FC Ptld showcase

[Unregistered]

Jeebus H. Cripes. Is the entirity of the girls' youth soccer experience all about being seen by college coaches and scouts, like some Broadway showgirl hoping to be "discovered" one day? Is nothing worth doing if it isn't a cattle call for the sort of college soccer coach who only has a job and scholarships because of Title IX, and can't be bothered to pick up the phone?

Truly elite girls will be found wherever they are, and need not join overpriced meat-market just to be noticed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBfHpIRm5Qk

Sorry to ruin your day, but you are very very wrong. I hope you're not hanging your hopes of college soccer for your DD on the Timbers or their Alliance (or GPS for that matter). It's pretty clear that there is only one superhighway to college soccer and that's ECNL. Sure there are a few other dirt roads that eventually wind their way there and the odd player who lives on the dirt road off the dirt road off the dirt road sometimes finds their way to the finish line too. But that doesn't mean the dirt road is just as good as the superhighway.

[Unregistered]

Sorry to ruin your day, but you are very very wrong. I hope you're not hanging your hopes of college soccer for your DD on the Timbers or their Alliance (or GPS for that matter). It's pretty clear that there is only one superhighway to college soccer and that's ECNL. Sure there are a few other dirt roads that eventually wind their way there and the odd player who lives on the dirt road off the dirt road off the dirt road sometimes finds their way to the finish line too. But that doesn't mean the dirt road is just as good as the superhighway.

See, you make my point for me.

It's a recruiting platform. It's a modelling agency. It's a talent show. A cattle call. An inverted labor union. Simon Cowell will be watching.

But if what you say is true--that for girls to get a D1 scholarship they have to play in a certain league, otherwise they won't be "seen"--then ECNL isn't a visionary league that needs to be praised, it's a monopoly that deserves to be smashed. If the superhighway is charging a toll that is too expensive, time to build a competing superhighway so there isn't only one road to Rome.

For all you like to complain about Peregrine dominating local youth soccer... it's obvious you only object to an 800lb gorilla when it's not you.

Have a cigar, indeed.

[Unregistered]

See, you make my point for me.

It's a recruiting platform. It's a modelling agency. It's a talent show. A cattle call. An inverted labor union. Simon Cowell will be watching.

But if what you say is true--that for girls to get a D1 scholarship they have to play in a certain league, otherwise they won't be "seen"--then ECNL isn't a visionary league that needs to be praised, it's a monopoly that deserves to be smashed. If the superhighway is charging a toll that is too expensive, time to build a competing superhighway so there isn't only one road to Rome.

For all you like to complain about Peregrine dominating local youth soccer... it's obvious you only object to an 800lb gorilla when it's not you.

Have a cigar, indeed.

So why is US Soccer trying to build it's own "superhighway" if the superhighway approach isn't the right one???

[Unregistered]

So why is US Soccer trying to build it's own "superhighway" if the superhighway approach isn't the right one???

The problem isn't the highway.

It's the tolls.

The idea that one league should monopolize access to collegiate soccer is what is obnoxious.

Note that I don't want ECNL to go away. I want there to be viable alternatives, however. If ECNL was truly offering better coaching, more power to it.

But when its sales pitch is "college coaches only come to our events, so join us or else", that is a barrier that needs to be knocked down, not reinforced.

The only ones who benefit from the ECNL model are lazy college coaches who don't want to do the hard work of proper scouting and recruiting.

[Unregistered]

The problem isn't the highway.

It's the tolls.

The idea that one league should monopolize access to collegiate soccer is what is obnoxious.

Note that I don't want ECNL to go away. I want there to be viable alternatives, however. If ECNL was truly offering better coaching, more power to it.

But when its sales pitch is "college coaches only come to our events, so join us or else", that is a barrier that needs to be knocked down, not reinforced.

The only ones who benefit from the ECNL model are lazy college coaches who don't want to do the hard work of proper scouting and recruiting.

Tolls are even higher on the GDA not-so-super highway.

[Unregistered]

A few more D1 schools coming to watch the ladies.

http://www.fcportland.org/doclib/201...omen's.pdf

[Unregistered]

A few more D1 schools coming to watch the ladies.

http://www.fcportland.org/doclib/201...omen's.pdf

Most of the D1s are close-by colleges (a radius of a couple of states). What about other D1 colleges further away? How can we get them to come see our backyard games? I want my kid to be recruited from my backyard! I don't want to have to pay to travel to them!! This is not fair!

[Unregistered]

Most of the D1s are close-by colleges (a radius of a couple of states). What about other D1 colleges further away? How can we get them to come see our backyard games? I want my kid to be recruited from my backyard! I don't want to have to pay to travel to them!! This is not fair!

