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Post by Keeperkeeper on Oct 11, 2016 15:35:04 GMT -5
Just saw this news on my Instagram!
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Post by Futsal Gawdess on Oct 11, 2016 15:50:35 GMT -5
Interesting, so the landscape for Girls soccer will now evolve. Question is will this be a good or bad for Girls soccer in Atlanta with us having at least 3 GDA teams? In your opinion will GDA surpass ECNL or will they both co-exist as equals?
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Post by Soccerhouse on Oct 11, 2016 16:18:48 GMT -5
Wow! That's some serious news.
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Post by SoccerMom on Oct 11, 2016 16:23:38 GMT -5
U.S. SOCCER GIRLS’ DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY PROGRAM COMES TO UFA October 11, 2016 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Cumming, GA – The United Futbol Academy is excited to announce their partnership with the U.S. Soccer Girls’ Development Academy (DA). U.S. Soccer’s launch of the Girls' Development Academy is an initiative designed to accelerate the development of world-class female players. The program, which will begin play in the fall of 2017, will be comprised of clubs that are among the most elite in the United States. The U.S. Soccer Development Academy has served as the elite male youth player development model for the country since 2007 and has significantly improved the everyday environment for players, coaches and clubs. The Girls’ Development Academy will be structured with many of the same principles and will focus on positively impacting everyday club environments to maximize elite female youth player development. Increasing the training-to-game ratio, playing fewer but more meaningful games and providing assistance for coaching education and development are just some of the standards and best practices the program will promote. “We are very excited to be a part of the Girls’ Development Academy. This is a great avenue for our elite-level female players to keep on developing and have a professional soccer option right in their back yard,” said Iggy Moleka, UFA’s Director of Soccer. “For the past few years, we have improved our coaching staff and we have excellent facilities to service our community. Our goal for the future is to develop players for the U.S. National Team and this brings us closer to achieving that goal.” Please visit the U.S. Soccer website for more information on the program at www.ussoccerda.com and more about this launch here. United Futbol Academy
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Post by spectator on Oct 11, 2016 20:03:34 GMT -5
Interesting - Concorde, NTH and UFA all have GDA AFU, Concorde, GSA and NTH all have ECNL UFA dominates most age groups in girls RPL (mainly because the NTH RPL teams are weaker since TH got ECNL not taking anything away from the UFA teams but TH did dominate pre-ENCL days)
Seems the losers in this equation are AFU and GSA. Will one or both be dropped from ECNL? Will UFA be awarded ECNL as well?
No matter what - be it ECNL or DA, I think we've over saturated the market here in Atlanta - you have too many options for elite level players and that ultimately waters down the elite. At this rate, everyone will be 'elite' in some form or another.
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Post by Keeper on Oct 11, 2016 22:38:16 GMT -5
Now the battle to not play high school soccer begins....who wants those roster spots!
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Post by SoccerMom on Oct 11, 2016 23:11:55 GMT -5
I think that because the teams will be combined teams then GDA will be able to be competitive.
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Post by Soccerhouse on Oct 12, 2016 9:17:20 GMT -5
I really hope UFA is loyal to "their" girls that have been around and stuck with them vs the new girls from the other clubs.
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Post by Strikermom on Oct 12, 2016 9:42:54 GMT -5
My daughter already said not doing it. Many of her teammates won't give up high school for DA. High school may not be as glamorous or as 'competitive', but it is the spirit of hometown in the stands.
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Post by TheMadOx on Oct 12, 2016 10:25:54 GMT -5
I'm waiting to see how all of this develops...based on what you read, DA will be the top league. And it certainly will be the best teams of the clubs that have DA and ECNL. I don't think ECNL will go away...it's an established league that is a proven product to have players play at the highest level and exposing them to top colleges.
Will the cost of DA vs ECNL pull kids to DA? I'm not 100% sure but believe DA is supposed to be "free/subsidized" except travel expense? Could be wrong on this....
Will the ability of playing HS pull kids to ECNL? I think girls like the HS soccer.
Agree that having DA and ECNL will water down the talent for both leagues...I personally think US Soccer is trying to gain the $$, leverage and power from ECNL...it's not about developing the talent...just my opinion, but they should have worked together to make ECNL the "DA" somehow.
as far as UFA being loyal to local kids??? Don't hold your breathe...they will recruit the hell out of players.
