Maybe this is already happening I haven't looked at the ranking app in a while. But breaking things out by regional league is much more useful than by state. By State is ok but there isnt really a correlation because thats not how Leagues look at a map. The downside to this approach is youd have to figure out how each national league breaks out both its boys and girls clubs into regional leagues which would be annoying and constantly changing / evolving. The upside to this approach is leagues would better know which regional leagues to send more or less clubs from to finales based on some form of power ranking. It would also quickly show which regions are developing and which are just cashing parents checks.
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Youth Soccer Rankings ?
- Thread starter dawson
- Start date
I personally like and get a lot of value from the app, despite the perceived lack of "perfection" due to the age change. So much so, in fact, that I'm considering getting the Pro subscription (which, for me, would be significant, as the total I've spend on mobile apps in my lifetime is well under $100).
The ability to compare two teams from different leagues, areas, playing circuits, etc., has a significant amount of value to me as a parent, and perhaps would have even more value to a coach or team manager (eg: for evaluating tournaments to attend, scrimmage opportunities, etc.). It also lays bare the fact that most "letter leagues" are not unequivocally better (in terms of player skill, team success, etc.) than perceived "less prestigious" leagues, which might have less access restrictions, travel requirements, etc. For example, MLSN-AD isn't really much better than EA/EA2, ECNL-RL isn't much better than NPL/NL, etc. While I'm sure access to that information aggravates some people (and particularly the people with vested interests in those "letter leagues" being superior), I really appreciate the availability of relatively unbiased rankings in general.
Anyway, just wanted to chime in here (again), with some appreciation for the app as-is, even with perceived issues with the age range changes and such.
The ability to compare two teams from different leagues, areas, playing circuits, etc., has a significant amount of value to me as a parent, and perhaps would have even more value to a coach or team manager (eg: for evaluating tournaments to attend, scrimmage opportunities, etc.). It also lays bare the fact that most "letter leagues" are not unequivocally better (in terms of player skill, team success, etc.) than perceived "less prestigious" leagues, which might have less access restrictions, travel requirements, etc. For example, MLSN-AD isn't really much better than EA/EA2, ECNL-RL isn't much better than NPL/NL, etc. While I'm sure access to that information aggravates some people (and particularly the people with vested interests in those "letter leagues" being superior), I really appreciate the availability of relatively unbiased rankings in general.
Anyway, just wanted to chime in here (again), with some appreciation for the app as-is, even with perceived issues with the age range changes and such.
You should have seen what it was like before the ranking app. It all became a matter of who your club doc knew. Tournament flights were based on perception and who the host club wanted to win.Anyway, just wanted to chime in here (again), with some appreciation for the app as-is, even with perceived issues with the age range changes and such.
This is where people talk about the "good old boy" group of docs. If you were in the club your teams would get a chance at playing in the highest levels. If you weren't in the club you didnt get a chance to play at the highest levels and the good old boys would pick off your top players one by one.
All this still happens + is half the reason closed leagues exist. But, at least you can prove that its happening now with the ranking app. This is why I suggested the ranking app do regional league breakouts and college commitments. These seem to be the last areas that parents and whoever argue about online. If there was a quick and easy way to end the nonsense bickering it would be nice.
In addition, I'd venture to say the app is saving some parents real money, by being aware that they do not have to "chase" letter leagues in order to be on competitive teams. While the absolute top is still dominated by MLSN-HD (and the second tier is fairly clearly ECNL proper), below that there really isn't much stratification between the rest of the leagues and designations (NPL and flights in SoCal League are fairly ordered, but NPL is broadly competitive with any of the other letter leagues below the top 2).All this still happens + is half the reason closed leagues exist. But, at least you can prove that its happening now with the ranking app. This is why I suggested the ranking app do regional league breakouts and college commitments. These seem to be the last areas that parents and whoever argue about online. If there was a quick and easy way to end the nonsense bickering it would be nice.
With that in mind, the value proposition from moving (for example) from a NPL team to a MLSN-AD team is pretty minimal (on average), as I see it, unless the app indicates the individual team is significantly stronger. In some cases, knowing that might save time, money, stress, etc. If your kid is in that range (not top tier, but above F1), then you are probably better off just focusing on the coaching, team, convenience, etc., rather than chasing any of the other "mainly for marketing" leagues, because the expected results are broadly similar (on average), and you can see if a prospective team is actually a significant step up or not. Without the app, that would not be nearly as obvious.