Soccer Pyramids - The Future

[Guest]

Seems to me we are running down two parallel paths with two separate pyramids. In time you will have your ECNL National and then Regional leagues underneath it. I can envision even going into ECNL ‘Local’ where teams compete within their own state borders.

ECNL National (1^st Division Northeast Play)
ECNL Regional (2^nd Division Northeast Play)
ECNL Regional 2 (3^rd Division New England Play)
USClub State (4^th Division State-based Play)

Academy will be similar.

Girls Academy (1^st Division Northeast Play)
GA2 (2^nd Division Northeast Play)
EDP (3^rd Division New England Play)
USYS State (4^th Division State-based Play)

Top Divisions compete in parallel National rankings and showcases
Second Divisions compete in parallel Northeast rankings and 2^nd tiered showcases
Third Divisions compete in parallel New England Play and localized showcases
Fourth Divisions compete in State leagues, State Cups and (could it be?) against each other

All the Impacts and NECSL and whathaveyou will eventually come under one of those two umbrellas. And, no I personally don’t think we need two separate parallel pyramids, but it’s already happening so I think it will continue and, well, two pyramids are a lot better than what exists today.

[Guest]

I see the future of soccer pyramids - some people will keep posting their wishful thinking and malarkey on TS until the end of time.

[Guest]

GA is no longer associated with USYS.
USYS blew themselves up with Elite64, and that ridiculous whiny letter to GA parents.
GA is now associated with USSSA, which also runs DPL.

Girls Academy (1^st Division Northeast Play)
GA2 (2^nd Division Northeast Play)
DPL (3^rd Division New England Play)
NECSL (4^th Division State-based Play)

[Guest]

GA is no longer associated with USYS.
USYS blew themselves up with Elite64, and that ridiculous whiny letter to GA parents.
GA is now associated with USSSA, which also runs DPL.

Girls Academy (1^st Division Northeast Play)
GA2 (2^nd Division Northeast Play)
DPL (3^rd Division New England Play)
NECSL (4^th Division State-based Play)

Thanks for the clarification. Hard to keep track....

[Guest]

Thanks for the clarification. Hard to keep track....

Too true.

I think ECNL will likely use NECSL for their bottom tier as well. Guessing NPL fully dies out in this region.
There isn't much left for USYS other than town soccer. ODP is not relevant. Elite64 and National League are not relevant. I imagine they'll linger but their pyramid is a hot mess.

[Guest]

USYS blew themselves up with Elite64, and that ridiculous whiny letter to GA parents.

I missed the letter to GA parents. Any have it or a link to it?

[Guest]

(2022)

To: The GA Family
From: Skip Gilbert, USYS CEO

To All:

When the Girls Academy launched in 2020, US Youth Soccer (USYS) put aside all competitive differences to our National League, an elite competitive environment established 15-years ago, consisting of 13 conferences, over 3,500 teams and 80,000 players to show unbridled support. Specifically, we built a national registration process to allow the GA to register its players in one fluid motion, through USYS to their respective State Association.

Our goal was to support the GA off the field so they could create an elite environment to allow the players to succeed on it. We also hoped that given our 48-year history, that the GA would want to utilize many of our programming assets to complement their on-field efforts. For example, USYS offered all GA teams the opportunity to partner with our National League, to join forces with our National League P.R.O. and USYS National Showcase events, which would have provided incredible showcasing opportunities for all teams.

We offered our Olympic Development Program (ODP). ODP has been active since 1977 and provides over 40,000 players each year an opportunity to take advantage of a high-performance training experience that helps every player elevate their game on and off the field.

We opened the door for teams to enter our State Cup Tournaments. The State Cups represent the first-round action for our prestigious National Championship Series (NCS). The NCS is a competition that has earned its place as the premier National Championship in youth soccer since 1974.

Finally, we are launching this fall, the National League Elite 64. This top-tier platform of the National League will invite the best 64 clubs across 8 geographic conferences to compete together. Every game will be a recruitable moment. Once the season begins this fall, only teams in the National League will have the right to be promoted into Elite 64. The National League will embrace a promotion/relegation system allowing USYS to live-up to its principles that every team must "Earn Your Place" and regardless of skill level, every team will "Have A Home".

Our vision is to bring communities together through the power of soccer, making life-long fans of the game. As a part of that vision, we operate under four core priorities. One, to create programming that provides any child the opportunity to learn and love our game. Two, to create pathways that support any level of skill to encourage all players to stay playing straight through their teenage years. Three, to invest in player development platforms that will allow every player the ability to elevate their game to the highest level possible. Four, to invest resources behind the acquisition, retention and development of coaches, and referees while creating a learning center to help parents embrace positive support techniques and sideline behavior.

Unfortunately, the GA has taken a stand to discourage any team or player from taking advantage of the USYS portfolio of assets and most recently, mandating that no club accept our invitation to join the USYS National League Elite 64. As I write this, the GA Board is planning to meet Wednesday to decide if they as a league should remain a part of the overall USYS Family or move over to a separate sanctioning body.

To me, this simply does not appear to be a true partnership. Because of this, and beginning with the fall 2022 season, should the GA remain within the USYS Family, we will make one change in our offered support. We will no longer recognize the GA as a national platform. As such, we will no longer offer the GA a single registration process but ask that each team register directly with our National Network of State Associations. This is the same process that is embraced by tens of thousands of teams and over 2.3 million players every year.

