New ECNL 2 League?

[LouSag]

I don't think 1 club can have 2 ECNL teams at one location.

Ever heard of St Louis Scott Gallagher (SLSG)? Real Colorado? Concorde?
Yes, 1 club can have 2 ECNL teams.
These clubs were rewarded for staying with ECNL and not leaving for the DA back in 2018-ish.
Politics at its finest.

 

[Tvhuff33]

I thought ECNLRL 2 was for only ECNL second teams to play other ECNL seconds. So no not ECNL clubs involved. So basically ECNL 2 and the RL league would be where the third teams play.

 

[Karlton Athletic]

My coach might have been onto something. No schedules yet, but our club has teams in Blue and Gold of the “Southwest” league.

But what’s weird is the SoCal league still exists and has some, but not all of the same clubs, plus some scheduled games. Our club isn’t listed in that one though.

 

[SuckItTrebek]

I have to imagine that SoCal sees the writing on the wall and recognizes that a couple years from now it will only be youngers, 7v7 and 9v9

I have to disagree. Many people incorrectly believe that only the ECNL and MLSN leagues offer top tier talent. I have seen plenty of matches where a Flight 1 team from SoCal beat these so called MLSN teams. Mathematically, it has to be possible that there is a bunch of low hanging fruit in both ECNL/RL and MLSN, and that those teams would get whooped by a Flight 1 team in SoCal. Point being that you don't have to spend thousands to find and play against top tier talent, at least not in the densely populated areas of the US such as southern California.

If clubs end up moving their NPL/Flight 1 teams out of Socal to this ECRL 2 thing, they are just feeding the monster that is pay to play, but they aren't doing anything positive for player development.

 

[N00B]

If clubs end up moving their NPL/Flight 1 teams out of Socal to this ECRL 2 thing, they are just feeding the monster that is pay to play, but they aren't doing anything positive for player development.

Sounds right, except for the motivations of the clubs are represented on the SoCal Board. (Hint: letter league members are over represented)

 

[CAZZZ]

Sounds right, except for the motivations of the clubs are represented on the SoCal Board. (Hint: letter league members are over represented)

For RL2, I don't see the point in driving 2 hours to play a C team when I can easily find similar competition in Socal NPL or Flight 1 locally.

 

[TopesWin]

I have to disagree. Many people incorrectly believe that only the ECNL and MLSN leagues offer top tier talent. I have seen plenty of matches where a Flight 1 team from SoCal beat these so called MLSN teams. Mathematically, it has to be possible that there is a bunch of low hanging fruit in both ECNL/RL and MLSN, and that those teams would get whooped by a Flight 1 team in SoCal. Point being that you don't have to spend thousands to find and play against top tier talent, at least not in the densely populated areas of the US such as southern California.

If clubs end up moving their NPL/Flight 1 teams out of Socal to this ECRL 2 thing, they are just feeding the monster that is pay to play, but they aren't doing anything positive for player development.

I agree with what you are saying, and so I will reiterate that I'm just saying it's happening...not that it is a good thing overall or for a specific family. But for whatever reason, the "elite" leagues (GA, MLS, ECNL) are gobbling up teams and the pace seems to be quickening. I would love for someone to convince me it's not happening, but it seems like it is. If your kid is a starter in a small club with no MLS, no ECNL, no GA (or their sub-leagues) and your kid is over 11, the chances are good that you are looking to jump ship. So the small clubs see that and try to adapt by getting big enough to apply to an elite league. Barring that, the clubs in the elite leagues will pull whole teams into their club to shore up age groups where their team isn't performing. At the moment, it seems like nothing will stop that.

 

[Carlsbad7]

I agree with what you are saying, and so I will reiterate that I'm just saying it's happening...not that it is a good thing overall or for a specific family. But for whatever reason, the "elite" leagues (GA, MLS, ECNL) are gobbling up teams and the pace seems to be quickening. I would love for someone to convince me it's not happening, but it seems like it is. If your kid is a starter in a small club with no MLS, no ECNL, no GA (or their sub-leagues) and your kid is over 11, the chances are good that you are looking to jump ship. So the small clubs see that and try to adapt by getting big enough to apply to an elite league. Barring that, the clubs in the elite leagues will pull whole teams into their club to shore up age groups where their team isn't performing. At the moment, it seems like nothing will stop that.

You are 100% correct in your assessment.

What drives the madness is when top clubs break off into a separate league to only play themselves. This immediately makes everyone else 2nd tier.

MLSN does it, GA does it, ECNL does it. The formula isnt hard to figure out. Unfortunately parents players and clubs are all susceptible to FOMO which reinforces everything.

The problem with the process is exclusiveness only works when theres something on the inside that people on the outside want. Once everyone's a member its no longer special. The only way to address this is to create a group within the group which is what MLSN has done with the Acadamies.

 

[socalgoalkeeperdad]

I have to disagree. Many people incorrectly believe that only the ECNL and MLSN leagues offer top tier talent. I have seen plenty of matches where a Flight 1 team from SoCal beat these so called MLSN teams. Mathematically, it has to be possible that there is a bunch of low hanging fruit in both ECNL/RL and MLSN, and that those teams would get whooped by a Flight 1 team in SoCal. Point being that you don't have to spend thousands to find and play against top tier talent, at least not in the densely populated areas of the US such as southern California.

If clubs end up moving their NPL/Flight 1 teams out of Socal to this ECRL 2 thing, they are just feeding the monster that is pay to play, but they aren't doing anything positive for player development.

My Sons ECRL team 2013 just beat Albion MLS Los Angeles last weekend. Some teams can match up well with any MLS next teams.