The Outlaw *BANNED*
PREMIER
No, we should seek equal opportunity. There will never be equality because people choose differently.
ECNL vs. DA turf war has created a 'toxic environment'
- Thread starter VegasParent
- Start date
No, we should seek equal opportunity. There will never be equality because people choose differently.
I will, thanks for the advice.
This is good debating. Come out of the closet and debate. Be real and be ready to be wrong 
I've always thought that you were an outlier in every sense of the word. ;-)
MacDre
PREMIER
No it’s not free but it’s lower cost and a lot more accessible because almost everyone plays or is a fan.
I’m starting to think a huge part of the problem with soccer is that it has a looser image. I mean who wants to watch or play a looser sport?
My kid introduced my entire community to soccer. We had no idea. Maybe USSF needs a different PR firm.
I completely agree about those other issues being a priority. I wont elaborate because @Outlaw would probably have a heart attack.
MakeAPlay
DA
What statistics are you talking about? So you think that a league with 65% black players should only have 2 black coaches? Let me guess you also probably think that it isn't odd that most women's soccer teams are coached by men. You are probably loving the response to COVID-19 that your boy is putting together too.
I spent three years running around in a circle getting the run around. I just wanted pure competition. This is not sport like I know sport to be. Jim Rome is right. I keep trying to believe in soccer but it keeps letting me down every single time here in the states. It's the dads running the sport bro. They got them claws in the money and won;t let go. However, with all that is going on the claws are getting weak and others now see a way out. It's going down....." That means today that more meetings are taking place in the spin room.
MacDre
PREMIER
Not in my circles. It’s an image thing. Soccer is for squares. I took my kid to an NFL event and she had on a Paul Pogba Jersey...everyone thought Pogba was her nickname.
VegasParent
SILVER ELITE
ECNL teams do this too. Maybe not SoCal teams but look at the Midwest conference. Lots of distance between clubs.
Unfortunately there in lies a lot of the reasoning that soccer in the US isn’t as profitable thus allowing clubs to invest in fully funded academies for all.
not enough revenue.
I found this online from a guy named Tom. Sounds like Kicker & Lastman
Thoughts after you read this please????
About 10 years ago the US Soccer Federation decided to start a new program on the boys side, the US Development Academy. There were many factors contributing to such a large undertaking, but in a nutshell, the United States youth soccer infrastructure was broken. We had a system that was more focused on competitions and winning versus truly developing players ((Winning for the top top players is how you make part of the cream)) and providing a healthy environment for players to grow. ((Not all of us had a healthy environment)) For brevity purposes I will spare you my belief on how we got there ((Gee, thanks Tom. However, I went ahead and spared little detail from my experience with all of Socal)), the important part to understand is we were there. Large club’s and tournaments dominated the soccer landscape. Players were playing 40, 50, or more games a season and experiencing training to game ratios far below what anyone would agree is healthy. Competition and winning ruled, player development was a distant also-ran. (so?)
Enter the Development Academy. ((To take out ECNL and steal their Elite players)) To develop the program, US Soccer staff traveled the world and used top European and South American professional youth academies as their bench marks to create a US model that put each player’s growth above all else. (( I knew yet)) The boys side of youth soccer now had a top down development platform to model proper club behavior and player development best practices ((Oh really Tom. We suck at soccer. All my guy friends in America have let this country down. The girls are the winners in soccer)) I think even US Soccer was surprised by the quick acceptance and early success of the program. ((I don;t think so)) For those of us who spent time in youth soccer and were witnesses to the prior madness, it was a refreshing and almost surreal change. After just a couple of years the only question on our minds was what about the girls? ((Yes, what about the girls?))
Shortly thereafter the Elite Club National League (ECNL) sprang up, arguably in response to the vacancy the US Soccer Federation left by not providing the same opportunity on the girls side. The ECNL quickly became ‘the’ place for the top girls clubs in the country to compete. Well intentioned, like many youth soccer entities, it morphed into a giant money-making, competition structure. Simply put, the organization’s self-interest didn’t align with the best interests of the players. ((Wow!!!))
I’m sure there will be many who would argue this point, but in my opinion the ultimate litmus test occurred recently when US Soccer finally announced the start of the Development Academy on the girls side, slated for the fall of 2017. The timing of that announcement was incredibly telling. Less than a year from the US Women winning the World Cup, US Soccer unequivocally stated that player development on the girls side needed a significant overhaul. The ECNL now had a tough decision to make. They could support the Federation or compete with it. A meeting took place between the two organizations to discuss common ground and collaboration. I was not privy to that meeting, but shortly thereafter the ECNL did NOT announce its support and instead decided to expand the ECNL to the boys side. The message was clear, the lines had been drawn, pick your side. ((War!!!))
