you are lucky. my kid isn't that sharp. he is flight iii but i have him convinced he is playing mls next. he lives in a happy false bubble. may not be great for his long term development but short term has been pleasant.
Discovery League- "We've created a monster!!!"
- Thread starter timbuck
- Start date
Messi>CR7
GOLD
There is no need to be overly critical on how we label the flights. In UK they don't call the second division Flight 2 either. They call it "Championship". LOL.
They also have the pub league so using adult monikers for youth doesn't really translate.
No reason to be misleading or gloss up the different brackets, kids know what's up. They don't need labels
A,B,D, 1-4 Call them what they really are,. Hiding behind some marketing terms like discovery is just for the parents or clubs.
Socal league could be two tiers:. Competitive and Recreational.
Competitive could travel but starts @ 11v11 only. High school team players would fit in this tier and games scheduled appropriately.
Recreational is everyone else flight x to 4. Local play in the same county home & away. All 9v9 or youngers + other 11v11 teams that don't fit or earn there ways into competitive by winning tournaments, leagues, etc.
League cup for rec at the end of the fall season before winter break.
Of course those names won't sell so you get "discovery", flight 4, super elite, blah, blah
Competitive could travel but starts @ 11v11 only. High school team players would fit in this tier and games scheduled appropriately.
Recreational is everyone else flight x to 4. Local play in the same county home & away. All 9v9 or youngers + other 11v11 teams that don't fit or earn there ways into competitive by winning tournaments, leagues, etc.
League cup for rec at the end of the fall season before winter break.
Of course those names won't sell so you get "discovery", flight 4, super elite, blah, blah
So, the top 9v9 players in socal would all play rec?
That would pretty much ruin the game for normal rec players. Why bother learning to dribble? Just kick the ball to mini-Marta. She’ll score. But next week we play the team with mini-Becky. The whole team will enjoy watching those two play.
How about rec leagues setting their fees so that there is enough left over to pay for free entry to the post-season tournament for the highest finishers in the league?
I for one want to watch mini-Marta and mini-Becky!
Nope more competitive 9v9 can play for vs other "Top" teams but locally or in the same county/region. it's called recreation since that's what it is.
Rec can have different flights but without the 6 hours to travel to play another so called top team. Plenty of travel tournaments for that and many years at 11v11.
I like the plan to keep it local. Even 11v11, 6 hours for a league game is crazy.
You use the word “rec” differently than I do. To me, it means local leagues with no tryouts. Also a good thing, but completely different from what you mean.
They play near the polo fields in August every year.
Candidly, after all of the driving and no home games, I would look to get my kid on an ECRL team (if not able to make an ECNL team). That way half of our games are in Orange County. 4.5-5 hours (2 hour game, arrive an hour early, and drive both ways) for every game on a Saturday and/or Sunday is ridiculous.
I think the intent of the division is very good. But the execution creates burnout for players and parents (especially the older players who have other things they want to do on the weekends).
Why not "just" flight 1?
Venantsyo
GOLD
Yes, possibly for both kids. For us drive to Silverlakes is not too bad and facilities are good.
Not interested in the drive required for ECNL/ECRL (assuming kids would be good enough, which they are probably not)
EDIT: much different story if we get sent to Oceanside. That would be a no no
sascbreakaway83
BRONZE
ECRL for the 09 boys is equivalent to flight 2. It’s pretty awful…it’s either Discovery or ECNL. I am sure next year you will see the best ECNL players migrate MLS next.
we play ECRL and have gone out of the area 2x
Survey says travel sports are just getting more expensive.
The transportation costs alone are getting to be too much and when you work weekends forget about it.
More local play in the long run will save $$, time, and be better for many things. Not having fans, friends, family members at games cheering the players is kind of a bummer for everyone.
Should just reconsider, instead of 400 teams traveling distance ever weekend to play at complexes make that just 100 or so. Top 12 teams each age group or something like that, everyone else home and away local. The self flighting thing is kind of joke, earned it in some other way either through a play in tournament or some other standardized way.
The rat system chasing cheese (dubs) is just a marketing ploy, talk with your club management and demand change.
The transportation costs alone are getting to be too much and when you work weekends forget about it.
More local play in the long run will save $$, time, and be better for many things. Not having fans, friends, family members at games cheering the players is kind of a bummer for everyone.
Should just reconsider, instead of 400 teams traveling distance ever weekend to play at complexes make that just 100 or so. Top 12 teams each age group or something like that, everyone else home and away local. The self flighting thing is kind of joke, earned it in some other way either through a play in tournament or some other standardized way.
The rat system chasing cheese (dubs) is just a marketing ploy, talk with your club management and demand change.
graciesdad
BRONZE
We are SoCal Flight 2 team and scrimmage a Discovery team all the time. Matches are dead even. Found our happy place in Fight 2. Good competition and limited travel. Just quit drinking the acronym Kool Aid.
girls team?