Girls DA = $10,000/yr & NO high school sports???

[Unregistered]

Hard to argue against your points.
However, local ECNL, for all it's issues, was and is a better option then the local / fractured / Timbers league. One can argue all day the weakness' of the local ECNL but it's still a far better option for the better Oregon player then the Timbers / OYSA leagues.

For all that have said there is no talent in our local ECNL teams then where is this high level talent for the Thorn's GDA team going to come from? The Timbers / OYSA league? don't be delusional.

Best post yet!

[Unregistered]

Hard to argue against your points.
However, local ECNL, for all it's issues, was and is a better option then the local / fractured / Timbers league. One can argue all day the weakness' of the local ECNL but it's still a far better option for the better Oregon player then the Timbers / OYSA leagues.

For all that have said there is no talent in our local ECNL teams then where is this high level talent for the Thorn's GDA team going to come from? The Timbers / OYSA league? don't be delusional.

They will come from the Timbers and here is an example of our next great players. These are the same parents screaming ECNL sucks and they have chosen a better path
http://events.gotsport.com/events/sc...1786&action=Go

[Unregistered]

They will come from the Timbers and here is an example of our next great players. These are the same parents screaming ECNL sucks and they have chosen a better path
http://events.gotsport.com/events/sc...1786&action=Go

LOL, that is awesome. Wait for it though, it won't be long before we get all the excuses why the result was so bad. Best part is I have never heard of those clubs. The TA parents have been knocking poor results from ECNL losing to proven clubs like PDA, Jacksonville, Dallas Texans and San Diego Surf, cannot wait to hear about how amazing these top secret clubs Westside just lost to are!

[Unregistered]

NEWS FLASH: These clubs are not leaving the ECNL .... they are simply adding the GDA to their offering. They are hedging their bets that the GDA might work. If it does they want to be first in. If it doesn't work they still have their ECNL investment.
So with that said you may want to rethink your above comments ....

You have a point, so in effort to help you embrace, understand and conceptualize what is happening, in it's very basic form, and to avoid confusion on your end:

(A) the top clubs from the ECNL League are reforming their teams to match the USSDA requirement of 3 distinct age group teams for inclusion in this new age group structure.

(B) YES THESE PLAYERS ON THESE USSDA TEAMS age groups listed below in 2017-18 WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO PLAY IN HS OR ANY OTHER CLUB LEAGUE, if they do they will not play in the USSDA. It's about as simple as it gets.

(1) team at U13/14
(1) team at u15/16
(1) team at u17/18

So the elite club for california (or wherever) will now use it's existing player pool of (5) teams aged u14,U15,U16, U17& U18 and re-shape, trim the fat so to speak into the (3) teams that will meet the requirement for their clubs participation in the USSDA in 2017-18.

Roughly only the top 65 to 75 players of the 100+ player pool from the ages of u14 to 18 at a given club will have this label as and ACADEMY team player, the bottom 25 to 35 players that don't make this standard or distinction, our of course free to play in an ECNL league, state league, local league, ODP or switch clubs.

These elite USSDA clubs will roster only the best of the best players on the (3) USSDA aged team, as the fear of being dismissed from the USSDA for lack of a quality program is not a risk worth taking. You have a point, and it's true the ECNL has proven they don't really care what the standard you bring to the table is, as long as your willing to travel and pay. Good point.

The walls come crumbling down...

[Unregistered]

They will come from the Timbers and here is an example of our next great players. These are the same parents screaming ECNL sucks and they have chosen a better path
http://events.gotsport.com/events/sc...1786&action=Go

Hello. Just a bit of a wake-up call ...

[Unregistered]

Hello. Just a bit of a wake-up call ...

Can you post the results of the NWSL PORTLAND THORNS? they are the actual club sponsoring the USSDA team in 2017-18.

You already knew that :)

[Unregistered]

You have a point, so in effort to help you embrace, understand and conceptualize what is happening, in it's very basic form, and to avoid confusion on your end:

(A) the top clubs from the ECNL League are reforming their teams to match the USSDA requirement of 3 distinct age group teams for inclusion in this new age group structure.

(B) YES THESE PLAYERS ON THESE USSDA TEAMS age groups listed below in 2017-18 WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO PLAY IN HS OR ANY OTHER CLUB LEAGUE, if they do they will not play in the USSDA. It's about as simple as it gets.

(1) team at U13/14
(1) team at u15/16
(1) team at u17/18

So the elite club for california (or wherever) will now use it's existing player pool of (5) teams aged u14,U15,U16, U17& U18 and re-shape, trim the fat so to speak into the (3) teams that will meet the requirement for their clubs participation in the USSDA in 2017-18.

Roughly only the top 65 to 75 players of the 100+ player pool from the ages of u14 to 18 at a given club will have this label as and ACADEMY team player, the bottom 25 to 35 players that don't make this standard or distinction, our of course free to play in an ECNL league, state league, local league, ODP or switch clubs.

