Firstly, this is not a thread about which league is better. Just facts please! I was asked given equal cost, driving distance, recruiting and coaching, what exactly are the expectations for DA vs ECNL. Having no experience with girls DA I don’t know how to answer this. I think the 4 days a week practices scare off a lot of families due to the time commitment required by both the parent and child. Are kiddos expected to attend all practices and are some film review or conditioning? If you miss too many practices are you benched or kicked off the team? I think it is great that at least with DA, kiddos are guaranteed minimum playing time. I’ve seen plenty of kiddos ride the pine at ECNL showcases. To me it looks like ECNL teams are carrying a lot more players than DA teams, probably due to DA coaches realizing they need to meet the minimum playing requirements.
My generic response is that kids that cannot get enough of soccer should play DA. Kiddos that want to play HS, want a more balanced life, need more time to study or want to focus on working with a private trainer should play ECNL or another league. Your thoughts...
My son played DA last season and my daughter plays ECNL this season so here it goes (this is a my personal opinion/experience, results by vary club to club)...
DA - 4 practices a week - no excuses for missing a practice. Doesn't matter if the player is sick, he can sit and watch the practice. Got a big homework assignment or need to study for a test, so do all the other players (straight quote from his coach).
DA Travel time - Going East in the L.A. area sucks, practice took 40-50 minutes to go 16 miles, quicker going home. Home field was 44 miles away. Away games...it is what it is...We had one player driving 70 miles each way to practice, and he hardly played. Plus no other player lived near us so we were on our own.
DA Cost - Was lucky, pretty much a fully funded club. That varies a lot club to club.
DA Field time - Only sub once per game. Some kids didn't play at all. Miss too many practices and the player in the doghouse.
DA Roster - Had 25+ on the roster but only 18 can dress. Other kids may or may not play DPL. I believe DPL players are part time players and can only play no more than 6 DA teams. Please correct me if that's wrong.
DA Showcases - Many start in the middle of the weeks. The LA Galaxy one that was at OC Park started on Wednesday. US National Team scouts are at the games so at least with the boys, it was almost like every boy for themselves to make themself look good. Only did a couple of showcases though.
ECNL - 2 practices a week and 1 day most weeks for film study. Coach understands players get sick. Does't hold a grudge.
ECNL Travel Time - Practice is 37 miles away and takes 50 minutes to an hour, quicker coming home. Home field is at the same place most games. Away games in Nevada and Arizona. 2 showcases in Arizona and next year one in New Jersey. Lucky for us, we have 4-5 other players that live close to us so we do carpool time to time.
ECNL Cost - 2k+. Fall showcase killed us. Our team was at the bottom of the hotel lottery so the girls got to stay at some 5 star resort. Sounds nice until you fork over $250 for your kid alone for her room (room cost split 4 ways as there are 4 girls per room). Then us parents needed a room also. I stayed at the Resort of Best Western for just over $300 for 3 nights. Add fuel and eating and it's a big hit on the wallet.
ECNL Game time - Few play all game, most see 50-75% of field time. No one rides the bench all game. Can be subbed out only once in the 1st half but that resets in the 2nd half.
ECNL Roster - Players can be dual rostered, on the ECNL and ECRL teams. If there is an injury, and RL player can play up and vice versa.
ECNL Showcases - Depends on the age group. U15 must do the 2 Phoenix showcases which are pretty nice. U16 & 17 adds in the New Jersey PDA Showcase. Lots and lots of college coaches at the Phoenix showcase.
So, again in my opinion, both takes an incredible amount of commitment from both player and parent. Education is the key factor here. My son's grades did drop with the 4 practices a week. My daughter is a little better with her schoolwork. But that's the main reason we pulled our son off the DA team and now he plays on a Discovery team. Of course every damn game is at Silverlakes...don't get me started on that...lol
But if your kid struggles with schoolwork, then maybe a SCDSL or CSL team would be a better fit. Of course there's the "I want to play high school" word, so everyone knows that's a no-no for DA (yeah yeah...loopholes).