ECNL expansion 2021-2022

[MacDre]

Hep me explain Harry Kane who was let go by the Youth Academy he played for because they thought he was to “heavy” and slow?

Kane first played for a local club, Ridgeway Rovers, and joined the Arsenal youth academy when he was eight years old. He was released after one season for being "a bit chubby" and not "very athletic", according to Liam Brady who was then in charge of Arsenal's academy.[20]

You are making the same mistake that the coaches that overlooked Simon Kjaer made because you are looking at the wrong criteria to select elite players.
Harry Kane was always good enough because he was good enough to be selected into the academy. Once he was selected into the Academy the most important criteria is whether or not he has the DRIVE to put in extra work consistently. The academy that released Kane made the same mistake that the Oakland A’s made because they were selecting talent based on speed and power. If Kane was evaluated on his work ethic the result would’ve been different. So, according to Ankersen, Kane was overlooked because the wrong criteria was used.

 

[Desert Hound]

True dat. But you also can’t squeeze blood from a turnip. You need players with the requisite genetics and drive to develop them well into their 20’s. Nerds like Steve Urkle will have a much lower ceiling and will max out earlier...much earlier!

Hey shouldn't you mainly be posting in the Tijuana Soccer section? Xolos Youth Soccer subsection? hehe

 

[Kicker4Life]

You are making the same mistake that the coaches that overlooked Simon Kjaer made because you are looking at the wrong criteria to select elite players.
Harry Kane was always good enough because he was good enough to be selected into the academy. Once he was selected into the Academy the most important criteria is whether or not he has the DRIVE to put in extra work consistently. The academy that released Kane made the same mistake that the Oakland A’s made because they were selecting talent based on speed and power. If Kane was evaluated on his work ethic the result would’ve been different. So, according to Ankersen, Kane was overlooked because the wrong criteria was used.

Read further into his bio. Even once he made it on to talk to him he was loaned out multiple times because they did not feel he was a first team player. Until punch in Tina Kim on saw something in him and gave him a chance that he became one of the England’s top scorers.

My point being there is no one blanket rule there are always exceptions

 

[Desert Hound]

Actually I would have added them last year.

I would have added them last year as well. Seems silly that they didn't.

And as you say GA is damaged in the SW. They started of with the most of the weakest of the former DA teams in the SW. And now the 3 best clubs they had have left, leaving a rather weak bunch of clubs overall.

I wonder who GA will add. They cannot stay at 7 clubs can they?

 

[Desert Hound]

Wasnt the talk for 2020-2021 that if you performed in ECRL you would have a chance to be promoted to ECNL?

That certainly was the pitch. Or at least that was the theory that was talked a lot about on this forum.

 

[VegasParent]

I would have added them last year as well. Seems silly that they didn't.

And as you say GA is damaged in the SW. They started of with the most of the weakest of the former DA teams in the SW. And now the 3 best clubs they had have left, leaving a rather weak bunch of clubs overall.

I wonder who GA will add. They cannot stay at 7 clubs can they?

My guess is maybe SD Force and SDSC. Maybe LVSA here in Vegas to get back to ten

 

[LASoccerMom]

The south bay just shifted back to Beach as the #1 option.

Beach as #1 in South Bay? Who else is left in South Bay? Have small clubs survived the shut down? At least one AYSO United team moved to Beach.

 

[Soccerfan2]

You are making the same mistake that the coaches that overlooked Simon Kjaer made because you are looking at the wrong criteria to select elite players.
Harry Kane was always good enough because he was good enough to be selected into the academy. Once he was selected into the Academy the most important criteria is whether or not he has the DRIVE to put in extra work consistently. The academy that released Kane made the same mistake that the Oakland A’s made because they were selecting talent based on speed and power. If Kane was evaluated on his work ethic the result would’ve been different. So, according to Ankersen, Kane was overlooked because the wrong criteria was used.

