Comparing GA, ECNL and ECRL

[Guest]

GA Northeast has several ECNL level teams. ECRL has none.

Which team in GA Northeast would be a playoff team in ECNL?

[Guest]

That’s the whole darn point. All of those DPL teams are now in GA. Nobody is saying ECRL is great. What they are saying is that GA=ECRL.

No, that's not how it works.

GA teams are the clubs top teams. What this means is that they'll always get the best coach's, facilities, players the club can provide.

ECRL is always get the coaches, facilities and players the ECNL teams don't want.

See the difference?

[Guest]

This is such a climate vs. weather thread. Best ECRL teams - even in the Northeast conference - were really good, e.g., Alleycats 2009 (ranked ~100th nationally, same as SSS GA!). Worst ECRL teams were not good at all. Best DPL teams (e.g., NES Navy most years) were quite good. Worst were not good at all.

On average, ECRL New England clearly better than the DPL and ECRL Northeast probably on par, albeit with more spread. If the entire DPL merged with the ECRL and sorted into two leagues, everybody would be better off and we'd have more parity. As it stands each family will have to assess their options and decide. My family chose a better ECRL team over a bad DPL team, even though the logistics were much worse. But will totally depend.

Especially next year, there will be more overlap that I think is ideal across the lesser GA and better ECRL teams. Would be better if GA was a clearer 2nd league and ECRL was clear 3rd league. Still true on average but variance will rise next year given the changes.

[Guest]

Which team in GA Northeast would be comparable to the teams in ECNL New England?

Depends on the age group. At 2007, there are ten GA teams that could be swapped with 2007 ECNL teams:

Better than Stars White and the three ECNL teams below:

NEFC
New York SC
Cedar Stars Academy Monmouth

As good or better than Scorpions and the two teams below:

STA
Long Island SC
Cedar Stars Academy Bergen

Better than better than East Meadow or FSA or both:

Seacoast United GA
Oakwood SC
Syracuse Development Academy (SDA)
Rhode Island Surf

[Guest]

No, that's not how it works.

GA teams are the clubs top teams. What this means is that they'll always get the best coach's, facilities, players the club can provide.

ECRL is always get the coaches, facilities and players the ECNL teams don't want.

See the difference?

This isn't really true. Scorpions ECRL practice in Taunton right next to the ECNL team. Lots of shared coaching, scrimmages, etc. It's a nice benefit. NEFC GA will now have two teams in different facilities - they can't both be the top team (but both will be in the GA).

My experience has been that there are definite benefits to being the top team (see CFC ECNL on the boys side, or NES Navy for girls, or many other examples), just as the post above states. But there are trade-offs.

The NAL vs. ECNL fracas on the boys side has some parallels here. Everybody in the Northeast would be better off having CFC and their really, really strong ECNL teams playing against the NAL/2nd teams for the Bolts, IFA, etc. But, ECNL wanted only clubs' top teams and made them all choose ECNL vs. MLS Next. This is why pro sports leagues have legal antitrust exemptions - you're better off with just one league and/or one ladder so that the talent is concentrated, but it's tough to pull off unless somebody gets a monopoly. And in that case you have to regulate it or it goes haywire.

[Guest]

This is such a climate vs. weather thread. Best ECRL teams - even in the Northeast conference - were really good, e.g., Alleycats 2009 (ranked ~100th nationally, same as SSS GA!). Worst ECRL teams were not good at all. Best DPL teams (e.g., NES Navy most years) were quite good. Worst were not good at all.

On average, ECRL New England clearly better than the DPL and ECRL Northeast probably on par, albeit with more spread. If the entire DPL merged with the ECRL and sorted into two leagues, everybody would be better off and we'd have more parity. As it stands each family will have to assess their options and decide. My family chose a better ECRL team over a bad DPL team, even though the logistics were much worse. But will totally depend.

Especially next year, there will be more overlap that I think is ideal across the lesser GA and better ECRL teams. Would be better if GA was a clearer 2nd league and ECRL was clear 3rd league. Still true on average but variance will rise next year given the changes.

