Questions about why or why not to go ECNL?

So this maybe should be put on the ECNL link but thought I would try here first....
I have questions for the parents who have chosen to go with ECNL instead of staying locally with Lake Highlands. And the ones who have chosen to not leave LHGCL?

My question is Why??? I have asked a few friends who have ECNL dd's and I get the same response "We play better competition". Okay???? I guess I am looking for more is it worth the sacrifice that your family makes. Maybe missing siblings games/activities, your dd not being able to be as active at school or because of the cost having to give up private lessons and real vacations. (not that we have time to take them)

And because the teams are allowed to have 24 players what is your dd's playing time? Do you pay all this extra cost to sit the bench? And if you don't play all the time do you travel?

Do you think that your dd has gotten more exposure because she plays ECNL than just going to showcase tournaments? And is that why you play ECNL?

We want to make it about what is best for her they are only kids once. We feel just because a coach says she can or should play ECNL doesn't mean she will. So are your dd's happy playing out of town all the time and the schedule seems year round. Maybe not spending as much time with friends?

And yes we have asked her and she just wants to play soccer she can't make a decision on something she really hasn't experienced. I am just wanting to know the good & bad of ECNL soccer vs staying LHGCL.

Any insight is appreciated.

16 of my dd's 24 games are in DFW. We got lucky this year with one of the ECNL events being in Dallas. Cost is the same as the LHGCL, Premier League, National League, Showcase schedule, we were on before joining ECNL.

I can't answer your 24 girl roster question because I don't know your dd's standing on her team. Only 18 dress. If she's not in that group, I wouldn't have her on that team.

Your dd will get no college exposure strictly playing LHGCL. ECNL or traveling to showcases is the only alternative. Sure you could write to coaches asking them to come see you but chances are they won't. My dd was committed before her club joined ECNL but was scouted through National League and Showcase events. Simple logic should show that the college's recruiting money will go to what is the best bang for the buck. Where else would you else would you see the number of recruits you would see at any of the ECNL national events?

My dd missed a lot of things but she did because she was committed to soccer and her team. It was always her decision. It needs to be your dd's decision as well.

Your broader question (which UN addresses) is really not "Why ECNL?" but "At what level does your daughter want to play in college?" If she's not sure she even wants to play college soccer, skip ECNL. Hell, skip LHGCL.

Is she considering playing at a lower level D1 or one of many D2 schools (or some private colleges)? She can indeed find a spot if she stays with an LHGCL team. It will require more effort on her part, but it happens all the time. Should she expect a full ride? Not bloody likely. Might she have to attend a school that's not her first choice... or second... or third? Probably. Will much of her life in college revolve around soccer? Most assuredly.

With ECNL, the odds improve for the girls who are absolutely sure they want to continue playing soccer in college at a high level. Your daughter just has to determine what she's willing to give. Have her talk to players who've played in college. It will be a real eye-opener for her to find out the commitment involved, on top of her studies.

Other than the 10-15 NTX DD's a year who are destined to play D1 at major soccer programs and receive significant $ to do so, LHGCL seems more than adequate to provide a competitive environment and exposure for the rest.

The challenge is that many of us want to think our DD's are one of those 10-15 and the clubs all use it in their sales pitch.

Most of the NTX ECNL girls end up at TX, OK, LA and AR schools not in the Big 12 or SEC that have always taken significant #'s from NTX, even before ECNL existed.

Lefty wrote:
Other than the 10-15 NTX DD's a year who are destined to play D1 at major soccer programs and receive significant $ to do so, LHGCL seems more than adequate to provide a competitive environment and exposure for the rest.

The challenge is that many of us want to think our DD's are one of those 10-15 and the clubs all use it in their sales pitch.

Most of the NTX ECNL girls end up at TX, OK, LA and AR schools not in the Big 12 or SEC that have always taken significant #'s from NTX, even before ECNL existed.

It really kind of depends on how you define "adequate". There is no doubt that playing in LHGCL is not going to preclude a player from getting a scholarship and playing soccer in college, but it goes way beyond the 10-15 players you mention.

My dd made her official visit a couple of months ago to the D1 college where she's committed. BTW, this is not what most would define a "top D1 major soccer program". There were a total of 9 committed players from the 2013 class that attended the event. All but one of them plays for an ECNL team. I talked to the coach about it, as a curiosity, and he said the reality is that budgets are so tight today, they have to go to showcases where they get the most value, and today that's the ECNL showcases. He said he still attends regular showcases that are reasonably local, when he can for a day, but that most of their effort is on the ECNL events.

