Existing players would have gotten pre-offers around now for next season. Actual "tryouts" for NEP/NPL teams are usually in June, but most top teams/players practice with the new club as a tryout and are offered spots well before June tryouts. ECNL can run "tryouts" whenever and were never limited by the NEP rules.
There has been a ton of movement from GDA to ECNL teams, but that is fairly normal as kids moved pretty freely between GDA/ECNL/NPL in the past. What isn't necessarily normal are the number of leagues and clubs blowing up and the coaching carousel of DoC's and coaches leaving existing clubs and trying to take teams to other clubs. It happens, but it seems to be happening with more frequency given the current landscape with the shutdown.
Every family will have to make a decision regarding where their child is, what their goal(s) are, what their budget and employment situation will be regarding club soccer for next year. I'm hearing maybe no HS season. I'm hearing maybe no competitive club season, just training. The college soccer season is in jeopardy. There are literally no guarantees that sports will be played this fall or winter given the possibility of virus flareups and potential shutdowns. The economy will likely not recover in a V shape, which means companies adjusting to lower economic activity. There will likely be more layoffs and paycuts coming in private industry and local and state governments have yet to really be affected. That is absolutely coming as tax revenue is way down and without a recovery in the private sector, there won't be a fix for the public sector. It wouldn't surprise me if we're worse off economically 6 months from now and that doesn't bode well for a luxury consumption item like club soccer.
Think hard about this committment for next year. There is a ton of risk and very little upside. My kid plays ECNL and will continue because of where she is in the college recruiting process. Lots of unknowns and risks there as well. No idea if college soccer will be the same on the other side of this, but that is the decision we made.
There has been a ton of movement from GDA to ECNL teams, but that is fairly normal as kids moved pretty freely between GDA/ECNL/NPL in the past. What isn't necessarily normal are the number of leagues and clubs blowing up and the coaching carousel of DoC's and coaches leaving existing clubs and trying to take teams to other clubs. It happens, but it seems to be happening with more frequency given the current landscape with the shutdown.
Every family will have to make a decision regarding where their child is, what their goal(s) are, what their budget and employment situation will be regarding club soccer for next year. I'm hearing maybe no HS season. I'm hearing maybe no competitive club season, just training. The college soccer season is in jeopardy. There are literally no guarantees that sports will be played this fall or winter given the possibility of virus flareups and potential shutdowns. The economy will likely not recover in a V shape, which means companies adjusting to lower economic activity. There will likely be more layoffs and paycuts coming in private industry and local and state governments have yet to really be affected. That is absolutely coming as tax revenue is way down and without a recovery in the private sector, there won't be a fix for the public sector. It wouldn't surprise me if we're worse off economically 6 months from now and that doesn't bode well for a luxury consumption item like club soccer.
Think hard about this committment for next year. There is a ton of risk and very little upside. My kid plays ECNL and will continue because of where she is in the college recruiting process. Lots of unknowns and risks there as well. No idea if college soccer will be the same on the other side of this, but that is the decision we made.
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