Weston GDA

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They are missing the nc courage - Weston u14 game , maybe the Weston u14s won by 12 and it’s an even goal differential weekend...

I calculated that in the goals and wins. They won 2-0 It was their only win! Florida soccer at it's finest.

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Hey, Weston was competitive enough and the point of these games are to play against tough competition.

This is the first year of GDA and at these ages there isn't always enough talent to fill a team so you have some girls who are probably borderline but forced to play a lot of minutes.

In South Florida it is not hard to be on a top girls team or make GDA. Just start your girl playing early. There aren't as many teams and the competition isn't nearly as rough as it is on the boy's side. Despite the fact that there seems to be a much higher chance at getting a college scholarship, the hispanic social dynamic is very male oriented and a lot of the soccer fans are hispanic . . . so unless you have progressive parents or don't have any brothers many girls are unlikely to be pushed into the sport they way their male counterparts are.

Girls soccer needs to expand to support these GDA teams. There just isn't enough quality in the current talent pool to compete with top clubs in other regions where girls soccer has a higher level of prestige and more participation. It isn't just about total "population" in an area. It's about how many prospects a particular area can present to each club.

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Hey, Weston was competitive enough and the point of these games are to play against tough competition.

This is the first year of GDA and at these ages there isn't always enough talent to fill a team so you have some girls who are probably borderline but forced to play a lot of minutes.

In South Florida it is not hard to be on a top girls team or make GDA. Just start your girl playing early. There aren't as many teams and the competition isn't nearly as rough as it is on the boy's side. Despite the fact that there seems to be a much higher chance at getting a college scholarship, the hispanic social dynamic is very male oriented and a lot of the soccer fans are hispanic . . . so unless you have progressive parents or don't have any brothers many girls are unlikely to be pushed into the sport they way their male counterparts are.

Girls soccer needs to expand to support these GDA teams. There just isn't enough quality in the current talent pool to compete with top clubs in other regions where girls soccer has a higher level of prestige and more participation. It isn't just about total "population" in an area. It's about how many prospects a particular area can present to each club.

Florida needs to pool the top players per age group from all th eGDA teams into a REAL high level team. That's what I think they need to compete against the top clubs.

Team could train somewhere centrally couple times a month for a weekend then go back to their respective clubs for regular training.

[Unregistered]

Florida needs to pool the top players per age group from all th eGDA teams into a REAL high level team. That's what I think they need to compete against the top clubs.

Team could train somewhere centrally couple times a month for a weekend then go back to their respective clubs for regular training.

Isn't that what ODP is? Talk about full circle.

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Isn't that what ODP is? Talk about full circle.

It is, but nobody's doing it now...it wasn't a bad model at all, the only problem was US Soccer didn't have control over it...after all that's what GDA is all about mostly. Just a different version of the ECNL model that US Soccer controls.

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Isn't that what ODP is? Talk about full circle.

Yea, and the top team for Florida (at least in the younger ages 04 and may be 03) pooled together a much better team than any of the current GDA teams is the same age groups.

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Florida needs to pool the top players per age group from all th eGDA teams into a REAL high level team. That's what I think they need to compete against the top clubs.

Team could train somewhere centrally couple times a month for a weekend then go back to their respective clubs for regular training.

Seriously? Have you looked at how big our state is? Even if you were to centralize the location do you think some parents are going to want to drive 5-6 hours EACH WAY once a month and then pay for lodging and food?

This isn't Vermont. If Florida was the size of a small New England State we could pool all the players into one GDA program anyways. This idea fixes nothing. The point of expanding the number of DA clubs was to reach players who wouldn't or couldn't spend most of their lives travelling for soccer rather than actually playing or practicing soccer.

[Unregistered]

Seriously? Have you looked at how big our state is? Even if you were to centralize the location do you think some parents are going to want to drive 5-6 hours EACH WAY once a month and then pay for lodging and food?

This isn't Vermont. If Florida was the size of a small New England State we could pool all the players into one GDA program anyways. This idea fixes nothing. The point of expanding the number of DA clubs was to reach players who wouldn't or couldn't spend most of their lives travelling for soccer rather than actually playing or practicing soccer.

Whaaaaa. Cry baby. Top players are willing to make sacrifices to play with other top players in order to elevate their game.

My guess...you're speaking about a player who is not at the top of the game and probably never will be. So, I wouldnt worry about it cause it would be unlikely to affect you.

[Unregistered]

Whaaaaa. Cry baby. Top players are willing to make sacrifices to play with other top players in order to elevate their game.

My guess...you're speaking about a player who is not at the top of the game and probably never will be. So, I wouldnt worry about it cause it would be unlikely to affect you.

Yeah, I guess you don't care. It's not like your kid is any good so this isn't anything you would have to worry about.

And since it really doesn't concern you . . . p*ss off.

[Unregistered]

It is, but nobody's doing it now...it wasn't a bad model at all, the only problem was US Soccer didn't have control over it...after all that's what GDA is all about mostly. Just a different version of the ECNL model that US Soccer controls.

ODP was/is too dominated by the clubs, so selections became too bias. Same thing that was happening with the girls NTC. It became more about recruiting and retaining talent by the club coaches involved then its true mission. This not to say GDA can't get equally fouled up just with the two other they had or have already reached their saturation point.

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All people should cry with the results from the ECNL last year and what is now going on in the GDA. The Weston and Boca United programs are examples of poor early player development. I am sure you hear from the Directors at those clubs not to worry about the results and just focus in on the development. Are results not a way to measure development? Should winning not be connected with development? Top GDA clubs have winning teams and multiple players in YNT pools. That seems like development to me…..winning (not winning at the expense of player development) and player production should go together. We seem to have lots of excuses in S. FL as to why we are not winning and producing national level players. We have more than enough players in the S. FL player pool. The focus on soccer here is either technical training (also lots of speed and agility going on...often more than soccer training, we have girls that are really good with a speed ladder but can't dribble a ball) or playing to win at all costs (kick it to the big fast kid), but the combination of the technical and developing a winning culture with standards is lacking. Being apart of a club with high standards is important. DOCS and coaches must follow a development plan with their young players, getting them as technically proficient as possible while keeping high standards. Are clubs setting goals and do the parents know what the club is trying to achieve? My question goes back to parents at S.FL clubs; are you getting top level technical training in the early phases and does your club have a culture of success? Benchmarks? Have you seen much of a change since the mid 1990's in S. FL soccer on the girl’s side? Things won't change and you will continue to hear don’t worry about the score…just focus on the development….