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Post by SoccerMom on Oct 8, 2014 14:42:21 GMT -5
Personally i dont care for ECNL, DA would be nice because the costs are not as outrageous. The rumor is there....so I guess we wait and hope. If DA for girls happens, I dont see too bright a future for ECNL. If DA for girls is free, then it would affect Ecnl. I think the demise of Ecnl has been predicted by many for quite awhile, yet the league gets stronger. I have always said I have mixed feelings about Ecnl, but it's accomplished a whole lot in the five years it's been in existence. No doubt it is costly, but it's probably costs about the same to play on an RPL team that plays a few showcases and at Disney. I have to disagree with you... I don't consider ECNL that strong in the state of GA, the teams that are in it are not necessarily the best they just happened to have the program at their club. we play their pre-ecnl teams and beat them with no problem, its the same team as the year before just a different name. Yes some kids will jump clubs to be ECNL but I've yet to see that make a difference for them. RPL is earned ECNL is given. DA is no longer free but its relatively cheap compared to club...I expect once the MLS comes here and has their DA it will all go back to being free. The cost for ECNL is more than RPL, the traveling is still within the region where ECNL they go very far. |
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Post by stevieg on Oct 8, 2014 15:57:18 GMT -5
If DA for girls is free, then it would affect Ecnl. I think the demise of Ecnl has been predicted by many for quite awhile, yet the league gets stronger. I have always said I have mixed feelings about Ecnl, but it's accomplished a whole lot in the five years it's been in existence. No doubt it is costly, but it's probably costs about the same to play on an RPL team that plays a few showcases and at Disney. I have to disagree with you... I don't consider ECNL that strong in the state of GA, the teams that are in it are not necessarily the best they just happened to have the program at their club. we play their pre-ecnl teams and beat them with no problem, its the same team as the year before just a different name. Yes some kids will jump clubs to be ECNL but I've yet to see that make a difference for them. RPL is earned ECNL is given. DA is no longer free but its relatively cheap compared to club...I expect once the MLS comes here and has their DA it will all go back to being free. The cost for ECNL is more than RPL, the traveling is still within the region where ECNL they go very far. Don't think that's true. Look at TH/UFA, etc. teams that play in RPL and NL, plus tournaments all over the place. ECNL has maybe 2 SE region road trips per fall and spring season plus a showcase out of region. That's about it, unless they qualify for Nationals. I think you can debate the relative merits of ECNL/non-ECNL, but not the cost for teams who consider themselves at that same level playing in the state/regional/national systems. |
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Post by lovethegame on Oct 8, 2014 17:25:17 GMT -5
If DA for girls is free, then it would affect Ecnl. I think the demise of Ecnl has been predicted by many for quite awhile, yet the league gets stronger. I have always said I have mixed feelings about Ecnl, but it's accomplished a whole lot in the five years it's been in existence. No doubt it is costly, but it's probably costs about the same to play on an RPL team that plays a few showcases and at Disney. I have to disagree with you... I don't consider ECNL that strong in the state of GA, the teams that are in it are not necessarily the best they just happened to have the program at their club. we play their pre-ecnl teams and beat them with no problem, its the same team as the year before just a different name. Yes some kids will jump clubs to be ECNL but I've yet to see that make a difference for them. RPL is earned ECNL is given. DA is no longer free but its relatively cheap compared to club...I expect once the MLS comes here and has their DA it will all go back to being free. The cost for ECNL is more than RPL, the traveling is still within the region where ECNL they go very far. Ecnl in Georgia may not be the best barometer to judge the league. Concorde Fire is a strong club, and their teams do well. GSA and AFU have some teams that do well and others that don't do as well. But, the Southeast isn't where the best soccer is being played on the girl's side. The So Cal and Texas ECNL teams are all strong. They play a different level of soccer altogether. One thing I've found over the years is that when you think you've seen a good team or a great player, it's pretty likely there's another level being played, and another, and another. At this point, Ecnl teams and non-Ecnl teams rarely play one another. So, it's