ECNL Policies

EOTL said:
but the best thing you can do is find one of the “queen maker” coaches who can help deliver the best opportunity for her,
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you're showing your age...that's old school thought...cable vs. Netflix...MSFT vs. Google...truth is nowadays with social media, soccer camps, leagues with well attended showcases, improved smaller clubs, and the forthcoming resurgence of HS soccer, there are many more pathways to the next level. The influx of international players in the men's and women's college game is a perfect example of coaches finding players beyond the "rusty copper pipes".

The "queen maker" coaches no longer have the power and exclusivity that they had 10-15 years ago, though in their minds I'm sure they still think they do. Especially if they are a pompous ass--and there are many--there is no longer a legitimate reason to figuratively curtsy or bow to these coaches. Unfortunately, many risk averse parents still do, and their player suffers in the long run because of it.
 
oh canada said:
you're showing your age...that's old school thought...cable vs. Netflix...MSFT vs. Google...truth is nowadays with social media, soccer camps, leagues with well attended showcases, improved smaller clubs, and the forthcoming resurgence of HS soccer, there are many more pathways to the next level. The influx of international players in the men's and women's college game is a perfect example of coaches finding players beyond the "rusty copper pipes".

The "queen maker" coaches no longer have the power and exclusivity that they had 10-15 years ago, though in their minds I'm sure they still think they do. Especially if they are a pompous ass--and there are many--there is no longer a legitimate reason to figuratively curtsy or bow to these coaches. Unfortunately, many risk averse parents still do, and their player suffers in the long run because of it.
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I never said it was the only pathway, only that it is by far the best one, and if still is. Feel free to play at a lesser club for a coach that college coaches can’t rely upon to provide honest and accurate assessments. Feel free to send a hundred emails and waste hundreds of hours creating social media accounts and videos. Fine if you want to cross your fingers that college coaches at the best programs will go to a HS game or watch a lower tier team with one player at a showcase, instead of 20 prospects in the Blues v. Slammers game on then next field. There is a reason 50 coaches watch that game and two watch the other one.

The problem with your way of thinking is that playing for an excellent coach who is respected and
trusted by college coaches is not bowing down to anyone. It is getting what you pay for. It is the weird attitude that people just want to fight and do everything the hard way. LegalZoom and WebMD are also helpful ways for cheap bastards to gain information, but are also poor substitutes to get things done right.

The reality is these coaches are more important now more than ever due to the compressed recruiting timeframes, and also due to the chaos of Covid-19. They have even more power than they ever have. They’re making calls while kids can’t even film recent video to send, play in a showcase where they can be seen, or do anything to help your kid other than have her send emails that go straight into the electronic circular file. Now, more than ever, college coaches must rely on the club coaches they trust.
 
EOTL said:
I never said it was the only pathway, only that it is by far the best one, and if still is.
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Not if your kid becomes a better player elsewhere. In sport, connections can only get you so far. At some point, talent carries you farther. No longer are we in a recruitment age where good players go unnoticed. Hailie Mace is Exhibit A.

Good, skilled players do not need the McDonald's clubs and coaches now to get noticed for the next level. Mediocre, dime-a-dozen, players do.
 
oh canada said:
Not if your kid becomes a better player elsewhere. In sport, connections can only get you so far. At some point, talent carries you farther. No longer are we in a recruitment age where good players go unnoticed. Hailie Mace is Exhibit A.

Good, skilled players do not need the McDonald's clubs and coaches now to get noticed for the next level. Mediocre, dime-a-dozen, players do.
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The fact that you’ve managed to point out one kid - who has been the subject of numerous articles about how incredibly lucky she was that UCLA made her an offer given she played for a small club - actually proves my point. So too does the fact that there are at least 14 kids at UCLA and Stanford alone who played at Blues, Surf and Slammers.

C’mon you’re just arguing for the sake of arguing. You’re saying that just because there’s a one in million chance you might get struck by lightning, it must be a good idea.
 
EOTL said:
The fact that you’ve managed to point out one kid - who has been the subject of numerous articles about how incredibly lucky she was that UCLA made her an offer given she played for a small club - actually proves my point. So too does the fact that there are at least 14 kids at UCLA and Stanford alone who played at Blues, Surf and Slammers.

