I understand the Rankings app is spot on. My apologies for questioning it.
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RandomSoccerFan
PREMIER
That's quite the straw man argument. Nobody said the rankings app is spot on, and here's instead what you said:
Which appears to show that you are misrepresenting what the ratings mean and how they are derived. Somewhere under 20% of the time, a lower-ranked team is going to come out ahead of a higher-ranked team, showing that the game predictivity is very good - but nowhere near spot-on. As those games are played, the team rating is always going to move up and down based on performance, and it's always going to be a lagging indicator rather than a leading indicator. But in any case, the limited interplay just isn't going to cause the league skew that you are accusing the ratings of having.
In the 2010 age group, only top 20 GA tesm is top hat. Nationals (19), Ukrainian nationals (22) and lonestar (21) are now ECNL. The cross play and performance of those teams as they enter ecnl should be telling as to the caliber of GA in comparison to ecnl over the next year.
SurfSupDude
SILVER
Are you taking about SD Force or another club?
Tracker...
1. GA was Promoted by US Soccer
2. GA added Liverpool FC International Academy (CA)
3. GA added SYC
4. GA added Revolution
5. GA added Seattle Celtic
6. GA added Westside Metros FC
7. GA added Oregon Premier
8. GA added South Valley Surf
9. GA added KC Scott Gallagher
10. GA added Coppermine SC
1. DPL added Idaho Inferno
2. DPL added Augusta Arsenal
1. ECNL added Colorado Rush
2. ECNL added Nationals
3. ECNL added Ukies
1. ECRL added Lonestar
1. GA was Promoted by US Soccer
2. GA added Liverpool FC International Academy (CA)
3. GA added SYC
4. GA added Revolution
5. GA added Seattle Celtic
6. GA added Westside Metros FC
7. GA added Oregon Premier
8. GA added South Valley Surf
9. GA added KC Scott Gallagher
10. GA added Coppermine SC
1. DPL added Idaho Inferno
2. DPL added Augusta Arsenal
1. ECNL added Colorado Rush
2. ECNL added Nationals
3. ECNL added Ukies
1. ECRL added Lonestar
A few of these clubs GA is bringing in are top performers of E64. I wonder if that league is going to be around in 2 years…
- Coppermine SC (2010 playoff regional winner)
- Oregon Premier
- South Valley Surf (2010 semi finalist)
Kiss of death might be a bit dramatic... certainly a speed bump to any longer term "elite" aspirations.
I think there are clubs that are content (and better off) being "community based" and playing local. The super clubs that try to be everything to everybody have a hard time providing a quality experience to those beyond the top one or two teams per age group and that leaves a window for the smaller clubs, even if they can't sell the dream.
SurfSupDude
SILVER
You don’t know if you are talking about SD Force or another club?Kiss of death might be a bit dramatic... certainly a speed bump to any longer term "elite" aspirations.
I think there are clubs that are content (and better off) being "community based" and playing local. The super clubs that try to be everything to everybody have a hard time providing a quality experience to those beyond the top one or two teams per age group and that leaves a window for the smaller clubs, even if they can't sell the dream.
Which of these DPL clubs are doing well in league and don't have GA? There's your answers.
Noticer
SILVER
Not to be harsh, but be honest....does it not feel like a calculated decision after seeing the clubs that fled GA recently?
I realize that you're a huge ECNL homer. Have fun with that.
Noticer
SILVER
I did not ask you an out of line question and did not mean to trigger you. But these clubs are not making decisions in a vacuum.
Ok since you asked. I don't see a few clubs leaving GA as a sign of a coming apocalypse.
- Lonestar is an ECRL level club that happened to do well at the G2010 level because they had a M2F trans playing goalie. Also one of their coaches went to Sting and was recruiting players over. By moving into ECRL Lonestar is able to slow Sting from continuing to poach talent because ECNL to ECNL transfers can only happen at the end of the season.
- Colorado Rush moving over to ECNL gets them into the Texas ECNL Conference which has Solar, Sting, Colorado Rapids, etc. However if you look at Rush's results in GA I wouldn't expect much in ECNL especially playing against the big Texas teams.
- Ukies have a lot of parent coaches. This means drama and when the parents kid ages out they'll quit coaching. Long term I don't see Ukies being successful in ECNL unless they start bringing on more professional coaches that don't have kids in the club.
- Nationals is a good club and will likely be successful in ECNL
GA has 92 teams and has recently added 10 more. Unless like 20 teams all left at the same time I think they'll will be fine.
RandomSoccerFan
PREMIER
OK - but if the league is replacing strong clubs (who left to a league with more perceived opportunity), with clubs from lesser leagues, who are not expected to make the destination league more challenging, let alone keep it stable - do you see that as a potential problem? These leagues aren't trading clubs back and forth, there is a clear pathway from lesser leagues --> GA --> ECNL. On the one hand, it's good for all of these clubs throughout their journey, and it's good for GA as long as their numbers stay relatively stable (or grow). On the other hand, it makes it impossible to state with a straight face that GA and ECNL are competing neck & neck for clubs, talent, or college attention.
I think it depends on the club. Some ECNL clubs are TERRIBLE. Some GA clubs are very good and vice versa.
Being a terrible club in a high level league won't make teams better. They'll just get shelled week after week and because of it players will quit.
WatchthemPlay
SILVER
For the 2009, 2008 and 2007 kids it’s a bad decision. Exposure is WAY better through GA for college recruitment compared to ECRL.
RandomSoccerFan
PREMIER
You might think so, and I might fully agree with you, but for reasons that neither of us understand, there are instances where bottom-dwelling teams (and even clubs), stay in that position for years and years - whether it's ECNL or the rec club down the street. At the top level, I guess you can believe that it still is best option for an individual, and they may still get the training, exposure, camaraderie, or anything else they are seeking out of soccer. But part of the push for pro/rel isn't just so qualified teams can be promoted, it's to have a mechanism where terrible teams can't stay at the top level, even if they want to.
Code
GOLD
I recall E64 requiring a three year commitment to the league when joining. I don't recall what the penalty fee was for leaving early; wasn't cheap, but wasn't over the top for a high earning club. I wonder if Coppermine and South Valley Surf are just planning on eating the penalty and moving on? Will we see more clubs jumping ship from E64?
Maybe they put their B teams in E64 instead of DPL until that contract expires?
I think this is the case. Coppermine has three different regions.
"Coppermine Soccer Club (CSC) was established in 2014 by our parent company Coppermine Fieldhouse LLC. The club is based in Baltimore, Maryland and serves over 1,000 families in three regions – Central, North, and West. It has quickly become one of Maryland’s largest and fastest growing youth soccer clubs. "
One GA team that the top players that the different regions funnel into and three separate E64/DPL teams (One for each region) makes the most sense.
Coppermine appears to have very nice facilities, but they also run lacrosse, gymnastics, field hockey, etc etc etc. Might be a jack of all trades but master of none situation going on.
GA apocalypse? GA is a well run league. They’ll be fine.
They do have a few outliers, like Top Hat. The question is whether those few teams leave for ECNL. The rest of GA is probably happy to be right where they are.