LHGCL vs JDL

Zizou wrote:I like the way things are going. 30 players on the team with a pool of 30 more players breathing down their necks keeps my DD sharp. I am poor, so no extra money for coach gifts. We will know this Friday if she makes roster for Saturday game. Cross your fingers!

At 12 years old?

Zizou wrote:I like the way things are going. 30 players on the team with a pool of 30 more players breathing down their necks keeps my DD sharp. I am poor, so no extra money for coach gifts. We will know this Friday if she makes roster for Saturday game. Cross your fingers!

Not sure I understand. There is a pool of 60 kids and only 18 will dress out for the game?

5050Ball wrote:

Zizou wrote:I like the way things are going. 30 players on the team with a pool of 30 more players breathing down their necks keeps my DD sharp. I am poor, so no extra money for coach gifts. We will know this Friday if she makes roster for Saturday game. Cross your fingers!

Not sure I understand.  There is a pool of 60 kids and only 18 will dress out for the game?

Don't try and understand.

Pay your money, shut up and let others make the decisions for your child.

Like the new model?

Is the new model much different than the old FCD model?

Old Model - come try out for our club.  After 10 tryout sessions, we still can't be sure which team we will place you on.  Keep coming out, though, because we will eventually decide.  In the meantime we will schedule regular tryouts - if you miss one, you must be trying out with someone else and aren't really that interested.  We will place you on a team the week of contract signings - don't you like surprises?  Don't worry, you are a part of a large club with many opportunities to guest on a higher level team.     Just sign the contract and we will figure it all out.

New Model - come try out for our club.  We won't tell you where you will play until game day, but we have many opportunities to guest on a higher level team.    We don't believe in the "team" concept - we prefer the term "pool".  Just sign the contract and we will figure it all out.

Sho'Nuff wrote:

ReformedHooligan wrote:Reading these posts, it seems most of these posters care a bit too much which league their dd plays in.  If their kid didn't make a JDL team, it's all about money, or if they were on a LH team last year, and stayed with their team, they should have left it alone and not created JDL.  Others are like -  my kid plays JDL...that makes me an exceptional soccer parent....whatever.
Just  find the team that challenges your daughter's development, and don't worry about the status thing.  I switched my daughter from one team to another this year, as she had grown complacent with her coach, and was ready for the next level.  Moved her up to a more challenging environment, and she is having to work hard in practice and games to earn playing time - but not so far up so that she gets discouraged..  I couldn't care less what league she plays in until she is 15 or 16 - just so she is developing.  Once she hits that age, we will decide if she wants to play in college.  If so, we seek out showcase opportunities...if not, we go to a lower league where she can be the stud and have fun.  Pretty simple really, if you remove the parental pride out of the equation.

I don't think there's any relationship between what kind of person/parent you are based on your outlook and approach to extra-curricular activities.  

If you do want to lecture us, consider using less "we".  Have you picked out a college for your DD?  I like the west coast.

I used "we", because at that time when the decision is made as to whether to continue playing in college or not needs to be made, or even what college she attends - she will have a significant amount of input, and it will be a collaborative "we" decision. That's why.

And I do think that good parenting takes into account the needs of the child over the parental pride. If you fear that your friends won't think as highly of you if your DD plays in PPL or some "lower league", you need to do some introspection. If you fear you will be called irrelevant in a thread on an internet BBS because your DD doesn't play on a top team, you might want to avoid the BBS altogether. If your "friends" brag incessantly that their dd plays in a higher league than your dd to the point that it makes you uncomfortable...well...it's time to find some new friends. It's about your princess's growth and happiness, not your pride.

For my sons DA team it is a max of 23 players, but only 18 dress. So it is competition every day in practice to make the game roster.

I have chatted with parents who try out and when they hear that, they never show back up. Open competition, where the parents have no say, scares people.

Very sad when you have a situation that the DD wants to keep fighting on, but the parents lose interest because little Susie may not start.  When just making a DA squad is a huge accomplishment in itself that should be commended.  

tpitty wrote:For my sons DA team it is a max of 23 players, but only 18 dress. So it is competition every day in practice to make the game roster.

I have chatted with parents who try out and when they hear that, they never show back up. Open competition, where the parents have no say, scares people.

Doesn't make any sense unless you're talking about the pay to play DAs. Hard to imagine any kid good enough to be scouted for FCD DA is going to not come back because of anything the parent found out on the sideline. Pay to play DA parents have exactly the same "say" as those of any other competitive team. Pay and stay, or leave.

SickofSilliness wrote:Is the new model much different than the old FCD model?

Old Model - come try out for our club.  After 10 tryout sessions, we still can't be sure which team we will place you on.  Keep coming out, though, because we will eventually decide.  In the meantime we will schedule regular tryouts - if you miss one, you must be trying out with someone else and aren't really that interested.  We will place you on a team the week of contract signings - don't you like surprises?  Don't worry, you are a part of a large club with many opportunities to guest on a higher level team.     Just sign the contract and we will figure it all out.