Have your daughter choose her college based on where she wants to spend four years getting an education. If she wants to play soccer there..Then have her put together a resume, including any letters from her club and HS coaches. Then have her put together a reel of some games, and send all together in a nice packet to the coaches of her top ten choices of schools. Then invite the coaches of these schools to come watch her play in person or to a game on a live stream. Then have your daughter call the coach and speak to him in person and perhaps arrange a time to meet while visiting the campus. The notion of a player settling on some random college she doesn't care much for ...based on a partial Soccer scholarship from a one-time lazy scout session at an ECNL tournament... is just sad. Would you cashier at Buger King because it was the only job offered to you at a career fair? Or would you put together a resume and try to get a job at a place you wanted to work?

[Unregistered]

See, you make my point for me.

It's a recruiting platform. It's a modelling agency. It's a talent show. A cattle call. An inverted labor union. Simon Cowell will be watching.

But if what you say is true--that for girls to get a D1 scholarship they have to play in a certain league, otherwise they won't be "seen"--then ECNL isn't a visionary league that needs to be praised, it's a monopoly that deserves to be smashed. If the superhighway is charging a toll that is too expensive, time to build a competing superhighway so there isn't only one road to Rome.

For all you like to complain about Peregrine dominating local youth soccer... it's obvious you only object to an 800lb gorilla when it's not you.

Have a cigar, indeed.

At all levels in this country we need to move (i) towards open as opposed to closed leagues and (ii) true oversight of the way non-profits interact with for-profits.

The local clubs doing ECNL are nothing more than 501(c)(3) - noone locally is getting rich off of ECNL. ECNL coaches make shockingly little per hour (like most youth coaches).

However, their monopoly is not healthy for soccer (nor are DA or pro monopolies for that matter).

Peregrine is making a good chunk off of OYSA - I think grownups should be scrutinizing that relationship.

[Unregistered]

Have your daughter choose her college based on where she wants to spend four years getting an education. If she wants to play soccer there..Then have her put together a resume, including any letters from her club and HS coaches. Then have her put together a reel of some games, and send all together in a nice packet to the coaches of her top ten choices of schools. Then invite the coaches of these schools to come watch her play in person or to a game on a live stream. Then have your daughter call the coach and speak to him in person and perhaps arrange a time to meet while visiting the campus. The notion of a player settling on some random college she doesn't care much for ...based on a partial Soccer scholarship from a one-time lazy scout session at an ECNL tournament... is just sad. Would you cashier at Buger King because it was the only job offered to you at a career fair? Or would you put together a resume and try to get a job at a place you wanted to work?

Thanks for the college recruiting for dummies guide. Obviously the post was poking fun at those parents who are so against spending money for travel. Traveling around gets you closer to coaches and particular schools of interest. No way an east coast college coach is coming over here (well maybe one/two?), but they might be going to Surf Cup, an ECNL event, or other showcases. If your team isn't going there, well you are probably SOL unless you want to travel individually to the college for an ID camp, which puts them in a situation of playing with random strangers - most perform better with those they have developed trusts/chemistry with on the field and these live action games are what you want them to see (a video can make anyone look good - not really reliable). Not traveling is equivalent to the Burger King job which will probably result in settling. I wasn't aware of recruiting sessions at ECNL games, but if kids aren't interested in the colleges there, then they should have done some contacting in advance to the coaches of colleges they are interested in to see if they are going (and find out how they do most of their recruiting). Some might not mind traveling a couple hundred miles as opposed to thousands to the PNW (most likely won't happen). Why do you think teams from other states come to these tournaments? Point being...don't expect to be recruited in backyard games, even with a resume, video and email/phone chat. Also, I can't imagine there is a club that requires players to travel to every single tournament - you should be able to pick and choose based on interest and budgets.

[Unregistered]

At all levels in this country we need to move (i) towards open as opposed to closed leagues and (ii) true oversight of the way non-profits interact with for-profits.

The local clubs doing ECNL are nothing more than 501(c)(3) - noone locally is getting rich off of ECNL. ECNL coaches make shockingly little per hour (like most youth coaches).

However, their monopoly is not healthy for soccer (nor are DA or pro monopolies for that matter).

Peregrine is making a good chunk off of OYSA - I think grownups should be scrutinizing that relationship.

Peregrine locally is similar to the conflicts in US Soccer nationally: http://www.soccernomics-agency.com/?p=973

[Unregistered]

Also, I can't imagine there is a club that requires players to travel to every single tournament - you should be able to pick and choose based on interest and budgets.

Wrong. If you're daughter is a top 6-8 player on her ECNL team, guess what? You're pretty much "required" to travel to every single tournament regardless of your interest or budget.

[Unregistered]

Wrong. If you're daughter is a top 6-8 player on her ECNL team, guess what? You're pretty much "required" to travel to every single tournament regardless of your interest or budget.

If your DD is in the top 6-8 players on her ECNL team, you want her to go. They are the ones ECNL is made for.

[Unregistered]

If your DD is in the top 6-8 players on her ECNL team, you want her to go. They are the ones ECNL is made for.

Not if the showcase is in NJ and she wants to go to school on the West Coast.

[Unregistered]

Not if the showcase is in NJ and she wants to go to school on the West Coast.

She doesn't go to NJ then she sits out the west coast games and showcases. Simple.