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Post by greenmonkey on Jun 30, 2016 15:40:28 GMT -5
nwslsoccer.com/six-nwsl-clubs-admitted-to-u-s-soccer-girls-development-academy?sf30039383=1U.S. Soccer is excited to welcome the following clubs: Beach SC (Calif.) Boston Breakers (Mass.) CASL (N.C.) Cincinnati Development Academy (Kings Hammer/CUP) (Ohio) Colorado Rush (Colo.) Concorde Fire (Ga.) Crossfire (Wash.) De Anza Force (Calif.) FC Dallas (Texas) LAFC Slammers (Calif.) Lamorinda (Calif.) Michigan Hawks (Mich.) Mustang (Calif.) Tophat NTH (Ga.) Orlando Pride (Fla.) Penn Fusion SA (Penn.) Portland Thorns (Ore.) Real Colorado (Colo.) San Diego Surf (Calif.) Seattle Reign (Wash.) Sky Blue - PDA (N.J.) So Cal Blues (Calif.) Sockers FC (Ill.) Solar Chelsea SC (Texas) Washington Spirit Academy (Md.)
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Post by Soccerhouse on Jun 30, 2016 17:09:11 GMT -5
Interesting.......
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Post by spectator on Jun 30, 2016 18:33:18 GMT -5
Very interesting indeed..... 15 of the 25 are current ECNL member clubs. What does girls DA do to their ECNL brand? So for Fall 2017 - Concorode/NTH would have Girls DA, ECNL, SRPL, RPL and then start Athena teams?? Who would have ever thought an Athena A team would be the fifth team at a given club? CRAZY
Do DA teams play State Cup? ECNL doesn't (well not as a team, players do all the time)
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Post by th1976 on Jun 30, 2016 19:41:29 GMT -5
Even happier with her choice.
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Post by fan on Jul 1, 2016 8:11:09 GMT -5
Very interesting indeed..... 15 of the 25 are current ECNL member clubs. What does girls DA do to their ECNL brand? So for Fall 2017 - Concorode/NTH would have Girls DA, ECNL, SRPL, RPL and then start Athena teams?? Who would have ever thought an Athena A team would be the fifth team at a given club? CRAZY Do DA teams play State Cup? ECNL doesn't (well not as a team, players do all the time) Add Composite ECNL to your list too (only 98/99 for now in GA but will they expand it?). Players are being split in so many different directions this can't possibly be helpful for the development of future national teams. Get your frequent flyer numbers ready for girls DA at least until they expand. There aren't many teams close by...
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Post by Futsal Gawdess on Jul 1, 2016 11:01:03 GMT -5
I hear this is the first round of accepted clubs, there are other clubs here in the metro atlanta area that also applied. Wonder if Atlanta United will join in on Girls DA?
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Post by spectator on Jul 1, 2016 11:55:15 GMT -5
I hear this is the first round of accepted clubs, there are other clubs here in the metro atlanta area that also applied. Wonder if Atlanta United will join in on Girls DA? Honestly I don't think it's a good idea to have more than two clubs per market - and in smaller ones - only one. We have talent - yes - but do we have that much elite elite talent to field two teams per age group - I've not seen that. One or two studs per age group but an entire team?
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Post by 5.slooh on Jul 2, 2016 13:38:13 GMT -5
So, will ECNL be considered 2nd-tier and given to clubs like UFA,AFC,SSAetc...
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Post by zizou on Jul 5, 2016 23:01:37 GMT -5
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Post by zizou on Jul 5, 2016 23:17:35 GMT -5
So, will ECNL be considered 2nd-tier and given to clubs like UFA,AFC,SSAetc... I assume you are being snarky, but there is still an interesting set of issues to consider here, and depending on the way some of those issues are solved, clubs like AFC and SSA could see individual teams of merit playing in an ECNL Conference. They have not demonstrated the level of sustained excellence across age groups to support selection to any high level league for all age groups (ECNL or DAP). UFA have demonstrated a degree of excellence across age groups to perhaps support selection. They are the only other club in the area with that sort of resume. I think people do not realize how hard that is for a club. Having at least regionally competitive top level teams in many age groups over most years is not easy. Like I have said previously, I expect ECNL to do on the girls' side what they say they will do on the boys side. That is, incorporate the top performing US Club NPL teams into the league. I also think it is possible ECNL on both the boys and girls sides will deny/revoke membership of clubs that have/take DAP. I see this as a possible survival strategy. Because of their combined birth year teams (U14/15, U16/17, U18/19), the DA clubs can only service a fraction of the players ECNL teams can service. If ECNL lets DA clubs keep a franchise, then the DA clubs could offer players an option and then could scaffold to DAP by storing possible DA players on ECNL teams. But if a club does not have that option, then what are players going to do? They would have to hope that RPL and State leagues take all of the top talent away from ECNL, which seems highly unlikely if ECNL continues to be a viable option. If DAP clubs are removed from ECNL that would leave DAP clubs with spots for maybe 11-12 really elite level players per age group, many of whom will see very little playing time given the way substitutions and starting requirements for DA teams are structured (meaning not much exposure to recruiting at critical ages). I don't know how this will work out. I do not have much faith in USSF. What they are doing, and have done on boys side with DAP, is reduce opportunities for players to grow and prosper in high level training environments. They are trying to restrict access instead of expanding access. Iceland have shown how expanding access is a good thing. Leave it to USSF to take our giant and diverse country and make it smaller and more restrictive. Anyway under the assumption that ECNL does something like what I suggested, that would open opportunities for individual good teams from any club to play in the leagues. It would also open opportunities for other great clubs who have competitive teams across age groups to join what has been a pretty good and competitive league that really knows how to throw a party at their Showcases.
