Ouch!!!
ECNL vs. DA turf war has created a 'toxic environment'
- Thread starter VegasParent
- Start date
Yes, everyone has free choice, but in the encircling regime if a player is not in the DA program early the doors may be found to be closed when he or she is older and really ready for it.
MakeAPlay
DA
Wow I agree with you on something completely. Let check to see if any pigs are flying outside today....
I enjoy reading the SoCal forum because there are so many knowledgeable people, but what's going on out west seems to be opposite of what's happening in the rest of the country. In Oklahoma for instance, our third best club plays GDA and our top clubs play ECNL. Outside of Solar and FCD in our Conference, the remaining GDA clubs in TX have lost so many players to their ECNL counterparts that they are shell of their former selves. Dallas Texans, for example, had 3 top 10 teams in the country 2 years ago but lost several entire 1st teams last year when they dropped ECNL.
The same thing is happening across the country. If you take a look at the clubs that moved from GDA to ECNL last year, you will see that most of them did much better in their GDA conferences than their ECNL conferences, which would indicate that ECNL was more difficult for them. This might surprise some people from SoCal. Here are seven 03 teams that switched to ECNL last year...
The same thing is happening across the country. If you take a look at the clubs that moved from GDA to ECNL last year, you will see that most of them did much better in their GDA conferences than their ECNL conferences, which would indicate that ECNL was more difficult for them. This might surprise some people from SoCal. Here are seven 03 teams that switched to ECNL last year...
- 03 PDA came in first place in their GDA Conference last year (and won the GDA National Championship) and finished 3rd in their ECNL Conference this year.
- 03 Michigan Hawks 2nd in GDA, 3rd in ECNL
- 03 FC Stars 4th in GDA, 7th in ECNL
- 03 Virginia Development Academy 5th in GDA, 9th in ECNL
- 03 Eclipse 1st in GDA, 1st in ECNL
- 03 Concorde Fire 3rd in GDA, 3rd in ECNL
- 03 Indiana Fire 3rd in GDA, 2nd in ECNL
oh canada
GOLD
The issue here in the USA has never been that girls and boys were not dedicating enough time to practicing soccer. It was the type of practice that the kickball and all-about-winning coaches were teaching/playing, all the way up to the senior team. Remember long balls and crosses to Wambach? Girls here have so many potential avenues for success beyond athletic fields and courts. And of course it's great to strive for that, but I worry that the next generation will have a lot more former athlete clones who fail to discover their true passions and talents because outside influences forced them to choose a single, narrow path much too early. What were you doing at 13yrs? Have it all figured out back then? My biggest decisions were whether to order chocolate or glazed donuts from Tim Horton's.
oh canada
GOLD
Thanks for this Thing. Always good to hear what's going on outside our tiny SoCal bubble. And from what you hear, are the players moving to ECNL to play high school, or...?
I know of plenty of girls still entering the DA program as ‘03’s and ‘04’s that are making impacts. If the player has the ability, the doors are open.
Texas has 3 teams in the GDA U16/17 playoffs today Lonestar, Solar and FC Dallas.
The competition in both leagues are top heavy in SoCal. We went from 8 teams only competing in ECNL before DA t0 13 competing in DA and 10 in ECNL. Thats 23 teams now. I would say it's just a little watered down now out here in SoCal.
Could’ve been 10/11 total teams in ECNL and GDA wouldn’t exist
100% agree. They were (whoever they are) afraid of Beach and Legends because other clubs liked to poach their players to win a championship......lol!!!!
Truth is, I was sold ECNL before their was DA. The club had a sign out front that read, "ECNL Club." The next day the sign read, "DA Club". Same coaches, same everything except we were told no HS Soccer.
RedCard
GOLD
ECNL is up to 12 teams for next season with Rebels and Eagles coming aboard next season. Not sure if that puts DA down to 12 with them losing Eagles or if DA has other teams coming aboard for next season.
FWIW you are grossly misinformed about soccer in OK and TX.
Oklahoma has one DA team and two ECNL teams. One of the ECNL teams is one of those joke clubs that ECNL unfortunately added in the aftermath of the split (Oklahoma Celtic), and the other two teams are mediocre, but Energy (DA) is better than TSC (ECNL) in just about every age group.
In Texas, the two best clubs by far are FC Dallas and Solar (who both put their top teams in DA). Then there is a 2nd tier of good clubs in Sting (ECNL), D'Feeters (ECNL), and Lonestar (DA). Then a group of mediocre clubs in Dash (DA), Challenge (ECNL), Texans (DA), Classics Elite (ECNL), Solar (ECNL), and Albion (ECNL). Plus another joke in Sting Austin (ECNL).
The Texas ECNL conference is still pretty good, but the DA league is vastly superior, and it isn't close. And I understand that player movement this summer is widening that gap. And the future looks to only exacerbate the difference. DA starts at U13 in Texas and Oklahoma, and all six of the TX-OK DA clubs have top 50 teams (per YSR) coming in, while ECNL has only one such team (D'Feeters). Sting can't even field a competitive 07 team, so they are apparently playing up an 08 team for ECNL next year.
And elite players didn't leave DA clubs for ECNL. In fact, the opposite has happened. Of the 24 Texas players called into youth national team camps in 2018, 23 of them play in the DA in 2019, albeit almost all of them are Solar and FC Dallas girls (Sting and DFeeters have none anymore as their last handful moved to the DA clubs).
...and those two Texans teams you mention that were outstanding two years ago are now shells of their former selves because just about the entire team (including the coaches) left for Solar DA.
futboldad1
PREMIER
I’ll be more inclined to believe thing2 who is from Oklahoma than a DA fanboi who recently wrote- “ I think the most interesting and relevant quote in the article that sheds light on the DA vs ECNL tug of war was this:
"ECNL is a league, while the DA is a program designed to produce world-class players."
Dude, really? My kid’s an 06 entering DA at RSC but let’s be honest you ppl who love one league and rip on another are either mental or hold shares.
Both great leagues and the landscape will continue to evolve. Whether your daughter is playing ECNL or DA, she will have opportunities to be seen by college coaches.
It comes down to what works for your family. Reasons for both. This “ECNL war vs DA turf war” has many chapters left yet to be written. Honestly it could go either way.
I for one would like to see one league (either way) with more teams than before DA was created. The truth is, ECNL gave DA oxygen when they excluded deserving clubs and they are now paying for it.
It comes down to what works for your family. Reasons for both. This “ECNL war vs DA turf war” has many chapters left yet to be written. Honestly it could go either way.
I for one would like to see one league (either way) with more teams than before DA was created. The truth is, ECNL gave DA oxygen when they excluded deserving clubs and they are now paying for it.
Surf Zombie
GOLD
It’s the exact same way in the north east. PDA, World Class, Scorpions, FC Stars, etc. are all in the ECNL. The only strong GDA program is Penn Fusion and if you believe what you read online they have been trying, unsuccessfully, to get back into ECNL. In our part of the country HS soccer is an important consideration.
The context of that quote of mine was regarding a discussion about what US Soccer believes and trying to explain their actions and decisions, not what I believe.
I most certainly am not a DA fanboi. I wish it would go away, actually. One of my daughters played ECNL this past year (and another is in the DA program, and another in college who came up through ECNL). I am pretty in tune with these issues. I also am not from Socal, Fwiw.
What thing2 tried to pass of as information about Oklahoma soccer was so incorrect and misinformed that it couldn't be a mistake, but was an intentional falsehood.
Such things should be called out, as lying about where things are today in an attempt to influence a open discussion about where it is we need to go tommorow isn't helpful.