These elite USSDA clubs will roster only the best of the best players on the (3) USSDA aged team, as the fear of being dismissed from the USSDA for lack of a quality program is not a risk worth taking. You have a point, and it's true the ECNL has proven they don't really care what the standard you bring to the table is, as long as your willing to travel and pay. Good point.

The walls come crumbling down...

I think "crumbling" is a bit of an overstatement.

There are a lot of assumptions here:
1) You're assuming that the clubs that were awarded the GDA will exit the ECNL. (TBD)
2) You're assuming that the GDA won't be additive to the ECNL clubs offering (TBD)
3) You're assuming that everyone will embrace the GDA. There are still way more questions then answers - the big one being cost
4) You're assuming the female soccer player doesn't value playing HS sports / thus all top players will embrace the GDA?
5) You're assuming in small markets (i.e. PDX) that the GDA club/team will offer more, i.e. coaching etc., enough to make it a clear top choice. The Thorn's have not demonstrated this to date. Where is this super coaching staff coming from? Where are these super players coming from?

[Unregistered]

Men's Soccer regardless of structure or platform in not a relevant sport to our countries sporting male athletes especially those that want college scholarships and even less for those who want to be professional athletes. The sport is called FOOTBALL on this globe, not soccer, it's so far down the food chain in the American male athlete choice list that's why we suck. It's not popular to our best athletes and sporting males. End of story.

Girls Soccer is a popular choice for the best female athlete in the USA, with Title IX funding it even gives them more scholarships than it's male counterpart. Women's soccer/footbal is not popular or offered much for the rest of the female population on the Globe. Our best female sporting athletes play Soccer in the USA, other countries could care less about Women's Soccer, almost as little as our country cares about the male Soccer. So whatever league in the US has the best american female soccer players, it will be the top league in the world Just like MLB, NFL & NBA nobody outside of america nobody cares much about those sports, thus we are the best in the world in 'our' warped sense of reality.

Clubs leaving or ascending from the ECNL to the USSDA is called promotion as evidenced by the very best clubs of the ECNL departing to the USSDA. Calling it anything else is just fodder.

The mindset that their actually existed such a thing as an 'ECNL' club is really the heart of the matter, that's the sickness and irrational thought that has you convincing yourself that bogeymen are attacking your local club. Nobody ever was or ever will be considered an ECNL club, you certainly can be a local club that joined this ECNL League.

Having a local club join this league without the proper consolidation of talent to support it's efforts, is and always be a foolish endeavor that can be criticized and now never changed.

Without a magnet of an esteemed, respected coaching staff, a record of achievement and prior success at the regional or national level, the only hope for the local club is attract the top players to join your local community club, they didn't and since you had two clubs offering the same model, you basically sabotaged your dreams and goals by spitting up what little high end talent the market provided between two local clubs.


It wasn't well thought out or constructed it was doomed the day the ECNL took 10 teams from two local clubs. This isn't rocket science and now the USSDA league is the place to be and this strange saga is really just an irrelevant and unfortunate chapter of the OPL ilks convoluted and myopic thinking.

Next.

Best post ever!!

[Unregistered]

Seattle market is going to be hit hard. Current Crossfire A teams are essentially their B teams with ECNL teams being their true A teams. I wonder how RAE will come into play with clubs that will field both GDA and ECNL teams. Geographically speaking, all three WA ECNL clubs are within 30 - 60 minutes from each other. Adding EFC to GDA adds another club within reasonable driving distance. Both Crossfire and Reign will have the biggest player pools. Thorns Academy will struggle against WA GDA, but Oregon ECNL teams might be helped by WA secondary ECNL teams being more equal in play. RCL 1 will truly be third tier. Wa diluted teams might be the lifeline Oregon needs.

[Unregistered]

Can you post the results of the NWSL PORTLAND THORNS? they are the actual club sponsoring the USSDA team in 2017-18.

You already knew that :)

If the Elite Thorns Academy had actually won anything I would post their results, but they can't even win a watered down OYSA league. I am guessing they will hoist their 1st trophy in the Beaverton Cup

[Unregistered]

Speculation

Considering the high number of respectable clubs with ECNL signing up for the DA and none of them criticizing the ECNL program, it seems that they intend on doing both. The DA would be considered the highest level of commitment (no HS play, 4 practices per week etc.) For other highly skilled players who don't want to miss out on HS or don't intend upon playing for a National team then ECNL is a good choice. Possibly billed as a 'feeder' to the DA. Not wanting to rock the boat with current ECNL players for this year could explain why no mention of what the plan is for these clubs who have ECNL but signed up for DA. I find it highly unlikely top clubs haven't already answered the question of what they intend to do. The fact that none are willing to speak about it indicates it is coordinated at the highest levels between ECNL, DA and individual clubs. Thoughts?

[Unregistered]

I think "crumbling" is a bit of an overstatement.

