Girls Development Academy

I didn't say those clubs became good because quite honestly they are only okay. .
Again, just your opinion which happens to be at odds with the DA standings. Let me see, which one should I trust ... Of course, I should trust the dinosaur. Freudian slip avatar?
 
Again, just your opinion which happens to be at odds with the DA standings. Let me see, which one should I trust ... Of course, I should trust the dinosaur. Freudian slip avatar?

Again my opinion just like it is your opinion that they are good. And yes I am a dinosaur apparently because I didn't trust a club to develop my player and it seems to have worked out. I hope that your club loyalty works out for your player.
 
Yes, I get it. But after the split, Surf still did not have all the best players in the county. That is the problem with monopolies. Get it? Things change and ECNL was blind to the changes (or more likely bought and payed for by the SoCal clubs that were ECNL). Since club soccer is so expensive, we still do not have all the best players at the elite level. That is why it is a shame that high school is becoming meaningless for elite players, and college soccer will be within 20 years simply because a bunch of old guys want to protect their fiefdom.

I never said that Surf ever had all of the best players in the county because that has never been the case. Carlsbad, Sam Diego United, PQ Premier, FC San Diego, Albion and plenty of Orange County clubs have poached great players from San Diego County that for one reason or another did not want to play for Surf. I am all for free elite soccer for all but let's be realistic. We can't even get health care for all what are the chances of getting anything for a sport that quite honestly is a country club sport for girls.
 
We'll have to wait to see what happens with the current level playing field, the first year has been good this far.

How is it "currently a level playing field"? It seems DA is a closed league that gives huge benefit to clubs like Beach over clubs such as Oceanside or Rebels who don't have it.
 
How is it "currently a level playing field"? It seems DA is a closed league that gives huge benefit to clubs like Beach over clubs such as Oceanside or Rebels who don't have it.
While I agree with your post, I believe mbeach was referring to the fact that the top teams at the historic ECNL clubs and the new GDA but non-ECNL clubs are playing in the same league this year for the first time since 2009. Apparently that is the only way to actually win a meaningful game since before this year ECNL teams never played their best when playing against the hoi polloi.
 
How is it "currently a level playing field"? It seems DA is a closed league that gives huge benefit to clubs like Beach over clubs such as Oceanside or Rebels who don't have it.
da is a closed league?? did ecnl ever boot out a club in ca, even before the first full season was over?
 
How is it "currently a level playing field"? It seems DA is a closed league that gives huge benefit to clubs like Beach over clubs such as Oceanside or Rebels who don't have it.
Your club can apply to DA, and if it meet the requirements it should be accepted.
 

The requirements are made clear. They do not seem easy to meet though. One thing is proximity to other clubs according to the talent pool. SoCal has 9 in a 150 mile radius. No other region in the country has half that many teams close to each other. They are traveling hundreds of miles to play weekly.

San Diego county already has Surf, Galaxy SD and Albion. Where do clubs like Rebels and Carlsbad fit in for what the DA is pushing? I'll elaborate a bit so I don't come off condescending or insulting.

The main difference between DA and any other league is the sub rule. The rule is once subbed there is no re-entry. 5 subs are allowed. This means a max of 16 girls play, but no subs have to be made. On a 18 player roster 2 never play EVERY game. The only requirement is a player must start 25% of the total games the team plays. There is no guideline to minutes so she can get pulled after 1 minute and it counts as a start. So once a player gets her mandatory 25% of starts, she can be set for very long stretches of non activity. That is not appealing to anyone. I have two kids in the DA and it is a constant discussion with the parents.

Without the shuffling in and out of players, it's much harder to hide players who aren't up to par technically, mentally or physically.

What I'm saying is the DA really isn't made for big rosters if the focus is really development. I would say 18 because of injuries and players unable to show for whatever reason. Rosters of 24 are just absurd and in most cases the kids on the fringe aren't ready yet and will have trouble becoming ready with little to no playtime.

Add in the age banding, where the clubs usually go higher age heavy. It seems as if US Soccer isn't concerned with developing the best talent at each age group and the talent pool dwindles further. The 02s paid for it this season and the 03s will pay next season and so on.

Is there enough talent for Rebels and Carlsbad to compete in this environment? Real question because I don't know.

On another note, the Burlingame club is reeling. It's hard to justify the travel costs, time away and overall energy when your teams are 0 and everything. It's hard not to argue that ECNL or a similar setup isn't better for them. Let me be clear, they are well coached, but don't have the athletes to compete. I saw them play a great style of soccer and their kids understood what they are doing. The only teams I have seen hold their shape better are Beach and West Coast. They just can't physically hold their own. Therefore, they pay for nearly every mistake they make.