It boils down to what has been said so many times in the past. When you get beyond the things that have nothing to do with where your dd plays club soccer (forming a list of schools that you and your dd believes fit her needs and wants, writing emails, calling coaches, visiting schools, etc.) a great deal will depend on exposure to the college coaches.

Like it or not, right or wrong, the ECNL events are the best bang for the buck in getting a player seen by many college coaches. Not just the D1 major programs, but all of them. Take a look at the list of coaches attending those events.

If your dd's team doesn't play in the Platinum or top tier division at a regular college showcase, she may end up playing at a remote venue where many coaches don't normally venture. The lower the division the team is playing in, the more likely that is to happen.

The ECNL is not the end all/be all, and won't, by itself, make your dd a star with scholarship dollars flowing from the heavens. If your dd joins an ECNL team but doesn't get onto the field, there is little benefit to be derived, and she would certainly be better served on a team where she gets plenty of playing time.

There are many, many things that go into selecting a college and getting a scholarship that have nothing to do with LHGCL or ECNL or tournaments. But its always puzzling how people get on here and try to say the playing in LHGCL/Premier League/regular college showcases is just as good as playing in the ECNL.

Having done both, and seeing the difference, it's just not close to being true.

When I look at the list of NTX commits post-ECNL, it looks an awful lot like the same schools these girls were committing to pre-ECNL.

From the people who've been through it recently, is that a true assessment or not?

If it is, how real is the benefit to having 600 national college coaches at an ECNL event if the majority of the kids end up at the same regional schools they've always attended?

3-4-3 wrote:When I look at the list of NTX commits post-ECNL, it looks an awful lot like the same schools these girls were committing to pre-ECNL.

From the people who've been through it recently, is that a true assessment or not?

If it is, how real is the benefit to having 600 national college coaches at an ECNL event if the majority of the kids end up at the same regional schools they've always attended?

Are you breaking those lists down between ECNL/LHGCL teams? Are the ECNL commits similar in # and quality to Pre-ECNL commits from LHGCL teams that were also playing in Premier League/National League? Are the Post-ECNL LHGCL commits similar in # and quality to the Pre-ECNL LHGCL commits from LHGCL teams that weren't PL/NL teams?

That's how you should break it down.

From my care-about, the issue isn't whether ECNL is a better route than the Pre-ECNL system. It's whether ECNL or LHGCL is a more appropriate route TODAY (or in 2 more years actually) for getting my DD where she wants to go.

3-4-3 wrote:When I look at the list of NTX commits post-ECNL, it looks an awful lot like the same schools these girls were committing to pre-ECNL.

From the people who've been through it recently, is that a true assessment or not?

If it is, how real is the benefit to having 600 national college coaches at an ECNL event if the majority of the kids end up at the same regional schools they've always attended?

Great questions, 3-4-3, and it exposes another reality. The vast majority of college coaches that attend showcase tournaments aren't there to browse. Here's how it usually takes place:

- The player makes a list of colleges she would consider attending and mails lots of resumes to those coaches. She'll usually call the coaches, too (although the coach can't call the player if I recall correctly).

- The player will try to get the coach to come out and see her play at a tournament. If the coach (or scout) can do so, the club coach will be sure to play her extensively for any game the college coach will be viewing.

- If a college coach is interested in the player but can't attend a tournament, he can invite her to attend a practice or camp at the university. I believe, again, there are certain UIL restrictions on this.

- It is unlikely that a top level D1 college coach would be attending a showcase/ECNL even and just happen to see a player that he decides to pursue. Not impossible, but very improbable. On the other hand, it is somewhat likely that coaches of lower level schools might be in attendance of LHGCL-level showcase tournaments and pass out their cards to prospective players who impress them after games. The caveat is these coaches don't have much money to offer, and your daughter had better be okay with considering a school like UT Permian Basin with a $3000 scholarship.

xara true... most d3 teams will take any decent player, i've seen rosters with over 30 kids! check this one out, even if you are on the team are you really playing?
http://athletics.stedwards.edu/roster.aspx?path=wsoc

Xara makes good points.

