For 2024-2025:
Legends SCV = ECRL So Cal
Legends San Diego = E64
Legends Eastvale = ECNL, ECRL Southwest, NPL and SoCal
Legends SCV = ECRL So Cal
Legends San Diego = E64
Legends Eastvale = ECNL, ECRL Southwest, NPL and SoCal
Socal Soccer League ECRL Division?
- Thread starter toucan
- Start date
I heard some of the SCV teams imploded because of this? We will see nut ECRL SoCal is probably a small step down from E64, but maybe not with south valley surf leaving.
For the 2010s I’d argue it’s a step up. All the top E64 teams are going over to RL2. Now they get to play against more competitive NPL teams and go to RL showcases and RL playoffs.
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IDK. E64 was established by teams that were playing at the NPL level when they switched. Those teams stayed relatively at the same place they were in the rankings over the past two years. Now some E64 teams are moving to ECRL2, which is primarily made up of the NPL teams that stayed in SOCAL league while the others played E64. So basically they are and have been for the past few years, all playing at the same level. The only thing that has changed is the names, and now there will be some better promotion and relegation. The average level of play has been equal between E64=NPL=ECRL2. I can't understand why any club would want to waste time in E64, when they can play ECRL2 and earn a promotion into ECRL, which leads to acceptance to ECNL.
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Looks to me like Legends SCV recognized that E64 has been a dead end, and the door is open to ECNL via SOCAL ECRL2. I'm really surprised East County Surf didn't make this strategic move. It would be an almost guaranteed one season in ECRL2, next season ECRL, and third season from now, a legitimate application to ECNL. Same applies to Legends SD.
The irony in this is that EC Surf and Legends SD are in each others back yard and have been competing neck and neck against each other since the days of Presidio. Then SOCAL Flight1, then NPL hit the scene, and now they will be competing in E64. Same teams over the years, just many name changes of the clubs and leagues, in the end they up playing in the same place with and against the same people.
EC Surf and/or Legends SD do all the players in East County a huge favor and drop that E64 nonsense.
Maybe, that's definitely what they're selling (and you seem sold), but we'll see if it happens. The stronger NPL teams left NPL to try E64, now some are going back and we'll see which of the NPL teams stay NPL or move to E64. I think it's most likely weakening all 3 with a false hope of a future promotion.
Sounds like you want all leagues to be club based leagues controlled by US Club and their franchises. Maybe one day it will all be Legends, Surf and Slammers.
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RL2 is SOCAL League. That's what makes it significantly different than MLS 2, EA2, DPLX (I forget what Arizona is calling it). It is expanding into the local leagues and creating open system of promotion and relegation that are tied into a Top Tier League. Expanding and creating more closed loop leagues is what has been diluting talent, while increasing travel. RL2 has the potential to reverse that trend and keep the Big Club C teams and Small Club A teams in SOCAL playing each other, instead of traveling to NV, AZ, or NorCal.
I meant to say stay NPL or move to RL2. I don't think any will move to E64.
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I don't care which organization steps up to provide a solution. I want a open pyramid League play system that is based on team performance with promotion and relegation. I see this as a solid step in the right direction; not perfect by any means. I don't think you are seeing my perspective, I hate the franchise club scenarios. This is how the small club gets a fair shot, and where politicing clubs get challenged.
And you are right, it remains to be seen if the underdog club will get promoted if they come out on top of League Play.
Fair enough, I guess I'm just not sure why you're optimistic that leagues that were created specifically because they didn't want an open pyramid based on team performance has seen the light and actually wants an open pyramid now.
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Because I've seen two separate slightly different models of it implemented over the past couple of years. In NorCal and Texas. I've also seen the quality of teams from those areas increase significantly over the past couple years. NorCal and Texas always had a few great teams, but on average were notably weaker than the average SoCal team. That is not the same today. The NorCal teams have improved significantly, and an average Texas team is going to be a challenge for anyone. The gap between SoCal Soccer and those regions has been closed. How/Why? I think it has alot to do with how they structured ECRL/NPL/RL2 into a promotion/relegation pyramid. I think SOCAL sees it, I think ECNL sees it.
Nfarr67291
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Has anyone seen the schedule for SoCal ECRL league?
It's posted on the ECNL site...
Select "ECNL Regional League Girls Southern Cal 2024-25" in the Conference drop down, then select the age group.
What happened? Only 9 clubs. No clubs that weren’t already part of ECNL and some those clubs didn’t put their 3rd teams in?
And it looks like the NPL brackets are now only averaging 6 teams per?
That doesn't seem like a great change so far.
Exactly what I guessed would happen.
ECNL clubs will put their lower teams in under the ECRL name. GA + other clubs won't put their teams in under the ECRL name.
It's better to keep a neutral name like SOCAL + different tiers. There's no need to bring down the GA/ECNL turf wars into the ulittles.
ECNL leveraged its brand to include the C team in its close ecosystem, plus some smaller clubs trying to mislead the family by claiming they are part of ECNL now. As a result, more money goes to the ECNL, further diluting the local league.
I'm super confused on this. What was the expectation? All the SoCal ECNL Clubs have a ECRL2 team. You wanted City SC for example to put a team in the ECRL2 league? I'm pretty sure the ECRL2 league is 100% of what it was supposed to be. I would imagine having a ECNL and ECRL team was a prerequisite for getting a ECRL2 team.
The ECRL2 teams have a chance to win a ECRL title. How would that work if your a GA team?
Maybe I just misunderstood. But the way I thought it worked was all SOCAL NPL leagues would be called ECRL.
Keep in mind that this is all very confusing.
ahh ok, the way I heard it went down is it was only for ECNL clubs to add another team. So the ECNL clubs that had a NPL team in the SoCal league just moved their team into ECRL2. I'm pretty sure it wasn't open to anyone else. All the clubs that were supposed to participate did. I wouldn't be surprised though if some clubs sold parents something though that they never had to get family's to sign up.
It's what I expected except they don't all have an ECRL2 team, only 9 of them do. It was also suggested that it would create a pathway for NPL clubs that don't have ECNL to get promoted to ECRL2 and maybe one day all the way up, and that this would lead to better competition. There are definitely a few clubs they could have offered ECRL2.
Most of the ECRL2 teams weren't a top team in NPL (some were), so it just seems like a lose-lose for 95% of the teams. The top teams in both leagues now have worse competition and the ECRL2 teams have to travel farther.
There were some people really bullish on this ECRL2 thing, I just don't see it.