ECNL-DA club jumping season is upon us

[Unregistered]

The Leagues, Clubs, and associations may be able to work it out.
HSs can not be part of the solution. GDA is already tainted on HS and just needs to give that up.

Yeah, I know. To be clear, GDA is essentially out of the picture from a league perspective. HS would still be allowed to play, but HS would be asked to allow their players some leeway to do both. I also understand it goes against everything GDA stands for...

I just fear if you are cramming 20+ league games into a short window, you may be requiring 2 games/weekend (which could mean some travel charges). Maybe not if the games are local enough.

[Unregistered]

New USSF leadership has massive opportunity to reposition themselves as the great unifier, and rationalizing partner to youth soccer industry rather than current role as a competitor.

Broker a deal to align the leagues and absorb DA: They need to just let ECNL win and give them both a financial incentive (more clubs) and Flex opportunity (ECNL Top). Name US Club NPL and US Soccer National League as equal footing 2nd tier.

Create regional pools and inclusive pathways for players to come up through US Soccer, or US Club in addition to ECNL (which will likely be primary feeder)

Offer age-group spots in ECNL tourney to US Club and National League teams (final 4 of each) to qualify into "The" ECNL Championships.

[Unregistered]

There is so much clamoring for major changes on TS. I wonder if there are a lot of people already in ECNL (meaning kids and parents, not club personnel) who want to see the league completely revamped, lots of clubs added, overhaul divisions, etc...or is all of this primarily coming from those outside ECNL? That's an honest question. I do see the allure of reducing some of the travel or trying to make it more accessible to a larger geographical population (ex: maybe adding a club on the North Shore/S.NH/S.ME might make sense), but from our experiences most seem pretty happy with the current structure of the conference/organization.

[Unregistered]

There is so much clamoring for major changes on TS. I wonder if there are a lot of people already in ECNL (meaning kids and parents, not club personnel) who want to see the league completely revamped, lots of clubs added, overhaul divisions, etc...or is all of this primarily coming from those outside ECNL? That's an honest question. I do see the allure of reducing some of the travel or trying to make it more accessible to a larger geographical population (ex: maybe adding a club on the North Shore/S.NH/S.ME might make sense), but from our experiences most seem pretty happy with the current structure of the conference/organization.

Accept vs. happy?

Take out the marketing scheme that you have to drive 4 hours to get a game, who would actually WANT to drive that far if it's unnecessary?

[Unregistered]

There is so much clamoring for major changes on TS. I wonder if there are a lot of people already in ECNL (meaning kids and parents, not club personnel) who want to see the league completely revamped, lots of clubs added, overhaul divisions, etc...or is all of this primarily coming from those outside ECNL? That's an honest question. I do see the allure of reducing some of the travel or trying to make it more accessible to a larger geographical population (ex: maybe adding a club on the North Shore/S.NH/S.ME might make sense), but from our experiences most seem pretty happy with the current structure of the conference/organization.

I think this is why ECNL told USSoccer to pound sand a few years ago. The illusion is all is well, so no need to worry about any changes.

[Unregistered]

Accept vs. happy?

Take out the marketing scheme that you have to drive 4 hours to get a game, who would actually WANT to drive that far if it's unnecessary?

Exactly. Every parent would be happy if the league would include the strong close clubs instead of having us all have to drive past them.

More good clubs = less travel = less cost and stress = better happier soccer.

[Unregistered]

Accept vs. happy?

Take out the marketing scheme that you have to drive 4 hours to get a game, who would actually WANT to drive that far if it's unnecessary?

We are happy. I can't speak for everyone. And yes, we do sometimes drive 4 hours during the regular season (for 2 games, not 1) but that is very infrequent, maybe 2x a year. Most of the travel is much less than 4 hours. And honestly for those few "trips" it's fun for us and the kids. I don't hate spending an occasional night in a hotel. I don't think we are particularly unique in making the best of it. A little shared gas money and a $100 hotel is not a major commitment for us. Use the spare time to go see a new campus or get a bite to eat in a new city we might not otherwise visit. Play against a new opponent. We've been doing this a while, and in our experience the competition at my daugther's age group is excellent so the willingness to travel is probably higher for us. Again I can only speak for myself but we are "happy". Otherwise we would get into a different situation.

