Ecnl/gda

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Am I understanding this correctly? Did u13 girls Seacoast players drive roughly 5 hours from New Hampshire to New Jersey for one league game?

Understand what? I don't see any mention of that in this thread?

[Unregistered]

Very much so. So if a higher league will help improve the odds of getting coach interest and getting more prepared for college why wouldn't you do that? Obviously cost etc is a big factor for some families, but even NPL has costs. There's a debate on the CT board about a local top NPL player who is getting PT as a frosh at UCONN but seems to be struggling.

GDA and Ecnl leagues give better exposure, have a higher concentration of the better talent (why they have more exposure because college coaches know this!) and provide more of a playing challenge that is closer to college level play. It’s certainly not impossible but it’s harder for coaches to know how a player will fit in at college if they are seeing them play against non GDA and non Ecnl competition. Even the gpoy player at UConn is struggling compared to being the 2nd coming she was predicted to be. It’s simply much easier to stand out as some superstar vs inferior competition.

[Unregistered]

LOL, starts off with "If your kid has an actual soccer resume they don't really need to be "seen" because the college coaches already know about her.".

Then proceeds to show all the extra steps one needs to take to be "seen".

Clear case of a club coach protecting their turf. If your kid has played a lot of soccer on a bunch of different teams simply because they love soccer and are trying to play as much of it as possible they will develop a) a resume and b) into a player college coaches want. Pretty simple.

[Unregistered]

Of course but it brings up the question of whether or not playing in the NPL (now a much weaker league than it was pre-GDA) will help get a player ready for D1 soccer.

No. Here's the problem. NPL plays second fiddle to DA and ECNL. Top NPL players could play in either DA or ECNL, but not the entire roster. So the competition those top NPL players are playing against and the supporting members on their team are mostly inferior to those that D1 prospects are playing with and against, the majority of which are coming from the top two leagues.

Speed of play, physicality, athleticism, size, technical skill and tactical accumen all matter and are all higher on average at DA/ECNL than NPL. Like others have said, it's not impossible to play D1 from NPL but it's much harder and the risk is the adjustment to the higher level of play.

[Unregistered]

Clear case of a club coach protecting their turf. If your kid has played a lot of soccer on a bunch of different teams simply because they love soccer and are trying to play as much of it as possible they will develop a) a resume and b) into a player college coaches want. Pretty simple.

The soccer resume is code for ODP Region 1 or PDP Northeast, various HS accolades, YNT camp call-ups, etc.

Here is the reality: That accounts for maybe 10 girls give or take in our region per birth year. Of those 10, maybe 5 are legit top prospect contenders and will have their pick of local soccer programs if they aren't picked up nationally. If you aren't part of the group, it's college ID camps, showcases, reaching out to coaches, etc and the higher up you are (i.e. DA/ECNL), the easier it is to get attention.

Colleges around here pick up 4-7 recruits each year and most aren't of the caliber I mentioned above so plenty of spots at all levels.

[Unregistered]

LOL, starts off with "If your kid has an actual soccer resume they don't really need to be "seen" because the college coaches already know about her.".

Then proceeds to show all the extra steps one needs to take to be "seen".

If you think the recruiting process only starts when your team starts going to showcases you are misinformed.

The showcases that someone is clearly pushing here are nothing but cattle call auditions. There are hundreds if not thousands of players at them. The players that are going to stand out right away, everyone knows about. There are going to be 1-2 of those players on each decent level team capable of doing that and the rest are going to compete with all of the other players on that field for the 15 or so minutes of attention each college coach typically will give a game. If your kid is an average low level D1 prospect they typically are going to have trouble standing out in those settings so showcases aren't really the most efficient way to get "seen" if you honestly believe that is the way go. Doesn't make them a bad player or an unworthy prospect but in those settings there are going to be a lot of those type players all vying for attention. Makes it very tough to get noticed.

[Unregistered]

Clear case of a club coach protecting their turf. If your kid has played a lot of soccer on a bunch of different teams simply because they love soccer and are trying to play as much of it as possible they will develop a) a resume and b) into a player college coaches want. Pretty simple.

Not at all. I explained in my first post that you don't need to go that route, and gave a solid example of one who didn't and it's working out so far.

So, again, you advocate taking a bunch of steps to develop a resume, which is akin to being seen. That's great, and not bad advice. Some want a one-stop shopping as a lump sum, some want it a la carte.

That's what is great about this game: Choose the path that best suits what you can do. If you are talented, it will work out.

[Unregistered]

If you think the recruiting process only starts when your team starts going to showcases you are misinformed.

The showcases that someone is clearly pushing here are nothing but cattle call auditions. There are hundreds if not thousands of players at them. The players that are going to stand out right away, everyone knows about. There are going to be 1-2 of those players on each decent level team capable of doing that and the rest are going to compete with all of the other players on that field for the 15 or so minutes of attention each college coach typically will give a game. If your kid is an average low level D1 prospect they typically are going to have trouble standing out in those settings so showcases aren't really the most efficient way to get "seen" if you honestly believe that is the way go. Doesn't make them a bad player or an unworthy prospect but in those settings there are going to be a lot of those type players all vying for attention. Makes it very tough to get noticed.

Where did I say it starts at a Showcase? I never made any assertion and never even led any rational person to think that.

Careful...your agenda is showing.

[Unregistered]

The soccer resume is code for ODP Region 1 or PDP Northeast, various HS accolades, YNT camp call-ups, etc.

Here is the reality: That accounts for maybe 10 girls give or take in our region per birth year. Of those 10, maybe 5 are legit top prospect contenders and will have their pick of local soccer programs if they aren't picked up nationally. If you aren't part of the group, it's college ID camps, showcases, reaching out to coaches, etc and the higher up you are (i.e. DA/ECNL), the easier it is to get attention.

