Same as it ever was. The bottom SW teams at playoffs are always stronger than the bottom playoff teams from most other regions.
Take the time to compare that list of coaches to an ECNL showcase. More importantly, look to see which coaches are NOT there.
Big U frequently sends “Assistant Coach #2” to the GA events. Show the name and hat and the latest NIke trainers.
First it was "college coaches dont take the time" which was quickly proven incorrect.
Not from what i've seen at GA Champions Cup and the Playoffs. There were plenty of power 4 coaches watching. What is "many"? Like 300 vs 250? Looked like hundreds of coaches (DI, DII, DIII) to me at these events. Again, ECNL is better at the top. No question. In the meantime we are having fun taking out all the great SW ECNL teams this summer... If your good, your good. Coaches will notice.
If they only have so much money and so much time, they'll go where they can see a larger group of talent. It makes sense.
Imagine NPL/E64 teams trying to say that they are a better option for GA teams if they're not one of the top five GA clubs in the country. Now THAT is a valid point since if you're not one of those top GA teams then you're not going to get love from colleges. And I'm sure NPL/E64 families feel that it's not fair that their entire group is being overlooked. And maybe they view GA as the bad actors/gate keepers since they won't accept their teams.
Maybe I dont really know. If NPL clubs are good enough to play in GA great, bring them into the fold.
Where are you getting your info? There were coaches from 40+ colleges (primarily D1) at our most recent GA showcases and playoffs. They had to put some on the parents' touchline because the other side was full.
I would love to see this, but you've been saying it for a while now! You have surprising track record / ability to predict stuff like this, so I don't doubt you, but let's get it happening soon!
I listened to this podcast, and they don't say what has been claimed. In fact, they say the opposite. If anyone listens, the relevant discussion of the huge college attendance at the GA showcase is at 26:00 through 31:00. Of the three hosts (all three are D1 college coaches) one went to the ECNL event, one went to the GA event, and one of them went to both. Take it for what it is worth. They do acknowledge what Carlsbad has said many times, which is that the GA level tapers off dramatically in the bottom half, but the top teams are excellent at both.
I dont have any kind of magic super-sense. My kids started very young and we've always had to deal with the top team drama. We were around when DA was the top league. Once you've been around it all long enough you start to see patterns and names + faces (on the club side) happening over and over again.
Your ranking is correct, and none of the above seems inaccurate. But it underplays the relative differences between the leagues as if one was just a smidgen higher and the other one was almost as good. It is a wide, wide gulf between them in terms of recruiting, quality of play, or any other soccer-focused metric you chose to use to compare. Look at 2009G. GA has 21 teams in the top 100 nationally. That's awesome! And it's better than almost any other league. Except one. ECNL has 71 of the top 100 teams, not even counting ECNL-RL. And 19 of the top 20. There are a very small handful of competitive GA teams, and the entire rest of the league is made up of also-rans. GA proponents like to say how many terrible ECNL teams/clubs there are, but won't mention how many GA teams/clubs would fit in the very same category. At some point there may be more parity, and in attempting to get there, it challenges both leagues to do better in all aspects. But anyone stating (or believing) that it's a close race right now is delusional.
