Lambchop
GOLD
Well, now you know, take it where it belongs.
Girls Development Academy
- Thread starter Swoosh
- Start date
Sane65
BRONZE
...Anyone interested in starting FURTHER academy discussions on age bands? I would like to hear more opinions on the 2002/2003 dual age band. The path of MP is not that interesting. No disrespect to her. I will jump onto the 03 or 02 threads under girls. See you there....
Desert Hound
DA
So what is the benefit of dual band vs single age band?
In theory talent concentration.
Dos Equis
GOLD
More than just theory, that is the goal.
Before starting a girls academy, US Soccer struggled with the competing goals of creating the most competitive league, while at the same time having enough teams in each region to avoid excessive travel for league games. Dual age bands for olders helps accomplish both goals (club participation does start to fall after U13), while at the same time starting to narrow the field and control their event costs at the older age groups.
Now it may be they will go to a single age bracket for girls. I think that would be a positive for the college recruiting goals of the players (and perhaps for college coaches as well looking to have one primary league to scout). But on the boys side, they have not done so, primarily becasue it adds nothing to their ultimate goal of identifying and developing US National Team players.
chargerfan
GOLD
Hopefully nobody went into this thinking US Soccer’s goal was to place these players into college. The goal was only to identify the top .5%, and they don’t care if the rest play local leagues. Will the clubs with both DA and ECNL make their current 03 ECNL teams the C team? Also, will 03s at non-ECNL clubs be happy to play in an unsuccessful DPL league?
Sons of Pitches
SILVER ELITE
Lambchop - It sucks, you are right, but it has been this way from the beginning. US soccer screwed this whole thing up from the beginning. If your coach/club sold you on a 2003 single age group be mad at your coach/club, not US soccer.
Try having a December 02 daughter. Ghost Writers - numbers get even worse if you have a daughter born in the second half of the younger birth year. In the Current 2001/02 configuration, less than 5% of the players are 7/1/02 to 12/31/02. So if you have a young 2003, unless she is a Unicorn, good luck. When DA held tryouts last year, an 8th grade female born (12/02) who had never played high school soccer before was competing against 01/2001 10th graders who had 2 years of high school experience and were 23 months older.
Lambchop
GOLD
They, US soccer, have always been able to identify the top .5%.
Someone asked on here about ECNL making clubs choose. There is a rumor going around if you have both DA and ECNL and your ECNL teams are struggling that ECNL is going to make you choose. This si a rumor, that I have heard from a few clubs, not directly from ECNL. Clubs have not been told anything yet either.
Desert Hound
DA
Info came from where?
And if true...not surprising. They have been anything BUT competitive in DA.
US Soccer of course.
ECNL may not like that!
Burlingame is out NOW. No more Ganes the rest of this season per US Soccer email.
Does Mustang get back in, next year? Not sure
Simisoccerfan
PREMIER
What is your criteria and experience to say DPL is unsuccessful? Are you basing it on the criticisms found here on the forum from those on the outside lamenting another league diluting talent? My direct experience was that the league was well run, games were competitive, and the overall experience was good. I have no complaints about the league based on our experience. In fact I thought the fields that we played on were consistently better than the fields that we had played on in past leagues.
It is clear that the club is struggling based on their Wins/Losses/GF and GA (all 3 girls age groups), but it just seems wrong to kick them out before the end of the year. Advise them that they are not returning, but to kill it off during the season seems wrong, and it will hurt the girls on the club.
The goals stated for ECNL and DA are the same. Neither league was created with a goal to get kids in college soccer, but both provide platforms for college recruiting through showcases. Stop trolling.
All Burlingame matches are still scheduled. They return to play in a month.
You are the sole source of this information that they have been removed halfway through the season.
Lambchop
GOLD
If this is true, then all their games should be discounted for standings, goals scored etc. Hope it isn't true.