While we value the GA and what they are bringing to the sport, we must remain fair and consistent to the 2.3 million other players that do utilize our vast resources. Again, since most teams within the GA already had a direct relationship with its State Association, registering direct through them will not be a burden and will not impact any specific player.

[Guest]

(2022)

To: The GA Family
From: Skip Gilbert, USYS CEO

To All:

When the Girls Academy launched in 2020, US Youth Soccer (USYS) put aside all competitive differences to our National League, an elite competitive environment established 15-years ago, consisting of 13 conferences, over 3,500 teams and 80,000 players to show unbridled support. Specifically, we built a national registration process to allow the GA to register its players in one fluid motion, through USYS to their respective State Association.

Our goal was to support the GA off the field so they could create an elite environment to allow the players to succeed on it. We also hoped that given our 48-year history, that the GA would want to utilize many of our programming assets to complement their on-field efforts. For example, USYS offered all GA teams the opportunity to partner with our National League, to join forces with our National League P.R.O. and USYS National Showcase events, which would have provided incredible showcasing opportunities for all teams.

We offered our Olympic Development Program (ODP). ODP has been active since 1977 and provides over 40,000 players each year an opportunity to take advantage of a high-performance training experience that helps every player elevate their game on and off the field.

We opened the door for teams to enter our State Cup Tournaments. The State Cups represent the first-round action for our prestigious National Championship Series (NCS). The NCS is a competition that has earned its place as the premier National Championship in youth soccer since 1974.

Finally, we are launching this fall, the National League Elite 64. This top-tier platform of the National League will invite the best 64 clubs across 8 geographic conferences to compete together. Every game will be a recruitable moment. Once the season begins this fall, only teams in the National League will have the right to be promoted into Elite 64. The National League will embrace a promotion/relegation system allowing USYS to live-up to its principles that every team must "Earn Your Place" and regardless of skill level, every team will "Have A Home".

Our vision is to bring communities together through the power of soccer, making life-long fans of the game. As a part of that vision, we operate under four core priorities. One, to create programming that provides any child the opportunity to learn and love our game. Two, to create pathways that support any level of skill to encourage all players to stay playing straight through their teenage years. Three, to invest in player development platforms that will allow every player the ability to elevate their game to the highest level possible. Four, to invest resources behind the acquisition, retention and development of coaches, and referees while creating a learning center to help parents embrace positive support techniques and sideline behavior.

Unfortunately, the GA has taken a stand to discourage any team or player from taking advantage of the USYS portfolio of assets and most recently, mandating that no club accept our invitation to join the USYS National League Elite 64. As I write this, the GA Board is planning to meet Wednesday to decide if they as a league should remain a part of the overall USYS Family or move over to a separate sanctioning body.

To me, this simply does not appear to be a true partnership. Because of this, and beginning with the fall 2022 season, should the GA remain within the USYS Family, we will make one change in our offered support. We will no longer recognize the GA as a national platform. As such, we will no longer offer the GA a single registration process but ask that each team register directly with our National Network of State Associations. This is the same process that is embraced by tens of thousands of teams and over 2.3 million players every year.

While we value the GA and what they are bringing to the sport, we must remain fair and consistent to the 2.3 million other players that do utilize our vast resources. Again, since most teams within the GA already had a direct relationship with its State Association, registering direct through them will not be a burden and will not impact any specific player.

Aren't USSSA, USCS and USYS all under the auspices of US Soccer? If they weren't so busy dealing with infighting on the USMNT and payment lawsuits from the USWNT, maybe they could have gotten their house in order and put their offspring in their places like Mother Nature did to Ice Miser and Heat Miser.

[Guest]

Aren't USSSA, USCS and USYS all under the auspices of US Soccer? If they weren't so busy dealing with infighting on the USMNT and payment lawsuits from the USWNT, maybe they could have gotten their house in order and put their offspring in their places like Mother Nature did to Ice Miser and Heat Miser.

No, they are not.

[Guest]

Just a friendly reminder. College Coaches don’t care about your club, team or league. They just want to recruit the best players for their teams.

[Guest]

Just a friendly reminder. College Coaches don’t care about your club, team or league. They just want to recruit the best players for their teams.

Just a friendly reminder college coaches can't be everywhere all at once, so they want to recruit the best players for their teams and do that shopping in as little of places as possible.

[Guest]

I know OP mentioned 'academies" in passing, but it's crazy that there's that whole other pyramid (MLSNext, MLS Pro, MLSWhatever, NAL, NEAL, etc.)

[Guest]

Which league includes about 90% of players in the state of Massachusetts?
NECSL... and that makes it the most important league for the development of the sport in the region.
Take the NECSL away and the so called pyramid would crumble... and if you don't understand this, then you have some thinking to do.

[Guest]

Which league includes about 90% of players in the state of Massachusetts?
NECSL... and that makes it the most important league for the development of the sport in the region.
Take the NECSL away and the so called pyramid would crumble... and if you don't understand this, then you have some thinking to do.

Not saying take it away, it's putting everything under one (sadly, two) umbrellas to avoid the league bashing and teams coming and going.

They will still have a place to play, the name will change (not the first time)

[Guest]

Which league includes about 90% of players in the state of Massachusetts?
NECSL... and that makes it the most important league for the development of the sport in the region.
Take the NECSL away and the so called pyramid would crumble... and if you don't understand this, then you have some thinking to do.

That and town soccer. Which are both run by USYS. So, if they would just stay in their lane and focus on it, 90% of the problems would be solved.