wyona
Jr. Academy
Posts: 44
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Post by wyona on Apr 19, 2018 14:24:13 GMT -5
Maybe Greg Hoover could officiate the bout???
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Post by oraclesfriend on Apr 19, 2018 15:40:05 GMT -5
I agree the double age group is an issue too. We have a friend on an 03 team that may not make the 02/03. She doesn't care about high school but she cares that the team that she has been with for 3 years is going to get split up and she is potentially getting left behind and losing the college exposure. She is worried about getting cut. Something that has never happened to her. I would also love to see single age groups for everything, but didn't this split already happen to a lot of kids though when the age mandate came into effect? Some teams were affected by that more than others. This girl was an 03 and a January birthday and her team was already 90% 03's. Plus while teams get split up from time to time with players coming and going and the age group mandate did that somewhat too, this is different since the top team will be the best girls born in all of 2002 and 2003, not the best girls born between August 1 2002 and July 31 2003. So by definition some really good girls are going to get cut. Girls who have always been on the top team will be on the 1 1/2 team (that is what I call it).
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Post by aliensource on Apr 19, 2018 17:05:54 GMT -5
neymarscleats . Yeah... I was a little harsh and I apologize. I tried to direct the shizat talk at the action you took not at you and it's a thinly veiled thing for me to try and get away with. I agree with you about club allegiance but we differ on the coach thing. I know what it's like to be wronged by a club or two. And most of the upper end at Concorde are poaching recruiter trash who development is a foreign word. I don't see how telling people that Greg B is holding back on info to everybody about ECNL v DA status is him spinning lies for the man. He's in the same boat. Srsly If we have kids playing together lets talk it out I would love to compare notes on what we know with parents who are in this oh so f'd up club scrum.
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Post by rifle on Apr 20, 2018 6:16:41 GMT -5
This is comedy. The coach email said nothing useful... while still being better than 98% of club communication I have seen in ten years.
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Post by aliensource on Apr 20, 2018 7:58:59 GMT -5
Last time I will reference that email or that coach....PROMISE. I don't agree with the thought that email said nothing. What it says is pay attention to the landscape because ECNL v DA is happening around the country and there is a high probability Concorde will drop DA next season. The timing of sending that email is really important for this age group at that club because of the absolute amount of straight up fudgeery that some top team coaches get away with there.
On the boys side ECNL makes way way more sense in this market because all the clubs will form a line behind ATLUTD for all the top talent.
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Post by SoccerMom on Apr 20, 2018 9:07:22 GMT -5
Last time I will reference that email or that coach....PROMISE. I don't agree with the thought that email said nothing. What it says is pay attention to the landscape because ECNL v DA is happening around the country and there is a high probability Concorde will drop DA next season. The timing of sending that email is really important for this age group at that club because of the absolute amount of straight up fudgeery that some top team coaches get away with there. On the boys side ECNL makes way way more sense in this market because all the clubs will form a line behind ATLUTD for all the top talent. Now I know you're kidding... that email said ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. It was a bunch of smoke up parents butts, it was laughable I’m sure that some official notice will come out with what the plan is (or there won’t be a notice at all and the club will have both DA and ECNL next year) and once or if there’s an update to give on the matter, I’ll be sure to keep you all posted.
it basically says, you may or may not hear from us...but stop asking because we don't know anymore than you do
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Post by Soccerhouse on Apr 20, 2018 10:06:16 GMT -5
This is usually the only emails I get from coaches or clubs so consider yourself special!
“Your automated payment did not go through, please arrange payment of your balance or your kids player card will be removed and they cannot train or play this weekend .......”
