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Post by soccerlegacy on Feb 19, 2020 10:30:21 GMT -5
As much as I think I might know about the current local soccer scene (and only a little about the region), I occasionally want to take stock of what has happened in recent years (relatively speaking). So I quickly typed these fact-based, bullet points on how Ga. Soccer has gotten to this point in time.
With all of the changes that have taken place, it can easily be confusing to those that don't have the knowledge of where all of what we have today came from. So let me know where I am inaccurate and help others that have kids that are just now entering this crazy.
• USYS (which Ga. Soccer was a part of) used to run what was known as RPL (aka. R3PL) which would place the top two teams from Athena A
• If you did well in the RPL and were the top two there, you earned a spot in the SRPL and competed in the NL.
• The majority of those teams usually wound up being from the Big 5 Clubs (GSA, CF, NTH, UFA, SSA), with a few teams from midsize and smaller clubs tossed in here and there.
• The “Big 5” clubs broke off from from USYS/Ga Soccer and started SCCL, taking their top teams (including those already in RPL) and put them in their new SCCL League.
• USYS, after the creation of the SCCL, changed the name of RPL to NL-Piedmont. It still takes the top teams from Athena A in Georgia and places them in the NL-Piedmont.
*This is excluding the true top teams were in ECNL and then GDA (which only started 3 years ago). Those teams that made it all the way to NL back then, were on the level of the ECNL teams, on average. The difference being, RPL and NL were/are team-based and the ECNL was/is club-based.
Key for acronyms:
RPL= Regional Premier League
SRPL= Southern Regional Premier League
NL= National Premier League
SCCL= Southeastern Clubs Champions League
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Post by atlfutboldad on Feb 19, 2020 11:39:49 GMT -5
The really interesting thing is to follow the mess that has happend in 4 YEARS: 2016 ==== 1-A. ECNL 1-B. R3PL (for top Athena teams) 2. Georgia Soccer (A-E) Super-Y (Adjunct Summer league) South Atlantic NPL (Adjunct season league) 2017 ==== 1-A. DA
1-B. ECNL 2. R3PL 3. Georgia Soccer (A-E) Super-Y (Adjunct Summer league) South Atlantic NPL (Adjunct season league) 2018 ==== 1-A. ECNL 1-B. DA 2-A. NPL 2-B. National League - Piedmont
2-C. SCCL 3. Georgia Soccer (A-C) Super-Y (Adjunct Summer league) 2019 ==== 1-A. ECNL 1-B. DA 2-A. NPL 2-B. DPL 2-C. National League - Piedmont
2-D. SCCL 3-A. SCCL-P 3-B. Georgia Soccer (A-D) Super-Y (Adjunct Summer league) And now...5 years later we will likely have... 2020 ==== 1-A. ECNL 1-B. DA 2-A. NPL 2-B. DPL 2-C. National League - Piedmont
2-D. SCCL 3-A. SCCL-P (1-3) 3-B. Georgia Soccer (GPL?, A-C) SCCL Summer League (Adjunct Summer league) |
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Post by honeybadger on Feb 19, 2020 11:57:25 GMT -5
I think NL and SCCL are comparable. My daughter has played in both. Both are strong at the top and weak at the bottom. Depends on the club, the age, the team.
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Post by mistergrinch on Feb 19, 2020 12:19:14 GMT -5
Don't forget NPL, which several clubs have put teams in above SCCL. I don't expect that to last, but today that's the case. NPL was an adjunct league that expanded to be a full league.
