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Post by putmeincoach on Feb 23, 2018 11:31:57 GMT -5
From my understanding they aren't "doing away with RPL". They are taking these second and third level teams (most whom have no business in RPL) and making them there own league to play in. These teams were crushed in regional play this year and this is a reaction to the parents of these players screaming about travel to have there asses handed to them every week. RPL will be much stronger without them. You have clubs like: Sunrise, Wilmington, NCFC, CSA, FL Rush, Pinecrest, USA MP, Discoveries all outside of GA who produce high quality teams. Add in the GA teams and you have a solid league. Many of these teams routinely beat up on ECNL teams. Now if they could get some new leadership running the league and drop 1st divison it could be even better.
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Post by soccerlegacy on Feb 23, 2018 11:45:42 GMT -5
Its only going to affect the "1st team" below DA/ECNL, basically get rid of rpl is what they want. The league will be run by US Club Soccer. This is done to minimize unnecessary travel...only 5 clubs maybe a 6th will be in it. Also BUSA and CESA are being considered to be part of it. I heard that GA soccer is trying to convince them not to do it but the "newly 3 merger" is not having it and are upset about ga soccer wanting to work something out. This has been in the works for a while and with RPL getting run so poorly enough is enough. This is a good thing, less $$ spent on traveling for the parents, not sure how you figure its a money maker for the clubs. I know parents of RPL have been complaining of the mess that league is. I like the idea of keeping things within the state (less travel), but when you say "This is a good thing"... you are only referring to the mega clubs. For youth soccer in the state of Georgia (in general) it is not so great for the local, small-to-mid sized clubs and all it's young players. For example, clubs like Roswell Santos that had that girls team rise through the ranks, any many other quality teams that won't get that chance for promotion.
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Post by Soccerhouse on Feb 23, 2018 11:49:11 GMT -5
That Roswell Team was such a great story.....Ironically up until they finally got that RPl spot.
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Post by SoccerMom on Feb 23, 2018 11:51:50 GMT -5
I dont know anything about that Roswell Santos team, but if there was no DA or ECNL would that team be where its at?
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Post by SoccerMom on Feb 23, 2018 11:56:28 GMT -5
I don't see where these clubs get off leaving out certain other clubs from this exclusive group. Yes, they can probably guarantee competitive matches at every age group just playing against each other. But they don't have the top team in many age groups. Speaking of non-DA/ECNL specifically, the best '01 team in the state is KSA (that team is probably better than the ECNL teams at that age as well). The best '02 team is Smyrna. The best '03 team is Dalton. Etc. etc. Are they the best because they're playing against 2nd/3rd tier teams? The KSAs and Daltons can go on play with RPL or whomever they want to play against...it would be better competition for them. It doesn't make sense for 2nd/3rd tier teams to travel like that, for the clubs that do not have DA/ECNL it will not be an issue.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2018 12:15:05 GMT -5
I guess the bigger question is why were the mega clubs fielding RPL teams with teams that didn't earn their spot anyway? Seems they should have just given up the spot instead of complaining about it afterwards.
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Post by SoccerMom on Feb 23, 2018 12:18:10 GMT -5
I guess the bigger question is why were the mega clubs fielding RPL teams with teams that didn't earn their spot anyway? Seems they should have just given up the spot instead of complaining about it afterwards. I dont think that was the case for all the clubs, just the ones that had ECNL
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Post by SoccerMom on Feb 23, 2018 12:20:46 GMT -5
They also need to get rid of 1st Division. But when they tried some clubs complained. RPL is poorly run, end of story, and state should have stepped in and didn't....
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Post by atlsoccer on Feb 23, 2018 12:47:38 GMT -5
My understanding is that this would be the club pecking order.
1st Team - DA or ECNL 2nd Team - ECNL or New League 3rd Team - New League or Classic/Athena 4th and below - Classic/Athena only
I can understand why the mega-clubs would be exclusive. It will be much easier to coordinate and schedule for the new league they can promise a similar or higher level as RPL, without the travel or having to actually prove the level through competition.
I don't think we would have a huge issue with higher level players being rostered in masses with lower level teams from mega-clubs for state cup. Many mega-clubs will not have lower level teams eligible and competitive enough to play in state cup, to begin with.
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Post by onemoresoccermom on Feb 23, 2018 13:02:22 GMT -5
So my daughter is on the third team - DA/SRPL/A - but they finished top of their bracket last fall. If all this comes to pass it sounds as if the SRPL team will play in the new league and there may be no promotion for the A team that fought hard all season to finish first. Is that correct?
