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Post by flix on May 21, 2021 8:55:08 GMT -5
Except that none of the clubs truly care which team they were playing. They want to win the game, improve in the standings and qualify for the playoffs. If that is against 3rd graders, it is fine. The points still count the same in the standings. See that’s the problem. There should not be playoffs at u13 or u14 because people only focus on the standings and qualifying for playoffs. It doesn’t matter that your style of soccer is very suspect it just matters that we make the playoffs. If I recall correctly DA didn’t start playoffs until u15 and u13/u14 had showcases, that’s how it should be done. |
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Post by mightydawg on May 21, 2021 9:11:09 GMT -5
Except that none of the clubs truly care which team they were playing. They want to win the game, improve in the standings and qualify for the playoffs. If that is against 3rd graders, it is fine. The points still count the same in the standings. See that’s the problem. There should not be playoffs at u13 or u14 because people only focus on the standings and qualifying for playoffs. It doesn’t matter that your style of soccer is very suspect it just matters that we make the playoffs. If I recall correctly DA didn’t start playoffs until u15 and u13/u14 had showcases, that’s how it should be done. Right. If you take the playoffs away, coaches will suddenly focus on development and not winning just like they do at the academy ages. |
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Post by onekickpop on May 21, 2021 9:20:37 GMT -5
See that’s the problem. There should not be playoffs at u13 or u14 because people only focus on the standings and qualifying for playoffs. It doesn’t matter that your style of soccer is very suspect it just matters that we make the playoffs. If I recall correctly DA didn’t start playoffs until u15 and u13/u14 had showcases, that’s how it should be done. Right. If you take the playoffs away, coaches will suddenly focus on development and not winning just like they do at the academy ages. While it’s fun to watch kids play, this whole ECNL thing has been somewhat of a joke. For development I still like the DA philosophy of playing out of the back and building up. From what I have seen most teams punt to the fastest/most athletic kids and at times bypass their midfields. Add to this the nonsense at the end of the season with bringing in trapped players and strategically “stacking” your team for wins. Is this not about development any more? This is partly why I think the US has such a bad reputation in soccer. This playoff race is silly. So even in playoffs is the plan to bring kids down again to win by any means necessary? Look at the teams in the fall who struggled but in the spring we’re dominant. I know it’s not every team but for those who mixed in trapped players there were players who need development who sat on the bench. In any case, I guess at this point it is what it is. AU used ECNL to get their teams some quality games in ECNL win or lose. You develop with more play time. The locals get excited about the opportunity to play but for AU I don’t really think their ECNL games are about winning. It’s about honing their skills and implementing their system/style of play. For the Cup thing the included their top players but all other games are really just practices and scrimmages for them. I was hoping we would move away from the “let’s win a medal or trophy” mentality and was hopeful the DA years would usher in a more professional approach. I long for experiences similar to what I see with the Dutch youth teams or German youth teams of well organized soccer that you can sometimes find on YouTube in contrast to a lot of what I see here. My last comment is to give kudos to many of the girls programs in GA. CF, and TopHat training sessions (Coach G and Coach Troy) are excellent examples of well coached and well designed training sessions. When you see a CF girl or TopHat girl play you can almost identify them by their style of play. Very consistent and well coached. There are few examples with the boys but nowhere as consistent as the girls side. I would assume their rankings in the Top 100 indicates just how good those programs are. |
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Post by Soccerhouse on May 21, 2021 9:46:30 GMT -5
get rid of playoffs at u13 and u14, but you can build some sort of end of year tournament for these kids so they still have the thrill of competition with maybe the mid-atlanta division or florida teams.
i'll say at DA for u13 and u14 sometimes it felt like the games were meaningless, which is both a good and bad thing.
