The ECNL Sales Pitch - Fact or Fiction

[Unregistered]

there is only a small percentage of players that would be considered by the 2 ECNL clubs in MA anyway, so for the most part, this whole conversation is only valid for a few

anyone can join if they have the money and lack the knowledge

[Unregistered]

there is only a small percentage of players that would be considered by the 2 ECNL clubs in MA anyway, so for the most part, this whole conversation is only valid for a few

Right, understood because there is a "small percentage" that would/should consider a ECNL team.
1) You need to have a pretty high tolerance for arrogance which is definately prevelant on the sidelines.
2) Your kid needs to be able to treat it like a job and like it.
3) You must be willing to sacrafice friends and family at the age of 13 because you cannot miss a single practice.
4) you get injured, you loose your spot and will not get it back without doubling up on the commitment
5) Your role on this team is to make the Club look better and it is not about you

Now if my daughter came to me to do ECNL I'd have to think long and hard to determine if she got hit in the head to hard.

[Unregistered]

Right, understood because there is a "small percentage" that would/should consider a ECNL team.
1) You need to have a pretty high tolerance for arrogance which is definately prevelant on the sidelines.
2) Your kid needs to be able to treat it like a job and like it.
3) You must be willing to sacrafice friends and family at the age of 13 because you cannot miss a single practice.
4) you get injured, you loose your spot and will not get it back without doubling up on the commitment
5) Your role on this team is to make the Club look better and it is not about you

Now if my daughter came to me to do ECNL I'd have to think long and hard to determine if she got hit in the head to hard.

And you know this because? This has not been our experience at all. I wouldn't presume to say what it is like on your kid's team but these frantic attacks would make me think twice about my kid joining for sure.

[Unregistered]

And you know this because? This has not been our experience at all. I wouldn't presume to say what it is like on your kid's team but these frantic attacks would make me think twice about my kid joining for sure.

I would bet that the vast majority of these anti-ECNL posts are written by premier level coaches who think their best players are considering switching to an ECNL team. They are trying to scare them away from ECNL so that they stay with their current clubs. The coaches only have their own interests in mind.

[Unregistered]

I would bet that the vast majority of these anti-ECNL posts are written by premier level coaches who think their best players are considering switching to an ECNL team. They are trying to scare them away from ECNL so that they stay with their current clubs. The coaches only have their own interests in mind.

that would explain a lot. Thanks for pointing that out!

[Unregistered]

that would explain a lot. Thanks for pointing that out!

Talk to yourself much?

[Unregistered]

There is a lot of ego starting right at the top of the league. But often it takes a lot of ego and management/operational talent to develop something like the ECNL as quickly as it has come to life. There has been a lot of "burning" through critcism and skeptics. And frankly, it takes a tough skin for those who did it to keep momentum. However, at some point, the ego needs to settle down, and this league will become normalized, and we can get back to the business of being sure our kids have really good coaches who understand the importance of their role in a young girl's/athlete's life during the years of 13 through 18 and respect these players the same way they want respect. I think there are many great coaches out there so let's hope the bad ones are culled out. That clubs properly operate with ECNL part of it (not "all that"). Then parents will feel that their money is well spent and players/families will willingly support the ECNL effort as they have the USSDA for boys.

[Unregistered]

NOT IN FAVOR OF ECNL JRs.
but the Simple Sales Pitch, bigger, better, faster, more exposure..

Parents are easy marks,

Coaches sit around laughing about how easy it is to impress a potential players parents,

For a coach to tell a 13 year old "it is time to step up to the plate and take it to the next level. Take time to think about this opportunity, but make a decision in the next 24 hrs..."

A little bit of pressure.......................................... ...

[Unregistered]

I would bet that the vast majority of these anti-ECNL posts are written by premier level coaches who think their best players are considering switching to an ECNL team. They are trying to scare them away from ECNL so that they stay with their current clubs. The coaches only have their own interests in mind.

