FC Boston problems

[Unregistered]

I'll take a shot at explaining it, they are good enough to play at Duke.

None of them played in the ECNL until after they had committed and they are only in it during this transition year to the DA. Sort of shoots the whole "How many Top 25 commits with significant (>20%) scholarships are not from ECNL" monologue right in the foot. Another local NT player that never played in the ECNL is the girl who played for Oakwood that is down at Penn State. There is another girl playing for UConn who was playing for NEFC when she committed that never played in the ECNL either. The whole point about the top playing having to play in the ECNL is nothing but marketing hype and really a false narrative because if you look at the players from this region who are playing/committed for schools in the top 25 there aren't any that were products of the ECNL.

[Unregistered]

None of them played in the ECNL until after they had committed and they are only in it during this transition year to the DA. Sort of shoots the whole "How many Top 25 commits with significant (>20%) scholarships are not from ECNL" monologue right in the foot. Another local NT player that never played in the ECNL is the girl who played for Oakwood that is down at Penn State. There is another girl playing for UConn who was playing for NEFC when she committed that never played in the ECNL either. The whole point about the top playing having to play in the ECNL is nothing but marketing hype and really a false narrative because if you look at the players from this region who are playing/committed for schools in the top 25 there aren't any that were products of the ECNL.

No one ever said it was wasn't possible. But they are few and far between. If you are pursuing something, generally it makes sense to play the best odds. Of course lesser odds come up. Hence why DAP will attract top talent. 2nd level though has to carefully consider the strength of programs. You cannot deny that the ECNL has gone out and scooped up many of the former top NPL programs that weren't in the ECNL, NEFC notwithstanding.

[Unregistered]

None of them played in the ECNL until after they had committed and they are only in it during this transition year to the DA. Sort of shoots the whole "How many Top 25 commits with significant (>20%) scholarships are not from ECNL" monologue right in the foot. Another local NT player that never played in the ECNL is the girl who played for Oakwood that is down at Penn State. There is another girl playing for UConn who was playing for NEFC when she committed that never played in the ECNL either. The whole point about the top playing having to play in the ECNL is nothing but marketing hype and really a false narrative because if you look at the players from this region who are playing/committed for schools in the top 25 there aren't any that were products of the ECNL.

You tell 'em, BTNT!

[Unregistered]

No one ever said it was wasn't possible. But they are few and far between. If you are pursuing something, generally it makes sense to play the best odds. Of course lesser odds come up. Hence why DAP will attract top talent. 2nd level though has to carefully consider the strength of programs. You cannot deny that the ECNL has gone out and scooped up many of the former top NPL programs that weren't in the ECNL, NEFC notwithstanding.

Same old song except the words don't ring true. There are so many exceptions to your rules at this point that the supposed "rules" don't make sense. NEFC has proven unequivocally that the top talent didn't all flock to the ECNL like its sycophants are apt to tell everyone. That is just a fact, deal with it. Those sycophants want to paint the DA and the ECNL as being essentially the same when they aren't. The reason the top tier players will flock in large numbers to the DA is because it is more intense than the ECNL, not because USSF anointed it the top of the player development pyramid. Anyone who knows anything about what is happening in youth soccer can see that the ECNL swooping in and offering ECNL slots to a bunch of mediocre clubs is nothing but a desperate attempt to keep the league alive. Once parents figure out that are spending all sorts of money travelling across the country to play against a steady diet of "B" and "C" level teams the ECNL will collapse and be replaced by regional leagues like the NEP. If FC Boston had any business acumen at all, what they would do is bow out of the ECNL and follow the GPS game plan of catering to the "B" and "C" level players instead of constantly trying to sell the ECNL myth.

[Unregistered]

Same old song except the words don't ring true. There are so many exceptions to your rules at this point that the supposed "rules" don't make sense. NEFC has proven unequivocally that the top talent didn't all flock to the ECNL like its sycophants are apt to tell everyone. That is just a fact, deal with it. Those sycophants want to paint the DA and the ECNL as being essentially the same when they aren't. The reason the top tier players will flock in large numbers to the DA is because it is more intense than the ECNL, not because USSF anointed it the top of the player development pyramid. Anyone who knows anything about what is happening in youth soccer can see that the ECNL swooping in and offering ECNL slots to a bunch of mediocre clubs is nothing but a desperate attempt to keep the league alive. Once parents figure out that are spending all sorts of money travelling across the country to play against a steady diet of "B" and "C" level teams the ECNL will collapse and be replaced by regional leagues like the NEP. If FC Boston had any business acumen at all, what they would do is bow out of the ECNL and follow the GPS game plan of catering to the "B" and "C" level players instead of constantly trying to sell the ECNL myth.

Yawn!

