Agree to Disagree and move on.

[Unregistered]

After finally getting through a few threads on this forum I am shaking my head confused. We are talking about kids right? Kids who will have their own opinions and many will quit things they did too much, burn out. And we are talking about soccer? All you need is a ball. A sport played all over the world in any economy on dirt, grass, or turf. But we are fighting over the best club? We are fighting over which club to give our hard earned money too? We are comparing our kids “talents” which aren’t even realized yet? We are fighting over town vs club. EDP vs DPL? This RI forum is a bit out of control. Maybe it’s COVID lock down and people need to get a job and a life? I’m not sure? But stoking the fire or stirring the sh*t daily is doing nothing for RI soccer. Our state is tiny. Let it Go. Our kids deserve better from the adults.

[Unregistered]

After finally getting through a few threads on this forum I am shaking my head confused. We are talking about kids right? Kids who will have their own opinions and many will quit things they did too much, burn out. And we are talking about soccer? All you need is a ball. A sport played all over the world in any economy on dirt, grass, or turf. But we are fighting over the best club? We are fighting over which club to give our hard earned money too? We are comparing our kids “talents” which aren’t even realized yet? We are fighting over town vs club. EDP vs DPL? This RI forum is a bit out of control. Maybe it’s COVID lock down and people need to get a job and a life? I’m not sure? But stoking the fire or stirring the sh*t daily is doing nothing for RI soccer. Our state is tiny. Let it Go. Our kids deserve better from the adults.

I get your frustration but here’s something to think about.

NEP and DPL are locked models. The players and teams are playing in a bubble and are protected from teams outside of that ecosystem. Clubs will have you believe that this is all in the name of player development yet they are out there spending time marketing their access to a platform rather than actually developing their players. On a merit based platform every club would not have that protection and would instead have to focus their entire efforts on the improvement of their own product and the development of their players. I believe this is the one area truly worth discussing, respectfully I might add, as it would represent a positive change for every single player. There’s nowhere to hide when these kids get to college and then “real life” after that. Even the ones who are good enough to follow the pro pathway will struggle when they get there if they’re playing in a bubble at the youth level. Get clubs on a level playing field, expose the players to all kinds of completion and prepare them for whatever is next.

[Unregistered]

The majority of folks fighting about what club, team or league is the best are either coaches or directors using this forum to sell their own club, team or league. Don’t be fooled, they all have an agenda. The rest of us just come on here to occasionally get some information or enjoy the entertainment of adults acting like idiots talking about a kids sport. My advice is don’t take it so serious and enjoy it for what it is.

[Unregistered]

I get your frustration but here’s something to think about.

NEP and DPL are locked models. The players and teams are playing in a bubble and are protected from teams outside of that ecosystem. Clubs will have you believe that this is all in the name of player development yet they are out there spending time marketing their access to a platform rather than actually developing their players. On a merit based platform every club would not have that protection and would instead have to focus their entire efforts on the improvement of their own product and the development of their players. I believe this is the one area truly worth discussing, respectfully I might add, as it would represent a positive change for every single player. There’s nowhere to hide when these kids get to college and then “real life” after that. Even the ones who are good enough to follow the pro pathway will struggle when they get there if they’re playing in a bubble at the youth level. Get clubs on a level playing field, expose the players to all kinds of completion and prepare them for whatever is next.

Overall, npl and nep and hooefully dpl has done a good job of having a level playing field in many flights. Its one of its best qualities. You have lower level and very high level....bueno. Living in the youth soccer world now moment, it just does not make sense in the "now" to go to new leagues with few flights. It creates bad competitive games that are good for no one and more travel. Maybe u10 you can try something new but anything later your just hurting your player.

[Unregistered]

"Get clubs on a level playing field, expose the players to all kinds of competition and prepare them for whatever is next."

How can this happen? I am intrigued.

[Unregistered]

The majority of folks fighting about what club, team or league is the best are either coaches or directors using this forum to sell their own club, team or league. Don’t be fooled, they all have an agenda. The rest of us just come on here to occasionally get some information or enjoy the entertainment of adults acting like idiots talking about a kids sport. My advice is don’t take it so serious and enjoy it for what it is.

Well said. This is a forum where you can get questions answered and hear both sides of an argument (if you care to listen). The price is some of the blatantly pushed agendas of overzealous parents and competing club directors/coaches.

[Unregistered]

Well said. This is a forum where you can get questions answered and hear both sides of an argument (if you care to listen). The price is some of the blatantly pushed agendas of overzealous parents and competing club directors/coaches.

This is true for vast majority of parents who visit this board. Makes you wonder why club coaches / directors waste so much energy pushing agendas as opposed to focusing on the development of the kids. News flash it is not a good look and it hurts more your cause more than helps.

[Unregistered]

This is true for vast majority of parents who visit this board. Makes you wonder why club coaches / directors waste so much energy pushing agendas as opposed to focusing on the development of the kids. News flash it is not a good look and it hurts more your cause more than helps.

Clearly they all do it so it is a wash. The good thing is if you read between the lines you can learn something

[Unregistered]

Clearly they all do it so it is a wash. The good thing is if you read between the lines you can learn something

True enough, but it took me about six months of visiting this board every couple of days to figure out what was reliable information and what was propaganda. Someone who stops in for a quick hit might not get the nuance.

FWIW, reading the MA board is probably the quickest way to start to get a handle on it, they're pretty active over there. Gird your loins though, they're about as toxic as you can get.

[Unregistered]

The majority of folks fighting about what club, team or league is the best are either coaches or directors using this forum to sell their own club, team or league. Don’t be fooled, they all have an agenda. The rest of us just come on here to occasionally get some information or enjoy the entertainment of adults acting like idiots talking about a kids sport. My advice is don’t take it so serious and enjoy it for what it is.

Haha. Bingo. We have a winner!!!!