End of GDA

[Unregistered]

The best lessons all of us can take from the fiasco that girls youth soccer has become are this:

Your kid is not as good as you think she is.

You will not see this, as you are a parent who loves her and is her biggest cheerleader

Unscrupulous people will recognize this parental love and see it as a way to coerce you into spending more money than you should on soccer.

Your job as a parent is to make sure your kid is in a safe environment where she is having fun, and to help her maintain balance in her life. To further that point, imagine her life without soccer. What is there? If the answer is "academics, family, friends, church, hobbies, other sports" you are doing it right. If the answer is "um..." you are not doing it right.

Finally, this is all temporary. Her involvement in sports is temporary. For most kids, it'll end after high school. For those that play in college, it'll end 1-4 years after that. ENJOY it. Don't get caught up in keeping up with the Jones's and think you have to constantly be looking for better opportunities. Going back to your job as a parent - is she happy? Is she having a good time? Is her life in balance? If so you are in exactly the right place. If not, find the place where she can find those things, or consider maybe this isn't her thing anymore...and if that's the case, be at peace with it.

But above all, remember - there isn't a single coach out there - whether it's the coach who played professionally and puts players in D1 programs left and right, the coach affiliated with the new flavor of the month program, the coach who shouts on social media that his team is a family - not a single one of those coaches truly cares about your kid beyond what she can do to help further his/her professional goals. If your kid can help the coach's team (and therefore the coach) succeed, great. But the minute your kid's ability to help the coach is compromised, the coach will move right on to the next player without hesitation. Your kid may be valuable as a player and teammate. Don't mistake that for earning them any kind of loyalty from a coach. It's a business and it's their job, and your kid is a product to them. And there is not a single coach in the entire state that that statement isn't true about, whether their team plays in GDA, ECNL, NLNC, or OYSA.

Very cynical; I know many coaches in PDX who have coached my kids that this doesn't illustrate. If a kid is a better soccer player then one of my kids then that kid gets to play more and will start over my child. A coach who ok honors this is a good coach. Has nothing to do with humanity nor personal feelings. These are life lessons learned thru sports. If those lessons are difficult for parents to swallow and guide there kids thru then it is the parent that has the issue. My kids have been coached by many of the coaches in PDX and they all cared about my kids.

[Unregistered]

So true. Money and politics plays too big a role.

There are a few good coaches that don’t fall into the money and political/friend influence but not many. Lucky to know a few.

[Unregistered]

Very cynical; I know many coaches in PDX who have coached my kids that this doesn't illustrate. If a kid is a better soccer player then one of my kids then that kid gets to play more and will start over my child. A coach who ok honors this is a good coach. Has nothing to do with humanity nor personal feelings. These are life lessons learned thru sports. If those lessons are difficult for parents to swallow and guide there kids thru then it is the parent that has the issue. My kids have been coached by many of the coaches in PDX and they all cared about my kids.

They cared about your kid because your kid helped them succeed in their job. That’s where it starts and ends. You aren’t friends. And you certainly aren’t family no matter how much they claim their teams are family. Maybe I’m cynical but if you don’t realize that you are incredibly naive.

[Unregistered]

The entire youth soccer system is corrupt from youth national team selections biases all the way down to local club coaches that private train, promoting their paying private trainees over other deserving players.

This is true. The incompetence, selfishness, and greed is the real culprit ruining US Soccer.

[Unregistered]

ECNL is not innocent in this whole mess either. If their intention was to create an elite league, they should have stayed with their original 40 teams they started with. They started diluting talent and purpose when they started expanding. There is not enough talent to have more than 40 clubs. Period. When they started making decisions based on greed, US Soccer started pushing for more standards.

When it was 40, you had the very best clubs involved but then you expand and the quality suffers, so they wanted assurances that their national team players were in a good environment. Like the previous poster said, the right thing for US Soccer to do was regional residencies for the top 180 girls in the u16-19 age group. 180 players total. But instead they created a league, so now there is 160 clubs, and all the 2nd team players now have access to the “elite” leagues. What a joke.

Had ECNL just stayed with being a 40 team league, and not expanded and watered down the talent to 80 teams, US Soccer would not have intervened. But their ego driven solution was even more disastrous, although, 95% of the top players in the country (national team players) are still in DA, even if the best clubs are leaving. People cheer when good clubs leave DA for ECNL but the reality is, national team players do not switch to ECNL with their club, they find a different DA team to play for.

