Promotion/Relegation Works - C'Mon NEP

[Unregistered]

Look, as I say every time someone starts one of these threads, NEP has promotion and relegation. Don't believe me? Check to see who's in a division over time. You'll see that teams that do poorly drop out and teams that do quite well move up.

What NEP doesn't have is a requirement to promote or relegate a fixed number of teams. If it doesn't make sense to promote anyone, fine. If it makes sense to promote two teams and relegate two others, fine. And this helps to avoid the win-at-all-cost mentality that can otherwise apply when a team's promotion, or avoiding relegation, depends on the outcome of a given game.

[Unregistered]

I'll try a brief history, and encourage others to improve my description
Once upon a time, MAss Premier LEague Soccer was the only club soccer league.
MAPLE had and still has a Promotion/Relegation model similar to EPL.
http://www.maplesoccer.com/maple-tou...s-spring-2015/

Maple allows any club affiliated with Mass Youth Soccer to compete. This results in a few neighborhood clubs competing with just a few Gender/Age Group Teams.
Although not common, it was not unheard of for a small club to have a good crop and embarrass a big club in any given year.

NEP was formed around 2008ish(??) differentiating itself on proper player development compared to MAPLE. It promoted age-appropriate sides (8v8 longer), Good Housekeeping seals consisting only of clubs providing a full range of teams across genders and age groups, and NO relegation, allowing coaches to prioritize player development over winning.

Most everyone recognizes NEP as the Mega clubs version of a walled garden. Within NEP we can proclaim superiority over small clubs - without every having to actually beat them - and justify higher costs for all parents.

So the question for this thread: Now that NEP is firmly in place is it time to bring relegation back for the higher age-groups?

Lets not rewrite history. NEP was formed when the big clubs (GPS, NEFC, Stars, Seacoast, somewhat) wanted more control and Money and MAPLE was growing bigger and weaker with lesser, some might say NO standards for teams. They swooped in and fomed a new league which was brilliant at the time but has not worked out exactly as they envisioned........

[Unregistered]

Quit the Old Boy Network crap and get the most skilled teams together in each division.

Based on the "blowout" threads right now your protectionist ways aren't working.

It's not about wins and losses. It's about development. No one wants to win or lose 17-0. That score is on you, not the coach. #FixTheMix

That game was in the AWESOME NPL league. And yes, there is no promotion relegation or playing up or down. Maple had many things right and big clubs have surely mad a mess of things trying to chase down ECNL.

[Unregistered]

Lets not rewrite history. NEP was formed when the big clubs (GPS, NEFC, Stars, Seacoast, somewhat) wanted more control and Money and MAPLE was growing bigger and weaker with lesser, some might say NO standards for teams. They swooped in and fomed a new league which was brilliant at the time but has not worked out exactly as they envisioned........

I may be wrong but believe that NEFC did not exist when NEP was formed

[Unregistered]

That game was in the AWESOME NPL league. And yes, there is no promotion relegation or playing up or down. Maple had many things right and big clubs have surely mad a mess of things trying to chase down ECNL.

Wow, have you a lot to figure out. The ECNL, NPL and NEP are now all sanctioned by US Club Soccer. It is US Club Soccer's vision of the club soccer world that created a lot of this mess and it was the ECNL's decision to strongly discourage their members from competing in the US Youth Soccer sanctioned state cups that relegated MAPLE to second tier status.

[Unregistered]

Wow, have you a lot to figure out. The ECNL, NPL and NEP are now all sanctioned by US Club Soccer. It is US Club Soccer's vision of the club soccer world that created a lot of this mess and it was the ECNL's decision to strongly discourage their members from competing in the US Youth Soccer sanctioned state cups that relegated MAPLE to second tier status.

Let's not write revisionist history history here. Maple cooked its own goose, and everyone knows it.

Where is MASC these days, anyhow?

[Unregistered]

Let's not write revisionist history history here. Maple cooked its own goose, and everyone knows it.

Where is MASC these days, anyhow?

Without USCS there would be no ECNL or NPL and every club would still be fighting to win the state cup so they could get a spot in the regional league.

[Unregistered]

More BTDT into the evening hours. More answers for everything, and always tilted into his agendas. How many hours are we past lunch-time?