New Model - come try out for our club.  We won't tell you where you will play until game day, but we have many opportunities to guest on a higher level team.    We don't believe in the "team" concept - we prefer the term "pool".  Just sign the contract and we will figure it all out.

And hey we have ecnl...wink wink. Your 5 year old should be a shoe in if you come with us.

4-3-3 wrote:

tpitty wrote:For my sons DA team it is a max of 23 players, but only 18 dress. So it is competition every day in practice to make the game roster.

I have chatted with parents who try out and when they hear that, they never show back up. Open competition, where the parents have no say, scares people.

Doesn't make any sense unless you're talking about  the pay to play DAs. Hard to imagine any kid good enough to be scouted for FCD DA is going to not come back because of anything the parent found out on the sideline. Pay to play DA parents have exactly the same "say" as those of any other competitive team. Pay and stay, or leave.

No they aren't coming back because their little superstar isn't guaranteed gametime. Some people can't live with that. Whether it is pay to play or not. Only one group are pay to play parents in DA, and that is Solar. (on the boys side)

tpitty wrote:For my sons DA team it is a max of 23 players, but only 18 dress. So it is competition every day in practice to make the game roster.

I have chatted with parents who try out and when they hear that, they never show back up. Open competition, where the parents have no say, scares people.

Not sure that it 'scares' people, they may just not perceive that team and that situation as the best situation for their child.  That is assuming it is an 'open' competition.

They could judge a different opportunity as a better option for their child.  Could be as simple as an entrenched starter in their position who is better, and will limit their opportunity to play, to assurances of role on another team.  

Happens all the time in college recruiting at the highest levels, but sounds like you are quite comfortable that could never happen in DA.

Lefty wrote:
Not sure that it 'scares' people, they may just not perceive it as the best situation for their child.  That is assuming it is an 'open' competition.

They could judge a different opportunity as a better option for their child.  Could be as simple as an entrenched starter in their position who is better, and will limit their opportunity to play, to assurances of role on another team.  

Happens all the time in college recruiting at the highest levels, but sounds like you are quite comfortable that could never happen in DA.  

Of course they could see/get better opportunities somewhere else, lots of reasons to select different teams.
I was merely speaking to parents not wanting that daily competition. It is much much easier to be a stud on a team you know you will play 100%. Rather than fight day in and day out to beat out kids of the same high caliber.

tpitty wrote:

Lefty wrote:
Not sure that it 'scares' people, they may just not perceive it as the best situation for their child.  That is assuming it is an 'open' competition.

They could judge a different opportunity as a better option for their child.  Could be as simple as an entrenched starter in their position who is better, and will limit their opportunity to play, to assurances of role on another team.  

Happens all the time in college recruiting at the highest levels, but sounds like you are quite comfortable that could never happen in DA.  

Of course they could see/get better opportunities somewhere else, lots of reasons to select different teams.  
I was merely speaking to parents not wanting that daily competition. It is much much easier to be a stud on a team you know you will play 100%. Rather than fight day in and day out to beat out kids of the same high caliber.

You are going to have the daily competition on any of the teams, but being stuck behind a better player and not seeing the field may not serve the end game the other family has in mind.  

Ever heard the sayings:
. Pick your battles wisely
. There is more than one way to skin a cat

Been on both sides of new players joining teams and displacing existing starters.  What you do depends on the long game you as a family have in mind.

Not any different than a college QB losing starting position and:
. transferring to get a pro shot rather than sitting on the bench behind a Heisman candidate
. continue to compete, ride the pines for another year and collect your diploma from Stanford

Depends on the situation and end game you have in mind.

.

5050Ball wrote:

Zizou wrote:I like the way things are going. 30 players on the team with a pool of 30 more players breathing down their necks keeps my DD sharp. I am poor, so no extra money for coach gifts. We will know this Friday if she makes roster for Saturday game. Cross your fingers!

Not sure I understand.  There is a pool of 60 kids and only 18 will dress out for the game?

28 ECNL on the roster, 30 composite players, all competing for spots. 5 composite players are brought into training and are rotated with a new 5 each time. All competing for roster spots. Open competition is a good thing. Pools of players competing against each other will raise the level of play.

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Zizou - Competition is great! It forces the player to elevate his/ her game and I am all for that. The question is - How many of the girls outside of the top 25 - 30 (top 15 for ECNL and top 15 for CHL) really signed up to be in that environment? If all agreed that this would be the case, more power to them. However, I am sure a number of these players (and parents) may not have really understood what they were getting into if in fact it is the way you are describing. It is enough competition to have a 28 ECNL roster when you already know that only 18 dress every week and at the end of the day, only the top 15 get any significant minutes. I really hope you are exaggerating a little on the numbers (I took a quick glace at the ECNL rosters and only found one team in a couple of age groups that exceeded 22 players but were less than 28)...but again, I didn't go all out "inspecting" each one. It could also mean that the rest of the players are not listed yet...many variables. In any case, again, I hope it is not the case that your club has a 60 player pool where half will not get to step on the ECNL field. I hope  you and your DD are part of the top 15 in your roster....did your DD make the roster for last week's ECNL game? 2 teams didn't play last week from out NTX region in the u14- u17 age groups..

