https://www.soccertoday.com/nc-coura...s-high-school/
Interesting article and appears to give each side some fodder to attack the other with.
Interesting article and appears to give each side some fodder to attack the other with.
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Why is he saying he has youth teams in ecnl? What teams he is talking about?Originally posted by Unregistered View Post -
https://www.ncfcyouth.com/Default.aspx?tabid=2292509Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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Is he involved with that club? Does he have a financial interest?Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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Some half truths in that piece:
That the no HS rule in BDA "met little resistance"; boys no other good options like ECNL. It is a difficult decision to make for many boys and one they'd prefer not to have to make
"A few HS games": he used NY as an example but different regions play HS at different times and many states have some types of rules restricting dual play to avoid coach abuse and player burnout. It's nearly impossible to run a national league that allows HS when it's different everywhere. USSF can change it's rules but they can't change the state rules.
That the boys can go straight into the MLS: That still is an incredible rarity. Sure those kids with pro potential should be training full time with MLS clubs. But the vast majority, just like the girls, will never be pro players. Their goal is also college. Is giving up HS necessary for them?Comment
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No thanks. He is not listed at all as staff or director. His own youth clubs in NY are both gda.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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Boys DA clubs here stink. Why would a boy give up high school soccer? The argument can be made that high school soccer better prepares players for college soccer than DA does.Comment
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Two things struck me:
1) he favors practices over games. I’d be really interested in what his practices are like since I’ve heard more coaches say that learning happens more in games where you are testing yourself against a real opponent.
2) I like the idea of a spring college season, but I think 15 games per season is too much. I don’t even think the weather in the northern states would allow that. With school breaks and exam periods I think an 8 game per regular season with a few more thrown in for playoffs is more realistic. I wonder if Riley would change his tune on practices vs. games in that scenario.Comment
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If a coach is a poor one (and they are certainly out there) then practicing more isn't helping players. On the Revs thread people were joking about how it's better that the Revs don't practice 4 days/week :). I see both sides of the practice vs game argument. What makes it tough with ECNL is that both games are typically back to back with no rest in between.Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
However, college spring season won't happen. 1) Soccer is a non revenue sport so schools won't want to spend more on it. 2) soccer gets a full year what about all the other sports? They'll want it too. Almost every D1 athletic program runs a deficit and schools won't want that to increase. 3) Many players push off their more difficult classes to the spring (they are supposed to be students too right?).Comment
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I've never heard any coach concentrating on development say more happens in games than practices. In fact, there's an opinion of many coaches games are there to put in what you learn in practice, and now is the time to sit and watch (rarely happens).Comment
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very few coaches say it because it plays against what parents are paying for ...games and bragging rights. Getting better are anything is about the hours spent practicing. that not glamorous. No flights and fancy uniforms are needed. No awards, no fancy merchandising.Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
Very few people in the womens soccer industry in the USA care about really developing better players. No one gets paid to do it. Once you get to the pro, national teams, those in charge start to lament that fact because guess what, the player they get to draft or select are not very good !!
PR is no different. he has made a lot of money in the current system.Comment
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I’d take the interview with a grain of salt. USSF/DA/NWSL are all tied at the hip, and that inter-dependency will only get stronger as time goes on. Both the interviewer and Riley are speaking in those terms with Riley only conceding the ECNL is a current fact of life due to the desire for HS and college amongst girls. The rest is right from the DA playbook - 4 day practices and 1 game per week, drafting at 17, etc.
The fact that he believes there is still a 1-3 yr. development period for players coming out of the college draft is a not to subtle reminder that a pro coach is not getting what they want from the college game. Sure, anyone would have an adjustment period turning pro, but would any other pro sport coach acknowledge a 1-3 yr period? I don’t think so and haven’t seen any other pro program have that level of patience.
Just like in the boys game, USSF seems committed to eventually pulling the majority or all of NT players from DA. Since USSF pays for NT players on NWSL rosters and those players are so crucial to NWSL, any player who hopes for a pro or NT career will eventually need to go DA. I would not look at the current (ECNL) situation as a proxy for what will happen over the next 5-7 years. BTW, I’m not for or against either DA or ECNL, but I see the writing on the wall.Comment
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Most of the kids called to NT camps are from the da already. Thing is that the other 99 percent say so what and do what they want to do. The NT kids are having to train with pretty average talent. I think they need to put the NT girls into the boys mls academies to get them the proper training partners and forget the girls only da.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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I think the current arrangement where existing private clubs play in DA is short-term and untenable. Eventually, only academies associated with NWSL clubs will be in the DA. It might take some more rough years to get there, but I think that’s the direction.Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
The issue will be separating college from pro league as the “pinnacle” of women’s soccer in the minds of players/parents. Right now, getting into a top D1 program is seen as that pinnacle, but most in USSF realize it is not optimal to be competitive in the current pro/international environment. I think access to NT will be the only card USSF can play to convince players/parents to pursue a different path.Comment
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