IE Surf now Legends IE??

Technician72 said:
So much to cover on this one.

My insight... as the team manager for IE Surf G06 Premier DO, now Arsenal FC 06 ECNL, I was exposed to the negotiations to prepare for our teams transition to a new home. I was formerly the team manager for the IE Surf G04 Premier RB team that imploded when DA came into effect last year as a result of IE Surf not having a platform to promote the players / team that were trying to compete at the highest level. Players from that team left to various DA clubs throughout SoCal and what was once a non issue when IE Surf started out as Platinum FC, had begun to be a problem in the last few seasons.

As everyone is aware of, Cle Kooiman and others evolved Platinum FC into IE Surf after a successful run at Arsenal. The why's and how's he left Arsenal is a story for another day and there are a few people that can tell it better than I can. Platinum was a viable alternative to the Big 2 in the IE, Arsenal and Legends, and Platinum soon had a good amount of teams on both the girls and boys side. In terms of hierarchy, Platinum wasn't a direct competitor in most arenas with the Big 2 but rather became successful in finding their niche as a medium sized club with average teams. In recent years they became "successful" enough to partner with San Diego Surf as an affiliate and that solidified the club within their established niche.

The need to explore options to associate with a new partnership stems from the clubs natural growth as they've been able to establish a baseline and inch their way to bigger and better things. How that's quantified, i.e. baby steps vs leaps and bounds, can be argued but IE Surf was definitively growing and getting more competitive, in particular on the younger side in recent years with a shift in coaching designations.

On the girls side IE Surf had multiple teams qualifying for CRL for the the first time ever, and competing in National Cup, Surf Cup, etc. Not big accomplishments for some but clearly progress for IE Surf in building something stable and consistent. But as it is with success, can the club keep up to support that success? As I mentioned before, the 04 girls team imploded and it was a shame because it became a conversation of what could have been and we now see that with their current 03 team, that they are bucking the trend of DA and ECNL, are an exception to the rule many don't want to see disproved.

So...IE Surf...what was their next move? I know for a fact that they applied for ECNL the past 2 years and were disheartened / left out when San Diego Surf went "All-In" with DA, forced or by choice...yet another story. As stated by others on this thread, the affiliation with a club can often amount to just a uniform change and nothing more. Geographical distance didn't really allow any sort of talks / possibilities for ECNL to be a door an IE Surf player could walk through.

Let me state this, IE Surf was proactive in looking for a new association, period. He broke up with her, she broke up with him, IE Surf was keeping their options open, that's for sure and I don't blame them. The past few months talks began in earnest with Arsenal after Randy Brown exited and Rich Boon came in as the new ECNL director. The stalemate between players loyal to RB and their uncertainty of whether or not to go back to Arsenal was an unfortunate saga and will take some time for the dust to settle, but Arsenal correctly looked to steer the ship on course and make a splash by extending out an olive branch to Cle and IE Surf who now could say they had a viable talent pool as a bargaining chip, circumstances being what they were at Arsenal.

Now I know the exact details on the negotiation between the clubs and let's say there was a fair offer on the table that was beneficial for all involved. Players, coaches, integration with platform, while still maintaining an independence to function as an affiliate and keep IE's people employed. Unfortunately the deal wasn't "good enough", a counter was made and it fell through immediately there after. Not my place to put blame on either side, if it doesn't work for one it's not gonna work out and best to walk away.

Simultaneous conversations were had with IE 05 and 06 teams and the 06 girls team moved in it's entirety over to become the Arsenal 06 ECNL team. The 05s took another offer from Strikers and became the Strikers 05 ECNL team. In addition Arsenal got a lot of players back from Randy Brown across all age groups, and those teams are now working on getting back to soccer and moving on with the original goals.

IE Surf kept at it and continued to look for something that made sense based on what I outlined above. Talks had already happened with both LA Premier and Legends FC, and the talks heated up with Legends FC, and here we are with Legends IE. Legends IE will operate independently and their folks will stay on board, essentially just a uniform change as all their teams will still be based out of the soccer complex off the 215 freeway.

Now the promise of a path to DA / DPL / ECNL for their players isn't guaranteed, but I will say this.....with the proximity and good working relationship Legends Riverside has had with Legends North, there is a precedence that those doors can be open due to geographical proximity.

To answer @espola , Legends IE will continue to produce their own swag as one of their employees owns his separate private business and coordinates those efforts for the club.

To answer @socalkdg , Legends IE has a good working relationship with CSL and I see them wanting to maintain that, but in recent years Legends IE was very open to talks of having their "Premier" teams play in SCDSL and be a presence in both leagues.


The transitions for all involved and caught up in this has been hectic and stressful but in the end I think the more things change, the more they remain the same. Parents need to continue to be proactive and be advocates / financiers / chauffeurs for their kids in this journey and the kids have to want it to take it to the next level. I truly hope for the best for our friends at Legends IE and we'll see where this journey takes my DD at Arsenal.

1 DD in ECNL and 1 DD in DA, maybe I can argue with myself which platform is better and pit them against each other at home...:cool:

Best of luck everyone, have a safe and enjoyable weekend!
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T, good post. Glad you shared.
 
equipo said:
Arsenal = Kmart?

Not hating it's just that it wasn't that long ago that it seemed like the talk in the IE was Arsenal or Legends. Other than Brown leaving haven't heard much about Arsenal. Got to wonder if they'll get back into the mix of things or are they the next club to go black and yellow!
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Very valid point, Arsenal has some work to do, going to be a critical next couple / few years as Legends has enveloped the entire Inland Empire region at this point.
 
futboldad1 said:
You are horribly misinformed and rude to boot. Your responses in this thread speak volumes. Clearly very insecure about this whole thing.
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You are right about one thing though, my responses in this thread speak volumes...they’re spot on. I am absolutely 100% positive my source for this info is better than your “buddy at SD Surf who has no reason to lie.”
 
Saw a girls team yesterday wearing full IE Surf kits and using a big blue Surf EZ-up on their sideline. New gear must not be ready. :(
 
outside! said:
I have no idea, but I did see a very clean Chrysler Cordoba the other day and the "Rare Corinthian Leather" interior still looked good.
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77chry88191-3.jpg
 
Even the 1975 is probably smaller than the 300G we had when I was a kid. Ours was blue and we called it Moby Grape.

1960-1962-chrysler-300f-300g-300h.jpg
 
outside! said:
I drove one of those once. It had the vaguest feeling steering of any car I have ever driven.
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It was a terrible drive. My dad insisted on keeping it after he retired it. So I was unfortunate to drive the POS from time to time. It handled like a ship without a rudder.
 
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