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Post by neymarscleats on Apr 20, 2018 10:06:32 GMT -5
Now I know you're kidding... that email said ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. It was a bunch of smoke up parents butts, it was laughable I’m sure that some official notice will come out with what the plan is (or there won’t be a notice at all and the club will have both DA and ECNL next year) and once or if there’s an update to give on the matter, I’ll be sure to keep you all posted.
it basically says, you may or may not hear from us...but stop asking because we don't know anymore than you doFAKE NEWS! This email from the coach was a whole lotta nothing! It was presented here for all to see what the behemoth CF is letting their parents know at this snapshot in time. Which is still nothing. And if you are gleaning anything from it, then let's let it out for the world to see. Nothing has changed from it. The coach is still anonymous and if you are truly in this battle as a parent and advocate for your child, then all information however it is acquired should be beneficial to all parents. So I don't know if the perceived conflict here in this portion of the forum is due to the information (or lack of) or the posting and releasing of it. Either way, we all should know everything and the clubs are not telling us until they are ready. (They know!) This isn't Hillary's emails for goodness sakes.
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Post by neymarscleats on Apr 20, 2018 10:10:32 GMT -5
Sorry I didn't reply well on the prior post:
FAKE NEWS! This email from the coach was a whole lotta nothing! It was presented here for all to see what the behemoth CF is letting their parents know at this snapshot in time. Which is still nothing. And if you are gleaning anything from it, then let's let it out for the world to see. Nothing has changed from it. The coach is still anonymous and if you are truly in this battle as a parent and advocate for your child, then all information however it is acquired should be beneficial to all parents. So I don't know if the perceived conflict here in this portion of the forum is due to the information (or lack of) or the posting and releasing of it. Either way, we all should know everything and the clubs are not telling us until they are ready. (They know!) This isn't Hillary's emails for goodness sakes.
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Post by Soccerhouse on Apr 20, 2018 10:17:23 GMT -5
I think you are making a good point and is one of the major challenges/obstacles/issues with pay to play --
What is the obligation of the club to communicate with its customers. And yes, we are paying to play, we/us/our kids are paying customers.
All people want it, is to be communicated with. Maybe that message is simple -- we can't tell you anything right now, but outlines the possible next steps and alternatives and states that I assure when we have a clear answer, we will communicate that in a timely manner.
We are all in this together -- when I see 'we' i mean, parents, players, coaches and clubs. WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER.
(Atlanta United is not part of this discussion, while communication should be a priority, they can do what they want, they are paying thousands for each kid)
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Post by fridge on Apr 20, 2018 10:21:55 GMT -5
Not much news here and it is barely moving the ball forward and I am totally betraying trust but this forum has maintained anonymity of its members and I hate all clubs for their primary role in the toxicity of our environment (while recognizing our role in it as well), here is an email from the CF coach today: "Soooooo.. it’s begun at this time of year. ECNL just sent an email out with 79 “All-in” clubs. That simply means those are the clubs that ONLY have ECNL. We (and TopHat who is also not on that list) still have ECNL and DA currently but there have been major clubs that have pulled out of DA recently (PDA, Michigan Hawks, Seattle Reign) so the landscape is changing a bit. ECNL and DA are currently jockeying for supremacy at the moment. I’ve been in talks with Gregg and the directors and they are going to do what they feel is best for the girls exposure wise (college recruiting) and competition wise. The club currently has options, which is very good. I’m sure that some official notice will come out with what the plan is (or there won’t be a notice at all and the club will have both DA and ECNL next year) and once or if there’s an update to give on the matter, I’ll be sure to keep you all posted. Feel free to reach out to me with any questions you may have. Hope everyone is doing well!"
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Post by fridge on Apr 20, 2018 10:32:46 GMT -5
Wow, what’s the problem with the reported email from the CF coach? It says the following: (1) lots of drama between DA and ECNL; (2) ECNL has made an announcement highlighting its “all-in” clubs which doesn’t include CF; (3) CF is weighing its options which will be dictated by the best interests of the girls; and (4) when a decision is made about an opt out of one or the other, CF will announce it. At least CF communicated something! Based on what I know, there is lots going on behind the scenes as there are another 8 or so highly respected clubs doing both DA/ECNL and these clubs are waiting to see if ECNL is going to force them to make a decision—ECNL or DA. ECNL has not given an answer either way and so, no real decision. It looks like ECNL is trying to take the group down one by one (PDA, Mass Stars, etc) as its leverage increases as each club concedes DA. I think it is a very hard decision if CF has to decide between one or the other. Pros and cons for both. And so, I don’t think it has anything concrete to share besides what was stated in the reported email.
