Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Elite Academy League

Collapse
X
  •  
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Elite Academy League

    From what I understand the three local clubs that are now in the EAL-
    - Will play local teams and participate in either spring league, or fall/ winter but not both
    - Will play in state cup
    - Will play local tournaments- ie- Beaverton Cup, clash of the border, etc

    Then will play against Bose, Seattle, Portland and other EAL teams
    - those that do well will go to EAL regionals and cont to nationals if they qualify

    So the EAL is like an extra overlay and mostly in addition to OYSA. Teams will play against the same teams they have played against for the past x amount of years in OYSA play but now will play more games against new teams/ players. Seems like a win-win from the perspective of the kids experience.

    Money wise- will add 300 to reg fees and on top of that a little more cost for travel expenses.

    Thoughts?

    #2
    Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
    From what I understand the three local clubs that are now in the EAL-
    - Will play local teams and participate in either spring league, or fall/ winter but not both
    - Will play in state cup
    - Will play local tournaments- ie- Beaverton Cup, clash of the border, etc

    Then will play against Bose, Seattle, Portland and other EAL teams
    - those that do well will go to EAL regionals and cont to nationals if they qualify

    So the EAL is like an extra overlay and mostly in addition to OYSA. Teams will play against the same teams they have played against for the past x amount of years in OYSA play but now will play more games against new teams/ players. Seems like a win-win from the perspective of the kids experience.

    Money wise- will add 300 to reg fees and on top of that a little more cost for travel expenses.

    Thoughts?
    How does this work in high school? Only league for HS ages is winter league, as fall is Oregon HS season. Will they play an abridged Winter schedule (fewer games)? Or not at all? And if no winter games, how will State Cup qualifying work? Will EAL be considered a valid qualifying league (it's USYS, not US Club, so OYSA is less likely to be hostile...)

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
      How does this work in high school? Only league for HS ages is winter league, as fall is Oregon HS season. Will they play an abridged Winter schedule (fewer games)? Or not at all? And if no winter games, how will State Cup qualifying work? Will EAL be considered a valid qualifying league (it's USYS, not US Club, so OYSA is less likely to be hostile...)
      In a normal (no-Covid) season, obviously.

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
        How does this work in high school? Only league for HS ages is winter league, as fall is Oregon HS season. Will they play an abridged Winter schedule (fewer games)? Or not at all? And if no winter games, how will State Cup qualifying work? Will EAL be considered a valid qualifying league (it's USYS, not US Club, so OYSA is less likely to be hostile...)
        Per info I've seen 03-07's will play in winter league OYSA.

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
          From what I understand the three local clubs that are now in the EAL-
          - Will play local teams and participate in either spring league, or fall/ winter but not both
          - Will play in state cup
          - Will play local tournaments- ie- Beaverton Cup, clash of the border, etc

          Then will play against Bose, Seattle, Portland and other EAL teams
          - those that do well will go to EAL regionals and cont to nationals if they qualify

          So the EAL is like an extra overlay and mostly in addition to OYSA. Teams will play against the same teams they have played against for the past x amount of years in OYSA play but now will play more games against new teams/ players. Seems like a win-win from the perspective of the kids experience.

          Money wise- will add 300 to reg fees and on top of that a little more cost for travel expenses.

          Thoughts?
          3 clubs playing this are Capital Timbers, Oregon premier and UPDX? If what you are saying is accurate I would imagine other teams would jump on board to play more regional and out of state games. Beating up on the same teams season after season get old. Need to ask our club if we are joining.

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
            3 clubs playing this are Capital Timbers, Oregon premier and UPDX? If what you are saying is accurate I would imagine other teams would jump on board to play more regional and out of state games. Beating up on the same teams season after season get old. Need to ask our club if we are joining.
            Given their respective club histories in Oregon State Cup championships (rare or zilch) most understand they are leaving Oregon to avoid getting beat by the same clubs every year. To your point.

            Our club isn't signing up to travel so we can avoid playing the Best in this state.

