Girls Development Academy

[NoGoal]

So, are you saying that the ECNL is going to be the main focus of Wyoming and Boise State, and other like institutions?

Uh, I already posted ECNL will be a viable option for D1 mid-major conferences, D2-D3.

With that said, parts of the country will not have DA. So, those ECNL clubs will still be a viable destination for players seeking to be recruited by Power 5 conference schools.

 

[casper]

DA vs ECNL

DA goal to get girls to the National teams from U14 WNT- Senior WNT. This elite group of players represents less than 0.0000001% of the girls that play soccer in those age groups. Recently the WNT U14 called 48 players to camp and they just concluded a 2nd camp with only 36 players called back from the original 48. These 36 were representing all of the US girls in the 02 and 03 age groups in the country. Out of those very talented 36 maybe 2 or 3 ever make it to the senior WNT. So for 99.999999% of the girls playing DA they will never reach that goal. Doesn't mean the training won't be excellent nor won't open up opportunities for them on the College front. In all likely hood it will be another great vehicle for those talented players to get to the collegiate level. Until there is a viable pro league in the US it's College or playing pro overseas. ECNL was designed to get girls to college and for those select few that were scouted and selected to YNT from ECNL teams it served that purpose as a secondary role. International football is another beast and to play for the US it's a very unlikely and competitive road. I am sure DA and ECNL will coexist as the other leagues do and hopefully whatever your dd's goals are she will find the right fit for her and give herself the best opportunity to reach those goals.

 

[ECNL]

Edit: It looks like Casper and I were thinking the same thing. He beat me to it by 20 minutes or so.

The US WNT roster has 24 spots, and there are going to be approximately 70 Girls DA clubs, with 3 teams per club, with 23 players per team. That means that every year, they will have a pool of 1610 stud players feeding those 24 spots.

99% of the so cal girls will never set foot on the pitch for the US NT. Some of these girls on the team play there for a good 10 years!!!!

It is closer to 99.99999% of all female soccer players in the USA from all age ranges across multiple generations. In reality, one new player makes the roster every other year on the WNT. In my opinion it is another scheme to transfer wealth from families to US Soccer and their respective DOC's. The only thing I like about the DA is that it may conceivably give a kid an opportunity to play at a high level of soccer that she would not have otherwise had due to low social-economic status (SES) of her family. However, low SES YNT potential girls usually play on scholarship anyway so in the end I think it is a moot point.

Here is the reality: approximately 70 GDA clubs, 1 team (u18/19 players only ~ with very rare exceptions) per club, 1 top player per team. That means every year the WNT (Senior only - the rest does not matter) will have 70 stud players to replace 1 roster spot every couple years. If your DD is one of those 70 it increases your chance to make the WNT roster to .02%.

Here is my suggestion. If you have a daughter that has a good deal of skill in soccer, encourage her to chase her dreams but be a realistic parent. Lovingly share this realism with your DD. Then, use soccer as leverage to get into the college of her dreams, or her 2nd or 3rd choice, or ANY college she would not have otherwise been able to attend. Have her play the beautiful game and watch her flourish and fail, and if you have the rare opportunity to watch her play in college (with or without a scholarship) you should pat yourself on the back. I will be one of the first to say "well done."

 

[picaboo]

Why no Arsenal? My neighbor told me they were the best thing going in IE.

 

[CaliKlines]

Why no Arsenal? My neighbor told me they were the best thing going in IE.

Is your neighbor's last name Brown? Or Lassiter? Or maybe their definition of the IE is "Inner England".

 

[picaboo]

Is your neighbor's last name Brown? Or Lassiter? Or maybe their definition of the IE is "Inner England".

? Jorgensen

 

[socalsoccercoach]

According to those "in the know" there will not be any more clubs added in Southern California for the Development Academy. IF this is true, WCFC and RSC will have wait a year and try to get in on expansion next year.

That is interesting and will have an interesting influence on the landscape...do most DA clubs in socal stay with ECNL as well?

 

[CaliKlines]

PJ Brown is DOC of Arsenal. Randy Brown in an Arsenal ECNL coach. Mr. Lassiter is another ECNL coach. "Inner England" is a joke meant to be a play on words with the Inland Empire. Inner England would refer to the Premier League club called Arsenal FC, which is located in London.

 

[Swoosh]

PJ Brown is DOC of Arsenal. Randy Brown in an Arsenal ECNL coach. Mr. Lassiter is another ECNL coach. "Inner England" is a joke meant to be a play on words with the Inland Empire. Inner England would refer to the Premier League club called Arsenal FC, which is located in London.

Would Legends be considered Iceland then?

 

[Swoosh]

That is interesting and will have an interesting influence on the landscape...do most DA clubs in socal stay with ECNL as well?

Yes. ECNL will be for their second teams, as their top players will play in the DA. The other four DA Clubs will place their teams in the CRL and the National League provided they qualify.

 

[picaboo]

Would Legends be considered Iceland then?

Where do I go to get good information on Arsenal and Legends. Unbiased.

 

[Technician72]

Where do I go to get good information on Arsenal and Legends. Unbiased.

My girls played for both clubs at U-Little.

Both have the reach to recruit talented players, but in my opinion Legends is better managed. Arsenal has never found it's direction since the Kooimans left the club.

