ECNL and GA club changes - official announcements

[Guest]

Just because they applied doesn't mean the doors were open to them. I think it has less to do with MLSN and more to do with already burned bridges/local politics. On paper the club was a good fit

Sure, so why now open the doors to Select who surely have plenty of local history of their own?

[Guest]

Sure, so why now open the doors to Select who surely have plenty of local history of their own?

Very different history.

[Guest]

Welcome to the GA, Columbus United SC!

We are very excited to announce the addition of @Columbus_United to the Mid-America Conference!

https://x.com/gacademyleague/status/1770476643116572853

[Guest]

Agree this is very good for Stars. It adds another quality local game to what was a very sparse league season. Also may push girls from NEFC who wouldn't otherwise go to Stars but will now move because they are worried about the even worse lack of competition in GA. This is bad for NEFC and Scorps but not for Stars.

Disagree
this is terrible for Stars.
Nefc players who would have come to Stars will now go to select.
But stars has only themselves to blame for not attracting talent as they have two clubs in the SAME location. Hence they are unable to draw talent from the moneyed Metrowest and South regions, which Select can now grab. All those private school kids will be heading to Select.
Stars needs to ask itself why it's being selfish and holding onto to TWO ecnl spots. Put girls soccer first instead of your greed and give up one of those spots to nefc who you know have better girls teams than White.
Otherwise, move to Metrowest so that you can poach from NEFC. Because there's no development happening on bottom-of-the-rankings White and everyone knows that.

[Guest]

Disagree
this is terrible for Stars.
Nefc players who would have come to Stars will now go to select.
But stars has only themselves to blame for not attracting talent as they have two clubs in the SAME location. Hence they are unable to draw talent from the moneyed Metrowest and South regions, which Select can now grab. All those private school kids will be heading to Select.
Stars needs to ask itself why it's being selfish and holding onto to TWO ecnl spots. Put girls soccer first instead of your greed and give up one of those spots to nefc who you know have better girls teams than White.
Otherwise, move to Metrowest so that you can poach from NEFC. Because there's no development happening on bottom-of-the-rankings White and everyone knows that.

As a neutral observer you seem to be a justifiably angry nefc parent. I’m betting you have a talented daughter who could play at the highest level but you live too far away from the ECNL clubs and you are now stuck with a good team in a dying league. It sucks,but you aren’t alone.

[Guest]

Disagree
this is terrible for Stars.
Nefc players who would have come to Stars will now go to select.
But stars has only themselves to blame for not attracting talent as they have two clubs in the SAME location. Hence they are unable to draw talent from the moneyed Metrowest and South regions, which Select can now grab. All those private school kids will be heading to Select.
Stars needs to ask itself why it's being selfish and holding onto to TWO ecnl spots. Put girls soccer first instead of your greed and give up one of those spots to nefc who you know have better girls teams than White.
Otherwise, move to Metrowest so that you can poach from NEFC. Because there's no development happening on bottom-of-the-rankings White and everyone knows that.

Entire white team playing in college so there must be some development happening

[Guest]

As a neutral observer you seem to be a justifiably angry nefc parent. I’m betting you have a talented daughter who could play at the highest level but you live too far away from the ECNL clubs and you are now stuck with a good team in a dying league. It sucks,but you aren’t alone.

Not just NEFC players but Surf and Bolts players as well can't access Stars because of Lancaster location. ECNL needs to have a greater Boston / Metrowest club if they won't allow NEFC, Surf, Bolts etc in.

