Girls Development Academy

[CaliKlines]

Certainly not the nail in the coffin. As is most of the country is not participating in GDA. Again , what U.S. Is saying is that essentially the best players live in SoCal and the northeast part of the country. So, ECNL will continue to thrive with 3/4 of the country not able to participate in GDA.

3/4? "Most of the country"? What are you basing this percentage on? The Girls Development Academy is spread throughout the major population centers of the country, and provides an opportunity to most (90%) of the girls that are playing organized soccer in the US. Granted, my percentage is an educated guess, derived from the attached map of GDA clubs.

http://www.ussoccerda.com/girls-academy-club-directory

Most of the country is serviced by US Soccer GDA.

 

[Kicknit22]

3/4? "Most of the country"? What are you basing this percentage on? The Girls Development Academy is spread throughout the major population centers of the country, and provides an opportunity to most (90%) of the girls that are playing organized soccer in the US. Granted, my percentage is an educated guess, derived from the attached map of GDA clubs.

http://www.ussoccerda.com/girls-academy-club-directory

Most of the country is serviced by US Soccer GDA.

I think it's a bit of wishful thinking on Shales part.

 

[MakeAPlay]

I think it's a bit of wishful thinking on Shales part.

And Cali's is admittedly guessing. And following the drumbeat.

 

[shales1002]

3/4? "Most of the country"? What are you basing this percentage on? The Girls Development Academy is spread throughout the major population centers of the country, and provides an opportunity to most (90%) of the girls that are playing organized soccer in the US. Granted, my percentage is an educated guess, derived from the attached map of GDA clubs.

http://www.ussoccerda.com/girls-academy-club-directory

Most of the country is serviced by US Soccer GDA.

Based on the GDA map, 45 states would be 90%. Once again that is NOT happening. Now, ECNL is a viable option for my DD. She will get her looks regardless of where she plays. But, my end goal is for her to follow my or her father's footsteps anything more is a bonus.

GDA does not allow for players to "discovery" play. Some of our Vegas girls who currently play ECNL in SoCal were told that they would have to commit to a minimum of 3 practices a week in order to participate in GDA. Essentially that's asking families to relocate. Perhaps because you have it in SoCal, you are blinded or unaware as to what's happening for a lot of girls who may want to participate. Perhaps you are excited that you, CaliKlines, finally have a label...who knows. I don't believe there is anything wrong with GDA YET. What I do know is that if the GDA is about finding and developing the talent, this process will excluded many in the vast areas where the nearest GDA is 4 hours away, and yes that's over half of the country. However, I know the best will get looked at wherever they may be and regardless of label.

 

[MakeAPlay]

Based on the GDA map, 45 states would be 90%. Once again that is NOT happening. Now, ECNL is a viable option for my DD. She will get her looks regardless of where she plays. But, my end goal is for her to follow my or her father's footsteps anything more is a bonus.

GDA does not allow for players to "discovery" play. Some of our Vegas girls who currently play ECNL in SoCal were told that they would have to commit to a minimum of 3 practices a week in order to participate in GDA. Essentially that's asking families to relocate. Perhaps because you have it in SoCal, you are blinded or unaware as to what's happening for a lot of girls who may want to participate. Perhaps you are excited that you, CaliKlines, finally have a label...who knows. I don't believe there is anything wrong with GDA YET. What I do know is that if the GDA is about finding and developing the talent, this process will excluded many in the vast areas where the nearest GDA is 4 hours away, and yes that's over half of the country. However, I know the best will get looked at wherever they may be and regardless of label.

Preach it sister!!

 

[CaliKlines]

Based on the GDA map, 45 states would be 90%. Once again that is NOT happening.

So, it is your contention that every state, regardless of population, should have a GDA club? If you look at the GDA map, the vast majority of players, not states, are located within a 1 hour drive of a GDA club. I am sorry about the 3 girls in Las Vegas (and the 2 girls in South Dakota) that do not have GDA closer. However, it makes the most sense for the league to concentrate their focus on the population centers throughout the country.

 

[shales1002]

So, it is your contention that every state, regardless of population, should have a GDA club? If you look at the GDA map, the vast majority of players, not states, are located within a 1 hour drive of a GDA club. I am sorry about the 3 girls in Las Vegas (and the 2 girls in South Dakota) that do not have GDA closer. However, it makes the most sense for the league to concentrate their focus on the population centers throughout the country.

