Even if a coach felt one league was better or worse than another it doesnt make sense to not attend showcases. You get treated like royalty + get to network with other coaches + at the end of the day might find a couple of players you like.
Next best league to get visibility with college coaches
- Thread starter SoccerFan4Life
- Start date
Code
SILVER ELITE
A Big fish in a small bowl will not continue to grow. They are not challenged constantly. They will never reach their full potential. This perspective is what drives teams/clubs to sandbag in leagues and tournaments. Only concerned with W's and L's, and not pitting yourself against the best teams you possibly can week after week. Steel sharpens Steel. This has been proven in many studies evaluating Sports Performance Cusp Theory. Players develop most efficiently and effectively when challenged in an environment that demandt 100% of their abilities, but only finds success 50-60% of the time. If your team is winning more that 80% of the time, they need to move up to a more challenging League/Bracket/Organization. As others have already stated, challenging yourself by playing in the ECNL SW is about prioritizing the players development in the most challenging environment available; building Learned Industriousness, so they don't become overwhelmed or get crushed when they get to college (the big lake). If your primary concern is the win-loss record, sure, find a good team in a league full of mediocre teams, and continue to build the players Ego with all the sandbags. The problem is Sandbag foundations don't last in challenging environments.
You do realize that Socal both GA and ECNL produces some of the best players in the country.
"Steel vs Steel" whatever that means just creates over competiteve situations where 14 year olds are getting ACL surgery.
Soccer is a marathon not a sprint. Top talent will always have opportunities to play with the best teams if they want to chase trophies. Parents will move, players will get boyfriends/girlfriends, some will quit for other sports, etc etc etc.
If GA wants to play ECNL teams I can guarantee ECNL clubs will gladly accept them into their tournamants + vice versa.
Code
SILVER ELITE
Just answering your questionabout why people choose to play in the most challenging league in the southwest, instead of other options. I didn't say anything about the other leagues, ie GA. Feeling like the shoe fits? No need to bring up a bunch of irrelevant excuses of why you don't like the answer of why people choose SW ECNL teams over other options, even if it isn't one of the top 3 SW ECNL teams.
Jose has returned
SILVER ELITE
Im late to this thread but I'll add my 2 cents. So having been through this with baseball (not recruited) for my son and soccer with my daughter.(recruited) First that is a big step by admitting the reality of her skill level. ALL of us think our kids are better than they are! so being realistic makes the process better. You dont say where she wants to play. It sounds safe to say you don't think she is a power 5 conference player. With that said there is a college she can play!!!
D2 D3 NAIA have hundreds of rosters that need to be filled. So the good news is she will play if she has some talent. The thing about the small schools is that they have small budgets so you won't see them flying all over the country trying to find kids that will play for them. Most of the small schools have to find regional players. You will have to reach out to them and let them you are interested. The more coaches you contact the better the odds. All of these coaches know each other they have either played or coached with/against each other they move around from school to school. The higher the league she plays increases the amount of coaches willing to open an email especially from a small school. My suggestion is get on the highest level but with the most playing time because it wouldn't be good if you have a coach show up and she gets last 10 min of a 5-0 game. Also if she plays on a ECNL or GA club that might not be the best in the league she will still be playing against better teams and if she can hold her own she will shine while coaches are there watching the other team's superstar.
Many of the small schools will attach themselves to a bigger college's ID camp. An example if UC Irvine has a camp you might also see some of the other schools in the area Soka, Vanguard etc. That might be a way to be seen. In the mean time if you can get her into the gym that will do wonders. its not as easy to get girls to lift but when she sees results she will be hooked.
Lastly get good grades! let her talent dictate where she ends up not her grades. good luck DM me if you want anything else
This is exactly what I've been arguing.
If your kid isnt going to play on the 3-5 top ECNL teams it usually doesnt make sense to play on the mid to lower level ECNL teams. If you're not going to get highlighted at showcases you're not going to get noticed by different colleges. Also, dont kid yourself into thinking that my kid will get noticed because they were the best on the team that just got pummeled by a super team.
ECNL, GA, NPL, DPL, Next, Socal etc, etc, etc. College coaches are watching which teams are winning + the players that are on those teams.
Coaches time is limited + they want to be catered to + for leagues and clubs to highlight who they should take. Remember they can also pull from the transfer portal + spend time recruiting players they know will be successful day 1.
futboldad1
PREMIER
Huh? I am not trying to be rude as I like your posts but he didn't say that at all, he said the opposite....get your kid on an ECNL roster or if not a GA roster with the caveat being to make sure they get good playing time....I agree with him and will add that unless you're on a really poor team that gets whooped every weekend where nobody can shine, college coaches don't much care about the record.....they are recruiting individuals not teams.....sure the 1st team will get more scouts coming out but a top player on a 6th place team is still getting recruited and likely more so than the 18th player on the team in first.....college coaches from good schools most definitely don't care about a teams win % in DPL or NPL but they will look at standout players there's just a lot less of them.....
From the coaches I've spoken with they do keep an eye on wins because usually winning teams are better coached + will have better players in all positions. (Hence why they're winning)
I would agree that exposure on bad ecnl teams probably isn't great, but you are wrong related to mid level ECNL teams. At the ECNL showcase two weekends ago, there were 40+ d1 coaches at an 06 game of a Southwest team with a losing record (playing a mid level team from another conference). I'd say the top 8-10 Southwest team get a lot of exposure, not the top 3-5 per your post.
Hmmmm...I've never heard this. It's hard to look good when your team is playing poorly together. However, good coaches do not want to watch you play against bad competition bc it won't help them access your ability to play at the college level.
JeterwastheBEST
BRONZE
D1 College ID Camp to attendees- "50% of my players are "walk-ons"...." Just sayin'
Is that a D1 we've heard of or Our Lady of Perpetual Obscurity?
JeterwastheBEST
BRONZE
Don't quite know how to answer that one Slick, but here it goes; (14) D1 scholarships for any one D1 team- hmmmmm? Now the big schools are carrying anywhere from 22-30 players.... Some even more.... If we exclude the scholarship recipients, Slick, then somehow anywhere from 10-20 other players at D1 schools "walked-on" Slick.... I think that "boom" is a Russian hypersonic missile hitting Slick's house.....
What are you babbling about? Did I hurt your feelings? My question was about the prominence of a D1 program with half the roster being walk-ons. Does that literally mean girls that got into the school and showed up to try out or are they players that were recruited and received no money?
JeterwastheBEST
BRONZE
Too bad Slick.... That Russian hypersonic missile left brain damage.....
Of course those 14 scholarships are normally divided up among more than 14 players with few getting a full ride. This mystery school is saying that they don’t do that and award all of the available funds to half the team?
I apologize for hurting your butthole. Hopefully the additional day off will get you back on the mend.
Probabaly one of the best responses I've ever seen on this forum. Pure awesomeness. ;-)