The TRUTH about ECNL

[Unregistered]

As an ECNL parent I thought it would be useful to confront the lies and misinformation that continue to be spread about the ECNL and the Oregon entry's/

Lie #1. It costs $10,000 a year for a Player to participate and $50,000 over the five years.

Truth. Based upon PDX club projections AND participation with the WA ECNL clubs actual player costs are going to run approximately $6,500 for the U14 & 18 age groups and $7,000 for the 15's. Player costs of $8 - 8,500 should be budgeted for the U16's & 17's. This provides an estimated player total for league & showcase of $37,000 for the entire 5 years and when compared to local teams current expenditures of $28-30,000 over the same time to achieve somewhat similar competition you end up with a difference of roughly $10,000 over those 5 years.

Since bulk of the annual expense is travel related those players not on the full time roster or who have schedule conflicts will not be charged so it is NOT a single fee due regardless of participation.

Parental travel costs will vary and depending upon if they want to fly or drive to the Bay area twice a season and to the FC Nova location in ID or UT each year. There are three National show cases for the 16/17 years (one for the 14's & 18's and 2 for the 15's) plus the first round of the playoffs so you are looking at a minimum of 5 big trips in addition to the option of Vegas or Surf. So yes you could be looking at an additional $5,000 for parental travel but that needs to be compared to what the parent of a traveling team already spends.

Lie #2. Competition not "elite".

Truth. Yes not every ECNL team is the best a state or region has to offer however tournament results and top flight D1 & 2 rosters indicate that 70% of the ECNL clubs are putting out better teams than all but a handful of non-ECNL clubs. So if want your DD to have the opportunity to REGUARLY play against some of the best teams and players across the country there is not a better way for an Oregon team/player to find 23-30 games a year against this level of competition.

Lie #3 Equal exposure to college coaches available to local teams.

The three national showcases will give your DD a chance to be seen MUTIPLE times by coaches from over 250 schools in Florida, 150 schools in Teas and 200 Schools in San Diego and 300+ at the National Playoffs. Not only is the volume of coaching exposures larger the quality of those exposures are better as the number of teams in each age group are dramatically smaller than at Disney, Surf or even Vegas giving coaches the luxury of watching for extended periods and sometime entire games.

No girls team in the history of Oregon received this level of potential exposure. The question of quality and scores is constantly being brought up but the recent success of individual age teams at Surf & Vegas should put that argument to rest as none we blown off the pitch with one sweeping their division at Vegas. This bodes well for the merged teams who will be strengthening every age group. Additionally coaches go to evaluate PLAYERS not teams so even if the Oregon teams are losing the player have the opportunity to demonstrate their skills.


Lie #4 Playing time and Roster size.

Every club can name 30 players to the "ECNL roster" however that does not preclude the reserves from playing with the Club A team. We don't know how each club is going to charge the additional fee for the reserves who don't travel but they will be training with the ECNL team 3-4 times a week so for even those reserves who never see game action there is an extra benefit.

It was my experience that all but one or two players played every game and the non players rotated during the season so that all rostered or regular players saw at least an average of 20 minutes a game. We do not know in advance what the playing philosophy of either club is going to be however CU stated that they are going to adhere to the ECNL goal of starting every rostered player 25% of the games played so every player has the opportunity.

One reason coaches don't/can't bury a player is that the speed of the ECNL game requires maximum effort at all times therefore frequent substitutions are necessity to be competitive.

I'm under no illusion that this information will put an end to the lies and general negativity directed toward ECNL and the clubs who were granted membership. I do hope that by putting these TRUTHS in a single post that parents who are looking for information can make objective analysis and compare the opportunity to what they are doing currently.

To the haters I have only one challenge....be HONEST!

[Unregistered]

OMG. REALLY? Another stupid thread on the woeful ECNL. This is borderline phychotic.

[Unregistered]

As an ECNL parent I thought it would be useful to confront the lies and misinformation that continue to be spread about the ECNL and the Oregon entry's/

Lie #1. It costs $10,000 a year for a Player to participate and $50,000 over the five years.

