Dynamite ID Sessions

[Unregistered]

Shaun is one of the best trainers in the state and a class act as well.

[Unregistered]

https://thedynamiteacademy.com/

We currently have our younger daughter at an ECNL club. Mixed feelings on ECNL when she gets older. Hearing he is one of the better trainers for development but also hearing things about games.

Looking for guidance.

My kids is also at an ECNL club and to say we have been disappointed and disillusioned with the club and the lack of development is an understatement- we are seriously considering going to an EDP club as what we’ve experienced at the ECNL club has been awful. Quality and quantity of training is below what other non ECNL clubs provide and the coaching is stagnant not really experimenting with kids in different positions because of the stupid limited sub rule.

ECNL has no standards for its clubs so unless you are at a top club like PDA or stars the patch isn’t worth it.


ECNL is continuing to slide thereby leaving openings for other clubs and leagues to become relevant again. There is next to no development going on at ECNL clubs - don’t let the patch fool you.

[Unregistered]

In this area unless you’re on PDA ECNL A team or at WCFC, ECNL is good but on par with top level GDA or 1st Div EDP. Bottom line find an environment that you’ll grow in, a coach that truly cares about you as a player and is willing to help you achieve your goals (giving you constant advice on what to do to get better, contacting colleges if you’re goal is to play in college and ultimately treating you and your family fairly and with respect). You are a customer and there are plenty of good choices out there, name of club does not matter so don’t be fooled by the badge or the name on the shirt.

[Unregistered]

My kids is also at an ECNL club and to say we have been disappointed and disillusioned with the club and the lack of development is an understatement- we are seriously considering going to an EDP club as what we’ve experienced at the ECNL club has been awful. Quality and quantity of training is below what other non ECNL clubs provide and the coaching is stagnant not really experimenting with kids in different positions because of the stupid limited sub rule.

ECNL has no standards for its clubs so unless you are at a top club like PDA or stars the patch isn’t worth it.


ECNL is continuing to slide thereby leaving openings for other clubs and leagues to become relevant again. There is next to no development going on at ECNL clubs - don’t let the patch fool you.

Totally disagree! My kid played on an EDP team last year, we thought it was OK and probably would've stuck with it if all the top players didn't go over to GDA. We opted to try out for ECNL instead tho (she likes her HS team too much to give it up). It literally is night and day from last year.
I'll admit, it took a little getting used to bc she went from being a starter & full game player on her EDP team to playing reserve maybe half a game on her ECNL team...but, I can't get mad at it-her teammates are really strong players. Hopefully after a full year playing at this level, she'll catch up. Her coach is pretty cool about things though, he tries to give even play & starting roles at showcases so she gets seen. And let me tell you, the amount of college coaches at these events blew.me.away! Every single coach that my kid contacted has come to see her play, multiple times-there are literally hordes of them at these things, it's insane! The best we ever got at EDP tourneys were maybe 5-6 low level D1 local.

Now yes, as far as individual development-they don't really work on that too much. It's really more tactical from a team stand point, but he does give them certain challenges and exercises to do at home and they do get "homework" that is intended to raise their soccer IQ and awareness. On her old team, my kid would've never been assigned to watch a NWSL game and analyze the formation, players utilization of space and list 5 things they agreed with and 5 things they might have done differently.

I know it's probably unpopular for me to be touting how happy we are with ECNL on a thread that's undoubtedly designed to pump up EDP (I'm assuming that's where all these dynamite teams will be playing), but I just figured I'd share our experience.

[Unregistered]

In this area unless you’re on PDA ECNL A team or at WCFC, ECNL is good but on par with top level GDA or 1st Div EDP. Bottom line find an environment that you’ll grow in, a coach that truly cares about you as a player and is willing to help you achieve your goals (giving you constant advice on what to do to get better, contacting colleges if you’re goal is to play in college and ultimately treating you and your family fairly and with respect). You are a customer and there are plenty of good choices out there, name of club does not matter so don’t be fooled by the badge or the name on the shirt.

I am sure there are good options in all leagues in terms of coaches. My daughter was at an EDP/NL club for years and we decided to make the move so she could get better exposure with colleges. There was literally no college coaches at EDP events. We went to the SC and FL ECNL events and there were hordes of college coaches at each game. I was amazed at the amount on the touch line. Her coach has been excellent with her, working on areas of need, sending fitness plans through the winter, calling college coaches on her behalf, creating Google Sheets to communicate with us as parents on the college process. We wish they could train a little more but I certainly feel she is much better placed in this environment. GDA I am sure you have good coach options but my kid wanted to play HS too much to even consider that.

