VegasParent
SILVER ELITE
As of now, my kids GA team is not planning on attending Surf Cup. As far as league schedules, I haven't heard anything.
GA Showcases
- Thread starter VegasParent
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As of now, my kids GA team is not planning on attending Surf Cup. As far as league schedules, I haven't heard anything.
Are they not playing Surf Cup by choice or because GA will not allow them?
VegasParent
SILVER ELITE
By choice. I think the coach just wants to focus on training before the season starts. If there is a fall season. From what I have been told and seen, there are no tournament restrictions with GA.
We could argue this until the cows come home. Yes, Surf and Real So Cal are in ECNL, both very good clubs with plenty of talent. If I were the not so good ECNL teams, I would be concerned. If Beach and Legends decide to enter next year, more talent will come. There are two very good former DA clubs in AZ that are not in ECNL but will stay GA. Who knows if in the future if they are added. Both of those clubs are arguably better than the current AZ clubs in the SW conference. At some point, ECNL will have to make a decision (or not). Having huge conferences are good for regional competition, which is awesome. But having 3-4 clubs potentially dominate a 14 team conference = dilution. Relegation? Maybe but not good for club continuity and their would be a parent revolt.
But in reality, who cares, they are getting in front of college coaches, regardless of where your club sits in the standings. At the end of the day the dollars are being spent so our kids can get in front of college coaches. The GA and ECNL will both get the job done. Regardless, we will now argue which league is better, which is fun. I just wish adults would adult and figure out a way to get the best teams of both leagues on the same pitch from time to time. Kinda like a champions league or cup schedule. But that won't happen and likely shouldn't. The girls will be busy enough. Let the parents argue over which league is the better league and let the girls play.
ECNL has never started league play before the 3rd or 4th week of August. It used to start in September, so Surf Cup August 7-9 will be fine for ECNL teams.
You assume the GA rosters will remain the same. They aren't. Several DA players are leaving for ECNL teams. The club names may remain the same, but all of the players are not.
The only GA club in CO, Rush, my dd’s old team (04) lost 5 girls last year and lost 6 more recently when they couldn’t get into ECNL. Believe me that team will not be competitive in any league.
That’s sad to hear...
The opposite is also true, GA teams have stayed intact and have had migration from ECNL based on prior recruitment and commitments. There is always going to be migration back and forth. Some years ECNL wins, the other years whatever league is opposite ECNL will win. It's the way elite youth sports works. I hope for stability but we will see. As Mile High Dad stated in his post, ECNL in Colorado is Queen, for now. It will be vary according to region. I wish the GA well. Their PR machine is up and running - very professionally done. They are doing a great job showcasing their talent, including their returning YNT kids. Good for them. I don't think ECNL has much to worry about this year, they'll continue to be the big dog on the block. Plenty of good teams are in the GA, it will be fun for those girls to show off their talent on the pitch. Not their fault Adults were too stupid and shortsighted to figure out how to administrate a league.
Losing players works both way to either league. Perhaps the ecnl kids displaced by DA kids where ECRL or regular club soccer at those ECNL clubs are not good options and leave for GA which was the next best option for them and worth the risk?
Big country my friend, the sun does not rise and set in California - plenty of talent in California though. I'm not going to follow you down the rabbit hole you just dug. I know ECNL carries a lot of weight for many parents, and it should, they do what they do well. It's silly to think that the demise of the DA all of a sudden makes the GA a talent desert. Philosophically and stylistically, the leagues were different. It may have even been a major reason the GDA failed. But there were many things that drew players, and parents, in. Girls who were on their way out of ECNL to the DA still went. They went because they believed in coaches, clubs. The parents did also. Will they go back to ECNL if the GA turns out to be a dud - highly likely, we always take care of our kids, such is life.
It's not just Colorado. Same thing has already happened in Texas, Georgia, and Florida.
Lonestar (DA/GA) lost entire teams to Sting Austin (ECNL). In Houston, the Dash (DA/GA) lost a half dozen or so of their top players in each age group to Albion and Challenge (ECNL).
Friend in Georgia says the same thing happened to Tophat (DA/GA). Their top girls in just about every age group bolted for nearby ECNL teams. Mostly left for Concord Fire (ECNL), but all the ECNL teams near Atlanta got a lot better. Says he heard the same defection to ECNL teams was happening in Florida.
Many, many GA clubs are a shadow of what they were just a few months ago. It won't take many showcases for college coaches to notice and adjust accordingly.
Wouldn't think that what has happened thousands of miles away at other clubs would lead a child to "abandon" a good coach and teammates.
You are right, though, about one part. I should have left off personal speculation about what college coaches will eventually do. I wish I could edit that out as it isn't helpful to the conversation.
That said, I am 100% certain about the significant player movement from Lonestar, Houston Dash, and Tophat to nearby ECNL clubs. Those clubs are a shadow of their former selves, especially in the U13 through U16 ages groups (seems the olders decided to ride it out their last year or two with GA).
In the mid-Atlantic, it’s the opposite. Haven’t heard of any DA girls leaving their GA teams and clubs. Probably has to do with the 04 and below ECNL teams being basement-dwellers. who knows what happens after next season, but it could be interesting if the mid-Atlantic GA teams are contenders for national championships because of player defections to ECNL in other parts of the country. And the mid-Atlantic ECNL teams won’t get out of the basement without a talent infusion.
NC Courage and Charlotte Soccer Academy were 2 of the top 3 clubs is the GDA Southeast Conference. They each had as many first place teams last year as Tophat. They joined ECNL and will be in the Mid Atlantic Conference. McLean, VDA, and Richmond all had ECNL national championship contenders over the last couple of years, so how are they bottom dwellers? Are you saying NC Courage and CSA, who were top clubs in GDA, will be all of a sudden become ECNL basement dwellers, too?
Unlikely. These regional events never draw the same talent or scouting that national showcases do.
There is no single style across all clubs/teams in any league. The coaches and clubs that joined the GDA initially were the same coaches and clubs that were in ECNL. They didn’t all of a sudden change their philosophies and styles and all start playing the same way as a league when the joined the GDA. Style of play varies from club to club and coach to coach. You’re not going to convince anyone that the Blues and Earthquakes had the same philosophy and style when they both played in GDA.
I would have thought it depends on what school you are shooting for. Not everyone will play for UNC, and the lower prestige schools fill out their rosters somehow. That's not what regional showcases are for?
I’m new to this. I kind of assumed that a regional showcase would draw scouts from local colleges without nationally known programs.