My dd was on a LHGCL State Cup finalist team last year. When we travelled out of town for tournaments, we have had lower level coaches hand out cards to all of the girls on the team and also came to watch them at a second tournament.

Most showcases on the LHGCL team they were lucky to have 2 or 3 coaches show up to a game, and it was definitely from some of the girls contacting them to watch. Most of the time, coaches never acknowledged the requests or just ignored them.

Since dd has been on ECNL, coaches respond to her emails and have even committed to coming to regular league games as well as the ECNL events.

I would say that if your dd's goal is to play in college, ECNL is a good avenue to get maximum exposure and attention from college coaches. I'm not saying that LHGCL players will not play in college, but I know friends that are still with LHGCL and it's like pulling teeth to get a coach to their games, showcase or not.

If a college scholarship is the goal, it might be wise to put your kid in volleyball or tennis and skip soccer all together!


8 things you should know about sports scholarships
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505145_162-57516273/8-things-you-should-know-about-sports-scholarships/
(MoneyWatch) Do you hope that your teenager will win a college athletic scholarship?

Plenty of parents dream of their children cashing in on a sports scholarship, but before you get your hopes up you need to understand the hard realities of winning these awards. Here are eight things that parents and student athletes need to know about these scholarships.

1. The odds of winning a NCAA sports scholarship are miniscule. Only about 2 percent of high school athletes win sports scholarships every year at NCAA colleges and universities. Yes, the odds are that dismal. For those who do snag one, the average scholarship is less than $11,000.

2. Full-ride sports scholarships are scarce. There are only six sports where all the scholarships are full ride. These so-called head-count sports are football, men and women's basketball, and women's gymnastics, volleyball, and tennis. In these Division I sports, athletes receive a full ride or no ride.

3. Scholarships can be dinky. Beyond the head-count sports, all other sports are considered "equivalency" sports. NCAA rules dictate how much money a program, such as lacrosse or track, can spend on scholarships. Coaches can slice and dice these awards as they choose, which can lead to awfully small scholarships.

4. Take flattery with a grain of salt. Coaches may tell teenagers that they have lots of scholarship money to divvy out, but prospects shouldn't assume that they will be the recipients, says Karen Weaver, who is on the sports management faculty at Drexel University. A coach might not know whether he wants a particular athlete until he finds out what other teenagers want to sign on to his team. What really matters is the scholarship amount contained in the school's official athletic grant-in-aid form. "Until you get the grant-in-aid form, it's meaningless," observes Weaver, who is a former national championship Division I field hockey coach.

5. A verbal commitment is meaningless. Weaver has heard of coaches telling athletes as young as seventh-graders that they want them for their team. There is no guarantee that a child who verbally commits to a team will end up on it. A coach can change his mind about a prospect.

6. Playing high-level college sports will be a full-time job. Division I athletes may as well be called full-time employees of their schools because of the long hours they work. According to a NCAA survey last year, playing football required 43.3 hours per week; college baseball, 42.1 hours; men's basketball, 39.2 hours; and women's basketball, 37.6 hours. Because of the huge time commitment, as well as time away from campus, Division I athletes will often not be able to major in rigorous disciplines, such as the sciences and engineering.

7. Skip hiring an athletic recruiter. Coaches typically think sports recruiters are pests, says Weaver, who has served as a CBS sports commentator. Coaches don't want recruiters to get in the middle; they prefer direct dealings with the student athletes.

8. Forget about slick videos. Coaches don't want athletes to send lengthy videos. Two or three minutes will usually suffice, Weaver says. And you absolutely don't need to hire a professional to do the filming. Post your action video on YouTube and send coaches the link.

thanks, that is some good information and food for thought.

Lefty wrote:
Other than the 10-15 NTX DD's a year who are destined to play D1 at major soccer programs and receive significant $ to do so, LHGCL seems more than adequate to provide a competitive environment and exposure for the rest.

The challenge is that many of us want to think our DD's are one of those 10-15 and the clubs all use it in their sales pitch.

Most of the NTX ECNL girls end up at TX, OK, LA and AR schools not in the Big 12 or SEC that have always taken significant #'s from NTX, even before ECNL existed.