ELITE CLUBS NATIONAL LEAGUE (ECNL)

The Elite Clubs National League is the highest level of girls youth soccer that exists in the United States. The top 60 girls clubs in the United States were chosen through a rigorous evaluation process based on coaching staff, history of team success at the national level, and history of development of elite/national level players. More info on the league is available here: www.eliteclubsnationalleague.com

Scorpions is one of two Massachusetts clubs in the league, with the other being Stars of Mass. The U13-U18 teams play a regional schedule against the other ECNL clubs from the Northeast region. At the U15 and older age groups, this regional schedule is supplemented by several ECNL Showcase events.

3 areas are crucial for 'ELITE' player development:

1) playing on a great team so each player is pushed to the max every training session
2) playing against the best competition in the country
3) quality coaching.

With the ECNL, our teams are playing against the best competition in the United States and at Scorpions, we have a proven track record of taking players to the next level!

Since we joined, the Elite Clubs National League has just been an incredible experience. In addition to playing against the top competition in the country, the opportunities for player identification are endless. Every ECNL showcase event features US National Team Staff on hand to evaluate players.

McKenzie Meehan from the U17 ECNL team was just called into the United States Under 18 Womens National Team based solely on her performance in the league (see article here: http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/club-...opped_aid24340.

The majority of college recruiting takes place at the ECNL showcases (300+ college coaches at the NJ showcase over Memorial Day weekend alone!!!!). Because of the extraordinary opportunities presented through the ECNL, of the 55 players rostered on our current U17-U19 teams, 46 are or will be playing Division 1 soccer, 3 will be playing in Division 2, and 6 in Division 3. A partial list of matriculations:

Boston College (3)
UCLA
Maryland (2)
Georgetown
Harvard (2)
Yale (2)
Princeton
Brown
Providence (5)
UConn
UMass
And about 25 others!

Here is a copy of the Scorpions sales pitch inviting players to their tryouts. It is like many other such emails clubs send out at this time of year. In it the Scorpions make several statements that I believe should be challenged as quite misleading. Specifically:

1-The 3 areas they say are crucial for 'ELITE' player development - The assumption seems to be that simply playing on one of their teams qualifies the player as "ELITE" and nowhere do they seem to suggest that actual talent is needed or that hard work is required.

2- The idea that the ECNL represents the highest level of competition in the country and that simply partaking in that competition will elevate a player to "the next level". The assumption clearly is that the ECNL is the only place where competitive games get played.

3- The idea that the ECNL represents some unique opportunity to be included in the US National team. The notion being sold is that the ECNL will give a player a better shot at making it to the US National team than all of the other venues out there.

4- The idea the the majority of college recruiting takes place at ECNL events. The inference is that showcases are the only place where college coaches recruit and that the ECNL showcases are the only showcases that they actually attend.

5- The idea that the club deserves more credit for a player earning a soccer scholarship than the player themselves. The claim that obviously is being made is the Scorpions created the player's success and can replicate that success for another player.

When you read this sort of email it is quite easy to understand why there is so much division between the ECNL and Non clubs. At the very least these statements have to be looked upon as controversial. Many would argue that they really stretch the boundaries of truth. What say you?

Perhaps if some of you ECNL folks got off you high horse and actually started to realize just what some of your members are actually saying to the rest of us you might begin to understand where all of the scorn comes from. When you throw controversial stuff out there like this you should expect it to be challenged. Not everyone agrees with the ECNL view of the world and when you spam it all over the place you should expect to get what you get. It is more than a little ridiculous to come here and then cry about getting criticized.

[Unregistered]

NOT IN FAVOR OF ECNL JRs.
but the Simple Sales Pitch, bigger, better, faster, more exposure..

Parents are easy marks,

Coaches sit around laughing about how easy it is to impress a potential players parents,

For a coach to tell a 13 year old "it is time to step up to the plate and take it to the next level. Take time to think about this opportunity, but make a decision in the next 24 hrs..."