This is pure stupidity. The US is far too big to support that few clubs and would exclude far too many players and teams. ECNL has made mistakes with some teams, by and large the quality of play is far higher than you will find locally with California being the only exception. Additionally, the travel partner concept they have implemented has greatly improved the format. Simply looking at the number of teams , by your standard, is too myopic and ignorant.

[Unregistered]

Very cynical; I know many coaches in PDX who have coached my kids that this doesn't illustrate. If a kid is a better soccer player then one of my kids then that kid gets to play more and will start over my child. A coach who ok honors this is a good coach. Has nothing to do with humanity nor personal feelings. These are life lessons learned thru sports. If those lessons are difficult for parents to swallow and guide there kids thru then it is the parent that has the issue. My kids have been coached by many of the coaches in PDX and they all cared about my kids.

The problem is really rooted in the greedy DOCs. This is almost universal across Oregon’s youth soccer.

[Unregistered]

There are a few good coaches that don’t fall into the money and political/friend influence but not many. Lucky to know a few.

Definitely appreciate the few ethical good ones! They also tended to be the most successful.

[Unregistered]

The entire youth soccer system is corrupt from youth national team selections biases all the way down to local club coaches that private train, promoting their paying private trainees over other deserving players.

Don’t stop with youth soccer. It is true of all youth competitive sports, adult competitive sports, and the adult world in general. People on this site seem to think there is some weird greed anomaly in youth soccer. It’s the norm. And that doesn’t mean there aren’t coaches that genuinely care about their players. There are. Just like with everything else, there are decent people. But sadly, there are a lot of con artists too.

[Unregistered]

This is pure stupidity. The US is far too big to support that few clubs and would exclude far too many players and teams. ECNL has made mistakes with some teams, by and large the quality of play is far higher than you will find locally with California being the only exception. Additionally, the travel partner concept they have implemented has greatly improved the format. Simply looking at the number of teams , by your standard, is too myopic and ignorant.

40 clubs, 20 girls on a roster, 800 girls per age group. How is that not enough girls when the pool for the US Soccer ynt for each age group is like 60? That leaves room for 740 girls on the bubble. How many Power 5 teams are there? 50? Say they each take 10 new girls each year, I’m being super generous, that’s 500 girls. You still have 300 girls that aren’t even Power 5 level players playing in the “elite” league. How much more dilution do you need?

Does it really make sense for ECNL to have 80 teams. Now you have 1100 girls playing who aren’t Power 5 level playing in the “elite” league. Doesn’t make sense.

And when I talk about exclusion, I don’t feel sorry for the girl who can’t make a roster of 20, even though her parents have the money that says she should. I’m more concerned about the girls that actually can make the roster and don’t have parents who have $5,000-$10,000 to play, they are the ones that are truly being excluded. And having 80 clubs and 1,600 spots (3,200 spots with DA and ECNL) does not solve this problem.

[Unregistered]

40 clubs, 20 girls on a roster, 800 girls per age group. How is that not enough girls when the pool for the US Soccer ynt for each age group is like 60? That leaves room for 740 girls on the bubble. How many Power 5 teams are there? 50? Say they each take 10 new girls each year, I’m being super generous, that’s 500 girls. You still have 300 girls that aren’t even Power 5 level players playing in the “elite” league. How much more dilution do you need?

Does it really make sense for ECNL to have 80 teams. Now you have 1100 girls playing who aren’t Power 5 level playing in the “elite” league. Doesn’t make sense.

And when I talk about exclusion, I don’t feel sorry for the girl who can’t make a roster of 20, even though her parents have the money that says she should. I’m more concerned about the girls that actually can make the roster and don’t have parents who have $5,000-$10,000 to play, they are the ones that are truly being excluded. And having 80 clubs and 1,600 spots (3,200 spots with DA and ECNL) does not solve this problem.

You’re not very smart are you. Your puny numbers compared to the hundreds of thousands of players.

[Unregistered]

You’re not very smart are you. Your puny numbers compared to the hundreds of thousands of players.

The number of elite players IS puny. Just because a league, club, a DOC convinced you otherwise, the numbers don’t lie. No one is saying that the hundreds of thousands of players shouldn’t have access to soccer. They should be strengthening their local leagues, high schools, and local, regional, and national ODP.

