Girls Development Academy

clueless parent said:
Are we talking about competition or development? "GDA SoCal Conference will be watered down" seems to target competitiveness - that is, is it hard to beat teams within the GDA conference. A challenging league schedule appears to be a hallmark of the ECNL league schedule. Teams work hard to win each game. This is a very team-centered paradigm. The best teams in a given year become ECNL championship teams.

By contrast, the GDA purports to shift to a player-centered paradigm where team wins and losses are not the focus. The process of player development is the measure for success, not championship teams. The GDA wants to develop great players, which the GDA believes will lead to great national teams in the future. The GDA purports to forego current team wins for the larger goal of creating great players to populate future national teams.

I think it is fair to say that the GDA will waterdown the SoCal team competitions when compared to the ECNL model of team championships. The crux of the debate is whether great future national teams are created through player-centered development models (GDA) or through hard fought elite team competition such as the ECNL model.

We can agree that the GDA will develop a larger base of girls in SoCal over a four-year period (as compared to the smaller number of ECNL rosters). Only time will tell if that larger development pool will yield a higher quality of player that GDA seems to want. When the same clubs and coaches are merely shifting from ECNL to GDA, it seems far less likely that anything will change. Thus, the focus on the competitiveness of the proposed GDA SoCal Conference.
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Then are you saying that the boys DA is watered down in SoCal? They sure seem to be focused on winning the DA championships. Are you really buying into the marketing pitch that they are looking to develop more national team players? All but one national team player got there through their performances in college and then the pros and that is a fact. The YNT pipeline did nothing to develop these players.
 
MakeAPlay said:
If you say so. We probably have different ideas of what elite is and I am looking in my rearview mirror. You know what they say about hindsight being 20/20. I have a very good understanding of the player pool that my player was in and I have seen every good or better team that was in her age group over the course of 10 years. I know who the players are so you can think what you want to think. You are probably one of those people that believe that there are hundreds of elite players in each age group in SoCal which simply isn't true. Most players aren't elite. Again there are >30 elite players per age group in all of SoCal and there are maybe 5-7 that are special. Here is something that will help you figure out who the elite players are https://sites.google.com/site/soccerrecruits/. The ones that are 2019's and already committed to the top schools. Not a lot per age group at this early a stage.

I'm not going to debate this with you as you are speculating and really don't have any experience to draw on. Cheers.
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Don't care to debate either. Particularly with someone that is full of assumptions and thinks they know all. BTW, if you can't get the symbol right, just say "less than" <.
 
outside! said:
There is plenty of ugly soccer being played at the college level (USC and SDSU come to mind). There is also plenty of ugly soccer at the elite youth level. I have seen ECNL championship games that were ugly kickball. I have also seen good possession teams reduced to playing kickball when they face an opponent that won't let them play their normal game.
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We are in agreement. I've seen some serious crap. I have also seen to possession teams battle it out and have it decided on a golden goal.
 
Kicknit22 said:
Don't care to debate either. Particularly with someone that is full of assumptions and thinks they know all. BTW, if you can't get the symbol right, just say "less than" <.
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I never said I know it all just that you don't know my players peers and I do. You can think what you want. I don't care. My player is in good hands and is in the pipeline for what YOU think DA is going to achieve. I hope that it works out for your player. I have proven many people wrong on this forum over the last 6 or so years and I accurately predicted at 12 where my player was going to be at 18. Not to mention I predicted what would happen with the ECNL split years ago too. My record is pretty good.

I promise that I won't say I told you so. Let's hope that yours is still playing at U16.
 
NoGoal said:
And tell me what were the results of the US Soccer trained U17 and U20 teams? The US Soccer coaches trained these girls almost once a week, every month for the last 2 years with their so called best practice methods.

You actually believe, since US Soccer is heading Girls DA that club coaches will train and develop their players differently? Girls DA is comprised of 80% of the same ECNL clubs.