At the highest levels GA is by far better than ECRL and DPL. But regionally it's variable.

However, because GA is considered a clubs top team they'll always get the best coaches, facilities, and players a club can provide. Over time GA will continue to pull away from both ECRL and DPL in a rankings perspective.

This is because with ECRL and DPL top talent will eventually flow to ECNL or GA teams. Additionally if DPL or ECRL is a clubs top team eventually GA or ECNL will pull them up to the highest level.

[Guest]

At the highest levels GA is by far better than ECRL and DPL. But regionally it's variable.

However, because GA is considered a clubs top team they'll always get the best coaches, facilities, and players a club can provide. Over time GA will continue to pull away from both ECRL and DPL in a rankings perspective.

This is because with ECRL and DPL top talent will eventually flow to ECNL or GA teams. Additionally if DPL or ECRL is a clubs top team eventually GA or ECNL will pull them up to the highest level.

100% agree re GA vs. ECRL. and agree with you on how things will evolve. but it does frustrate me that to get from level 3 to level 2 you need to switch clubs (ECRL to GA) and that there are so many players in the GA who are better than the average ECNL player. Ideally there would be very few players in the GA who were better than the average ECNL player and very few ECRL players better than the average GA player. so i think what you're saying will happen more and more if the GA gets a bit worse on average and the ECNL gets a bit better - which I what I think is happening.

[Guest]

100% agree re GA vs. ECRL. and agree with you on how things will evolve. but it does frustrate me that to get from level 3 to level 2 you need to switch clubs (ECRL to GA) and that there are so many players in the GA who are better than the average ECNL player. Ideally there would be very few players in the GA who were better than the average ECNL player and very few ECRL players better than the average GA player. so i think what you're saying will happen more and more if the GA gets a bit worse on average and the ECNL gets a bit better - which I what I think is happening.

It takes time to sort itself out.

2-3 years ago GA didnt exist. Now in many areas its on par with ECNL clubs. In another 2-3 years if everything stays the same the competition level will become even more similar. There will always be a couple of top clubs that dominate but if your kid isn't on one of those teams it doesn't matter.

Parents need to keep in mind that being super competitive at u13 only increases your kids chances of burning out no matter what league they play in.

Drop the FOMO and look for the team/club where your kid is the most comfortable and happiest playing at ideally closest to your house.

[Guest]

All of those DPL teams are now in GA.

The only DPL team that's going into GA Northeast is RI Surf. Think of it as promotion.

It would probably surprise a lot of people to learn that, in at least one age year, that DPL team RI Surf is better than the bottom of the table team in ECNL New England. I guess ECNL needs relegation?

[Guest]

And ECRL Bayside to GA. Middle to bottom of ECRL Northeast at every age except 09.

[Guest]

It takes time to sort itself out.

2-3 years ago GA didnt exist. Now in many areas it’s on par with ECNL clubs. In another 2-3 years if everything stays the same the competition level will become even more similar.

The GA story didn’t just start 2-3 years ago. It’s part of an saga that includes the establishment, and later the shutdown, of Girls DA.

[Guest]

Yeah seems crazy that they got the GA nod. don't get it

[Guest]

The only DPL team that's going into GA Northeast is RI Surf. Think of it as promotion.

NEFC White.

[Guest]

And ECRL Bayside to GA. Middle to bottom of ECRL Northeast at every age except 09.

But if you compare the worst team in RL1 (FSA or East Meadow) to what will be the worst team in GA Northeast - Bayside is still far better.

[Guest]

The only DPL team that's going into GA Northeast is RI Surf. Think of it as promotion.

It would probably surprise a lot of people to learn that, in at least one age year, that DPL team RI Surf is better than the bottom of the table team in ECNL New England. I guess ECNL needs relegation?

Check your facts. NEFCs second GA team is also a DPL team.

Bayside is one year removed from impact which was the same as DPL. They are in bottom half of all but one age group of ECRL2 by the way. Should we think of this as Relegation?

Downtown United is an EDP team which is the same as DPL.

RI Surf might beat FSA in an age group or two but that’s not something to hang your hat on.