DA/ECNL ridiculousness

Every kid from club X, who tested the waters last night at club Y was offered a spot.

bwgophers wrote:

SickofSilliness wrote:I just don't see a YUGE exodus from LHGCL -

Take last year's 04 - 6 teams played exclusively JDL.  Between ECNL and DA this year, I believe there are 8 teams.  That's only 2 additional teams.  If you remove Rush, there is only an addiitonal team to fill.  Add to that girls who stayed 03 and will be dropping back to 04.  So I don't see much of a "net" change in LH.

Last year's 05?  How many were already NOT playing LH and were playing JDL only?  


What I think will be amusing to watch - is what happens when the hordes of players showing up for ECNL / DA practices realize that Suzi isn't going to make one of those teams?

Watch the mass panic as girls then try to go find a home on a LH DI team.

Ultimately, I predict that most of these clubs will string kids along as long as possible with the plan that if they don't make the ECNL / DA teams, then they can "assign" them to or "suggest" another club team (with, of course, the "possible opportunity" to get playing time on the ECNL  / DA team since you play for one of the Elite clubs).

Meh.

90% will be figured out by the end of next week.  After 1-2 practices, it will be pretty clear to most who has the goods and who doesn't.  Some will figure it out on their own, and some will be told by the coaches that they should explore other options, either within the club or outside the club.  The ECNL/DA coaches won't waste their time with kids they have no intention of considering.

There will always be bubble kids.  That's a fact of life with tryouts for any competitive team in any sport.  But this will only be a small number of kids, not the majority.

You mean like last year?  

After WEEKS of JDL tryouts at Sting, FC Dallas, and Solar, there were still well more than the number of kids than would make those teams still out there.  I know girls that attended multiple (more than 2 weeks worth) practices at one or all and were never spoken to.  I know a player who attended around 8 solar practices prior to other options being discussed.

After 2 weeks+ of FC Dallas JDL practices, how many girls were still there?  WAY more than the number needed to fill 2 JDL teams.

...and the JdL teams that were fielded, aside from the top 2 or 3, provided nothing more than solid competition for the top 10-12 in LH.

Sound like poor judgement from the parents. Inquire, open lines of communication, be proactive. If you were working out for weeks and had not been spoken to then you probably didn't get the hint.

That also will change as the league matures. ECNL had the same critics saying the same things when it came on line. What now?

BW, there may be some truth to what you say. Merely trying to be thought provoking as opposed to passing judgement.

Zizou wrote:Sound like poor judgement from the parents. Inquire, open lines of communication, be proactive. If you were working out for weeks and had not been spoken to then you probably didn't get the hint.

Players were told to "keep coming" - as in the Solar example - "we want to see more of you."

Where is the interest in FC Dallas telling players to stop coming if they can possibly place them on other teams?  And as the spring winds down, players have fewer options at other clubs.

FC Dallas had coaches out from D1, DII and DIII level teams "assisting" - they certainly weren't there to determine if Suzi is a JDL level player.

Zizou wrote:Sound like poor judgement from the parents. Inquire, open lines of communication, be proactive. If you were working out for weeks and had not been spoken to then you probably didn't get the hint.

Ummm... +1

Can't help parents who aren't willing to step up and be parents.

It's a silly game, but it really can't be avoided. The cubs/ coaches know what talent they have and for the most part what is out there. Many of the coaches have been coaching in their respective age group for years- there simply aren't many players that are going to show up at these "tryouts" and surprise them. They have their team picked from their current players and an eye on some talent at the other top clubs. They are looking to steal talent from the other top teams. All the other players that show up are there simply so the club can save face and say it was an open tryout- and as silliness said to convince them that their CLUB is the better club and that little suzi should consider the D1 or D2 options at that club with the chance of moving up (won't happen -only in very rare case).

So that's the game, but we as parents all know this by now don't we? I mean if you think your D2 player is going to show up and win a DA spot and the coach doesn't know her name, you are doing your daughter a huge disservice. Play within yourself. If parents/players are sheep in this, they are totally at fault, not the club. The game hasn't changed. And it won't. Would you prefer no open tryouts?