I heard Abby Wambach speak to this question once. She commented that over the years she’d seen all kinds of players around her rise and fall, some with more skill, some with more athleticism, etc. Even motivation/drive is not a fixed quality. It changes over time. The same reason you can’t predict the weather or production output perfectly applies to picking successful athletes ahead of time. There are too many variables involved in the system. You can center on any one quality or set of qualities as most important, but every one of them is subject to outside forces.

 

[Goforgoal]

My guess is maybe SD Force and SDSC. Maybe LVSA here in Vegas to get back to ten

Yep I'd agree that this is the logical probable outcome, given they were added to DPL this past season. I could actually also see SD Force merging into the SDSC/Surf affiliation or just folding into Surf, although the latter seems unlikely.

Losing Beach and Legends sucks for the GA but if you didn't see this coming you weren't paying attention. This was likely decided between club Docs and ECNL in the Spring or early Summer of last year (handshake wink wink). Beach and Legends both putting their first teams in ECRL was all you needed to know.

 

[Desert Hound]

My guess is maybe SD Force and SDSC. Maybe LVSA here in Vegas to get back to ten

That would be interesting in the sense that 4 of the 10 clubs would be in the San Diego area.

 

[zags77]

Beach as #1 in South Bay? Who else is left in South Bay? Have small clubs survived the shut down? At least one AYSO United team moved to Beach.

When the DA collapsed the LAG shut down it the closest option for some players at that point for ECNL was LA Breakers.

 

[futboldad1]

So if 18 is too big for SW conference league, what is the right number? With Beach and Legends in who would you remove from the current landscape? Some smaller clubs are going to have a hard time pulling kids in now with the new landscape. The south bay just shifted back to Beach as the #1 option. Also assuming Pats, WC and LA surf stay in ECRL what is the pitch for them to put their top teams in the league? Wasnt the talk for 2020-2021 that if you performed in ECRL you would have a chance to be promoted to ECNL?

I think 18 is a perfect number from a talent and geography balance for the three SW states..... who the additional club is we will see....if there is one at all.....but going past 18 you will see dilution...... remember when ecnl was 12 clubs and DA was 14 that was 26 elite teams per age group in Sw region and talent was spread too thin.....

 

[dad4]

ECNL will kill GA off as a potential competitor at the top level just like it did GDA. Why? Because it is a far superior product. Professional coaching. Better and more consistent training. Better college opportunities. Better showcases. Better competition. It provides stability to families. It has better freakin’ everything.

The one mistake ECNL made that even opened the door to GDA, and which I pointed out when it happened, was that it was too selfish in SoCal about admitting qualified clubs. It is obviously a lesson learned and a mistake that will not happen again. And it will benefit Legends and Beach tremendously.

The ECNL coaches are better than the GDA coaches and the GA coaches?

Wow. It must be one heck of an HR burden to rehire a whole slate of coaches every time a club changes leagues. You gotta feel bad for whoever runs HR for Legends. He just finished hiring new coaches for GA, and now he has to hire new people all over again. After all, GA coaches, GDA coaches, and ECNL coaches are completely different. It’s not like you could find those three skill sets all in one person.

Or, maybe, the coaches are the same, and EOTL is a salesman trying to draw a distinction where none exists.

ECNL had a chance to kill GA. All they had to do was offer membership to every top club in the soccerwire top 20. Someone else even drew up the list for them.

But, ECNL was incapable of setting aside their petty greivances long enough to act in their own self interest. They still are. If ECNL actually wanted to kill off GA, they would have invited the rest of the top clubs, like Top Hat.

 

[futboldad1]

When the DA collapsed the LAG shut down it the closest option for some players at that point for ECNL was LA Breakers.

Beach FC have the South Bay to themselves with the Galaxy shut down...... the Galaxy girls scattered between Beach, Breakers, Slammers, Blues and Real in roughly that order...... I think Beach got the most overall Galaxy benefit and they definitely did in my DDs 06 age group where most of the team went together..... our Real 06 added a really strong player from the Galaxy deal but nothing like how many Beach got...... the Beach top teams are full of talent that either stayed and went there when Beach was ECRL so I don’t predict much movement to or from them...... my prediction is just a great season ahead and hopefully without this disease!