It is not my contention that every state should have a GDA. It is my contention that ECNL definitely reaches far more players and successfully. There are some excellent players in Hawaii, Nevada, Ohio. There are no GDA clubs.

There are more than three girls from Vegas playing in SoCal but hey you said 90% of girls will be servicesd by GDA. Secondly, your map reading skills aren't up to par. Perhaps a geography course would help.

That being said, labels don't matter. The best will be discovered.

 

[LadiesMan217]

Based on the GDA map, 45 states would be 90%. Once again that is NOT happening. Now, ECNL is a viable option for my DD. She will get her looks regardless of where she plays. But, my end goal is for her to follow my or her father's footsteps anything more is a bonus.

GDA does not allow for players to "discovery" play. Some of our Vegas girls who currently play ECNL in SoCal were told that they would have to commit to a minimum of 3 practices a week in order to participate in GDA. Essentially that's asking families to relocate. Perhaps because you have it in SoCal, you are blinded or unaware as to what's happening for a lot of girls who may want to participate. Perhaps you are excited that you, CaliKlines, finally have a label...who knows. I don't believe there is anything wrong with GDA YET. What I do know is that if the GDA is about finding and developing the talent, this process will excluded many in the vast areas where the nearest GDA is 4 hours away, and yes that's over half of the country. However, I know the best will get looked at wherever they may be and regardless of label.

Discovery players as defined by ECNL are: "A Discovery Player is a player that plays on a team for a non-ECNL club that you want to play with your team. This is a great way for the Discovery Player to experience what it is like to play ECNL competition and for a team to have the assistance of a key player.". GDA is about player development, not having a kid show up at games to play. How many practices do these Vegas girls attend per week today?

 

[shales1002]

Discovery players as defined by ECNL are: "A Discovery Player is a player that plays on a team for a non-ECNL club that you want to play with your team. This is a great way for the Discovery Player to experience what it is like to play ECNL competition and for a team to have the assistance of a key player.". GDA is about player development, not having a kid show up at games to play. How many practices do these Vegas girls attend per week today?

That's a fair question. The girls go down once a week to my knowledge. With parents rotating the responsibility. You are right about the discovery player. I personally would be upset if a discovery player was playing more than my child who showed up to all the practices. I agree with you with regards to the goal of GDA. The point that I am making is that GDA is lacking geographically.

 

[MarkM]

That's a fair question. The girls go down once a week to my knowledge. With parents rotating the responsibility. You are right about the discovery player. I personally would be upset if a discovery player was playing more than my child who showed up to all the practices. I agree with you with regards to the goal of GDA. The point that I am making is that GDA is lacking geographically.

First, I agree, good players will be discovered wherever they play. But to counter the geography point, there are zero ECNL clubs located in the City of Los Angeles. I believe the City of Los Angles is way more populated than the entire state of Nevada with some of the worst traffic in the country. I don't know if GDA is going to work or not, but GDA in SoCal will serve a far broader population base because of the geographic spread.

 

[LASTMAN14]

First, I agree, good players will be discovered wherever they play. But to counter the geography point, there are zero ECNL clubs located in the City of Los Angeles. I believe the City of Los Angles is way more populated than the entire state of Nevada with some of the worst traffic in the country. I don't know if GDA is going to work or not, but GDA in SoCal will serve a far broader population base because of the geographic spread.

Your right on the population of Nevada being smaller than LA. Nevada has 2.9 million state wide. LA has 4.1 million.

 

[shales1002]

First, I agree, good players will be discovered wherever they play. But to counter the geography point, there are zero ECNL clubs located in the City of Los Angeles. I believe the City of Los Angles is way more populated than the entire state of Nevada with some of the worst traffic in the country. I don't know if GDA is going to work or not, but GDA in SoCal will serve a far broader population base because of the geographic spread.

I believe that is a problem. Ecnl SHOULD be in Los Angeles. I lived there 30 years, and I can't imagine how parents were/are making the commutes to ECNL clubs, but at least you had the option. Girls outside of the radius for GDA do not have the same option. Hopefully we can both agree, millions of people are bring left out.

