Gal

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Because I hate PDA! I thought my kid would finally get a shot at being the best in GDA but now it's just GAL and it sucks :(

Why does exactly GAL suck? They are doing best they can to keep things going post DA implosion. Just like any business give them time (3-4 years) before they can produce a long line of quality players. Right now it’s early so while the players that are playing in GAL may not see the benefits, girls 3-4 years down the road will when it’s an established brand. Unfortunately the U16-U18 players are the trailblazers for the league, and the younger age groups will benefit down the road.

[Unregistered]

Why does exactly GAL suck? They are doing best they can to keep things going post DA implosion. Just like any business give them time (3-4 years) before they can produce a long line of quality players. Right now it’s early so while the players that are playing in GAL may not see the benefits, girls 3-4 years down the road will when it’s an established brand. Unfortunately the U16-U18 players are the trailblazers for the league, and the younger age groups will benefit down the road.

A league hastily tossed together because US Soccer pulled the plug on their league. What could go wrong. Maybe instead of trying to hold on to a league the clubs could have just gone back to whatever league they came from and applied the ideals the DA had envisioned. Just cause you play USYS doesn't mean you can't train 3x days a week, do year round activities or have strength/agility training or soccerIQ sessions.

[Unregistered]

Why does exactly GAL suck? They are doing best they can to keep things going post DA implosion. Just like any business give them time (3-4 years) before they can produce a long line of quality players. Right now it’s early so while the players that are playing in GAL may not see the benefits, girls 3-4 years down the road will when it’s an established brand. Unfortunately the U16-U18 players are the trailblazers for the league, and the younger age groups will benefit down the road.

So if your kid is one of those younger ones, like 7th grade, you have time to see it play out. The older kids like mine got screwed when DA folded and GAL is no where near what DA was. You also have to keep in mind that most people on here complain because DA was a strong league for the better players to play. Many of us were brought into clubs like CSA and STA for the sole reason of getting into DA. There was always the debate on whether or not DA was better than ECNL but at least we new DA gave our kids a strong opportunity for College looks.
What exactly does GAL do that I should wait to see it all come together. Its just another league. Nothing special. The only thing it did differently than others is had a 10 month season but it conflicts with HS. After the debacle this past fall that may be changing for next year and GAL will be exactly like every other league. Except ECNL. The difference with ECNL is that is the proven league where all of the best players go. If your kid is just an average player than you have nothing lose with GAL

[Unregistered]

Why does exactly GAL suck? They are doing best they can to keep things going post DA implosion. Just like any business give them time (3-4 years) before they can produce a long line of quality players. Right now it’s early so while the players that are playing in GAL may not see the benefits, girls 3-4 years down the road will when it’s an established brand. Unfortunately the U16-U18 players are the trailblazers for the league, and the younger age groups will benefit down the road.

Blah, blah, blah...been hearing the same song & dance since 2017 when GDA launched and my older daughter got roped in. It sucked then and has only gotten worse since. Do you really think it's getting better with USSF backing out and the exodus of top clubs, teams & players?
4 years is a lifetime for a youth soccer player. So you're saying 13/14 year olds should cross their fingers and hope the brand GAL ends up establishing is a good one? GTFO

[Unregistered]

Blah, blah, blah...been hearing the same song & dance since 2017 when GDA launched and my older daughter got roped in. It sucked then and has only gotten worse since. Do you really think it's getting better with USSF backing out and the exodus of top clubs, teams & players?
4 years is a lifetime for a youth soccer player. So you're saying 13/14 year olds should cross their fingers and hope the brand GAL ends up establishing is a good one? GTFO

Not the OP but it it sounds like the idea of “more training” and “certified coaches” does not correlate with you as a factor for building a better soccer player.

The fact that your older daughter “jumped in” and didn’t see any visible results from GDA sounds like you are looking for a miracle pill.

Let those clubs exit. I wouldn’t expect an immediate result.

GAL still needs to work on the excessive travel and focus on meaningless competition.

[Unregistered]

Not the OP but it it sounds like the idea of “more training” and “certified coaches” does not correlate with you as a factor for building a better soccer player.