Zizou wrote:

5050Ball wrote:

Zizou wrote:I like the way things are going. 30 players on the team with a pool of 30 more players breathing down their necks keeps my DD sharp. I am poor, so no extra money for coach gifts. We will know this Friday if she makes roster for Saturday game. Cross your fingers!

Not sure I understand.  There is a pool of 60 kids and only 18 will dress out for the game?

28 ECNL on the roster, 30 composite players, all competing for spots. 5 composite players are brought into training and are rotated with a new 5 each time. All competing for roster spots. Open competition is a good thing. Pools of players competing against each other will raise the level of play.

Was an honest question. Spare the lecture about competition. Hopefully the kids who don't make gameday roster have another place to play the game. After all it is still a game.

Zizou wrote:

5050Ball wrote:

Zizou wrote:I like the way things are going. 30 players on the team with a pool of 30 more players breathing down their necks keeps my DD sharp. I am poor, so no extra money for coach gifts. We will know this Friday if she makes roster for Saturday game. Cross your fingers!

Not sure I understand.  There is a pool of 60 kids and only 18 will dress out for the game?

28 ECNL on the roster, 30 composite players, all competing for spots. 5 composite players are brought into training and are rotated with a new 5 each time. All competing for roster spots. Open competition is a good thing. Pools of players competing against each other will raise the level of play.

Calling a bit of BS on Zizou's description.  Pretty sure I know the club and situation he is talking about, and while the total # of players in the age group pool is correct, he's leaving out that there are actually 3 teams involved in the "pool"...  ECNL (roster of ~23), Composite (roster of ~12-13), and LH D1 (Roster of ~18-19).  Total # of players ~55-56 in the pool.

Composite is where the crossover is taking place.  Players being brought down from ECNL and up from D1 to fill out the Composite roster for TCL matches.  Composite players being cycled up regularly to train w/ECNL, but pretty sure D1 players aren't being cycled up to train with ECNL on a regular basis (maybe cycled up to train w/Composite, but not ECNL).  Pretty sure the Composite players aren't under a threat of being dropped down to play D1, and probably aren't under the illusion that they are going to get any more than a token sniff of the ECNL grass during a match.

So, yes, there is a large total pool, and there is room for players to be moved up or down, but it's not like there are 60 players and 24 of them are riding the pine every week. Some ECNL girls might not make the ECNL match day roster on a regular basis, but they will likely get playing time with Composite. Highly doubt that "core" Composite roster players will be healthy scratches on TCL match days, and highly doubt that "core" D1 roster players will be healthy scratches for LHGCL matches. That would be club suicide to do something like that.

If I am not describing your situation, the please let us know the club where there is an ECNL roster of 28, a Composite roster of 30, and no LH D1 team in play...

That is one of the reason that I don't like ECNL 30 on the roster 18 suit up.... I rather put my daughter on a good team that i no she will get plenty of playing time.... I know ECNL go out and do showcases for players to be look at but it doesn't mean anything if your daughter is not playing or suited up

If you ever see an ECNL roster in NTX with 25-30 players on it, all that means is that you are seeing a roster that has a lot of players dual rostered with Composite/TCL or LH teams. Most ECNL rosters are in the 18-22 player range, and even then, players that aren't making the match day 18 on a regular basis, are often getting offered opportunity to play on other teams in the club. Composite was brought about in part to make that process easier for the clubs by giving them the ability to synchronize schedules with ECNL and eliminating the CPP restrictions and paperwork in place in LHGCL.

I have been impressed with the work and incredible drive that players from the composite team and those invited into practice from other teams. These players take their opportunity to train and possibly play at the top level very serious.

You also see them improving and gaining confidence each time they come out.

My DD is excited about the opportunity to show and prove she belongs at the highest level she is given the opportunity to play at.

Soccer is still the same you keep score or not ! The next level players should be  able to solve soccer issues on the field independently instead of their coach / parent yelling at them on what to do , remember they are 10-11-12 year smart kids playing hard every single time they step on the field.  If the soccer player is talented enough and can contribute, no matter how big the rosters are at next level  , the coaches know they can contribute and they get plenty of playing time at the next level, whatever the route they go, ECNL / DA or  other prominent showcase events ( some clubs have chosen to do ).  The kids have a long way to go, so everyone chill out and if your kid is talented enough, they will find a way!  

Cam203030 wrote:So what is JDL for what should i look at this league for... and how is this going to be better than playing in LHGCL

Zizou wrote:I have been impressed with the work and incredible drive that players from the composite team and those invited into practice from other teams. These players take their opportunity to train and possibly play at the top level very serious.

You also see them improving and gaining confidence each time they come out.

My DD is excited about the opportunity to show and prove she belongs at the highest level she is given the opportunity to play at.

Well said Z, As is my DD.