To stay or go?

[Guest]

My daughters USYS team took a hit last year after try outs when a ton of girls left. We didn’t have as bad as I would of thought season but still not as competitive as we once were. This year what players were left that were good are leaving. Would it be better to stay or go to a bottom of the league ECNL team?

[Guest]

Are those really the only two options?

[Guest]

What age?

[Guest]

09 that’s our options

[Guest]

All depends. Does she get playing time? Does she enjoy the club? Is the club rebuilding? Why did they leave? Is she improving or stagnant? Why lower lever ECNL?

[Guest]

Agree with above - too many variables. Would want to understand location, ability level (realistic), current club situation and what ECNL/GA options are.

[Guest]

This year for the 09's is the start of cementing ECNL and GA teams. I do believe that the College exposure and most training/players are better or at least more dedicated in the ECNL/GA than other leagues at U15 and older. All ECNL/GA are not created equally and I'm not going into that. You should be doing tryouts now and ask to attend a couple of practices at clubs you are interested in. As long as she is talented enough she will be offer spots and a couple of clubs. Then try to make an educated decision, (location, coaches, team history, daughters feel of the player on the team, parents on the team). One of the best ways to get a re real feel of a team is go to a game and walk the sidelines and listen to the parents talk. (weirdly you with learn a lot, good and bad). Good Luck

[Guest]

Sounds like the current team is falling apart with no indication that it can be turned around. My recommendation would be to go to the ECNL team.

[Guest]

The team is crumbling. She plays full games and if not is only subbed out for a few mins. She was progressing last year but this year she stay stagnant and she didn’t see much growth as unfortunately as she did the previous year. I like her coach but just afraid with most of the good competitive girls leaving the team won’t be nearly as competitive. We were rebuilding this year and seems like it would be a rebuilding next year. With the rebuilding she hasn’t felt the practices were as challanging as they could be because not everyone was up to the same level. So shot in the dark I took her to a lower encl team try out and they’re interested in her. But they sit at the bottom of the bracket so there is concern if it’s worth taking her there. The drive is easier which is one plus for them. My concern is would she develop playing against the better teams in a quote on quote “better league” there seemed to be some other talented kids at the try out.

[Guest]

The team is crumbling. She plays full games and if not is only subbed out for a few mins. She was progressing last year but this year she stay stagnant and she didn’t see much growth as unfortunately as she did the previous year. I like her coach but just afraid with most of the good competitive girls leaving the team won’t be nearly as competitive. We were rebuilding this year and seems like it would be a rebuilding next year. With the rebuilding she hasn’t felt the practices were as challanging as they could be because not everyone was up to the same level. So shot in the dark I took her to a lower encl team try out and they’re interested in her. But they sit at the bottom of the bracket so there is concern if it’s worth taking her there. The drive is easier which is one plus for them. My concern is would she develop playing against the better teams in a quote on quote “better league” there seemed to be some other talented kids at the try out.

Based on this I can guess where you live. I would look at the PA ECNL teams or a GA team.

[Guest]

Based on this I can guess where you live. I would look at the PA ECNL teams or a GA team.

I would agree, but would add stay away from PA South and Bucks and even any new RL conference club. Even MF or Blue RL wouldn't be bad for a year if needed. You may need to also start investing in outside training if you aren't already.

[Guest]

The team is crumbling. She plays full games and if not is only subbed out for a few mins. She was progressing last year but this year she stay stagnant and she didn’t see much growth as unfortunately as she did the previous year. I like her coach but just afraid with most of the good competitive girls leaving the team won’t be nearly as competitive. We were rebuilding this year and seems like it would be a rebuilding next year. With the rebuilding she hasn’t felt the practices were as challanging as they could be because not everyone was up to the same level. So shot in the dark I took her to a lower encl team try out and they’re interested in her. But they sit at the bottom of the bracket so there is concern if it’s worth taking her there. The drive is easier which is one plus for them. My concern is would she develop playing against the better teams in a quote on quote “better league” there seemed to be some other talented kids at the try out.

Been there before. Moving to a team in a better league was the right answer for us. It’s not about winning, it’s about improving and getting in front of the right coaches if you want to play after HS. There’s no right universal right answer, you have to find the best path for your player.

[Guest]

If she really wants to play in college a weaker ECNL team is probably a better option than her deteriorating USYS. She'll play tougher teams and get more exposure. Sounds like the team may be at cusp point in time when better players move up and it's enough to cause a team collapse. It won't get better. Once in HS the better players have mostly moved and there aren't many hiding in the woodwork undiscovered

[Guest]

The team is crumbling. She plays full games and if not is only subbed out for a few mins. She was progressing last year but this year she stay stagnant and she didn’t see much growth as unfortunately as she did the previous year. I like her coach but just afraid with most of the good competitive girls leaving the team won’t be nearly as competitive. We were rebuilding this year and seems like it would be a rebuilding next year. With the rebuilding she hasn’t felt the practices were as challanging as they could be because not everyone was up to the same level. So shot in the dark I took her to a lower encl team try out and they’re interested in her. But they sit at the bottom of the bracket so there is concern if it’s worth taking her there. The drive is easier which is one plus for them. My concern is would she develop playing against the better teams in a quote on quote “better league” there seemed to be some other talented kids at the try out.

The lower level ECNL team is the better option. She'll play against the best competition in the surrounding states and will have a better opportunity to be seen by college coaches during league showcases. If she's committed to club soccer as her primary sport and wants to play in college, then leaving is her best option considering the circumstances you described.