Thread watched G2010 - How’s the 2023 season going?
- Thread starter TeamDadJokes
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In all the leagues theres a couple, maybe 3-4 teams at the top that tend to win most of the time. Everyone else sometimes wins also doesnt win.
No matter the league being on a team that usually wins is important because most of the leagues you mentioned are national in some form or another. If you win most of the time your team will get invited to a higher level of play against other really good teams across the nation. This is how leagues provide high level competition to winning teams if it's not available locally.
For youth the end goal of being on a winning team is to get noticed by a higher level. For girls this would be college. For boys it would be pro or college.
The reason that theres multiple league options is because clubs need to show wins to keep parents paying and players engaged. If there was only one league for eveyone in Socal that would mean there is only one top team. Clubs have figured out anyone can be a winner if you can choose the teams you play against. Overall having more leagues creates more top players which is a good thing. General FYI college coaches know which clubs independent of league produce better players + will keep an eye on them.
Reguarding which league is better/worse than the others. We have to wait for events like Surf Cup where they all play to find out.
All about the winning record? I give the scouts a little more credit than that. A winning record in a weak league isn’t going to fool anyone. The real test is what you can do against strong opponents.
National events are a ridiculously expensive way to get high level competition. $500 to $1000 per kid per game. There‘s got to be a better way than that.
Nice job trying to diminish players achievements.
So many leagues now. 5 years ago, within one week, I was sold GDA but no HS soccer allowed. We said no because. Then I was sold ECNL as #2 league in SoCal. Then we were sold this new league called DPL. Word on the street was that ECNL was going OB in Socal. We talked as a family and decided to go #2 league in ECNL OC. I was told DPL was the new #2 league in Socal and I was making a big mistake. Here's the truth. Forget the leagues and find out what your dd wants. Today you guys have AYSO, ECNL, ECRL, ECRL 2, GA, E64, NPL, DPL and someone just told me DPL 2 is in the works. Level of play is all over the place for sure. I see soccer players like this: The best of the best (Alyssa Thompson and Trinity Rodman). I saw with my eyes what makes these players special and one thing comes to mind, speed!!! The next best are the players like Shaw, Aikey, Turner, Jackson and the like. After that, you have great soccer players that are everywhere in every league and then you have the good players. Nothing wrong with good/great either. My dd is good and can be great when she wants to be and can battle the best and even the best of the best players and likes to play with her friends and have fun. Not about a college deal or making $$$$. Good luck to your players.
P.S. Most teams don't have the best of the best because their too good and are playing pro or up. I would say what makes a great team is chemistry of a mix bag of talent. These teams have the next best players, great players and good players at all levels, depending who shows up that day.
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futboldad1
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Leagues rank like this for talent and exposure from Girls U-13 to U-19:
1. ECNL
2. GA
3. ECRL
4. NPL, E64, DPL
Wow, rankings for leagues now? Futbol dad knows his stuff and the lay of the land. I would go with his rankings
How did he do that by pointing out two honest things?
It's becoming quite obvious that you're continuously being dishonest in order to promote GA. I don't think you need to do that. We're all here to help each other. Scouts are not looking for winning teams. They want to see how players play, especially against tough competition.
Maybe you should have your kids play AYSO rec and win everything 100 to 1. that'll get the scouts noticing to recruit your player and you won't have to spend so much on traveling fees and club fees.
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Are you speculating, or do you know of ECNL teams forfeiting games because their Discovery Players are playing GA games the same day? Hypothetically, you are correct. But facts are hard to ignore in the case of Fram and LA SURF, where it is actually occuring. Sorry if the reality touched a nerve.
Different age groups can vary. As an example Surf g2010 ECNL has mostly played together for a long time + consistantly wins. However Surf g2011 ECNL is being rebuilt from scratch + likely wont be as dominate (initially).
ECNL is strong in Socal because theres 3-4 top clubs in the area. The rest are above average all the way down to poor.
GA in Socal has 1-2 (maybe 3) top clubs and the rest are average to poor
DPL has 1-2 clubs that tend to win a lot. These are usually the ones locked out of GA or ECNL
You get the idea. Leagues can be important but what's more important is to be on a team that mostly wins in the league youre in. This is what will get your player noticed over time.
Teams change a lot from U12 to U18. Youth soccer is a marathon not a sprint.
Finally, always keep in the back of your head that everything could change overnight like when DA blew up and became GA. Say a top ECNL team switched to GA or maybe the opposite a top GA club switched to ECNL. Believe it or not but 10 years ago ECNL was on the ropes + accepting whoever would join (Sharks).
Maybe I am a little biased to GA but my kid has played both ECNL and GA so I've seen both sides of the coin.
My experience has been that being on a top team with a good coach that practices and plays games close to your house is more important than playing in a specific league.
You tend to get a lot of "ECNL is the best" comments on this site and I can say without a doubt that it's only true in Socal if your kid is playing on the top 3-4 teams.
Not really my point.
You yourself said essentially the same thing: a top level team in one league might be similar to a mid level team in another league.
Not sure why you read this as belittling anyone. It wasn’t meant to.
That's not entirely accurate. ECNL was still selective in who they added to the league at that time (btw it was 6 years ago not quite 10). The simple fact is, with Surf choosing to go all-in with DA, there were no ECNL teams in San Diego. Albion and City (LA Galaxy at the time) were DA, so ECNL chose Sharks to fill the void, then later added Rebels (which made sense geographically). Many other clubs were still applying to ECNL every year during that time, just like they had in years prior to the DA, and continue to do so to this day. ECNL certainly wasn't taking anyone who would apply.
Why they chose Sharks is up for debate, but they did have some good girls teams in the past (the G99 Sharks team won a National title if I recall) as well as some good boys teams, and ECNL added the Boys league that same year (2017). I personally think there was also some influence from the star power of SMac, as well as the pedigree of WB on the boys side, but that's just conjecture. All of this probably played some part in the decision. Either way, ECNL saw Sharks as the best option to fill the void in San Diego at the time.
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