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Post by soccerlegacy on Apr 17, 2018 14:39:15 GMT -5
Just curious, has anyone heard of rumors going the other way? Dropping ECNL to be exclusively GDA?
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Post by soccerlegacy on Apr 17, 2018 12:50:29 GMT -5
Maybe... just maybe, these clubs that are dropping out made this decision without any input from their members/parents/players, and now after getting feedback, they are changing their tune??
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Post by soccerlegacy on Apr 17, 2018 12:26:06 GMT -5
Could this be from the continually higher prices of tickets? Much like the NFL,where people simply can't afford to go to regular season games without taking out a second mortgage on their home. Just a guess... I know UGA prices are going up yet again.
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Post by soccerlegacy on Apr 16, 2018 11:31:18 GMT -5
Atlanta native. Started rec in 1985 in Cobb. Won rec league. Moved to Canterbury. Won state a few times between Classic 1 and 2. Quest bought Canterbury and we left to go on our own. Random things I remember. - There was a team called the Brookwood steamers who played up an age group. Those kids were fantastic. - Graham Tutt - Going to whatever tournament your parents decided. - Promotion / Relegation between Classic 1 and 2. - A professional indoor soccer league that played out of the omni. - Phone tree's, to let you know what was up. Somehow still more effective than all the tech solutions they have now. - Getting badges from tournaments, they were special. - No promise of playing time, at a much earlier age than today. - Top kids from our team quitting because they lost their umph over time. - Stone mountain had really good club teams back in the late 80's. - Large crowds at soccer games once you got past a couple rounds at state. You must have been just a few years behind me, but I grew up with similar memories: -I played for Graham Tutt on his indoor team which played out of his indoor facility way up in North Cobb off of Hwy 41. (Actually, we won regional over in Lilburn at Mike Balson's indoor facility and went on to the National tournament in California)
-I played for the first club team that started in Cobb County called Cobb Union. Before that there were just rec all-star teams. Cobb Union eventually became NASA out of the Metro North location. -The Liverpool Reds (out of where RYSA now is) was our biggest rival and were really good, although Concorde was right with the two of us. -For out-of-town tournaments there were sometimes host families you would stay with or they would have someone stay with you. That wouldn't seem to "fly" in today's times. Anyone else know of what I'm talking about?
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Post by soccerlegacy on Apr 12, 2018 10:49:51 GMT -5
My vote is for any club that is up by a large number and has either of these two things happen: 1st - The coach of the team that's winning keeps the pressure on and continues to try and run up the score 2nd - The parents of the team winning keep hollering and hooting and calling out for their team to score more goals. I can't stand classlessness like that. There is one particular club that I have seen do this more than most, but that drives me nuts! You think beating a team by as many goals as you're capable of is classless? In Europe, they coach the academy players to play hard for every minute of the game. That means no letting up or throttling back so the score doesn't look so lopsided. I think this is one of the things wrong with American soccer culture; the "everyone gets a participation trophy" mentality. Soccer is a game, a competition. If you are that much better than another team then the score should reflect it. Otherwise, you aren't playing up to your full potential. I know some people disagree with this statement, but trust me, the parents remember the final score much longer than the kids do. Trust me, I am very much the opposite of the "everyone gets a participation trophy" mentality... and I'm talking when it is a truly lopsided game here. I guess here in the US some of us have a different sense of sportsmanship. It's about treating your opponent with some dignity while still having your kids gain something from it. Have the players try new positions, have them work on passing or shooting with the non-dominant foot, make them play it back before going forward, make them pass "x" number of times before the can score... all of these are ways for the player and the team to get something more out of a non-competitive game. You see it in every sport were a game has been decided well before the final whistle. In basketball, the subs will come in off the bench, in football a team will start running the ball on all downs, etc. Heck, in my daughters High School game, our goal keeper wound up playing striker, so what went from a 6-0 lead at half time only wound up being a 9-0 final, which would have been much worse had the coach not been respectful of the other teams inabilities. So, yes, I think it is classless to run up the score on a defenseless team. Beyond that though, is my second point, with the parents screaming to score yet another one... I know the teams my daughters play on all keep their mouths shut when we see that our team is clearly dominating a game. We'll quietly chat about it how we feel for the other team and try not to make as big of a deal when we score yet another one. Edit: I blew right past jash and spectator's responses, but wanted to say I agree with them that you do have to factor in age to some degree as well... but overall, just show some respect to the other team by having some humility. Since the actual topic is "Rank the Parents" ... so I'll keep it to my 2nd point...you really have no issue with parents of the other team screaming their heads off to score yet another goal when the score is something like 7 or 8 to nothing?
