ECNL U17/U18???? is the travel/money worth it? Score differential

NTXSjunkie wrote:

Well let's look at the structure.

ECNL teams are all around the nation. You will travel quite far sometimes to play a game.(I guess Tulsa, Houston and Austin a far to you) So the cost for regular club soccer is around $2k a season. I'm assuming the ECNL teams are more expensive...(not in my experience) probably between $3-4k a year. On top of that you are going to have travel costs... either gas (which is around $3.50/gallon) or a plane ticket that can cost around $400 round trip (if purchased early enough)... plus hotel costs which if you go cheap will be around $150/night... plus if you fly there you'll need to rent transportation. A team could rent a van for a few hundred bucks for the weekend.(all the same as the LH teams that go out of town for tournaments)

On top of that you have Uniform costs for the season... as well as you're going to have to take your daughter out of school for some games... and there's about 3-4 practices a week... (all the same as LH teams, except our ECNL team practices twice a week with an occasional Saturday thrown in)

Is that worth it to you and your daughter? IMO, you'd get burnt out. (same as LH teams)

Funny thing is, here in the US we think we need to practice all day every day. We need to drill players 100% of their free time. Then we have to get a game in on the weekend to establish who's better, or so that we can win a championship...

In Europe the youth systems meet 2-3 times a week. Most of the time 2 times a week sometimes one on Saturday. They have maybe 2 games a month! It's all about DEVELOPMENT. Not about winning and declaring who is the best. Heck, over in Europe they don't even keep score until they are well into their teenage years... because they want to make sure the players are concentrating on playing the game correctly and not worrying about winning the game.

My biggest concern with the ECNL or Pre-Academy leagues is the time missed from school.(My DD missed a couple of Fridays this year. Big deal). Sure, we'd like all our kids to go to college or make it pro one day. But, in reality only about 5% of players make it to college, and of that 5% about 5% make it pro. Especially in the women's game...(I'm pulling my kid from soccer right now. There is no hope. Who cares if it is what she loves doing if she can't be a pro) there really isn't a professional league. At least not one that can help support a family. Kids should also concentrate on preparing for the future at this age... a future that may not include soccer. (All those poor former college soccer players now homeless...so sad)

IMO, it's not worth it in the long run. Sure you can brag as a parent that your child is on an ECNL team, but when they're 25 and have recovered from two knee injuries they acquired in college(same for girls that played in LH, Plano, Arlington) and can no longer play and they have a degree in general studies because they couldn't handle studying for a Biology degree because they never learned how to study due to always traveling for games... and are asking you for money because their minimum wage job isn't enough to support their family... then you'll know if it was worth it or not. (Can you get any more over the top with this ridiculousness?)

On the other hand, if they make it to the National Team... then awesome! But, only 22 women players make that squad... so you have to think, is your daughter good enough or dedicated enough to be one of those players? (Like I said, I'm pulling her because without being on the National team, then what is the point?)

MoveYourFeet wrote:

NTXSjunkie wrote:

Well let's look at the structure.

ECNL teams are all around the nation. You will travel quite far sometimes to play a game.(I guess Tulsa, Houston and Austin a far to you) So the cost for regular club soccer is around $2k a season. I'm assuming the ECNL teams are more expensive...(not in my experience) probably between $3-4k a year. On top of that you are going to have travel costs... either gas (which is around $3.50/gallon) or a plane ticket that can cost around $400 round trip (if purchased early enough)... plus hotel costs which if you go cheap will be around $150/night... plus if you fly there you'll need to rent transportation. A team could rent a van for a few hundred bucks for the weekend.(all the same as the LH teams that go out of town for tournaments)

On top of that you have Uniform costs for the season... as well as you're going to have to take your daughter out of school for some games... and there's about 3-4 practices a week... (all the same as LH teams, except our ECNL team practices twice a week with an occasional Saturday thrown in)

Is that worth it to you and your daughter? IMO, you'd get burnt out. (same as LH teams)

Funny thing is, here in the US we think we need to practice all day every day. We need to drill players 100% of their free time. Then we have to get a game in on the weekend to establish who's better, or so that we can win a championship...

In Europe the youth systems meet 2-3 times a week. Most of the time 2 times a week sometimes one on Saturday. They have maybe 2 games a month! It's all about DEVELOPMENT. Not about winning and declaring who is the best. Heck, over in Europe they don't even keep score until they are well into their teenage years... because they want to make sure the players are concentrating on playing the game correctly and not worrying about winning the game.