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Post by soccermaxx72 on Feb 19, 2020 12:32:40 GMT -5
The really interesting thing is to follow the mess that has happend in 4 YEARS: 2016 ==== 1. ECNL 2. R3PL (for top Athena teams) 3. Georgia Soccer (A-E) Super-Y (Adjunct Summer league) South Atlantic NPL (Adjunct season league) 2017 ==== 1. DA
2. ECNL 3. R3PL 4. Georgia Soccer (A-E) Super-Y (Adjunct Summer league) South Atlantic NPL (Adjunct season league) 2018 ==== 1. ECNL 2. DA 3. NPL 4. National League - Piedmont
5. SCCL 6. Georgia Soccer (A-C) Super-Y (Adjunct Summer league) 2019 ==== 1. ECNL 2. DA 3. NPL 4. DPL 5. National League - Piedmont
6. SCCL 7. SCCL-P 8. Georgia Soccer (A-D) Super-Y (Adjunct Summer league) And now...5 years later we will likely have... 2020 ==== 1. ECNL 2. DA 3. NPL 4. DPL 5. National League - Piedmont
6. SCCL 7. SCCL-P (1-3) 8. Georgia Soccer (GPL?, A-C) SCCL Summer League (Adjunct Summer league) NPL is not the 3rd best league |
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Post by goldcoast on Feb 19, 2020 12:53:15 GMT -5
Don't forget NPL, which several clubs have put teams in above SCCL. I don't expect that to last, but today that's the case. NPL was an adjunct league that expanded to be a full league. Hearing SSA may be only metro Atlanta club left participating in NPL starting this fall....if they decide to stick with it. |
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Post by soccerlegacy on Feb 19, 2020 13:03:18 GMT -5
I think NL and SCCL are comparable. My daughter has played in both. Both are strong at the top and weak at the bottom. Depends on the club, the age, the team. I think the NL ( meaning NL-Piedmont) as a whole is comparable to SCCL. I think the teams Georgia now sends to be respresented in NL are not as quite as strong as the teams the SCCL would be able to send to the NL if it all became one again. |
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Post by atlfutboldad on Feb 19, 2020 13:32:02 GMT -5
NPL is not the 3rd best league
Fixed it from my perspective.
IMO, SCCL and NPL are roughly equal, and NL Piedmont similarly. We've played both UFA's premier teams in our age group and they're similar level. SSA's SCCL and NPL teams in our age group played each other this weekend and tied.
I think NTH's DPL and SCCL teams have similarly played each other very closely.
True NL is an Adjucnt league not a primary league, but is roughly at the same level as ECNL and DA.
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Post by guest on Feb 19, 2020 13:58:18 GMT -5
If you really want to go nuts into detail, remember Region 3 was broken up into East and West divisions. The East division was further broken up into North and South subdivisions. The South subdivision was further broken up into Premier division (upper) and First division (lower).
So if you won Athena A as our team did once back in the day, you were promoted to Region 3 Premier League East South First Division or R3PLES1 for short. How’s that for a mouthful! And if you didn’t win or place second, you were relegated back to Athena A, where GA Soccer would then decide how many and which teams to nominate for promotion for next season, final selection based on the other states nominees, etc.
And we wonder how SCCL came about.
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Post by jash on Feb 19, 2020 14:29:44 GMT -5
I nominate soccerlegacy to replace the FAQ here. Beef it up and lets get it posted. And someone can do it for the boys. I'm way too far out of this to know what's going on :-) |
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Post by mistergrinch on Feb 19, 2020 15:05:42 GMT -5
Don't forget NPL, which several clubs have put teams in above SCCL. I don't expect that to last, but today that's the case. NPL was an adjunct league that expanded to be a full league. Hearing SSA may be only metro Atlanta club left participating in NPL starting this fall....if they decide to stick with it. SO what's the rumor.. UFA going DPL? or... ? What about AFC, they're NPL as well. |
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Post by atlfutboldad on Feb 19, 2020 15:33:45 GMT -5
If so, it would be SSA and 5 other clubs? I can appreciate that level of stick-to-it-iveness...but that would be self-defeating.
Given how it seems the lines are being drawn in the sand regarding DA/DPL and ECNL/ECRL, would make sense. Then all the big X clubs could come together at the 3rd tier for SCCL in-state.