A little bit of pressure.......................................... ...

Of course, on the other hand, you all think it is perfectly reasonable to expect a 13 or 14 year old to make a college decision.

[Unregistered]

Perhaps if some of you ECNL folks got off you high horse and actually started to realize just what some of your members are actually saying to the rest of us you might begin to understand where all of the scorn comes from. When you throw controversial stuff out there like this you should expect it to be challenged. Not everyone agrees with the ECNL view of the world and when you spam it all over the place you should expect to get what you get. It is more than a little ridiculous to come here and then cry about getting criticized.

Thanks btdt.

Nothing wrong or unusual about the info you posted (yet again) and no different than other clubs, including your own. Clubs advertise what they are able to advertise. I wouldn't say the NEFC materials are big on modesty or humility. Now you're going to say, yeah, but at NEFC they really care about the kids, right?

[Unregistered]

NOT IN FAVOR OF ECNL JRs.
but the Simple Sales Pitch, bigger, better, faster, more exposure..

Parents are easy marks,

Coaches sit around laughing about how easy it is to impress a potential players parents,

For a coach to tell a 13 year old "it is time to step up to the plate and take it to the next level. Take time to think about this opportunity, but make a decision in the next 24 hrs..."

A little bit of pressure.......................................... ...

ECNL Jrs really isn't a huge deal. In a nutshell it's really just the 13 teams of ECNL clubs getting together and playing perhaps 3 friendlies. The clubs are in the same region so huge amounts of travel aren't required. This is not the primary league of the teams. They generally play in some sort of a regional league sanctioned by a local USYSA affiliate. It's all pretty low key.

[Unregistered]

Thanks btdt.

Nothing wrong or unusual about the info you posted (yet again) and no different than other clubs, including your own. Clubs advertise what they are able to advertise. I wouldn't say the NEFC materials are big on modesty or humility. Now you're going to say, yeah, but at NEFC they really care about the kids, right?

Every club markets their product, rightlfuly so. But show me where NEFC or any other non ecnl club states they compete at the highest level of girls youth soccer in the nation or has been suggested on another thread, the "de-facto girls DAP program" That alone is a bit inflamatory and will draw criticism, expectadly and rightfully so, as ecnl is not. It is just another league. So don't throw the obvious B.S. in everyones faces and you might not have it thrown back.

[Unregistered]

ECNL Jrs really isn't a huge deal. In a nutshell it's really just the 13 teams of ECNL clubs getting together and playing perhaps 3 friendlies. The clubs are in the same region so huge amounts of travel aren't required. This is not the primary league of the teams. They generally play in some sort of a regional league sanctioned by a local USYSA affiliate. It's all pretty low key.

You're right. The games are low-key friendlies and generally take place over a single weekend. It's not league. It's not a tournament either. No standings are kept. These games are usually played in lieu of a regular tournament - an event that usually is, indeed, high pressure.

This constant ECNL bashing is sad yet comical. Folks just need to concern themselves with their own kid and do what they think is best for their situation. I'm not quite sure why they are concerned about other kids.

[Unregistered]

Every club markets their product, rightlfuly so. But show me where NEFC or any other non ecnl club states they compete at the highest level of girls youth soccer in the nation or has been suggested on another thread, the "de-facto girls DAP program" That alone is a bit inflamatory and will draw criticism, expectadly and rightfully so, as ecnl is not. It is just another league. So don't throw the obvious B.S. in everyones faces and you might not have it thrown back.

You say it is not de-facto DAP, yet Waldrum from ND, and many other college coaches don't share your opinion. A quick search of Youtube will prove ECNLs acceptance by coaches, many of whom regularly compare the leagues impact and quality to DAP. That does not mean that EVERY DAP or ECNL player is the best, it just means both leagues have assembled a good percentage of top teams and players. And this is not meant to be inflammatory.