My biggest concern with the ECNL or Pre-Academy leagues is the time missed from school.(My DD missed a couple of Fridays this year. Big deal). Sure, we'd like all our kids to go to college or make it pro one day. But, in reality only about 5% of players make it to college, and of that 5% about 5% make it pro. Especially in the women's game...(I'm pulling my kid from soccer right now. There is no hope. Who cares if it is what she loves doing if she can't be a pro) there really isn't a professional league. At least not one that can help support a family. Kids should also concentrate on preparing for the future at this age... a future that may not include soccer. (All those poor former college soccer players now homeless...so sad)

IMO, it's not worth it in the long run. Sure you can brag as a parent that your child is on an ECNL team, but when they're 25 and have recovered from two knee injuries they acquired in college(same for girls that played in LH, Plano, Arlington) and can no longer play and they have a degree in general studies because they couldn't handle studying for a Biology degree because they never learned how to study due to always traveling for games... and are asking you for money because their minimum wage job isn't enough to support their family... then you'll know if it was worth it or not. (Can you get any more over the top with this ridiculousness?)

On the other hand, if they make it to the National Team... then awesome! But, only 22 women players make that squad... so you have to think, is your daughter good enough or dedicated enough to be one of those players? (Like I said, I'm pulling her because without being on the National team, then what is the point?)

So much mis-information in this post from someone that obviously isn't a part of ECNL or has no experience with it.

TatonkaBurger wrote:

MoveYourFeet wrote:

NTXSjunkie wrote:

Well let's look at the structure.

ECNL teams are all around the nation. You will travel quite far sometimes to play a game.(I guess Tulsa, Houston and Austin a far to you) So the cost for regular club soccer is around $2k a season. I'm assuming the ECNL teams are more expensive...(not in my experience) probably between $3-4k a year. On top of that you are going to have travel costs... either gas (which is around $3.50/gallon) or a plane ticket that can cost around $400 round trip (if purchased early enough)... plus hotel costs which if you go cheap will be around $150/night... plus if you fly there you'll need to rent transportation. A team could rent a van for a few hundred bucks for the weekend.(all the same as the LH teams that go out of town for tournaments)

On top of that you have Uniform costs for the season... as well as you're going to have to take your daughter out of school for some games... and there's about 3-4 practices a week... (all the same as LH teams, except our ECNL team practices twice a week with an occasional Saturday thrown in)

Is that worth it to you and your daughter? IMO, you'd get burnt out. (same as LH teams)

Funny thing is, here in the US we think we need to practice all day every day. We need to drill players 100% of their free time. Then we have to get a game in on the weekend to establish who's better, or so that we can win a championship...

In Europe the youth systems meet 2-3 times a week. Most of the time 2 times a week sometimes one on Saturday. They have maybe 2 games a month! It's all about DEVELOPMENT. Not about winning and declaring who is the best. Heck, over in Europe they don't even keep score until they are well into their teenage years... because they want to make sure the players are concentrating on playing the game correctly and not worrying about winning the game.

My biggest concern with the ECNL or Pre-Academy leagues is the time missed from school.(My DD missed a couple of Fridays this year. Big deal). Sure, we'd like all our kids to go to college or make it pro one day. But, in reality only about 5% of players make it to college, and of that 5% about 5% make it pro. Especially in the women's game...(I'm pulling my kid from soccer right now. There is no hope. Who cares if it is what she loves doing if she can't be a pro) there really isn't a professional league. At least not one that can help support a family. Kids should also concentrate on preparing for the future at this age... a future that may not include soccer. (All those poor former college soccer players now homeless...so sad)

IMO, it's not worth it in the long run. Sure you can brag as a parent that your child is on an ECNL team, but when they're 25 and have recovered from two knee injuries they acquired in college(same for girls that played in LH, Plano, Arlington) and can no longer play and they have a degree in general studies because they couldn't handle studying for a Biology degree because they never learned how to study due to always traveling for games... and are asking you for money because their minimum wage job isn't enough to support their family... then you'll know if it was worth it or not. (Can you get any more over the top with this ridiculousness?)

On the other hand, if they make it to the National Team... then awesome! But, only 22 women players make that squad... so you have to think, is your daughter good enough or dedicated enough to be one of those players? (Like I said, I'm pulling her because without being on the National team, then what is the point?)

So much mis-information in this post from someone that obviously isn't a part of ECNL or has no experience with it.

MoveYourFeet, you are dead on.

The amount of time I wasted reading Junkie's post I will never get back. That's sad.

Gunners wrote:

Sweeper wrote:

Mr T wrote:

txtransplant wrote:Here's a list of their commitments for the '95 TSC squad

Mallory Bourgeois, Jenks HS, Oral Roberts University
Kristen Cardano, Jenks HS, University of Florida
Darienne Chapman, Bishop Kelley HS, University of Tulsa
Kenna Dyess, Broken Arrow HS, University of Central Oklahoma
Bailey Haydock, Bishop Kelley HS, University of Michigan
Elizabeth Keester, Jenks HS, Texas A&M
Claire Kelley, Bishop Kelley HS, University of Arkansas
Kristen Killion, Broken Arrow HS, Oklahoma State University
Kaela Little, Bishop Kelley HS, University of Notre Dame
Claire Maris, Union HS, University of Tulsa
Ashley McDaniel, Union HS, University of Central Oklahoma
Shiloh Price, Broken Arrow HS, University of Oklahoma
Madison Saliba, Broken Arrow HS, University of Oklahoma
Katherine Sprouse, Bishop Kelley HS, Clemson University
Lauren Wagner, Broken Arrow HS, Northeastern State University
Brigitte Taylor, Union HS, undecided
Paige Talley, Owasso HS, Northeastern State University


Also, Krissi Killion was invited to the U-20 USWNT camp last month.