Most higher level soccer including DA/NPL involves some travel for tournaments, showcases, nationals, and yes, regular season games. It's comparable. So maybe by adding a ton of clubs you could cut down one or two trips but it wouldn't be eliminated. It would be mildly reduced.

But again none of this really answers my original question which is: who is it that is really seeking the the major changes, those inside ECNL, or those outside, or both? It seems to me like it is heavily weighted toward those outside.

[Unregistered]

We are happy. I can't speak for everyone. And yes, we do sometimes drive 4 hours during the regular season (for 2 games, not 1) but that is very infrequent, maybe 2x a year. Most of the travel is much less than 4 hours. And honestly for those few "trips" it's fun for us and the kids. I don't hate spending an occasional night in a hotel. I don't think we are particularly unique in making the best of it. A little shared gas money and a $100 hotel is not a major commitment for us. Use the spare time to go see a new campus or get a bite to eat in a new city we might not otherwise visit. Play against a new opponent. We've been doing this a while, and in our experience the competition at my daugther's age group is excellent so the willingness to travel is probably higher for us. Again I can only speak for myself but we are "happy". Otherwise we would get into a different situation.

Most higher level soccer including DA/NPL involves some travel for tournaments, showcases, nationals, and yes, regular season games. It's comparable. So maybe by adding a ton of clubs you could cut down one or two trips but it wouldn't be eliminated. It would be mildly reduced.

But again none of this really answers my original question which is: who is it that is really seeking the the major changes, those inside ECNL, or those outside, or both? It seems to me like it is heavily weighted toward those outside.

I think you sum up how we feel about GDA and have no issues with staying the course, overall. I was just being creative to concentrate the leagues and competition more locally, more from an expense and ecological perspective.

[Unregistered]

There is so much clamoring for major changes on TS. I wonder if there are a lot of people already in ECNL (meaning kids and parents, not club personnel) who want to see the league completely revamped, lots of clubs added, overhaul divisions, etc...or is all of this primarily coming from those outside ECNL? That's an honest question. I do see the allure of reducing some of the travel or trying to make it more accessible to a larger geographical population (ex: maybe adding a club on the North Shore/S.NH/S.ME might make sense), but from our experiences most seem pretty happy with the current structure of the conference/organization.

ECNL parent here. I'm very happy with the ECNL the way it is. My reading of the situation is that I think GDA is on its way out. So the question becomes where do we go from here?

I think the best situation would be ECNL as the top league and NPL as the top platform for non-ECNL clubs. The question becomes what do you do with the 60 or so remaining GDA clubs? i think the ECNL should strategically absorb about 20 of them, based upon merit and what is needed in each particular region. The rest should go back to NPL. Top 10 choices would be pretty easy. Bottom 20 would be easy. Picking 10 of the remaining 30 would be tricky.

Expand and re-work the ECNL regions based upon the 20 new clubs. Ideally i'd like to see a NE ECNL division from MA-NJ with 14 teams and occasional cross over games with teams from other regions. Send the PA & MD teams to a region with the VA teams and so on.

Already have eleven: Stars Blue & White, Scorpions, FSA, CFC, World Class, Match Fit, SUSA, East Meadow, PDA Blue & White. Who would be the next best 3? Maybe NEFC, Oakwood & STA?

[Unregistered]

Appreciate this response. We can squabble over some details but highlights for me
* USSF makes nice with ECNL/NPL. Collapses DA into those two leagues. They should welcome new members
* More clubs allows regional structure with less travel (still some travel x-conf)
* Rationalize showcases and tourneys into a big finale
(note: HS showcases are good for recruiting equal PT)
* Provide for Team-based Promo-Rele
* USSF collaborates and pulls players into regional ID pools

Won’t happen. ECNL has ECNL 2 now which they would like to be the second best national league. If they want more GDA clubs they will cherry pick and the others can go wherever.

[Unregistered]

I think you sum up how we feel about GDA and have no issues with staying the course, overall. I was just being creative to concentrate the leagues and competition more locally, more from an expense and ecological perspective.

I can respect that. It's rational to wish for less travel as most people probably do in a general sense. I guess I just think a lot of people overestimate how much extra travel is actually involved. Look at the math. As it is, we play 7 home/7 away per year...14 games. Of the 7 away 2 are bound to be in New England already because there are 4 NE club opponents (so 2H/2A each year). So if we are looking at a major shakeup eliminating all regular season travel outside New England, the impact would only be felt on the 5 remaining away games which is the 2-3 travel weekends I was referring to. So like I said you could theoretically cut down those extra couple weekends by going all New England, sure. BUT the flip side of that would have to include removing the PDAs, East Meadow, SUSA, Match Fit, etc. part of the schedule. And that is not necessarily a good trade off. I'd rather take the extra couple weekends away and keep those teams on the schedule. IMO.