[Unregistered]

Totally disagree! My kid played on an EDP team last year, we thought it was OK and probably would've stuck with it if all the top players didn't go over to GDA. We opted to try out for ECNL instead tho (she likes her HS team too much to give it up). It literally is night and day from last year.
I'll admit, it took a little getting used to bc she went from being a starter & full game player on her EDP team to playing reserve maybe half a game on her ECNL team...but, I can't get mad at it-her teammates are really strong players. Hopefully after a full year playing at this level, she'll catch up. Her coach is pretty cool about things though, he tries to give even play & starting roles at showcases so she gets seen. And let me tell you, the amount of college coaches at these events blew.me.away! Every single coach that my kid contacted has come to see her play, multiple times-there are literally hordes of them at these things, it's insane! The best we ever got at EDP tourneys were maybe 5-6 low level D1 local.

Now yes, as far as individual development-they don't really work on that too much. It's really more tactical from a team stand point, but he does give them certain challenges and exercises to do at home and they do get "homework" that is intended to raise their soccer IQ and awareness. On her old team, my kid would've never been assigned to watch a NWSL game and analyze the formation, players utilization of space and list 5 things they agreed with and 5 things they might have done differently.

I know it's probably unpopular for me to be touting how happy we are with ECNL on a thread that's undoubtedly designed to pump up EDP (I'm assuming that's where all these dynamite teams will be playing), but I just figured I'd share our experience.

I actually agree with a lot of this - if your kid wants to play D1 college ball then take her to an ECNL team at U-15, maybe even U16 with the new recruiting dates. EDP does a much better job at developing younger kids. Don’t need ecnl before that age and if your kid doesn’t want D1 soccer no need to play ECNL at any age. Just make sure you are actually taking her to a quality ECNL club and not one of the bottom dwellers, there really isn’t a lot of difference in the college commits from low level ECNL teams and top EDP teams.

You sound like you did it right for your kid.

[Unregistered]

in this area unless you’re on pda ecnl a team or at wcfc, ecnl is good but on par with top level gda or 1st div edp. Bottom line find an environment that you’ll grow in, a coach that truly cares about you as a player and is willing to help you achieve your goals (giving you constant advice on what to do to get better, contacting colleges if you’re goal is to play in college and ultimately treating you and your family fairly and with respect). You are a customer and there are plenty of good choices out there, name of club does not matter so don’t be fooled by the badge or the name on the shirt.

excellent advice!

[Unregistered]

I actually agree with a lot of this - if your kid wants to play D1 college ball then take her to an ECNL team at U-15, maybe even U16 with the new recruiting dates. EDP does a much better job at developing younger kids. Don’t need ecnl before that age and if your kid doesn’t want D1 soccer no need to play ECNL at any age. Just make sure you are actually taking her to a quality ECNL club and not one of the bottom dwellers, there really isn’t a lot of difference in the college commits from low level ECNL teams and top EDP teams.

You sound like you did it right for your kid.

Thanks! To be honest, she played NPL at the younger ages and did a lot of training with PDP programs they offered...they were really good!

[Unregistered]

In this area unless you’re on PDA ECNL A team or at WCFC, ECNL is good but on par with top level GDA or 1st Div EDP. Bottom line find an environment that you’ll grow in, a coach that truly cares about you as a player and is willing to help you achieve your goals (giving you constant advice on what to do to get better, contacting colleges if you’re goal is to play in college and ultimately treating you and your family fairly and with respect). You are a customer and there are plenty of good choices out there, name of club does not matter so don’t be fooled by the badge or the name on the shirt.

Top EDP teams are on par with the bottom level teams in NE ECNL/GDA. Thing is, that's the best EDP has to offer, top EDP teams will never play the likes of top PDA, Stars, NEFC, SS teams so you can't really compare the competition of EDP to the top leagues, no matter how hard you want to try!

[Unregistered]

Lol. Obviously hasn’t seen the top EDP teams recently. They good.

Top EDP teams are on par with the bottom level teams in NE ECNL/GDA. Thing is, that's the best EDP has to offer, top EDP teams will never play the likes of top PDA, Stars, NEFC, SS teams so you can't really compare the competition of EDP to the top leagues, no matter how hard you want to try!

[Unregistered]

So true. This region is NL/EDP country now and it’s only just beginning.

[Unregistered]

Not all EDP divisions are created equal, the top ones are very balanced especially when you look at the non club ones where the quality of the teams does not matter as long as they are part of an academy that brings tons of teams which equals $$$$$. So they don’t care if a team is awful they are still in the 1st Div. the team vs team divs are much more balanced and tough top to bottom.

[Unregistered]

So true. This region is NL/EDP country now and it’s only just beginning.

I do think ECNL is slipping because only a few good clubs. NL/EDP definitely making some inroads. The introduction of GDA really has made all three leagues more equal. The next couple of years will be interesting.

[Unregistered]

Yea I love the posts that say go to ecnl when you’re u15 or u16 after getting better development in EDP. Lol. ECNL will be coming to NL/EDP in a few years to get better developed.

[Unregistered]

I do think ECNL is slipping because only a few good clubs. NL/EDP definitely making some inroads. The introduction of GDA really has made all three leagues more equal. The next couple of years will be interesting.

How are they making inroads? By taking in all the clubs/players that can't get into ecnl/gda? As long as ECNL/GDA have the college coaches (and they do!) they will continue to be the top leagues. It's really that simple