ENPL is a cup tournament with teams from boys ECNL and certain NPL leagues.

The actual league is Boys ECNL

http://www.boysecnl.com/

The Boys ECNL will include both regular season conference games and cross-conference events, and qualifying teams from the Boys ECNL will advance to the post-season Elite National Premier League (ENPL) Playoffs.

US Club taking us all for a ride straight to the bank. Everyone wants an elite tag but not everyone is elite.

Explain. If you kid is already playing NPL, there might be more travel but not much more. Who knows what is gonna look like.

As opposed to what USSF is doing with GDA? ECNL and USSF are in a turf battle. Players will have more choices but it won't help improve soccer

ECNL will lose.

As usual, kids and parents will lose.

All of these "elite" leagues are an attempt to force parents hands into paying top dollar for soccer training that can be done much cheaper with the same results.

If your child is a good player, then there is extraordinary pressure placed on the parents to play for abc elite club in xyz elite league. Playing alongside and against strong players is definitely a benefit in development. That said, there is no need to have so many leagues that spread out the local talent and then promote the need to travel to find worthy opponents in other parts of the country.

All of this nonsense just adds to the cost of soccer training for parents. It's gotten out of control.

Then don't participate. Nobody is forcing you.

Explain how the training can be done more cheaply and with the same result?

Definitely agree the number of leagues is ridiculous and very detrimental to soccer.

In a way, I feel like there is a disconnect between these two points of view. (Not trying to be a jerk here... looking for honest discussion).

You are agreeing with the number of leagues being ridiculous and very detrimental to soccer. So, I agree with you. But you are also asking how the training could be done more cheaply and with the same result? I would ask, is it possible that if we stopped having so many competing "elite leagues", the more talented players could truly gravitate to the two elite leagues (as an example), as opposed to being spread out over all these various leagues? As the teams/leagues consolidated, the players could have more local (and better) competition, training, etc... As for "cheaper", I'm not so sure about that since the clubs will continue to determine the fees (and parents will continue to pay). So, I guess my opinion on that is it could be done more cheaply, but it likely won't be simply due to the pressure on the clubs to make money.

The amount of players who are truly elite or of a high level is essentially going to remain the same no matter what. As much as some believe that the more elite leagues, the higher the level of play... I don't see that as happening at all.

Two changes would help
#1 - Don't force clubs to put a team in every age group. This is what is watering down the competition.
#2 - Mandate that at least 10% of each roster must come from a younger age group. That would promote player movement.

I personally would like to see the elimination of age groups altogether from u15-18 which would force clubs to put all of their best players on one team.

Not bad thoughts.

#1 - With so many lower leagues, I don't see how it's watered down. Kids playing in NEC and low-level NEP aren't hurting anyone.

#2 - Interesting. How would that promote player movement? Playing up works for some, not for others, so I think once you start to force a rule in that's tricky.

Last point, 100% agree.

I think that, eventually, most of the best teams in one region will gravitate to the same league. This pretty much just finished happening with NEP, with the last of the good teams migrating from MAPLE this past fall. For higher level play on the boys side, DA is obviously the top league (yes, there are always a few weak teams in any league, but overall the DA has the best quality). For some reason, the girls' side in our region for Elite teams has been more stratified, with ECNL and some obviously deserving teams being kept out of that league, and now with GDAP entering the scene. Hopefully, things will settle out soon enough so that all the top players will be playing in the same league within a few years.

I don't think training costs will get any lower. If anything, as our youth population develops into stronger soccer players, which most people agree is happening, it will demand higher level, better trained coaches, increasing costs. But most parents will realize that you get what you pay for here.

Where I really think tons of money can be saved is on tournaments and travel. Why any team in our area needs to travel out of state for good competition, except maybe the very oldest age groups, is something I can't understand. Teams that are blowing out other teams in the top brackets in their age group can simply enter any tournament playing a year up for stronger competition (or even two years for extraordinary cases) and still stay local. Do the older teams really need more than one showcase event out of state, when most players end up staying local anyway. Let the most Elite teams attend one big showcase, so that players looking for high level D1 or out of state D2&D3 can be seen, and then do some local showcases that attract area colleges and universities for the remaining players.

Face it, the system is set up for and by the clubs fro their benefit. Soccer level is NOT getting better, look at both the mens and women's national teams. like education throwing money at it is not the answer. It takes heart and hard work not prima donnas