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Post by soccernotfootball on May 21, 2021 10:01:09 GMT -5
Right. If you take the playoffs away, coaches will suddenly focus on development and not winning just like they do at the academy ages. While it’s fun to watch kids play, this whole ECNL thing has been somewhat of a joke. For development I still like the DA philosophy of playing out of the back and building up. From what I have seen most teams punt to the fastest/most athletic kids and at times bypass their midfields. Add to this the nonsense at the end of the season with bringing in trapped players and strategically “stacking” your team for wins. Is this not about development any more? This is partly why I think the US has such a bad reputation in soccer. This playoff race is silly. So even in playoffs is the plan to bring kids down again to win by any means necessary? Look at the teams in the fall who struggled but in the spring we’re dominant. I know it’s not every team but for those who mixed in trapped players there were players who need development who sat on the bench. In any case, I guess at this point it is what it is. AU used ECNL to get their teams some quality games in ECNL win or lose. You develop with more play time. The locals get excited about the opportunity to play but for AU I don’t really think their ECNL games are about winning. It’s about honing their skills and implementing their system/style of play. For the Cup thing the included their top players but all other games are really just practices and scrimmages for them. I was hoping we would move away from the “let’s win a medal or trophy” mentality and was hopeful the DA years would usher in a more professional approach. I long for experiences similar to what I see with the Dutch youth teams or German youth teams of well organized soccer that you can sometimes find on YouTube in contrast to a lot of what I see here. My last comment is to give kudos to many of the girls programs in GA. CF, and TopHat training sessions (Coach G and Coach Troy) are excellent examples of well coached and well designed training sessions. When you see a CF girl or TopHat girl play you can almost identify them by their style of play. Very consistent and well coached. There are few examples with the boys but nowhere as consistent as the girls side. I would assume their rankings in the Top 100 indicates just how good those programs are. Development should be first and foremost no matter the league or club. Agreed on the major points. But development, or lack of, isn't indicative of any particular league. There were a lot of the DA teams that played "direct" - bypassing midfield and punting to the fastest/most athletic. There are plenty of ECNL teams that play out of the back. The smart ones - maybe because of development - play both ways depending on situations. Players playing down with the trap year in ECNL is no different than the "bio-banded' kids playing down in DA. I also agree with playing time and getting in as many reps as possible as a key component in development... coaches across clubs and leagues that seem to have that philosophy are few and far between. With the AU situation, you play who's in front of you. If they roll out younger teams, that's who you play. The reason people talk about it so much when Atlanta loses versus when they win is due to the fact they are expected to win. When you can take the top kids from every club in Atlanta and around the southeast, the expectation is you win. That's still true even when you roll the younger teams out. |
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Post by mightydawg on May 21, 2021 11:01:07 GMT -5
Goliath winning doesn't make news, only David.
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Post by Upper90 on May 21, 2021 12:12:07 GMT -5
Here is the thing about being Goliath, it's not as easy as it looks. Being on the roster at AU is by no means a walk in the park. I will continually voice my dismay at the lack of respect given to the boys that play on those teams. Truly, maybe it IS more of disrespect you are giving to the organization as a whole, but it's a fine line. These boys do not rest on their past successes and constantly find themselves in tryout mode. Appreciate the effort these boys put in, they didn't get there by accident.
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Post by Soccerhouse on May 21, 2021 12:36:21 GMT -5
Here is the thing about being Goliath, it's not as easy as it looks. Being on the roster at AU is by no means a walk in the park. I will continually voice my dismay at the lack of respect given to the boys that play on those teams. Truly, maybe it IS more of disrespect you are giving to the organization as a whole, but it's a fine line. These boys do not rest on their past successes and constantly find themselves in tryout mode. Appreciate the effort these boys put in, they didn't get there by accident. Agree -- they have what no other club has, and that is competition every day at every position. But that being Said, let AU pick there top 18, and let Robin Dixon coach the next 18, I'd take Robin Dixon every time even against Tony Annan. |
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Post by soccernotfootball on May 21, 2021 12:57:08 GMT -5
Here is the thing about being Goliath, it's not as easy as it looks. Being on the roster at AU is by no means a walk in the park. I will continually voice my dismay at the lack of respect given to the boys that play on those teams. Truly, maybe it IS more of disrespect you are giving to the organization as a whole, but it's a fine line. These boys do not rest on their past successes and constantly find themselves in tryout mode. Appreciate the effort these boys put in, they didn't get there by accident. Of course the boys should be applauded. But they'll still be expected to win just by the nature of where they are and being picked off their teams. Just as any of the Big 5 would be expected to win against the small clubs around town. |
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Post by Upper90 on May 21, 2021 13:02:49 GMT -5
Here is the thing about being Goliath, it's not as easy as it looks. Being on the roster at AU is by no means a walk in the park. I will continually voice my dismay at the lack of respect given to the boys that play on those teams. Truly, maybe it IS more of disrespect you are giving to the organization as a whole, but it's a fine line. These boys do not rest on their past successes and constantly find themselves in tryout mode. Appreciate the effort these boys put in, they didn't get there by accident. Agree -- they have what no other club has, and that is competition every day at every position. But that being Said, let AU pick there top 18, and let Robin Dixon coach the next 18, I'd take Robin Dixon every time even against Tony Annan. I would take Steve Covino against Robin Dixon any day of the week. Tony Annan no longer coaches at AU and really hasn't for a hot minute.  |
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Post by flix on May 21, 2021 13:07:48 GMT -5
So when is Rocky Ray Hudson and Charlie One Button Stillitano going to be giving us an update on this story?
