Top Drawer Soccer

[Pitt79]

You serious? You live in what you call a soccer Mecca and you don't know what the ECNL is?

For the past several years, the ECNL was the highest level a girl could play. College coaches skewed their recruiting to the teams that played in that league. Bias toward those players set in as coaches continued recruiting that leagues events. The thought was that they would put an ECNL club in all the big soccer markets and the best players would gravitate to that club, thus making it easier for college coaches to find and scout the best players from an area because they all play for one team.

Until just this year, the ECNL did not expand into Pittsburgh, so Joe's nieces team at Beadling and my daughters team at Beadling had to fight the "non ECNL" bias that college coachs had, even though they consistently beat ECNL teams every time the played them at select events.

Like Duquesne, my daughter also plays at a mid major. If she had played for an ECNL club, she would probably be playing in the Big10 or ACC. My daughter was part of a 9 player recruiting class at her school and she was the only non ECNL player in the class. My theory is that her mid major coaches go to the ECNL events, see which players have not committed to a Power5 school and then offer whoever is left. The problem is, the girls who are left are not standouts, but because they are on ECNL rosters, coaches over value their worth.

My daughter, probably due to ECNL bias, sat behind some of these players for a chunk of her freshman year. But these girls aren't that special. My daughter ended up overcoming that bias, rising up the roster, and is actually 3rd in the conference in goals scored in her sophmore year.

And now the ECNL has expanded way to much and there's way too many players and teams in the league. It's no longer "elite". Maryland United is the ECNL club in your area. In Virginia, there's Bethesda, McLean Youth, and newly BRYC (Braddock Road)

I never knew of or even tried to find out what the highest level was. My daughter played only rec league through the end of 7th grade, only played travel actually just one year, U15, just regional travel. two years in a local league they called select, because you had to try out, now 3 years playing high school, 1st year starting varsity in 11th grade. I always thought she'd eventually quit, playing soccer was never a priority, she's been doing ballet 11 years, soccer only 9 and most of the time it was rec with daddy coaches. But yeah, our area is pretty much a mecca of kids playing soccer, thousands of teams everywhere, just within one county, I know of at least 7 "travel teams" of varying strength you can try out for. And a big concern for us was, really this is just for fun, no expectation of any scholarship, so choosing which teams to try out for always the priority was somewhere close to home, like less than 15-20 minutes to practice and games. So no, I never heard of ECNL and I do live in an area totally oversaturated with kids soccer.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

I never knew of or even tried to find out what the highest level was. My daughter played only rec league through the end of 7th grade, only played travel actually just one year, U15, just regional travel. two years in a local league they called select, because you had to try out, now 3 years playing high school, 1st year starting varsity in 11th grade. I always thought she'd eventually quit, playing soccer was never a priority, she's been doing ballet 11 years, soccer only 9 and most of the time it was rec with daddy coaches. But yeah, our area is pretty much a mecca of kids playing soccer, thousands of teams everywhere, just within one county, I know of at least 7 "travel teams" of varying strength you can try out for. And a big concern for us was, really this is just for fun, no expectation of any scholarship, so choosing which teams to try out for always the priority was somewhere close to home, like less than 15-20 minutes to practice and games. So no, I never heard of ECNL and I do live in an area totally oversaturated with kids soccer.

If I remember correctly, you are at or around SAC? Covenant Park? I think every soccer youth player has been there at least once.

 

[Pitt79]

If I remember correctly, you are at or around SAC? Covenant Park? I think every soccer youth player has been there at least once.

Yup, my daughter played there for 5 years, rec, select and travel for both SAC and Ellicott City SC. Great complex! So you can excuse me if my impression is that I live in a soccer mecca. My daughter was just a late bloomer, when she said she was trying out for high school, I didn't expect her to make it, let alone be starting varsity eventually, so we never researched where the best clubs are, we just played locally, Covenant Park is about 15 minutes from our house.

 

[Pitt79]

So apparently SAC isn't a good soccer club in your opinion? I don't see them in that ECNL? But they always claim having won regional & national tournaments etc. Ever look at their website.