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Post by alacrity174 on Oct 12, 2016 11:25:40 GMT -5
IMHO this is a mess, next year we get Boys ECNL so will ECNL give this to existing clubs that have ECNL already? If so Concord will have Boys and Girls DA and potentially Girls and Boys ECNL. Will ECNL pull out of clubs accepting Girls DA? As NTH has Girls DA now will they also get Boys DA?
How will GA soccer and other state affiliates survive as with 2 supposedly Elite programs now taking the again supposed top players out of the system RPL become a 3rd and 4th tier option and Clssic/Athena are 5th tier at best.
Instead of uniting Soccer in the US all we are doing is fragmenting it. Not the way to get ahead in the world.
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Post by allthingsoccer on Oct 12, 2016 11:51:41 GMT -5
They both can co-exist and think both our great options. Scouts will be looking at both leagues.
DA- Real strict on playing any organized soccer other than DA. Some like this structure. ECNL- Proven system, can play HC and other
I even think on the boys side this will be a good thing as well. The drop off is huge from U12 to U13- Over 120 players will be looking at other options. ECNL will be a big draw I think.
Here’s the Funnel. I think this is correct.
Boys DA
U12- 7x Clubs at 26 players = 182 Players (est.)
U13- 3x Clubs at 20 players = 60 Players (est.)
U14- 3x Clubs at 20 players = 60 Players (est.)
U15/16- 2x Clubs at 20 players = 40 players (est.)
U18- 2x Clubs at 20 players = 40 players (est.)
Girls DA
U-14/15 x3 Clubs at 23 players = 69 players (est)
U-16/17 x3 Clubs at 23 players = 69 players (est)
U-18/19 x3 Clubs at 23 players = 69 players (est)
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Post by alacrity174 on Oct 12, 2016 12:36:25 GMT -5
They both can co-exist and think both our great options. Scouts will be looking at both leagues. DA- Real strict on playing any organized soccer other than DA. Some like this structure. ECNL- Proven system, can play HC and other I even think on the boys side this will be a good thing as well. The drop off is huge from U12 to U13- Over 120 players will be looking at other options. ECNL will be a big draw I think. Here’s the Funnel. I think this is correct. Boys DA
U12- 7x Clubs at 26 players = 182 Players (est.) U13- 3x Clubs at 20 players = 60 Players (est.) U14- 3x Clubs at 20 players = 60 Players (est.) U15/16- 2x Clubs at 20 players = 40 players (est.) U18- 2x Clubs at 20 players = 40 players (est.) Girls DA U-14/15 x3 Clubs at 23 players = 69 players (est) U-16/17 x3 Clubs at 23 players = 69 players (est) U-18/19 x3 Clubs at 23 players = 69 players (est) Sorry still don't see how head to head competitors can say to clubs it's ok you can have both DA and ECNL for both boys and girls. If this does happen you can wave good bye to smaller clubs as only DA and ECNL clubs will have any decent players, which leaves the rest of the soccer world as basically Rec level, even RPL so we will lose lot of players which in turn means we lose the future supporters of soccer which in turn leads to a decline in the sport all because of money and chest thumping.
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Post by allthingsoccer on Oct 12, 2016 13:13:43 GMT -5
alacrity174...
I see your point but that's just the way business works. I don't think anyone is going to loose interest at all. I think the opposite will happen.
In 2013/14 we had 78,943 registered soccer players in the state. DA and ECNCL make up of how many? less than 1000 players in the state. A little over 1% are in DA/ECNL.
Its a process. The MLS clubs will take from the current DA/ENCL in the future when they eventually create their own MLS only league.
Are smaller clubs at a disadvantage, for sure. But they will have have to create other values to draw in players. No issue on being the location to be for Classic and RPL.
I don't know. If you offer too any DA's and ECNL's it will be watered down. Maybe like an award system for the other clubs. Win RPL/ National get a seat in ECNL/DA for that age group the following year.
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Post by aliensource on Oct 12, 2016 15:04:43 GMT -5
I really hope UFA is loyal to "their" girls that have been around and stuck with them vs the new girls from the other clubs. Loyalty? That is a tough one. Ask some ex NASA girls about what loyalty got them. SaveSave
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Post by aliensource on Oct 12, 2016 15:09:28 GMT -5
I think it's a viable reality for AUFC to be awarded a girls DA just like they took over Georgia United form NASA. So big possibility there will be FOUR DAs in the Atlanta area. Oh the what hijinks will ensue.