The only reason these platforms have weakened is because 3,200 girls in EACH age group have been given access to these leagues by paying $5,000-10,000 to play NOT because they are elite. Parents need to push back on the system and say, my kid is not being tapped by US Soccer, they aren’t even being looked at by Power 5 schools, and I’m not talking camp emails. I mean being offered at the least a 50% scholarship, maybe it’s time to leave elite leagues to the elite and stop the insanity.

As long as parents keep demanding their non-elite players to be given elite opportunities, it will happen. We have 160 clubs in “elite” ECNL/DA, if even more clubs see opportunity to make money off delusional parents that number will expand to 200 then 300. The market will expand as long as parents demand, it’s a joke. 40 clubs. That’s all that’s needed to fulfill the needs of the true elite.

[Unregistered]

The number of elite players IS puny. Just because a league, club, a DOC convinced you otherwise, the numbers don’t lie. No one is saying that the hundreds of thousands of players shouldn’t have access to soccer. They should be strengthening their local leagues, high schools, and local, regional, and national ODP.

The only reason these platforms have weakened is because 3,200 girls in EACH age group have been given access to these leagues by paying $5,000-10,000 to play NOT because they are elite. Parents need to push back on the system and say, my kid is not being tapped by US Soccer, they aren’t even being looked at by Power 5 schools, and I’m not talking camp emails. I mean being offered at the least a 50% scholarship, maybe it’s time to leave elite leagues to the elite and stop the insanity.

As long as parents keep demanding their non-elite players to be given elite opportunities, it will happen. We have 160 clubs in “elite” ECNL/DA, if even more clubs see opportunity to make money off delusional parents that number will expand to 200 then 300. The market will expand as long as parents demand, it’s a joke. 40 clubs. That’s all that’s needed to fulfill the needs of the true elite.

I choose free will. One small group deciding who is entitled and who is not, doesn't work very well historically.
Hell get 1,000 clubs and give anyone who is willing to pay for it or is afforded the opportunity to play a chance. We are the biggest baddest country on the planet cause everyone has a chance to take a bite out of the apple. Don't forget our Women's teams are best in the world and will continue to be. Our men's soccer teams suck, cause as a country we do not support them. Sure hipsters and high school little fella phenoms pack the stands; but really most of us really don't care about men's soccer. Stop measuring the girls game thru this lens. Nothing broke here and we are all happiesh. Men NT suck and they are over paid.

[Unregistered]

The number of elite players IS puny. Just because a league, club, a DOC convinced you otherwise, the numbers don’t lie. No one is saying that the hundreds of thousands of players shouldn’t have access to soccer. They should be strengthening their local leagues, high schools, and local, regional, and national ODP.

The only reason these platforms have weakened is because 3,200 girls in EACH age group have been given access to these leagues by paying $5,000-10,000 to play NOT because they are elite. Parents need to push back on the system and say, my kid is not being tapped by US Soccer, they aren’t even being looked at by Power 5 schools, and I’m not talking camp emails. I mean being offered at the least a 50% scholarship, maybe it’s time to leave elite leagues to the elite and stop the insanity.

As long as parents keep demanding their non-elite players to be given elite opportunities, it will happen. We have 160 clubs in “elite” ECNL/DA, if even more clubs see opportunity to make money off delusional parents that number will expand to 200 then 300. The market will expand as long as parents demand, it’s a joke. 40 clubs. That’s all that’s needed to fulfill the needs of the true elite.

Oh please.... you are literally making numbers up to justify your stupidity. You.... are.... wrong.

You also clearly don’t understand the purpose of ECNL, which is to provide a platform for top female players to develop and compete with college as the objective.

[Unregistered]

Oh please.... you are literally making numbers up to justify your stupidity. You.... are.... wrong.

You also clearly don’t understand the purpose of ECNL, which is to provide a platform for top female players to develop and compete with college as the objective.

The people I know who have daughters that play on ECNL teams are wealthy and want the bragging rights. Their daughters are mostly above average players, but not the best players.

Kind of like putting a water feature at the entrance to your 1/4 mile driveway. You want people to know that you make serious money and are elite status. You earned the right. You deserve this. You belong to the top tier country club and wouldn't be caught dead teeing off at a public course.

[Unregistered]

The people I know who have daughters that play on ECNL teams are wealthy and want the bragging rights. Their daughters are mostly above average players, but not the best players.

Kind of like putting a water feature at the entrance to your 1/4 mile driveway. You want people to know that you make serious money and are elite status. You earned the right. You deserve this. You belong to the top tier country club and wouldn't be caught dead teeing off at a public course.

And everyone who has enough money to join a country club is an elite golfer.