[Unregistered]

ECNL was there prior to the two local NPL leagues being formed. It was also there prior to NEP. All are now USCS. Trying to chase down ECNL, some local clubs entered the NPL scene to offer their players something to compete with ECNL. Now it is the New England NPL. It has not been very successful. The old Region 1 was far better. The ECNL clubs countered with the Northeast NPL for their second teams. The result is more travel and the better clubs around here being forced to play in travel leagues at younger ages against competition that may or may not be good at all. Or local teams putting in lousy teams. A system where there was promotion relegation after say U11, after the fall season, would allow more even competition, and get as many of the above leagues to play locally would be better. Hopefully SS Select could be included in that. We have strong soccer around Boston...there isn't a big need to travel for it until perhaps U15 where showcases and other things become far more important. JMO

[Unregistered]

ECNL was there prior to the two local NPL leagues being formed. It was also there prior to NEP. All are now USCS. Trying to chase down ECNL, some local clubs entered the NPL scene to offer their players something to compete with ECNL. Now it is the New England NPL. It has not been very successful. The old Region 1 was far better. The ECNL clubs countered with the Northeast NPL for their second teams. The result is more travel and the better clubs around here being forced to play in travel leagues at younger ages against competition that may or may not be good at all. Or local teams putting in lousy teams. A system where there was promotion relegation after say U11, after the fall season, would allow more even competition, and get as many of the above leagues to play locally would be better. Hopefully SS Select could be included in that. We have strong soccer around Boston...there isn't a big need to travel for it until perhaps U15 where showcases and other things become far more important. JMO

Excellent post. It reveals the conflict that matters most -- the simple reality that economic motives trump soccer. Period, end of story.

[Unregistered]

Look, as I say every time someone starts one of these threads, NEP has promotion and relegation. Don't believe me? Check to see who's in a division over time. You'll see that teams that do poorly drop out and teams that do quite well move up.

What NEP doesn't have is a requirement to promote or relegate a fixed number of teams. If it doesn't make sense to promote anyone, fine. If it makes sense to promote two teams and relegate two others, fine. And this helps to avoid the win-at-all-cost mentality that can otherwise apply when a team's promotion, or avoiding relegation, depends on the outcome of a given game.

Exactly! Well done.

Bottom line as I have kids in both leagues (U17 MAPLE, U15 NEP and U12 NEP), people can argue about promotion/relegation all day. The quality of how the game is played in NEP is, hands down, better than MAPLE. It's not even close. MAPLE supporters with an inferiority complex tend to come on here and harp on this promotion/relegation point like it's going to make MAPLE appear better. It's like putting lipstick on a pig.

[Unregistered]

Exactly! Well done.

Bottom line as I have kids in both leagues (U17 MAPLE, U15 NEP and U12 NEP), people can argue about promotion/relegation all day. The quality of how the game is played in NEP is, hands down, better than MAPLE. It's not even close. MAPLE supporters with an inferiority complex tend to come on here and harp on this promotion/relegation point like it's going to make MAPLE appear better. It's like putting lipstick on a pig.

Not quite exactly and not quite well done. But nice job conflating a number of arguments into a big ol' straw man. This wasn't actually a MAPLE v NEP argument, was it?

Personally I have no problem arguing that NEP on balance has both a high level of play and better quality deeper into their league, while at the same time believing that a formal structure of promotion and relegation is better, not worse and the absence of that structure is not the same as having it.

MAPLE is better itself for having it, but it doesn't cure or change why it's a league that's long been in decline. Conversely, NEP would be better adopting it. NEP's initial competitive advantage was in its exclusivity. At best that advantage, while not ceding back to MAPLE by any means, is experiencing a diminishing margin of return so to speak. NEP is gradually becoming more like MAPLE, not maintaining what was initially a distinction.

Watered down is watered down.

[Unregistered]

Not quite exactly and not quite well done. But nice job conflating a number of arguments into a big ol' straw man. This wasn't actually a MAPLE v NEP argument, was it?

Personally I have no problem arguing that NEP on balance has both a high level of play and better quality deeper into their league, while at the same time believing that a formal structure of promotion and relegation is better, not worse and the absence of that structure is not the same as having it.

MAPLE is better itself for having it, but it doesn't cure or change why it's a league that's long been in decline. Conversely, NEP would be better adopting it. NEP's initial competitive advantage was in its exclusivity. At best that advantage, while not ceding back to MAPLE by any means, is experiencing a diminishing margin of return so to speak. NEP is gradually becoming more like MAPLE, not maintaining what was initially a distinction.

Watered down is watered down.

Thank you so much for bestowing your knowledge upon us, oh great one. This site is better off with your valuable tutelage.

[Unregistered]

Thank you so much for bestowing your knowledge upon us, oh great one. This site is better off with your valuable tutelage.

And all that's lacking from your insight is more cowbell.

http://i.imgur.com/us5PvuT.gif

[Unregistered]

"Trying to chase down ECNL, some local clubs entered the NPL scene to offer their players something to compete with ECNL. Now it is the New England NPL. It has not been very successful."

ECNL in terms of regional leagues are not being successful either. There are two-at most-competitive games for strong teams.
Not that different from NPL. Both leagues have better competition at National stage.
NPL teams do showcases and ECNL national events.
At the end ECNL do regional leagues playoff (including everyone and place teams accordingly) and NPL teams National finals.

Pick your poison.