Reign Letter to WYS/RCL Part 1

[Unregistered]

So true about combining age groups hurting top (all!) players!

Agree!

[Unregistered]

Totally agree as well. This year u16 is a single age group for GDA. They have both u16 and u16/17 age groups which is weird but hey us soccer has a master plan I guess. U16/u17 is supposed to be used as a mixed group not pure u17 but I expect most gda teams will just go aahead and make it age pure anyway

[Unregistered]

Maybe true, maybe false. Or somewhere in between like most things are.
My understand is that the two who were D1 verbal commits left because
lack of playtime in the 16/17 team, which sounds insane, due better players
in their positions in the combo age group. This was the most stupid thing
DA could have done by combining two age groups at the peak of recruiting.

Or could be righteous anger from XF to kick out the unbelievers since....
you know XF has morals and good stuff, like ethics.

If you are supposed to get the best players playing DA then in theory it should be a challenge for the younger age players to start over the older group. The younger players are supposed to sit on the bench all year and wait their turn to be the oldest in the combined age group to play? Then more bench sitting when they move up and are the younger of the next age group?

If a player is going to another team's ID clinic mid season and are planning on leaving, why would you want to keep them on the team? Good teams have players that play and battle for each other.

[Unregistered]

Crossfire Opportunities & Commitment

Hello All -

CROSSFIRE EMAIL OF MARCH 5, 2019

“It’s come to the club’s attention that a number of Crossfire players have attended and continue to attend player identification sessions for the Reign FC Academy. Due to this we want to take a moment here to make sure our club’s policies are clearly stated and understood by all.

Crossfire Premier fields teams in the country's most competitive national league. Moreover, Crossfire is historically and currently one of the most successful clubs in the nation, placing teams in a national final or semifinal for six consecutive years. And most importantly, over those six years 100% of the graduating seniors from our top team has had the opportunity to move on to college soccer. We are extremely proud of our girls’ program and demonstrate our commitment to its continued dominance through constant efforts to improve it in every way. In the past few years we’ve produced numerous additions to all areas of the development program and we only plan to add more layers of opportunity for our players going forward.
Crossfire Premier expends considerable financial resources towards funding our girls’ program. At the younger ages, this includes subsidizing trips for training and competition, both domestic and international, while at the older ages, the club fully funds all soccer costs for teams. In between, each team receives a sizable subsidy from the club to ensure our girls’ program operates at the highest level of the country and that there is no financial burden for families making this commitment to Crossfire Premier.
As the club has committed to the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) for our top teams going forward, we have also committed to funding the program as follows:
U-13, U-14, U-15, U-16 ECNL: Crossfire will pay all travel costs (airfare, lodging, van rental, meals) for each team during ECNL conference play and all ECNL Showcases. Players will only pay the club fee for participation on a Crossfire team, as well as travel costs for non-ECNL events, such as Surf Cup.
U-17 and U-19 ECNL: Crossfire will fully fund the program for players on these two oldest-age teams. We want to reward players for their loyalty to the club and the sacrifices they’ve made to reach this level, and one way for us to do this is to remove all cost for participation. Players on these teams have no costs for ECNL travel and no Crossfire club fee.
This commitment by Crossfire Premier involves vast sacrifice by the club and the allocation of significant resources—critically, we want to ensure those resources are put towards players and families who’ve demonstrated a commitment and loyalty commensurate with the funding provided.
It is important to note that Crossfire Premier is THE ONLY club in the country to fund a girls’ program to this level.
If, understanding everything above, you still choose to go to one of our competitors, you are ineligible to return to Crossfire Premier and take part in our funded programs. This policy is the same for both the boys’ and girls’ programs at Crossfire, and it extends to tryouts and trials as well - if a player tries out for another program and does not make it, they’ve still forfeited their eligibility to participate in the fully-funded program.

In closing, we would like to reiterate that the club takes immense pride in the quality of our girls’ program and in the individual players and families who are the beating heart of our success. This policy is not designed to be punitive but is rather meant to demonstrate the value the club places on loyalty and commitment to the program, and to reward those families who believe in our players and our pathway as much as we do.”

[Unregistered]

"...vast sacrifice by the club..."

This is amazing.

Crossfire is not "sacrificing" anything but $$$.

More to the point, unless Crossfire is now printing money, the families of kids on non-ECNL teams are subsidizing ECNL travel directly or indirectly.

Martyrs for the cause!

[Unregistered]

It would be interesting to see how this now alleged 'written policy' stands up to US Soccer's By Laws.....


