ECNL the truth of the matter

[Unregistered]

" another layer on top of Youth Soccer "

Creating more " layers " is a guarantee of better players , better development? Wouldn't it make more sense to try and improve the current leyers?

It isn't like ODP . ODP is not run by the " Elite" clubs themselves.

The " watering down" and spreading thin of the existing pool of youth players by the constant adding of new " layers' , or the League du Jour, only adds to the expense , anxiety level, and unintended consequences experienced by all players playing at each and every level.

I actively Referee all levels of Youth, including ENCL. I really don't see anything " elite " about it, except the parents preception that it is.

What league is ENCL???? and it is spelled "layers" not "leyers". Blew your cover man...

[Unregistered]

What league is ENCL???? and it is spelled "layers" not "leyers". Blew your cover man...

" my cover"

What " cover " is that?

Don't get all upset over a typo.

I still don't see anything " elite" about it.

[Unregistered]

" my cover"

What " cover " is that?

Don't get all upset over a typo.

I still don't see anything " elite" about it.

Watch the games in NEP , the ECNL teams against the non-ECNL teams you will see the "elite" difference in the teams.

[Unregistered]

" my cover"

What " cover " is that?

Don't get all upset over a typo.

I still don't see anything " elite" about it.

It seems that the only people that have comments about this league are people who are not part of it. Like a broken record.

[Unregistered]

It seems that the only people that have comments about this league are people who are not part of it. Like a broken record.

Is being a Referee that offciates the games, along with Regional, ODP and related competitions someone who is " part of it ", or do you need only to be a paying customer in order to offer an educated opinion ?

Say I have a daughter that is getting to the age of perhaps joining. Should I throw out my educated opinion, and just go by the word of the paying customers and the people who are cashing the checks?

[Unregistered]

5. If my kid is good enough, she will be signed and commited without going through ECNL event.

But can they get good enough competing against those who aren't (generally) good enough?

[Unregistered]

Winning is always good, but the emphasis now shifts towards exposure to D1 coaches. The best teams will always do good i.e. PDA..but getting the coaches eye in the U15 (sophs only) and U16 group is what the focus is. Recruiting coaches will tell you that they don't go to see teams win or lose, they are looking at the players.

Are coaches attending the games of teams performing poorly? Sorry my friend there only so many games coaches can attend.

[Unregistered]

It seems that the only people that have comments about this league are people who are not part of it. Like a broken record.

Not true....Only people who can comment are those part of it cuz the subtle nature of the issues can only be known by experience.

[Unregistered]

Are coaches attending the games of teams performing poorly? Sorry my friend there only so many games coaches can attend.

Incorrect...

Coaches will go to events where
+ there are several people who they are interested in
+ there are several people who are interested in them
+ there are teams of the appropriate caliber from areas that typically send kids to their school
+ the time/location is convenient

Once a coach is at an event they will come watch you play if
+ you have expressed an interest in their program and
there is a chance the coach will have a spot for you (ie Dorrance isnt sending people to watch a girl who has never progressed past local ODP)

Unless we are talking about the top 25-50 girls in the country, or a local school, coaches aren't going to waste their time looking at players who aren't already on their radar. Too many players, with too many choices for them to be "cold calling".

[Unregistered]

Are coaches attending the games of teams performing poorly? Sorry my friend there only so many games coaches can attend.

ummm..coaches don't go to randomly see games/teams based on w/l records or matchups. Most times they don't even know the record or standing, but they do know the strength of the club over time and the quality of players produced historically. They got a list of players they look at, those who contacted them. These players probably made informal visits and may have sat down with the coaches. You are right there are only so many matches they can attend, because of the list of players they need to look at. 100-200 players for a year to look at is common. Any team can perform poorly at any time, all coaches know that, so the notion that they are looking at a team performance (good or bad) vs an individual performance is wrong. Even at a individual level, coaches will give a second look (third is a stretch), as players can have off days.

[Unregistered]

Incorrect...

Coaches will go to events where
+ there are several people who they are interested in
+ there are several people who are interested in them
+ there are teams of the appropriate caliber from areas that typically send kids to their school
+ the time/location is convenient

Once a coach is at an event they will come watch you play if
+ you have expressed an interest in their program and
there is a chance the coach will have a spot for you (ie Dorrance isnt sending people to watch a girl who has never progressed past local ODP)

Unless we are talking about the top 25-50 girls in the country, or a local school, coaches aren't going to waste their time looking at players who aren't already on their radar. Too many players, with too many choices for them to be "cold calling".

The fraternity of college coaches are also vast and wide. Many college coaches are also club coaches, therefore, referrals and assessments are a common thing based on the desire of where the player wants to go. Lots of times its just a phone call from coach to coach to get things going, club coaches are the loop hole in the NCAA process.

[Unregistered]

Incorrect...

Coaches will go to events where
+ there are several people who they are interested in
+ there are several people who are interested in them
+ there are teams of the appropriate caliber from areas that typically send kids to their school
+ the time/location is convenient

Once a coach is at an event they will come watch you play if
+ you have expressed an interest in their program and
there is a chance the coach will have a spot for you (ie Dorrance isnt sending people to watch a girl who has never progressed past local ODP)

Unless we are talking about the top 25-50 girls in the country, or a local school, coaches aren't going to waste their time looking at players who aren't already on their radar. Too many players, with too many choices for them to be "cold calling".

Sounds like a stars or scorpion rep trying to sell this crap to us...again.

[Unregistered]

Winning is always good, but the emphasis now shifts towards exposure to D1 coaches. The best teams will always do good i.e. PDA..but getting the coaches eye in the U15 (sophs only) and U16 group is what the focus is. Recruiting coaches will tell you that they don't go to see teams win or lose, they are looking at the players.

OP here. I understand what you are saying. What I would like to know then, has exposure to college coaches been a success for all the teams, even those in the bottom of the second bracket? It's hard to compare apples to organges but based on the women's recruiting web site this is what I've discerned.

Stars have 28 2011s committed, but half(?) would be the non-ECNL Rovers; 11 2012s so far; and 2 2013 (one on the U18 ECNL team and one on the U17 ECNL team if I'm not mistaken, both with high level ODP exposure).

Scorpions have 11 2011 listed, all on the U18 team I think; 13 2012s, but 5 are from the U16 team, again if I'm not mistaken.

Hard to say for sure with CFC, but it would appears 15 from from each U17 and U18 ECNL team. CFC has 21 2011s, 6 of whom appear to be U17s the rest U18s and 9 2012s, one of whom appears to be a U18, but from a non-ECNL team.

Soccerplus, the underdog of the group has only 8 2011s and 4 2012s.

Of course, there is plenty of time for the U17 teams to add to their commitment list, so this will change and give a more accurate look at whether the ECNL is worth it from a college exposure perspective.

[Unregistered]

Hit enter too soon. I was going to add, it doesn't exactly show that it's working for a club like Soccerplus and it doesn't seem to be working for about a fourth to a third of the kids on some of these other teams if they are carrying rosters in the 20 player range. Maybe I should minus out the kids on NT and RT level too as they would undoubtedly be making the same commitments with or without ECNL.

Just trying to sort this whole thing out for future knowledge.

[Unregistered]

Is being a Referee that offciates the games, along with Regional, ODP and related competitions someone who is " part of it ", or do you need only to be a paying customer in order to offer an educated opinion ?

Say I have a daughter that is getting to the age of perhaps joining. Should I throw out my educated opinion, and just go by the word of the paying customers and the people who are cashing the checks?

Do not go by the word of the coaches PLEASE DON'T. It is all about the money.