Truth. Based upon PDX club projections AND participation with the WA ECNL clubs actual player costs are going to run approximately $6,500 for the U14 & 18 age groups and $7,000 for the 15's. Player costs of $8 - 8,500 should be budgeted for the U16's & 17's. This provides an estimated player total for league & showcase of $37,000 for the entire 5 years and when compared to local teams current expenditures of $28-30,000 over the same time to achieve somewhat similar competition you end up with a difference of roughly $10,000 over those 5 years.

Since bulk of the annual expense is travel related those players not on the full time roster or who have schedule conflicts will not be charged so it is NOT a single fee due regardless of participation.

Parental travel costs will vary and depending upon if they want to fly or drive to the Bay area twice a season and to the FC Nova location in ID or UT each year. There are three National show cases for the 16/17 years (one for the 14's & 18's and 2 for the 15's) plus the first round of the playoffs so you are looking at a minimum of 5 big trips in addition to the option of Vegas or Surf. So yes you could be looking at an additional $5,000 for parental travel but that needs to be compared to what the parent of a traveling team already spends.

Lie #2. Competition not "elite".

Truth. Yes not every ECNL team is the best a state or region has to offer however tournament results and top flight D1 & 2 rosters indicate that 70% of the ECNL clubs are putting out better teams than all but a handful of non-ECNL clubs. So if want your DD to have the opportunity to REGUARLY play against some of the best teams and players across the country there is not a better way for an Oregon team/player to find 23-30 games a year against this level of competition.

Lie #3 Equal exposure to college coaches available to local teams.

The three national showcases will give your DD a chance to be seen MUTIPLE times by coaches from over 250 schools in Florida, 150 schools in Teas and 200 Schools in San Diego and 300+ at the National Playoffs. Not only is the volume of coaching exposures larger the quality of those exposures are better as the number of teams in each age group are dramatically smaller than at Disney, Surf or even Vegas giving coaches the luxury of watching for extended periods and sometime entire games.

No girls team in the history of Oregon received this level of potential exposure. The question of quality and scores is constantly being brought up but the recent success of individual age teams at Surf & Vegas should put that argument to rest as none we blown off the pitch with one sweeping their division at Vegas. This bodes well for the merged teams who will be strengthening every age group. Additionally coaches go to evaluate PLAYERS not teams so even if the Oregon teams are losing the player have the opportunity to demonstrate their skills.


Lie #4 Playing time and Roster size.

Every club can name 30 players to the "ECNL roster" however that does not preclude the reserves from playing with the Club A team. We don't know how each club is going to charge the additional fee for the reserves who don't travel but they will be training with the ECNL team 3-4 times a week so for even those reserves who never see game action there is an extra benefit.

It was my experience that all but one or two players played every game and the non players rotated during the season so that all rostered or regular players saw at least an average of 20 minutes a game. We do not know in advance what the playing philosophy of either club is going to be however CU stated that they are going to adhere to the ECNL goal of starting every rostered player 25% of the games played so every player has the opportunity.

One reason coaches don't/can't bury a player is that the speed of the ECNL game requires maximum effort at all times therefore frequent substitutions are necessity to be competitive.

I'm under no illusion that this information will put an end to the lies and general negativity directed toward ECNL and the clubs who were granted membership. I do hope that by putting these TRUTHS in a single post that parents who are looking for information can make objective analysis and compare the opportunity to what they are doing currently.

To the haters I have only one challenge....be HONEST!

Wow. Do you work for Fox News?

1. You are crazy.

2. There are more lies and slated assumptions in there than actual facts.

3. You are a tad bit crazy.

4. The info is already out yet you seem to have to persuade and sell. I guess it doesn't stand up on its own merits.

5. I guarantee this is your first kid going through this and you should realize the more of an ass you make yourself look just diminishes your kids experience and view.

