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Post by SoccerMom on May 6, 2018 19:38:49 GMT -5
It’s too bad they wouldn’t ever let UFA in ecnl in the past. Would have drastically changed the landscape along with tophat getting in sooner. If I’m not mistaken it was Brian Moore from Concorde that made sure it didn’t happen. Funny, I had always heard that Tophat wouldn't let it happen. That was after TH got it lol UFA was blocked always until this year when ENCL told them they could have it if they gave up DA.
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Post by oraclesfriend on May 6, 2018 19:51:23 GMT -5
Funny, I had always heard that Tophat wouldn't let it happen. That was after TH got it lol UFA was blocked always until this year when ENCL told them they could have it if they gave up DA. Yes, but that was ECNL trying to get more of a foothold and beat DA. It should have happened before based on the size, quality and location. AFU and GSA are east side (85 corridor), Concorde and TH central/in town. UFA could have represented the West side (400 corridor). In an area of 5 million people and a soccer Mecca it would have made sense long ago.
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Post by crossbar on May 6, 2018 20:30:33 GMT -5
UFA was blocked always until this year when ENCL told them they could have it if they gave up DA. So is it safe to assume from the current state of affairs that UFA opted to stick with DA instead of ECNL? Or is something still in the works?
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Post by SoccerMom on May 6, 2018 20:48:47 GMT -5
UFA was blocked always until this year when ENCL told them they could have it if they gave up DA. So is it safe to assume from the current state of affairs that UFA opted to stick with DA instead of ECNL? Or is something still in the works? UFA still has GDA
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Post by zizou on May 6, 2018 20:52:28 GMT -5
UFA going ECNL would cause real problems for AFU. This whole thing is absolute craziness. Nearly as crazy as 8 yellows, a red, and a 2-2 draw in El Classico today.
I still think about 6 of the most knowledgeable and level headed members of NGSF could devise a youth development strategy that would supercede anything currently available in the US.
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Post by soccerdaddy on May 6, 2018 21:15:42 GMT -5
UFA going ECNL would cause real problems for AFU. This whole thing is absolute craziness. Nearly as crazy as 8 yellows, a red, and a 2-2 draw in El Classico today. I still think about 6 of the most knowledgeable and level headed members of NGSF could devise a youth development strategy that would supercede anything currently available in the US. Crazy good game! My only fear is our children see the fouling and start doing the same as If it’s Ok do it because Messi was getting revenge for his players.
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Post by crossbar on May 6, 2018 21:17:02 GMT -5
So is it safe to assume from the current state of affairs that UFA opted to stick with DA instead of ECNL? Or is something still in the works? UFA still has GDA Right. I'm aware that they currently have it. It wasn't clear from your post when this offer of "drop DA in return for admittance to ECNL" was made. I guess that's old news by now, and UFA decided to keep DA and skip ECNL? Or is this a more recent development, in which case UFA might still be deciding whether or not to make the move?
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Post by SoccerMom on May 6, 2018 21:26:31 GMT -5
Right. I'm aware that they currently have it. It wasn't clear from your post when this offer of "drop DA in return for admittance to ECNL" was made. I guess that's old news by now, and UFA decided to keep DA and skip ECNL? Or is this a more recent development, in which case UFA might still be deciding whether or not to make the move? When ECNL called and asked a few weeks ago in exchange for dropping GDA, they politely declined.
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Post by Futsal Gawdess on May 6, 2018 21:33:40 GMT -5
What I thought was funny about ECNL was thinking after all the years of keeping UFA out that now UFA would actually jump at the idea of joining ECNL. UFA was willing to keep both, run DA out of Forsyth and ECNL out of Norcross, but when the acceptance to ECNL was contingent on giving up DA, UFA told ECNL to Kick Rocks
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Post by zizou on May 6, 2018 21:36:10 GMT -5
Right. I'm aware that they currently have it. It wasn't clear from your post when this offer of "drop DA in return for admittance to ECNL" was made. I guess that's old news by now, and UFA decided to keep DA and skip ECNL? Or is this a more recent development, in which case UFA might still be deciding whether or not to make the move? When ECNL called and asked a few weeks ago in exchange for dropping GDA, they politely declined. ECNL are obviously feeling confident. Dump the Federation and you can come play with us. Openly and brazenly challenging the governing body.