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Post by zizou on Apr 20, 2018 11:01:25 GMT -5
The level of vitriol this topic is producing probably reflects the level of stress the fluidity and uncertainty this situation created. So everyone probably deserves a bit of a pass. Everything will settle down at some point. This really is not life and death; it is a really cool game that our kids happen to love to play.
Full disclosure. Our kids play ECNL. They happen to like their club and coaches. I am okay with their club and coaches; they have been good and fair with our kids. At this point, we would not change just because there is a new league. They already have 4 training sessions per week if there are not weekend matches and have another day of intensive strength and speed work. The coaches have worked to all get at least B licenses. They have a training plan of which the parents and players are informed. They have 10-month programming if players want it, including additional matches against local college teams and going to showcases. What else would we be buying? That being said, if our club had gone the GDA route and our kids had made the rosters we also would not have switched clubs just because the patch switched. Let me make it clear we have no illusions that our kids will make a YNT or will play professionally. They love playing and believe they would like to continue playing in college. So I do not understand the pressure of thinking that your kid is in the YNT conversation and then having to make a decision based on a set of beliefs espoused by our governing body (by the way, which is totally inappropriate from my perspective). All I know is that even if you think your kid is in that conversation, the chances are very very low. If you have not been in the pool from U-14 the chances are really low because there is tremendous carryover through the birth years in who ends up getting selected in later years. When only 1-2 players per birth year get to the Senior side you are really talking pipe dream. You have to be what the Federation considers the single best player in your birth year in the entire United States. So for most (one could nearly say all) girls in any league anywhere, they and their parents need to be realistic about the end game from pretty early on.
I somehow significantly reduced FOMO when the older one got to U-15 (not that I did not have it before!). But this is tough. The involved organizations have done parents and players no favors. I know many of us have listened to AH give her sales pitch in various contexts. Her style does not resonate with our clan. We find Christian Lavers to be a way more reasonable sounding dude, and sounding reasonable, flexible, and erudite goes a long way toward creating goodwill, especially when actions and words match. That does not mean his organization is a shining beacon of virtue, just that his approach goes a long way toward making us feel comfortable.
I must say the concerns raised by the clubs that just departed GDA would be our concerns if our kids were in that league. I find it interesting that those club DOCs said they had conversations with GDA administration for some time about these concerns and it sounded like the GDA administration was unwilling to be flexible. Their prerogative, but you cannot be losing clubs that have the number of YNT players those clubs have and then just replace them with other clubs of significantly lower accomplishment and then market yourself as THE pathway for anything. Every league has problems, but you also cannot have your supposed pinnacle league where a whole club travels some distance to play games and then have the hosting club not be able to field teams. You also cannot have clubs in your pinnacle league that gets annihilated by a combined 40 goals over 4 games in one weekend. I do not know if those problems will be fixed next season, but you could understand a club getting frustrated when these types of structural deficiencies were not problems previously.
The thing with this coach email, from my perspective, is that it really was unnecessary and probably created more anxiety. It intimated to me that there is no status quo. That is really unsettling and leads you to wonder if they really have a long-term plan, a set of beliefs that drive what they are doing to develop their players (who are children in an educational setting, by the way). They may have such a plan, but this was just a tactical error. That happens. If so, they will probably correct the things quickly. If not, the email said we do not know what we are going to be doing. If that was our club, I would feel the players and parents deserved final resolution immediately. Otherwise, it is only the club preserving their best interests, not those of the consumer, who, again, happen to be children that want to play a game that they love.
