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Post by oraclesfriend on Apr 17, 2019 18:03:46 GMT -5
It doesn't matter if BUSA recruits from Huntsville to Mobile and Columbus to Tuscaloosa. Few people will relocate to put their kid at a soccer club. Few people will drive more than an hour each way for club soccer. One would think that with BUSA and VH near each other, only 1 club would be on top, but that's not the case. Strategically placed regional locations based on population seems (TO ME AT LEAST) to be the best way to build elite teams. if you parked an alliance in Peachtree City and recruited from CSC/East AL/AFC/SSA South/MOBA, I am positive you could field an elite team at every age group, but we've been through this. I think you are underestimating what people will do to give their elite kids the best soccer opportunity. I was just talking to a Pensacola parent who said that several girls from their club drive to Atlanta for their kids to DP for ECNL clubs. Also I met a kid from Hilton Head SC who drove to CESA to play ECNL. She did it her junior and senior year and then played college at Clemson. |
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Post by atlfutboldad on Apr 17, 2019 18:19:57 GMT -5
I dont even get how that works.
Hilton Head to CESA is a 3.5 hour drive eash way. Leave school at 3, get to practice at 6:45, practice til 8:30, get home at midnight. Repeat 3x a week?
Pensacola to Atlanta is 5 hours each way...?
Unless these coaches dont require you practice with the team.
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Post by oraclesfriend on Apr 17, 2019 18:44:00 GMT -5
I dont even get how that works. Hilton Head to CESA is a 3.5 hour drive eash way. Leave school at 3, get to practice at 6:45, practice til 8:30, get home at midnight. Repeat 3x a week? Pensacola to Atlanta is 5 hours each way...? Unless these coaches dont require you practice with the team. The girl in Hilton Head went once per week to practice with CESA and went to all of their games. She practiced the other two days with a local team. The DP kids don't have to practice every day. Most go once per week. I guess they just miss school??? We did not get into that detail much. I know other DP kids that only train once per week with the ECNL team and train the rest with their local team. Their drive is less though. |
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Post by atlsoccerdad on Apr 18, 2019 8:59:32 GMT -5
I heard rumors that the facility was split up after the divorce... the indoor facility and the outdoor fields were granted to separate legal entities... making any interest from other clubs unlikely. I could be wrong... Wife got the land and fixed assets and husband maintained ownership of GA Rush and in-place lease. So ex wife is the landlord and Rush (the board via lease) is the tenant. This is the issue where the long term viability of this club at this location is in jeopardy. I'll give you an example - last year the tenant, Rush, needed to water the fields as the grass was dying. They use the creek that runs along side as a water source but they needed more water. Who is going to put in a new irrigation system? The owner who is already over-leveraged and has no interest in putting in this high cost capital improvement? Or the tenant who basically has no cash on hand and would be improving the owners asset? The outcome - no irrigation and fields suffered. And that is only one of the problems. Thanks sportsdad - thats very informative. I am disappointed that Stars / Rush never developed into what it could have become. An indoor facility and nice fields in the middle of a VERY affluent area... so much potential... |
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Post by atlsoccerdad on Apr 18, 2019 9:00:59 GMT -5
Those fields and indoor facility have been there a while. That has got to be the oldest indoor soccer facility in Georgia. Curious, were they a different club before affiliating with Rush? I believe they were called "Stars Soccer Club" |
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Post by hammertime on Apr 26, 2019 12:43:14 GMT -5
BUSA was already in ECNL when they launched Alabama FC. That was a formalization of what was already happening on the ground. Small club players were playing with their local team and moonlighting in BUSA’s ECNL teams or being recruited outright away from the small clubs. Alabama FC wasn’t formed to get the combined group into ECNL. I agree with atlfutboldad, it seems that the situation with BUSA was NOT to form alliances. Within AL, BUSA ECNL has zero competition and that is not right. The result of forming Alabama FC seems to be to destroy the other surrounding clubs and giving competitive kids fewer choices. ECNL should step up and bring a partner club to Alabama FC into the fold. With a small player pool the only way to identify the top players in the state and get them into an optimal training and playing environment is for the clubs to work together. BUSA, I think, realized they didn't have 15-16 deep player pools when they were awarded an ECNL team and hence had to partner with other clubs in AL, FL and MS to create ALFC and use Designated Players. If more clubs were willing to do so there is probably enough talent to have two ECNL alliances. But politics/pride at certain clubs are in play. So, for now, there is no "club" in Alabama that ECNL could bring in that would be even remotely competitive on both boys and girls side and across all age groups. Maybe a team here or there could play their way into ECNL out of MidSouth/SRPL (Vestavia 01 & 04 and USC 05 Boys) but that's not how ECNL is set up unfortunately. |