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Post by soccerlegacy on Apr 11, 2018 12:41:16 GMT -5
My vote is for any club that is up by a large number and has either of these two things happen:
1st - The coach of the team that's winning keeps the pressure on and continues to try and run up the score
2nd - The parents of the team winning keep hollering and hooting and calling out for their team to score more goals.
I can't stand classlessness like that. There is one particular club that I have seen do this more than most, but that drives me nuts!
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Post by soccerlegacy on Apr 9, 2018 15:08:10 GMT -5
The whole idea is that early puberty is not a good predictor of future success. That's it. It shocks me to see so many people calling it wussification, or trying to protect feelings, or trophies for everyone. Sure, a handful of late bloomers have tremendous success, and some because they are forced to play with kids who, FOR A FEW YEARS are physically more mature than they are. But honestly, most of them get overlooked because they simply aren't physically the same age (developmentally speaking) as their calendar year peers. What could possibly be wrong with normalizing development age for the roughly 5 year period where early onset puberty vs late onset puberty creates artificial differences between players -- differences that will eventually completely disappear? All it can do is give more kids a chance to be seen on a level field and decrease the chances that someone really excellent will slip through the cracks. Well said. Spot on.
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Post by soccerlegacy on Apr 3, 2018 8:13:08 GMT -5
Well -- I was talking about this with someone, they should be more lenient with refs for the younger age groups u8 to u11s and not require annual ref re-certification. Then at u12+, require annual re-certification. Good points. Gag the parents and it will work. FYI my kid quit after being berated and sworn at by U11 Top Hat dads! Real classy folks there -not! As a parent... were you there? The reason I'm asking is that my daughter refs and I have hung around to watch her and pick her up after games. Thankfully she hasn't had anyone "go off" or berate her, but it would be hard to sit back and watch something like that happen to your kid. Have you (or anyone on here) had an experience as a parent of a ref and confronted parents of a game your kid was doing? Again, it hasn't happened to me, but I can easily see it happening at some point with the way some people behave at games. My guess is there has to have been some interesting stories/experiences on this.
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Post by soccerlegacy on Mar 23, 2018 8:41:54 GMT -5
Thanks for the update. Sounds like the intentions were good... still, they need to do more to promote the women's soccer.
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Post by soccerlegacy on Mar 22, 2018 15:07:01 GMT -5
Then again maybe Georgia Soccer should reach out and have a come to Jesus meeting with the Big 5.5 and genuinely listen to their issues with the current system and try to address some or all of the legitimate issues that have been raised on this forum. I understand that the customer is not always right, sometimes they are just plain wrong. However, in this case the service being provided by Georgia Soccer was atrocious enough to get the Big 5.5 up off their behinds to make this happen, and in very short order too. As a business once your customers start to walk, you have to look internally and ask some truly tough questions. The problem is not GA Soccer, its USYS. I'm confused, is it not one in the same?
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Post by soccerlegacy on Mar 21, 2018 10:51:53 GMT -5
Isn't the milton facility some though? 1 to 2 fields. I know it has a nice building, but parking is tight also? Is their more space for growth with fields? From what I understand, Milton has 2 fields (1 grass, 1 turf). It has top-end lighting where you can adjust the brightness as needed and a nice training/clubhouse building... and from what I have told, it owns approx. 14 acres around the facility for growth/expansion. So you could add parking, as well as, field space. Again, good location with talent in the area, I would think they would want to develop that... but what do I know, lol.
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Post by soccerlegacy on Mar 21, 2018 9:07:38 GMT -5
Curious... Are there any other states that are having similar issues like this? I get that each state is unique in it's make up, but there is just so much drama... I didn't know if anyone has heard of craziness like we have going on.