C’mon you’re just arguing for the sake of arguing. You’re saying that just because there’s a one in million chance you might get struck by lightning, it must be a good idea.
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#okboomer
 
oh canada said:
Not if your kid becomes a better player elsewhere. In sport, connections can only get you so far. At some point, talent carries you farther. No longer are we in a recruitment age where good players go unnoticed. Hailie Mace is Exhibit A.

Good, skilled players do not need the McDonald's clubs and coaches now to get noticed for the next level. Mediocre, dime-a-dozen, players do.
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Could not disagree with you more. The connections of your coach and how they advocate for your player can make all the difference in the world. That's like saying if you are an excellent player you will get called into the national team camps - doesn't always happen for a variety of reasons.
 
Soccer43 said:
Could not disagree with you more. The connections of your coach and how they advocate for your player can make all the difference in the world. That's like saying if you are an excellent player you will get called into the national team camps - doesn't always happen for a variety of reasons.
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I have a theory why many of the people here are fighting this so hard. My guess is they are strong proponents of the concept of American individualism without realizing it. They’re big into what they consider self-reliance, they believe the interests and actions of the individual are what leads to greatness and, most importantly, they vigorously oppose what they consider to be external interference on their own interests by outsiders, especially society or institutions (in this case the soccer establishment). The idea that a pathetic youth soccer coach might have a significant impact on their kid’s future makes their skin crawl.

Let’s do a test. If you’re one of those people who thinks I’m full of s**t about the recruitment process, I’m going to guess some things about you. You probably believe in small government, and Obamacare and socialism really make you mad, as does the idea of providing “free handouts”. You’ve been vocally opposed to welfare benefits because they only encourage laziness and the inevitable destruction of American society, but strangely you have not connected that moral view to the additional money the government is currently pumping into unemployment and forgivable small business loans. Your family is at least two generations removed from immigrating here, and probably more than that. You are almost certainly mostly or entirely white. You are Christian, but probably not Catholic.

Again, this is just a theory, but I’d really appreciate it if some of you would chime in on this.
 
EOTL said:
I have a theory why many of the people here are fighting this so hard. My guess is they are strong proponents of the concept of American individualism without realizing it. They’re big into what they consider self-reliance, they believe the interests and actions of the individual are what leads to greatness and, most importantly, they vigorously oppose what they consider to be external interference on their own interests by outsiders, especially society or institutions (in this case the soccer establishment). The idea that a pathetic youth soccer coach might have a significant impact on their kid’s future makes their skin crawl.

Let’s do a test. If you’re one of those people who thinks I’m full of s**t about the recruitment process, I’m going to guess some things about you. You probably believe in small government, and Obamacare and socialism really make you mad, as does the idea of providing “free handouts”. You’ve been vocally opposed to welfare benefits because they only encourage laziness and the inevitable destruction of American society, but strangely you have not connected that moral view to the additional money the government is currently pumping into unemployment and forgivable small business loans. Your family is at least two generations removed from immigrating here, and probably more than that. You are almost certainly mostly or entirely white. You are Christian, but probably not Catholic.

Again, this is just a theory, but I’d really appreciate it if some of you would chime in on this.
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I don’t fit the description. If your kid is good, why do you need a “middle man coach?” I don’t think my kid would have a problem making the UCLA or Stanford teams and starting freshman year without playing club.

I think the reason you see tons of folks from the same mega clubs is because you have a bunch of weak ass sheeple involved with club soccer. For me, it almost seems that coaches are magnetically attracted to kids from different environments. Many college coaches that I have interacted with were clear that most YNT players were only B/C recruits and are spoiled brats that have a meltdown when mommy and daddy can’t buy their playing time anymore.

So, I think there are viable alternative routes to college soccer but the college soccer ranks are currently being filled by many young adults that have sheeple parents.
 
EOTL said:
I have a theory why many of the people here are fighting this so hard. My guess is they are strong proponents of the concept of American individualism without realizing it. They’re big into what they consider self-reliance, they believe the interests and actions of the individual are what leads to greatness and, most importantly, they vigorously oppose what they consider to be external interference on their own interests by outsiders, especially society or institutions (in this case the soccer establishment). The idea that a pathetic youth soccer coach might have a significant impact on their kid’s future makes their skin crawl.