For 99% of Girls DA players the goal will be college soccer. The net net is players and parents will continue to place their kids where they will get the maximum college exposure. In this case with 15 Girls DA clubs, it will boil down to who is fully subsidized and/or get their players committed to the best university relative to scholarship offers and team competitivness.
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The ECNL clubs that signed up for DA have agreed to changing how they develop and train the players. It was a big part of the meetings, requirements, and agreements for the clubs joining GDA. Everything from training program to coaching credentials; so, I believe he/she has a right to believe. My DD trained with 4 of the top 4 SoCal ECNL teams multiple times and only 1 actually trained the girls and corrected issues. One coach sat on his cell phone for 90% of 3 practices she attended while the girls scrimmaged playing their kickball crap. I can only see things getting better IMO.
 
MakeAPlay said:
Then are you saying that the boys DA is watered down in SoCal? They sure seem to be focused on winning the DA championships. Are you really buying into the marketing pitch that they are looking to develop more national team players? All but one national team player got there through their performances in college and then the pros and that is a fact. The YNT pipeline did nothing to develop these players.
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MakeAPlay, I do not know anything about the boys DA. Thus, I will not foolishly respond to a question of which I know nothing.

The DA marketing pitch is that they want to develop more players. But I am NOT buying it until I see it. Let's see what effect the GDA has over these ECNL coaches/clubs.

Since this is a blog, I will allow myself to dream a bit. I like the concept that the GDA aims to develop a larger number of girls during the high school years. In my opinion, there is too much early sorting of girls. This has been especially true in markets where a single ECNL club monopolized the market. There is a saying that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. It sounds as though your daughter is a unicorn. No doubt she has always belonged at the top of the pyramid. I love your rear-view mirror perspective. Looking back, do you see any girls that were on your daughter's ECNL teams (Surf in San Diego?) that may not have been the most qualified? Looking back, do you see any girls that were overlooked by your daughter's ECNL team? If there were any overlooked girls, do thing the GDA would have netted them? Truly looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
 
LadiesMan217 said:
The ECNL clubs that signed up for DA have agreed to changing how they develop and train the players. It was a big part of the meetings, requirements, and agreements for the clubs joining GDA. Everything from training program to coaching credentials; so, I believe he/she has a right to believe. My DD trained with 4 of the top 4 SoCal ECNL teams multiple times and only 1 actually trained the girls and corrected issues. One coach sat on his cell phone for 90% of 3 practices she attended while the girls scrimmaged playing their kickball crap. I can only see things getting better IMO.
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Please tell me, for the last decade do all of the Boys DA teams play and train the same also? Doubt it!

IMO, what the clubs will follow are the 2 training days, 1 film/class session and 1 conditioning day per week.

The 2 ECNL clubs my DD have been part of. Her coaches were never on the phone during practice.
 
clueless parent said:
MakeAPlay, I do not know anything about the boys DA. Thus, I will not foolishly respond to a question of which I know nothing.

The DA marketing pitch is that they want to develop more players. But I am NOT buying it until I see it. Let's see what effect the GDA has over these ECNL coaches/clubs.

Since this is a blog, I will allow myself to dream a bit. I like the concept that the GDA aims to develop a larger number of girls during the high school years. In my opinion, there is too much early sorting of girls. This has been especially true in markets where a single ECNL club monopolized the market. There is a saying that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. It sounds as though your daughter is a unicorn. No doubt she has always belonged at the top of the pyramid. I love your rear-view mirror perspective. Looking back, do you see any girls that were on your daughter's ECNL teams (Surf in San Diego?) that may not have been the most qualified? Looking back, do you see any girls that were overlooked by your daughter's ECNL team? If there were any overlooked girls, do thing the GDA would have netted them? Truly looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
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I don't know about MAP, but from my very own experience. My own DD was over looked, but my wife and I didn't blame the league or club. As I posted prior, player selection is based on a coaches preference. Instead we told our DD to use it as motivation as a chip on her shoulder to work harder and improve her game.
 
