunities for their players. I've seen it happen all over the place in club soccer. It's the ugliest part of the whole scene.
My take on this is that it's a horrible look for Surf because clearly, there are only two possible conclusions that outsiders can draw from all this: 1) Surf is sleazy (knowingly pulled a bait and switch on players recruited for ECNL all the while knowing they were going out) or 2) Surf is inept (sold parents on something that they didn't have properly worked out and is now scrambling to do damage control). It's gotta be one or the other. I have more sympathy for them if they are merely inept and are trying to get back into the graces of ECNL to rectify the situation for their parents. It doesn't absolve them, but if someone says that's what they're telling the parents, I have no way to refute that. The fact that all their ECNL teams still say "ECNL" on their GotSoccer pages indicates to me that this wasn't planned.
I suppose the third possibility is that they are both sleazy AND inept. But I'm not a Surf-hater, so I'm not gonna go there. I like to keep my schadenfreude balanced and thoughtful.
I agree with you that the idea that ECNL would yank membership randomly without trying to get them to be on the same page is very unlikely given the turf war going on with DA. Surf is a huge club with national recognition. I would think ECNL would be working very hard to keep them.
It's a weird situation and I'd love to hear the conversations behind those closed doors.
Sheriff Joe
DA
Hard to tell, but these are multi million dollar organizations, I doubt surf is inept. It would appear to the naked eye that US Soccer told them to get rid of ECNL.
ECNL is springing back to life and US Soccer doesn't like it.