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Post by Soccerhouse on Jul 6, 2016 9:59:05 GMT -5
Have we heard any official stances yet from either ECNL or DA on if "clubs" will be allowed to have both?
Should be interesting, I'm not picking on tophat by any means, but they had ecnl and rpl teams in many age groups, and the rpl teams struggled. Maybe this changes with the NASA merger but would be tough to compete at a high level in both....
unless DA really becomes a destination club for girls, and the best of the best all gravitate to those clubs. Politics will be ugly, and I'm sure girls will try out because you have to assume the cost will be subsidized by the clubs... only a guess......
The million dollar question, do any more Georgia Clubs get accepted. You would think at first they start small and are very selective. a few from georgia, 2 or 3 from North carolina, and 2 or 3 from Florida. Maybe a tenn club sneaks in there also.
Problem is you have to have more clubs or the travel gets to expensive. One would think they would mimic the boys side with their conferences.
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Post by Soccerhouse on Jul 11, 2016 8:32:19 GMT -5
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Post by Soccerhouse on Jul 11, 2016 8:40:02 GMT -5
This will get very interesting. So out of the South East Conference so far you have everyone but: BUSA CESA GSA AFU
And in North Carolina, them all but NC Fusion
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Post by spectator on Jul 11, 2016 10:30:09 GMT -5
Forgive my ignorance but how exactly are DA costs subsidized by the clubs? Not picking on the two but if Concorde or NTH have to raise costs for ECNL/RPL/Athena Teams to 'fund' DA, the non DA parents will gripe. How does it work on the boys side now and does it cause any issues with non DA teams at those clubs?
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Post by Soccerhouse on Jul 11, 2016 11:19:33 GMT -5
To be honest the vast majority of boys parents do not even know what DA is, and might now only because of Atlanta United. They became a little bit more aware this year because of the addition of u12, but many had no idea what DA is etc. To be honest, many still think the MLS DA team and DA are somehow different and didn't' realize they play in the same league.
Sponsorships help with the costs of DA, but at the end of the day, the money has to come from somewhere. I've heard GA United is a little different because clubs are less willingly to put their own cash in the game now, since its not 100% theirs. I'm sure participating clubs are still giving some, I heard they used to annually pay X dollars regardless of the number of players rostered. I'm not sure if this is the case anymore. I even heard Atlanta United foot the Ga United bill last year with the help of sponsorship as well.
You probably would need to see the books to find out exactly where the money is coming from etc, slightly increased fees, tournaments, uniform, spirit wear sales etc, but clubs have to spend money to support travel, coaching expenses, food, hotels, buses etc. Parents are paying a fixed payment between 1500 to 1950 and that's all they spend for a given year, all extra expenses are covered by club"s". Atlanta United is obviously unique where its 100% free.
I would expect clubs to also help support Girls DA from a financial perspective.
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Post by rifle on Jul 11, 2016 16:39:01 GMT -5
Forgive my ignorance but how exactly are DA costs subsidized by the clubs? Not picking on the two but if Concorde or NTH have to raise costs for ECNL/RPL/Athena Teams to 'fund' DA, the non DA parents will gripe. How does it work on the boys side now and does it cause any issues with non DA teams at those clubs? did I miss where anyone said costs are subsidized?
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Post by spectator on Jul 11, 2016 20:25:52 GMT -5
Forgive my ignorance but how exactly are DA costs subsidized by the clubs? Not picking on the two but if Concorde or NTH have to raise costs for ECNL/RPL/Athena Teams to 'fund' DA, the non DA parents will gripe. How does it work on the boys side now and does it cause any issues with non DA teams at those clubs? did I miss where anyone said costs are subsidized? It was an assumption from a reply above mine. I remember reading on the other forum that DA was cheaper or paid for or some such - considering the source who knows?
