Girls Development Academy

Blue Card said:
Put aside travel (which is probably naive), but if you've got a kid who loves and is dedicated to soccer and are lucky enough to have a DA club nearby which for So Cal is now just as or more likely than having an ECNL club nearby, make it, and get comfortable with playing time, how drastically different (at least at the pre-high school years) are you assuming it is in terms of cost and time? Say your high quality but non-DA club practices 2-3 times per week, plays league games and tourneys all over So Cal in San Diego, OC, LA and Ventura counties, you do outside training once a week, and your team plays lot of tournaments including frequently 3-5 games in a single weekend. Now maybe you're trading the separate outside training once a week (and its cost) for a 3rd or 4th (very high quality if you buy into everything) practice and freeing yourself up from the frequent 4-5 game per weekend slog. Based on the only info someone has put up here of about $2800 for a non-funded DA and assuming no scholarship--that's say $500-$1000 more for the year (again the hole here could be travel but looks like there are a lot of So Cal DA teams) but you're not paying ref fees, uniform fees and maybe cutting down somewhat on outside training. I guess it all depends on the circumstances but doesn't seem so obviously drastically different in terms of cost and time, at least for the younger ages of DA and at the younger ages you're not giving up high school sports...Shoot this full of holes, lots of people trying to figure this new thing out, but in any event I wouldn't assume the only interest is because it's cool to say "My DD is DA" or because they think there's a real chance DD is going to be on the WNT or even the YNT.
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This is my take, if the ultimate goal is women college soccer....which should be 99% of the parents/readers in this forum. There is no rush to play Girls DA at U12, U13 or even U14. "IF" your DD is a great little player and has a great club coach who knows how to develop players, along with doing skills training, training on her own (parent supervising), speed and agility. She will be fine, unfortunately....eventually, she will need to make the leap to a Girls DA team no later than U15, because she will need to play at a faster pace, deal with physical players, and most important be seen by the greatest amount of college coaches.

There are plenty of players who are playing on a top team at ulittles who won't be there come uolders (U14 and older). I've seen it, previous uolders posters posted it and it will continue today and into the future.

If she is good player, then maybe U14....because, she will need a year to adjust to the speed of play.
 
Blue Card said:
Yeah, different kinds of professional help needed, but parents probably need professional help if either their self esteem comes from the level of their DD's soccer team or if shelling out thousands of buck for kids' soccer is viewed as a wise financial investment. Issues for another thread. It's a huge amount of $ and I'm not suggesting the extra is justified or that the base for a non DA club is justified. Was just saying if you look at it closely, how DIFFERENT is it really and help me think about it...So on the 800-1000 difference, say the uniform set is $200 you otherwise do one group semiprivate at $30 a session three times a month but won't now that you have 4 practices a week and say you do that 8 months out of the year. 24X30=$720 plus $200 for the uniform is $920 you're now not paying. + ref fees you're not paying. + tournament entry fees you're not paying. Again, extremely expensive and silly if looked at as an investment, but how DIFFERENT overall is that? I offered up in the first instance that travel was the black hole I didn't know about. But many teams would do Vegas and/or Dallas and/or a different out of state tourney anyway, right? So you're swapping where out of state you go? And who knows with the concentration of the CA teams and the good weather maybe many of the tourneys would actually be in Cali?
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IMO, Girls DA training session of 4-5 days a week vs non-DA team 2 days a week, plus additional tailored personal training plus speed and agility. The team training is to improve the overall team and not so much the individual player. Where as the tailored personal training will help improve the areas a player needs improvement on, like shooting, trapping, gate turning, quickness, etc.
 
NoGoal said:
Your family gets it and if your DD has ambitions playing college soccer. Your family will think it through and choose the best path to accomplish that goal, besides following the sheep to Girls DA. If Girls DA is the best route...awesome, if not there will still be plenty of opportunities to be showcased outside of Girls DA. No different than players outside of ECNL committing to college soccer now.
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I agree in part NG. My 2 have always put in extra days and work on their own, due to intrinsic motivation. Non-ECNL, and luckily, it's all worked
out for my older one. But, it was very difficult. As I stated before, I agree that this is a power play by USSOCCER. Basically, taking the baton from ECNL, IMO. But, this is the same thing that was being said by all that were not included at the inception of ECNL. It clearly turned out to be great for all that were able to take advantage of it. Now, it's going to be DA. In hindsight, I am still glad my older missed having to deal with this. Now, my younger has very high aspirations in this sport, and I am hoping it will provide all the benefits that ECNL has. Exposure, exposure, exposure. She'll take care of the rest. I don't think the sheep comment applies at all.
 