            Typically in life when you can't beat em, you join em.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
              Given their respective club histories in Oregon State Cup championships (rare or zilch) most understand they are leaving Oregon to avoid getting beat by the same clubs every year. To your point.

              Our club isn't signing up to travel so we can avoid playing the Best in this state.

              Typically in life when you can't beat em, you join em.
              And who exactly is this juggernaut club people are supposed to “join”? You do realize this just basically replaces the old nwsl (which almost all top oysa clubs did at the older ages anyway) and supplements winter oysa right for the hs ages? It creates an extra opportunity to play structured/scheduled games against other competitors and has scheduled showcase tournaments in FL and AZ against clubs across the country when the weather is chitty here. Are you butt hurt you weren’t invited?

              Comment


                #8
                Regional ECNL is expanding to the NW to offer the same product with a reliable league, and a way to move in to top tier competition. The 3 Washington clubs that joined GAL are weak. Reign probably the strongest, but last I heard they only had 8 06 players on the team, and were supplementing with 07's.

                Parents in WA didn't know their clubs were signing them up for GAL and more than a few can't handle the travel price tag. Clubs thought they had access to a bottomless pit of money as long as they dangled the chance to play in college in front of folks. Some parents are waking up to the insanity of it all. If your team is sitting middle of the pack Div 1 RCL then why would you pay twice as much to play less teams over a larger area. Plenty of competition available for those teams locally. Parents going to get real tired of flying To CA to watch their team get destroyed.

                I suspect GAL will last about as long as DA did.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                  And who exactly is this juggernaut club people are supposed to “join”? You do realize this just basically replaces the old nwsl (which almost all top oysa clubs did at the older ages anyway) and supplements winter oysa right for the hs ages? It creates an extra opportunity to play structured/scheduled games against other competitors and has scheduled showcase tournaments in FL and AZ against clubs across the country when the weather is chitty here. Are you butt hurt you weren’t invited?

                  3 clubs that are run of the mill in Oregon, layering in more travel with wa. & ida ho-hum clubs for exchange playdates is really moving the needle in the direction of elite? Seems like this is a con by paying much more for so much less..The only butt is the one your speaking out of.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                    3 clubs that are run of the mill in Oregon, layering in more travel with wa. & ida ho-hum clubs for exchange playdates is really moving the needle in the direction of elite? Seems like this is a con by paying much more for so much less..The only butt is the one your speaking out of.
                    - Our clubs cost went up by $200 so it is not a huge money maker considering the EAL costs for the club.
                    - Label as more travel, ok, but it is more opportunity. These boys play the same teams, same players year after year. This gives the kids a better experience and at $200 it is worth it.

                    I suspect that in a year half a dozen or more additional clubs will take a look.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                      - Our clubs cost went up by $200 so it is not a huge money maker considering the EAL costs for the club.
                      - Label as more travel, ok, but it is more opportunity. These boys play the same teams, same players year after year. This gives the kids a better experience and at $200 it is worth it.

                      I suspect that in a year half a dozen or more additional clubs will take a look.
                      This is my take

                      Minimal money for more matches is not a bad thing imho

                      My kid wants to play

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                        Regional ECNL is expanding to the NW to offer the same product with a reliable league, and a way to move in to top tier competition. The 3 Washington clubs that joined GAL are weak. Reign probably the strongest, but last I heard they only had 8 06 players on the team, and were supplementing with 07's.

                        Parents in WA didn't know their clubs were signing them up for GAL and more than a few can't handle the travel price tag. Clubs thought they had access to a bottomless pit of money as long as they dangled the chance to play in college in front of folks. Some parents are waking up to the insanity of it all. If your team is sitting middle of the pack Div 1 RCL then why would you pay twice as much to play less teams over a larger area. Plenty of competition available for those teams locally. Parents going to get real tired of flying To CA to watch their team get destroyed.

