Does pay-to-play system run deeper in NorCal than anywhere else due to Silicon Valley$?

Here was the ranking from last year. SoCal dominated with 3 of the top 4 clubs.

"The ECNL is excited to announce that San Diego Surf has won the 2023-24 ECNL Girls Overall Club Championship. This honor is awarded to the club that earned the highest total points from regular-season conference games and performance at the ECNL National Playoffs and Finals. Winning this championship requires consistent excellence across all age groups throughout the season."

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To be ranked high on that list you have to have teams with a very deep bench and little to no impact when subs come on.
These teams have top talent too, but a deep bench, a system of play, and consistent coaching is critical.
The coaching and curriculum at all ages really has to be there as well. There is a progression from each age group on club base curriculum.

Being a top player on a top team doesn't equal YNT call ups. A team's style of play, or position discpline can make all the players appear better due to the antipcation and rehearsed structure.
 
the title is a little off because I think what you are trying to say is “do deep pockets” run deeper in nor cal not “pay to play” which is a whole different topic.
I don’t think so. I think deep pockets/parent involvement/donations/connections can only help so much. It doesn’t buy a bad player a spot on the team. Those team spots will absolutely go to great players. But that money or those connections MIGHT buy a “good enough” player a spot on the team especially if it’s a choice between 2 “good enough” players
Bay Area teams are diluted because there are 3 good but imperfect clubs in a small geographic area (MVLA, Force, BA surf) so the talent gets dispersed between those 3 teams. They can build a solid 11-14 players each but none of those teams have a really solid roster of 18.

San Juan is far enough away that they can have their own solid team but I don’t know what happens. Their older teams seem to drop off. Not sure why
 
SoccerEnvy said:
the title is a little off because I think what you are trying to say is “do deep pockets” run deeper in nor cal not “pay to play” which is a whole different topic.
I don’t think so. I think deep pockets/parent involvement/donations/connections can only help so much. It doesn’t buy a bad player a spot on the team. Those team spots will absolutely go to great players. But that money or those connections MIGHT buy a “good enough” player a spot on the team especially if it’s a choice between 2 “good enough” players
Bay Area teams are diluted because there are 3 good but imperfect clubs in a small geographic area (MVLA, Force, BA surf) so the talent gets dispersed between those 3 teams. They can build a solid 11-14 players each but none of those teams have a really solid roster of 18.

San Juan is far enough away that they can have their own solid team but I don’t know what happens. Their older teams seem to drop off. Not sure why
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I’ve seen several Nor Cal female players over the last few years join the SD Surf teams for about 12-18 months due to the Deza connections from Nor Cal. They move schools, parents rent houses, and move back to NorCal in their senior year after the main recruiting push. This tells you all you need to know about the NorCal vs SoCal level of play. Big commitment from both parents and player to do this…. for the exposure and potential college commitment. For the players I witnessed, 3 of 3 got the D1 commitment, but they were periphery players at Surf.
 
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