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Post by soccerlegacy on Mar 21, 2018 8:57:02 GMT -5
UFA definitely applied for ECNL. Also the unwritten rule/agreement now is for a club with multiple locations to separate DA/ECNL. So for example, should UFA get ECNL, it will not be run out of Fowler, but more likely Norcross. DA will stay and continue out of Fowler. Finally, at practice today, one of my girlfriends who is in with the leadership of UFA out of Forsyth told me, word on the street is UFA is planning some major project in Forsyth that will dwarf Fowler and Polo combined. Will keep you posted as I know more. Interesting. I had also heard a while ago that UFA had wanted to grow UFA Milton, but that could have cooled off some. I don't know why they wouldn't want to though... It is in a very good location, somewhat centrally located to pull talent away from several clubs, and has very nice facilities with room to grow also. Anyway... Sorry for the hijack, just sounds like you have insight into the UFA goings-on...
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Post by soccerlegacy on Mar 19, 2018 13:13:54 GMT -5
I don't know if anyone has already posted something on this, but just in case they haven't, I thought I'd drop it here for discussion. FIFA is planning on starting a new Women's league involving National teams. "The proposed competition would feature 16 of top women's national teams and begin play as early as November 2019". Here is the link to the article I found about it on the Dirty South Soccer website (for ATL UTD). FIFA Plans to Launch Womens LeagueDefinitely some stuff they would have to work through, but interested to see if this could work.
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Post by soccerlegacy on Mar 16, 2018 15:14:15 GMT -5
Going to be very interesting how these mega clubs determine what players/locations participate in the SCCL. Location of training, selection of players ==== messy messy messy ugly ugly ugly this thing will be sold as the next great thing at these clubs - obviously after DA and ECNL. So long State Cup, now your getting the 3rd teams from UFA, the 4th teams from concorde, the 2nd/3rd teams from NASA/Tophat (boys/girls). So so strange. This will be sold as the next "elite" thing and will still have increased costs equivalent if not more than before. Hmmm... if your at one of the SCCL clubs you have these issues. If your at one of the "not good enough" clubs you still get RPL with a lesser travel distance and therefore, less cost. You just might not get to play against the "Big 5's" 2nd, 3rd, 4th teams at State Cup... if ... Ga Soccer plays hard ball and doesn't allow there involvement.
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Post by soccerlegacy on Mar 16, 2018 14:29:24 GMT -5
I bet if a straw poll were taken, a large majority would be in favor of these: 1. less travel 2. less cost 3. promo/relegation 4. inclusiveness 5. parental relevance ...Specifically speaking of GA Soccer. Anyone else fell free to add to this list if you want. I agree that there are factions out there that might not be on the same page, but not in amounts that are on the side of the Clubs and Associations holding all of the power that impacts our childrens' soccer experience Isn't that the whole point of this new league? at least the 1st two points are. And BTW....the actual name of the league is: Southeastern Clubs Champions League, and the letter originated from Smyrna Soccer Club What I'm saying is that the majority of parents would like GA SOCCER to have these considerations. I get why the "big 5" are doing this, and while those first two are nice selling points for them, I don't trust that they have other motives as well. But we can agree to disagree. BTW, where did you get the name of this Southeastern Clubs Champions League? I haven't seen it anywhere. Is there an announcement somewhere?
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Post by soccerlegacy on Mar 16, 2018 14:00:49 GMT -5
I say the parents (the ones footing the bill) come together and collectively protest with a planned "walkout". Pick a weekend and have nobody show up at the fields... Just birds chirping and sounds of crickets at the fields. Just kidding... kinda !! I know that would never happen, but there has got to be a way to get OUR voices heard about all of this. US Club is doing this, USYS is doing that... how about the paying customer!! This is as big of an example of "the tail wagging the dog" as I have heard of! Problem is that not all parents are on the same page...... I bet if a straw poll were taken, a large majority would be in favor of these: 1. less travel 2. less cost 3. promo/relegation 4. inclusiveness 5. parental relevance ...Specifically speaking of GA Soccer. Anyone else fell free to add to this list if you want. I agree that there are factions out there that might not be on the same page, but not in amounts that are on the side of the Clubs and Associations holding all of the power that impacts our childrens' soccer experience.