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Post by Futsal Gawdess on May 6, 2018 21:41:50 GMT -5
They are especially since they are offering a product that parents/girls want. I truly don't have a problem with it. Their product is perfect for a certain segment. There are players who want HS ball and ODP and the options of playing with friends etc. There are others who want to go full on 100% of the time, no ODP, no HS, etc. I think it's great. In a few years thing will settle down and the female soccer landscape will be set. You as a customer can truly then decide what works best for you. I wish USSF and ECNL could have worked together to make this a richer environment for the girls.
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Post by oraclesfriend on May 6, 2018 22:09:38 GMT -5
What I thought was funny about ECNL was thinking after all the years of keeping UFA out that now UFA would actually jump at the idea of joining ECNL. UFA was willing to keep both, run DA out of Forsyth and ECNL out of Norcross, but when the acceptance to ECNL was contingent on giving up DA, UFA told ECNL to Kick Rocks I don't blame them. Kind of insulting that UFA wasn't good enough for them for years but now that DA is threatening their market share they say "hey UFA you can come join us now"
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Post by oraclesfriend on May 6, 2018 22:14:32 GMT -5
They are especially since they are offering a product that parents/girls want. I truly don't have a problem with it. Their product is perfect for a certain segment. There are players who want HS ball and ODP and the options of playing with friends etc. There are others who want to go full on 100% of the time, no ODP, no HS, etc. I think it's great. In a few years thing will settle down and the female soccer landscape will be set. You as a customer can truly then decide what works best for you. I wish USSF and ECNL could have worked together to make this a richer environment for the girls. What ECNL offers is great for most kids. I agree it would have been nice to have the USSF and ECNL work together. Would be great for US Youth and US Club to do it for the next level down too. I will also be interested to see if DA is a more popular choice at the younger ages since many counties in Georgia don't offer middle school soccer plus for the U15 kids that are 8th graders it could help them. I noticed that the ECNL U13 age group only had 7 games maybe for spring not including two showcases. Many fewer games than the DA teams had.
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Post by footy on May 6, 2018 22:21:38 GMT -5
Striking statistic from the DA web site: "Since the start of the inaugural Girls' Development Academy season in September 2017, 70% of the players called into Women's Youth National Team camps are rostered full-time in the Girls' Academy Clubs."
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Post by zizou on May 6, 2018 22:27:51 GMT -5
Striking statistic from the DA web site: "Since the start of the inaugural Girls' Development Academy season in September 2017, 70% of the players called into Women's Youth National Team camps are rostered full-time in the Girls' Academy Clubs." That number was like 85% ECNL last year. I would say that number is difficult to interpret this year.
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Post by Futsal Gawdess on May 6, 2018 22:37:56 GMT -5
Honestly footy it doesn't surprise me. The scouts are paid by US Soccer, in the soccer landscape, DA is supposedly a higher level of play to ECNL, US Soccer personnel have access to the video shot at all DA games. Plus DA is their product. The real questions I have are this: - Is the model for picking players for the NTC/NTP playing in GDA? - The other 30% were these girls that were already in the Nat'l Team Pool that chose not to play DA and are sorta grandfathered in? - Will US Soccer shoot themselves in the foot and quietly only pick players from within the GDA ranks, even though officially they'll never say that (wink, wink)? I hope the last question is a resounding NO! I hope they put their egos aside and put country first by putting the best product on the pitch.
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Post by footy on May 6, 2018 22:41:25 GMT -5
Honestly footy it doesn't surprise me. The scouts are paid by US Soccer, in the soccer landscape, DA is supposedly a higher level of play to ECNL, US Soccer personnel have access to the video shot at all DA games. Plus DA is their product. The real questions I have are this: - Is the model for picking players for the NTC/NTP playing in GDA? - The other 30% were these girls that were already in the Nat'l Team Pool that chose not to play DA and are sorta grandfathered in? - Will US Soccer shoot themselves in the foot and quietly only pick players from within the GDA ranks, even though officially they'll never say that (wink, wink)? I hope the last question is a resounding NO! I hope they put their egos aside and put country first by putting the best product on the pitch. These are great questions. What do you think are the answers to #1 and 3 on the boys' side?
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Post by SoccerMom on May 6, 2018 22:59:24 GMT -5
Honestly footy it doesn't surprise me. The scouts are paid by US Soccer, in the soccer landscape, DA is supposedly a higher level of play to ECNL, US Soccer personnel have access to the video shot at all DA games. Plus DA is their product. The real questions I have are this: - Is the model for picking players for the NTC/NTP playing in GDA? - The other 30% were these girls that were already in the Nat'l Team Pool that chose not to play DA and are sorta grandfathered in? - Will US Soccer shoot themselves in the foot and quietly only pick players from within the GDA ranks, even though officially they'll never say that (wink, wink)? I hope the last question is a resounding NO! I hope they put their egos aside and put country first by putting the best product on the pitch. I have been asking #3 lately. If ECNL wants to go to war, yes US Soccer could strongly recommend they play GDA. I know in the past they have with boys.