Policy 601-7—Competition Participation
Section 1.
(A) Any properly registered team has the right to enter any competition involving Organization Members or their members provided that it is eligible under the rules of that competition, pays all required fees, and is in good standing.
(B) No Organization Member or member of an Organization Member shall interfere with the opportunity of a player, coach or team to travel to compete in a competition, including a game, scrimmage, tournament or league governed by Section 1(A) above and shall not deny permission to travel unless that player, coach or team has been prohibited from doing so for disciplinary reason pursuant to the due process requirements set forth in Bylaw 701. The foregoing shall not prevent Organization Members and their members from having bylaws, rules, or policies that penalize teams or players for failing to meet their previously scheduled game commitments or prevent Organization Members from enforcing reasonable notification requirements prior to travel.
(C) Any Organization Member or member of an Organization Member, player, coach or individual denied the right to participate in any competition involving Organization Members or their members has the right of appeal and/or grievance through the applicable procedures set forth in Federation Bylaws and Policies.

Why would US Soccer continue to allow Crossfire to maintain its USSDA status if it is actively punishing players for supporting its Female variant? You could logically argue that this action is also in direct conflict with the US Soccer bylaws and detrimental to its mission.

[Unregistered]

The rules refer to competitions, not practice or discover sessions. Xfire not the only one cutting kids who visit another club's training. Seattle United has done it too, and with younger kids at the Copa/Tango level

[Unregistered]

By cutting the player for going to a discovery session or tryout of a rival club, they are interfering with that players ability to enter 'competition' with their host / registered club.

SU and any other club doing the same would be culpable under the same rules.

[Unregistered]

By cutting the player for going to a discovery session or tryout of a rival club, they are interfering with that players ability to enter 'competition' with their host / registered club.

SU and any other club doing the same would be culpable under the same rules.

Ah, good point, I get that. Wouldn't it be nice if people followed the rules?

[Unregistered]

The clubs have no incentive to follow the rules, whatsoever. They police themselves.

So long as parents are willing to pay top dollar to: (1) have their kid play on Crossfire D and E, in RCL Divisions 4-5; while also (2) subsidizing Crossfire's ECNL program, this sort of nonsense will keep happening.

(Before anyone goes crazy, I realize it isn't just Crossfire. They're only the example because of the current discussion.)

Families are consumers in a pay-to-play model. Act accordingly.

[Unregistered]

The crossfire policy isn't against the bylaws, they clearly mean "competition" as a synonym for "game" not competition in terms of competing business interests.

BJ has gone on record stating the crossfire foundation pays all the da (now ecnl) fees not lower level teams. Maybe that's not the truth but that's what he's said

[Unregistered]

The crossfire policy isn't against the bylaws, they clearly mean "competition" as a synonym for "game" not competition in terms of competing business interests.

BJ has gone on record stating the crossfire foundation pays all the da (now ecnl) fees not lower level teams. Maybe that's not the truth but that's what he's said

The rule refers to opportunities to engage in competition. Does it interfere with a player’s opportunity to check out what us soccer views as the highest level of play (DA) to say we’ll yank your funding and may not let you back at all if you go to a discovery session with a Da club to see if that’s the best opportunity for next year? Probably. Wouldn’t hold my breath for US Soccer to do anything about it. But XF does have a point in saying they provide more funding for girls soccer than pretty much anyone else. I think most of that comes from other clubs paying tournament fees rather than off the backs of the b-e teams, but it’s a mix. I’m just not a fan of demanding or dictating loyalty. Real loyalty is earned and maintained on the merits, not through some sort of loyalty oath.

[Unregistered]

The crossfire policy isn't against the bylaws, they clearly mean "competition" as a synonym for "game" not competition in terms of competing business interests.

BJ has gone on record stating the crossfire foundation pays all the da (now ecnl) fees not lower level teams. Maybe that's not the truth but that's what he's said

I think the point being raised was that if Crossfire removes a player from their roster who attends a discovery session (Sounders or Reign), then in effect they are interfering with that players ability to 'compete' at their own club when they have not broken any rules as stipulated in US Soccer's own bylaws. This would also apply to LWYSA as this is the governing association of the club.

If Crossfire (and any other club doing similar) takes the stance that they are in effect paying for those players to play and thus they are beholden to them and forfeit this privilege by training elsewhere, then this could create potential issues with eligibility for college and their amateur status as they are implying they are being paid to play beyond their expenses.

Where do you think the foundation gets all its money?

[Unregistered]

Well, technically (and legally) crossfire is not preventing any player from competing at their club for going to outside tryouts. They're still eligible to compete, they're not kicked off the team, however they will no longer be funded.

[Unregistered]

Well, technically (and legally) crossfire is not preventing any player from competing at their club for going to outside tryouts. They're still eligible to compete, they're not kicked off the team, however they will no longer be funded.

So a player should only go if they are pretty sure they want out of Crossfire. While wrong on many levels, many clubs do similar tactics (some simply stop playing the player to punish them). At other clubs, if a player leaves, they are on the hook for the entire year’s fees. At XF, at least if an ecnl player leaves, they aren’t out any money.