The Girls 2007 Thread

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They may not be stronger, as far as team records go. For the serious soccer players , with real talent and high aspirations, they are putting themselves in a better individual position by playing DA or ECNL. Way more exposure, competition, and training. Their teams record from year to year, will not make make or break their soccer path. Their training , exposure, and competition level will. Most kids, won’t play soccer beyond high school or college, so the level for them isn’t as important.

Great point. I don't care about my kid's record. If the games are competitive and the skill level is better overall, then losing 1-0 is a much better experience than winning 8-0.

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Start of the season is rapidly approaching. Looks like there are several strong 2007 teams. Top four teams to watch are probably:

NEFC Central Elite Red
SSS U11 AP
Spirit of Liverpool Elite
GPS Boston Elite Red

Will FC Boston, FC Stars, Aztec or Valeo have teams who can keep pace with the top four?

First action for these teams will likely be at FC Stars Labor Day tournament with the NEP season starting the week thereafter.

Who ya got?

This thread was started summer before U11 and we are still talking about the same 7-8 teams: NEFC, SSS, SOL, GPS Red, Scorpions (FC Boston), FC Stars and Aztec.

Leagues have changed a bit, team names have evolved "Central to Pre-DA" and there has been some player movement for sure, but in reality not much has changed. Bet its still 75% of the same players filling these rosters.

[Unregistered]

This thread was started summer before U11 and we are still talking about the same 7-8 teams: NEFC, SSS, SOL, GPS Red, Scorpions (FC Boston), FC Stars and Aztec.

Leagues have changed a bit, team names have evolved "Central to Pre-DA" and there has been some player movement for sure, but in reality not much has changed. Bet its still 75% of the same players filling these rosters.

What’s your point?

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They may not be stronger, as far as team records go. For the serious soccer players , with real talent and high aspirations, they are putting themselves in a better individual position by playing DA or ECNL. Way more exposure, competition, and training. Their teams record from year to year, will not make make or break their soccer path. Their training , exposure, and competition level will. Most kids, won’t play soccer beyond high school or college, so the level for them isn’t as important.

Watch The Journey about the USWNT or any other interviews with serious athletes talking about their path. One common thread is that most serious athletes are hypercompetitive and always were as kids. Yes, they want to get better but they also want to WIN. Not every game, of course not. But winning is a part of sports and a desire most top athletes have. It's fine if your daughter doesn't care about winning - but at the end of the day, MOST of the top athletes are going to gather on the top teams. And training with the leftovers won't make anyone their personal best and no amount of exposure will matter.

And all of which is FINE if you have a kid who isn't looking to play top D1. But those serious athletes that are will end up on a handful of top teams. Why would a player with D1 talent stick around Oakwood or Seacoast when they could train with better players (who also care about winning too), and get similar exposure at FC Stars or NEFC? At some point, top athletes want to win and not just train (and if the training was that excellent, the record would reflect that anyway).

[Unregistered]

Again. It doesn’t really matter at U11. It starts to matter as kids develop and plateau. You need to be on an upward curve to play in a good college team or for a good college. If you are happy with bates and Colby then no, you don’t need to play ecnl/da. If you want harvard/williams you have a better shot if you play on a better club team. And please stop talking about what happened 10 years ago. If you read anything from parents of kids going through recruitment right now you will see that times have changed drastically.

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But those serious athletes that are will end up on a handful of top teams. Why would a player with D1 talent stick around Oakwood or Seacoast when they could train with better players (who also care about winning too), and get similar exposure at FC Stars or NEFC? At some point, top athletes want to win and not just train (and if the training was that excellent, the record would reflect that anyway).

1) Because it's not as easy to get to those locations

2) Because competing against those teams accomplishes the same thing

As a follow-up, if you disagree with #2 above, why would anyone sign up for the Stars B team then? The selling point was you played in the same league as the real team, get seen by the same coaches as the real team, and get the same experience. Same exact thing. Just a crapload less time getting to and from practice 4x a week....so you can keep your job to pay for it all.

[Unregistered]

Watch The Journey about the USWNT or any other interviews with serious athletes talking about their path. One common thread is that most serious athletes are hypercompetitive and always were as kids. Yes, they want to get better but they also want to WIN. Not every game, of course not. But winning is a part of sports and a desire most top athletes have. It's fine if your daughter doesn't care about winning - but at the end of the day, MOST of the top athletes are going to gather on the top teams. And training with the leftovers won't make anyone their personal best and no amount of exposure will matter.

And all of which is FINE if you have a kid who isn't looking to play top D1. But those serious athletes that are will end up on a handful of top teams. Why would a player with D1 talent stick around Oakwood or Seacoast when they could train with better players (who also care about winning too), and get similar exposure at FC Stars or NEFC? At some point, top athletes want to win and not just train (and if the training was that excellent, the record would reflect that anyway).

Winning is relative to the strength of the league that you are playing in. Stars has ECNL and NEFC has DA, to offer their most ambitious players. Colleges don’t recruit teams. They recruit players. I’ve never heard of national players bragging about their wins on U13 club teams. I have heard of them talking about the struggle, sacrifice, and hard work to get on theNational teams.

