Get ready folks

TopesWin said:
I was talking to a good friend from an RL team that had won the championship for their age group, and they had no NL players come down to play. So if there was rampant abuse of NL players in the RL playoffs, it seems unlikely an RL team with no ringers would have won the whole thing. But it would be easy enough to prove/disprove with all the video at games these days. Not that I have any rooting interest here - just putting in one more data point.
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I have to agree.

I knew of a number of ECNL/RL clubs that put the max amount allowed on the RL team, a smaller amount on the NL team, and had some of the RL players playing up each week. I can see a number of parents thinking they are seeing NL players on the RL team during playoffs when in actuality they were always rostered on the RL team.
 
Which is what people are saying. It's a loophole to designate someone who's going to play on NL all year anyway as an RL player so they can look like they aren't technically breaking the rules. But by some pretty straightforward logic, they are clearly playing NL players on RL while trying not to get caught.
 
Karlton Athletic said:
I grew up in Europe (and briefly in South America). To me, outside the true MLS Next academies, it's all rec, but because this is America, someone has to be making money, LOL.
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Pay to play rec travel ball in the USA because coach and Doc say miracles can happen if you pay the man to be elite. Coach will declare you are elite after pay is received. Where you're from, the best get recruited in Rec at 6 or 7 by a pro club with youth academies and it's always free when they accept the call. Plus, free education. Daddy can't go to the club in Europe and pay for his boy to be on the academy.
 
SuperSoccerStar said:
They could call themselves NWSL if they want. If they don't have the good girls who cares what they are called. You see what's happening in the NWSL too correct? That's not even the premier choice for the premier women's soccer player anymore. If the top 3 clubs from ECNL southwest switch over to GA then and only then will GA or NSWL Next or whatever the hell they want to call themselves matter. How many 2026 and 2025 GA girls went D1 this year vs ECNL? Its still absolutely hilarious to me that anyone thinking GA and ECNL are even close to the same playing field. Just saw a clown post yesterday on IG his Girls Pyramid and he had ECNL and GA on the same level. Its absolutely hilarious to me.
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There are many ways it could play out for sure. In fact it wouldn't even need to be the better clubs moving to GA. In NorCal there are probably 3-4 solid clubs in the table. The rest would do fine in GA, but not dominate by any stretch of the imagination. I could see some of those clubs moving. Heck I could even see players moving to GA due to the proliferation of teams getting GA. At the end of the day those 3-4 solid clubs need to play someone. If the table gets any weaker than it already is, they will look for alternatives.

Also, I believe most MLS Next clubs have better coaching overall than their ECNL counter parts. If that level of coaching transfers to the girl's side at clubs that also have GA, I can see the soccer just being better as well.

I'm not saying it's a sure thing, but it's certainly plausible and could happen over the next 2-3 years. Of course, the status quo could remain. I do think the pro/rel they're going to do in NorCal will make the table stronger, but that will take time -- so it's effectively a race.
 
RandomSoccerFan said:
I understand your point of view. I just think most wouldn't agree with you, and the team cheating isn't the one that gets to determine that it's for the other team's own good, as it "will help their development".
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How is it cheating when the rules allow it? Are you saying the Blues RL's cheated last year?
 
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SuperSoccerStar said:
They could call themselves NWSL if they want. If they don't have the good girls who cares what they are called. You see what's happening in the NWSL too correct? That's not even the premier choice for the premier women's soccer player anymore. If the top 3 clubs from ECNL southwest switch over to GA then and only then will GA or NSWL Next or whatever the hell they want to call themselves matter. How many 2026 and 2025 GA girls went D1 this year vs ECNL? Its still absolutely hilarious to me that anyone thinking GA and ECNL are even close to the same playing field. Just saw a clown post yesterday on IG his Girls Pyramid and he had ECNL and GA on the same level. Its absolutely hilarious to me.
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Why do you think that Surf or any top Socal girls club would stay in ECNL if there's other options that make more money?

Surf I get because they run Surf Cup Sports making all kinds of money running tournaments for primatlly ECNL clubs. But, for everyone else it's going to be difficult to justify prioritizing girls ECNL when clubs can double the amount of money they make playing in MLSN and GA.

I think many of the diehard ECNL supporters haven't been to a youngers boys and girls tournament in a while. I have and it was shocking how many more MLSN club boys teams there were than ECNL or any other boys aligned league. I hadn't been to a combined boys and girls youngers tournament in probably 4 years so it was very obvious the amount of the market MLSN has taken.
 
Lemmon Pepper Lou said:
How is it cheating when the rules allow it? Are you saying the Blues RL's cheated last year?
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No - I have no idea what Blues RL did last year. I'm sure there are people here that might know. I am saying that any club that is breaking the rules as defined by ECNL & ECNL-RL, is cheating. As it's pretty much the definition of the word.

Here are the specific rules, as posted above in this thread. post 1, post 2
 
It's expected that ECNL will follow the new calendar you posted. As far as I know, neither GA or MLS N have yet made any public statements on whether they plan to follow the new schedule for 26/27, or stay with their current birth-year groupings.
 
RandomSoccerFan said:
It's expected that ECNL will follow the new calendar you posted. As far as I know, neither GA or MLS N have yet made any public statements on whether they plan to follow the new schedule for 26/27, or stay with their current birth-year groupings.
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Since the youth feeder teams will change to SY, I see no benefit in why MLSN and GA will want to stay in BY.
 
RandomSoccerFan said:
It's expected that ECNL will follow the new calendar you posted. As far as I know, neither GA or MLS N have yet made any public statements on whether they plan to follow the new schedule for 26/27, or stay with their current birth-year groupings.
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The calendar above starts SY SPRING season 26, not fall 26/27. Will ECNL follow that timeline, changing teams mid season?
 
Soccermomma24 said:
The calendar above starts SY SPRING season 26, not fall 26/27. Will ECNL follow that timeline, changing teams mid season?
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It would be smart though not sure how it would work mid season other than just say all must do it or just do it at the beginning of the fall season and be done with it. Hope we hear something soon either way unless someone has some inside scoop 👍.
 
ECNL would have to make the age change move fall 25/26 to avoid mid season complications. Unfortunately they have given no indication that they are ready for the change until 26/27
 
Look again…CalSouth is changing to SY spring 2026, not fall.

  • 2025-26 Registration Period: Birth Year registration and Aug 1st seasons will remain available as they are currently.
  • Spring 2026 Registration Period: We will ask all clubs to begin using the School Year season available in the registration system as the standard starting with the Spring 2026 season.
  • 2026-27 Registration Period: The official new Seasonal Year age group standard (September 1st to August 31st) takes full effect as the only option.
 
Soccermomma24 said:
Look again…CalSouth is changing to SY spring 2026, not fall.

  • 2025-26 Registration Period: Birth Year registration and Aug 1st seasons will remain available as they are currently.
  • Spring 2026 Registration Period: We will ask all clubs to begin using the School Year season available in the registration system as the standard starting with the Spring 2026 season.
  • 2026-27 Registration Period: The official new Seasonal Year age group standard (September 1st to August 31st) takes full effect as the only option.
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But CalSouth has almost no teams, and they don't have any leagues that run from fall into spring. So for them it's easy to do a clean break. For ECNL or other year-round leagues, they most likely won't break teams up mid-season. But I guess crazier things have happened
 
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