                        I suspect GAL will last about as long as DA did.
                        This ^

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                          Regional ECNL is expanding to the NW to offer the same product with a reliable league, and a way to move in to top tier competition. The 3 Washington clubs that joined GAL are weak. Reign probably the strongest, but last I heard they only had 8 06 players on the team, and were supplementing with 07's.

                          Parents in WA didn't know their clubs were signing them up for GAL and more than a few can't handle the travel price tag. Clubs thought they had access to a bottomless pit of money as long as they dangled the chance to play in college in front of folks. Some parents are waking up to the insanity of it all. If your team is sitting middle of the pack Div 1 RCL then why would you pay twice as much to play less teams over a larger area. Plenty of competition available for those teams locally. Parents going to get real tired of flying To CA to watch their team get destroyed.

                          I suspect GAL will last about as long as DA did.
                          GAL is far better run than DA was, especially after Sunil Gulati stepped down from US Soccer and his successor basically didn't give a FF.

                          The other big news is that US Club director Michael Payne is retiring--perhaps his successor can/will lower the temperature in the longstanding war between US Club and USYS that seems to lie at the root of these league wars. Having different leagues (GAL, EAL, ECNL, ECNL Regional) isn't necessarily a problem; having leagues which refuse to play each other, meaning you travel to another city to play against a team that's no better than the one down the street but which plays for the competing league, is ridiculous.

                          Still, the Golden Rules of Travel Soccer should still apply.

                          1) If you're on the B team or lower, you have no business getting on an airplane for a soccer game. Perhaps an exception exists for B teams that are better than most clubs' A teams (UPDX 04 Blue and WT 08 Copa White being the two best examples this season), but still.

                          2) Know why you are travelling, be honest about it, and adjust expectations accordingly. Summer tournaments can be fun, especially if it's in a nice place like San Diego, or you can drive there in a few hours (Seattle). OTOH spending a week in Boise for Regionals is no fun, but it's Regionals--it's a major tournament, not a meaningless trophy. But don't pretend that playing in the White bracket at Surf is elite competition--it's not. SuperBlack, or whatever they call it these days, is another matter.

                          3) Travelling regularly for league play (as opposed to tournaments) is probably something that only a few special teams should be doing. Unfortunately, we don't have a youth soccer pyramid, so everyone tries to pretend to be elite by joining travel leagues.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                            - Our clubs cost went up by $200 so it is not a huge money maker considering the EAL costs for the club.
                            - Label as more travel, ok, but it is more opportunity. These boys play the same teams, same players year after year. This gives the kids a better experience and at $200 it is worth it.I suspect that in a year half a dozen or more additional clubs will take a look.
                            Committing to have all your boys teams at 'x' club go play similar out of state average clubs on a given day is called an exchange. Nothing new about that.

                            This attempted spin by the local involved clubs, leans heavy on the use of useless & misguided league monikers (elite) with the caveat they must train 3 days a week & videoing matches is a required this stuff doesn't change the DNA of UPDX, OSSA/XF/OPFC/WUFC/LOSC or Salem (Capital SC). Same O, Same O.

                            Instead club fees rise for parents for basically friendly games out of state. No harm in a friendly, jus sayin.

                            Claiming it's something other than pickup friendly games is not only disingenuous, charging more money in club fees makes it a dishonest and duplicit scheme.


                            Not an amused parent.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              A lot of good perspectives here. In the end it is a kids game and the ultimate determining factor for our family is the experience itself. There is something super neat about hanging with his team mates on these trips. Likewise, some benefit to the diversity it adds. Yet I see other points... where none of the current clubs are power houses and will likely get destroyed.

                              The Timbers Discovery kids matched up agains the Bose Timbers and destroyed them last year. But Bose was good enough to hammer any of the 08 teams we have gone up against.

                              Comment

                              Previously entered content was automatically saved. Restore or Discard.
                              Auto-Saved
                              x
                              Insert: Thumbnail Small Medium Large Fullsize Remove  
                              x
                              Working...
                              X