Top GA teams just had Champions Cup in FL, Playoffs in NJ, Man City, Surf Cup, Local Club Tournaments, League Games, etc. The only thing that seemed different between GA and ECNL was that ECNL split out the Spring/Summer Showcase and Playoffs into seperate events while GA combined them. (For 2024 GA appears to be making them seperate).
Also, I wasn't aware of ECNL Conference Cup so I looked at it more closely. There are 10 players attending from different Socal teams. (Interestingly none were from Surf or Sharks) At first I thought wow this is going to be a huge issue for the teams playing in Surf Cup Semi Finals and Finals. But then I realized only one was a 2010 + most were 2008s/2009s.
So outside of GA combining Finals with a Showcase. Everything seemed fairly similar if you're just considering the burden for players and parents.
Justify not attending big tournaments like Surf Cup however you want. Others will take the opportunity and run with it.