Is Pre-GA worth it for U12?

[Guest]

How intense is the pre-ga for a 6th grader who plays multiple sports? Is it worth it to do all that travel?

[Guest]

So take my response for what it's worth. My daughter was offered a pre-ECNL position in 5th grade and we turned it down. She played multiple sports and we felt like this was the first step towards specializing way too young. We've watched her peers who started that young burn out since then, but we've also seen a few who are now being recruited by D1 schools. My daughter stayed on Impact teams until last year when she started high school and we moved to an ECRL team. She's hoping to play high academic D3 and next year will be on an ECRL team again; she's getting the exposure she needs on this team, is talking to college coaches, etc. It is absolutely possible to not go that route at an early age, save yourself the money, travel, weekends apart as a family and still get to that level once your child gets to the HS level if they keep competing in between.

[Guest]

It depends on your child. Is she pushing to be in a better team because she loves it? Does she put in the extra work at home on her own? If she is pushing for it and willing to do the work than have her play as high as she can. IMO pre-ECNL would be better, but that’s another debate.

[Guest]

Re: intensity, I don’t think the training requirements are much different than other top teams who do not compete in Pre-ECNL / Pre-GA. Even at U11 a lot of these teams are training 3x / week. So it really is about the long-distance league travel, as you mentioned.

As far as whether that time investment delivers a good return, I think you have to look at a few factors:

Competition: there are a few strong clubs still playing NECSL at U12, like NE Surf and … not sure who else, given all the recent additions to ECNL/GA. SSS historically has played in both Pre-GA and NECSL, I don’t know if they’ll continue that practice in the new era. Seacoast MA players seem to be fleeing, and I assume RI Surf will do Pre-GA. Good news is at U12 a lot of the teams still sign up for all the local tournaments, so that should still be good competition regardless of the league.

Coaching: key reason to join a particular team at this age. Good coaches in Pre-GA, but they don’t have a monopoly on it.

Inside track: I wouldn’t do it for this reason. NEFC Pre-GA will roster, what, 26 kids across 2 teams? And plenty of kids on the U13 roster are likely to be ones who come from outside the club anyway.

[Guest]

So take my response for what it's worth. My daughter was offered a pre-ECNL position in 5th grade and we turned it down. She played multiple sports and we felt like this was the first step towards specializing way too young. We've watched her peers who started that young burn out since then, but we've also seen a few who are now being recruited by D1 schools. My daughter stayed on Impact teams until last year when she started high school and we moved to an ECRL team. She's hoping to play high academic D3 and next year will be on an ECRL team again; she's getting the exposure she needs on this team, is talking to college coaches, etc. It is absolutely possible to not go that route at an early age, save yourself the money, travel, weekends apart as a family and still get to that level once your child gets to the HS level if they keep competing in between.

Excellent response

[Guest]

Re: intensity, I don’t think the training requirements are much different than other top teams who do not compete in Pre-ECNL / Pre-GA. Even at U11 a lot of these teams are training 3x / week. So it really is about the long-distance league travel, as you mentioned.

(Not knowing what all the different clubs do, can I ask which clubs practice 3x weekly? At U11 my kid at NEFC used to have 2 team practices plus a technical training night.)

From our experiences the training intensity really depends both on the coach and also the mix of players/families. We've had excellent "intense" coaches but teams with inconsistent effort/attention spans (always a factor at younger ages) and more "hands-off" coaches whose players were ready to tear each other up (in a good way) in practice. You also have to take a honest look at your kid and figure out what their own motivation level is. Multisport athletes almost has nothing to do with it. They might be intense in every sport they play, or they may just enjoy all different sports for recreation.

As far as whether that time investment delivers a good return, I think you have to look at a few factors:

Competition: there are a few strong clubs still playing NECSL at U12, like NE Surf and … not sure who else, given all the recent additions to ECNL/GA. SSS historically has played in both Pre-GA and NECSL, I don’t know if they’ll continue that practice in the new era. Seacoast MA players seem to be fleeing, and I assume RI Surf will do Pre-GA. Good news is at U12 a lot of the teams still sign up for all the local tournaments, so that should still be good competition regardless of the league.

Coaching: key reason to join a particular team at this age. Good coaches in Pre-GA, but they don’t have a monopoly on it.

Inside track: I wouldn’t do it for this reason. NEFC Pre-GA will roster, what, 26 kids across 2 teams? And plenty of kids on the U13 roster are likely to be ones who come from outside the club anyway.

The pre-ECNL/GA teams playing in NECSL have tended to play up an age group, so they are probably getting better competition out of those extra games. Not to say that there aren't good teams in NECSL but it will probably really depend on who you have in the bracket next year.

Good coaches in pre-GA/ECNL but not exclusively as the previous poster says. You really have to look at how players at the club are growing over time. Sometimes you can feel like a team is doing really well for a whole season and then go to a tournament or play some different teams and then you realize the players have just gotten better at doing the same thing against the same competition, while other teams have moved upward and onward.

[Guest]

I would say it depends on how committed you are to the team with your other sports. ECNL and GA teams do not like you missing practice or games for other sports and it isn’t fair to the other players or your own player. If your other sports don’t interfere then pre-GA is not that intense.

[Guest]

if you end goal is to play for the GA teams from that club in the future, it is probably worth it. After U13 you can only join a top team if someone leaves or you are much much better than someone on the team (they will not cut someone for someone else that may be better, but cant really tell from the limited interaction)

[Guest]

It depends on

- what your players goals are. will she be on a good high school team, will it matter to her if she does well?

- what the other choices are. it's not as if there is always an alternate choice that fits. pretty much all of the club soccer options around here have major pros and cons for most players. finding a strong group of teammates, a good coach, and a league with decent competition isn't easy. especially this year with so many changes.

if there is a good DPL team nearby that may be an option to consider

also, be sure to look at a GA's teams schedule and add in a few travel tournaments or showcases to get an idea of the level of commitment. it is a lot.

[Guest]

How intense is the pre-ga for a 6th grader who plays multiple sports? Is it worth it to do all that travel?

My kid did pre-GA at NEFC.

Fast forward a few years and not a single NEFC DPL kid has been added to the GA roster. External DPL kids, yes.

So if you're not doing pre-GA at NEFC, do NOT accept a lower level team offer from NEFC if GA is a future goal.

[Guest]

BS, clubs will drop you in a second if a better players come along. they hate you missing games and practices and are on you a** if you miss anything. we were burnt out by the second year and left - join at U15

[Guest]

My kid did pre-GA at NEFC.

Fast forward a few years and not a single NEFC DPL kid has been added to the GA roster. External DPL kids, yes.

So if you're not doing pre-GA at NEFC, do NOT accept a lower level team offer from NEFC if GA is a future goal.

I agree and have the have had the exact same experience with my D who played pre-GA. If your goal is go play GA at NEFC, you either have to to do pre-GA or go to another club at this age and switch to NEFC at GA age.

The most I recall ever seeing join from an internal DPL team to GA in a single year is 1 player and that doesn't even happen every year.

[Guest]

It is very rare to move up at NEFC and SSS. I think Stars and Scorpions have more movement from ECNL-R to ECNL.

[Guest]

How intense is the pre-ga for a 6th grader who plays multiple sports? Is it worth it to do all that travel?

A kid has to love it. Based on the way you phrased your question, she is not ready for the commitment. Check back when that changes.

[Guest]

It is very rare to move up at NEFC and SSS. I think Stars and Scorpions have more movement from ECNL-R to ECNL.

why would it be rare? You would think loyalty combined with development by lower teams coaches it would be the complete opposite