LadiesMan217 said:
The ECNL clubs that signed up for DA have agreed to changing how they develop and train the players. It was a big part of the meetings, requirements, and agreements for the clubs joining GDA. Everything from training program to coaching credentials; so, I believe he/she has a right to believe. My DD trained with 4 of the top 4 SoCal ECNL teams multiple times and only 1 actually trained the girls and corrected issues. One coach sat on his cell phone for 90% of 3 practices she attended while the girls scrimmaged playing their kickball crap. I can only see things getting better IMO.
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Mine played on two ECNL teams and I never saw the coach even take his phone out of his pocket. I still talk to one of the coaches all of the time. It sounds like a coaching problem.
 
MakeAPlay said:
I never said I know it all just that you don't know my players peers and I do. You can think what you want. I don't care. My player is in good hands and is in the pipeline for what YOU think DA is going to achieve. I hope that it works out for your player. I have proven many people wrong on this forum over the last 6 or so years and I accurately predicted at 12 where my player was going to be at 18. Not to mention I predicted what would happen with the ECNL split years ago too. My record is pretty good.

I promise that I won't say I told you so. Let's hope that yours is still playing at U16.
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Oh, MAP. Again with the assumptions! Show me a post of mine where I even mention what DA is going to achieve. You DO care what I think, as well as what anyone else thinks. It's why you can't help but keep responding and debating. I don't know you or your daughter (player?) nor do I care to. I applaud the accomplishments of your daughter, though. We see things differently, that's all. No amount of rhetoric you come up with will change that. Your circle agrees with you, I'm confident of that. Peace.
 
clueless parent said:
MakeAPlay, I do not know anything about the boys DA. Thus, I will not foolishly respond to a question of which I know nothing.

The DA marketing pitch is that they want to develop more players. But I am NOT buying it until I see it. Let's see what effect the GDA has over these ECNL coaches/clubs.

Since this is a blog, I will allow myself to dream a bit. I like the concept that the GDA aims to develop a larger number of girls during the high school years. In my opinion, there is too much early sorting of girls. This has been especially true in markets where a single ECNL club monopolized the market. There is a saying that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. It sounds as though your daughter is a unicorn. No doubt she has always belonged at the top of the pyramid. I love your rear-view mirror perspective. Looking back, do you see any girls that were on your daughter's ECNL teams (Surf in San Diego?) that may not have been the most qualified? Looking back, do you see any girls that were overlooked by your daughter's ECNL team? If there were any overlooked girls, do thing the GDA would have netted them? Truly looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
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Here is what I saw. There were definitely girls on my player's team that were in over their head but they still got college scholarships so what do I know. There were definitely players that were top notch that played on other teams outside of the ECNL for various reasons but not because they were overlooked. Selfishly I would only want elite players playing with my daughter so if I was just starting this journey I would have probably wanted her to be in the GDA. Realistically, even if everyone is talented you need chiefs and you need Indians to have a successful team.

My selection of teams for my player had nothing to do with the ECNL it was all about the coach. I took the position that I knew she had the athletic and mental gifts to be a top level athlete in whatever she chose as her primary sport. She had the tools for success and just needed the right coach to get her there. My analogy that I used to tell her is that she had the ingredients to be a chocolate cake and that we just needed the right chef to put them all together. This was when she was on the "B" team of a very successful club playing in the Bronze flight. I didn't like the coach at the club that she was at but we were fairly new and I was unaware of the non-soccer BS that exists in club soccer. I also noticed that the coach in the club with the highest licensing, best resume as a player and a coach was coaching the "C" teams! That confused me and they wouldn't let me put her on that team yet the coach of the "A" team never gave her a shot. About a year later she ripped the "A" team a new one playing for her eventual club. The coach even asked who she was and one of his players told them she used to be on the "B" team and had been at tryouts the year before. That taught me three things. First, beauty is in the eye of the beholder so find a coach that sees the beauty in your player. Second, the only loyalty that matters is to your player because a coach/DOC/club/federation care about their agenda and not about your kid. Finally, it's all about having a quality coach.
 
