The GA is adding low level clubs for 2022-23 Season. Will the ECNL expand this year?

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Also nationally ECNL > GAL. Sure in each region there's 1-2 GAL clubs that can readily compete with ECNL teams, but past those top two clubs at most, most of the others would struggle in ECNL except vs the bottom two ECNL clubs. Local options will of course vary wildly so pick the best option in your area regardless of the patch

That’s sounds very subjective. What are you basing such a claim?

[Guest]

GAL has way better college coach exposure. As the league weakens more it may not remain that strong, but the appeal of large easy to shop national events is a big advantage over EDP. There's more player depth for coaches to look at

GAL is equal to EDP in track record and exposure. The 2 leagues should have merged and give ECNL a run for their money. At this pace they are both distant 2A and 2B options.

[Guest]

PDA Blue is likely the top rated ECNL team in the country. Is it fair to compare them in the GA/ECNL debate in NJ? I mean ECNL will win the NJ debate every time in NJ. We all know that. Wouldn’t a comparison with PDA South or MF be a better comparison. Or a comparison of the divisions for this area? I mean TSJ likely rivals PDA Blue. Thoughts?

I would say that GAL actually rules in NJ over ECNL. Sure ECNL has PDA Blue but they also have White, South and MF which are all nowhere near elite while GA has STA, SJEB and Real. As for the divisions it is basically PDA Blue and PF with some 3rd team for top 3 which just goes to show how much PDA Blue sucks potential talent out of NJ. In the GA TSJ is usually at the top but the top 3 is more random. Honestly PDA Blue should be ashamed for making a mockery of ECNL NA by not allowing competitive clubs to enter just so they can protect their monopoly of auto qualifier to nationals. Even colleges know this which is why you don't see a lot of top players going to top P5 schools like other top ECNL programs. PDA Blue may get 1 or 2 outside of Rutgers but other programs get a half dozen or more to various schools around the country.

[Guest]

GAL is equal to EDP in track record and exposure. The 2 leagues should have merged and give ECNL a run for their money. At this pace they are both distant 2A and 2B options.

They don’t beed to merge to compete with ecnl. They would need to merge and cut tbe teams down to 4 teams. They need to consolidate talent to compete with ecnl. Parents would probably hate that. It would mean a harsh reality for lots of kids.

[Guest]

The GA, which by all accounts, is far behind ECNL in NJ. Why in the world would you then add so called lower level clubs? That would inherently water down the talent pool. I get parents think it’s great bc their club may have gotten into a league but they should have taken their talented kids to one of the GA’s existing teams and combined talent to make better teams.

People talk about talent pool and don't realize just how many youth players are in NJ. NJ has tens of thousands of youth players, the issue isn't how many have talent it is how many get the training to develop that talent. NJ has a larger youth base then some of these large ECNL markets that have 6+ clubs all very close. The issue is PDA beating down the other clubs by taking the "talent" through their meat grinder of a system with the promise of a patch and exposure. It is basic capitalism, you can either get more by doing better or get more by limiting your competitors. Had PDA allowed ECNL to expand in NJ instead of adding clubs like PDA South they would be forced to have to put out better players and have to win against a club that just may well beat them at various ages. Making a league more competitive along with access by more players would force clubs to make players better. Instead you have had clubs locked out of ECNL and the benefits it brought which changed slightly when GDA/GA started. Now you see those other clubs that should have been ECNL doing as well or better on a national stage then a majority of those ECNL clubs in the area.

[Guest]

People talk about talent pool and don't realize just how many youth players are in NJ. NJ has tens of thousands of youth players, the issue isn't how many have talent it is how many get the training to develop that talent. NJ has a larger youth base then some of these large ECNL markets that have 6+ clubs all very close. The issue is PDA beating down the other clubs by taking the "talent" through their meat grinder of a system with the promise of a patch and exposure. It is basic capitalism, you can either get more by doing better or get more by limiting your competitors. Had PDA allowed ECNL to expand in NJ instead of adding clubs like PDA South they would be forced to have to put out better players and have to win against a club that just may well beat them at various ages. Making a league more competitive along with access by more players would force clubs to make players better. Instead you have had clubs locked out of ECNL and the benefits it brought which changed slightly when GDA/GA started. Now you see those other clubs that should have been ECNL doing as well or better on a national stage then a majority of those ECNL clubs in the area.

i agree with some of what you are saying but i do however believe kids do have athletic ceilings. Also in team sports the team is only as good as your weakest player. I think in order to truly compete against a pda blue or Matchfit blue and maybe in some cases a pda white, the talent pool needs to be consolidated. Training only goes so far. Look at Barca for example, yes they do have a lot of home grown talent but they do also acquire talent to play as well. So how could they not be able to train their own talent to fill the spots? Bc not all talent is created equally. It’s just a fact of sports

[Guest]

GAL is equal to EDP in track record and exposure. The 2 leagues should have merged and give ECNL a run for their money. At this pace they are both distant 2A and 2B options.

Agree but some would legitimately argue that many EDP clubs / teams are better than GA quality in NJ. Real is a perfect example. They will go from top EDP club to top GA club in NJ in the blink of an eye. Not bad for an EDP club huh? If Real (a current EDP club) would have played in GA Showcase in Fla instead of CSA their record would be reversed, they would be 20-4 instead of 4-20.