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Post by Soccerhouse on Jul 11, 2016 21:55:36 GMT -5
Yea - I meant I assume clubs would help players with financials to reduce costs -- but did not mean that it would be free.
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Post by soccersdad on Jul 12, 2016 13:00:12 GMT -5
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Post by Soccerhouse on Jul 12, 2016 14:12:45 GMT -5
Total BS for sure. Not fair to the girls and the teams. They worked so hard to get there, they should never have to choose between the two.
Surely somebody told US soccer the ECNL finals were that week and X players would probably be affected, hell tell them they should remain with their teams etc.
and
"Real Colorado were among the first 25 clubs accepted into the Girls DA, though Donaldson framed it as less a choice than a must, given the roster upheaval brought on by the federation’s adoption of birth-year age grouping. Real plans to continue its participation in ECNL as well.
“Now you merge everything into three [GDA] teams, so there’s tons of players left over. And all these players are going to colleges and they’re playing ball; what do you do with them? So we’re playing in both leagues,” said Donaldson. “You have to. Because you can’t have somebody who is going to go play college ball and say, ‘you can no longer play for Real Colorado.’ We have enough players and we have enough good coaches that we can make it work. So this group, it’s the last go-round for them, because some of them are 99s and some of them are 2000s.”
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Post by Soccerhouse on Jul 12, 2016 19:10:47 GMT -5
thanks to Socceramerica.com for the latest composite list of the current 53 teams
CALIFORNIA-SOUTH (8): Beach FC, Eagles SC, LA Galaxy San Diego, LA Premier, Legends FC, LAFC-Slammers, San Diego Surf, So Cal Blues. FLORIDA (7): Boca United, Clay County SC, IMG Academy, Jacksonville Armada Youth Academy (JFC), Orlando Pride/City SC, West Florida Flames, Weston FC. CALIFORNIA-NORTH (5): Davis Legacy, De Anza Force, Lamorinda, Mustang, San Juan SC. TEXAS-NORTH (4): Dallas Texans, Sting Soccer Club, FC Dallas, Solar Chelsea SC. VIRGINIA (3): FC Virginia, Virginia Development Academy, Washington Spirit-Virginia. WASHINGTON (3): Eastside FC, Crossfire, Seattle Reign. COLORADO (2): Colorado Rush, Real Colorado. GEORGIA (2): Concorde Fire, Tophat NTH. ILLINOIS (2): Eclipse Select, Sockers FC. MASSACHUSETTS (2): FC Stars, Boston Breakers. MICHIGAN (2): Michigan Hawks, Midwest United. NEW JERSEY (2): Match Fit Academy, Sky Blue FC-PDA. NEW YORK (2): East Meadow SC, World Class FC. NORTH CAROLINA (2): CASL, Charlotte Soccer Academy. MARYLAND (1): Washington Spirit-Maryland. MINNESOTA (1): Shattuck-St. Mary's. OHIO (1): Cincinnati Development Academy/Kings Hammer/CUP. OKLAHOMA (1): TSC Hurricane. OREGON (1): Portland Thorns. PENNSYLANIA (1): Penn Fusion SA. TEXAS-SOUTH (1): Lonestar SC.
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Post by zizou on Jul 12, 2016 20:51:34 GMT -5
Total BS for sure. Not fair to the girls and the teams. They worked so hard to get there, they should never have to choose between the two. Surely somebody told US soccer the ECNL finals were that week and X players would probably be affected, hell tell them they should remain with their teams etc. and "Real Colorado were among the first 25 clubs accepted into the Girls DA, though Donaldson framed it as less a choice than a must, given the roster upheaval brought on by the federation’s adoption of birth-year age grouping. Real plans to continue its participation in ECNL as well.“Now you merge everything into three [GDA] teams, so there’s tons of players left over. And all these players are going to colleges and they’re playing ball; what do you do with them? So we’re playing in both leagues,” said Donaldson. “You have to. Because you can’t have somebody who is going to go play college ball and say, ‘you can no longer play for Real Colorado.’ We have enough players and we have enough good coaches that we can make it work. So this group, it’s the last go-round for them, because some of them are 99s and some of them are 2000s.” Looks like not all of the ECNL teams that were offered GDAP will be afforded the same opportunity as Real Colorado. Of the teams offered GDAP membership, only the very cream of the ECNL crop (11 total clubs), in terms of prolonged league dominance, have been verified as able to continue in ECNL after the start of GDAP. High likelihood those clubs can be competitive in both leagues simultaneously. Evaluation of Continued ECNL Membership
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Post by Soccerhouse on Jul 14, 2016 11:04:58 GMT -5
if you can catch this on demand at xm radio from yesterday, very good listen
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Post by zizou on Aug 3, 2016 13:02:32 GMT -5
Well, this is at least mildly interesting. ECNL starting to add clubs already for 2017-2018 season. They usually wait to announce until late Spring. The first new club they add is Davis Legacy, who say this is the only national league in which they will compete. The interesting thing there is that Davis Legacy was one of the 28 clubs accepted to GDA in the second wave. Glenn Crooks had said USSF were announcing these clubs but he heard that some clubs had not actually agreed to participate despite begin accepted. I am going to speculate this is also preparation for the culling of clubs from ECNL that are doing GDA if ECNL feels a club cannot manage competitive teams in both leagues. Davis Legacy added to ECNL for 2017-2018
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Post by Soccerhouse on Aug 3, 2016 13:38:56 GMT -5
All the makings of a great reality tv show
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Post by aliensource on Aug 4, 2016 10:49:07 GMT -5
If you read the DA rules you are not allowed to play for any other teams / leagues High School, ECNL or even ODP.