[Unregistered]

Same old song except the words don't ring true. There are so many exceptions to your rules at this point that the supposed "rules" don't make sense. NEFC has proven unequivocally that the top talent didn't all flock to the ECNL like its sycophants are apt to tell everyone. That is just a fact, deal with it. Those sycophants want to paint the DA and the ECNL as being essentially the same when they aren't. The reason the top tier players will flock in large numbers to the DA is because it is more intense than the ECNL, not because USSF anointed it the top of the player development pyramid. Anyone who knows anything about what is happening in youth soccer can see that the ECNL swooping in and offering ECNL slots to a bunch of mediocre clubs is nothing but a desperate attempt to keep the league alive. Once parents figure out that are spending all sorts of money travelling across the country to play against a steady diet of "B" and "C" level teams the ECNL will collapse and be replaced by regional leagues like the NEP. If FC Boston had any business acumen at all, what they would do is bow out of the ECNL and follow the GPS game plan of catering to the "B" and "C" level players instead of constantly trying to sell the ECNL myth.

Those mediocre clubs produced the teams that your NEFC kids played against to get to the national championships that spurred the interest in the first place.

GPS...funny. Good for the pockets, not for the development (at least on the girls side. Boys have been fine).

One more thing you blockhead - GPS and other "regional" league participants still travel extensively to showcases all up and down the east coast. You clearly have zero understanding of airline costs and what drives them.

[Unregistered]

NEFC has proven unequivocally that if you have huge sums of money in a "mom and pop" soccer industry you can buy coaches that steal players and teams from other clubs, offer free soccer to good players to entice them to come, and buy other clubs and increase your player pools to scale up to become a mega club fairly quickly. You can also buy your way into DA with a Breakers deal and hope you keep it. As a result, you can also claim the ECNL sucks because your teams dominate in inferior leagues and beat up on weaker clubs that don't have your resources in a "mom and pop" landscape. NEFC will be strong ECNL club and everyone knew that, just not as dominant as they were in other leagues.

NEFC has some great players. If NEFC works for them then that's great. You clearly don't need ECNL if you are a top player at NEFC. I would point out that NEFC is exceptional in the above regard. The truth is that both NEFC and ECNL are giving kids good opportunities and good for them for doing that. The kids have to walk through that door on their individual talent and their own hard work. Obviously many kids mentioned here are doing just that and in my opinion they all should be commended for it!

[Unregistered]

Same old song except the words don't ring true. There are so many exceptions to your rules at this point that the supposed "rules" don't make sense. NEFC has proven unequivocally that the top talent didn't all flock to the ECNL like its sycophants are apt to tell everyone. That is just a fact, deal with it. Those sycophants want to paint the DA and the ECNL as being essentially the same when they aren't. The reason the top tier players will flock in large numbers to the DA is because it is more intense than the ECNL, not because USSF anointed it the top of the player development pyramid. Anyone who knows anything about what is happening in youth soccer can see that the ECNL swooping in and offering ECNL slots to a bunch of mediocre clubs is nothing but a desperate attempt to keep the league alive. Once parents figure out that are spending all sorts of money travelling across the country to play against a steady diet of "B" and "C" level teams the ECNL will collapse and be replaced by regional leagues like the NEP. If FC Boston had any business acumen at all, what they would do is bow out of the ECNL and follow the GPS game plan of catering to the "B" and "C" level players instead of constantly trying to sell the ECNL myth.

yes they did just not immediately...

[Unregistered]

as far as the Duke kids, they made their name with R1 ODP. So what there routes used to be ECNL highest chance, R1 and national league (often both) still with some real looks. They were identified in 8th grade also before the ECNL's clear dominance both by age and by ECNL timeline. The u14s haven't yet consolidated to the top of the pyramid. They still play ODP. Pick a Top level commit without at least one of these accolades. (exception the local kid)

[Unregistered]

Those mediocre clubs produced the teams that your NEFC kids played against to get to the national championships that spurred the interest in the first place.

Yes but they did that playing them around here versus playing them is Sand Diego or Seattle

GPS...funny. Good for the pockets, not for the development (at least on the girls side. Boys have been fine).

GPS does a great job of developing and meeting the expectations of the B and C level players. That is why they have grown tremendously and no doubt are hugely profitable. Those profits allow them to do more for underprivileged families than just about any club in tthis state. FCB might be well served following their lead.

One more thing you blockhead - GPS and other "regional" league participants still travel extensively to showcases all up and down the east coast. You clearly have zero understanding of airline costs and what drives them.

Driving down to PDA or flying down to either CASL or the Jefferson Cup doe not cost the same as flying to San Diego or Seattle.