[Guest]

Agree but some would legitimately argue that many EDP clubs / teams are better than GA quality in NJ. Real is a perfect example. They will go from top EDP club to top GA club in NJ in the blink of an eye. Not bad for an EDP club huh? If Real (a current EDP club) would have played in GA Showcase in Fla instead of CSA their record would be reversed, they would be 20-4 instead of 4-20.

Doubtful, while Real may end up on top for 06 and maybe 05 they would be hard pressed at 07 and under especially at 08, 09 and 10 next year. Also don't forget that while USYS/EDP may have some really good teams at different ages ECNL and GA are club vs club so you can't compare the 2 at single ages.

[Guest]

Doubtful, while Real may end up on top for 06 and maybe 05 they would be hard pressed at 07 and under especially at 08, 09 and 10 next year. Also don't forget that while USYS/EDP may have some really good teams at different ages ECNL and GA are club vs club so you can't compare the 2 at single ages.

I’m still not convinced Real 06 would beat STA 06 team in New Jersey.

[Guest]

i agree with some of what you are saying but i do however believe kids do have athletic ceilings. Also in team sports the team is only as good as your weakest player. I think in order to truly compete against a pda blue or Matchfit blue and maybe in some cases a pda white, the talent pool needs to be consolidated. Training only goes so far. Look at Barca for example, yes they do have a lot of home grown talent but they do also acquire talent to play as well. So how could they not be able to train their own talent to fill the spots? Bc not all talent is created equally. It’s just a fact of sports

Are you seriously comparing PDA North to La Masia? PDA North lies, cheats and steals players from teams that developed the players while La Masia not only brings in players but also has deals in place with over a dozen clubs in the area providing training and money to develop more potentials. The "talent pool" is a lot bigger then the 160ish girls Blue has on ECNL rosters when you consider that there are over 70k girls playing in NJ. The North East has the 4th largest amount of players in the US. Talent means nothing if you don't have the ability to train, develop and nourish it. How else do explain why areas with half the players are able to sustain entire divisions while NJ can't field more then 1 club that can qualify for ECNL nationals? Some how ECNL on the boys side can have twice as many clubs? There isn't twice as many boys that play.

https://rapidsyouthsoccer.org/soccer...er-statistics/

[Guest]

I’m still not convinced Real 06 would beat STA 06 team in New Jersey.

Lucky for them they are in different divisions.

[Guest]

Are you seriously comparing PDA North to La Masia? PDA North lies, cheats and steals players from teams that developed the players while La Masia not only brings in players but also has deals in place with over a dozen clubs in the area providing training and money to develop more potentials. The "talent pool" is a lot bigger then the 160ish girls Blue has on ECNL rosters when you consider that there are over 70k girls playing in NJ. The North East has the 4th largest amount of players in the US. Talent means nothing if you don't have the ability to train, develop and nourish it. How else do explain why areas with half the players are able to sustain entire divisions while NJ can't field more then 1 club that can qualify for ECNL nationals? Some how ECNL on the boys side can have twice as many clubs? There isn't twice as many boys that play.

https://rapidsyouthsoccer.org/soccer...er-statistics/

Nobody is stealing talent. Talent gladly goes to PDA. They do not stop developing at PDA. Their are plenty of girls who were developed since ulittle at PDA. Don’t hate the player hate the game.

[Guest]

Nobody is stealing talent. Talent gladly goes to PDA. They do not stop developing at PDA. Their are plenty of girls who were developed since ulittle at PDA. Don’t hate the player hate the game.

Wasn’t the poster’s point. The point was if PDA is that good why is there only 1 team worth discussing and only 1 team making it to nationals. Then at nationals failing. Showcase failing. Not sure the last time you checked but the last time I did we wiped PDA ass at the college showcase. Don’t hate the game, hate the club that has a lot of hype and delivers nothing bro.

[Guest]

GAL is equal to EDP in track record and exposure. The 2 leagues should have merged and give ECNL a run for their money. At this pace they are both distant 2A and 2B options.

Nailed it

[Guest]

Are you seriously comparing PDA North to La Masia? PDA North lies, cheats and steals players from teams that developed the players while La Masia not only brings in players but also has deals in place with over a dozen clubs in the area providing training and money to develop more potentials. The "talent pool" is a lot bigger then the 160ish girls Blue has on ECNL rosters when you consider that there are over 70k girls playing in NJ. The North East has the 4th largest amount of players in the US. Talent means nothing if you don't have the ability to train, develop and nourish it. How else do explain why areas with half the players are able to sustain entire divisions while NJ can't field more then 1 club that can qualify for ECNL nationals? Some how ECNL on the boys side can have twice as many clubs? There isn't twice as many boys that play.

https://rapidsyouthsoccer.org/soccer...er-statistics/

no i never compared the two clubs. I was making a point that even the best soccer club in the world need to being in talent bc they can’t simply produce it all the time. So just slapping an ecnl badge on a club and training kids doesn’t equate to average kids becoming great. They need to consolidate all the talent.