Legends was and still is more considerate to their teams outside the "A" team.

Cost, they're basically the same.

Legends has a deeper coaching pool, Arsenal tends to have 30 teams coached by RB every year and that makes for a lot of games with fill in coaches just winging it. However, I think Coach Anthony Glenn at Arsenal is a very good coach.

I know friends who play for both clubs and the one at Legends are considerably happier with their experiences.

 

[timbuck]

Would it be a fair statement to say that most of the so called "top teams" are great at recruiting and marketing? They may have good coaches, but give a u6 dad coach a team of u17 studs and I bet they win 40% of their games.

 

[picaboo]

My girls played for both clubs at U-Little.

Both have the reach to recruit talented players, but in my opinion Legends is better managed. Arsenal has never found it's direction since the Kooimans left the club.

Legends was and still is more considerate to their teams outside the "A" team.

Cost, they're basically the same.

Legends has a deeper coaching pool, Arsenal tends to have 30 teams coached by RB every year and that makes for a lot of games with fill in coaches just winging it. However, I think Coach Anthony Glenn at Arsenal is a very good coach.

I know friends who play for both clubs and the one at Legends are considerably happier with their experiences.

Thank you

 

[MakeAPlay]

Where do I go to get good information on Arsenal and Legends. Unbiased.

Legends does not have a long record of success whereas Arsenal does. When my daughter started club there was no such thing as Legends. Josh Hodges is a marketer and has done a good job marketing his area of influence. If Cle and Noah Kooiman had never left Arsenal this wouldn't even be a question as they are both vastly superior coaches to anything either club has now. It's a damn shame that the kids in the IE lost out on the opportunity to play for them. There is some outstanding talent in the 909/951 area and it sucks that they don't get the same opportunities that are available in the OC.

 

[TD1]

Where do I go to get good information on Arsenal and Legends. Unbiased.

How old is your kid?

The best path is to call up both clubs and arrange for your kid to go out and attend several practices. Personally I would start with the club that is closer to where you live and go from there.

 

[NoGoal]

Where do I go to get good information on Arsenal and Legends. Unbiased.

I live in the IE and can give you unbaised information on the 2 clubs. My DD and son both played for Legends, when they were originally Gendora Football Club aka GFC. My DD played 2 years of ulittles at Legends and son for 8 years. Both kids took 3 years of private training wih Matt Evans who is the Legends technical director. I know more about Legends than the biggest homer on this forum does....cough CaliKlines!

As MakeAPlay has pointed out Arsenal Girls ECNL has struggled to attract top players in the IE. The biggest mistake the club did was allow the Kooiman's to stop running the club. Cle now runs IE Surf and Noah coaches at Albion. Once, both Kooiman's left, Legends became the dominant club in the IE.

Legends is a good club, but didn't have ECNL. That was their biggest knock and why so many top players in my DDs U18/19 age group ended up commuting to ECNL clubs. Legends getting Girls DA, will give them a HUGE lift in convincing top players in the area from going elsewhere. They are financially stable, because they have tons of teams in every age group. If there is any club who can actually fully fund Girls DA, Legends is probably the club.

If I had a stud ulittle DD, I would have her tryout and see if she could make Legends DA team. If not, I would then have her tryout for another DA club or have her play ECNL with a club outside the IE.

 

[picaboo]

We are an AYSO family but have been told we should have her play club. I like the term "ulittle" . She will be 9 in August. Thanks for all the information. We have homework to do. I am probably on the wrong thread but it was interesting.

 

[MakeAPlay]

Would it be a fair statement to say that most of the so called "top teams" are great at recruiting and marketing? They may have good coaches, but give a u6 dad coach a team of u17 studs and I bet they win 40% of their games.

It depends upon the coach. There are some outstanding teachers out there that will do wonders for your daughter's game. They can be found at big and small clubs. There are also some extremely horrible coaches that have supremely talented teams and they do very little with them. It is all about the coach. My daughters first club which was an ECNL club had their best coach working with the "C" team! My daughter was on the "B" team at the time and we begged for him but they wouldn't have him coach above the third team. He was her coach for private trainings for a couple years (until his schedule wouldn't allow it) and he did amazing things with her.

The bottom line is the coach is the most important thing.

 

[TD1]

We are an AYSO family but have been told we should have her play club. I like the term "ulittle" . She will be 9 in August. Thanks for all the information. We have homework to do.

What a great age. Mine played for AYSO until U11 when we moved her to the local club. Spent next two years at small local clubs, and then bounced to one of the big clubs at U13. Legend? Arsenal? Save yourself some money and time and don't buy into the college hype with a kid so young. Truthfully it's pretty hard to tell if a kid will have the chops to play college ball until they are quite a bit older, and no matter how much you spend if they don't love putting in the work and have loads of natural talent neither club is going to change that.

 

[Technician72]

We are an AYSO family but have been told we should have her play club. I like the term "ulittle" . She will be 9 in August. Thanks for all the information. We have homework to do. I am probably on the wrong thread but it was interesting.

I have to echo what the posters have said before, have fun watching her play and develop. Focus on details such as skills / touch / vision but keep it fun! Find a good coach and the club becomes secondary, best of luck!