Honestly I don't care that much anymore, my daughter's 11th grade season ends this Friday if they lose their playoff game, so she'll play her senior year and that's probably it, unless she does play college. Like I said, she has been contacted about considering playing for Howard Community College for 2 years, so it is possible. Oh well, it's been fun even if not the highest level.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

Yup, my daughter played there for 5 years, rec, select and travel for both SAC and Ellicott City SC. Great complex! So you can excuse me if my impression is that I live in a soccer mecca. My daughter was just a late bloomer, when she said she was trying out for high school, I didn't expect her to make it, let alone be starting varsity eventually, so we never researched where the best clubs are, we just played locally, Covenant Park is about 15 minutes from our house.

So the players with highest aspirations there play where? Is Maryland United close?

 

[Pitt79]

So the players with highest aspirations there play where? Is Maryland United close?

Maryland United, I just looked it up, it's not far. A co worker of mine has a daughter who she claims is in the top 150 of her age group right now, nationally, they go all over the country constantly for tournaments, Disneyworld, Texas, Arizona, and supposedly she's being recruited now that she's in 8th grade to go to top ranked private high schools. She has played for teams called ONI, and Celtic, from what her mom says. They are on the road doing nothing but traveling to soccer games every weekend, and not nearby ether, Carolinas, VA, CT, etc.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

So apparently SAC isn't a good soccer club in your opinion? I don't see them in that ECNL? But they always claim having won regional & national tournaments etc. Ever look at their website.

Honestly I don't care that much anymore, my daughter's 11th grade season ands this Friday if they lose their playoff game, so she'll play her senior year and that's probably it, unless she does play college. Like I said, she has been contacted about considering playing for Howard Community College for 2 years, so it is possible. Oh well, it's been fun even if not the highest level.

Honestly we don't run into them. We would run into SAC at younger ages, but as the teams look to play in the biggest events, they wouldn't run into SAC much. Other than the ECNL clubs in Maryland, Bethesda and Maryland United, the other top clubs would play in USYS which is playing 3rd fiddle behind US Soccer DA clubs and then ECNL clubs. The top teams in USYS in each state association will play in the Elite Divisions of the USYS Regional League. If SAC has strong teams and win in Maryland, they will compete at the next level in the Regional League vs the other top USYS clubs from other states in Region 1. If we were comparing youth leagues to college football conferences, it would look like this:
DA-SEC
ECNL- ACC
USYS National League -- Big 12
USYS Regional League-- Atlantic 10

Teams that win or place high in the USYS Regional League qualify for the USYS National League...which is heavily scouted by college coaches like the ECNL. But to do so, a team has to be #1 or #2 team in Maryland USYS, and then win on a Regional level in Region 1(15 surrounding states).

 

[Pitt79]

Well, thanks for the lesson! I've never heard of any of that. My daughter just played locally and we never where really aspiring to anything higher than high school to be honest. I think her biggest soccer goal was to be on the high school team.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

Maryland United, I just looked it up, it's not far. A co worker of mine has a daughter who she claims is in the top 150 of her age group right now, nationally, they go all over the country constantly for tournaments, Disneyworld, Texas, Arizona, and supposedly she's being recruited now that she's in 8th grade to go to top ranked private high schools. She has played for teams called ONI, and Celtic, from what her mom says. They are on the road doing nothing but traveling to soccer games every weekend, and not nearby ether, Carolinas, VA, CT, etc.

Celtic is a USYS club that has been VERY strong on the boys side. Never ran into them on the girls side. Maybe they are getting better at the younger ages for girls. My youngest daughter is in 10th grade and we never saw them at her age and older. FC Frederick is the top Maryland team in her age group (within USYS). I never heard of ONI. Maybe it goes by a different name. Premier, and Pipeline are two other clubs.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

Well, thanks for the lesson! I've never heard of any of that. My daughter just played locally and we never where really aspiring to anything higher than high school to be honest. I think her biggest soccer goal was to be on the high school team.

Well we do all of that with my boy too. But to be honest, boys are a different animal. He's doing all of it and it's overkill because he only hopes to play HS like your kid...and maybe play d3 somewhere. At some point we may yank him from it, put him on a lesser team, and save time and money. But right now this keeps him busy and thus out of trouble.

 

[Pitt79]

Celtic is a USYS club that has been VERY strong on the boys side. Never ran into them on the girls side. Maybe they are getting better at the younger ages for girls. My youngest daughter is in 10th grade and we never saw them at her age and older. FC Frederick is the top Maryland team in her age group (within USYS). I never heard of ONI. Maybe it goes by a different name. Premier, and Pipeline are two other clubs.