[Unregistered]

As an ECNL parent I thought it would be useful to confront the lies and misinformation that continue to be spread about the ECNL and the Oregon entry's/

Lie #1. It costs $10,000 a year for a Player to participate and $50,000 over the five years.

Truth. Based upon PDX club projections AND participation with the WA ECNL clubs actual player costs are going to run approximately $6,500 for the U14 & 18 age groups and $7,000 for the 15's. Player costs of $8 - 8,500 should be budgeted for the U16's & 17's. This provides an estimated player total for league & showcase of $37,000 for the entire 5 years and when compared to local teams current expenditures of $28-30,000 over the same time to achieve somewhat similar competition you end up with a difference of roughly $10,000 over those 5 years.

Since bulk of the annual expense is travel related those players not on the full time roster or who have schedule conflicts will not be charged so it is NOT a single fee due regardless of participation.

Parental travel costs will vary and depending upon if they want to fly or drive to the Bay area twice a season and to the FC Nova location in ID or UT each year. There are three National show cases for the 16/17 years (one for the 14's & 18's and 2 for the 15's) plus the first round of the playoffs so you are looking at a minimum of 5 big trips in addition to the option of Vegas or Surf. So yes you could be looking at an additional $5,000 for parental travel but that needs to be compared to what the parent of a traveling team already spends.

Lie #2. Competition not "elite".

Truth. Yes not every ECNL team is the best a state or region has to offer however tournament results and top flight D1 & 2 rosters indicate that 70% of the ECNL clubs are putting out better teams than all but a handful of non-ECNL clubs. So if want your DD to have the opportunity to REGUARLY play against some of the best teams and players across the country there is not a better way for an Oregon team/player to find 23-30 games a year against this level of competition.

Lie #3 Equal exposure to college coaches available to local teams.

The three national showcases will give your DD a chance to be seen MUTIPLE times by coaches from over 250 schools in Florida, 150 schools in Teas and 200 Schools in San Diego and 300+ at the National Playoffs. Not only is the volume of coaching exposures larger the quality of those exposures are better as the number of teams in each age group are dramatically smaller than at Disney, Surf or even Vegas giving coaches the luxury of watching for extended periods and sometime entire games.

No girls team in the history of Oregon received this level of potential exposure. The question of quality and scores is constantly being brought up but the recent success of individual age teams at Surf & Vegas should put that argument to rest as none we blown off the pitch with one sweeping their division at Vegas. This bodes well for the merged teams who will be strengthening every age group. Additionally coaches go to evaluate PLAYERS not teams so even if the Oregon teams are losing the player have the opportunity to demonstrate their skills.


Lie #4 Playing time and Roster size.

Every club can name 30 players to the "ECNL roster" however that does not preclude the reserves from playing with the Club A team. We don't know how each club is going to charge the additional fee for the reserves who don't travel but they will be training with the ECNL team 3-4 times a week so for even those reserves who never see game action there is an extra benefit.

It was my experience that all but one or two players played every game and the non players rotated during the season so that all rostered or regular players saw at least an average of 20 minutes a game. We do not know in advance what the playing philosophy of either club is going to be however CU stated that they are going to adhere to the ECNL goal of starting every rostered player 25% of the games played so every player has the opportunity.

One reason coaches don't/can't bury a player is that the speed of the ECNL game requires maximum effort at all times therefore frequent substitutions are necessity to be competitive.

I'm under no illusion that this information will put an end to the lies and general negativity directed toward ECNL and the clubs who were granted membership. I do hope that by putting these TRUTHS in a single post that parents who are looking for information can make objective analysis and compare the opportunity to what they are doing currently.

To the haters I have only one challenge....be HONEST!

Thanks for taking the time to provide the information. If you are considering ECNL for your daughter and you have additional questions, take the time to contact the ECNL clubs.

[Unregistered]

You shouldn't be under any illusion that this will stop people from putting out real information since you put out so much misinformation, made statemens that were contridictory and threw out unsubstantiated information.


