Which is better, ECNL or Thorns Academy?

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I could pay for college with that kind of money. Or at least 1/2.

Just saying...
ECNL club is 8.81 times more likely than a non-ECNL club to send a 2016 recruit to a D1 school and an ECNL club is 11.28 times more likely than a non-ECNL club to send a 2016 recruit to a Top 25 D1 school

[Unregistered]

Just saying...
ECNL club is 8.81 times more likely than a non-ECNL club to send a 2016 recruit to a D1 school and an ECNL club is 11.28 times more likely than a non-ECNL club to send a 2016 recruit to a Top 25 D1 school

And a kid with a 3.75 or above GPA is about 100% likely to get into a college. Likely a pretty good one.

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And a kid with a 3.75 or above GPA is about 100% likely to get into a college. Likely a pretty good one.

Imagine an ECNL girl with that GPA

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Imagine an ECNL girl with that GPA

Mine has a 4.0 so I don't have to imagine. And she has a top D1 offer. No thanks to ECNL mind you.

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A parent of a kid on an encl team is 8.75 times more likely to overpay for their soccer experience. ouch!!

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Mine has a 4.0 so I don't have to imagine. And she has a top D1 offer. No thanks to ECNL mind you.

That's great! What school? When you say offer, what does that mean? Does the school tell you how much scholarship she gets? Is it athletic and academic?

Actually don't say the school. Puts a target on you for the trolls. But please I would like to know how your process went as far as athletic and academic offers.

[Unregistered]

That's great! What school? When you say offer, what does that mean? Does the school tell you how much scholarship she gets? Is it athletic and academic?

Actually don't say the school. Puts a target on you for the trolls. But please I would like to know how your process went as far as athletic and academic offers.

Crickets....

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Mine has a 4.0 so I don't have to imagine. And she has a top D1 offer. No thanks to ECNL mind you.

Did she take the offer or does she has several she is choosing from?

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Did she take the offer or does she has several she is choosing from?

She choose it from multiple offers. She set the criteria that was important to her and based her decision upon that criteria. Amongst the things that were important to her, and in no order, were : competitiveness of the program, head coach, coaching staff, location, academics, majors offered, weather, facilities, size, offer, and other factors I can't remember. Also, she needed to answer the question "does this place feel like it could be considered home for four years?" She also spent time with the team, although that isn't that important because most of them will be gone.

As far as the process, it's never all based upon athletics. Unless you are a national team or national camp player. It's a mix and private and public are different in what they offer. Public schools are bound by state legislatures and appropriations and other other rules that guide public entities so they are more stringent. Private schools have a lot more freedom.

[Unregistered]

I think it is really up to the family. Time commitment, level of desire to focus on just soccer, goals for post high school soccer, and of course amount of disposable income available for extracurricular activities.

I don't think there is a right or a wrong choice, just what is a good fit for the athlete and her family.

Everyone in this forum wants there to be one answer, I think there are many options for girls who play soccer and that is a really good thing.

This is probably one of the more honest and thoughtful responses I've seen. Thank you.
I've always approached my kids soccer as a year at a time thing and evaluate/re-evaluate whether our choice was the right thing for them and their goals.
One of our kids, her goal is to play in college. We did a lot of investigating and determined the best exposure avenue was the ECNL. Mind you not the only avenue just the better option from the choices available, in our opinion. Luckily we have the disposable income that the travel costs aren't an issue and don't really impact the decision process.
I think you can debate the quality of the league (ECNL) and you'll find people with varying opinions. What we have seen is good competition overall. IMHO better then staying local (OPL / TA / RCL etc.).
As far as exposure ... no question in my mind that the ECNL platform is superior to anything else out there right now. Again, not the only avenue and if you can't afford the travel then it's not for you. I believe an Onyx parent said that it's not that different from any other team that travels extensively etc. .... my 2cents .... flame on