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Post by soccerlegacy on Feb 23, 2018 13:12:42 GMT -5
I don't see where these clubs get off leaving out certain other clubs from this exclusive group. Yes, they can probably guarantee competitive matches at every age group just playing against each other. But they don't have the top team in many age groups. Speaking of non-DA/ECNL specifically, the best '01 team in the state is KSA (that team is probably better than the ECNL teams at that age as well). The best '02 team is Smyrna. The best '03 team is Dalton. Etc. etc. Are they the best because they're playing against 2nd/3rd tier teams? The KSAs and Daltons can go on play with RPL or whomever they want to play against...it would be better competition for them. It doesn't make sense for 2nd/3rd tier teams to travel like that, for the clubs that do not have DA/ECNL it will not be an issue. Two things here: 1) Because of the quantity of quality players in the mega clubs, being 2nd or 3rd tier can still be a high level, thus, these smaller club teams may be the best not because of the fact the are playing these 2nd and 3rd tier teams, but just because they are simply they earned it. 2) If it doesn't "make sense for 2nd/3rd tier teams to travel like that", why would it make sense for the smaller clubs to have to travel. I'm sure the parents of those teams want the same thing... Top quality competition without having to travel like they did in RPL. So why exclude them when they can play on that level?
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Post by atlsoccer on Feb 23, 2018 13:15:44 GMT -5
So how are the big clubs going to handle this -- will UFA/concorde/SSA be creating another single unified team with tryouts across all their locations to field a single 2nd team for example in all age groups? The other issue is it takes these kids out of the Georgia soccer system, so they can then be used as players on the lower teams in state cup and kind of defeat the purpose in a way. I think this will simply fall to the next best after DA/ECNL. SSA will be most interesting because they are more spread out than anyone and do not have DA/ECNL (except at the younger age groups for DA).
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Post by SoccerMom on Feb 23, 2018 13:18:43 GMT -5
I have heard its only 5 clubs and not 6. Maybe they're talking about SSA? I didn't ask
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Post by atlsoccer on Feb 23, 2018 13:20:54 GMT -5
So my daughter is on the third team - DA/SRPL/A - but they finished top of their bracket last fall. If all this comes to pass it sounds as if the SRPL team will play in the new league and there may be no promotion for the A team that fought hard all season to finish first. Is that correct? That is what it sounds like. I am not sure how the mega-clubs can say this is to much travel for our 2nd team and move them to the new league, then say it is okay for the 3rd team to play RPL.
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Post by soccerlegacy on Feb 23, 2018 13:25:38 GMT -5
So my daughter is on the third team - DA/SRPL/A - but they finished top of their bracket last fall. If all this comes to pass it sounds as if the SRPL team will play in the new league and there may be no promotion for the A team that fought hard all season to finish first. Is that correct? Unfortunately, that is probably so... I'm sure that is tough to take, I can only imagine the disappointment she might feel.
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Post by Soccerhouse on Feb 23, 2018 13:33:03 GMT -5
Sounds like from SoccerMom these clubs will no longer participate in RPL, so even if they earn the spot they will decline it etc. The main problem is I could easily see one team being highly competitive for a specific age group and the others not being and hence the kids could be playing 8 to 10 games a year that aren't competitive at all. I don't care if a single college coach ever attends an RPL event again. there was much more to rpl then college recruiting, it was an opportunity to earn a spot to regional and compete for a championship. Unfortunately state cups/regional/ and even national championships have become a thing of the past. I just think its ironic for a club to play rpl, and then also have the teams play in a crappy NPL league that requires travel, but then complain about the RPL travel. I've heard now even the u15 DA group will not be playing a playoff in June, but rather a showcase format. We are so anti results, we've taking competition out of our competitions! The summary here is RPL had a chance to create something special and they mismanaged it over the years and dropped the ball. Seems these clubs should just pull all their teams from Georgia Soccer then. Will be interesting to see/hear the process on how they decide to accept new teams/clubs into this coalition also. Very interesting times. Long live youth soccer. Are other states this crazy.......?
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Post by atlsoccer on Feb 23, 2018 14:02:10 GMT -5
So my daughter is on the third team - DA/SRPL/A - but they finished top of their bracket last fall. If all this comes to pass it sounds as if the SRPL team will play in the new league and there may be no promotion for the A team that fought hard all season to finish first. Is that correct? Unfortunately, that is probably so... I'm sure that is tough to take, I can only imagine the disappointment she might feel. Regardless, are the interesting question will be are teams in this situation going to stay or will they leave for another club with the opportunity to play RPL? Is that something you think your team would consider?
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Post by Keeper on Feb 23, 2018 21:28:54 GMT -5
Just another reason to scrap the entire Select program from 13U to 15U and require clubs to play academy style until 16U. 7v7 from 9U to 12U, then 9v9 from 13U to 15U. Completely focus on development and if you want trophies go spend extra money at tournaments.
This Big 5/6 split for their version of champions league is only good in that it’s going to cause a US youth Soccer civil war because they won’t be the only mega clubs doing it.
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Post by rifle on Feb 23, 2018 21:45:51 GMT -5
How did USSF and states lose credibility and get pushed aside by US Club Soccer? I ask because ONE single table with the standout teams qualifying for regionals then nationals sounds pretty simple...
But then US Club comes along with a better idea.. then USSF doubles down and pushes back against US Club success, starts DA. Yet another league that declares itself the best, but competes separately.