NoGoal said:
I agree this 4-5 days of training isn't for everyone. A player who wants to play at a high level should have already been making this sacrifice long ago and not because Girls DA is doing it this fall. I'm not posting about kicking the ball back and forth with their older siblings like you posted above either.

The top players sacrifice, going out with friends on weekends, skip dances, hanging with friends for the love of soccer. If they aren't or have a hard time doing it now in high school....it's what they will have to do eventually playing college soccer. Believe me my DD is already doing her college workout/conditioning packet and it's 5 additional days of hard work on top of club practice.
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NoGoal said:
I agree this 4-5 days of training isn't for everyone. A player who wants to play at a high level should have already been making this sacrifice long ago and not because Girls DA is doing it this fall. I'm not posting about kicking the ball back and forth with their older siblings like you posted above either.

The top players sacrifice, going out with friends on weekends, skip dances, hanging with friends for the love of soccer. If they aren't or have a hard time doing it now in high school....it's what they will have to do eventually playing college soccer. Believe me my DD is already doing her college workout/conditioning packet and it's 5 additional days of hard work on top of club practice.
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Maybe it isn't a sacrifice. It won't be for everyone. Which is precisely why it will elevate US Women's soccer. Maximize growth and potential thru training time for those that truly desire to play with a full commitment.
 
Kicker4Life said:
I'm wondering if there were posters calling everyone who was excited about ECNL "sheep" back when ECNL was the shiny new toy?

I guess it takes one to know one.....
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Not many were calling those who went to ECNL sheep, it took a couple of years to build momentum in that league, and the first two years of ECNL were still a work in progress. More took issue with the condescension often directed at non-ECNL clubs and players by ECNL participants once the ECNL settled in.

There were, however, plenty of comments on those who followed the ECNL clubs when they formed SCDSL, but I recall the term used when it came to the smaller clubs (Infinity, Eclipse, Exiles, to name a few) who did so was "lemmings." That league too has evolved and continues to change.

For those of us who have seen the creation of multiple leagues in the past 10 years (ECNL, SCDSL, EGSL, two NPLs, CRL, ...and boys and girls DA) what seems overly optimistic is that so many parents seem to believe that the girls DA will not have the same early issues and growing pains every other league experiences. That does not diminish the quality of the clubs and players who will participate, but the experience may be bumpy for all during this transition.
 
Sane65 said:
Maybe it isn't a sacrifice. It won't be for everyone. Which is precisely why it will elevate US Women's soccer. Maximize growth and potential thru training time for those that truly desire to play with a full commitment.
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US Soccer is assuming Girls DA will elevate US Womens Soccer. That result is a decade away, before we know it's effectiveness. US Womens Soccer is #1 in the World. After a decade, if the women fall to #2 or lower....it's a failure, right? Or is everyone happy if the team plays possession soccer and fall below #1 it's acceptable? Example: Arsenal plays possession soccer, but can't win a UEFA title.

There is opportunity cost involved, when make a choice. Thus there is always a sacrifice being made.
 
Dos Equis said:
Not many were calling those who went to ECNL sheep, it took a couple of years to build momentum in that league, and the first two years of ECNL were still a work in progress. More took issue with the condescension often directed at non-ECNL clubs and players by ECNL participants once the ECNL settled in.

There were, however, plenty of comments on those who followed the ECNL clubs when they formed SCDSL, but I recall the term used when it came to the smaller clubs (Infinity, Eclipse, Exiles, to name a few) who did so was "lemmings." That league too has evolved and continues to change.

For those of us who have seen the creation of multiple leagues in the past 10 years (ECNL, SCDSL, EGSL, two NPLs, CRL, ...and boys and girls DA) what seems overly optimistic is that so many parents seem to believe that the girls DA will not have the same early issues and growing pains every other league experiences. That does not diminish the quality of the clubs and players who will participate, but the experience may be bumpy for all during this transition.
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The more things change, the more they stay the same.....
 