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Post by zizou on Aug 4, 2016 11:07:40 GMT -5
If you read the DA rules you are not allowed to play for any other teams / leagues High School, ECNL or even ODP. Not clear to what post is referring. If it is referring to a club participating in leagues other then DA that is just untrue. A club can participate in as many leagues as they can manage to join, regardless of whether they have DA. If it is referring to whether players can play for a DA team and then also play for another team while rostered on the DA team, or be rostered on another team and then play for a DA team, it is also untrue. That is, "if you read the DA rules." Let's start here: From the USSF webinar on GDAP: "Players in high school during the 2017-18 academic year will be able to play high school soccer throughout the remainder of their high school career" - of course, they cannot play for both HS and DA team simultaneously, but they can play HS and then go back to their DA team. The there is this: "Developmental Players (DPs) •May play in outside competition within the club •May play in a maximum of 6 Academy games"
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Post by forsythsd on Aug 4, 2016 11:32:47 GMT -5
Maybe that's a grandfathered thing for girls? Because it sure seems to conflict with the FAQ page: www.ussoccerda.com/faq
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Post by Soccerhouse on Aug 4, 2016 12:13:17 GMT -5
A major benefit of high school is kids have opportunities to play a different positions and often excel. On their club team, they might be a left back, but high school an attacking mid or striker. Then when going back to play left back, their experiences and training at a different position come in handy as they begin to attack the left flank more often with more confidence. Those days are obviously behind us. Its very interesting now going back and looking at Tim Howards advice, which isn't even possible given the current landscape for a national team player.....Kind of shocking to read now given the current landscape of DA/high school etc. SA: How important was it that you also played in the field during your youth days? TIM HOWARD: It helped me a lot. Little did I know back in the 1980s that goalkeeping rules would change, that we would have to play with our feet. [Editor's note: Since 1992 goalkeepers are prohibited from handling passes from their teammates.] The opportunities we have in America, because of the climate, kids are playing fall ball, spring, they’re playing in the summer. They’re playing indoor. Our indoor facilities in America are amazing. I’ve traveled the world and people don’t have that everywhere. So kids are playing year-round. A really good goalkeeper coming up is going to have the opportunity to play on three or four different teams. I think it’s important he selects a couple teams that allow him to play in the field and play different positions.
I played midfield and striker in high school at the same time I was on the U-17 national team playing goalkeeper. For my travel team I was playing goalkeeper while on my high school team I was playing in the field. SA: What advice do you have for young goalkeepers? TIM HOWARD:Play whenever you have the opportunity. Goalkeepers have to play as many games as they can, whether that’s in the park, with a travel team, as a guest player for another team. Play as many games as you can. With goalkeeping, the amount of games it takes you to get to the highest level is a lot more. Why does a goalkeeper mature at age 30 when you have a striker who plays for Inter Milan at age 22? Goalkeepers need more games under their belt to be top-level than the average field player. At a young age you’ll make a lot of mistakes – but that’s good because you learn from mistakes in a game. Mistakes in training don’t really count, because there are no consequences. It’s important for young goalkeepers to get in as many game-like situations as possible. Training is good, but games situations are more important. from an interview in june 2012 www.socceramerica.com/article/47205/tim-howards-advice-for-keepers-parents-and-coach.html
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Post by soccerenthusiast on Aug 4, 2016 12:18:03 GMT -5
All I have to say is thank goodness my daughter only has 2 years of club soccer left. All I can see if the further dilution of talent and more people saying things like RPL is best, no DA is best, no SRPL is the best, no ECNL is best. After a while does anyone really know... and unless you want to spend what you could put down as college tuition to maybe have a chance to play at a famous D1 school what is the point. Most players, mainly girls, end up giving up soccer or it becomes a non-focus once real life starts and things like a job, paying bills and families become priority.
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