This situation perfectly exemplifies why US Soccer needs to be involved in the development of our youth players. It can’t be about the power and money youth soccer entities are capable of generating. It can’t be about winning games and Got Soccer points. It needs to be about the girls and their growth as soccer players and people. Like the Boys Development Academy, the Girls Development Academy will have guidelines for the number of starts for each player and the number of trainings per week. The GDA will only allow only 1 match per day with matches occurring no more than 2 days in a row. They will set strict coaching license requirements for staff and they will charge nothing for showcase events. Every club will be observed and evaluated on a regular basis and US Soccer scouts will be in attendance regularly to find the next youth national team players. This is a development structure designed with the players in mind, (not a competition structure) and it is long overdue. The Development Academy programs on both sides and the new mandates for birth year age groups and small sided games are examples of US Soccer taking their rightful place as our sport’s governing body and taking responsibility for youth soccer in America. I for one am ecstatic. (Oh, I see that Tom)
Locally the WNY Flash have just been accepted into the ENCL. It will be interesting to see if they decide to move forward with it. A betting man would put his money on US Soccer winning this battle and making the Girls Development Academy the top level of girls soccer in the United States. US Soccer has already committed the resources to the GDA and they are fully behind the program just like they have been on the boys side for years. US Soccer is in charge of the scouting mechanism for our girls youth national teams, the US Soccer Technical Director April Heinrichs and the Women’s National Team Coach Jill Ellis are both behind the GDA and were part of its creation. I am confident the GDA is the right place for our players. Empire United will be submitting our application for the Girl’s Development Academy in early May. When you look at our player production history, our coaching, leadership and facilities, we believe we have a compelling case for admission. We have already established the GSA program and will continue to run that program through 2016/17 so we are well prepared for 2017 in the hope that our goal will be realized to become an inaugural member of the Girls Development Academy.
As always, please reach out if you have any questions. ((How do you feel now Tom??))
Tom
Thoughts after you read this please????
About 10 years ago the US Soccer Federation decided to start a new program on the boys side, the US Development Academy. There were many factors contributing to such a large undertaking, but in a nutshell, the United States youth soccer infrastructure was broken. We had a system that was more focused on competitions and winning versus truly developing players ((Winning for the top top players is how you make part of the cream)) and providing a healthy environment for players to grow. ((Not all of us had a healthy environment)) For brevity purposes I will spare you my belief on how we got there ((Gee, thanks Tom. However, I went ahead and spared little detail from my experience with all of Socal)), the important part to understand is we were there. Large club’s and tournaments dominated the soccer landscape. Players were playing 40, 50, or more games a season and experiencing training to game ratios far below what anyone would agree is healthy. Competition and winning ruled, player development was a distant also-ran. (so?)
Enter the Development Academy. ((To take out ECNL and steal their Elite players)) To develop the program, US Soccer staff traveled the world and used top European and South American professional youth academies as their bench marks to create a US model that put each player’s growth above all else. (( I knew yet)) The boys side of youth soccer now had a top down development platform to model proper club behavior and player development best practices ((Oh really Tom. We suck at soccer. All my guy friends in America have let this country down. The girls are the winners in soccer)) I think even US Soccer was surprised by the quick acceptance and early success of the program. ((I don;t think so)) For those of us who spent time in youth soccer and were witnesses to the prior madness, it was a refreshing and almost surreal change. After just a couple of years the only question on our minds was what about the girls? ((Yes, what about the girls?))
Shortly thereafter the Elite Club National League (ECNL) sprang up, arguably in response to the vacancy the US Soccer Federation left by not providing the same opportunity on the girls side. The ECNL quickly became ‘the’ place for the top girls clubs in the country to compete. Well intentioned, like many youth soccer entities, it morphed into a giant money-making, competition structure. Simply put, the organization’s self-interest didn’t align with the best interests of the players. ((Wow!!!))
I’m sure there will be many who would argue this point, but in my opinion the ultimate litmus test occurred recently when US Soccer finally announced the start of the Development Academy on the girls side, slated for the fall of 2017. The timing of that announcement was incredibly telling. Less than a year from the US Women winning the World Cup, US Soccer unequivocally stated that player development on the girls side needed a significant overhaul. The ECNL now had a tough decision to make. They could support the Federation or compete with it. A meeting took place between the two organizations to discuss common ground and collaboration. I was not privy to that meeting, but shortly thereafter the ECNL did NOT announce its support and instead decided to expand the ECNL to the boys side. The message was clear, the lines had been drawn, pick your side. ((War!!!))