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Post by mightydawg on May 21, 2021 14:04:24 GMT -5
Here is the thing about being Goliath, it's not as easy as it looks. Being on the roster at AU is by no means a walk in the park. I will continually voice my dismay at the lack of respect given to the boys that play on those teams. Truly, maybe it IS more of disrespect you are giving to the organization as a whole, but it's a fine line. These boys do not rest on their past successes and constantly find themselves in tryout mode. Appreciate the effort these boys put in, they didn't get there by accident. I have never heard anyone say anything bad about the Academy players at Atlanta United. The players are not Goliath, Atlanta United is Goliath. The players seem to just be kids trying to make it in the crazy world of youth soccer just like the kids at the local clubs. However, this is also the world that the players signed up. Every player at AU enters the Academy thinking that he will be the one who makes it out of a Pro academy. The right to prove you are the ONE comes with the pressure of being in tryout mode everyday. They had the option of declining the offer and paying to play at a local club and the associated pressures that come with club soccer. Instead they chose to go the Pro Club Academy and take their shot at it with all that comes with it. |
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Post by Upper90 on May 21, 2021 14:25:03 GMT -5
Hence why I said it’s a fine line.
Yes, the boys know exactly what they are signing up for and handle it with class. It’s just a shame that a club is shown so much hate. Trifling really. 🙄
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Post by Futsal Gawdess on May 21, 2021 16:23:16 GMT -5
Here is the thing about being Goliath, it's not as easy as it looks. Being on the roster at AU is by no means a walk in the park. I will continually voice my dismay at the lack of respect given to the boys that play on those teams. Truly, maybe it IS more of disrespect you are giving to the organization as a whole, but it's a fine line. These boys do not rest on their past successes and constantly find themselves in tryout mode. Appreciate the effort these boys put in, they didn't get there by accident. Agree -- they have what no other club has, and that is competition every day at every position. But that being Said, let AU pick there top 18, and let Robin Dixon coach the next 18, I'd take Robin Dixon every time even against Tony Annan. For the most part we tend to agree, but on this one we couldn't be further apart. My kids were lucky to have both back in the day. It has been my first hand knowledge that TA would wipe the floor with RD, especially if TA was allowed to pick and choose his kids. If given a random team, that may yield a different result, but all their cards on the table, I'll go with TA... |
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Post by hammertime on May 24, 2021 12:21:19 GMT -5
Just noticed that Atlanta United has been deleted from the ECNL standings.
So Fourth of July plans have changed to Greensboro/Winston-Salem for CF Premier U15, GSA U16 and GSA U18/19.
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Post by bogan on May 24, 2021 12:37:12 GMT -5
Just noticed that Atlanta United has been deleted from the ECNL standings. So Fourth of July plans have changed to Greensboro/Winston-Salem for CF Premier U15, GSA U16 and GSA U18/19. That’s a pretty fer ways… |
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Post by hammertime on May 24, 2021 12:38:17 GMT -5
Just noticed that Atlanta United has been deleted from the ECNL standings. So Fourth of July plans have changed to Greensboro/Winston-Salem for CF Premier U15, GSA U16 and GSA U18/19. Check that. I guess if they also delete all their results as well that could change teams/standing around. Especially with a really tight U18/U19. And I suppose AFU might could pass GSA for last U16 spot based on results against AU and if AFU beat AL FC in their makeup game yesterday. |
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Post by hammertime on May 24, 2021 12:42:54 GMT -5
Just noticed that Atlanta United has been deleted from the ECNL standings. So Fourth of July plans have changed to Greensboro/Winston-Salem for CF Premier U15, GSA U16 and GSA U18/19. That’s a pretty fer ways… I wouldn't call five hours that far at all. Girls are Tampa then Richmond for the finals. The boys finals are in St Louis. Nationals have been played in Denver and Chicago in the past. |
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Post by bogan on May 24, 2021 12:53:19 GMT -5
That’s a pretty fer ways… I wouldn't call five hours that far at all. Girls are Tampa then Richmond for the finals. The boys finals are in St Louis. Nationals have been played in Denver and Chicago in the past. Well, then, good luck. |
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