[Unregistered]

Again. It doesn’t really matter at U11. It starts to matter as kids develop and plateau. You need to be on an upward curve to play in a good college team or for a good college. If you are happy with bates and Colby then no, you don’t need to play ecnl/da. If you want harvard/williams you have a better shot if you play on a better club team. And please stop talking about what happened 10 years ago. If you read anything from parents of kids going through recruitment right now you will see that times have changed drastically.

Agreed.Times have certainly changed from 19 years ago. DA and ECNL are the top levels, no matter which way you try to spin it.

[Unregistered]

1) Because it's not as easy to get to those locations

2) Because competing against those teams accomplishes the same thing

As a follow-up, if you disagree with #2 above, why would anyone sign up for the Stars B team then? The selling point was you played in the same league as the real team, get seen by the same coaches as the real team, and get the same experience. Same exact thing. Just a crapload less time getting to and from practice 4x a week....so you can keep your job to pay for it all.

Again, the best athletes have an inate desire to win. Hard to believe a true "top" athlete would be content to be on a team that loses consistently. Don't try to twist my words into saying winning is the only thing that matters - it obviously isn't - but great athletes play to win. Difficult to imagine Oakwood or Seacoast breeding any true top athletes on teams that nearly never win (except against each other). The best will eventually go to clubs that offer the training and exposure, along with teammates capable of winning. Those who stay...will eventually cease to be "top" athletes. At some point, you need to stop obsessing over training and prove you can put it on the pitch in a game.

[Unregistered]

Again, the best athletes have an inate desire to win. Hard to believe a true "top" athlete would be content to be on a team that loses consistently. Don't try to twist my words into saying winning is the only thing that matters - it obviously isn't - but great athletes play to win. Difficult to imagine Oakwood or Seacoast breeding any true top athletes on teams that nearly never win (except against each other). The best will eventually go to clubs that offer the training and exposure, along with teammates capable of winning. Those who stay...will eventually cease to be "top" athletes. At some point, you need to stop obsessing over training and prove you can put it on the pitch in a game.

Both programs can and have put players into top D1 schools in the country. They will be slim, of course, especially for SU due to their location.

And, yes, everyone wants to win, but winning by a blowout is only better than losing by a blowout. It's a waste of time. So, you look to compete, play at a level where games are close. Both generally due that. It's a balance. Again, I'd rather play to a close loss than a long drive for a big win. You don't gain anything from that.

Just like playing on another Club's B team.

[Unregistered]

Again, the best athletes have an inate desire to win. Hard to believe a true "top" athlete would be content to be on a team that loses consistently. Don't try to twist my words into saying winning is the only thing that matters - it obviously isn't - but great athletes play to win. Difficult to imagine Oakwood or Seacoast breeding any true top athletes on teams that nearly never win (except against each other). The best will eventually go to clubs that offer the training and exposure, along with teammates capable of winning. Those who stay...will eventually cease to be "top" athletes. At some point, you need to stop obsessing over training and prove you can put it on the pitch in a game.

Since most of DA is training how does training at a mediocre club more often do anyone any good? If you only play a good team in 1 of 6 games, how is that improving skills?

[Unregistered]

Again, the best athletes have an inate desire to win. Hard to believe a true "top" athlete would be content to be on a team that loses consistently. Don't try to twist my words into saying winning is the only thing that matters - it obviously isn't - but great athletes play to win. Difficult to imagine Oakwood or Seacoast breeding any true top athletes on teams that nearly never win (except against each other). The best will eventually go to clubs that offer the training and exposure, along with teammates capable of winning. Those who stay...will eventually cease to be "top" athletes. At some point, you need to stop obsessing over training and prove you can put it on the pitch in a game.

What a stupid argument. While many likely WANTS to play at Barca, many want to play against them to beat the best. Some can't play for them, due to logistics...or lack of quality.

[Unregistered]

Again, the best athletes have an inate desire to win. Hard to believe a true "top" athlete would be content to be on a team that loses consistently. Don't try to twist my words into saying winning is the only thing that matters - it obviously isn't - but great athletes play to win. Difficult to imagine Oakwood or Seacoast breeding any true top athletes on teams that nearly never win (except against each other). The best will eventually go to clubs that offer the training and exposure, along with teammates capable of winning. Those who stay...will eventually cease to be "top" athletes. At some point, you need to stop obsessing over training and prove you can put it on the pitch in a game.

Miami Dolphins, anyone?

[Unregistered]

What a stupid argument. While many likely WANTS to play at Barca, many want to play against them to beat the best. Some can't play for them, due to logistics...or lack of quality.

Faulty comparison. Athletes playing against Barca are professional athletes. You can't have a developing 12 year old on a lousy Oakwood or Seacoast team, call them a "serious" player, and tell me they're happy to lose week after week, because losing to NEFC is a privilege. Either your kid lacks a competitive edge and you don't see it, she isn't as "serious" as you think, or she just plain old isn't good enough for a stronger team (which is perfectly acceptable). But don't go around pretending she's so super serious and excited for the privilege to be beat by the best. My God. Lol.

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What are the big matchups of the weekend?

NEFC looks like the clear leader so far the next top 9 are all pretty close.