How to Make the Jump from RL to NL

[WatchthemPlay]

Ya that’s what I’m trying to separately D2 and D3 for RL. D1 for NL with low end D1 for RL. There are some RL players who are going to CBU, UCR and a few other D1s from top RL clubs. But you’re still more likely going to go D1 sitting on the bench of a top D1 program like koge, slammers and legends then you would on a top RL team.

But for D2, D3, RL is just as good.

I generally agree with this. Totally depends what your kid’s goals are and how much work they are willing to do get recruited. Emailing coaches constantly, having updated highlight videos, engaging on social media, going to very specific ID camps that are at the right level. Seen RL kids do all these things to get to a lower D2 schools and it worked, but they were also starters are recognized clubs. Low ranked ECNL might have a unicorn get a good D1 offer, a few get low D1 offers and the rest are D2/D3. Playing GA at one of the top clubs is a consideration for D1 and can be a smart alternative (City comes to mind) again stacked rosters so need to come in with something to really offer to get any play time. Lower GA is equivalent to RL in terms of recruitment, but many do get kids to D1 also.

 

[davidnunez]

Folks are overthinking this.
The club's primary goal is to make money - "no revenue, no mission." Of course, having a winning team will help recruit players. But, the primary focus for pay-for-play soccer is to make money. Please understand this.
So, if your kid is sitting on an RL team and doing really well, your club would much rather recruit a kid from another RL team or NL team to bring in new revenue. You can question the decision, but you'll be told "we see potential... her tactical skills are great... blah blah."
Use this to your advantage and take your kid to another NL program and now that other club will be happy to get new revenue.
In club circles, clubs that bring up RL kids are doing so only because they can't keep the NL kids or can't recruit kids from outside the club.

 

[WNYtoYL]

Folks are overthinking this.
The club's primary goal is to make money - "no revenue, no mission." Of course, having a winning team will help recruit players. But, the primary focus for pay-for-play soccer is to make money. Please understand this.
So, if your kid is sitting on an RL team and doing really well, your club would much rather recruit a kid from another RL team or NL team to bring in new revenue. You can question the decision, but you'll be told "we see potential... her tactical skills are great... blah blah."
Use this to your advantage and take your kid to another NL program and now that other club will be happy to get new revenue.
In club circles, clubs that bring up RL kids are doing so only because they can't keep the NL kids or can't recruit kids from outside the club.

Do coaches get a little $ for bringing in new players to the organization?

 

[Carlsbad7]

Do coaches get a little $ for bringing in new players to the organization?

Yes they do.

 

[Zeke]

In club circles, clubs that bring up RL kids are doing so only because they can't keep the NL kids or can't recruit kids from outside the club.

I know a few RL kids who made the NL jump staying within a high status club. The most recent were not due to NL kids leaving or a lack of external interest. Just the occasional kid who works hard but bloomed late. But it’s difficult.

 

[WatchthemPlay]

I know a few RL kids who made the NL jump staying within a high status club. The most recent were not due to NL kids leaving or a lack of external interest. Just the occasional kid who works hard but bloomed late. But it’s difficult.

It is definitely an exception. RL is not a pathway to NL no matter what the club says just like Slammers is not the pathway to HB Koge. Happens once in awhile but no real incentive for the club and there are very few examples.

 

[XX..XX]

100% agree with WatchthemPlay. These clubs and coaches don't care about your kid's best interest. They want the MONEY. They will lie to you and tell you that putting in the time as a top player on an RL team will get them to NL but they will never do it. It's 99% money and 1% ego. Can't have a lowly RL player moving into the elite group. Does not matter if your kid is clearly better than some players already on the NL/GA team. Coaches don't care about your kid and they don't care about what is best for the top team. They'll let a better player rot on the 2nd team forever because of their greed and ego. Beach is the absolute worst for this.

 

[jasportsdad]

It is definitely an exception. RL is not a pathway to NL no matter what the club says just like Slammers is not the pathway to HB Koge. Happens once in awhile but no real incentive for the club and there are very few examples.