Kicknit22 said:
Cal South ODP has NEVER fielded all the "best" players. You're fooling yourself if you think otherwise. Excellent players, for sure, that can and usually do beat all other regions. I will say "Some" of the best, to be fair. I have said this before, Cal south could field multiple Allstar teams to go compete regionally, and finish as a group at the top.
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IMO they are fielding the "best players", but the coaches are picking the "best players" who will help them "WIN" the Regional and National Championships at the present. They are not projecting 2-3 years from now. I have posted this in the old forum several years back. If Cal-South fielded 2 ODP teams, the 2 teams in the Regional finals would be the Cal-South teams.

I have witness the final 36 player selections at Summer and Winter camps. At the camp the coaches eventually divide the players into A team (1-18) and B team (19-36). The teams then girls scrimmage each other for 30 minutes. Those games always end in a 1 goal difference. The parents, I always hear complain about ODP selecting the same players, eventually their DDs never make the final 18 roster. The parents who's kid kept working hard, eventually did. Yes, each year Cal South assigns a new coach and the incumbent players have a HUGE advantage, but believe it or not. I have seen girls work their way to the first team and vice versa for some A team players being cycled out.
 
MakeAPlay said:
Here is what I saw. There were definitely girls on my player's team that were in over their head but they still got college scholarships so what do I know. There were definitely players that were top notch that played on other teams outside of the ECNL for various reasons but not because they were overlooked. Selfishly I would only want elite players playing with my daughter so if I was just starting this journey I would have probably wanted her to be in the GDA. Realistically, even if everyone is talented you need chiefs and you need Indians to have a successful team.

My selection of teams for my player had nothing to do with the ECNL it was all about the coach. I took the position that I knew she had the athletic and mental gifts to be a top level athlete in whatever she chose as her primary sport. She had the tools for success and just needed the right coach to get her there. My analogy that I used to tell her is that she had the ingredients to be a chocolate cake and that we just needed the right chef to put them all together. This was when she was on the "B" team of a very successful club playing in the Bronze flight. I didn't like the coach at the club that she was at but we were fairly new and I was unaware of the non-soccer BS that exists in club soccer. I also noticed that the coach in the club with the highest licensing, best resume as a player and a coach was coaching the "C" teams! That confused me and they wouldn't let me put her on that team yet the coach of the "A" team never gave her a shot. About a year later she ripped the "A" team a new one playing for her eventual club. The coach even asked who she was and one of his players told them she used to be on the "B" team and had been at tryouts the year before. That taught me three things. First, beauty is in the eye of the beholder so find a coach that sees the beauty in your player. Second, the only loyalty that matters is to your player because a coach/DOC/club/federation care about their agenda and not about your kid. Finally, it's all about having a quality coach.
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Love the story, MAP.
 
Kicknit22 said:
Oh, MAP. Again with the assumptions! Show me a post of mine where I even mention what DA is going to achieve. You DO care what I think, as well as what anyone else thinks. It's why you can't help but keep responding and debating. I don't know you or your daughter (player?) nor do I care to. I applaud the accomplishments of your daughter, though. We see things differently, that's all. No amount of rhetoric you come up with will change that. Your circle agrees with you, I'm confident of that. Peace.
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I don't care what you or anyone else on this forum thinks.
 
MakeAPlay said:
First, beauty is in the eye of the beholder so find a coach that sees the beauty in your player. Second, the only loyalty that matters is to your player because a coach/DOC/club/federation care about their agenda and not about your kid. Finally, it's all about having a quality coach.
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MakeAPlay, this is quote is a keeper. Thanks.
 
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