NoGoal said:
This is my take, if the ultimate goal is women college soccer....which should be 99% of the parents/readers in this forum. There is no rush to play Girls DA at U12, U13 or even U14. "IF" your DD is a great little player and has a great club coach who knows how to develop players, along with doing skills training, training on her own (parent supervising), speed and agility. She will be fine, unfortunately....eventually, she will need to make the leap to a Girls DA team no later than U15, because she will need to play at a faster pace, deal with physical players, and most important be seen by the greatest amount of college coaches.

There are plenty of players who are playing on a top team at ulittles who won't be there come uolders (U14 and older). I've seen it, previous uolders posters posted it and it will continue today and into the future.

If she is good player, then maybe U14....because, she will need a year to adjust to the speed of play.
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Can't argue with any of this NG! I completely agree.
 
NoGoal said:
US Soccer is assuming Girls DA will elevate US Womens Soccer. That result is a decade away, before we know it's effectiveness. US Womens Soccer is #1 in the World. After a decade, if the women fall to #2 or lower....it's a failure, right? Or is everyone happy if the team plays possession soccer and fall below #1 it's acceptable? Example: Arsenal plays possession soccer, but can't win a UEFA title.

There is opportunity cost involved, when make a choice. Thus there is always a sacrifice being made.
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I wonder if you call today's performance by Arsenal "possession soccer". Bayern is world class. You can't resist that one NG.
 
Sane65 said:
I wonder if you call today's performance by Arsenal "possession soccer". Bayern is world class. You can't resist that one NG.
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I didn't watch the game, but you do know Bayern is also a possession team right?

Watch any Arsenal EPL game and you will always hear the analyist criticize Arsenal for wanting to walk the ball into goal vs taking a shot.
 
NoGoal said:
I didn't watch France beat our WNT 3-0. I did read about it though and we want Jill Ellis, April Heinrich and cronies to implement and head a Girls DA league? Ha....like I posted, these coaches don't know how to train or develop a possession player...more how to play it.

Read up: http://forums.bigsoccer.com/threads/uswnt-v-france-she-believes-march-7-pre-pbp-post.2039380/page-5
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Jill Ellis somehow won a WWC, flamed out in the Olympics, last place in the She Believes Cup, U17 didn't get out of group play at U17 WC and U20 finished 4th at U20 WC. Time to clean house!

I'm affaid the US WNT is losing their identity. They were never the most technical, but played dam stingy defense, fast and athletic as hell and scored on the counter attack. Im also sorry to post this, because I believe in a technical game....US wins by playing a USC (defending NCAA Champs) style of play.
 
Caught the last 20-25 mins of the US WNT vs France.

Get rid of the 3-2-3-2 formation and go back to a 4-3-3...call back Klingenberg to play as a wingback.

Maybe time for Jill Ellis to make a phone call to Hope Solo.
 
NoGoal said:
Caught the last 20-25 mins of the US WNT vs France.

Get rid of the 3-2-3-2 formation and go back to a 4-3-3...call back Klingenberg to play as a wingback.

Maybe time for Jill Ellis to make a phone call to Hope Solo.
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Aww come on-- in all this country there are no other good keepers besides Solo? I know at least 3 good 2005s...

And no way is 0-3 the keeper's fault...
 
Real Deal said:
Aww come on-- in all this country there are no other good keepers besides Solo? I know at least 3 good 2005s...

And no way is 0-3 the keeper's fault...
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I didn't post it was the keepers fault. I posted ditch the 3-2-3-2 formation aka 3 center backs well at least in a 3 back system it should be 3 center backs. My point is call back Hope Solo, because she had command of her back line. Can't deny it, Solo holds the record for most clean sheets.

http://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2016/05/31/22/34/160531-wnt-hope-solo-shutouts-by-the-numbers
 
shales1002 said:
Keepers job is to save the game . Blame the keeper ;).
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Unlike field players...Goalkeepers are like fine wine. They get better with age! Tim Howard is 38 and still on the Mens NT. Solo is only 35 and was originally a forward and why she is a freakish athletic GK. Even if she lost a step of her athleticism. It's still probably better than 99.99% of other GKs out there.
 
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