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Post by soccerlegacy on Feb 19, 2020 16:45:34 GMT -5
If so, it would be SSA and 5 other clubs? I can appreciate that level of stick-to-it-iveness...but that would be self-defeating. Given how it seems the lines are being drawn in the sand regarding DA/DPL and ECNL/ECRL, would make sense. Then all the big X clubs could come together at the 3rd tier for SCCL in-state. I get what you are driving at, and it would make the most sense... DA/DPL and ECNL/ECRL... But I haven't heard anything about a possible ECRL move for the ECNL clubs. Has anyone heard talk of this? |
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Post by soccerlegacy on Feb 19, 2020 16:50:21 GMT -5
I nominate soccerlegacy to replace the FAQ here. Beef it up and lets get it posted. And someone can do it for the boys. I'm way too far out of this to know what's going on :-)  LOL... I had forgotten that the FAQ section was even there.... my break down was how we wound up where we are at, based on the conversation about SCCL expansion. Having now revisited the FAQ, they are very well done, my post was just putting some of it in context. Well done! |
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Post by ultimatedad on Feb 19, 2020 17:05:39 GMT -5
As much as I think I might know about the current local soccer scene (and only a little about the region), I occasionally want to take stock of what has happened in recent years (relatively speaking). So I quickly typed these fact-based, bullet points on how Ga. Soccer has gotten to this point in time. With all of the changes that have taken place, it can easily be confusing to those that don't have the knowledge of where all of what we have today came from. So let me know where I am inaccurate and help others that have kids that are just now entering this crazy. • USYS (which Ga. Soccer was a part of) used to run what was known as RPL (aka. R3PL) which would place the top two teams from Athena A • If you did well in the RPL and were the top two there, you earned a spot in the SRPL and competed in the NL. • The majority of those teams usually wound up being from the Big 5 Clubs (GSA, CF, NTH, UFA, SSA), with a few teams from midsize and smaller clubs tossed in here and there. • The “Big 5” clubs broke off from from USYS/Ga Soccer and started SCCL, taking their top teams (including those already in RPL) and put them in their new SCCL League. • USYS, after the creation of the SCCL, changed the name of RPL to NL-Piedmont. It still takes the top teams from Athena A in Georgia and places them in the NL-Piedmont. *This is excluding the true top teams were in ECNL and then GDA (which only started 3 years ago). Those teams that made it all the way to NL back then, were on the level of the ECNL teams, on average. The difference being, RPL and NL were/are team-based and the ECNL was/is club-based. Key for acronyms:
RPL= Regional Premier League
SRPL= Southern Regional Premier League
NL= National Premier League
SCCL= Southeastern Clubs Champions League
The SCCL was not formed from top teams. Top teams were playing ECNL and DA. SCCL was formed from clubs second and third teams. |
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Post by atlfutboldad on Feb 19, 2020 18:31:18 GMT -5
I get what you are driving at, and it would make the most sense... DA/DPL and ECNL/ECRL... But I haven't heard anything about a possible ECRL move for the ECNL clubs. Has anyone heard talk of this? A poster on the other thread where we are discussing the same thing hinted at it. As that poster mentioned, SCCL doesn't do anything for the US Club prestige (and it really should be one of the affiliated NPL's right now), and im sure US Club would like ECRL to include more big clubs like Concorde and GSA. But I dont think anything like a AL/TN/GA ECRL would happen for 2020-21. Maybe 2021-22 and beyond. I'm not sure how many knew about the Carolina ECRL before it was announced. As it is CESA is still considered to be in SCCL first division for next year...and that simply doesn't compute. |
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Post by greenmonkey on Feb 19, 2020 22:54:49 GMT -5
Don't forget the age mandate.
And the pyramid that doesn't lie.
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Post by greenmonkey on Feb 19, 2020 23:12:34 GMT -5
Seriously though. I have no idea how a club can even decide what to do if they decide to drop NPL. I mean first of all you think well ... It is all about player development LOL
And for arguments sake assume that they are actually going to consider player development.
How do you make a decision on what league to you choose CLUB WIDE that will provide the best development opportunities for ALL the club teams (BOYS AND GIRLS) in ALL age brackets. Honestly it can not be done equitably.
I compiled all the fall rankings of the 3 NPL teams (GIRLS only for this thread) and what would you decide if you were AFC, SSA, or UFA and really wanted to leave NPL for some reason. (which I still don't know why they would leave NPL in the first place but since that is being floated out there do these standing help you make that decision or what other factors do you consider.
