Help with leagues in New Jersey

[Unregistered]

Can someone please help me out and tell me about the leagues available in our area? I see so many talked about here and from what I can see is that ECNL is the top girls and MLS next is the top Boys? My kids play mid nj travel and edp.

[Unregistered]

Can someone please help me out and tell me about the leagues available in our area? I see so many talked about here and from what I can see is that ECNL is the top girls and MLS next is the top Boys? My kids play mid nj travel and edp.

You're on the right track. It depends on how old your kids are, those are the two best leagues for boys and girls. Girls also have the GA and USYS as the other leagues girls can play in u13 and later (besides edp itself and local leagues). ECNL has been around a long time and is the top league. On the boys side, it's mls next and then everyone else very far down the list. There is boys ECNL and USYS, but those aren't competitive compared to the mls league. Any boy who wants to go pro (ie is very good) should be there. EDP and local leagues also exist for boys but are even further down the list than the above.

[Unregistered]

Can someone please help me out and tell me about the leagues available in our area? I see so many talked about here and from what I can see is that ECNL is the top girls and MLS next is the top Boys? My kids play mid nj travel and edp.

For girls my opinion is stay away from GA, just go for the best ECNL. I won’t get into club names but some GA clubs are not exactly well run either just do your research before any commitments are made.

[Unregistered]

Depending on age...focus on finding a great coach, not club. Ask lots of questions of the coach, watch his or her trainings, research. Compare to others. Too many parents focus on clubs, instead of the actual training their child is receiving. In the end, the most important piece is if your child is developing and progressing. That happens with a great, solid trainer who is focused on development.

[Unregistered]

Depending on age...focus on finding a great coach, not club. Ask lots of questions of the coach, watch his or her trainings, research. Compare to others. Too many parents focus on clubs, instead of the actual trasining their child is receiving. In the end, the most important piece is if your child is developing and progressing. That happens with a great, solid trainer who is focused on development.

This normally happens at the smaller clubs from my experience especially at the younger ages. Yes the three letter teams might win but zero to do with development. Parents are dumb and that is why soccer is a cash cow for these guys.

[Unregistered]

Depending on age...focus on finding a great coach, not club. Ask lots of questions of the coach, watch his or her trainings, research. Compare to others. Too many parents focus on clubs, instead of the actual training their child is receiving. In the end, the most important piece is if your child is developing and progressing. That happens with a great, solid trainer who is focused on development.

^ especially before mid to late middle school. If your kid has a passion and skill and works hard then you start to think about the club and the league(s) the play in. Loads of younger kids won't even be playing by HS. Find a great coach that actually coaches, doesn't play just for the wins, doesn't just focus on their top players. Those people aren't always at the big name clubs.

[Unregistered]

If your kid is younger, all the league diagrams will change at least once if not more before you need to worry about it. Find a team/coach where your kid is challenged but not struggling, gets loads of PT. It's likely that won't be at a "top" club or league.

[Unregistered]

Thank you all, my kids are both under 9 and they both love the coaches and are getting better. The issue I am seeing is that they have surpassed there team mates and the team struggles vs top teams. When is it time to move on to play with a team that are more on there skill level?

[Unregistered]

Thank you all, my kids are both under 9 and they both love the coaches and are getting better. The issue I am seeing is that they have surpassed there team mates and the team struggles vs top teams. When is it time to move on to play with a team that are more on there skill level?

My suggestion to u is stay where u are. Bring them to different camps and things not affiliated with ur current club. Red Bull’s development and things like that. Best of both worlds and you can judge places as u explore. Maybe some dts stuff

[Unregistered]

My suggestion to u is stay where u are. Bring them to different camps and things not affiliated with ur current club. Red Bull’s development and things like that. Best of both worlds and you can judge places as u explore. Maybe some dts stuff

I think most of this advice is very good with a caveat. If your kids aren't happy, then it's time to move on. Don't make the decision for them unless there is something crazy happening (kid isn't getting any PT, coach is a douche, etc.). Getting your kid a lot of outside training (Red Bulls RDS, clinics, camps, offseason tournament teams, etc.) could be the gap filler. Also, if your kid is still developing on the current team, then really don't worry about it. Winning isn't everything at that age, so be careful making decisions just for Ws. If your kids are good, then they will be able to get on any club team roster eventually.

To my point about the happiness factor - it's a game and they need to have fun to want to stay with it. If they aren't happy because a lot of kids miss for stupid things (parties, other sports, etc.), they feel like they are the only one who cares about the team, or whatever then this is the year to get out. If you do decide to move on, definitely follow the advice above about trying to find a great coach not club. That makes all the difference.

[Unregistered]

This normally happens at the smaller clubs from my experience especially at the younger ages. Yes the three letter teams might win but zero to do with development. Parents are dumb and that is why soccer is a cash cow for these guys.

Definitely avoid the big clubs with big rosters like PDA, SJEB etc. check out smaller local clubs like Real NJ where quality over quantity is key.

[Unregistered]

Stick local until about U11-12 and continue to do the extra training or futsal type stuff. Don't go insane with too much driving yet. If you have top clubs nearby, maybe go to their practices and see how your children look and whether they enjoy that level.

The caveat is if your town team is truly bad or you sense that they will struggle to field teams due to lack of dedication, other sport commitments then you will need to make sure you have a place to play and train and that not everything gets canceled. YOu may end up having toi have your kids play up a year if they arent challenged or if the club needs to combine teams to field enough players.

[Unregistered]

Thank you all, my kids are both under 9 and they both love the coaches and are getting better. The issue I am seeing is that they have surpassed there team mates and the team struggles vs top teams. When is it time to move on to play with a team that are more on there skill level?

It may be time to move and get your kid in a more challenging environment. But where you go depends alot on where you live and how far you are willing to travel. I have been at this for years now and I've learned a lot. Mostly I've learned that NJ is a Shtt show for youth soccer and there really are a lot of options but beware not every club is what they pretend to be. If your kid is really good they will find their way. Like someone else said, get them into extra camps and training

[Unregistered]

Thank you all, my kids are both under 9 and they both love the coaches and are getting better. The issue I am seeing is that they have surpassed there team mates and the team struggles vs top teams. When is it time to move on to play with a team that are more on there skill level?

Good Question-tough call. What do the next level clubs offer? 3 practices per week vs 2? Will they play EDP - or in a town league? Will you go from a dad coach to a club trainer? For me it came down to getting a better ciriculum, more competitive league, travel distance and my kid still having FUN. The club team in my area offered more than the town club and was a extra 10-15 minute drive.

[Unregistered]

Good Question-tough call. What do the next level clubs offer? 3 practices per week vs 2? Will they play EDP - or in a town league? Will you go from a dad coach to a club trainer? For me it came down to getting a better ciriculum, more competitive league, travel distance and my kid still having FUN. The club team in my area offered more than the town club and was a extra 10-15 minute drive.

My kid was approached by a few teams that had seen her play. I made a point of going to a place that practiced two times per week. 3,4,5th grade no reason to kill the kids like they are pros. Cream will always rise to the top and a lot of the kids that only train will burn out.