Really interesting to quickly read this thread. I think if the handles are removed, it is pretty easy to see which comments come from NorCal folks and which come from SoCal. There is a level of complexity and history that many can't grasp by simply looking at teams' successes and promotion/relegation and ECNL accepting/rejecting teams. You have to know about Gryphons and Force, and how the market trainings were handled and the rumors that sprang from those, how Albertin and Deza are viewed by many, how (prob not unlike SoCal) small clubs continue to get squeezed b/c of big clubs, how PDP (not ODP) has factored, and even how HS has impacted some of the rosters over the last few years.
I have kids in different age groups, at different clubs, who have had very different experiences and different outlooks w/in the sport. I have seen first-hand Deza-led trainings and games and Albertin-led trainings and games and respect what I have seen on the pitch (if we lived closer, I am quite certain at least one of my kids would have played on the Peninsula). My older kid is in an age group that saw a lot of that shake out and played against those two when she was at a small club playing small-sided games.
This is definitely not so simple that ECNL or NPL (run up here by NorCal Premier) simply picks up the "best" teams. In the abstract, that seems great and can even seem logical (to have a NorCal Region for ECNL makes a lot of sense and would definitely reduce the travel). And b/c the ECNL process is more lengthy, I can see, in the short term, NPL reaping benefits b/c, despite the qualification rules, I could see the magic hand of NorCal making exceptions to create the best competition (I have kids in NPL2, positioned to have a chance at NPL1 b/4 the season was paused (certainly to be cancelled), and I'd have zero problem with a team being added in CL that would decimate teams in NPL1 or NPL2 b/c extremely lopsided games do not help anyone, not the stronger team and not the weaker team)). But b/c of the timing of this "pause", there is a great uncertainty about what these rosters will look like - I mean, will clubs or teams just fold? do you just get added by reputation and history? I had been paying close attention to Marin FC b/c they announced being part of ECNL after last year's tryouts and I figured that would be a set of teams poised to make a big jump with a highly competitive, well-attended tryout. But now what? And would ECNL bump Marin FC to include Quakes (if the other clubs supported it)? And will any of the bad blood - the recruiting shenanigans, for example, but also the league hopping of a few years ago - create challenges for the clubs? And if that happens, do kids bolt? And are parents savvy enough to be knowledgeable consumers or super vulnerable to being swayed by promises of Coach X or Club Y? This 2004 age group - which is excellent in NorCal - will be HS juniors next year. Typically, that's a bit late for major changes. How will that factor in?
I am glad that I'm done with this for one of my kids - graduating this year - and I do think my others are JUST young enough that the shake out may be OK for them. Whether you are SoCal or NorCal or not-Cal, I hope you are staying safe and that this resolves in such a way that is beneficial and joyful for your kids.