[Unregistered]

Same old song except the words don't ring true. There are so many exceptions to your rules at this point that the supposed "rules" don't make sense. NEFC has proven unequivocally that the top talent didn't all flock to the ECNL like its sycophants are apt to tell everyone. That is just a fact, deal with it. Those sycophants want to paint the DA and the ECNL as being essentially the same when they aren't. The reason the top tier players will flock in large numbers to the DA is because it is more intense than the ECNL, not because USSF anointed it the top of the player development pyramid. Anyone who knows anything about what is happening in youth soccer can see that the ECNL swooping in and offering ECNL slots to a bunch of mediocre clubs is nothing but a desperate attempt to keep the league alive. Once parents figure out that are spending all sorts of money travelling across the country to play against a steady diet of "B" and "C" level teams the ECNL will collapse and be replaced by regional leagues like the NEP. If FC Boston had any business acumen at all, what they would do is bow out of the ECNL and follow the GPS game plan of catering to the "B" and "C" level players instead of constantly trying to sell the ECNL myth.

You tell 'em, BTNT!

[Unregistered]

NEFC has proven unequivocally that if you have huge sums of money in a "mom and pop" soccer industry you can buy coaches that steal players and teams from other clubs, offer free soccer to good players to entice them to come, and buy other clubs and increase your player pools to scale up to become a mega club fairly quickly. You can also buy your way into DA with a Breakers deal and hope you keep it. As a result, you can also claim the ECNL sucks because your teams dominate in inferior leagues and beat up on weaker clubs that don't have your resources in a "mom and pop" landscape. NEFC will be strong ECNL club and everyone knew that, just not as dominant as they were in other leagues.

NEFC has some great players. If NEFC works for them then that's great. You clearly don't need ECNL if you are a top player at NEFC. I would point out that NEFC is exceptional in the above regard. The truth is that both NEFC and ECNL are giving kids good opportunities and good for them for doing that. The kids have to walk through that door on their individual talent and their own hard work. Obviously many kids mentioned here are doing just that and in my opinion they all should be commended for it!

Your argument is with US Club Soccer, not NEFC. US Club Soccer was the entity that told everyone that bigger clubs could do a better job than the mom and pop clubs that made up US Youth Soccer could. They won the war and so now you have the era of Mega clubs. Look around the country, unless you want to talk about the few clubs that are basically toys for millionaires to play with can't think of a single mom and pop club that is really relevant in the discussion of top talent producing clubs in the country. Youth soccer is now a pretty big business so having smart business people run a club like NEFC is more the order of the day than having a club run by some soccer crazed enthusiast like years ago.

[Unregistered]

Yes but they did that playing them around here versus playing them is Sand Diego or Seattle

Wrong. They played them at showcases and national championship events at distant locations


GPS does a great job of developing and meeting the expectations of the B and C level players. That is why they have grown tremendously and no doubt are hugely profitable. Those profits allow them to do more for underprivileged families than just about any club in tthis state. FCB might be well served following their lead.

GPS....you have arguable points before you bring them into the equation. Their track record is terrible since the class of 2014 on the girls side. Although nobel in your mind, as a parent with kids that have been in each of the big 4, I have seen them all fund underprivleged kids. Each has fundraisers each year for that specific purpose. SJW tactics here are misapplied.

Driving down to PDA or flying down to either CASL or the Jefferson Cup doe not cost the same as flying to San Diego or Seattle.

A quick check of flights three months out shows about $150 dif between flights to Raleigh vs SD. Not negligible but not extreme either. Almost all clubs with college prospects go to one of the Florida events at the same time of the year. As for Seattle, ECNL has moved the playoffs to Chicago this year and it has been in Colorado. Notwithstanding, it's a lot easier to plan when you know you are going 6 months in advance than having to play in with about month advance notice, even if it is only Indiana, Oklahoma, Texas or wherever the championship series is (W.Virginia no longer seems to the place).

[Unregistered]

Your argument is with US Club Soccer, not NEFC. US Club Soccer was the entity that told everyone that bigger clubs could do a better job than the mom and pop clubs that made up US Youth Soccer could. They won the war and so now you have the era of Mega clubs. Look around the country, unless you want to talk about the few clubs that are basically toys for millionaires to play with can't think of a single mom and pop club that is really relevant in the discussion of top talent producing clubs in the country. Youth soccer is now a pretty big business so having smart business people run a club like NEFC is more the order of the day than having a club run by some soccer crazed enthusiast like years ago.

You got the toy for a millionaire right with NEFC.

[Unregistered]

as far as the Duke kids, they made their name with R1 ODP. So what there routes used to be ECNL highest chance, R1 and national league (often both) still with some real looks. They were identified in 8th grade also before the ECNL's clear dominance both by age and by ECNL timeline. The u14s haven't yet consolidated to the top of the pyramid. They still play ODP. Pick a Top level commit without at least one of these accolades. (exception the local kid)

All of those kid were identified at U11-12 which way before the ECNL was even a thought. In other parts of the country the ECNL grew by raiding non ECNL clubs of players like them. In this area neither the Stars nor FCB were very successful in recruiting those types of players away from the "NPL" clubs like NEFC, Aztec, or GPS because those clubs all fought back and sold their players on the idea that they didn't need the ECNL.