This situation perfectly exemplifies why US Soccer needs to be involved in the development of our youth players. It can’t be about the power and money youth soccer entities are capable of generating. It can’t be about winning games and Got Soccer points. It needs to be about the girls and their growth as soccer players and people. Like the Boys Development Academy, the Girls Development Academy will have guidelines for the number of starts for each player and the number of trainings per week. The GDA will only allow only 1 match per day with matches occurring no more than 2 days in a row. They will set strict coaching license requirements for staff and they will charge nothing for showcase events. Every club will be observed and evaluated on a regular basis and US Soccer scouts will be in attendance regularly to find the next youth national team players. This is a development structure designed with the players in mind, (not a competition structure) and it is long overdue. The Development Academy programs on both sides and the new mandates for birth year age groups and small sided games are examples of US Soccer taking their rightful place as our sport’s governing body and taking responsibility for youth soccer in America. I for one am ecstatic. (Oh, I see that Tom)
Locally the WNY Flash have just been accepted into the ENCL. It will be interesting to see if they decide to move forward with it. A betting man would put his money on US Soccer winning this battle and making the Girls Development Academy the top level of girls soccer in the United States. US Soccer has already committed the resources to the GDA and they are fully behind the program just like they have been on the boys side for years. US Soccer is in charge of the scouting mechanism for our girls youth national teams, the US Soccer Technical Director April Heinrichs and the Women’s National Team Coach Jill Ellis are both behind the GDA and were part of its creation. I am confident the GDA is the right place for our players. Empire United will be submitting our application for the Girl’s Development Academy in early May. When you look at our player production history, our coaching, leadership and facilities, we believe we have a compelling case for admission. We have already established the GSA program and will continue to run that program through 2016/17 so we are well prepared for 2017 in the hope that our goal will be realized to become an inaugural member of the Girls Development Academy.
As always, please reach out if you have any questions. ((How do you feel now Tom??))
Tom
MacDre
PREMIER
Correct. But it’s an easy fix. Get a few rappers, football, and basketball players to endorse soccer.
Soccer is the best foundational ball sport...all kids should play even if they want to play football or basketball eventually.
It would behoove the folks at USSF to figure out how to reach my community since we tend to dictate popular culture. If soccer becomes mainstream in my community then it will become mainstream in the USA.
And the football players image was a bunch of dumb meathead jocks. Back at my high school both football and soccer team was Mexican kids difference was most the football players were 2nd or 3rd generation in America with parents that grew up here too spoke English and raised kids on football and baseball and the soccer players were first generations parents not speaking English raising their kids in soccer. I wouldn't say they were looked at as squares just more like less than them, more poor, less educated even though both sides were poor and went to the same f'd up schools. Everybody's circle is different. I don't think image is a huge problem for soccer but maybe it is in your circle and good for you and your daughter for being secure enough to not give a F what they think or say
Good point made by Kicker. Maybe it is a bigger problem
Good point made by Kicker. Maybe it is a bigger problem
I think the best athletes are in your comminty. Not saying some white girls won;t make it but........all the girls need to be trained at an earlier age too. I hear some of these rich folks talk dude. A black girl will show up out of know where around 12 or 13 years old to practice. First day of practice little Sally realizes she ins;t the fastest on the team anymore. Mama bear tells the other moms that Sally will now go to CM position because she is better skilled then the black girl who just started playing soccer. Plus Sally mom thinks the CM position is suited more for the "smarter, more intelligent player." Reminds me of Jimmy the Greek. At least Jimmy spoke from the heart and was honest with how he truly felt. How come I don;t see more black girls playing CM? Not saying at all their shouldn;t be, I'm saying I should be seeing more by now. It seems like little princesses Sally gets that spot no matter what. My dd killed it his year at CM in HS. She shot out of the back and went on fast breaks, dishing the rock like Nash or pulling up for a left hander shot when she's really right footed...lol.
MacDre
PREMIER
Why would football players be seen as dumb meatheads?
He spent the night with Gene Upshaw after those comments. Oh boy, I gots to know how that went for Jimmy....lolo
MacDre
PREMIER
Funny. In da hood we sometimes wear jerseys because they match our shoes. I’m not sure this is an endorsement.
MacDre
PREMIER
Have you seen coach snoop coaching soccer? Or football?