[Guest]

Entire white team playing in college so there must be some development happening

thanks Shawn

[Guest]

Entire white team playing in college so there must be some development happening

Not worth to drive 6+ hrs each week x 6 years to go to those schools.
the good schools are not interested in teams that don't make playoffs

[Guest]

Not worth to drive 6+ hrs each week x 6 years to go to those schools.
the good schools are not interested in teams that don't make playoffs

What top 25 program is your kid playing for? The majority of players won't wind up at top programs. All that matters is they land at schools they're happy with and playing on teams that are skill appropriate for them. It's up to them to decide what was "worth it" or not

[Guest]

What top 25 program is your kid playing for? The majority of players won't wind up at top programs. All that matters is they land at schools they're happy with and playing on teams that are skill appropriate for them. It's up to them to decide what was "worth it" or not

$4000 x 7 years + 6hrs / week x 7 years of driving to Lancaster + hotel stays + time off work only to lose, lose, lose, lose. Not worth it to play at those schools where White sends players. Which in turn is because Blue has sucked all talent from Lancaster area. White is left with subpar players.
White can't draw greater Boston and Metrowest players because who wants to drive 9hrs to Lancaster each week?!?
Total travesty that JD is making ecnl inaccessible for those girls. He should just buy out the girls side of NEFC if he cared about girls soccer.

Think about it, if you live in Metrowest or greater Boston, your only ecnl options are Taunton, Lancaster or Weymouth, all are 1.5 hrs one way in rush hour.
That's the real reason NEFC is being left out. If NEFC is given ecnl, they will absorb all the Metrowest / greater Boston talent and make playoffs across all age groups with their eyes closed.
White has an opportunity to be that team but for whatever reason, they refuse to change location.

[Guest]

Entire white team playing in college so there must be some development happening

My kids high school team has girls going to play in college…d3 with little to zero club exposure. You don’t need ECNL to play in college, you DO need ECNL to play in a P4 conference. White is not the pathway to competitive D1, it can be instrumental in exposure to some programs. Let’s not fool ourselves, the ECNL badge is not magical

[Guest]

My kids high school team has girls going to play in college…d3 with little to zero club exposure. You don’t need ECNL to play in college, you DO need ECNL to play in a P4 conference. White is not the pathway to competitive D1, it can be instrumental in exposure to some programs. Let’s not fool ourselves, the ECNL badge is not magical

The White teams do not have depth. They have a couple of stars sure, but you need a strong 11 and then an adequate bench. Most White teams don't even have a strong starting lineup. And those lucky teams / coaches that do, have an extremely weak bench. But since everyone needs playing time, the bench has to get played.
no fault of white coaches. They are the best. It is what it is.

[Guest]

$4000 x 7 years + 6hrs / week x 7 years of driving to Lancaster + hotel stays + time off work only to lose, lose, lose, lose. Not worth it to play at those schools where White sends players. Which in turn is because Blue has sucked all talent from Lancaster area. White is left with subpar players.
White can't draw greater Boston and Metrowest players because who wants to drive 9hrs to Lancaster each week?!?
Total travesty that JD is making ecnl inaccessible for those girls. He should just buy out the girls side of NEFC if he cared about girls soccer.

Think about it, if you live in Metrowest or greater Boston, your only ecnl options are Taunton, Lancaster or Weymouth, all are 1.5 hrs one way in rush hour.
That's the real reason NEFC is being left out. If NEFC is given ecnl, they will absorb all the Metrowest / greater Boston talent and make playoffs across all age groups with their eyes closed.
White has an opportunity to be that team but for whatever reason, they refuse to change location.

Can we please talk about how the entire western part of the state that has little access to any higher level programs? There are three or four clubs in western mass that can’t get their act together. If they were smart, they would put an ecnl club in that part of the state since the eastern part of the state has plenty of good options.

[Guest]

Can we please talk about how the entire western part of the state that has little access to any higher level programs? There are three or four clubs in western mass that can’t get their act together. If they were smart, they would put an ecnl club in that part of the state since the eastern part of the state has plenty of good options.

Agreed the club situation out west is a disaster but there simply isn’t enough talent to field an ECNL team, it’s just a volume thing. There are some that could play but not enough for a full roster. At best, if all the top talent west of Worcester could congregate, they would be competitive in a DPL environment