Now a club like IMG can afford to keep pushing because they are a private school setup and those attending are very well off. They will simply adjust their recruiting tactics and infuse coaching and player talent if their Academy deems it worthy. They started off just as poor in football and have made themselves into a national powerhouse quickly.
 
The requirements are made clear. They do not seem easy to meet though. One thing is proximity to other clubs according to the talent pool. SoCal has 9 in a 150 mile radius. No other region in the country has half that many teams close to each other. They are traveling hundreds of miles to play weekly.

San Diego county already has Surf, Galaxy SD and Albion. Where do clubs like Rebels and Carlsbad fit in for what the DA is pushing? I'll elaborate a bit so I don't come off condescending or insulting.

The main difference between DA and any other league is the sub rule. The rule is once subbed there is no re-entry. 5 subs are allowed. This means a max of 16 girls play, but no subs have to be made. On a 18 player roster 2 never play EVERY game. The only requirement is a player must start 25% of the total games the team plays. There is no guideline to minutes so she can get pulled after 1 minute and it counts as a start. So once a player gets her mandatory 25% of starts, she can be set for very long stretches of non activity. That is not appealing to anyone. I have two kids in the DA and it is a constant discussion with the parents.

Without the shuffling in and out of players, it's much harder to hide players who aren't up to par technically, mentally or physically.

What I'm saying is the DA really isn't made for big rosters if the focus is really development. I would say 18 because of injuries and players unable to show for whatever reason. Rosters of 24 are just absurd and in most cases the kids on the fringe aren't ready yet and will have trouble becoming ready with little to no playtime.

Add in the age banding, where the clubs usually go higher age heavy. It seems as if US Soccer isn't concerned with developing the best talent at each age group and the talent pool dwindles further. The 02s paid for it this season and the 03s will pay next season and so on.

Is there enough talent for Rebels and Carlsbad to compete in this environment? Real question because I don't know.

On another note, the Burlingame club is reeling. It's hard to justify the travel costs, time away and overall energy when your teams are 0 and everything. It's hard not to argue that ECNL or a similar setup isn't better for them. Let me be clear, they are well coached, but don't have the athletes to compete. I saw them play a great style of soccer and their kids understood what they are doing. The only teams I have seen hold their shape better are Beach and West Coast. They just can't physically hold their own. Therefore, they pay for nearly every mistake they make.

Now a club like IMG can afford to keep pushing because they are a private school setup and those attending are very well off. They will simply adjust their recruiting tactics and infuse coaching and player talent if their Academy deems it worthy. They started off just as poor in football and have made themselves into a national powerhouse quickly.
Carlsbad is LA Galaxy San Diego by the way.
 
The requirements are made clear. They do not seem easy to meet though. One thing is proximity to other clubs according to the talent pool. SoCal has 9 in a 150 mile radius. No other region in the country has half that many teams close to each other. They are traveling hundreds of miles to play weekly.

San Diego county already has Surf, Galaxy SD and Albion. Where do clubs like Rebels and Carlsbad fit in for what the DA is pushing? I'll elaborate a bit so I don't come off condescending or insulting.

The main difference between DA and any other league is the sub rule. The rule is once subbed there is no re-entry. 5 subs are allowed. This means a max of 16 girls play, but no subs have to be made. On a 18 player roster 2 never play EVERY game. The only requirement is a player must start 25% of the total games the team plays. There is no guideline to minutes so she can get pulled after 1 minute and it counts as a start. So once a player gets her mandatory 25% of starts, she can be set for very long stretches of non activity. That is not appealing to anyone. I have two kids in the DA and it is a constant discussion with the parents.

Without the shuffling in and out of players, it's much harder to hide players who aren't up to par technically, mentally or physically.

What I'm saying is the DA really isn't made for big rosters if the focus is really development. I would say 18 because of injuries and players unable to show for whatever reason. Rosters of 24 are just absurd and in most cases the kids on the fringe aren't ready yet and will have trouble becoming ready with little to no playtime.

Add in the age banding, where the clubs usually go higher age heavy. It seems as if US Soccer isn't concerned with developing the best talent at each age group and the talent pool dwindles further. The 02s paid for it this season and the 03s will pay next season and so on.

Is there enough talent for Rebels and Carlsbad to compete in this environment? Real question because I don't know.

On another note, the Burlingame club is reeling. It's hard to justify the travel costs, time away and overall energy when your teams are 0 and everything. It's hard not to argue that ECNL or a similar setup isn't better for them. Let me be clear, they are well coached, but don't have the athletes to compete. I saw them play a great style of soccer and their kids understood what they are doing. The only teams I have seen hold their shape better are Beach and West Coast. They just can't physically hold their own. Therefore, they pay for nearly every mistake they make.