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Post by Futsal Gawdess on Apr 20, 2018 11:15:42 GMT -5
Zizou, very well stated and said. Great points and an honest reflection of your experience. Thanks for sharing your insights.👏👏👏
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Post by SoccerMom on Apr 20, 2018 11:18:17 GMT -5
Wow, what’s the problem with the reported email from the CF coach? It says the following: (1) lots of drama between DA and ECNL; (2) ECNL has made an announcement highlighting its “all-in” clubs which doesn’t include CF; (3) CF is weighing its options which will be dictated by the best interests of the girls; and (4) when a decision is made about an opt out of one or the other, CF will announce it. At least CF communicated something! Based on what I know, there is lots going on behind the scenes as there are another 8 or so highly respected clubs doing both DA/ECNL and these clubs are waiting to see if ECNL is going to force them to make a decision—ECNL or DA. ECNL has not given an answer either way and so, no real decision. It looks like ECNL is trying to take the group down one by one (PDA, Mass Stars, etc) as its leverage increases as each club concedes DA. I think it is a very hard decision if CF has to decide between one or the other. Pros and cons for both. And so, I don’t think it has anything concrete to share besides what was stated in the reported email. My point is...that the parent posted the email...no biggie. Then someone got seriously offended because it was posted and coach outed, when that was not what happened. So unless that person is the one who wrote the email...then I don't understand why they took it so personal. Trust me when I tell you that email has made its rounds outside of this forum already, so its not like its a big secret either. Maybe I am lucky, I don't know, but I don't get this horrible lack of communication from my kid's coach like some of you describe. When I have a question, I just ask WE as parents need to stick together, and what works for some may not work for others, but for the most part, we all just want what is best for our kids
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Post by fridge on Apr 20, 2018 12:07:18 GMT -5
Zizou I respect your thoughts/opinions over past posts, but respectfully I think you are extrapolating too much from a simple email trying to acknowledge an issue and giving the customer a status—even if the status is “no determination.” Heck, look at how many posts have occurred over the past few days on this topic and all the speculation and angst that has occurred. ECNL told DA clubs at the beginning of this year that it likely would force clubs to decide DA or ECNL at the end of this season especially if they weren’t in the top tier of teams. So far, ECNL has not followed through on that announcement—likely because it is trying to get a tipping point of converting clubs of leverage before doing so. The fact this coach wrote an email ack. the issue is in no way a reflection as to whether the club “really has a long term plan.” CF is carefully considering how DA v. ECNL fits into the long term plan. I have similar experience in GA soccer as you with a total of about 30 years in the aggregate and 2 kids playing D1. If hired to tell CF to choose DA or ECNL, I truly don’t know what I would tell the club. It is a very serious issue with long term consequences.
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Post by SoccerMom on Apr 20, 2018 12:17:05 GMT -5
I don't think its that simple a decision for CF to make, because they have both boys and girls. Do any of these clubs that left have boys DA? I am not aware of the logistics, but I wonder if they can just give up one side and not the other? I would think that ECNL would like to stay aboard for both genders
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Post by atlsoccer on Apr 20, 2018 12:26:01 GMT -5
Wow, what’s the problem with the reported email from the CF coach? It says the following: (1) lots of drama between DA and ECNL; (2) ECNL has made an announcement highlighting its “all-in” clubs which doesn’t include CF; (3) CF is weighing its options which will be dictated by the best interests of the girls; and (4) when a decision is made about an opt out of one or the other, CF will announce it. At least CF communicated something! Based on what I know, there is lots going on behind the scenes as there are another 8 or so highly respected clubs doing both DA/ECNL and these clubs are waiting to see if ECNL is going to force them to make a decision—ECNL or DA. ECNL has not given an answer either way and so, no real decision. It looks like ECNL is trying to take the group down one by one (PDA, Mass Stars, etc) as its leverage increases as each club concedes DA. I think it is a very hard decision if CF has to decide between one or the other. Pros and cons for both. And so, I don’t think it has anything concrete to share besides what was stated in the reported email. My point is...that the parent posted the email...no biggie. Then someone got seriously offended because it was posted and coach outed, when that was not what happened. So unless that person is the one who wrote the email...then I don't understand why they took it so personal. Trust me when I tell