I know my daughter played against Pipeline, and Frederick FC when she played in Tournaments with SAC and ECSC teams. Just out of curiosity, I looked up ONI, and it was named after the guy who runs it, Albert Oni, who apparently played MISL soccer (indoor) in the '90s, and it seems like the entire club is just 2 girls teams, each with 16 players, U19 and U15. Maybe it's some new thing? It might be the cutting edge designer team, LOL, I know my co worker, she would probably pay $20,000/year to get her daughter the best training for a $5,000/year scholarship!

 

[Pitt79]

ONI also goes by the name OPSA, ONI Premier Soccer Academy.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

I know my daughter played against Pipeline, and Frederick FC when she played in Tournaments with SAC and ECSC teams. Just out of curiosity, I looked up ONI, and it was named after the guy who runs it, Albert Oni, who apparently played MISL soccer (indoor) in the '90s, and it seems like the entire club is just 2 girls teams, each with 16 players, U19 and U15. Maybe it's some new thing? It might be the cutting edge designer team, LOL, I know my co worker, she would probably pay $20,000/year to get her daughter the best training for a $5,000/year scholarship!

Yeah. I don't know what to say about the ONI thing because I am not from the area. But if she's willing to spend the money and travel, not sure that's where she should be. I don't know how that guys could draw colleges coaches to the games like the ECNL or national league teams do. If she's going to events and doesn't have 30-50 D1 schools from Miami to Penn St to USC watching each game she plays in, then she's not where she wants her kid to to be. And she's being sold a bill of goods. I've been there. We've all been there. It's easy to do when you're going through it for the first time with your first kid.

 

[Pitt79]

Yeah. I don't know what to say about the ONI thing because I am not from the area. But if she's willing to spend the money and travel, not sure that's where she should be. I don't know how that guys could draw colleges coaches to the games like the ECNL or national league teams do. If she's going to events and doesn't have 30-50 D1 schools from Miami to Penn St to USC watching each game she plays in, then she's not where she wants her kid to to be. And she's being sold a bill of goods. I've been there. We've all been there. It's easy to do when you're going through it for the first time with your first kid.

I'm just joking about the $20K, I don't know what she's paying. All I do know, is they travel all over constantly-every Monday posts of pictures from games on Facebook, always far away, and their whole life revolves around the daughter's soccer and I think they have really high expectations, like as if a scholarship is going to be a given, at least the way they talk about it-she posted an article from a USA Soccer publication, with her daughter's name in it as a top player in her age group. Then again, there was a girl who's mother talked like that and bragged at JV tryouts last year about getting professional videos of her daughter made to send to college coaches... well, at least until she went ballistic after the girl didn't make the JV team and berated the coach right there on the field! That made me realize that I was underestimating my daughter a bit, she made the team, LOL

 

[Fk_Pitt]

I'm just joking about the $20K, I don't know what she's paying. All I do know, is they travel all over constantly-every Monday posts of pictures from games on Facebook, always far away, and their whole life revolves around the daughter's soccer and I think they have really high expectations, like as if a scholarship is going to be a given, at least the way they talk about it-she posted an article from a USA Soccer publication, with her daughter's name in it as a top player in her age group. Then again, there was a girl who's mother talked like that and bragged at JV tryouts last year about getting professional videos of her daughter made to send to college coaches... well, at least until she went ballistic after the girl didn't make the JV team and berated the coach right there on the field! That made me realize that I was underestimating my daughter a bit, she made the team, LOL

Lol. HS coaches don't like playing the best players that help them win. Every HS has a coach that refuses to play the next Abby Wambach. He just was too stupid to realize!!! I'm one of them! Parents always know more!

 

[anon_d97v9o3a8b6xr]

Your kid at Braddock Road? If so, great club! They were often a rival of ours in USYS. But they just went ECNL this year.

We are not in Braddock. Knoxville, TN. ECNL accepted two clubs in TN. They didn't actually expand. They lost 13 teams, and added 13 teams.

 

[anon_d97v9o3a8b6xr]

Thank you and congrats to your daughter. Hope you enjoy the journey.

I absolutely love it. 3 daughters, all played, one playing in college, one stopped after graduating HS, and now my youngest playing ECNL. I wouldn't want in any other way. Thank god it's not dance recitals or something similar.
My parents did it for my brother and me, and it's now my turn. When I was playing, it was Europe, Asia, all over the East Coast US, and midwest. For us it's soccer, for others its basketball.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

We are not in Braddock. Knoxville, TN. ECNL accepted two clubs in TN. They didn't actually expand. They lost 13 teams, and added 13 teams.