 

[MacDre]

I heard Abby Wambach speak to this question once. She commented that over the years she’d seen all kinds of players around her rise and fall, some with more skill, some with more athleticism, etc. Even motivation/drive is not a fixed quality. It changes over time. The same reason you can’t predict the weather or production output perfectly applies to picking successful athletes ahead of time. There are too many variables involved in the system. You can center on any one quality or set of qualities as most important, but every one of them is subject to outside forces.

I have never coached or taken a parenting class but I used to help train dogs for law enforcement. I recall folks spending up to 10k on a dog and bonding with it. But when they came to me with their expensive Belgium Malinois, they’d get all pissed off when I’d tell them that they had a “pet quality” dog and not a “working” dog because their dog lacked drive. I studied lots of animal behavior and operant conditioning while working with dogs. I think animal behavior is applicable to youth sports and I think drive is fixed but can be improved if you have the correct motivational tool. For dogs it’s either praise or food. Not exactly sure what motivational tool enhances or maintains drive for kids but I am relatively certain drive is identifiable and consistent.

 

[dad4]

I have never coached or taken a parenting class but I used to help train dogs for law enforcement. I recall folks spending up to 10k on a dog and bonding with it. But when they came to me with their expensive Belgium Malinois, they’d get all pissed off when I’d tell them that they had a “pet quality” dog and not a “working” dog because their dog lacked drive. I studied lots of animal behavior and operant conditioning while working with dogs. I think animal behavior is applicable to youth sports and I think drive is fixed but can be improved if you have the correct motivational tool. For dogs it’s either praise or food. Not exactly sure what motivational tool enhances or maintains drive for kids but I am relatively certain drive is identifiable and consistent.

It’s praise and food with kids, too.

 

[LASTMAN14]

The ECNL coaches are better than the GDA coaches and the GA coaches?

Wow. It must be one heck of an HR burden to rehire a whole slate of coaches every time a club changes leagues. You gotta feel bad for whoever runs HR for Legends. He just finished hiring new coaches for GA, and now he has to hire new people all over again. After all, GA coaches, GDA coaches, and ECNL coaches are completely different. It’s not like you could find those three skill sets all in one person.

Or, maybe, the coaches are the same, and EOTL is a salesman trying to draw a distinction where none exists.

ECNL had a chance to kill GA. All they had to do was offer membership to every top club in the soccerwire top 20. Someone else even drew up the list for them.

But, ECNL was incapable of setting aside their petty greivances long enough to act in their own self interest. They still are. If ECNL actually wanted to kill off GA, they would have invited the rest of the top clubs, like Top Hat.

We all know these coaches are the same individuals that ebbed and flowed in and out of the two leagues. Whether prior, during, after, or now.

 

[LASoccerMom]

Beach FC have the South Bay to themselves with the Galaxy shut down...... the Galaxy girls scattered between Beach, Breakers, Slammers, Blues and Real in roughly that order...... I think Beach got the most overall Galaxy benefit and they definitely did in my DDs 06 age group where most of the team went together..... our Real 06 added a really strong player from the Galaxy deal but nothing like how many Beach got...... the Beach top teams are full of talent that either stayed and went there when Beach was ECRL so I don’t predict much movement to or from them...... my prediction is just a great season ahead and hopefully without this disease!

Glad a lot of the Galaxy 06s stuck together. They were a fun team to watch.

 

[Surf Zombie]

“If ECNL actually wanted to kill off GA, they would have invited the rest of the top clubs, like Top Hat.”

I can’t speak to ECNL’s motivations, but there Is another group of clubs that are going to be admitted for next year and from what I was told
Top Hat is very much still in contention for one of those spots.

 

[dad4]

“If ECNL actually wanted to kill off GA, they would have invited the rest of the top clubs, like Top Hat.”

I can’t speak to ECNL’s motivations, but there Is another group of clubs that are going to be admitted for next year and from what I was told
Top Hat is very much still in contention for one of those spots.

Hope so. Would be nice to have everyone under one umbrella.