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Post by soccerlegacy on Mar 16, 2018 13:09:31 GMT -5
I say the parents (the ones footing the bill) come together and collectively protest with a planned "walkout". Pick a weekend and have nobody show up at the fields... Just birds chirping and sounds of crickets at the fields. Just kidding... kinda !! I know that would never happen, but there has got to be a way to get OUR voices heard about all of this. US Club is doing this, USYS is doing that... how about the paying customer!! This is as big of an example of "the tail wagging the dog" as I have heard of!
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Post by soccerlegacy on Mar 16, 2018 10:31:29 GMT -5
I stated it in the other post and I'll state it again. I still have not seen anything formal that the champions league is going to happen. A lot of smoke so I'm sure there is a fire, but still nothing as far as an official announcement.
Who knows maybe... just maybe, the re-organization of RPL might sway the "big 5" to abandon this effort. Awww, who am I kidding.... if they get yet another leg up on everyone by being able to have unrestricted recruiting, I'm sure that in its self would be worth it.
As guerillaman said, it's a business... and this allows them to drive their competition out of business. This isn't about making great youth soccer players in the state of Georgia.
Side note, I also thought it was going to have AFU in it and not SSA.
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Post by soccerlegacy on Mar 14, 2018 13:49:28 GMT -5
I still haven't found where atlsoccer copied all that from... I followed the link, but it doesn't lay out the "new RPL". The Champions league, or the big-5 or 6 thing, will supposedly be run by U.S. Club Soccer. If that's correct, then the new RPL, run by USYS, is definitely different. First, although there has been more than enough "buzz" around the new "champions league" (btw, what a misnomer calling that if it's restricted to 5 or 6 clubs) I have yet to see anything formal be sent out. Will that even still happen if RPL is trying to make amends and re-organize as this announcement states? Second, if RPL is going to adjust to make more regions and therefore cut down on travel, I wish they would state what those regions are and give a little more than a vague "12 to 18" regions to let us know what that would look like. Third, I have not been involved in RPL, just know something about it from friends and family that have play in it. If they DO re-organize and make it travel-friendly, what is the point of this "champions league"? It sounds like this would be a more fair, competitive league with promotion/relegation. What exactly has RPL run so badly that even this wouldn't appease the critics? (Note: I ask and say all of this only because I have a player that is just getting to age where this is relevant to them.)
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Post by soccerlegacy on Mar 9, 2018 15:51:11 GMT -5
I have one kid in DA and one kid in Academy. Both are held to the same rules if they miss a practice As parents, my wife and I believe in our kids living up to their commitments. We as parents, are responsible for holding our own kids to that commitment and make every effort to make all team functions (games, practices, meetings, etc). Our only excused absence from these would be for illness or if their grades are suffering (school comes first). I have 3 kids playing in Athena A, DA, and Academy, and in the past 3 years, we have missed a total of approx. 6 practices between them. In those missed practices, I have only had one coach punish with playing time. Most of the coaches understood our family's commitment (because the kids didn't get to all those practices driving themselves.. ) and were accepting of the atypical absence.
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Post by soccerlegacy on Mar 9, 2018 11:11:09 GMT -5
It might be nice to state what level you play or coach at when responding to this... From my experience, that will sometimes play a factor in how strictly rules are enforced with missing training/practice. It shouldn't matter really, life lessons and teachable moments should apply to all. That's why so many athletes get in trouble repeatedly because people look the other way because they happen to do something really well . For the record its Athena A level, if it was DA or ECNL I would do the exact same thing. Hey, I understand... and I'm not saying you wouldn't do the same thing, regardless of level... and I agree about the valuable life lessons. I think many of us have our kids involved in sports because of all that you gain beyond what takes place on the field. All I was saying is that there are varying degrees of commitment based on the level of play and therefore I have seen varying degrees of punishment from those levels. Some kids have very active lives outside of soccer and might not make the same commitment as say a DA player. So... my request was to simply state what level are they at, as to what the punishment might be.
