Announcement

**Unregistered** · 10-17-2011, 08:54 AM

Originally posted by Unregistered View Post

And go where? Back to MAPLE? Be real will you. What you younger parents don't seem to grasp is no one really cares about the fall results in any league or actually what happens in the younger age groups. The thing that drives all of what is going on is the regional leagues and the major spring tournaments. These are the places where you are going to find competition, not MAPLE. At U12 you may think your team is a real killer but once you start venturing out of state you will realize that the over whelming majority of the teams playing in all of these leagues are nothing but little waves in the ocean. At the younger ages focus on whether your child is improving their game not whether their team wins things. If they turn out to be any sort of player you will change teams and leagues to fit their specific needs anyways so you can calm down.

no need to generalize. many of us "younger parents" understand this perfectly. NEP MAPLE MASC u12 and younger-serioulsy find a coach and team in close proximity to your house, and let your kids have fun.

**Unregistered** · 10-17-2011, 09:25 AM

Originally posted by Unregistered View Post

Anyone know how pre ecnl thing is working for the u13. The competition ,amount of travel and approximate cost. My daughter is getting the hard sell from scorpion coaches that it's the place she needs to be. I know this is a u12 thread but these girls will also be moving in that direction and perhaps someone knows how it is going.

Not a U13 parent, but according to their web page, the U13 travelled to NJ/PDA one weekend in September and will travel to CT for a game later this month. So, costs would seem not too bad based on that. The NJ trip involved a stayover, so factor in 2 nights hotel and meals on top of gas/travel costs for that one.

They were also at CFC over Columbus Day, so that was another two night hotel plus meals type of event.

Based on my experience, and assuming just one parent and the player make the trip, figure $500 to $600 for each of the hotel weekends once all is said and done. If you don't mind staying home and your player can double up with another parent for any of these, overall costs can be mitigated a bit. On the other hand, if you go and any other family members come along, then obviously those costs can escalate quickly.

Their rest of their games were/are local --- either at Lancaster or Thayer Academy.

In terms of whether it's the right place for you and your daughter, that's largely a personal decision, but one which also depends on how much weight you give to the whole "ECNL experience." ECNL is a young league, and appears to have both some merits and some drawbacks, many of which have been discussed at length in other threads. If you ask me, the one good alternative to ECNL that will provide a strong competitive environment for a skilled, motivated player is finding a club team that will compete at the region 1 level.

One other thought; U13 / pre-ECNL is an opportunity to sort of check out the the setup of ECNL (and get a feel for what things might look like like at U14 and beyond) without necessarily committing yourself to an ECNL club for the long haul. Remember, clubs and players commit to eachother for 1 year periods so if you like it, you can stay, and if not you should be able to find another situation that you feel will suit you and you player better. My assumption though (which may or may not be correct) is that spots on ECNL teams will be harder to come by as the teams get older and more established, so if ECNL is something you may be interested in, getting in with one of the MA ECNL clubs early might provide an advantage as compared to arriving later on the scene.

**Unregistered** · 10-17-2011, 11:04 AM

Originally posted by Unregistered View Post

Not a U13 parent, but according to their web page, the U13 travelled to NJ/PDA one weekend in September and will travel to CT for a game later this month. So, costs would seem not too bad based on that. The NJ trip involved a stayover, so factor in 2 nights hotel and meals on top of gas/travel costs for that one.

They were also at CFC over Columbus Day, so that was another two night hotel plus meals type of event.

Based on my experience, and assuming just one parent and the player make the trip, figure $500 to $600 for each of the hotel weekends once all is said and done. If you don't mind staying home and your player can double up with another parent for any of these, overall costs can be mitigated a bit. On the other hand, if you go and any other family members come along, then obviously those costs can escalate quickly.

Their rest of their games were/are local --- either at Lancaster or Thayer Academy.

In terms of whether it's the right place for you and your daughter, that's largely a personal decision, but one which also depends on how much weight you give to the whole "ECNL experience." ECNL is a young league, and appears to have both some merits and some drawbacks, many of which have been discussed at length in other threads. If you ask me, the one good alternative to ECNL that will provide a strong competitive environment for a skilled, motivated player is finding a club team that will compete at the region 1 level.

One other thought; U13 / pre-ECNL is an opportunity to sort of check out the the setup of ECNL (and get a feel for what things might look like like at U14 and beyond) without necessarily committing yourself to an ECNL club for the long haul. Remember, clubs and players commit to eachother for 1 year periods so if you like it, you can stay, and if not you should be able to find another situation that you feel will suit you and you player better. My assumption though (which may or may not be correct) is that spots on ECNL teams will be harder to come by as the teams get older and more established, so if ECNL is something you may be interested in, getting in with one of the MA ECNL clubs early might provide an advantage as compared to arriving later on the scene.

The open roster spot propaganda!!
If your daughter is good enough at U15 & U16, when and if you decide to play in the ECNL league, they will make room for you. PERIOD..

The club will just cut someone else.. Don't buy into the load af CRA* that they are shoveling.

No need to chase trophies at 13..
Save the money and put it into a education fund.

**Unregistered** · 10-17-2011, 12:28 PM

Originally posted by Unregistered View Post

The open roster spot propaganda!!
If your daughter is good enough at U15 & U16, when and if you decide to play in the ECNL league, they will make room for you. PERIOD..

The club will just cut someone else.. Don't buy into the load af CRA* that they are shoveling.

No need to chase trophies at 13..
Save the money and put it into a education fund.

OK fine, if your daughter is known as a difference maker, then yes you're very probably right. But there are precious few of those around. So, if she's more of a role player, then is it wrong to believe that open roster spots may be harder to come by in the later years?

All I'm suggesting is that it's faulty logic base your argument on what amounts to a special case.

**Unregistered** · 10-20-2011, 09:02 PM

Are there any rules prohibiting club officials from contacting players that are already on other teams? I would think coaches would want to protect their integrity but this coach has none.

**Unregistered** · 10-20-2011, 09:28 PM

Originally posted by Unregistered View Post

OK fine, if your daughter is known as a difference maker, then yes you're very probably right. But there are precious few of those around.

So, if she's more of a role player, then is it wrong to believe that open roster spots may be harder to come by in the later years?

.

The role player will be the one that is replaced at 15/16 by the difference maker. Sorry !