1. Club teams don't spend $28-$30,000 over their 5 year window. Not even close. Few U14 club teams are going to even one showcase tournament. And at U15, you have a couple of teams who may do a couple, but not the majority of them. The reason: no coaches care about kids that young.

2. Regarding Elite, I'm glad you recognize that not all ECNL teams are ELITE. I think the parents can decide if either of PDX's teams at this age group will be ELITE as that is an important factor. Elite vs. non-elite can produce bad results. And don't throw out numbers like 70% as you have no basis for that number. Parents should take a look at how the foundations of the local ECNL teams did in local and out of state competition for an idea of how good that team is going to be. Remember, the only thing different here is the competition and if all teams got better playing ECNL, then you would not have bad ECNL teams - but you do.

3. It's a lie that you can't get good national exposure by being on a non-ECNL team. That's bogus. Colleges can make offers after seeing a player in three tournaments. I know this as fact as we are living it currently.

4. I love this contridictory sentence: "It was my experience that all but one or two players played every game and the non players rotated during the season so that all rostered or regular players saw at least an average of 20 minutes a game." So two players didn't play, but yet still somehow got 20 minutes? Not sure how that works. Parents should ask the coach what his playing time philosophy is going to be up front. I have spoken with both of our ECNL coaches and they are in it to win it. They have to be that way. If a bench player weakens the team by playing, then they are not getting in. This is big girl soccer. On some teams you do see everyone playing, but that's because #18 is an incredible player. If your little girl is number 18, you better hope she's almost as good as player #11 so she sees time. If not, then don't expect time just for the sake of getting time.

And yes, please be honest.

And PS - can the OYSA OPL garbage people. Any OYSA player can go over and try out. The spots are not the sole domain of the member clubs much less OPL.

[Unregistered]

So which ones are not factua? Where are yours?

Wow. Do you work for Fox News?

1. You are crazy.

2. There are more lies and slated assumptions in there than actual facts.

3. You are a tad bit crazy.

4. The info is already out yet you seem to have to persuade and sell. I guess it doesn't stand up on its own merits.

5. I guarantee this is your first kid going through this and you should realize the more of an ass you make yourself look just diminishes your kids experience and view.

Hate to break it to you but not only is my DD through the process of competing, getting better thanks to ECNL AND getting an outstanding scholarship but your insistence that you somehow know more than someone who has ben there and done that makes YOU look like the ass. But hey carry on with your speculation and innuendo.

[Unregistered]

As an ECNL parent I thought it would be useful to confront the lies and misinformation that continue to be spread about the ECNL and the Oregon entry's/

Lie #1. It costs $10,000 a year for a Player to participate and $50,000 over the five years.

Truth. Based upon PDX club projections AND participation with the WA ECNL clubs actual player costs are going to run approximately $6,500 for the U14 & 18 age groups and $7,000 for the 15's. Player costs of $8 - 8,500 should be budgeted for the U16's & 17's. This provides an estimated player total for league & showcase of $37,000 for the entire 5 years and when compared to local teams current expenditures of $28-30,000 over the same time to achieve somewhat similar competition you end up with a difference of roughly $10,000 over those 5 years.

Since bulk of the annual expense is travel related those players not on the full time roster or who have schedule conflicts will not be charged so it is NOT a single fee due regardless of participation.

Parental travel costs will vary and depending upon if they want to fly or drive to the Bay area twice a season and to the FC Nova location in ID or UT each year. There are three National show cases for the 16/17 years (one for the 14's & 18's and 2 for the 15's) plus the first round of the playoffs so you are looking at a minimum of 5 big trips in addition to the option of Vegas or Surf. So yes you could be looking at an additional $5,000 for parental travel but that needs to be compared to what the parent of a traveling team already spends.

Lie #2. Competition not "elite".