The fact that your older daughter “jumped in” and didn’t see any visible results from GDA sounds like you are looking for a miracle pill.

Let those clubs exit. I wouldn’t expect an immediate result.

GAL still needs to work on the excessive travel and focus on meaningless competition.

Im not this OP but I think he was saying they got "roped in" by the DA hype. I can say that it what happened to us to. My D is a really good player and we were sold on DA but it didn't pan out. Didn't stick around for GAL but parents we know that stayed are rethinking their decision

[Unregistered]

Im not this OP but I think he was saying they got "roped in" by the DA hype. I can say that it what happened to us to. My D is a really good player and we were sold on DA but it didn't pan out. Didn't stick around for GAL but parents we know that stayed are rethinking their decision

Same here (unfortunately), it’s a shame as it’s been oversell and underdeliver so far. Not sure if we have time to wait around for a few years to see how it pans out. If you truly know the landscape you can already see the drop off in quality vs the old DA days.

[Unregistered]

So if your kid is one of those younger ones, like 7th grade, you have time to see it play out. The older kids like mine got screwed when DA folded and GAL is no where near what DA was. You also have to keep in mind that most people on here complain because DA was a strong league for the better players to play. Many of us were brought into clubs like CSA and STA for the sole reason of getting into DA. There was always the debate on whether or not DA was better than ECNL but at least we new DA gave our kids a strong opportunity for College looks.
What exactly does GAL do that I should wait to see it all come together. Its just another league. Nothing special. The only thing it did differently than others is had a 10 month season but it conflicts with HS. After the debacle this past fall that may be changing for next year and GAL will be exactly like every other league. Except ECNL. The difference with ECNL is that is the proven league where all of the best players go. If your kid is just an average player than you have nothing lose with GAL

I agree with this post. My daughter jumped into GDA in year 1 because the majority of her friends on her club team decided to go as a group. For that first year DA was essentially ECNL with the best ECNL players. Once reality set in and the girls missed playing high school as well as other rules of DA including substitutions and how many subs my daughter and many of her teammates went back to ECNL. When clubs started leaving that was the beginning of the end. The clubs that came in just weren’t competitive enough. And now those same clubs want to join ECNL (will never happen). GA just needs to get a footing which has not helped that the pandemic effected all soccer. There are plenty of players who would/will excel playing GA that would either be just a bench player on an ECNL team or be just average at best with no real opportunity to improve. Isn’t that what it’s all about? Over the years I have seen players who dominated playing in other leagues then make the jump to ECNL and not start or play and realize they are not as good as they think. Unfortunately some of those players just quit playing soccer. GA will be a good competitive league that players will enjoy playing. The problem will always be parents who think there daughter is better than the competition and is as good as the best players on a given ECNL team.

[Unregistered]

Blah, blah, blah...been hearing the same song & dance since 2017 when GDA launched and my older daughter got roped in. It sucked then and has only gotten worse since. Do you really think it's getting better with USSF backing out and the exodus of top clubs, teams & players?
4 years is a lifetime for a youth soccer player. So you're saying 13/14 year olds should cross their fingers and hope the brand GAL ends up establishing is a good one? GTFO

Spot on post the issue the league and its clubs have is the mass exodus in terms of top clubs and top players to ECNL. The same teams we would lose to last year we are now beating with ease, simply because they lost their top players...if you don’t think college coaches already know this then you’re really being taken for a ride.

[Unregistered]

Same here (unfortunately), it’s a shame as it’s been oversell and underdeliver so far. Not sure if we have time to wait around for a few years to see how it pans out. If you truly know the landscape you can already see the drop off in quality vs the old DA days.

It started out with promise, but when so many good clubs bailed after just one year it was a terrible and correct omen.

[Unregistered]

Reality is GA will want to really establish itself as the clear #2 league Nationally and hope that in some smaller regions they can be a "best available option" for some top players who for whatever reason cant get to an ECNL club, usually due to geography. This would make GA a solid league for some top players and many of the kids who'd otherwise not do as well in the ECNL. It also gives it enough of a veneer as a "premier" league but it will all really hinge on their upcoming sophs/jnrs getting seen and making commitments.

