ECNL Playoffs

U17 Final Four:

MVLA
LAFC
United FA (Georgia)
Solar (Texas)

This will be MVLA’s 3rd trip (2018 National Champs, 2019 3rd Place - GSA won, 2020 No Playoffs due to Covid) to the ECNL National Finals. 1st trip for the other 3 teams in the 2004 age group. Should be some great games in Virginia.

Safe travels for all those getting home from Florida.
 
Surf Zombie said:
Doesn’t look like any scores were posted from today. Wanted to see who made the final 4 for the 2007 group.
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Sorry, can’t help you there. U17 results (besides MVLA, I was there for that lol) were pieces together from Instagram posts and text messages between players.
 
timmyh said:
There was plenty of field space this morning. Why ECNL didn't have the U13s at least play the semifinals is a bizarre decision.

I guess naming all four Co-Champs is better than just ignoring the age group (like they did this week in Florida and then again by not sending them to Virginia).
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It was fun for the 2 games. But it was a waste of money to be honest. I say don't have u13 age at all if they will be the bottom priority of the playoff.
 
KingMI said:
I say don't have u13 age at all if they will be the bottom priority of the playoff.
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Of course in a playoff/showcase setting with college coaches the youngest ages are the least priority.

When my DD started at the youngest ages you didn't see many coaches out there looking. A few. A vast contrast vs the sidelines on the older groups.

In this case? Weather happened. Out of their control. So they prioritize the ages that are actually getting recruited. It sucks they only got in a couple of games though. You always want to see your kid play as much as possible.
 
Desert Hound said:
Of course in a playoff/showcase setting with college coaches the youngest ages are the least priority.

When my DD started at the youngest ages you didn't see many coaches out there looking. A few. A vast contrast vs the sidelines on the older groups.

In this case? Weather happened. Out of their control. So they prioritize the ages that are actually getting recruited. It sucks they only got in a couple of games though. You always want to see your kid play as much as possible.
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Agree 100% on that point. The youngers did have a few people watch on the scouting side. Another positive was my kid was able to get a day 3 article about her and her teams performance. So we as family did get something out of it for her.
 
ginga said:
No need to live stream, college coaches are in Florida. There’s no substitute for live action. They follow the talent when it’s worth the trip.
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Live stream is likely not going away. Coaches who can go will go, coaches who can't go will watch. Parents and extended family members also benefit from livestream. It's a simple tool, one that many like. I have no idea what the cost is. It's somewhat reliable technology, has been around for some time. I'm sure weather would impact it.

No argument that live is best, but live stream is good. To completely disregard it is not taking into account the pros of it. I don't see a con. Live stream is not going to deter a coach from coming.
 
Vista 21 said:
Congrats to Blues and LAFC Slammers making the final 4! Youth Soccer ranking is remarkably accurate in predicting this age group. Great to see 2 of the 4 teams from the So Cal/SW region.
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Mostly really tight quarterfinal games...
Slammers over Surf in Pks.
Jacksonville over Indiana Fire in Pks.
Blues scored the winning goal vs. Michigan Hawks with basically the last kick of the game.
Solar won 7-0 (!) over MVLA.

Kudos to both Socal semifinal teams (and Surf, too) for representing well!

LAFC Slammers also made the semifinals in the U13 division (as did Solar, Eclipse, and San Juan).
 
Calikid said:
And it was a very well run event. Extremely well organized and all of the staff were available and willing to help!
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They rolled the dice. GA needs a few home runs (grand slams) to catch up to ECNL, and even that will not be enough. But I like their fight.
 
Swoosh said:
They rolled the dice. GA needs a few home runs (grand slams) to catch up to ECNL, and even that will not be enough. But I like their fight.
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Do you think they need to catch up? Why not just be a really good and viable alternative? Looks like parents are making this about competition. Both leagues will get their share. The winners are the players and coaches. Players get another platform that has street cred due to the people running it. Coaches get access to more players. It was obvious that coaches showed up in large numbers to both showcases. Win win for girls soccer.

The GA doesn't need to hit grand slams. They need to be consistent with their product. It's early for them but they've been consistent. I'm sure there are others but I have players in both leagues. There is a different feel about the GA VS ECNL. ECNL certainly knows how to put on an event, they've been doing it for a long time. Their model is efficient. The GA is seeing what works for them and is trying to avoid being seen as a business monster. As they grow that may become more difficult. The talent gap in certain regions may shrink, maybe they won't, time will tell. Who knows. I hope the GA survives. There are many who don't. Another league that platform our DDs and supports their desire to play at the next level is not a bad thing.
 
what-happened said:
Do you think they need to catch up? Why not just be a really good and viable alternative? Looks like parents are making this about competition. Both leagues will get their share. The winners are the players and coaches. Players get another platform that has street cred due to the people running it. Coaches get access to more players. It was obvious that coaches showed up in large numbers to both showcases. Win win for girls soccer.