10-15 is so far from the truth. If you want to see where NTX girls are going (and the rest of the country), take a look here:

https://sites.google.com/site/soccerrecruits/

Scroll to the bottom and you can look it up by club.

weatherbug wrote:If a college scholarship is the goal, it might be wise to put your kid in volleyball or tennis and skip soccer all together!

This article is based around boys sports. Thank God for Title 9.

Uncle Numanga wrote:

Lefty wrote:
Other than the 10-15 NTX DD's a year who are destined to play D1 at major soccer programs and receive significant $ to do so, LHGCL seems more than adequate to provide a competitive environment and exposure for the rest.

The challenge is that many of us want to think our DD's are one of those 10-15 and the clubs all use it in their sales pitch.

Most of the NTX ECNL girls end up at TX, OK, LA and AR schools not in the Big 12 or SEC that have always taken significant #'s from NTX, even before ECNL existed.

10-15 is so far from the truth. If you want to see where NTX girls are going (and the rest of the country), take a look here:

https://sites.google.com/site/soccerrecruits/

Scroll to the bottom and you can look it up by club.

If you notice I said D1 at major soccer program and receive significant $.

What level of academic institution you will let your DD atttend is up to you, but there are not more than 10-15 a year who get 75% or more to major D1 programs (top 50 RPI) with top notch academics.

soccerfam - the committment that is needed for ecnl is the same committment that the girls from top 10 nat'l programs had playing in the old format. The money and travel are too. Under USYSA/LH my older DD's played LH 18games, Premier League 7 games (NTX,STX,OK), and Nat'l league 7 games (eclipse,slammers,socal,etc..) - top 2 team in each region played each other (usually at disney & another tournament-same as ecnl now does).Ecnl just copied the Premier League format and then added the same layer as USYSA had for their national league. I know it is worth it for the kids on the top teams not so sure of the others. If I ever thought my dd was not going to play on a top college program we would have just played rec for $60 a season and of course the snacks and drinks.

DrSoccer wrote:soccerfam - the committment that is needed for ecnl is the same committment that the girls from top 10 nat'l programs had playing in the old format. The money and travel are too. Under USYSA/LH my older DD's played LH 18games, Premier League 7 games (NTX,STX,OK), and Nat'l league 7 games (eclipse,slammers,socal,etc..) - top 2 team in each region played each other (usually at disney & another tournament-same as ecnl now does).Ecnl just copied the Premier League format and then added the same layer as USYSA had for their national league. I know it is worth it for the kids on the top teams not so sure of the others. If I ever thought my dd was not going to play on a top college program we would have just played rec for $60 a season and of course the snacks and drinks.

Wow! $60 huh? Showing your age there Doc.

Lefty wrote:

Uncle Numanga wrote:

Lefty wrote:
Other than the 10-15 NTX DD's a year who are destined to play D1 at major soccer programs and receive significant $ to do so, LHGCL seems more than adequate to provide a competitive environment and exposure for the rest.

The challenge is that many of us want to think our DD's are one of those 10-15 and the clubs all use it in their sales pitch.

Most of the NTX ECNL girls end up at TX, OK, LA and AR schools not in the Big 12 or SEC that have always taken significant #'s from NTX, even before ECNL existed.

10-15 is so far from the truth. If you want to see where NTX girls are going (and the rest of the country), take a look here:

https://sites.google.com/site/soccerrecruits/

Scroll to the bottom and you can look it up by club.

If you notice I said D1 at major soccer program and receive significant $.

What level of academic institution you will let your DD atttend is up to you, but there are not more than 10-15 a year who get 75% or more to major D1 programs (top 50 RPI) with top notch academics.

Your definition of significant money is getting smaller and smaller.

My daughter is non ecnl and has been fortunate with good coaches around her and she has had opportunities at Region and National level so you can be seen non ecnl. Would agree maybe more at ecnl but can happen in LHGCL. I think you r going about it wrong. I want my daughter to get academic and soccer money. Education is primary and what school fits her and then soccer. Girls do not have opportunity boys do so my rec is find the education you want and then soccer. Will come out better in end when has that degree they went for.

Catch, what level of colleges have been offering her $. It would be interesting for some LH parents to chime in about the scholarship offers they are looking at.

Dr Soccer when you say what level have been offering money I can say none she is just a Freshman. again if I told you that she got full ride but later you found out 50% was academic and 50% was soccer would that make you feel any different. so when you ask what level of collegs what are you referring to: soccer, academics or both.