Truth. Yes not every ECNL team is the best a state or region has to offer however tournament results and top flight D1 & 2 rosters indicate that 70% of the ECNL clubs are putting out better teams than all but a handful of non-ECNL clubs. So if want your DD to have the opportunity to REGUARLY play against some of the best teams and players across the country there is not a better way for an Oregon team/player to find 23-30 games a year against this level of competition.

Lie #3 Equal exposure to college coaches available to local teams.

The three national showcases will give your DD a chance to be seen MUTIPLE times by coaches from over 250 schools in Florida, 150 schools in Teas and 200 Schools in San Diego and 300+ at the National Playoffs. Not only is the volume of coaching exposures larger the quality of those exposures are better as the number of teams in each age group are dramatically smaller than at Disney, Surf or even Vegas giving coaches the luxury of watching for extended periods and sometime entire games.

No girls team in the history of Oregon received this level of potential exposure. The question of quality and scores is constantly being brought up but the recent success of individual age teams at Surf & Vegas should put that argument to rest as none we blown off the pitch with one sweeping their division at Vegas. This bodes well for the merged teams who will be strengthening every age group. Additionally coaches go to evaluate PLAYERS not teams so even if the Oregon teams are losing the player have the opportunity to demonstrate their skills.


Lie #4 Playing time and Roster size.

Every club can name 30 players to the "ECNL roster" however that does not preclude the reserves from playing with the Club A team. We don't know how each club is going to charge the additional fee for the reserves who don't travel but they will be training with the ECNL team 3-4 times a week so for even those reserves who never see game action there is an extra benefit.

It was my experience that all but one or two players played every game and the non players rotated during the season so that all rostered or regular players saw at least an average of 20 minutes a game. We do not know in advance what the playing philosophy of either club is going to be however CU stated that they are going to adhere to the ECNL goal of starting every rostered player 25% of the games played so every player has the opportunity.

One reason coaches don't/can't bury a player is that the speed of the ECNL game requires maximum effort at all times therefore frequent substitutions are necessity to be competitive.

I'm under no illusion that this information will put an end to the lies and general negativity directed toward ECNL and the clubs who were granted membership. I do hope that by putting these TRUTHS in a single post that parents who are looking for information can make objective analysis and compare the opportunity to what they are doing currently.

To the haters I have only one challenge....be HONEST!

I think ECNL is great. Why do you feel a need to justify it? If it works for your player and family then you should go for it. Why do you feel a need to defend your decision?

[Unregistered]

Hate to break it to you but not only is my DD through the process of competing, getting better thanks to ECNL AND getting an outstanding scholarship but your insistence that you somehow know more than someone who has ben there and done that makes YOU look like the ass. But hey carry on with your speculation and innuendo.

Here is another confirmation of the benefits of the ECNL format:

Soccerwire.com
By Q Casteel / July 12, 2013

For University of Iowa assistant coach Nick Flohre, this is among the most intriguing aspects of recruiting at the event, where he can compare and contrast the different styles of play while watching one the most competitive girls club soccer events of the year.

“We’re centered in the Midwest, that’s where the majority of our kids come from but we do have kids from other regions of the country,” Flohre said. “This tournament allows us to see those Midwest kids against other regions, and the other styles of play from other places so it’s a benefit in both ways.”

“It lets us check out players from the East Coast or the West Coast or the South, but we also get to see those Midwestern kids against those players,” he continued.

With eight fields running games throughout the day from ages U14-U23, college coaches have a potentially overwhelming number of options for recruiting strategies at the ECNL Finals. Coming off a 12-6-3 finish last season, Iowa will be one Big Ten team looking to make a bigger splash in the recruiting game this summer.

“Sometimes we just watch the overall best players, and other times we watch positions we’re looking for,” Flohre said. “You can see anything you want to see here because the level is so high, and they’re playing for something on the line. You see the competitiveness and the tenacity that you don’t see at showcase tournaments.”

NCAA recruiting regulations prevent coaches’ access to talking to players at the ECNL Finals in most cases. Even though there are coaches from every major conference and several mid majors as well, there is little communication between recruiters and players at the tournament itself.