The GA doesn't need to hit grand slams. They need to be consistent with their product. It's early for them but they've been consistent. I'm sure there are others but I have players in both leagues. There is a different feel about the GA VS ECNL. ECNL certainly knows how to put on an event, they've been doing it for a long time. Their model is efficient. The GA is seeing what works for them and is trying to avoid being seen as a business monster. As they grow that may become more difficult. The talent gap in certain regions may shrink, maybe they won't, time will tell. Who knows. I hope the GA survives. There are many who don't. Another league that platform our DDs and supports their desire to play at the next level is not a bad thing.
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This all sounds good from a coaches perspective because GA provides more employment opportunities. I get it.

But, as a parent I’m concerned that having both ECNL and GA dilutes the elite youth platform and hinders development essentially turning both leagues into very expensive recreational leagues.

How is having two elite youth leagues in the best interest of the players when there aren’t many truly elite players? A diluted elite league is just a fancy way of saying rec league. Once again, I think parents are getting hoodwinked and bamboozled and paying top dollar for it.

In terms of consistency, it seems both leagues are consistently diluted and have the ability to sway college coaches to watch players who have had their development hindered by dilution.

At this juncture, I think AYSO could compete with ECNL and GA if they had college showcases to help players transition to college; what do you think?
 
MacDre said:
This all sounds good from a coaches perspective because GA provides more employment opportunities. I get it.

But, as a parent I’m concerned that having both ECNL and GA dilutes the elite youth platform and hinders development essentially turning both leagues into very expensive recreational leagues.

How is having two elite youth leagues in the best interest of the players when there aren’t many truly elite players? A diluted elite league is just a fancy way of saying rec league. Once again, I think parents are getting hoodwinked and bamboozled and paying top dollar for it.

In terms of consistency, it seems both leagues are consistently diluted and have the ability to sway college coaches to watch players who have had their development hindered by dilution.

At this juncture, I think AYSO could compete with ECNL and GA if they had college showcases to help players transition to college; what do you think?
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All this would be solved by relegation and a tiered system. ECNL does not allow that. If you are in, it doesn't matter if your team sucks and has sucked for years you were granted your franchise and barring some real bone head move will be there forever. Being as there are non ECNL clubs that have talent that is better than ECNL clubs it gives rise to other leagues. To completely unify the elite programs in the country relegation is needed and we will never have concentration of talent without it.
 
Legends got caught up on a technicality.

Stop being a child.
[/QUOTE]
That’s a stupid rule if they do allow college players to come down and play. The purpose of ECNL should be to give a path to players to get recruited by college scouts. Why would you bring a college player to this event? What does that tell the rest of the players that are trying (last chance) to get into college playing soccer?
This “rule” just validates that this is a scam! Parents invest so much time and money to see the coach bring a college player to take away a chance for the other players to be on the spotlight.
 
SoccerFan4Life said:
That’s a stupid rule if they do allow college players to come down and play. The purpose of ECNL should be to give a path to players to get recruited by college scouts. Why would you bring a college player to this event? What does that tell the rest of the players that are trying (last chance) to get into college playing soccer?
This “rule” just validates that this is a scam! Parents invest so much time and money to see the coach bring a college player to take away a chance for the other players to be on the spotlight.
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I looked. There is no mention of college in ECNL's founding documents.
 
SoccerFan4Life said:
Legends got caught up on a technicality.

Stop being a child.
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Why would you bring a college player to this event? What does that tell the rest of the players that are trying (last chance) to get into college playing soccer?
[/QUOTE]
I think having college players participate is good because it allows the scouts to compare and contrast the HS player with college players in a real game.

I think it tells the rest of the players that if they can’t compete with a college player in a youth tournament, that they probably aren’t going to compete for a starting position on a college team.
 
MacDre said:
This all sounds good from a coaches perspective because GA provides more employment opportunities. I get it.

But, as a parent I’m concerned that having both ECNL and GA dilutes the elite youth platform and hinders development essentially turning both leagues into very expensive recreational leagues.

How is having two elite youth leagues in the best interest of the players when there aren’t many truly elite players? A diluted elite league is just a fancy way of saying rec league. Once again, I think parents are getting hoodwinked and bamboozled and paying top dollar for it.

In terms of consistency, it seems both leagues are consistently diluted and have the ability to sway college coaches to watch players who have had their development hindered by dilution.

At this juncture, I think AYSO could compete with ECNL and GA if they had college showcases to help players transition to college; what do you think?
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What makes you think the top clubs would all be in ECNL if GA didn’t exist?

We ran that experiment. Without a second league, ECNL restricts membership in an effort to gain a competitive advantage in local markets. You end up with top clubs outside ECNL because the other top club in their area doesn’t want them in.
 
MacDre said:
I think having college players participate is good because it allows the scouts to compare and contrast the HS player with college players in a real game.

I think it tells the rest of the players that if they can’t compete with a college player in a youth tournament, that they probably aren’t going to compete for a starting position on a college team.
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My son's best opportunity for development was playing three years in an under-20 league (USL Super-20) composed of a mix of high school and college players. His final season there ended the week before Captain's Camp preceding his Freshman year at college. He was fit and ready for that level of play.
 
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