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Post by hammertime on Apr 26, 2019 12:53:23 GMT -5
I agree with atlfutboldad, it seems that the situation with BUSA was NOT to form alliances. Within AL, BUSA ECNL has zero competition and that is not right. The result of forming Alabama FC seems to be to destroy the other surrounding clubs and giving competitive kids fewer choices. ECNL should step up and bring a partner club to Alabama FC into the fold. With a small player pool the only way to identify the top players in the state and get them into an optimal training and playing environment is for the clubs to work together. BUSA, I think, realized they didn't have 15-16 deep player pools when they were awarded an ECNL team and hence had to partner with other clubs in AL, FL and MS to create ALFC and use Designated Players. If more clubs were willing to do so there is probably enough talent to have two ECNL alliances. But politics/pride at certain clubs are in play. So, for now, there is no "club" in Alabama that ECNL could bring in that would be even remotely competitive on both boys and girls side and across all age groups. Maybe a team here or there could play their way into ECNL out of MidSouth/SRPL (Vestavia 01 & 04 and USC 05 Boys) but that's not how ECNL is set up unfortunately. But I agree...it stinks that there is zero competition. And the gap is going to continue to widen, especially on the boys side. As boys ECNL season heads into it's third season and more and more kids, well really their parents, begin to realize that they should go ahead and commit to the drive at U13 or U14 if their kid really does want to train with the best players. AND so that some other kid doesn't beat them into the system. |
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Post by rifle on Apr 26, 2019 20:32:26 GMT -5
I am disappointed that Stars / Rush never developed into what it could have become. An indoor facility and nice fields in the middle of a VERY affluent area... so much potential... Seems more like proof that affluence isn’t enough. |
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Post by toddga675 on Apr 28, 2019 8:59:56 GMT -5
I am disappointed that Stars / Rush never developed into what it could have become. An indoor facility and nice fields in the middle of a VERY affluent area... so much potential... Seems more like proof that affluence isn’t enough. I cannot ever imagine Ambush merging with Rush. Never happen. I do not think Ambush would ever merge with anyone. However if they did it would not be with a massive organization like Rush. |
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Post by futbolpapa on Apr 28, 2019 10:40:35 GMT -5
Ambush is incredibly well run. Great coaches & leadership. I get the impression they are happy doing their own thing although it may be harder to survive in the future with the mega clubs around them. I guess there will always be those that want the smaller club environment & rightfully so.
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Post by rifle on Apr 28, 2019 10:45:00 GMT -5
Seems more like proof that affluence isn’t enough. I cannot ever imagine Ambush merging with Rush. Never happen. I do not think Ambush would ever merge with anyone. However if they did it would not be with a massive organization like Rush. I agree with that |
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Post by 442player on Jun 9, 2019 19:27:10 GMT -5
What’s the latest on Mike’s Southside Branch? Did he take any teams from Moba?
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Post by Goalkeeper Dad on Jun 9, 2019 20:14:08 GMT -5
Hopefully he took some girls with him also. He had a strong 04 NPL implode as well as a Athena A 03 team. Hopefully he will get that program to full strength. They have a good little program over there
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Post by atlsoccerdad on Jun 9, 2019 23:03:40 GMT -5
What’s the latest on Mike’s Southside Branch? Did he take any teams from Moba? I heard he took two boys teams, but the third (2004) caused a rift among the Southside MOBA parents (trying to get the required number of boys to retain NL status ) and also caused some formal trouble between Rush and MOBA. I guess the team dispersed to MOBA, AFC and Georgia Storm. |
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Post by soccerworld1974 on Jun 11, 2019 9:27:05 GMT -5
Soda Circle back, is there officially a rush Branch now in South of Atlanta?
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Post by 442player on Jun 11, 2019 14:00:41 GMT -5
I heard no teams went with him. I think the 02's went back to AFC and the 04 boys lost a few players to Georgia Storm and a couple to AFC. Not sure what the rest of the 04's are going to do.
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