For Flohre and fellow Iowa assistant coach Julie Hanley, watching the players from afar in a natural, non-traditional showcase environment can be more beneficial. This is because a team-oriented structure is generally much more revealing than a setting where players are performing for their own personal reasons.

“That’s definitely the benefit of this league,” Flohre said of the team environment emphasized by ECNL.

One growing challenge in the college recruiting world is the continually younger age at which the process begins.

“We’re watching the U15s, U16s are well on their way and a lot of U17s are done [picking schools],” Flohre said. “I don’t know who’s fault it is, if it is a fault, but the recruiting process has sped up a lot.”

http://www.soccerwire.com/news/ecnl-...style-of-play/

[Unregistered]

Hate to break it to you but not only is my DD through the process of competing, getting better thanks to ECNL AND getting an outstanding scholarship but your insistence that you somehow know more than someone who has ben there and done that makes YOU look like the ass. But hey carry on with your speculation and innuendo.

Here is another confirmation of the benefits of the ECNL format:

ECNL offer golden opportunity for recruiting
Article Written by J.R. Eskilson
Published: June 27, 2013

One of the major pulls of elite club soccer is college recruiting. It is the goal (and likely destination) for the vast majority of youth players that compete in the sport at the highest level in the United States.

Last week, ECNL, the female-only nation-wide club soccer league, held its marquee-scouting event in Colorado. According to the league, over 450 scouts were in attendances to watch the playoffs for the U15, U16, and U17 age groups, as well as the U18 National Finals.

With that many eyes staring at the fields, there is a lot of pressure on the players to attract that glint that will make them stand out from the herd and land that lucrative collegiate scholarship offer.

http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/club-...iting_aid28947

[Unregistered]

I think ECNL is great. Why do you feel a need to justify it? If it works for your player and family then you should go for it. Why do you feel a need to defend your decision?

Not defending the decision but the misinformation.

[Unregistered]

As an ECNL parent I thought it would be useful to confront the lies and misinformation that continue to be spread about the ECNL and the Oregon entry's/

Lie #1. It costs $10,000 a year for a Player to participate and $50,000 over the five years.

Truth. Based upon PDX club projections AND participation with the WA ECNL clubs actual player costs are going to run approximately $6,500 for the U14 & 18 age groups and $7,000 for the 15's. Player costs of $8 - 8,500 should be budgeted for the U16's & 17's. This provides an estimated player total for league & showcase of $37,000 for the entire 5 years and when compared to local teams current expenditures of $28-30,000 over the same time to achieve somewhat similar competition you end up with a difference of roughly $10,000 over those 5 years.

Since bulk of the annual expense is travel related those players not on the full time roster or who have schedule conflicts will not be charged so it is NOT a single fee due regardless of participation.

Parental travel costs will vary and depending upon if they want to fly or drive to the Bay area twice a season and to the FC Nova location in ID or UT each year. There are three National show cases for the 16/17 years (one for the 14's & 18's and 2 for the 15's) plus the first round of the playoffs so you are looking at a minimum of 5 big trips in addition to the option of Vegas or Surf. So yes you could be looking at an additional $5,000 for parental travel but that needs to be compared to what the parent of a traveling team already spends.

Lie #2. Competition not "elite".

Truth. Yes not every ECNL team is the best a state or region has to offer however tournament results and top flight D1 & 2 rosters indicate that 70% of the ECNL clubs are putting out better teams than all but a handful of non-ECNL clubs. So if want your DD to have the opportunity to REGUARLY play against some of the best teams and players across the country there is not a better way for an Oregon team/player to find 23-30 games a year against this level of competition.

Lie #3 Equal exposure to college coaches available to local teams.

The three national showcases will give your DD a chance to be seen MUTIPLE times by coaches from over 250 schools in Florida, 150 schools in Teas and 200 Schools in San Diego and 300+ at the National Playoffs. Not only is the volume of coaching exposures larger the quality of those exposures are better as the number of teams in each age group are dramatically smaller than at Disney, Surf or even Vegas giving coaches the luxury of watching for extended periods and sometime entire games.

