Pretty much a textbook example of why you don't burn bridges with people in your local community.
While some of the better Surf B teams could help raise the competition level, the Surf C, D, E teams would add nothing to Presidio. The majority of the Surf lower teams are on the level of AAB, AAC bronze teams, which Presidio already has plenty of. So why force local teams to pay parking fees to subsidize the Polo fields if the competition is the same or worse? Especially when the club uses its DA/ECNL teams as a lure to poach players and coaches away from local teams to further expand their lower teams, I can see why those Presidio members would be reluctant.
But there's also definitely a certain element of jealousy from the Presidio members because Surf has consistently been an organized club that's made some shred business moves that's allowed them to grow and expand in all age groups over the years. Surf is able to successfully poach players because they have an attractive product and they've achieved some real results to hang their hat on, especially on the girls side.
But 4-5 years ago, hubris got to them and they started believing their own hype. They believed they actually developed elite players from the ground up and could say "FU" to Presidio and leave for greener pastures and greatness. But the Truth is Surf used their image and success of the top teams to recruit players that were developed from other Presidio local teams. This is why the boys teams at Surf have fallen off so much over the last 3-4 years. Playing in SCDSL in the younger ages has created a disconnect where a lot of central and south county 7-11 year-old players are just unable to play on Surf teams due to the constant travel north of 2-3 hour drives on the weekends. This has forced Surf to rely on developing their own players for the most part, which has been a failure on the boys side for the last 3-4 years. Their pool of players is mostly limited to north county del mar, carmel valley players.
The girls side hasn't taken a hit because IMO, the stronger girls players tend to reside in the north county area and with Surf being the only ECNL club in the county, they still had a strong enough gravitational pull to draw in top players. Whereas with the boys, the stronger players tend to reside in the central and south county, and there are several other DA clubs in the area. That said, this might be one of the reasons Surf wants to return to Presidio even for girls. Since ECNL is becoming a "B" team league and with multiple San Diego teams with Girls DA status, they're not going to have that automatic gravitational force anymore. They need to get back in Presidio so they can be more visible to local residents for recruiting purposes instead off in a distant league while Albion and Carlsbad harvest the local talent unopposed.
While some of the better Surf B teams could help raise the competition level, the Surf C, D, E teams would add nothing to Presidio. The majority of the Surf lower teams are on the level of AAB, AAC bronze teams, which Presidio already has plenty of. So why force local teams to pay parking fees to subsidize the Polo fields if the competition is the same or worse? Especially when the club uses its DA/ECNL teams as a lure to poach players and coaches away from local teams to further expand their lower teams, I can see why those Presidio members would be reluctant.
But there's also definitely a certain element of jealousy from the Presidio members because Surf has consistently been an organized club that's made some shred business moves that's allowed them to grow and expand in all age groups over the years. Surf is able to successfully poach players because they have an attractive product and they've achieved some real results to hang their hat on, especially on the girls side.
But 4-5 years ago, hubris got to them and they started believing their own hype. They believed they actually developed elite players from the ground up and could say "FU" to Presidio and leave for greener pastures and greatness. But the Truth is Surf used their image and success of the top teams to recruit players that were developed from other Presidio local teams. This is why the boys teams at Surf have fallen off so much over the last 3-4 years. Playing in SCDSL in the younger ages has created a disconnect where a lot of central and south county 7-11 year-old players are just unable to play on Surf teams due to the constant travel north of 2-3 hour drives on the weekends. This has forced Surf to rely on developing their own players for the most part, which has been a failure on the boys side for the last 3-4 years. Their pool of players is mostly limited to north county del mar, carmel valley players.
The girls side hasn't taken a hit because IMO, the stronger girls players tend to reside in the north county area and with Surf being the only ECNL club in the county, they still had a strong enough gravitational pull to draw in top players. Whereas with the boys, the stronger players tend to reside in the central and south county, and there are several other DA clubs in the area. That said, this might be one of the reasons Surf wants to return to Presidio even for girls. Since ECNL is becoming a "B" team league and with multiple San Diego teams with Girls DA status, they're not going to have that automatic gravitational force anymore. They need to get back in Presidio so they can be more visible to local residents for recruiting purposes instead off in a distant league while Albion and Carlsbad harvest the local talent unopposed.