[Unregistered]

It's amazing to me the need for people to come on here and bash GAL when their only reasoning is to point out the strengths of the ECNL. Of course ECNL is stronger, they've had years to establish their brand. GAL was the only choice for clubs in the DA when it folded. These clubs wanted to be in a league similar to the DA and GAL provided them with an opportunity. ECNL wasn't an option for NJ teams cause PDA controls the narrative on who gets in and who doesn't and we all know this isn't based on merit but more on preventing players from leaving their club to join another ECNL team. Do you really think players 12 to 24 on the roster are happy with their playing time and wouldn't leave if another NJ team played ECNL? They would leave in a heartbeat for more playing time!! Not to point out the obvious but the ECNL is very top heavy in this area. If teams like SJEB, STA, CSA Monmouth were allowed in it would def increase the competitiveness and allow more quality players from NJ to play in the ECNL.

[Unregistered]

It's amazing to me the need for people to come on here and bash GAL when their only reasoning is to point out the strengths of the ECNL. Of course ECNL is stronger, they've had years to establish their brand. GAL was the only choice for clubs in the DA when it folded. These clubs wanted to be in a league similar to the DA and GAL provided them with an opportunity. ECNL wasn't an option for NJ teams cause PDA controls the narrative on who gets in and who doesn't and we all know this isn't based on merit but more on preventing players from leaving their club to join another ECNL team. Do you really think players 12 to 24 on the roster are happy with their playing time and wouldn't leave if another NJ team played ECNL? They would leave in a heartbeat for more playing time!! Not to point out the obvious but the ECNL is very top heavy in this area. If teams like SJEB, STA, CSA Monmouth were allowed in it would def increase the competitiveness and allow more quality players from NJ to play in the ECNL.

The same parents keep bringing up this dream of letting in more clubs thinking it will make ECNL more competitive. Less is more competitive not more. The clubs you mention came into GDA and did nothing to sustain the competitiveness or competition but rather diluted the product. These clubs are not Dunkin Donut franchises. ECNL would rather have less not more. There are not as many quality players as you define it. If so, then they would already be competing at a higher level. Your argument that PDA doesn’t judge players based on skill is just wrong. They actively and openly recruit the best players period. You just don’t agree with their choices. They are a better judge of talent than the parents who think they are smarter, not!

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The same parents keep bringing up this dream of letting in more clubs thinking it will make ECNL more competitive. Less is more competitive not more. The clubs you mention came into GDA and did nothing to sustain the competitiveness or competition but rather diluted the product. These clubs are not Dunkin Donut franchises. ECNL would rather have less not more. There are not as many quality players as you define it. If so, then they would already be competing at a higher level. Your argument that PDA doesn’t judge players based on skill is just wrong. They actively and openly recruit the best players period. You just don’t agree with their choices. They are a better judge of talent than the parents who think they are smarter, not!

You're argument holds no value based on PDA letting PDA South and PDA White into the ECNL. Not to mention, Match Fit ECNL has completely underperformed.

[Unregistered]

The same parents keep bringing up this dream of letting in more clubs thinking it will make ECNL more competitive. Less is more competitive not more. The clubs you mention came into GDA and did nothing to sustain the competitiveness or competition but rather diluted the product. These clubs are not Dunkin Donut franchises. ECNL would rather have less not more. There are not as many quality players as you define it. If so, then they would already be competing at a higher level. Your argument that PDA doesn’t judge players based on skill is just wrong. They actively and openly recruit the best players period. You just don’t agree with their choices. They are a better judge of talent than the parents who think they are smarter, not!

Clubs like PDA and FC Stars are absolutely like Dunkin Donuts franchises. They keep making new locations and getting more teams into ECNL. Less clubs mean more travel. More clubs means less travel and lower competition. So make a happy medium of X amount of clubs in a div within 1-1.5hrs from each other. Crap filters out of league and new clubs get a chance while the best move on to play other divisions on a regional/national level. This garbage of driving 2-3hrs to face a crap team needs to stop for both leagues.