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Post by aliensource on Oct 12, 2016 15:18:15 GMT -5
IMHO this is a mess, next year we get Boys ECNL so will ECNL give this to existing clubs that have ECNL already? If so Concord will have Boys and Girls DA and potentially Girls and Boys ECNL. Will ECNL pull out of clubs accepting Girls DA? As NTH has Girls DA now will they also get Boys DA? How will GA soccer and other state affiliates survive as with 2 supposedly Elite programs now taking the again supposed top players out of the system RPL become a 3rd and 4th tier option and Clssic/Athena are 5th tier at best. Instead of uniting Soccer in the US all we are doing is fragmenting it. Not the way to get ahead in the world. I am pretty sure USSoccer and ECNL did try putting it together but they ended up not playing nice for some reason and USsoccer walked away form the table. I don't know what that problems were. I just completely understand the push for power between the two entities. One of them needs to make a living making soccer players and the other and the other needs to make soccer players for a living. The DA cannot hand out money to clubs it has no control over and ECNL can't walk away from a system that is totally working. If money / sponsors can come to the rescue ECNL could be as shiny, front and center important as many AAU basketball clubs. SaveSave
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Post by rifle on Oct 12, 2016 18:38:57 GMT -5
Congrats to UFA.
Too many leagues. The federation continues to shizat the bed.
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Post by spectator on Oct 12, 2016 21:13:56 GMT -5
Sorry still don't see how head to head competitors can say to clubs it's ok you can have both DA and ECNL for both boys and girls. If this does happen you can wave good bye to smaller clubs as only DA and ECNL clubs will have any decent players, which leaves the rest of the soccer world as basically Rec level, even RPL so we will lose lot of players which in turn means we lose the future supporters of soccer which in turn leads to a decline in the sport all because of money and chest thumping. Totally disagree with your statement there and that's part of the biggest problem in youth soccer today - every parent thinks their kid is the next greatest thing and will chase down the D1 scholarship (ECNL) dream or the USNT/Pro (DA) dream at any cost. And if your kid isn't on DA/ECNL they're just rec players? Hardly. Some RPL teams now can easily beat some ECNL teams just as some Athena A teams can do the same with RPL and ECNL. I think the US has proven that just because you put 11 elite players on the same field doesn't make the best team. We focus on the individual player making the highest level team and not on developing a TEAM along with developing the player. I know more than a handful of girls who have played for a different club and team every year since U13 - and most of the time the player didn't make or break the team but the inconsistency of that revolving door of a roster did. ANd yet their parents still seek out that highest level possible for the player with little regard for any team dynamic. Soccer is not an individual sport despite what some parents act like. Fact is - Metro Atlanta alone doesn't have enough talent to sustain four ECNL clubs and now three DA clubs. Not all of those teams will be competitive - just as not all the ECNL teams (four per age group now) are either. I think you'll get girls from out of state - SC, AL, TN coming to make those teams now more than before. Personally I think they should have spread the DA clubs out more between states to make sure you're really capturing more talent not just taking bodies to fill the roster if the pool runs a tad dry of true elite players. As for small clubs, some will fail, others will not. It will depend on how that club is run and the reputations of their coaches and players. Some kids will opt for high school play over DA - some families will opt out of the heavy travel for ECNL or RPL. Doesn't mean that player is a 'rec' level player. To make a statement that anything below DA/ECNL is rec is a load of hooey.
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Post by Futsal Gawdess on Oct 12, 2016 21:40:13 GMT -5
It is my humble opinion that the ECNL has a very limited time to make their case against the GDA program. I would give ECNL 2-3 years before the GDA is established and starts to throttle them for superior players. Remember, the GDA is the brainchild of US Soccer, so that will be the new source for National Team players.
In the GDA I believe it is setup now with multiple year players at all three levels 14/15, etc. With that in mind, the teams will be more likely made up of older players and a few really good younger players. The other younger players that do not make it, can go to ECNL. There they can do HS soccer, ODP and other non-US Soccer soccer activities. Then the next year they have a chance to make it back to GDA as one of the older players. I believe that is what will occur with boys ECNL aka EPNL. You will also have the odd player who for one reason or another decide not to make the transition to GDA much like on the boys side.
The bottom line is you have to figure out which/where your child will get the most bang for your buck based on their goals, your pocket and most importantly and hardest their skill level. College, Pro, National Team, Fun, etc.
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Post by SoccerMom on Oct 13, 2016 7:58:03 GMT -5
I think EPNL is going to have a very hard time, haven't heard much since its announcement and always saw it as a knee jerk reaction, but only time will tell. As far as NTH getting boys DA, they already have it thru GA United.