you that email has made its rounds outside of this forum already, so its not like its a big secret either. Maybe I am lucky, I don't know, but I don't get this horrible lack of communication from my kid's coach like some of you describe. When I have a question, I just ask WE as parents need to stick together, and what works for some may not work for others, but for the most part, we all just want what is best for our kids I will say I personally do not have a problem with the email being posted, but while the coach was not announced, I can't imagine Concorde has more than 4-8 ecnl coaches. I might have just left it to an ECNL coach and left the club off to give a little more anonymity. Either way, we can all agree we have come a long way from the old forum! I also don't have strong feels on the communication or lack of at this point. As someone mentioned, this email could have added to the stress and uncertainty. Especially with parents that are not as informed as those on this forum. Obviously, we all want to know when a decision is made and know with at least a week or two in advance of tryouts, but we are weeks/months away from that at the moment. I don't believe Concorde, Tophat, or a large number of other clubs around the county actually know what they are going to do yet. Even if they do plan to drop out of DA, would it be this year or next, just for girls or for boys as well, will there be repercussions from the federation? There are a lot of variables and I don't think anything is finalized. I disagree that saying the club doesn't have a clear philosophy (not that I think Concorde does) if because they have not made a decision and announced it to the world just yet. I'd equate that to me and my son not having a clear idea if I will move clubs/teams next fall. There are too many moving parts for it to be that cut and dry. With all that said, I would love to know what is and isn't being considered.
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Post by zizou on Apr 27, 2018 8:28:14 GMT -5
Another big club, Indiana Fire, leaves GDA and returns to ECNL. Notice they do not say "more announcements to come" in this press release. They are pretty media savvy so maybe this is it for this season. But who knows? They have been doing this as a drip, drip, drip, I am sure to create a certain impression. Three more clubs "All in" for ECNL
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Post by novicebutajunky on Apr 27, 2018 10:11:46 GMT -5
Good to see. To me it makes much more sense having experienced both now. ECNL is set up much better for development and doesn't limit player participation in matches like DA does as well as allowing girls to play HS. I remember last year many dismissed the idea of girl's and HS soccer but it is a factor as well.
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Post by SoccerMom on Apr 27, 2018 19:49:27 GMT -5
Another big club, Indiana Fire, leaves GDA and returns to ECNL. Notice they do not say "more announcements to come" in this press release. They are pretty media savvy so maybe this is it for this season. But who knows? They have been doing this as a drip, drip, drip, I am sure to create a certain impression. Three more clubs "All in" for ECNLIndiana leaving makes sense. I heard their top team was playing ECNl and their 2nd team DA. The other two are newly added
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Post by zizou on Apr 28, 2018 9:40:24 GMT -5
Another big club, Indiana Fire, leaves GDA and returns to ECNL. Notice they do not say "more announcements to come" in this press release. They are pretty media savvy so maybe this is it for this season. But who knows? They have been doing this as a drip, drip, drip, I am sure to create a certain impression. Three more clubs "All in" for ECNLIndiana leaving makes sense. I heard their top team was playing ECNl and their 2nd team DA. The other two are newly added They were not in ECNL this past year. They had been in ECNL previously. They are dropping GDA and returning to ECNL.
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Post by newposter on Apr 28, 2018 10:46:34 GMT -5
Another big club, Indiana Fire, leaves GDA and returns to ECNL. Notice they do not say "more announcements to come" in this press release. They are pretty media savvy so maybe this is it for this season. But who knows? They have been doing this as a drip, drip, drip, I am sure to create a certain impression. Three more clubs "All in" for ECNLIndiana leaving makes sense. I heard their top team was playing ECNl and their 2nd team DA. The other two are newly added Great points
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Post by zizou on Apr 28, 2018 11:38:15 GMT -5
Indiana leaving makes sense. I heard their top team was playing ECNl and their 2nd team DA. The other two are newly added Great points See above. They did not have ECNL last year. It is very hard to keep track without a scorecard these days.
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Post by SoccerMom on Apr 28, 2018 11:44:09 GMT -5
See above. They did not have ECNL last year. It is very hard to keep track without a scorecard these days. Lol i know. So many teams, its getting hard to keep up. We need a chart
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