Colleges around here pick up 4-7 recruits each year and most aren't of the caliber I mentioned above so plenty of spots at all levels.

The fact is each player has a resume that they really start building the day they start playing soccer. A player's resume is not any different than a job seeker's resume. The more they have on it the more attractive they are. If your kid doesn't have any experience or limited accolades of course they are going to have a hard time with recruiting, that's just common sense. It begs the question what do you think you are do without any? Seriously, if a kid doesn't have anything really to show for their club experience do you really think that showing up at some college showcase is the answer? Do you really think that kid is going to garner any attention at all?

[Unregistered]

Not at all. I explained in my first post that you don't need to go that route, and gave a solid example of one who didn't and it's working out so far.

So, again, you advocate taking a bunch of steps to develop a resume, which is akin to being seen. That's great, and not bad advice. Some want a one-stop shopping as a lump sum, some want it a la carte.

That's what is great about this game: Choose the path that best suits what you can do. If you are talented, it will work out.

The one stop shopping concept was an ECNL pitch. It only worked for the kids everyone already knew about and didn't really need the exposure. Most of the other kids ended up getting screwed in those settings because they really weren't capable of standing out. Didn't make them bad players but the way they were being told to market themselves left them without any real way to distinguish themselves from all of the other players.

[Unregistered]

No. Here's the problem. NPL plays second fiddle to DA and ECNL. Top NPL players could play in either DA or ECNL, but not the entire roster. So the competition those top NPL players are playing against and the supporting members on their team are mostly inferior to those that D1 prospects are playing with and against, the majority of which are coming from the top two leagues.

Speed of play, physicality, athleticism, size, technical skill and tactical accumen all matter and are all higher on average at DA/ECNL than NPL. Like others have said, it's not impossible to play D1 from NPL but it's much harder and the risk is the adjustment to the higher level of play.

My D went to a big D1 program ID Camp (not local) filled with ECNL and DA girls. She as a local NPL player, stood out in all the scrimmages and got pulled into the top pool. Some of the ECNL/DA girls she played against in the lower/unknown pool were not good. It was actually shocking how bad some of the play was. The coach of her group told her that New England has a reputation of a very strong NPL league, and they see those players differently than most other NPL leagues. So save me all your “adjustment” to college crap. Every player, club and league is different everywhere, and what was evident was that an NPL player from a strong team in New England was much better adjusted to the D1 play than many of the ECNL/DA players from the bottom half of there leagues all over the country. Honestly it was an eye opening experience.

[Unregistered]

Where did I say it starts at a Showcase? I never made any assertion and never even led any rational person to think that.

Careful...your agenda is showing.

What's my agenda. I'm saying play a lot of soccer. Be on a lot of teams. Build a resume instead of hoping some college coach will be stupid enough to believe some shoulder patch is more important than being developed properly and having a record of accomplishment? What's your agenda?

[Unregistered]

GDA and Ecnl leagues give better exposure, have a higher concentration of the better talent (why they have more exposure because college coaches know this!) and provide more of a playing challenge that is closer to college level play. It’s certainly not impossible but it’s harder for coaches to know how a player will fit in at college if they are seeing them play against non GDA and non Ecnl competition. Even the gpoy player at UConn is struggling compared to being the 2nd coming she was predicted to be. It’s simply much easier to stand out as some superstar vs inferior competition.

GDA and ECNL are just some places that college coaches do their shopping, but a GDA/ECNL game is really a poor indicator of how well a particular player will do against actual college-level competition. It’s one of the reasons college coaches prefer their own ID camps (not just $) rather than showcases because they can see how the player does with their current college team aside other top picks. College game IS different from club and HS (which isn’t to say it’s always better). You can find a lot of very good club/HS players who don’t stand out in college.

[Unregistered]

My D went to a big D1 program ID Camp (not local) filled with ECNL and DA girls. She as a local NPL player, stood out in all the scrimmages and got pulled into the top pool. Some of the ECNL/DA girls she played against in the lower/unknown pool were not good. It was actually shocking how bad some of the play was. The coach of her group told her that New England has a reputation of a very strong NPL league, and they see those players differently than most other NPL leagues. So save me all your “adjustment” to college crap. Every player, club and league is different everywhere, and what was evident was that an NPL player from a strong team in New England was much better adjusted to the D1 play than many of the ECNL/DA players from the bottom half of there leagues all over the country. Honestly it was an eye opening experience.

My dd never played in the ECNL or DA and is a starter on a college team in top 20. The leagues don't make the players, the players make the league. The fact of the matter is if your kid is a really good player they need to be "playing" up against older and better players as much as possible. That is one of the advantages of high school soccer. Too many of these clubs want to essentially play kids "down" in order to create stronger and more marketable teams.

[Unregistered]

My D went to a big D1 program ID Camp (not local) filled with ECNL and DA girls. She as a local NPL player, stood out in all the scrimmages and got pulled into the top pool. Some of the ECNL/DA girls she played against in the lower/unknown pool were not good. It was actually shocking how bad some of the play was. The coach of her group told her that New England has a reputation of a very strong NPL league, and they see those players differently than most other NPL leagues. So save me all your “adjustment” to college crap. Every player, club and league is different everywhere, and what was evident was that an NPL player from a strong team in New England was much better adjusted to the D1 play than many of the ECNL/DA players from the bottom half of there leagues all over the country. Honestly it was an eye opening experience.

We share the same experience. She attended ID clinics in schools she is interested in. Top teams pulled her into the all star matches with known recruits and are now following her.