Right. But they had to replace 13 teams that they lost to the DA and brought in lesser clubs to backfill. Pittsburgh Riverhounds for example.

And the trickle down continues. USYS lost teams like Braddock Road to the ECNL. So the USYS National League is watered down further too.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

I absolutely love it. 3 daughters, all played, one playing in college, one stopped after graduating HS, and now my youngest playing ECNL. I wouldn't want in any other way. Thank god it's not dance recitals or something similar.
My parents did it for my brother and me, and it's now my turn. When I was playing, it was Europe, Asia, all over the East Coast US, and midwest. For us it's soccer, for others its basketball.

That's a beautiful post!!

 

[Pitt79]

I absolutely love it. 3 daughters, all played, one playing in college, one stopped after graduating HS, and now my youngest playing ECNL. I wouldn't want in any other way. Thank god it's not dance recitals or something similar.
My parents did it for my brother and me, and it's now my turn. When I was playing, it was Europe, Asia, all over the East Coast US, and midwest. For us it's soccer, for others its basketball.

What's wrong with dance recitals? My daughter is in her 11th year of ballet, in addition to being a reasonably good high school soccer player!

 

[Pitt79]

Lol. HS coaches don't like playing the best players that help them win. Every HS has a coach that refuses to play the next Abby Wambach. He just was too stupid to realize!!! I'm one of them! Parents always know more!

That coach is a former pro player, who is seriously into physical fitness and speed, and some girls with better club team pedigrees didn't make that team because they weren't in as good of shape and not as fast as he preferred, even though they may have been slightly better technically.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

What's wrong with dance recitals? My daughter is in her 11th year of ballet, in addition to being a reasonably good high school soccer player!

Better you than me!! But at least the dance recitals are always dry and warm.

 

[anon_d97v9o3a8b6xr]

What's wrong with dance recitals? My daughter is in her 11th year of ballet, in addition to being a reasonably good high school soccer player!

We did dance for one year each girl. It was awfully brutal.

 

[anon_d97v9o3a8b6xr]

Right. But they had to replace 13 teams that they lost to the DA and brought in lesser clubs to backfill. Pittsburgh Riverhounds for example.

And the trickle down continues. USYS lost teams like Braddock Road to the ECNL. So the USYS National League is watered down further too.

I don't know if they are lesser clubs as muc as they are up can coming. They didn't just pick any club. I will say those teams in atlanta we play are very good. Our current issue are numbers. We are never going to compete with D.C., Atlanta, LA.

 

[PeetWeet1]

Better you than me!! But at least the dance recitals are always dry and warm.

With dance recitals, the enjoyment is directly related to the quality of the school.

 

[PeetWeet1]

What's wrong with dance recitals? My daughter is in her 11th year of ballet, in addition to being a reasonably good high school soccer player!

How does she do ballet and soccer? My 10 year old’s class is filled with kids who used to play soccer.

 

[Pitt79]

How does she do ballet and soccer? My 10 year old’s class is filled with kids who used to play soccer.

Ballet is 2 nights a week at 8pm now that she's in the senior group-others in the class play sports like soccer, field hockey etc. Her dance school has never been more than 2 hours per week. And only one or two recitals per year. It's not like the TV show "Dance Moms", and they do pointe ballet, jazz, tap etc. and the recitals are actually pretty good, usually attendance is like 800-1000. Actually until high school, we always thought of dance as taking precedence over soccer, because I honestly never thought she'd make the high school team.

 

[Pitt79]

With dance recitals, the enjoyment is directly related to the quality of the school.

True, our school is pretty good, very theatrical, the teacher does some wild stuff, like a ballet routine to "Stairway to Heaven" for example, the shows are not so bad really.

 

[Pitt79]

I actually think ballet has helped her soccer, sometimes she'll pick a ball out of the air almost shoulder high and bang it down field

 

[anon_d97v9o3a8b6xr]

I actually think ballet has helped her soccer, sometimes she'll pick a ball out of the air almost shoulder high and bang it down field

Ballet would help guys too.

 

[Pitt79]

Ballet would help guys too.

I'm sure it would