All the while clubs have to choose (not qualify on merit). Such a clown show.
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Post by touchlinedad on Feb 24, 2018 15:39:36 GMT -5
How did USSF and states lose credibility and get pushed aside by US Club Soccer? I ask because ONE single table with the standout teams qualifying for regionals then nationals sounds pretty simple... But then US Club comes along with a better idea.. then USSF doubles down and pushes back against US Club success, starts DA. Yet another league that declares itself the best, but competes separately. All the while clubs have to choose (not qualify on merit). Such a clown show. A clown show, indeed. This is all about U.S. Club Soccer vs. U.S. Youth Soccer and the big clubs wanting more control. If RPL is poorly run, then don't participate and or try fixing it. None of this has anything to do with playing soccer or player development. This is all about business and getting more parents to part with more money in search of an "elite" league for their children. And parents will go for it. I remember Will Parchman wrote that part of the problem in youth development is that U.S. Club and U.S. Youth hate each other and U.S. Soccer won't do anything about it. Well, this is a sign that it's only getting worse.
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Post by ultimatedad on Feb 26, 2018 15:38:24 GMT -5
Interesting that you brought up "rec" because that was my first impression after hearing about the concept. Not that there is anything wrong with rec. Many players belong there. I wonder if players wanting more than rec will abandon the " top 5" for clubs that will give them more then the rec experience. This could be a great help to the smaller clubs looking to pick off talent from the larger clubs that have given up on players. Are there any parents out there that would considering pulling their kids from a mega club to a smaller club that would put more value on their kids ability?
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Post by Deleted on Feb 26, 2018 15:45:27 GMT -5
I get the purpose, no reason for some of these teams to be traveling for competition. But then just play classic I etc and turn down rpl. simple.
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Post by ultimatedad on Feb 26, 2018 16:18:57 GMT -5
If only there was no ECNL. That is the entity that screws up the system. GA soccer should exclude clubs from the academy, select and RPL competitions that have ECNL. Let them make their own league and see how they do. I think it is time to call the US club soccer bluff.
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Post by zizou on Feb 26, 2018 17:26:00 GMT -5
If only there was no ECNL. That is the entity that screws up the system. GA soccer should exclude clubs from the academy, select and RPL competitions that have ECNL. Let them make their own league and see how they do. I think it is time to call the US club soccer bluff. Perhaps you could elaborate on how ECNL "screws up the system?" And what exactly is "the US club (sic) soccer bluff?"
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Post by mightydawg on Feb 26, 2018 17:50:55 GMT -5
If only there was no ECNL. That is the entity that screws up the system. GA soccer should exclude clubs from the academy, select and RPL competitions that have ECNL. Let them make their own league and see how they do. I think it is time to call the US club soccer bluff. Say hello to antitrust lawsuit.
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Post by soccerparent02 on Feb 26, 2018 19:42:40 GMT -5
ECNL and ODP give very competitive play to kids not wanting to be bound to DA's archaic rule of no high school soccer. Teams from Georgia did well versus teams from other states btw.
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Post by Keeper on Feb 26, 2018 19:56:18 GMT -5
I get the purpose, no reason for some of these teams to be traveling for competition. But then just play classic I etc and turn down rpl. simple. You can’t just turn down R3PL, if Ga Soccer needs a team and feels your team is at a higher level then Athena A or Classic 1 then you have to play RPL or they won’t accept the team. It happens quite a bit with teams that are maybe 3rd or 4th place or do too well at State Cup and the other states can’t fill out their RPL requirements.
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Post by SoccerMom on Feb 27, 2018 12:08:27 GMT -5
I get the purpose, no reason for some of these teams to be traveling for competition. But then just play classic I etc and turn down rpl. simple. You can’t just turn down R3PL, if Ga Soccer needs a team and feels your team is at a higher level then Athena A or Classic 1 then you have to play RPL or they won’t accept the team. It happens quite a bit with teams that are maybe 3rd or 4th place or do too well at State Cup and the other states can’t fill out their RPL requirements. Yes you can turn down RPL, no team or club can be forced to do it. that is why GA used to get so many spots cause other states could sometimes only fill 1 team and in GA everyone wanted that RPL spot even if they hadn't "earned it"
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Post by Soccerhouse on Feb 27, 2018 13:27:19 GMT -5
Yea a few years ago UFA eagles turned down a spot and it went to UFA-Norcross instead.
This is exactly what shouldn't have been allowed.
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Post by alacrity174 on Feb 27, 2018 15:09:41 GMT -5
So my daughter is on the third team - DA/SRPL/A - but they finished top of their bracket last fall. If all this comes to pass it sounds as if the SRPL team will play in the new league and there may be no promotion for the A team that fought hard all season to finish first. Is that correct? That is what it sounds like. I am not sure how the mega-clubs can say this is to much travel for our 2nd team and move them to the new league, then say it is okay for the 3rd team to play RPL. Thee is no promotion out of Ath A though, unless you win or place in State Cup. That hasn't changed.
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