PS This is obviously a different conversation at the pre-HS ages where many more away games are played and much less college recruiting is being done. I think a much better argument can be made to stay closer to home for younger kids.

[Unregistered]

I can respect that. It's rational to wish for less travel as most people probably do in a general sense. I guess I just think a lot of people overestimate how much extra travel is actually involved. Look at the math. As it is, we play 7 home/7 away per year...14 games. Of the 7 away 2 are bound to be in New England already because there are 4 NE club opponents (so 2H/2A each year). So if we are looking at a major shakeup eliminating all regular season travel outside New England, the impact would only be felt on the 5 remaining away games which is the 2-3 travel weekends I was referring to. So like I said you could theoretically cut down those extra couple weekends by going all New England, sure. BUT the flip side of that would have to include removing the PDAs, East Meadow, SUSA, Match Fit, etc. part of the schedule. And that is not necessarily a good trade off. I'd rather take the extra couple weekends away and keep those teams on the schedule. IMO.

PS This is obviously a different conversation at the pre-HS ages where many more away games are played and much less college recruiting is being done. I think a much better argument can be made to stay closer to home for younger kids.

you need to factor in that as the travel burden and cost goes down - more strong players will be in the pool to join these clubs. The level of play can increase for the more localized competition.

[Unregistered]

I think that game is over. USSF has an almost entirely new leadership group.

NCFC (NC Courage) just announced they are leaving GDA.
NCFC is two time NWSL champion.
NCFC coaches also coach US Youth National Teams.
NCFC has several players in the YNT pool.
Cindy Parlow Cone works for NCFC youth, and she now heads USSF.
NCFCs top team will play in the ECNL next season.

= the GDA gig is up.

[Unregistered]

We are happy. I can't speak for everyone. And yes, we do sometimes drive 4 hours during the regular season (for 2 games, not 1) but that is very infrequent, maybe 2x a year. Most of the travel is much less than 4 hours. And honestly for those few "trips" it's fun for us and the kids. I don't hate spending an occasional night in a hotel. I don't think we are particularly unique in making the best of it. A little shared gas money and a $100 hotel is not a major commitment for us. Use the spare time to go see a new campus or get a bite to eat in a new city we might not otherwise visit. Play against a new opponent. We've been doing this a while, and in our experience the competition at my daugther's age group is excellent so the willingness to travel is probably higher for us. Again I can only speak for myself but we are "happy". Otherwise we would get into a different situation.

Most higher level soccer including DA/NPL involves some travel for tournaments, showcases, nationals, and yes, regular season games. It's comparable. So maybe by adding a ton of clubs you could cut down one or two trips but it wouldn't be eliminated. It would be mildly reduced.

But again none of this really answers my original question which is: who is it that is really seeking the the major changes, those inside ECNL, or those outside, or both? It seems to me like it is heavily weighted toward those outside.

Clearly all involved. Each age group often results in different competitions ranging from blow outs to even matchups. Spending a precious weekend in PA, NY or NJ to lose or win by lopsided scores is a tough pill to justify being away from our other children and spouses. And for the record we all make the best of it. Most families feel it/suffer as the sibling children get older and siblings have other sports/games. A more locally based region results in great rivalries that make these games and experiences more fun and better for everyone. Such a waste having quality teams right here in New England in different leagues only to drive 5 hours right by them to play in East Overshoe Pennsylvania.

[Unregistered]

I think that game is over. USSF has an almost entirely new leadership group.

NCFC (NC Courage) just announced they are leaving GDA.
NCFC is two time NWSL champion.
NCFC coaches also coach US Youth National Teams.
NCFC has several players in the YNT pool.
Cindy Parlow Cone works for NCFC youth, and she now heads USSF.
NCFCs top team will play in the ECNL next season.

= the GDA gig is up.

If you read this post and don’t see the writing on the wall, don’t know what to say.

Question to the NEFC, SSS people. If GDA folded and your clubs top teams were in NPL, are you sticking it out or trying to get on an ECNL roster?