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Post by soccerlegacy on Mar 8, 2018 14:29:30 GMT -5
It might be nice to state what level you play or coach at when responding to this...
From my experience, that will sometimes play a factor in how strictly rules are enforced with missing training/practice.
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Post by soccerlegacy on Mar 1, 2018 15:55:38 GMT -5
Saw this today on twitter, and thought it was an interesting group of questions. I could write a dissertation on this topic, on both what my club is and isn't. And what my club used to be and now is....... I'll refrain from hijacking my own thread. My only comment will be this --- in 10 years, I've seen what used to be a great local friendly soccer organization with almost every level available to its "members" almost become an irrelevant soccer club. This is for many reasons, mergers, removal of an executive board, director leaving, and coaches leaving, but most importantly ---- players and families leaving. Why does your youth club exist? What is its goals as an organization? Why do your kids play in it? What does the board want long term? Is it strictly a vehicle to generate profit? Does it just ... exist? Wow... interesting! Love the topic! I'm sure we aren't associated with the same club but yours sound very similar to the one we have been with for the last 10 years as well... It's a great local club, family-oriented, but due to other clubs merging to make mega-clubs, a director and some coaches leaving, and ultimately players and families leaving, it is not as relevant as it once was. Anyway, here is what I think about our clubs' existence: Why does your youth club exist? (see responses below)
What is its goals as an organization? The goals have stayed consistent even with all the upheaval.. family-oriented (want symbiotic relationships), development of the individual player is more important than team wins, attempt to provide a place for every level of player, will do their best to get the player to where he/she wants to get to (unfortunately, it's limited due to the size of the club;but tries their best) Why do your kids play in it? It's local so there is a convenience factor, plus friends from school and the community make it a nice bonding time. It's average-to-below average priced, the club isn't in it for the money as much as some other clubs, and the coaches are solid overall, and just as importantly, they are really accessible. What does the board want long term? They want to develop a well-rounded player that can go as far as that player wishes to go (be that college, Academy, or just a strong Athena or Rec player). It doesn't look for mergers (or at least it hasn't in the past), but they might have to if they want to stay "in the game" and be relevant. Is it strictly a vehicle to generate profit? Nope
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Post by soccerlegacy on Feb 28, 2018 11:28:31 GMT -5
Maybe they make you feel like you can't? Clubs don't like to turn it down because they figured it would attract kids if they had RPL and also its by GA soccer recommendation and maybe didn't want to be blacklisted I do know of one club (that we have been a part of) that has turned down RPL on multiple occasions. The DOC feels it is unnecessary to be sending kids all over the place at young ages and that the financial burden it places on the parents is unnecessary as well. They also don't like to take too many trips out of state for tournaments for the same reason. He feels you can develop a tactically and technically high level player through practice and the competition right here within the state of Georgia.
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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 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 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 soccerlegacy on Feb 22, 2018 11:52:56 GMT -5
Why can't they make just an "RPL-like" league within the state of Georgia using promotion/relegation?? I get that the "big 6" are the only ones with enough power to get something like this set up, but why discount those smaller club teams that have a good squad here or there? They just get excluded?
From what I have heard from some RPL parents over the past couple of years is that they are sick of the travel/cost to play lesser teams that they destroy anyways. Georgia has become big enough and good enough that you can stay right here and have a higher level of competition without the travel. Sure, you could also go play in some of the big showcase tourneys, but keep the rest in state. Again... one of the only things I don't like is what it will do to the more local, smaller clubs by being exclusionary.
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Post by soccerlegacy on Feb 21, 2018 9:49:32 GMT -5
I don't have all the details but I heard they all got fed up how things were being run especially with RPL and theyre going to do their own thing. From what I heard it will minimize travel and parents should like that About. Damn. Time. So feed up with US Soccer and Ga Soccer only looking out for their paychecks. I have heard the same thing, except it is with 6 clubs (the "big 6")... I also heard that it would be announced soon, only I don't know if that means it will be implemented in the fall or just sometime in the next year. So... I guess this will hurt the smaller clubs that have a quality team good enough for RPL, but also not wanting to do all the travel just like the "big 6". I also guess the Mega-clubs will become that much stronger.
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