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Post by straightred on May 6, 2018 23:17:40 GMT -5
Striking statistic from the DA web site: "Since the start of the inaugural Girls' Development Academy season in September 2017, 70% of the players called into Women's Youth National Team camps are rostered full-time in the Girls' Academy Clubs." That number was like 85% ECNL last year. I would say that number is difficult to interpret this year. It is an interesting metric, but as I pointed out in a different thread five players on the current U17 GNT 20-girl roster come from clubs that recently announced they were All-In with ECNL. 2 more are from CF. NTH also has 2. This probably won't be a metric the USSF brags about on their website going into next season. If (IF!) CF and NTH ditch GDA, that would be 9 out of 20 on the current roster whose clubs just left GDA. I think the rest of the roster is about 50/50 GDA/ECNL... So potentially a big swing back towards the majority of GNT players coming from ECNL.
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Post by Futsal Gawdess on May 7, 2018 0:32:50 GMT -5
Honestly footy it doesn't surprise me. The scouts are paid by US Soccer, in the soccer landscape, DA is supposedly a higher level of play to ECNL, US Soccer personnel have access to the video shot at all DA games. Plus DA is their product. The real questions I have are this: - Is the model for picking players for the NTC/NTP playing in GDA? - Will US Soccer shoot themselves in the foot and quietly only pick players from within the GDA ranks, even though officially they'll never say that (wink, wink)? These are great questions. What do you think are the answers to #1 and 3 on the boys' side? Honestly, I think they will never officially come out and say that, but with a wink and a nod, it will be "suggested" that you go play GDA. Especially if you are an "on the bubble" Nat'l Team type player. If you are a stud/studess then they have no choice but to take what they take. On the boys side of the house it's play DA or play for a professional academy abroad(Europe, South America).
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Post by straightred on May 8, 2018 16:28:23 GMT -5
www.eliteclubsnationalleague.com/2018/05/08/eclipse-select-sc-is-all-in-for-the-2018-2019-season/Just closing the loop on what I had mentioned before about Eclipse leaving. ECNL and Eclipse finally released their news today. With three U17s in the GNT pool and one on the active roster Eclipse must not anticipate any repercussions related to GNT invites and leaving the GDA. They clearly believe the ECNL gives them more flexibility, and I'm sure that flexibility also improves their profitability. I've got to think (and I have heard) there are more big clubs looking to leave. Not trying to stir the pot, but has the NTH leaving GDA been completely put to rest recently? I ask again because I haven't seen anything definitive and they fit the profile of teams leaving.
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Post by oraclesfriend on May 8, 2018 17:00:57 GMT -5
Soccerfan30 said they (Tophat) are keeping Girls DA. Several friends I have at Tophat have been told by coaches that they are keeping DA. I read an interesting post on the so cal forum that they expect girls DA to remain the top program there because "99.99% of parents in California believe their daughters will be one of the 0.1% that will make the national team." I would say that Tophat fits THAT profile.
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Post by Futsal Gawdess on May 8, 2018 19:04:29 GMT -5
oraclesfriend, I too have heard the same thing about TH keeping DA, I have also heard about them getting an AFU style exemption and being allowed to keep ECNL(haven't confirmed that) because of their uncanny ability to perform well in both leagues. Will keep you posted as I hear more.
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Post by oraclesfriend on May 8, 2018 19:10:37 GMT -5
oraclesfriend, I too have heard the same thing about TH keeping DA, I have also heard about them getting an AFU style exemption and being allowed to keep ECNL(haven't confirmed that) because of their uncanny ability to perform well in both leagues. Will keep you posted as I hear more. Tophat has tremendous depth. They are like some of the historic college football programs that would graduate 10 starters and say "we aren't rebuilding, we are reloading." They are a destination club. There are a few other clubs in the country that are like them but not many. If they keep performing in ECNL they will likely be allowed to remain at least for a couple of years while this stuff settles down. That is just an opinion though...no inside knowledge on that.