No girls team in the history of Oregon received this level of potential exposure. The question of quality and scores is constantly being brought up but the recent success of individual age teams at Surf & Vegas should put that argument to rest as none we blown off the pitch with one sweeping their division at Vegas. This bodes well for the merged teams who will be strengthening every age group. Additionally coaches go to evaluate PLAYERS not teams so even if the Oregon teams are losing the player have the opportunity to demonstrate their skills.


Lie #4 Playing time and Roster size.

Every club can name 30 players to the "ECNL roster" however that does not preclude the reserves from playing with the Club A team. We don't know how each club is going to charge the additional fee for the reserves who don't travel but they will be training with the ECNL team 3-4 times a week so for even those reserves who never see game action there is an extra benefit.

It was my experience that all but one or two players played every game and the non players rotated during the season so that all rostered or regular players saw at least an average of 20 minutes a game. We do not know in advance what the playing philosophy of either club is going to be however CU stated that they are going to adhere to the ECNL goal of starting every rostered player 25% of the games played so every player has the opportunity.

One reason coaches don't/can't bury a player is that the speed of the ECNL game requires maximum effort at all times therefore frequent substitutions are necessity to be competitive.

I'm under no illusion that this information will put an end to the lies and general negativity directed toward ECNL and the clubs who were granted membership. I do hope that by putting these TRUTHS in a single post that parents who are looking for information can make objective analysis and compare the opportunity to what they are doing currently.

To the haters I have only one challenge....be HONEST!

Truth #1- 85% of the female soccer players that want to play college soccer end up playing locally (within three states) of where they live.

this is a fact.....only the top 1% of athletes even leave for a big school. It is a complete waste of money to pay an extra $10-$12K so your daughter can come back home and end up calling UW or UP home. Most will play Div II and/or NAIA anyways

[Unregistered]

I think ECNL is great. Why do you feel a need to justify it? If it works for your player and family then you should go for it. Why do you feel a need to defend your decision?

I would like to thank the original poster. It's important to hear from someone who has lived it. There has been so much negative said about ECNL I can certainly understand why the OP felt compelled to give their experience.
Again, thank you for taking the time to give your perspective. It will help some of us who are considering ECNL.

[Unregistered]

Truth #1- 85% of the female soccer players that want to play college soccer end up playing locally (within three states) of where they live.

this is a fact.....only the top 1% of athletes even leave for a big school. It is a complete waste of money to pay an extra $10-$12K so your daughter can come back home and end up calling UW or UP home. Most will play Div II and/or NAIA anyways

there is a lot of truth to this...

so basically........

ECNL is for Elite Players, that can afford it and want to leave home and play in a whole other part of the country....

seems reasonable - so basically ECNL is for 1-2 players on the roster.

[Unregistered]

Reading challenged I see

You shouldn't be under any illusion that this will stop people from putting out real information since you put out so much misinformation, made statemens that were contridictory and threw out unsubstantiated information.


1. Club teams don't spend $28-$30,000 over their 5 year window. Not even close. Few U14 club teams are going to even one showcase tournament. And at U15, you have a couple of teams who may do a couple, but not the majority of them. The reason: no coaches care about kids that young.

2. Regarding Elite, I'm glad you recognize that not all ECNL teams are ELITE. I think the parents can decide if either of PDX's teams at this age group will be ELITE as that is an important factor. Elite vs. non-elite can produce bad results. And don't throw out numbers like 70% as you have no basis for that number. Parents should take a look at how the foundations of the local ECNL teams did in local and out of state competition for an idea of how good that team is going to be. Remember, the only thing different here is the competition and if all teams got better playing ECNL, then you would not have bad ECNL teams - but you do.

3. It's a lie that you can't get good national exposure by being on a non-ECNL team. That's bogus. Colleges can make offers after seeing a player in three tournaments. I know this as fact as we are living it currently.

