Girls Development Academy
- Thread starter Swoosh
- Start date
Who spiked the Kool-Aid???
It would be fun to have access to the posts in the old blog, to reproduce the opinions of some frequent posters here. I remember making the case for girls DA, just to be attacked simultaneously by three or four posters busy echoing their opinions. I remember saying that most ECNL clubs would apply to DA, just to be laughed off with statements such as "we do not need DA", or "most ECNL clubs will not apply". Well, it is clear that the wishes of those parents were not aligned with the actions of the leadership of the ECNL clubs.
In another thread the posters in the know were making lists of the clubs that would get DA. Guess what, the majority opinion was that all ECNL clubs would get DA (except for Blues, because they did not have enough girls to fund the new program), and maybe Legends. Fast forward and 50% of the teams that get DA are non ECNL, and Blues and Beach are among the first four chosen. Of course, everything must be a money grab because the posters in the know have much better judgment that the US Soccer Federation.
Why would clubs with DA and ECNL be the place to be? If I were to make a guess, I would say that DA will strengthen CRL and National Cup, as the non ECNL clubs with DA will have more talented players than in the past, and therefore much better B teams (the A team will be DA). On the other hand, moving forward the ECNL teams should be weaker than in the past, as the top talent moves to the DA teams. Of course, all this is pure speculation, and we will have to wait to see how things develop. I am not going to claim here that I know more than anybody else, and that everybody else is chopped liver, just because my daughter is a college recruit and I am not supposedly biased.
The argument that college soccer will keep the US WSNT on top is laughable, and anybody who knows something about how top soccer talent develops (and the US Soccer Federation knows about this more than anybody in this forum) laughs about it. It worked in the past because no other nation did anything on women soccer development, and therefore the very small contribution that college does on development at such advanced age could make a difference. In the near future, with traditional soccer powers starting to take seriously women soccer, college soccer will be a minor contributor to development. Hence US Soccer is trying to take a step in the right direction by creating the girls DA.
If college soccer were such a great developmental tool the US MSNT would have been the soccer superpower for the last 50 years, which clearly was not.
If college soccer were such a great developmental tool the US MSNT would have been the soccer superpower for the last 50 years, which clearly was not.
I personally was surprised with LA Galaxy not getting a nod. I am probably biased, because I was only concerned with how well some of their teams play (I am familiar with their 05s/Diego Souza's last U10 team), and do not know anything about total number of teams, coaching licenses, etc. I was hoping that some posters with daughters in the current 05 elite team, and former players of DS, could chime in, to say whether it was a surprise, if they plan to move to other clubs, etc. Thanks!
NoGoal
DA
So are you posting, if your DD didn't make the Beach GDA team. You will have her play on the Beach B team during college recuiting years?
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NoGoal
DA
Yes, you are baised, the South Bay area doesn't have enough talent for 2 GDA clubs. You should be happy LA Galaxy/Carlsbad got the nod, instead of the LA Galaxy in the South Bay, because Beach wouldn't have.
05, what is that 6th graders. Half of those girls won't even be playing club in 3 years, yet alone at LA Galaxy when college recruiting rolls around.
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NoGoal
DA
Really, the same US Soccer Federation who has had BDA the last decade. Last I checked the US MNT is ranked lower than they were 10 years go. Christian Pulisic who has dual-citizenship.....knew he had to go to Europe, so he could continue developing his game at one of the best mens club (Dortmund) and compete against the Elite Euro players. Follow closely now will yeah.
The deepest and most talented women soccer nation is, drum roll please....the USA. Where do the best women players play, before being drafted by the NWSL? College D1 Soccer! Why do you think the best Canadian players and several women international players are playing US college D1 soccer (beside getting a college degree).
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NoGoal
DA
I don't drink Kool-Aid, but I will soon be drinking grape flavored.