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Post by Soccerhouse on Oct 13, 2016 8:17:08 GMT -5
It will be very interesting because ---
the difference historically with the boys is Concorde was the only "single" club with DA, and GA United was/is an alliance. Same is true for Atlanta United, no single club entity at this point and takes the best of the best. So you end up with only 1 team missing, yes, lots of talent missing but, only 1 team.
where as with girls ecnl and DA. you now will not have the top top GSA/AFU teams playing against Tophat, Concorde or UFA ever again. They never will face off - those top team rivalries will be a thing of the past. I guess it really will be the same thing when they start EPNL, but you have to wonder at this point what teams would even be interested -- GSA and AFU locally?
For example even though last year we had Concorde and GA united DA, the state still had some high quality boys teams at UFA, GSA, KSA etc. The best teams locally still played one another. And yes, again lots of talent missing, but still lots of talent remained. new rivalries are born, just a shame the youth game is becoming so fragmented. Its the future though, and ECNL has unfortunately taken a huge hit.
And from what I gather -- US soccer helps fund DA by offering scholarships, to my knowledge they do not directly help fund any clubs etc. They might provide balls. travel is expensive, GA United is headed to cary on saturday for one game. Staying over night and renting buses/vans. Its not cheap to fund/pay for DA. Yes, I believe concorde and ga united are both charging ~2,000 but it only goes so far when you consider you have to pay the coaches, pay for travel, meals, hotel, gear etc.
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Post by allthingsoccer on Oct 13, 2016 11:23:30 GMT -5
Soccerhouse... I think that is one of the main reasons why DA went with 7 Clubs with 2 teams for the U12's. Not a huge expense to have 2x U12 teams. No travel to pay for. Normally they would have paid $1500 for RPL/Classic so that extra $500 per player x 24 players ($12,000) helps fundthe other travel DA programs. Will the girls have U12 DA? Will it follow the current DA age chart?
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Post by SoccerMom on Oct 13, 2016 12:40:37 GMT -5
Soccerhouse... I think that is one of the main reasons why DA went with 7 Clubs with 2 teams for the U12's. Not a huge expense to have 2x U12 teams. No travel to pay for. Normally they would have paid $1500 for RPL/Classic so that extra $500 per player x 24 players ($12,000) helps fundthe other travel DA programs. Will the girls have U12 DA? Will it follow the current DA age chart? So U12 Boys DA is $2k? and is everything else covered? i know you say no travel, so you never have to leave the state? what about tournaments? is that extra? Girls will not have U12 DA -- ages that will happen next year 04/03, 02/01, 00/99
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Post by Soccerhouse on Oct 13, 2016 12:48:01 GMT -5
I know some of the u12s were $1900 ish. Supposed to include uniforms, and I think winter futsal. From what I was told it did not include travel costs. For example when the teams went to Charlotte they had to pay all the normal fees associated with travel and the kids traveled with the parents and stayed with the parents. (obviously not talking Atlanta united -- that's free)
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Post by allthingsoccer on Oct 13, 2016 13:10:30 GMT -5
Yep the boys is $1995 for CF and UFA. (Im pretty sure the other clubs as well)
No tournaments for U12 and correct we do not leave the state for any games. The Disney tournament is a non USSAF event so the clubs do not have to cover the costs. No scheduled U12 tournaments what so ever. I heard AtlUtd going to Dallas Cup but must play 11v11. They will also do MLS Generation Cup (like last year) which is only for MLS.
It did cover uniforms. Its suppose to cover Futsal but no word what so ever on when and where.
My honest opinion is that U12DA is NOT worth it. Players can not guest play and they can not do any tournaments, they can't even play in a 3v3 tournament for fun, Disney is the only approved tournament. Games have to be shortened if you have more that 2 in a weekend. Example. Disney we will have one full game and the other two will be shortened to follow the playing time rules. We have played only 6 games so far. 360 mins for some vs 1080 mins avg last year. 6 games in + 2 tournaments.
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Post by allthingsoccer on Oct 13, 2016 13:16:06 GMT -5
Yes all tournament are extra fees for U12.