4. I love this contridictory sentence: "It was my experience that all but one or two players played every game and the non players rotated during the season so that all rostered or regular players saw at least an average of 20 minutes a game." So two players didn't play, but yet still somehow got 20 minutes? Not sure how that works. Parents should ask the coach what his playing time philosophy is going to be up front. I have spoken with both of our ECNL coaches and they are in it to win it. They have to be that way. If a bench player weakens the team by playing, then they are not getting in. This is big girl soccer. On some teams you do see everyone playing, but that's because #18 is an incredible player. If your little girl is number 18, you better hope she's almost as good as player #11 so she sees time. If not, then don't expect time just for the sake of getting time.

And yes, please be honest.

And PS - can the OYSA OPL garbage people. Any OYSA player can go over and try out. The spots are not the sole domain of the member clubs much less OPL.

Uh sorry to break it to you but players on the U14 teams who travel do spend $4,000 per year and if the kid does ODP you are adding another $1,200 per year. Moving up you run the base number up to $5,500.

I DIDN'T and have never said that ECNL was the only way to get exposure just the exposure is QUANTITATIVELY bigger and better. Go ahead and argue numbers but the ONLY local players with a comparable exposure level are the 1 or 2 girls in each year that get chosen for the National pool compared to the ENTIRE ECNL team.

I 'm sorry that English is such a challenge for you but when you ROTATE the players who don't play between games that means that one game a player might get 30 then zero the next. Then a Different player who got 30 gets zero 2 games later. Generally all but one player gets in the game for 20 which is where the AVERAGE per game comes in.

You seem to think that the difference between players is universal across positions but it is not. Watching all of the teams the last two years I saw a pattern of teams having 4-5 field players who played the majority of the game with the other 5-6 player moving through a rotation. Yes there was a drop off in talent but it was not as big as you think. the drop off seemed to be related to the base team quality. In other words if it was a good team then the substitute was also good and if the team was mediocre them so was the sub.


You have ZERO clue to how much faster the game is played at the HS age in the ECNL than what we see here in our neck of the soccer woods. If your players are not going 100% you will embarrass themselves rather quickly. Therefore coaches ask the Mids and Forwards to go flat out at all times which requires a substitution of those positions in each half. Typically you would see the starter sit the last 10 of a half and the first 10 of the second. Even the better defensive players got some rest in the 2nd half so you normally saw a team put 5 field reserves into the game. I don't remember too many teams that didn't have two goalies so you were looking at all but one of the 18 players seeing some playing time.

But hey you know better than what I have observed over 60+ games S/.

[Unregistered]

the buzzing was the POINT going over your head

Truth #1- 85% of the female soccer players that want to play college soccer end up playing locally (within three states) of where they live.

this is a fact.....only the top 1% of athletes even leave for a big school. It is a complete waste of money to pay an extra $10-$12K so your daughter can come back home and end up calling UW or UP home. Most will play Div II and/or NAIA anyways

Yer funny. How many local girls are on the UW roster? 1? How many local girls each year get to UO, OSU or U of P? Would you agree that the "average" is 4 a year with 6 on the high end and 3 on the low? I will tell the readers because of ECNL it will be more if they choose because they will become better players and better suited for long term success at the next level.

The reason your stat about where they girls play is accurate is that until the advent of the ECNL how would a local girl be seen by an out of state program unless they were in the national pool? The answer is they would not. Now with the ECNL exposing players to programs from coast to coast it opens up the possibility of playing for a program that actually has the academic offering that your DD is interested in and NOT having to settle for a lesser program that DOES offer what your DD is interested in which is part of the reason out better players are not playing at higher levels.

If you doubt this I think you should look to the Crossfire team postings and see how many have nailed down scholarships to Ivy league and equally expensive institutions to understand what EXPOSURE can do for a local player.

For my DD the pay off was a multiple of 8 so I have zero regrets but I would not tell every parent to expect that level of ROI.