AGE GROUP
LEAGUE (# of teams)
GROUP PLACEMENT CLUB NAME
U12
NPL (5). SCCL (13)
3 - UFA. 2&3 SSA
4 - AFC. 12&13 UFA
5 - SSA
U13
NPL (8). SCCL (8)
2- UFA 4 - SSA
3 - AFC. 8 - UFA
7 - SSA
U14
NPL (8). SCCL (8)
2- AFC. 3-SSA
3 - SSA 4-UFA
6 - UFA
U15
NPL (10). SCCL (8)
2- SSA. 4-UFA
5 - UFA. 7 - SSA
10 - AFC
U16
NPL (8). SCCL (8)
1 - UFA. 7-SSA
3 - SSA. 8 - UFA
8 - AFC
U17
NPL (7) SCCL (8)
1-SSA. 1-UFA
2-UFA. 3-SSA
5 - AFC
U19
NPL (8). SCCL (8)
1-AFC. 4-UFA
3-UFA. 5-SSA
7-SSA
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Post by greenmonkey on Feb 19, 2020 23:23:39 GMT -5
So my point with the rankings being:
Where does AFC go if they leave NPL? They don't have ECNL or DA right? So they wouldn't do DPL or ECRL
SSA = Assuming that CF keeps both ECNL teams and that CF and SSA still have their arrangement. Is SSA finishing well enough to that going "up" to an ECRL level will be in the best interest in developing their players across the age groups?
UFA = Is the NPL team finishing well enough that going "up" to DPL is in the best interest in developing their players across the age groups?
For SSA and UFA I think they both have the location challenges of one branch having NPL teams and the other location having the SCCL teams?
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Post by atlfutboldad on Feb 20, 2020 0:53:00 GMT -5
The only reason to leave NPL would be if the South Atlantic NPL is falling apart. Losing 5 clubs in 2 years would suggest such IMO. Plus there's been a rumor of UFA to DPL since early in the fall.
ECRL would be an equivalent level to NPL/SCCL/DPL (2nd tier league) in reality, but it comes with much stronger branding and name recognition. ECRL coming to GA is just a pipe dream until it happens though.
We know that DPL is adding 3 Southeastern DA clubs (CSA and 2 others), growing to 7 clubs. So it seems to be gaining a foothold.
For AFC, either league or even SCCL would be a lateral move to a league that appear to be on the rise.
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Post by atv on Feb 20, 2020 8:14:34 GMT -5
The only reason to leave NPL would be if the South Atlantic NPL is falling apart. Losing 5 clubs in 2 years would suggest such IMO. Plus there's been a rumor of UFA to DPL since early in the fall. ECRL would be an equivalent level to NPL/SCCL/DPL (2nd tier league) in reality, but it comes with much stronger branding and name recognition. ECRL coming to GA is just a pipe dream until it happens though. We know that DPL is adding 3 Southeastern DA clubs (CSA and 2 others), growing to 7 clubs. So it seems to be gaining a foothold. For AFC, either league or even SCCL would be a lateral move to a league that appear to be on the rise. ECRL/DPL is where clubs having ECNL and DA need to be long term as well as clubs aspiring to move their top teams into these leagues. Probably best thing is for clubs’ second teams to carry dual league status in the top level of SCCL to cut down on travel and schedule the most competitive games. For example, Top Hat DPL ( one or more teams), CF ECRL, GSA ECRL, Atl Fire ECRL, UFA DPL or ECRL, SSA ECRL, Atl Lightning ECRL, etc. all play in top level of SCCL as well as playing respective league games in ECRL, DA, NPL. I think this is already being done in some areas. |
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Post by soccerloafer on Feb 20, 2020 8:26:51 GMT -5
Don't forget the reason for RPL's demise - poor management. It was well run for several years, then fell off a cliff. Forcing neighboring teams to travel out of state to play each other - lack of common sense, no onsite management at venues, etc. Competition was fine, logistics failed.
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Post by atlfutboldad on Feb 20, 2020 8:30:43 GMT -5
Good point. Many of the ECNL leagues barely play 10 games in a season and are adjuct to state leagues. There's no need to play every team home and away. Does make it more of an adjunct league though, which is fine.
