ECNL vs. DA turf war has created a 'toxic environment'

Mile High Dad said:
Probably not very well, that DA squad is much more athletic. But on any given weekend ... The CO Rush DA team also isn't as athletic as the Real team but always gives them a tough battle. Rivalries fuel some nice battles on the pitch.
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Agreed Sir --

And because it seems you're in the mix ... a couple questions for you ...

1) Are the same 'Real Colorado II' teams going to be participating in Oceanside next month as 'Showcase' teams?

2) Will the club be consolidating the ECNL talent into GDA and other teams after this year? If not, where will those teams be sticking together and playing in another league next year?

3) Since the club delivered the 'no ECNL going forward' news, has there been a lot of backlash or talk of hopping amongst players/parents? Asking because we have a feeling the same is about to happen at FC Dallas.

Thanks!
 
Chris, all this is still in flux. There was always some consolidation for the few cherished DA openings that sometimes occur and I would guess would still be the case. There has been a lot of discussion of club hopping (CO Rapids is the only ECNL club in CO). DPL could also be a viable option and could somewhat mimic the Frontier League.
 
timbuck said:
So they are going "all in" with DA?
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Yes. FCD, Tophat, and Real Colorado are all-in with DA. By my count, that just leaves Solar and Blues as dual DA/ECNL clubs. Solar is deep enough that their 2nd teams compete well in ECNL. Blues has Baker and J Serra to thank for a couple of ECNL natties whereby their top team in a few age groups were in ECNL instead of DA. Thus, both clubs met the criteria to not be forced to choose.

Even though they are top 10 clubs, none of FCD, Tophat, or Real Colorado were politically connected enough with the ECNL board (or they had powerful regional opponents with those connections) to get the "two teams" that were offered to PDA, Hawks, Sting, Stars, or Concord Fire in return for dropping the DA.
 
This sound right? DA schedule vs. ECNL:

DA - approx 30 games from September 1 - end May/early June
ECNL - approx 20 games

DA showcases in December and April (Florida and Colorado, respectively)
ECNL showcases - 2 in Phoenix for CA teams (can go to others across country if desired)

ECNL has longer break Nov-Mar to accommodate high school soccer season

ECNL and DA national playoffs both in San Diego end of June/early July
 
And some ECNL teams will play Tournaments throughout the year. So will DA but those must have designated DA brackets because they can not play non-DA sanctioned events.
 
MarkM said:
Not so smart. Any team can play against the DA teams. The games must be played under DA game rules. No hockey line substitutions.
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Now what I'm about to say is in regards of the boys DA side, but I'm not sure about this. This weekend was the FC Golden State Cup tournament. I know that there was no DA bracket for the Boys 05s so the FCGS DA B05 played in the Boys 04 brackets with an ECNL team and 2 flight 1 teams. I believe there was unlimited subs as there was only 1 DA team in the bracket. Now, FCGS did win only 1 game and lost 2 but were playing up in the next age group, so I sure they are not please with the results. And yes, the ECNL team beat the DA team...
 
MarkM said:
In my opinion, yes. But you could ask that about anything. ECNL teams don't play by AYSO rules. Are ECNL rules better? I'm sure ECNL thinks so, otherwise it won't use them.
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That is a non answer. Why are DA Rules better? I have a child in a regular club that is neither DA or ECNL.. so why cant DA play by ECNL rules in a tournament... is the difference so great one could not compete with the based on rules...
 
The FIFA sub rules for the olders in DA where basically only 15 players(11 + 4 subs) play and the 23 Regular season games for example limit playing time / opportuniites unless your a starter.

Even when you add in a couple showcase ratio to practices (4x 10 months) to acutal games minutes over 10 months is sometime difficult for certain players.

DA tournaments few and far between, brackets only normally up to u14-15 even at Surf, Man City, etc. That and the combined age groups for the boys makes for few opportunities for the olders domestily.
 
oh canada said:
ECNL has longer break Nov-Mar to accommodate high school soccer season
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Keep in mind that only 4 or 5 states have winter HS. The rest are pretty split between fall and winter.

The break out here for ECNL works because, unlike DA, scheduling is decentralized (other than showcases and playoffs). ECNL clubs and conferences have a lot of flexibility in scheduling and that allows clubs to accommodate the different HS seasons. It looks like it would be pretty easy for GDA to accommodate a winter HS break but since 45 or so states don’t play in HS, the broad policy makes more sense (or so it is believed).
 
jpeter said:
The FIFA sub rules for the olders in DA where basically only 15 players(11 + 4 subs) play and the 23 Regular season games for example limit playing time / opportuniites unless your a starter.

Even when you add in a couple showcase ratio to practices (4x 10 months) to acutal games minutes over 10 months is sometime difficult for certain players.

DA tournaments few and far between, brackets only normally up to u14-15 even at Surf, Man City, etc. That and the combined age groups for the boys makes for few opportunities for the olders domestily.
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The pointlessly restricted substitution rules are a stumbling block for coaches wanting to honestly practice development in face of some fairyland of "just like the grownups do" claims.
 
dk_b said:
Keep in mind that only 4 or 5 states have winter HS. The rest are pretty split between fall and winter.

The break out here for ECNL works because, unlike DA, scheduling is decentralized (other than showcases and playoffs). ECNL clubs and conferences have a lot of flexibility in scheduling and that allows clubs to accommodate the different HS seasons. It looks like it would be pretty easy for GDA to accommodate a winter HS break but since 45 or so states don’t play in HS, the broad policy makes more sense (or so it is believed).
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ah, good point. easy to forget we are spoiled with our "winter" here in CA. So, how does it work for clubs in the midwest, for example, if high school season is in the spring...say March-May, what do the ECNL clubs do November - March? Play indoors? Futsal? Other? (Or Colorado for that matter--I know we have some CO folks on here). And then they go play in the December showcases without having played outdoors for a month or two? Seems like if playing high school in a state with a cold winter, club teams allowing high school play may have only 6 months of outdoor consistent play together?

From November to March, DA teams here are still practicing 3-4x/week even though no games. Are the "cold weather" DA clubs not practicing during the winter? If not, first reaction might be that's how CA teams get a competitive advantage--more practice time. However, if cold weather clubs are competitive with CA, which it seems they are, then maybe the answer is less is more and CA clubs would actually be better served practicing less or transitioning to futsal or other during Nov-Mar?
 
oh canada said:
From November to March, DA teams here are still practicing 3-4x/week even though no games. Are the "cold weather" DA clubs not practicing during the winter? If not, first reaction might be that's how CA teams get a competitive advantage--more practice time. However, if cold weather clubs are competitive with CA, which it seems they are, then maybe the answer is less is more and CA clubs would actually be better served practicing less or transitioning to futsal or other during Nov-Mar?
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DA Clubs break from early Dec (after the Showcase) thru early Jan. Not sure what DA clubs you are referring to that train Nov - March.
 
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