ODP coaches

[Unregistered]

ODP is a great way to get noticed for the ECNL teams. There were lots of ECNL girls at the hold over camp. Getting on the region iv team is also a great pathway to becoming a discovery player on an ECNL team.

EXACTLY. ODP is a feeder for ECNL and college coaches know they can see these kids and more at ECNL events. Precisely why ODP, as a whole, has lost its recruiting lure for college coaches

[Unregistered]

I bet the Freshman and Sophmores could tell you exactly what the ECNL is!
I'm not knocking ODP as a development tool and a resume builder etc. and I agree you gotta play the hand your dealt but too many posters come on here a preach the gospel of ODP as the end all be all for access to college and it simply isn't around the country.

I didn't say that Freshman and Sophmores couldn't tell you what ECNL is. Mine can as she has played against ECNL teams. My point is that Premier National League used to be the end all be all and, while it is still around, it has lost a lot of its luster. I guarantee you that if Portland had ECNL, every top girl would be trying out there. However, we don't and ODP is a good alternative for exposure. I certainly doesn't hurt. Just do the math on the number of colleges and the number of players and you quickly realize that they far outnumber the number of ECNL teams and players. Thus, colleges have to go to other places to find players. They don't just go to ECNL and that's it.

[Unregistered]

Precisely wrong.

EXACTLY. ODP is a feeder for ECNL and college coaches know they can see these kids and more at ECNL events. Precisely why ODP, as a whole, has lost its recruiting lure for college coaches

As badly as the ODP program is run in Oregon, many college coaches still regard it rather highly. MY DD plays in the PAC-12 and notes that her coaches, along with several others that she knows of through her friends that are on other PAC-12 teams, went to Regional Championships for Region IV. Some coaches are very open about their college affiliation at these events, others are low-key spectator types. Her coach is a "stealth" type. ECNL may or may not be a passing fad, like many before it. It appears to be better than past leagues. Since we don't have an ECNL club in Oregon, and rightly so, this discussion is rather moot. Those that think ECNL is the best way to be recruited simply don't understand college recruiting. MY DD went to just one highly regarded tournament on the east coast and a flood of recruiting letters followed. One tournament, great results. College coaches need players and they pursue a variety of ways to find them. USYSA Regionals are still attended in very large numbers by coaches. In the past, many coaches from good programs have found their way to the old-version OYSA Championships. ECNL is an excellent program for college recruiting, but not the only or "best" way.