100% agree with WatchthemPlay. These clubs and coaches don't care about your kid's best interest. They want the MONEY. They will lie to you and tell you that putting in the time as a top player on an RL team will get them to NL but they will never do it. It's 99% money and 1% ego. Can't have a lowly RL player moving into the elite group. Does not matter if your kid is clearly better than some players already on the NL/GA team. Coaches don't care about your kid and they don't care about what is best for the top team. They'll let a better player rot on the 2nd team forever because of their greed and ego. Beach is the absolute worst for this.

Based on this, sounds like the best chance for OPs daughter to make the current club's NL team would be: move to a mid-tier (or lower-tier) NL team for a year, and then try to move back to the current club's NL team the following year. Is that the concensus?

If so, what's everyone's experience with a club taking back a player who left for another NL team? Assuming player is good enough and player/family left on good terms.

 

[Messi>CR7]

Based on this, sounds like the best chance for OPs daughter to make the current club's NL team would be: move to a mid-tier (or lower-tier) NL team for a year, and then try to move back to the current club's NL team the following year. Is that the concensus?

If so, what's everyone's experience with a club taking back a player who left for another NL team? Assuming player is good enough and player/family left on good terms.

It took me a couple of years to figure out, but our coach (top team of the club) is only looking to add immediate starters.
-He will absolutely take a kid from our 2nd team if that kid is good enough to be a starter on the 1st team.
-He is not going to promote a kid from our 2nd team to be on our bench and demote one of our current bench players.
-It’s hard to get promoted from ECRL to ECNL, but I don’t think it’s because some unwritten business practice. Iron sharpens iron. Take two identical kids and put them on ECNL and ECRL teams of the same club respectively. A year later the ECNL kid will be stronger because she trains with and plays against stronger players every day. It’s simply harder for the ECRL kid to improve at the same rate.

Yes, go to a lesser ECNL team and craft your skills there. That’s how it works in life too. It’s much easier to get a VP title from your competitor than waiting for an internal promotion. You’re always worth more to your competitors.

If your kid can ball, most coaches “should” welcome your kid back. However, what you deem “left on good terms” might not be the sentiment shared by a petty person. A few years back my older one got benched for the playoffs after informing the coach the decision to leave. You don’t want to go back to that kind of coaches/people anyway.

Best of luck.

 

[Highlander]

The ops daughter has a unique situation where her RL team is better than most NL teams. If she wants a shot at decent level D1 soccer she should absolutely leave to the best NL team she can possibly make.

Ok, that said, almost every player that I have seen make a jump to another club, it ends up being a lateral move at best. And half of those end up jumping to another club the following season and then another club after that. Seen it over and over again. Almost always driven by the desires of the parent and not what the kid wants. The grass is usually not greener.

My suggestion to the OP: Make sure that is what your daughter wants...if it isn't, then stay and play on what sounds to be a great team where she is happy.

 

[NewbieMama]

-It’s hard to get promoted from ECRL to ECNL, but I don’t think it’s because some unwritten business practice. Iron sharpens iron. Take two identical kids and put them on ECNL and ECRL teams of the same club respectively. A year later the ECNL kid will be stronger because she trains with and plays against stronger players every day. It’s simply harder for the ECRL kid to improve at the same rate.

This Iron sharpens Iron argument is interesting. While in theory makes sense, practically does not always happen. The kid that gets promoted to ECNL too soon who is a bench level player can train with and play with stronger players every day but at the end of the year are they going to become impact players or are they just learning to stay afloat with the higher level players? I think parents want to group themselves with the higher level players and think that will rub off on their player without really being realistic about their own players' skill set. The worst thing too is they become a perpetual bench player on the NL level and that hurts their confidence...but at a certain point maybe you make the jump and just take that leap of faith that iron will sharpen iron and I'm sure sometimes it does. In reality though, I've seen the opposite happen.

 

[yen5ie]

The following opinion is based on my family's direct experience. We were in a nearly identical situation and chose to leave our top RL team at a top NL club.

Put aside the overall quality of your kid's RL team. Is your kid the best player on that team? Does your kid frequently dominate in those RL matches? Do people watch their matches and comment (directly or indirectly) on how good # is? Are they often the best player on the field? If you answer "yes" to those questions, then you should be looking for the best NL environment for your kid to join. Ultimately, you want the best training environment for your kid (so they get better), and the NL platform (for visibility). They won't get that at your current club for all the reasons people have already given.