Let’s do a test. If you’re one of those people who thinks I’m full of s**t about the recruitment process, I’m going to guess some things about you. You probably believe in small government, and Obamacare and socialism really make you mad, as does the idea of providing “free handouts”. You’ve been vocally opposed to welfare benefits because they only encourage laziness and the inevitable destruction of American society, but strangely you have not connected that moral view to the additional money the government is currently pumping into unemployment and forgivable small business loans. Your family is at least two generations removed from immigrating here, and probably more than that. You are almost certainly mostly or entirely white. You are Christian, but probably not Catholic.

Again, this is just a theory, but I’d really appreciate it if some of you would chime in on this.
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Sure. I will chime in.

You are, as you said, full of shit on recruitment. 14 kids in four years at UCLA and Stanford from those 3 clubs? Ok. Now how many knee surgeries and repeat concussions in the same period from those same three clubs?

<crickets>
 
EOTL said:
Seriously? I take a witty dig at you with my lightning comment and the best you can do is repeat something your kid used against you but is already passé?
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Nah, just bored by your predictable, stubborn, and often wrong drivel.

Add the US women's lawsuit to your pile of ignorance. Losing on summary judgment is the judge saying, "there's no way in hell you ladies could win at trial so I'm not even gonna let it go there." @MWN was all over that, credit to him/her. No settlement necessary.

You might be able to copy and paste the NY Times logo as your avatar, but that doesn't mean your opinions and writing ability rise to that level. National Enquirer's logo might be a better fit, give it a try.
 
dad4 said:
Sure. I will chime in.

You are, as you said, full of shit on recruitment. 14 kids in four years at UCLA and Stanford from those 3 clubs? Ok. Now how many knee surgeries and repeat concussions in the same period from those same three clubs?

<crickets>
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So I’m 1 for 1 so far is what you’re saying?
 
EOTL said:
So I’m 1 for 1 so far is what you’re saying?
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More like 1 for 5. Not zero, though.

I am saying it is misleading to talk only about the best cases and ignore the worst.

If you think it is useful data to know how many kids got D1 scholarships to UCLA, then it is also useful data to know how many kids got ACL tears or repeat concussions.

The sad thing is that the injury number is higher than the scholarship number. And you know it. But you still sell the scholarship story.
 
It seems to me that the recruiting landscape is so varied that there are situations which are dominated by club coach/college coach relationships at one end, and also situations that are entirely player/college coach dominated at the other end, with a ton of variation in between. I suspect that as a gross generalization, college scouts are generally a lazy bunch, and they tend to gravitate towards recruiting scenarios that result in the least amount of work for the quality of product their program requires. For some, this means leaning on their club connections, and for others, it may mean recruiting directly from id camps. YMMV
 
MacDre said:
I don’t fit the description. If your kid is good, why do you need a “middle man coach?” I don’t think my kid would have a problem making the UCLA or Stanford teams and starting freshman year without playing club.

I think the reason you see tons of folks from the same mega clubs is because you have a bunch of weak ass sheeple involved with club soccer. For me, it almost seems that coaches are magnetically attracted to kids from different environments. Many college coaches that I have interacted with were clear that most YNT players were only B/C recruits and are spoiled brats that have a meltdown when mommy and daddy can’t buy their playing time anymore.

So, I think there are viable alternative routes to college soccer but the college soccer ranks are currently being filled by many young adults that have sheeple parents.
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You can be so mean sometimes.
 
EOTL said:
You can be so mean sometimes.
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I’m honestly not trying to be mean. I’m just sharing what the coaches told me. I have no experience with club soccer or college soccer. I leave room for the possibility that those college coaches could’ve misled me. But, my interaction with college coaches led me to believe that the primary benefit of college soccer was giving spoiled brats that have never been told no before a reality check and helping them acclimate into the real world.

I was surprised when I heard it too.
 
MacDre said:
I’m honestly not trying to be mean. I’m just sharing what the coaches told me. I have no experience with club soccer or college soccer. I leave room for the possibility that those college coaches could’ve misled me. But, my interaction with college coaches led me to believe that the primary benefit of college soccer was giving spoiled brats that have never been told no before a reality check and helping them acclimate into the real world.

I was surprised when I heard it too.
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It was a joke. I agree that reality checks are an important part of the college experience.
 
I wish that there were subtitles under each thread: one for junk and the other for real information. There is so much good information in these threads you just have to have the time and the patience to read through all the BS/fighting to find it.
 
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