Now a club like IMG can afford to keep pushing because they are a private school setup and those attending are very well off. They will simply adjust their recruiting tactics and infuse coaching and player talent if their Academy deems it worthy. They started off just as poor in football and have made themselves into a national powerhouse quickly.
Not sure your point. Sure your observations are ones that many have but... the guidelines as you read them online might appear to be straightforward but they are not. USSoccer is the gate keeper they alone decide who and how a club can enter THEIR CLOSED LEAGUE or REMAIN in it. That is the issue at hand. Their is no merit based system in which a team or a club can earn their way in. That reason alone is a huge part of why DA is Socal is so watered down. Legends, Surf, Beach, Blues, all have second teams that can and would compete with the bottom teams in DA. Yet those players and those teams are left out of DAs closed league system because of the rules rather than the play.
As far as playing time, if you decide to play DA and you can’t get QUALITY minutes than you need to re-evaluate your situation. Stagnation kills far to many players. Leave, get better, change positions, etc. DA is designed as a funnel for national team scouting, and for controlling profits from other closed leagues.
 
Not sure your point. Sure your observations are ones that many have but... the guidelines as you read them online might appear to be straightforward but they are not. USSoccer is the gate keeper they alone decide who and how a club can enter THEIR CLOSED LEAGUE or REMAIN in it. That is the issue at hand. Their is no merit based system in which a team or a club can earn their way in. That reason alone is a huge part of why DA is Socal is so watered down. Legends, Surf, Beach, Blues, all have second teams that can and would compete with the bottom teams in DA. Yet those players and those teams are left out of DAs closed league system because of the rules rather than the play.
As far as playing time, if you decide to play DA and you can’t get QUALITY minutes than you need to re-evaluate your situation. Stagnation kills far to many players. Leave, get better, change positions, etc. DA is designed as a funnel for national team scouting, and for controlling profits from other closed leagues.

The national team scouting part is the selling point, but really isn't a factor for the majority of there. Some kids want to play at the highest level of competition. No different than when ECNL came along.

I agree 100% with the stagnation part and if a kid isn't good enough to play than reevaluate.

I wasn't arguing that the DA isn't a closed league. SoCal is full of closed leagues; DA, ECNL, CRL, SCSDL, Coast Soccer League, etc..... Are you proposing we all play in the same league and just have different levels of the single competition?

On your comment of the 2nd teams of some clubs beating the lower ranked clubs, I disagree.

Legends, Blues and Del Sol are better athletic teams than the rest of us. Del Sol still is mid pack and Legends has went from 1st to 3rd since the winter break. Beach is the best technical team in the SoCal DA and has went from 3rd to 1st since the break. For the rest of us, the games are usually dog fights won and lost by a mental error or two. Yes, I'm including Surf. My daughter is on a lower producing team and the only teams to blow us out are Legends, Blues and Beach. We beat the current group of Legends players in the 2nd match, got demolished by Beach and just played a close game vs Blues without 3 of their top players while blown out when they had them. Most of our other losses are by 1 or 2 goals and we have a bunch of ties. I watch a lot of games and the second tier kids would struggle in this league with these rules.
 
The national team scouting part is the selling point, but really isn't a factor for the majority of there. Some kids want to play at the highest level of competition. No different than when ECNL came along.

I agree 100% with the stagnation part and if a kid isn't good enough to play than reevaluate.

I wasn't arguing that the DA isn't a closed league. SoCal is full of closed leagues; DA, ECNL, CRL, SCSDL, Coast Soccer League, etc..... Are you proposing we all play in the same league and just have different levels of the single competition?

On your comment of the 2nd teams of some clubs beating the lower ranked clubs, I disagree.

Legends, Blues and Del Sol are better athletic teams than the rest of us. Del Sol still is mid pack and Legends has went from 1st to 3rd since the winter break. Beach is the best technical team in the SoCal DA and has went from 3rd to 1st since the break. For the rest of us, the games are usually dog fights won and lost by a mental error or two. Yes, I'm including Surf. My daughter is on a lower producing team and the only teams to blow us out are Legends, Blues and Beach. We beat the current group of Legends players in the 2nd match, got demolished by Beach and just played a close game vs Blues without 3 of their top players while blown out when they had them. Most of our other losses are by 1 or 2 goals and we have a bunch of ties. I watch a lot of games and the second tier kids would struggle in this league with these rules.

SCDSL and CSL are "closed leagues"?
 
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