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Post by Futsal Gawdess on May 8, 2018 19:15:31 GMT -5
I refer to TH as the girls version of AU. They truly are a destination club. I think them being a part of a league, system, division brings instant credibility. That and AU are the only clubs I would think of driving over an hour for to attend practice. Just sayin
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Post by zizou on May 8, 2018 21:29:23 GMT -5
www.eliteclubsnationalleague.com/2018/05/08/eclipse-select-sc-is-all-in-for-the-2018-2019-season/Just closing the loop on what I had mentioned before about Eclipse leaving. ECNL and Eclipse finally released their news today. With three U17s in the GNT pool and one on the active roster Eclipse must not anticipate any repercussions related to GNT invites and leaving the GDA. They clearly believe the ECNL gives them more flexibility, and I'm sure that flexibility also improves their profitability. I've got to think (and I have heard) there are more big clubs looking to leave. Not trying to stir the pot, but has the NTH leaving GDA been completely put to rest recently? I ask again because I haven't seen anything definitive and they fit the profile of teams leaving. This is another huge defection. I still find it amazing these clubs are bucking the Federation. There is no other way to say it. Hawks, PDA, Stars, Eclipse, Indiana Fire, Concorde (we all assume that one is true although there has been no official announcement). Considerable YNT cache in those clubs. They are telling the Federation we think the league, ECNL, in direct competition with GDA is better for us. I don't know whether this is true. I can believe Eclipse was not happy about going to Minnesota to play Shattuck-St. Mary's. At least when NTH has to go play IMG they get to go to Bradenton. One thing that is really strange about that announcement. They say Eclipse are joining "more than 80" other clubs on the "All in" list. Including Eclipse there are only 79 clubs on that list. Hmmm. Are they that bad at math?
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Post by straightred on May 9, 2018 7:33:23 GMT -5
Soccerfan30 said they (Tophat) are keeping Girls DA. Several friends I have at Tophat have been told by coaches that they are keeping DA. I read an interesting post on the so cal forum that they expect girls DA to remain the top program there because "99.99% of parents in California believe their daughters will be one of the 0.1% that will make the national team." I would say that Tophat fits THAT profile. SoCal observation is hilarious, and probably true. If NTH is following the wishes of the parents then good for them.
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Post by straightred on May 9, 2018 7:46:51 GMT -5
www.eliteclubsnationalleague.com/2018/05/08/eclipse-select-sc-is-all-in-for-the-2018-2019-season/Just closing the loop on what I had mentioned before about Eclipse leaving. ECNL and Eclipse finally released their news today. With three U17s in the GNT pool and one on the active roster Eclipse must not anticipate any repercussions related to GNT invites and leaving the GDA. They clearly believe the ECNL gives them more flexibility, and I'm sure that flexibility also improves their profitability. I've got to think (and I have heard) there are more big clubs looking to leave. Not trying to stir the pot, but has the NTH leaving GDA been completely put to rest recently? I ask again because I haven't seen anything definitive and they fit the profile of teams leaving. This is another huge defection. I still find it amazing these clubs are bucking the Federation. There is no other way to say it. Hawks, PDA, Stars, Eclipse, Indiana Fire, Concorde (we all assume that one is true although there has been no official announcement). Considerable YNT cache in those clubs. They are telling the Federation we think the league, ECNL, in direct competition with GDA is better for us. I don't know whether this is true. I can believe Eclipse was not happy about going to Minnesota to play Shattuck-St. Mary's. At least when NTH has to go play IMG they get to go to Bradenton. One thing that is really strange about that announcement. They say Eclipse are joining "more than 80" other clubs on the "All in" list. Including Eclipse there are only 79 clubs on that list. Hmmm. Are they that bad at math? The 79 vs. 80 club thing is just a carry on error. A couple weeks ago when three clubs announced they were All-In their news release spoke of 79 All-In clubs, and for a moment it was 79 as Eclipse appeared on the All-In list that ECNL posted on their site. It quickly came off the list, but a sharp eyed observer got a screen shot and posted it in a different forum. But they never bothered to change their press release to 78 All-In. Now with the eclipse announcement they just carried forward the same error. That said, I have heard there are still several more announcements to come, and it's why I asked about NTH. At the end of the day, if these powerful clubs can still feel secure getting their girls identified and in the GNT pools, they stand to make a lot more money in the ECNL than GDA. From reduced training requirements (3 days v 4), freedom to make their own schedules (and own travel agents). At the end of the day, as these clubs flip back and forth, it will usually be the same coaches coaching, and that has the biggest impact. Take a look at the winter combine the Hawks run for their ECNL teams. It is crazy good for the girls, the list of coaches that attend is ridiculous. Their GDA girls weren't allowed to participate. If you are a club that can produce its own eco-system, flipping to the ECNL seems like a no-brainer, since you have freedom and your bottom line will improve.
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