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MakeAPlay
DA
You clearly have a bias towards Beach which is okay. They have a few good teams and several excellent coaches. If you can't see that this truly has little to do with development and a lot to do with control then you really are seeing what you want to see. If development was the goal then a residential style academy for the truly elite players would be the direction they would go in as they have had for a long time on the men's side. A lot of US soccer's decisions are based on favorites and recommendations from the "network" of individuals that decide things many times not on actual performance but on what fits their style. DA will only be the top league if the top players flock there. I would bet my players scholarship that the first few years will not see the majority of the top players flocking there at the older ages simply because there is no benefit to them and most will be unwilling to give up high school soccer. Now before you call me a homer I must disclose that my player is in college, is already in the YNT system and her club is a DA club so I have no dog in this fight. However, when you look at the YNT rosters and the college recruiting spreadsheet it is pretty obvious which clubs are succeeding in SoCal and the country. Until any of those non-ECNL clubs can do more in these arenas it is really just a power grab that your club benefitted from. Are you really proud of that? I can tell you that the ECNL clubs have been doing it for years and with or without labels they will continue to do it. Look for yourself.
https://sites.google.com/site/soccerrecruits/
As a parent from LAGSB and whose daughters both play for DS 06's and SD 05's; our club not getting the DA is not entirely a surprise, but in a way could be. Historically this club has been more of a boys program with a lot of success. When the club was SB Force it had some talent scattered through all the girls teams. It was not till MQ (now the boys director) put his stamp on the girls side. About 6-7 years ago he began working with the younger's and providing technical and tactical instruction which you can still see in the older girls with the club. With the merger with Exiles our girls program saw another new emergence. SD and DS came in wanting to further what MQ had begun. In just two years you can see their influence on the game our girls play from the 09's- 03's. However, without much success in the older's I am sure US Soccer favored other clubs. I do feel our club meets many of the other requirements, but the geographical piece also could have played a big role in Galaxy not getting the nod. At this time I have no desire to take my girls to DA club for many reasons that have been stated earlier throughout this thread. We have stayed with LAGSB because of the style of play, the technical and tactical training my girls have been exposed to. There are few coaches that instruct and play this style and it is one that I want my daughters to play. I believe for our family at this time it is the best kind of training.
"Until any of those non-ECNL clubs can do more in these arenas it is really just a power grab that your club benefitted from. Are you really proud of that?"
This makes me chuckle. Saw a recent post by an ecnl coach saying how proud he and his club were of his "soccer daughters" making odp. 4 of the 5 girls in the picture were just added to the club 2 weeks prior to the photo. Everyone takes credit for someone else's work.
This makes me chuckle. Saw a recent post by an ecnl coach saying how proud he and his club were of his "soccer daughters" making odp. 4 of the 5 girls in the picture were just added to the club 2 weeks prior to the photo. Everyone takes credit for someone else's work.
I believe MBeach is not a Galaxy parent. So not sure they are biased at all. Long Beach is not considered the SB. LAGSB and Beach LB are not much different in distance than Slammers and Blues. So theoretically speaking why couldn't two non ECNL clubs that are 15 to 20 miles away not be added based upon solely on geographic's? There really is no true affiliation between LAGSB and LAGSD their separate relationships are more with LAG.
O5 players in fall will be both comprised of 6th and 5th graders.
Unless US Soccer implements a curriculum that all DA clubs have to adhere to and be held accountable for, then yes it could appear that this is a power grab.
CaliKlines
Well-Known Member
Who better to know about a power grab than current ECNL parents?
NoGoal
DA
You can't be referring to me, because my DD plays for current GDA/ECNL club.
You must be reflecting back to when your DD played for Strikers and was the team captain.
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NoGoal
DA
IDK what other ECNL parents were posting, I do recall when I posted in the old forum that for US Soccer to run a credible GDA league. They would need to have the buy-in from Slammers, Blues, Surf, Dallas Texans, Crossfire, PDA and the other nationally recognized brand name clubs participating in ECNL. What does GDA do....exactly that!
Imagine if GDA didn't have the buy-in of the clubs mentioned above and had a SoCal league with Legends, Beach, Carlsbad, LA Premier, FC GoldenState, Pateadores, and LA Galaxy South Bay. No offense, but yikes that would have been CRL!
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And some parents just see it as another layer of BS to navigate. It will all come down to this:
1. Is your kid a standout? If yes, play DA, ECNL or a top 100 team. How do you choose?
2. Does your kid want to play high school? Then not DA
3. Is your kid YNT or in the pool? Where does her YNT coaches recommend she play? Probably DA
4. Does your kid want to play in college? ECNL at least until recruited
5. Does your kid have an opportunity to play for excellent coach she loves with excellent college/pro contacts? Kid should play there no matter league.
6. Does your kid want to rack up titles? Play for top USYSA national league team.
7. Which team is your kid geographically close to? Play there.
This is the best flow map I've ever seen .