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Post by alacrity174 on Oct 13, 2016 13:29:58 GMT -5
Sorry still don't see how head to head competitors can say to clubs it's ok you can have both DA and ECNL for both boys and girls. If this does happen you can wave good bye to smaller clubs as only DA and ECNL clubs will have any decent players, which leaves the rest of the soccer world as basically Rec level, even RPL so we will lose lot of players which in turn means we lose the future supporters of soccer which in turn leads to a decline in the sport all because of money and chest thumping. Totally disagree with your statement there and that's part of the biggest problem in youth soccer today - every parent thinks their kid is the next greatest thing and will chase down the D1 scholarship (ECNL) dream or the USNT/Pro (DA) dream at any cost. And if your kid isn't on DA/ECNL they're just rec players? Hardly. Some RPL teams now can easily beat some ECNL teams just as some Athena A teams can do the same with RPL and ECNL. I think the US has proven that just because you put 11 elite players on the same field doesn't make the best team. We focus on the individual player making the highest level team and not on developing a TEAM along with developing the player. I know more than a handful of girls who have played for a different club and team every year since U13 - and most of the time the player didn't make or break the team but the inconsistency of that revolving door of a roster did. ANd yet their parents still seek out that highest level possible for the player with little regard for any team dynamic. Soccer is not an individual sport despite what some parents act like. Fact is - Metro Atlanta alone doesn't have enough talent to sustain four ECNL clubs and now three DA clubs. Not all of those teams will be competitive - just as not all the ECNL teams (four per age group now) are either. I think you'll get girls from out of state - SC, AL, TN coming to make those teams now more than before. Personally I think they should have spread the DA clubs out more between states to make sure you're really capturing more talent not just taking bodies to fill the roster if the pool runs a tad dry of true elite players. As for small clubs, some will fail, others will not. It will depend on how that club is run and the reputations of their coaches and players. Some kids will opt for high school play over DA - some families will opt out of the heavy travel for ECNL or RPL. Doesn't mean that player is a 'rec' level player. To make a statement that anything below DA/ECNL is rec is a load of hooey. Well that is your opinion however the perception will be and in general is likely to be close to a fact that Classic I / Athena A is now the 5th level of soccer, lower divisions such as III/C will then be the 7th tier. In reality Classic III/ Athena C games skill wise are not much different to Rec anyway. Yes I do know what I am speaking about being a ref and seeing this on various weekends. Do the players enjoy playing, I would say yes which is the most important thing but how can clubs justify the fees etc for Cl III / Ath C and lower. To your point of " every parent thinks their kid is the next greatest thing and will chase down the D1 scholarship (ECNL) dream or the USNT/Pro (DA) dream at any cost", it is natural for every parent to want the best for their children and probably look at them through rose tinted glasses but the majority are realistic enough to know that there are only so many D1 scholarships (especially on the boys side), and the money isn't that good anyway. My main point is the fragmenting of Soccer, which can only have a negative impact and will probably create a much more them and us culture as DA/ECNL are handed to clubs whereas at least RPL was earned. There is also the very valid point of there really are not enough local "elite" players to fill all of these top slots so we will now see players from out of state come in to fill roster spots causing even more bad feeling, which will almost as a self fulfilling prophecy, cause parents to look for other options/sports for their children. I would have preferred a much more cohesive approach where we had cooperation between USSF and US Soccer and the players best interest in mind rather than the federations bank balance.
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Post by jash on Oct 13, 2016 15:26:49 GMT -5
Ugh, I regularly watch games from Classic I to Classic V, and rec. There is a huge difference between rec and even Classic V. Please don't be elitist. Of course there are good rec teams out there, and some bad lower level Classic/Athena teams. But as a general rule, this is just dead wrong.
How is it we can keep adding leagues "above" all the others and still have fairly competitive and talented teams all the way down to Classic V? Simple... increased participation (larger player pool) and dedicated coaching by people who at least know the game, versus volunteer coaches who might not know soccer at all.
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Post by alacrity174 on Oct 14, 2016 7:51:45 GMT -5
Ugh, I regularly watch games from Classic I to Classic V, and rec. There is a huge difference between rec and even Classic V. Please don't be elitist. Of course there are good rec teams out there, and some bad lower level Classic/Athena teams. But as a general rule, this is just dead wrong. How is it we can keep adding leagues "above" all the others and still have fairly competitive and talented teams all the way down to Classic V? Simple... increased participation (larger player pool) and dedicated coaching by people who at least know the game, versus volunteer coaches who might not know soccer at all. As someone who is at the fields every weekend officiating these games I can honestly say there is very little difference between Classic / Athena lower levels and a lot of Rec teams, that is NOT an elitist statement it is a statement of what I see on the field. You can disagree, that is totally up to you, however the tactical side of the game, the players touches and general skill level is very similar and fouls are almost identical with the single exception of careless v reckless which is more prevalent in Classic/Athena.
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