 

[LadiesMan217]

That's a fair question. The girls go down once a week to my knowledge. With parents rotating the responsibility. You are right about the discovery player. I personally would be upset if a discovery player was playing more than my child who showed up to all the practices. I agree with you with regards to the goal of GDA. The point that I am making is that GDA is lacking geographically.

I'm not sure it is much different than ECNL geographically. Are these girls playing for another club? If not, all they have to do is signup for the club and they can become 'Developmental Players'; but, that does restrict the number of games they can play and no playing in finals. Developmental Players practicing once a week with Academy team is not uncommon (although they do play on another team within the club and most likely practice with them).

 

[shales1002]

I'm not sure it is much different than ECNL geographically. Are these girls playing for another club? If not, all they have to do is signup for the club and they can become 'Developmental Players'; but, that does restrict the number of games they can play and no playing in finals. Developmental Players practicing once a week with Academy team is not uncommon (although they do play on another team within the club and most likely practice with them).

Yes, they play for another club. It will be interesting to see what options they explore as they don't want the limitations you mentioned. It's a lot of traveling involved for one game and one practice a week. We here are curious to see how Phoenix or the one Utah team manages.

 

[outside!]

Everybody seems to be arguing over a point that is an issue for both GDA and ECNL. They are both closed systems with no relegation and more importantly, no way for a deserving team from a small club to get in. At least with USYS Nationals, there is a path for any team from anywhere to make it to the top levels and get exposure (for both the players and the coaches).

ECNL did many good things for girls soccer, but was not serving southern California effectively the last few years. GDA is better for SoCal than ECNL since it broke the Surf monopoly in San Diego county and let in Legends. I also think GDA serves LA/OC better than ECNL since there the clubs cover a larger area. With such a large population of quality players, I don't believe SoCal teams need to travel out of SoCal for good competition on a regular basis. Now if only there were a way for individual teams to break in...

 

[CaliKlines]

It is not my contention that every state should have a GDA. It is my contention that ECNL definitely reaches far more players and successfully. There are some excellent players in Hawaii, Nevada, Ohio. There are no GDA clubs.

There are more than three girls from Vegas playing in SoCal but hey you said 90% of girls will be servicesd by GDA. Secondly, your map reading skills aren't up to par. Perhaps a geography course would help.

Sorry Shales, but here was your original contention:

Certainly not the nail in the coffin. As is most of the country is not participating in GDA. 3/4 of the country not able to participate in GDA.

I can't believe that I am having this discussion with you...My map reading skills are phenomenal, and geography is a hobby. Maybe your comprehension of population concentration is off, or maybe you are just trying to promote ECNL over the United States Soccer Girls Development Academy. Either way, you can't be so naive to think that 75% of the country is not able to participate in the GDA. (75% is a fancy way of saying 3/4.) Capeesh? Do you really think that only 25% of the country is exposed to the GDA? Isn't that exactly what you said? Or "most of the country is not participating in GDA"? Just to help you out, again, way more than half of the US population is being serviced by GDA clubs, and colloquially, I would say it is reaching 90% of the population.

There are some excellent players in Hawaii, Nevada, Ohio. There are no GDA clubs.

There is 1 GDA club in Ohio, 1 in Indiana, 3 in Michigan, and 3 in Illinois. Yes, unfortunately, there are a few good players in some unrepresented areas, but to say that "most of the country", or 75% of the country, is not able to participate in the GDA is blatantly false and completely disingenuous.

 

[MakeAPlay]

Everybody seems to be arguing over a point that is an issue for both GDA and ECNL. They are both closed systems with no relegation and more importantly, no way for a deserving team from a small club to get in. At least with USYS Nationals, there is a path for any team from anywhere to make it to the top levels and get exposure (for both the players and the coaches).

ECNL did many good things for girls soccer, but was not serving southern California effectively the last few years. GDA is better for SoCal than ECNL since it broke the Surf monopoly in San Diego county and let in Legends. I also think GDA serves LA/OC better than ECNL since there the clubs cover a larger area. With such a large population of quality players, I don't believe SoCal teams need to travel out of SoCal for good competition on a regular basis. Now if only there were a way for individual teams to break in...

What can I say. You had me up until you revealed your true anti-Surf agenda . Look everyone can argue the position which benefits one's own best interest all day.

