NTH

We are many years away from the last time this statement was true. It was true for the academy age groups when Ted basically coached the entire academy when Buckhead was the club. Ted had a style and the academy played that way and he typically kept one or two older teams and so they also played that way. At this point with Ted limited to only the academy age groups and only having marginal oversight of the branch locations, it is really hit or miss what you get from a Tophat team. Troy’s style has never been Ted’s style either. So there’s that. The DA teams are generally the sum of the individual parts and don’t have a defined style other than “We have the best players.” That’s Troy’s style. What was the DA doesn’t reflect Ted to a great degree, especially at the oldest age groups. Even in the academy, they’ve shifted to much more of an all-star team recruitment based approach recently rather than the “we out train everybody else” approach that defined them for so long.

I don’t mean any of that as a diss of an sort. Club’s change, especially when they expand as quickly as the merger forced Tophat to do. The team’s are good however they end up on the field together.

If they end up shut out of ECNL they will suffer a massive talent drain. That’s just the nature of the top level and player and parent preferences for league affiliations. This thing goes in cycles. One club gets on top for awhile, then another takes their place. Nothing new under the sun in any of this.

while i completely get some of the nth hate, it's a little early to start talking about the downfall of their girl's program. 

the reality is they have the most consistent high-level training / curriculum of any club in town. yes there are always exceptions. santos, inter, etc etc have developed some great kids and have quality coaches here and there. this is about consistency of product though. if you're arguing nth isn't the best in town there in recent years, that's based more on the (valid) reasons you don't like them than for actual soccer reasons. 

leaving nth over the loss of DA shouldn't be a given either. if you're a hs aged girl with a real scholarship chance at nth, ok, leaving makes some sense. the showcases are important. u14 (maybe u15) and under though, nth will be back in an elite league sooner than later. you're better off staying-from coaching to competition/depth of who you train with and against. 

having said all of that, it's a big positive for ga soccer to have some of the nth talent spread across the city. more quality players and more clubs benefits everyone. 

It’s unfortunate that as parents some appear so invested and in some cases interested in the demise of a strong program. I can guarantee you that these TH girls just want to play the sport they love. Watch them play, watch their communication on the field, and watch the respect they have for their coaches and the program. I am sure these kids are devastated but it will all work out for them in the end.

I’ve said it - the right thing to do since this about kids is let them in ECNL.
It’s good for everyone involved.

I’ll blame one organization and one organization only:
The US Soccer Federation - it’s utterly embarrassing what they have done over the past 4 years with girls soccer. They played bully and came across like the mafia. april heinrich And Miriam Hickey tried to pull off the great con and should be in jail.

Someone said (maybe on here) that April Heinrich was coaching in ecnl now...

Exactly. I REALLY hate it for the players at Tophat. I have friends whose kids have been or are currently at TH and I feel for them. I've also heard alot of praise from TH parents on this forum talking about how the TH program and the coaches are compared to others in the ATL. So, if you are at TH now and feel this is truly the best club for development, it shouldn't matter what patch is on the jersey. Their jersey will still be a Hatters jersey. Are TH parents opinions on this changing now? 

My daughters is an 03 Rising Jr. If the opportunity is still there to be seen by lower D1 higher D2 schools we are staying put. She has had the opportunity to practice with some great D1 goalies and some great goalie coaches and there is no reason to leave. I HOPE

I have to say I am biased when it comes to Ron A at Tophat. He has been key in giving her the opportunity to practice with the DA goalies even though she doesn't play DA and has guided my daughter and myself in opportunities for her to look at. He has even made call for us for the national team and other colleges (Not the USA national team but another country). IMO I think he cares more about my daughters improvement and development then her goals against average and is always open to talk.

I am positive we have other people on this forum that would agree with me.

Will Tophat retain all their coaches?

Bill Urban did the 01/02 DPL Girls
The remaining teams we're coaches by Eddie Hernandez. Heard great things about both

They are both great coaches. EH just got his B license which allowed him to to do GDA coaching and is working on his A. The girls love both.

Hate to burst your bubble, but majority of the girls on the college signee list was committed BEFORE they went to Tophat. Correct me if I am wrong, didn't TH make the proclamation that they would not be contacting coaches on behest of players anymore? They are riding the coat tails of girls that were committed way before they even got there.

USC -prior Concorde
Virginia Tech - Prior Concorde
Florida State - Prior Concorde
Cal Berkeley - Prior Concorde
Vanderbilt - Prior Concorde

Because US Soccer told them they had to play DA in order to have any chance at the National Team.  Those girls didn't want to risk having no shot at the National Teams just because they played ECNL.  Also, check out CF's list of 2020 college signees...Notre Dame (2), Stanford, Vanderbilt, VA Tech (2), UGA (2), Clemson, Tennessee, (2) Furman, Mercer, Miami, etc.  Both TH and CF do an excellent job of placing talent in college.