There are a lot of assumptions here:
1) You're assuming that the clubs that were awarded the GDA will exit the ECNL. (TBD)
2) You're assuming that the GDA won't be additive to the ECNL clubs offering (TBD)
3) You're assuming that everyone will embrace the GDA. There are still way more questions then answers - the big one being cost
4) You're assuming the female soccer player doesn't value playing HS sports / thus all top players will embrace the GDA?
5) You're assuming in small markets (i.e. PDX) that the GDA club/team will offer more, i.e. coaching etc., enough to make it a clear top choice. The Thorn's have not demonstrated this to date. Where is this super coaching staff coming from? Where are these super players coming from?

1) Just the best players from a club on the 3 USSDA team age groups will be gone from the ECNL for 2017-18.

2) USSDA mandates no HS or other club play for it's participant members.

3)Once a club applies for the USSDA and is selected they will tell you (parent) how much you will be paying or if you're really good the type of scholarship US Soccer will offer.

4) Has nothing to do with what someone thinks or values about HS Soccer, it's simply not allowed in the USSDA model.

5) The Portland market only has (1) USSDA program featuring just 3 teams sponsored by the PORTLAND THORNS professional team. It's the top level of play in the country without a rival league, this is the first foray into ACADEMY level soccer for girls in Portland. The wonderful thing about the current market for girls soccer is nearly any coach with interest is on par to the stable of local coaches working in the area, so upgrading coaching is not much of a challenge. The best players come from all the OYSA/USCS teams across the state and sw washington, where else would they come from?

[Unregistered]

I think "crumbling" is a bit of an overstatement.

There are a lot of assumptions here:
1) You're assuming that the clubs that were awarded the GDA will exit the ECNL. (TBD)
2) You're assuming that the GDA won't be additive to the ECNL clubs offering (TBD)
3) You're assuming that everyone will embrace the GDA. There are still way more questions then answers - the big one being cost
4) You're assuming the female soccer player doesn't value playing HS sports / thus all top players will embrace the GDA?
5) You're assuming in small markets (i.e. PDX) that the GDA club/team will offer more, i.e. coaching etc., enough to make it a clear top choice. The Thorn's have not demonstrated this to date. Where is this super coaching staff coming from? Where are these super players coming from?

Specific to Oregon. If the Thorns GDA program can't attract top talent. Both coaching and players. It will be just another program aiming for the same "pool" and add to the dilution.
If they are unsuccessful in this regard how long will the GDA allow them to participate?

My DD will be out of this mess by the time it hits so personally it has very little impact on her. When she heard the part about no HS sports the first thing she said was no-way / deal breaker.
Given the fact that so few of our local players are National team / Pro team quality (my DD included) this option simply isn't interesting to her. I think the vast majority of our players probably feel the same. If there was a lucrative pathway for the women's game then maybe more female players, or maybe more importantly female players parents, would be willing to give up certain aspects of their lives for an opportunity. As a parent, even if my daughter was that caliber of player, I'd be an idiot to support this current path. For that reason I think the GDA will fall short on it's promise.

[Unregistered]

Nailed it. US Youth Soccer has become irrelevant in girls soccer. It's classic US Youth Soccer vs. US Club Soccer. The GDA is US Youth Soccer's attempt to salvage relevancy as well as the female soccer player's $$$.
US Club Soccer recognized a need that the female soccer consumer/player wanted and delivered with the ECNL.
US Youth Soccer did nothing except hang on to ODP and hope this ECNL thing wouldn't take hold.
If anyone really believes this is about development then they are sadly mistaken. This is about ego / power / money as US Youth Soccer tries to wrestle back any relevancy they have in the girls youth game.

What are you talking about? US Youth Soccer has nothing to do with GDA. This is US Soccer. USYS drops to third tier and becomes even less relavant. And btw, ECNL wasn't started by US Club Soccer. The clubs started ECNL and went to both USYS and USCS for sanctioning. USYS said no. USCS agreed to sanction the ECNL but the ECNL clubs run the league not USCS.

[Unregistered]

Considering the high number of respectable clubs with ECNL signing up for the DA and none of them criticizing the ECNL program, it seems that they intend on doing both. The DA would be considered the highest level of commitment (no HS play, 4 practices per week etc.) For other highly skilled players who don't want to miss out on HS or don't intend upon playing for a National team then ECNL is a good choice. Possibly billed as a 'feeder' to the DA. Not wanting to rock the boat with current ECNL players for this year could explain why no mention of what the plan is for these clubs who have ECNL but signed up for DA. I find it highly unlikely top clubs haven't already answered the question of what they intend to do. The fact that none are willing to speak about it indicates it is coordinated at the highest levels between ECNL, DA and individual clubs. Thoughts?

They have to stay silent as they want to be allowed one more season in the ECNL for 2016-17. It's impossible for a girl selected to the USSDA team to do anything but the USSDA program. No other soccer period, be it ODP, HS, other league etc.. If a girls really wants to play HS and not at the USSDA level there are plenty of leagues like the ECNL, FWRL, USYS Nat league, state league & regional leagues for them to choose from.

US Soccer has indicated it's playing membership in the 2017-18 USSDA will only do the DA, nothing else. It can't get anymore clear or coordinated at any higher level than US Soccer.