To say that LA is underserved is somewhat true but it came about because the ECNL picked its membership based primarily upon a club's history of winning USYS championships and producing college and national team players. It's sad to say but when the two clubs that would become Real So Cal merged they owned all of the LA county national titles on the girls side for LA. The clubs that have more recently won national titles like Beach, Legends and Carlsbad have done so without having to compete against most of the best teams in the country.

Now let's talk about the Surf "monopoly" in San Diego. Geographically Surf is clearly the largest producer and developer of talent not to mention they win. Carlsbad has come on the scene recently but as I said before they don't have to play the ECNL teams. How many age groups can you honestly say that the Carlsbad team is better than the Surf team? It doesn't matter I guess because now with the DA the talent in San Diego is going to be more spread out. Speaking from my own self interest I prefer talent concentration. Opportunity for more players is good but how much time do north county kids really save going to Carlsbad instead of Del Mar?

I don't want to spend much time on Legends other than to say really? Legends is so new money. All flash no substance. They are like Tomny Hilfiger. All marketing no R & D.

Finally regarding SoCal and it's monopoly of great players. Although Cal South produces more great players than any area we definitely don't have a monopoly on elite players. Great players come from all over. Some areas do a much better job at concentrating their talent so the local competition is not nearly what it is here. However, there is a lot of value in playing those elite out of state teams.

The bottom line in that in SoCal the DA is going to do two things, dilute the talent pool and give US Soccer more control. I would be okay with giving US Soccer control except they fail more often than they succeed and the previous system was working 99.99% of the time. If they were serious the top .01% would be in a residential academy like on the boys side.

Good luck to you and yours.

 

[gkrent]

I don't want to spend much time on Legends other than to say really? Legends is so new money. All flash no substance. They are like Tomny Hilfiger. All marketing no R & D.

LOL!!

So which club is driving an old beat up Volvo to their 10,000sf horse barn in Eastern PA?

 

[shales1002]

Sorry Shales, but here was your original contention:


I can't believe that I am having this discussion with you...My map reading skills are phenomenal, and geography is a hobby. Maybe your comprehension of population concentration is off, or maybe you are just trying to promote ECNL over the United States Soccer Girls Development Academy. Either way, you can't be so naive to think that 75% of the country is not able to participate in the GDA. (75% is a fancy way of saying 3/4.) Capeesh? Do you really think that only 25% of the country is exposed to the GDA? Isn't that exactly what you said? Or "most of the country is not participating in GDA"? Just to help you out, again, way more than half of the US population is being serviced by GDA clubs, and colloquially, I would say it is reaching 90% of the population.



There is 1 GDA club in Ohio, 1 in Indiana, 3 in Michigan, and 3 in Illinois. Yes, unfortunately, there are a few good players in some unrepresented areas, but to say that "most of the country", or 75% of the country, is not able to participate in the GDA is blatantly false and completely disingenuous.

As I have said time and time again, I have nothing against GDA YET. It's not a make or break for me. However, it sounds like it's something you've been begging for and you are finally in a position to get a patch of some sort . Most of the country will be underserved. That's a fact. No need to go back and forth. The map you provided earlier displayed the limited areas to which the GDA will cover. Also, thanks for the math lesson, BUT I am actually quite good at converting fractions; you however have already proven my point just by displaying
http://www.ussoccerda.com/girls-academy-club-directory.

Enjoy the GDA patch...it's obvious you need it for validation.

 

[shales1002]

To say that LA is underserved is somewhat true but it came about because the ECNL picked its membership based primarily upon a club's history of winning USYS championships and producing college and national team players.

Regarding SoCal and it's monopoly of great players. Although Cal South produces more great players than any area we definitely don't have a monopoly on elite players. Great players come from all over. Some areas do a much better job at concentrating their talent so the local competition is not nearly what it is here. However, there is a lot of value in playing those elite out of state teams.

The bottom line in that in SoCal the DA is going to do two things, dilute the talent pool and give US Soccer more control. I would be okay with giving US Soccer control except they fail more often than they succeed and the previous system was working 99.99% of the time. If they were serious the top .01% would be in a residential academy like on the boys side.

Good luck to you and yours.

It's all about control and like you said if they were serious there would be a residential component.
Unfortunately, even with the residential component the boy's side hasn't produced positive results on the world stage that ECNL has produced on the girl's side.