ETA: the last two on the roster will graduate in 2014 and have yet to sign a letter of intent.

What a waste of time and money to play ECNL only to end up at Central Oklahoma and Northeastern State.

Bingo. Univ of Michigan and Notre Dame are legit schools and there are some other good schools on the list, but the list is mostly a bunch of schools to which I would not send my DD even assuming a full ride.
I fully get ECNL for the sake of competition or because your DD wants to do it or simply because you think it will be fun, but doing if for the scholarship to your school of choice seems insane to me - and yet that is the most often cited reason for pursuing it.

Wait, what? Before I pounce, please expound on this for me.

And yes, if this seems like I'm handing you just enough rope to hang yourself, then you're right.

txtransplant wrote:

Sweeper wrote:
Bingo. Univ of Michigan and Notre Dame are legit schools and there are some other good schools on the list, but the list is mostly a bunch of schools to which I would not send my DD even assuming a full ride.

I'm sure there are plenty of people in Oklahoma that say the same thing about Texas' schools.

Gunners wrote:Just noticed your avatar, so not going to waste my time.

Gunners wrote:Just noticed your avatar, so not going to waste my time.

Sweeper wrote:

MaggieMaggie wrote:The scholarship question has been covered pretty extensively in other threads. Quick answer: Many soccer players have some scholarship money, though it may be a modeest amount. If you mean scholarship as in full ride, rare and hard to find.

It is interesting listening to many of the seniors and reading their FaceBook posts. Amazing most of them are on full soccer scholarship to the college of choice? While there are some full rides, they are rare and usually reserved for the Brahmin superstuds. Most state schools offer in-state tuition for varsity athletes. There is usually some type of requirment like a certain ACT/SAT grade. Some schools offer in-state tuition if there is any athletic scholarship offered, no matter how modest. Tuition and books seems to be a common offer at a state school. From the schools we have looked at, in-state tuition is about a $10k savings. Private schools: St. Edwards is a great school with a solid D2 team. They offer 0 to full ride with the average scholarship of $6,500. Wonderful private school, but $6,500 might cover your meal plan? For the newies, scholarships are renewed annually. DD has a great year, she could get a scholarship the next year. Bad year/bad attitude, could loose the scholarship. DO NOT GO TO A SCHOOL YOU CAN NOT AFFORD WITHOUT AN ATHLETIC SCHOLARSHIP.

Back to ECNL. Your DD can get an offer from a good coach/team without ECNL, but a lot harder and DD will have to do a lot more work to get that coach to notice her. Also, IMO, if a coach is deciding whether he/she has time to look at an ECNL player verses a regular club player, the coach will probably go to watch the ECNL player.

Looked and there are now a couple of 2016 verbals posted.

web site that seems to be updated regularly [url=https://sites.google.com/site/soccerrecruits

https://sites.google.com/site/soccerrecruits[/quote[/url]]
Good analysis.
From a purely economic standpoint, puting the amount spent on soccer in a 529 education savings account each year makes a lot more sense than spending the money in hopes of a scholarship to your school of choice.

tornado11 wrote:The best way to get a scholarship offer is to attend the live in summer camp at the school of choice. The girl from ESD who will attend North Carolina on a scholarship did it this way. She went to the camp between her fr/so year...did the same thing between her so/jr year and was offered a scholarship. At that point she had NEVER played ecnl. The coaches get to see the complete young woman for a week and the girl gets to take her game to them. Provided she can actually PLAY the game at the required level, this route is far better than that provided by ANY ecnl team.

tornado11 wrote:The best way to get a scholarship offer is to attend the live in summer camp at the school of choice. The girl from ESD who will attend North Carolina on a scholarship did it this way. She went to the camp between her fr/so year...did the same thing between her so/jr year and was offered a scholarship. At that point she had NEVER played ecnl. The coaches get to see the complete young woman for a week and the girl gets to take her game to them. Provided she can actually PLAY the game at the required level, this route is far better than that provided by ANY ecnl team.

tornado11 wrote:The best way to get a scholarship offer is to attend the live in summer camp at the school of choice. The girl from ESD who will attend North Carolina on a scholarship did it this way. She went to the camp between her fr/so year...did the same thing between her so/jr year and was offered a scholarship. At that point she had NEVER played ecnl.

The coaches get to see the complete young woman for a week and the girl gets to take her game to them. Provided she can actually PLAY the game at the required level, this route is far better than that provided by ANY ecnl team.