hard to tell how the leagues compare. One thing like about Ecnl is that it has given more girls an opportunity to play high level soccer. Now there is Ecnl and RPL. Instead of four teams at each level playing high level soccer, Georgia has seven. How is that a bad thing? As far as RPL being earned, I would say that Ecnl was earned by the clubs several years ago when the clubs had an overall strong program for girls. Maybe some of them decided to take a leap of faith that first year rather than waiting to see how the league did. So, clubs that got in early probably wouldn't today, as they are much more selective. Whether they chose the right clubs and if Ecnl was the right right move for some clubs, is yet to be seen. Ecnl is still pretty young, and it's doing well. They have dropped their first club (or the club chose to leave). When it comes to cost, RPL with Disney, Jefferson Cup, CASL, a trip or two to Florida for league games and a few more tournaments, the cost isn't that far apart. Ecnl is designed so that most of the travel happens at U16&17, when recruiting is heaviest. Th U14 and 18 teams have relatively little travel. In fact, my U18 player goes to a showcase in Sanford and has five hotel nights for league games. Of course, U16 &U17 were more costly. But, don't kid yourself, it's not cheap to play for a team that play RPL, Npl, RplE and goes to Disney. I'd really like to see the comparison. |
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Post by lovethegame on Oct 8, 2014 17:48:28 GMT -5
i'm not a high school guy, so 10 months a year soccer on the girls side would be nice.... (not saying my daughter is good enough anyway, but not looking forward to next spring when she has no club soccer) I'm with you on high school, and I am not sure my daughter will choose to play this year. What will your daughter do during the spring? I wish there were more options. |
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Post by lovethegame on Oct 8, 2014 18:08:14 GMT -5
I have to say one more thing. I do like many things about ECNL and don't like other things. I am openly critical about the league. I feel I can be with my four years of experience with it. I don't criticize or comment about RPL. My daughter did play one season of it, but We have no current experience with it. I think both leagues offer more competitive opportunities for girls. Obviously, if it were RPL only some teams that are currently playing Ecnl or RPL would be playing Athena A, which would bump some A teams to B, and so on. Competition develops players. More girls are finding a level of competition that makes them better. Whether one league or the other is better doesn't really matter. What matters is that you find the best situation for your child.
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Post by silverback on Oct 9, 2014 7:38:58 GMT -5
Ecnl in Georgia may not be the best barometer to judge the league. Concorde Fire is a strong club, and their teams do well. GSA and AFU have some teams that do well and others that don't do as well. But, the Southeast isn't where the best soccer is being played on the girl's side. The So Cal and Texas ECNL teams are all strong. They play a different level of soccer altogether. I agree that Georgia is not the best barometer to judge ECNL at this point. I was at an ECNL showcase tournament last year and was amazed by the talent at some of the older teams from other states. I watched PDA play a team from Texas and it was a completely different level. Also, I was a surprised (in a good way) by the number of college coaches I saw watching games and evaluating, definitely something to consider if college soccer is your daughter's plans. Not as many coaches that I've seen at DA tournaments/showcases, but definitely much more than I expected. I suspect as ECNL matures, you will see more movement to these clubs by the better players, especially if current ECNL clubs start to offer "creative pricing" to entice players. If DA does in fact expand to the girls, all bets off. |
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Post by calliope on Oct 13, 2014 11:06:08 GMT -5
This is an interesting topic and I can understand why there would be some irritation over it. Thought I'd chime in as we are with one of the ECNL clubs. I can't speak for the other teams, however our 'ECNL' players' obligation is to the U13 squad. One of them doesn't actually play with the ECNL team (Not sure why she's rostered there) and the other is a sub with them. They start on our team and don't take playing time from other players. Occasionally players from the U13s are called up to the ECNL squad if they're short players. Some of the team practices with the U14'2 once a week. I'm not sure how this translates to cheating as these girls are with us 100% of the time.
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