How’s the 2025-2026 season going?

[soccerdadlight]

how do you know they are not considering trapped RL for younger NL? that would be odd for sure...

no its not. RLs player stare at the ball, not lift their heads ups (and peer over their shoulders), looking to get rid of the ball as soon a possible rather than scan the fields for opportunities/defensive weaknesses. The speed of play is night and day. Six months doesn't make a difference, it's a mindset - you have it or you don't by teenage years. Yes, there is ENCL teams that carry RL players, but it is political or by necessity or both - but regardless of the reasoning, they're picking splinters out of their behinds because they on the bench. mic dropped

 

[RandomSoccerFan]

no its not. RLs player stare at the ball, not lift their heads ups (and peer over their shoulders), looking to get rid of the ball as soon a possible rather than scan the fields for opportunities/defensive weaknesses. The speed of play is night and day. Six months doesn't make a difference, it's a mindset - you have it or you don't by teenage years. Yes, there is ENCL teams that carry RL players, but it is political or by necessity or both - but regardless of the reasoning, they're picking splinters out of their behinds because they on the bench. mic dropped

If you compare the best NL teams to the best RL teams, there's a large difference that can be easily seen in terms of quality of play. People can debate how much - but they probably can't debate whether the difference exists. And if you compare an "average" NL team with an "average" RL team, you would also tend to see the same difference.

But there are also some pretty bad teams, and some pretty unskilled players, in NL. And there are some pretty fantastic teams, and pretty fantastic players, in RL. The gap from the best to worst team (or best to worst player) in NL is huge. There are quite a number of examples of RL teams that could do quite well in NL, and there are plenty of examples of RL kids who would also be likely to do well in NL. Just as there are examples of NL teams or NL players who make one wonder who thought it was a good idea for them to be playing at that level.

 

[TeamDadJokes]

no its not. RLs player stare at the ball, not lift their heads ups (and peer over their shoulders), looking to get rid of the ball as soon a possible rather than scan the fields for opportunities/defensive weaknesses. The speed of play is night and day. Six months doesn't make a difference, it's a mindset - you have it or you don't by teenage years. Yes, there is ENCL teams that carry RL players, but it is political or by necessity or both - but regardless of the reasoning, they're picking splinters out of their behinds because they on the bench. mic dropped

Maybe Lowe RL teams, but your higher end teams have players who could absolutely play NL and have played NL. For the specific situation I’m thinking about, the 10 RL team blasted the 11 NL team 5-0 when they played last. They have 8 trapped players and the player who had 2 goals and 2 assists is a trapped 2010 who has been on an NL team and chose RL for playtime and development.

But thanks for the laugh for the obvious trolling

 

[SoccerMamaof2]

no its not. RLs player stare at the ball, not lift their heads ups (and peer over their shoulders), looking to get rid of the ball as soon a possible rather than scan the fields for opportunities/defensive weaknesses. The speed of play is night and day. Six months doesn't make a difference, it's a mindset - you have it or you don't by teenage years. Yes, there is ENCL teams that carry RL players, but it is political or by necessity or both - but regardless of the reasoning, they're picking splinters out of their behinds because they on the bench. mic dropped

Pretty extreme to say you either have it or u don’t by 13. I would venture to say those that might have “it” (ECNL caliber player) younger than 12 may not always stay that high level as she gets older … but yes politics are always at play in youth club soccer

 

[Carlsbad7]

Pretty extreme to say you either have it or u don’t by 13. I would venture to say those that might have “it” (ECNL caliber player) younger than 12 may not always stay that high level as she gets older … but yes politics are always at play in youth club soccer

I'd add that often "it" often includes willingness of parents to pay up front and often.

But yes there are a few unicorns now and then that are obvious to everyone.

 

[soccerdadlight]

Pretty extreme to say you either have it or u don’t by 13. I would venture to say those that might have “it” (ECNL caliber player) younger than 12 may not always stay that high level as she gets older … but yes politics are always at play in youth club soccer

Look at age group, 2010, 15-16 years old, not 13. In retrospect, I should have used high-schoolers, but I stand by my assertions.

 

[rainbow_unicorn]

no its not. RLs player stare at the ball, not lift their heads ups (and peer over their shoulders), looking to get rid of the ball as soon a possible rather than scan the fields for opportunities/defensive weaknesses. The speed of play is night and day. Six months doesn't make a difference, it's a mindset - you have it or you don't by teenage years. Yes, there is ENCL teams that carry RL players, but it is political or by necessity or both - but regardless of the reasoning, they're picking splinters out of their behinds because they on the bench. mic dropped

This oozes insecurity from an ECNL dad whose player is probably not that good. Our club promotes RL players to NL through U18/19 (not a lot, but a few). And there are plenty of ECNL players that play with their heads down. The badge/club/team does not make the player.

 

[Karlton Athletic]

This oozes insecurity from an ECNL dad whose player is probably not that good. Our club promotes RL players to NL through U18/19 (not a lot, but a few). And there are plenty of ECNL players that play with their heads down. The badge/club/team does not make the player.

My kid’s on a trapped player heavy RL team, and we’ve beaten an MLS HG team playing up a year recently. They had 3 bio-banded players playing down, which is why they were in our bracket, but, man, their parents were BRUTAL on their kids for losing.

More importantly, we also tied (and probably deserved to beat) our own NL team from the year below in that same tournament, who are the very players our boys will be competing for places with.

It’s gonna be very interesting with the reshuffle, though I do worry about politics playing a part.

 

[Carlsbad7]

My kid’s on a trapped player heavy RL team, and we’ve beaten an MLS HG team playing up a year recently. They had 3 bio-banded players playing down, which is why they were in our bracket, but, man, their parents were BRUTAL on their kids for losing.

More importantly, we also tied (and probably deserved to beat) our own NL team from the year below in that same tournament, who are the very players our boys will be competing for places with.

It’s gonna be very interesting with the reshuffle, though I do worry about politics playing a part.

How will a current trapped player heavy BY team be an advantage if MLS HG stays BY? The only situation where players get an advantage is if they were born Aug-Dec and change from BY to SY.

Once we switch Aug-Dec SY players that want to play MLS HG which is staying BY will no longer be the oldest and will need to play against players 6 months older.

I dont really care about any of this. Talent always finds a way. Just pointing things out. It will be interesting to see if MLS HG will see a benifit from oldest BY and SY players.

 

[TeamDadJokes]

My kid’s on a trapped player heavy RL team, and we’ve beaten an MLS HG team playing up a year recently. They had 3 bio-banded players playing down, which is why they were in our bracket, but, man, their parents were BRUTAL on their kids for losing.

More importantly, we also tied (and probably deserved to beat) our own NL team from the year below in that same tournament, who are the very players our boys will be competing for places with.

It’s gonna be very interesting with the reshuffle, though I do worry about politics playing a part.

Are you comparing boys rl to girls rl? This is a thread for girl soccer which has a different pyramid structure than boys, especially in SoCal geographically