I intentionally said "best training environment" and not "best team" b/c IMO the team is neither here nor there. That part doesn't matter b/c, regardless of what club you move to, you all will also do the following: regularly post film on social media, attend ID camps, and email the hell out of college coaches (include video clips, highlights, etc.). Do all three of these consistently. I mean to the point your kid shows up at Northwest Pensacola State's ID camp says their name at registration and the coach says, "Hey, _____. Nice to finally meet you!" NO club, coach, or recruiting service is going to advocate for your kid like you and your kid can.

Best of luck to you and your kid.

 

[davidnunez]

I intentionally said "best training environment" and not "best team" b/c IMO the team is neither here nor there. That part doesn't matter b/c, regardless of what club you move to, you all will also do the following:

THIS^
too many parents think a great team is going to get their ok player into a D1 program. D1 programs recruit players (for spots they need).. They do not recruit teams. So, it's more important to be good, get better, and be viewed as the best.

 

[Zeke]

It took me a couple of years to figure out, but our coach (top team of the club) is only looking to add immediate starters.
-He will absolutely take a kid from our 2nd team if that kid is good enough to be a starter on the 1st team.
-He is not going to promote a kid from our 2nd team to be on our bench and demote one of our current bench players.
-It’s hard to get promoted from ECRL to ECNL, but I don’t think it’s because some unwritten business practice. Iron sharpens iron. Take two identical kids and put them on ECNL and ECRL teams of the same club respectively. A year later the ECNL kid will be stronger because she trains with and plays against stronger players every day. It’s simply harder for the ECRL kid to improve at the same rate.

Yes, go to a lesser ECNL team and craft your skills there. That’s how it works in life too. It’s much easier to get a VP title from your competitor than waiting for an internal promotion. You’re always worth more to your competitors.

If your kid can ball, most coaches “should” welcome your kid back. However, what you deem “left on good terms” might not be the sentiment shared by a petty person. A few years back my older one got benched for the playoffs after informing the coach the decision to leave. You don’t want to go back to that kind of coaches/people anyway.

Best of luck.

Most coaches tend to bring in a new player only if they are good enough to start, or at least close.

One exception is if a coach is short staffed in a specific position. In that case, he may bring someone in to be a sub for that spot. That may mean a bench player in a less desirable position drops down.

Of course, this is also true at the new club. So I don’t know that it changes what we do as parents.

 

[rainbow_unicorn]

100% agree with WatchthemPlay. These clubs and coaches don't care about your kid's best interest. They want the MONEY. They will lie to you and tell you that putting in the time as a top player on an RL team will get them to NL but they will never do it. It's 99% money and 1% ego. Can't have a lowly RL player moving into the elite group. Does not matter if your kid is clearly better than some players already on the NL/GA team. Coaches don't care about your kid and they don't care about what is best for the top team. They'll let a better player rot on the 2nd team forever because of their greed and ego. Beach is the absolute worst for this.

Whenever I hear parents say "it's about the money" I just think sour grapes. It's not about the money when we're talking about one kid versus a club with $10M in cash reserves. And bringing in a kid may cause another kid to leave the club. I see both sides with my kids being on ECNL and RL at Beach.

Soccer is a subjective sport. If you can't accept that then maybe it's not the right environment for you. The bottom third of ECNL players versus the top third of ECRL players is indistinguishable. It's just the coach's judgement call at that point and it will seem random/unfair/rigged. That's soccer. And college soccer recruiting is the same but at a national level.

The best insurance for your kid to succeed is to just have them grind and get better every day. For college recruiting, people tend to forget this and get hung up on social media. Yes, you have to have the right exposure and write emails and go to school ID camps. But more importantly, your kid needs to be a baller and stand out.

 

[Surfer_dad]

Hey everyone, just wanted some honest opinions.
If your kid’s team was undefeated in RL and ranked top 10 in California (based on the usual ranking apps), but your club’s NL team is also undefeated and ranked top 3 in the nation — what would you do? We love our club and don’t really want to leave, but we’re being realistic… there’s probably no open spots on the NL roster next season. Would you stick it out and hope something opens up, or start looking around now in case there’s a better NL opportunity elsewhere? Curious to hear how others have handled this kind of situation.

