girls dap update

[Unregistered]

Soccer america rotting girls DA coming Fall 2017. USSF not interested in ecnl format or collaboration.

http://www.socceramerica.com/article...y-in-2017.html

[Unregistered]

Soccer america rotting girls DA coming Fall 2017. USSF not interested in ecnl format or collaboration.

http://www.socceramerica.com/article...y-in-2017.html

This isn't going to be pretty. No more playing nice. Girls mostly through the process are lucky they won't have to deal with the mess facing both leagues for the next few years.



The U.S. Soccer Federation is set to launch a Development Academy (DA) for girls in August 2017, replicating the DA for boys that it launched in 2007.

That the Federation hadn’t launched a girls DA earlier was attributed mainly to a couple of reasons.

One being that because the U.S. women’s national team was already a world power, there was more urgency on the boys side. Secondly, the U.S. Club-sanctioned ECNL -- the Elite Clubs National League – launched in 2009 and in many ways served the U.S. national team program (and college scouts) the way the DA has for the boys.

Last Friday, U.S. Soccer Technical Director April Heinrichs and U.S. Soccer Director of Sport Development Ryan Mooney met with ECNL and U.S. Club representatives.

“We went in there with the idea that we wanted to collaborate with the Federation to create anything that would raise the standards of the girls game and continue to improve the girls game,” said Christian Lavers, the president of the ECNL, which has 79 member clubs. “The Federation’s position was they considered collaborating with the ECNL [but] determined that they could raise standards in the game and change the game in all the ways they wanted to better and faster without us. …

“I can’t speak to why that is. In the world I live in, collaboration is almost always a valuable thing in multiple ways. … If something changes with respect to the Federation’s position, that’s great. But it was pretty clear in that meeting that collaboration and working together was something that they didn't want and did not feel was helpful. ...

"The input and support and buy-in of the ECNL clubs and coaches and the people in the grass-roots were not really a part of [the Federation's] process."

Lavers said the USSF representatives acknowledged that the ECNL had “done a lot of good things in the girls game and raised a lot standards.” Lavers pointed out that the ECNL has tried "very hard" to implement standards that the U.S. Soccer technical staff has said were important in girls development.

The ECNL plans to continue, which means the girls DA will have competition for the nation’s elite players unlike it faced on the boys side.

One major difference between the ECNL and the DA is that ECNL is age-pure; member clubs field teams at the five age groups, from U-14 to U-18. The DA teams field U-14, U-16 and U-18 teams. The DA bans players from participating in high school ball. The ECNL allows its players to play high school.

“We feel we have the best platform in the world because we have the input and ideas of the people who are on the ground and we are going to continue to operate that platform and continue to try and get better everyday with everything we do,” Lavers said. “We will continue to build a platform that serves the needs of the top players in the country and we will continue to keep looking to get better in all aspects.”

[Unregistered]

Maybe this slap in the face will have US Club withdraw from USSF. That would be awesome.

[Unregistered]

This isn't going to be pretty. No more playing nice. Girls mostly through the process are lucky they won't have to deal with the mess facing both leagues for the next few years.



The U.S. Soccer Federation is set to launch a Development Academy (DA) for girls in August 2017, replicating the DA for boys that it launched in 2007.

That the Federation hadn’t launched a girls DA earlier was attributed mainly to a couple of reasons.

One being that because the U.S. women’s national team was already a world power, there was more urgency on the boys side. Secondly, the U.S. Club-sanctioned ECNL -- the Elite Clubs National League – launched in 2009 and in many ways served the U.S. national team program (and college scouts) the way the DA has for the boys.

Last Friday, U.S. Soccer Technical Director April Heinrichs and U.S. Soccer Director of Sport Development Ryan Mooney met with ECNL and U.S. Club representatives.

“We went in there with the idea that we wanted to collaborate with the Federation to create anything that would raise the standards of the girls game and continue to improve the girls game,” said Christian Lavers, the president of the ECNL, which has 79 member clubs. “The Federation’s position was they considered collaborating with the ECNL [but] determined that they could raise standards in the game and change the game in all the ways they wanted to better and faster without us. …

“I can’t speak to why that is. In the world I live in, collaboration is almost always a valuable thing in multiple ways. … If something changes with respect to the Federation’s position, that’s great. But it was pretty clear in that meeting that collaboration and working together was something that they didn't want and did not feel was helpful. ...

"The input and support and buy-in of the ECNL clubs and coaches and the people in the grass-roots were not really a part of [the Federation's] process."

Lavers said the USSF representatives acknowledged that the ECNL had “done a lot of good things in the girls game and raised a lot standards.” Lavers pointed out that the ECNL has tried "very hard" to implement standards that the U.S. Soccer technical staff has said were important in girls development.