The goal is to utilize the talent as it was designed but the dual rosters will continue...until the clubs decide to focus on development and not the almighty dollar we will continue to hear the same speech, I have a dream...be smart and find a good fit for your kids there's some really good teams looking for a couple of good players to continue the journey together.nothing is real till July then you can decide.

dreadpirateroberts wrote:  The clubs/ coaches know what talent they have and for the most part what is out there.  They are looking to steal talent from the other top teams.  

So that's the game, but we as parents all know this by now don't we?  

All acronyms aside, it has been this way for years. The only thing different these days is the clubs have effectively shifted the parent choice from coach to club for the most part.

dreadpirateroberts wrote:It's a silly game, but it really can't be avoided.  The cubs/ coaches know what talent they have and for the most part what is out there.  Many of the coaches have been coaching in their respective age group for years- there simply aren't many players that are going to show up at these "tryouts" and surprise them.  They have their team picked from their current players and an eye on some talent at the other top clubs.  They are looking to steal talent from the other top teams.  All the other players that show up are there simply so the club can save face and say it was an open tryout- and as silliness said to convince them that their CLUB is the better club and that little suzi should consider the D1 or D2 options at that club with the chance of moving up (won't happen -only in very rare case).

So that's the game, but we as parents all know this by now don't we?  I mean if you think your D2 player is going to show up and win a DA spot and the coach doesn't know her name, you are doing your daughter a huge disservice.  Play within yourself. If parents/players are sheep in this, they are totally at fault, not the club.  The game hasn't changed.  And it won't. Would you prefer no open tryouts?

SOB.... I knew it was rigged!!!!  

We will continue to see the same players in both leagues those are the facts....the kids that get poached or leave that their call good for them hope it works out...the rest of the kids sitting on the bench will decide their fate...hopefully some of them check out some teams needing some solid players.

If that's true, further solidifies my position on the ECNL stuff which is "what's the point". If all the top talent is going to be playing here anyway, I'll just wait until y'all get back from Houston. Call me and let me know.

SickofSilliness wrote:

Zizou wrote:Sound like poor judgement from the parents. Inquire, open lines of communication, be proactive. If you were working out for weeks and had not been spoken to then you probably didn't get the hint.

Players were told to "keep coming" - as in the Solar example - "we want to see more of you."

Where is the interest in FC Dallas telling players to stop coming if they can possibly place them on other teams?  And as the spring winds down, players have fewer options at other clubs.

FC Dallas had coaches out from D1, DII and DIII level teams "assisting" - they certainly weren't there to determine if Suzi is a JDL level player.

Fool me once, shame on you...  fool me twice... come on the forum and complain about how it was all your fault...

Same old story same old song and dance.

I think if a club tells you "we want to see more of you" that is a polite way of saying your daughter isn't good enough but will be considered if plan A,B and C all choose not to play here.

BigErn wrote:

So ..... You have a kid that has the ability and enjoys playing at the top level against top comp year round + Some of the clubs offer these programs = Why the hell wouldn't you be at tryouts for one of those programs?

The aforementioned clubs aren't telling us anything ... Just offering the programs.  The choice is in the hands of our kids and us -- Both club and program.

Begs the question -- Where will the naysayers go when they say, "no"?

The naysayers go to LHGCL D1.

Just an observation for the sake of perpetuating this thread. Every player off of my DD's team was at said clubs first DA practice. Plus a few more.

So your daughters Entire JDL team was at last nights DA practice? To be expected.

No my friend that would be her entire u14 ECNL team.

Cleansheets wrote:No my friend that would be her entire u14 ECNL team.

Oh dang.

These aren't DA tryouts, they're ECNL tryouts. The DA coaches know they're going to take the clubs ECNL players and then try to "steal" players from other ECNL teams (as another post said). In the case of U14 the coaches will grab the JDL players. Come on, how many D1 and D2 newcomers do you think Pulp will take over girls that have been playing for him already?

ColtMcVince wrote:So your daughters Entire JDL team was at last nights DA practice?  To be expected.

...and it wasn't last night.

I'm confused now. Your DD's entire U14 ECNL team was at a U13 DA practice?

C'mon now, you're smarter that that. Why would an 03 team be at an 04 DA practice? I was refering to our clubs 03 DA practice. Using it as an example for discussion because some were doubting the number of girls that would turn out for DA in general.