Imagine this though... the 2nd team is actually a pool og 28-30 players, where kids might be pulled into ECRL games or play in SCCL games that weekend. With the promise that they will play a few games in each league during the season. You'd probably have to have 2-3 coaches at a practice (conceptual mind blown).
Our coach tries his hardest, but it's tough to watch him try and correct individual player mechanics while making sure a drill is being run correctly and the players aren't just lazily going through the motions.
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Post by soccermaxx72 on Feb 20, 2020 9:46:42 GMT -5
Don't forget the reason for RPL's demise - poor management. It was well run for several years, then fell off a cliff. Forcing neighboring teams to travel out of state to play each other - lack of common sense, no onsite management at venues, etc. Competition was fine, logistics failed. Incorrect, the big 5 was tired of finishing towards the bottom of the bracket in srpl. It was a bad look for those clubs and parents tired of getting drubbed and long drives. |
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Post by soccermaxx72 on Feb 20, 2020 9:50:08 GMT -5
Don't forget the reason for RPL's demise - poor management. It was well run for several years, then fell off a cliff. Forcing neighboring teams to travel out of state to play each other - lack of common sense, no onsite management at venues, etc. Competition was fine, logistics failed. Incorrect, the big 5 was tired of finishing towards the bottom of the bracket in srpl. It was a bad look for those clubs and parents tired of getting drubbed and long drives. Perfect example look at girls u13 spring 2018 rpl, the last time big 5 was in rpl, tophat finished 9th out of 10 and UFA finished 6 out of 10 teams. |
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Post by Goalkeeper Dad on Feb 20, 2020 10:13:18 GMT -5
Don't forget the reason for RPL's demise - poor management. It was well run for several years, then fell off a cliff. Forcing neighboring teams to travel out of state to play each other - lack of common sense, no onsite management at venues, etc. Competition was fine, logistics failed. Incorrect, the big 5 was tired of finishing towards the bottom of the bracket in srpl. It was a bad look for those clubs and parents tired of getting drubbed and long drives. Lol. You are so right. It had nothing to do about driving to Florida to play a Georgia Team or even driving to play in Florida to find out the team didn't show or there we're no refs. Soccermaxx72 you are so right they should have stayed around for that type treatment. I which you were our director because you are in the know |
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Post by soccer3 on Feb 20, 2020 10:38:19 GMT -5
Incorrect, the big 5 was tired of finishing towards the bottom of the bracket in srpl. It was a bad look for those clubs and parents tired of getting drubbed and long drives. Lol. You are so right. It had nothing to do about driving to Florida to play a Georgia Team or even driving to play in Florida to find out the team didn't show or there we're no refs. Soccermaxx72 you are so right they should have stayed around for that type treatment. I which you were our director because you are in the know Both are correct, it was a combination of terrible league management (make no mistake the guy who ran the league at the time was horrible and it was run in a totally unprofessional manner) AND the Big 5 teams finishing towards the bottom that drove the start of SCCL. |
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Post by soccerloafer on Feb 20, 2020 10:54:34 GMT -5
Lol. You are so right. It had nothing to do about driving to Florida to play a Georgia Team or even driving to play in Florida to find out the team didn't show or there we're no refs. Soccermaxx72 you are so right they should have stayed around for that type treatment. I which you were our director because you are in the know Both are correct, it was a combination of terrible league management (make no mistake the guy who ran the league at the time was horrible and it was run in a totally unprofessional manner) AND the Big 5 teams finishing towards the bottom that drove the start of SCCL. Cancelling games when players were already in the air was the last straw for us. |
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Post by Soccerhouse on Feb 20, 2020 11:46:17 GMT -5
The nail in the coffin for me was when they would allow ECNL clubs u13 girls teams to earn the RPL spot, and then allow the spot to be retained by the club with all new players.
and traveling to Florida to play Atlanta teams
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Post by ultimatedad on Feb 20, 2020 13:58:31 GMT -5
This is why they were bottom of the barrel in RPL. These teams should have been Athena A anyway so should not have been traveling to FLA in the first place.
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