The ECNL plans to continue, which means the girls DA will have competition for the nation’s elite players unlike it faced on the boys side.

One major difference between the ECNL and the DA is that ECNL is age-pure; member clubs field teams at the five age groups, from U-14 to U-18. The DA teams field U-14, U-16 and U-18 teams. The DA bans players from participating in high school ball. The ECNL allows its players to play high school.

“We feel we have the best platform in the world because we have the input and ideas of the people who are on the ground and we are going to continue to operate that platform and continue to try and get better everyday with everything we do,” Lavers said. “We will continue to build a platform that serves the needs of the top players in the country and we will continue to keep looking to get better in all aspects.”

No high school soccer makes this an easy decision for my family. Soccer is very important in our household, but it is part of how we are raising our kids. A component of that is having fun with friends and maturing. Representing your school and community, and playing a sport with the kids you grew up with and attend school with is important to us. I think US Soccer is missing the mark with this. Taking HS Soccer away from girls is to strong a move.

[Unregistered]

Ban on high school ball makes this a non starter for a lot of the population.

Are they funding travel like on the boys side? That would be compelling to some.

[Unregistered]

No high school soccer makes this an easy decision for my family. Soccer is very important in our household, but it is part of how we are raising our kids. A component of that is having fun with friends and maturing. Representing your school and community, and playing a sport with the kids you grew up with and attend school with is important to us. I think US Soccer is missing the mark with this. Taking HS Soccer away from girls is to strong a move.

Boys DA doesn't get all the top boys talent because some won't give up HS. In fact many teams give kids waivers so they can play for the private/prep schools as well as DA. But no HS isn't the only thing working against it - no funding, no pro path, little proven success on the men's side...if it succeeds it will take some time to convince girls it is worth it.

[Unregistered]

Ban on high school ball makes this a non starter for a lot of the population.

Are they funding travel like on the boys side? That would be compelling to some.

Boys travel is only funded on MLS teams - non MLS teams are still on your dime. Non MLS teams also still have tuition, it's just reduced vs a regular club price. Only MLS squads are free all around.

So, on the women's side who is going to pay for any of that? Ah....no one.

[Unregistered]

Ban on high school ball makes this a non starter for a lot of the population.

Are they funding travel like on the boys side? That would be compelling to some.

There is no funding available from US Soccer. Just a bunch of clowns with nothing better to do than try to screw up youth soccer even worse than the Timbers have.

[Unregistered]

None of this cant be true about the ECNL not going away and still functioning because all of the TA people said ECNL was over

[Unregistered]

There is no funding available from US Soccer. Just a bunch of clowns with nothing better to do than try to screw up youth soccer even worse than the Timbers have.

There are no league, tournament or referee fees for the boys, so they do put some money into it. So does Nike, as they do ECNL. Will nike have to choose?

Opl vs Oysa on a national scale.

[Unregistered]

None of this cant be true about the ECNL not going away and still functioning because all of the TA people said ECNL was over

To funny. ECNL is expensive, travel costs money. In spite of theach cost ECNL has been good for us. Comp is awsome and exposure is as advertised. To bad US Soccer won't try and work with ECNL. Money is the root of most evil in youth sports. This appears to be a case in point.

[Unregistered]

There are no league, tournament or referee fees for the boys, so they do put some money into it. So does Nike, as they do ECNL. Will nike have to choose?

Opl vs Oysa on a national scale.

Problem for the DA is that ECNL already has 80 of the top clubs in the nation. There aren't another 80 out there near that level (there are some but not 80). The ECNL clubs like the control they have over the current league and very very few will leave the ECNL. So, either the DA is severely watered down or the clubs are so far apart that travel expenses will be even higher than ECNL. Either way, the DA will struggle.

[Unregistered]

To funny. ECNL is expensive, travel costs money. In spite of theach cost ECNL has been good for us. Comp is awsome and exposure is as advertised. To bad US Soccer won't try and work with ECNL. Money is the root of most evil in youth sports. This appears to be a case in point.

It is your DoC that is getting and won't give up the money

[Unregistered]

Ban on high school ball makes this a non starter for a lot of the population.

Are they funding travel like on the boys side? That would be compelling to some.

Wont impact my DD, but future scene or crazy talk?

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sport...rts/54801730/1

[Unregistered]

To funny. ECNL is expensive, travel costs money. In spite of theach cost ECNL has been good for us. Comp is awsome and exposure is as advertised. To bad US Soccer won't try and work with ECNL. Money is the root of most evil in youth sports. This appears to be a case in point.

In this case, it's money and stupidity. US Soccer honchos don't have a brain cell to share between themselves.