Speaking only for myself, I would recommend that playing time is the most important factor, and better coaching and training is potentially a factor. to move to the NL team and not get a lot of playing time won't help your daughter much. If she can start or be one of the first player in off the bench, then potentially do it. If your NL team is in the top 3, and continues to be high up the rankings, eventually your daughter will get a lot more exposure to college coaches no matter what parents say. I hear people say that scouts don't consider how good the team is. That is hogwash. However, being on the best team and not a starter isn't going to help a lot.

 

[rainbow_unicorn]

Speaking only for myself, I would recommend that playing time is the most important factor, and better coaching and training is potentially a factor. to move to the NL team and not get a lot of playing time won't help your daughter much. If she can start or be one of the first player in off the bench, then potentially do it. If your NL team is in the top 3, and continues to be high up the rankings, eventually your daughter will get a lot more exposure to college coaches no matter what parents say. I hear people say that scouts don't consider how good the team is. That is hogwash. However, being on the best team and not a starter isn't going to help a lot.

I think there's some truth in scouts not caring about how good a team is. They are usually going to games to look at specific players. And scouts don't care about wins/losses. Scouts also have relationships with club coaches and tend to go back to the well if they have had success with a particular club coach.

What they do care about is how well a team (and player plays). And I should add that they do tend to gravitate towards the top clubs (not teams). Surf, HBK, Beach, Legends will get more looks. At the AZ showcase last year we had six fields next to each other for the 2009 games. There was a marquee matchup between MVLA and Beach and at least half of the scouts were at that one game compared to the combined total of the other five games going on at the same time.

 

[WatchthemPlay]

I intentionally said "best training environment" and not "best team" b/c IMO the team is neither here nor there. That part doesn't matter b/c, regardless of what club you move to, you all will also do the following: regularly post film on social media, attend ID camps, and email the hell out of college coaches (include video clips, highlights, etc.). Do all three of these consistently. I mean to the point your kid shows up at Northwest Pensacola State's ID camp says their name at registration and the coach says, "Hey, _____. Nice to finally meet you!" NO club, coach, or recruiting service is going to advocate for your kid like you and your kid can.

Best of luck to you and your kid.

THIS…you and your kid are your kid’s best advocate. Being at a highly visible club on the top team (or the best team your kid can get on) will help with views at showcases, but it is just a start. College coaches need to know who your kid is when they come to watch already. It’s extremely time consuming but email, social media and putting together highlights is free and totally in your control unlike play time, whether your kid has a good/bad day, roster size, college coaches not showing up to watch, a club coach that doesn’t advocate for your kid. If you are putting so much effort into trying to find the best team/situation to maximize recruitment, equal effort should be put into recruitment emails and social media posts starting freshman year.

Bottom line is exposure for ECRL, lower GA and low ECNL clubs is very very spotty. There are 2026 kids on top ECNL that aren’t recruited yet either. There is no magic equation. Get on the best club on the highest team your kid can actually get play time on and help them blast emails, create highlights and post on social media consistently casting a huge net. Emails every few months freshman year, emails monthly sophomore year, then every couple weeks junior year. You will know the level your kid is reasonably at by junior year based upon coach expressed interest and feedback to club coaches if you follow this plan. You can then refine the list and add/subtract. Takes a lot of work but you don’t need a recruiter and you don’t need to put all your hope in a club/ club coach helping your kid.

 

[XX..XX]

Whenever I hear parents say "it's about the money" I just think sour grapes. It's not about the money when we're talking about one kid versus a club with $10M in cash reserves. And bringing in a kid may cause another kid to leave the club. I see both sides with my kids being on ECNL and RL at Beach.

Soccer is a subjective sport. If you can't accept that then maybe it's not the right environment for you. The bottom third of ECNL players versus the top third of ECRL players is indistinguishable. It's just the coach's judgement call at that point and it will seem random/unfair/rigged. That's soccer. And college soccer recruiting is the same but at a national level.

The best insurance for your kid to succeed is to just have them grind and get better every day. For college recruiting, people tend to forget this and get hung up on social media. Yes, you have to have the right exposure and write emails and go to school ID camps. But more importantly, your kid needs to be a baller and stand out.

Beach won't promote from RL and they could care less if they lose a few good RL players who leave for a spot on another club's NL team. That RL roster will easily fill back up because there are plenty of parents who don't know that RL is just how they keep their bread buttered. They backfill those roster spots with whoever they can get to pay the fees.