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SA: So can they play for a Development Academy team and play high school soccer?
APRIL HEINRICHS: Not at the same time. The club can roster them. They can spend those two months out of the Development Academy, and then come back later in the season. The Girls Development Academy will be a 10-month season.
We’re saying girls have to make choices. There’s the Girls Development Academy. There’s high school soccer, ECNL, other leagues -- girls cannot do it all.
SA: But if I am a Development Academy club, I can roster them, let them go to play high school soccer, and they can come back and rejoin the team after the high school season?
APRIL HEINRICHS: Yes.
HS soccer isn't ten months long. Clubs won't want key players missing for easily up to four months. They might make a few exceptions for studs but the majority will be forced to give up HS sports (not just soccer). I find her description of HS soccer as being only social a bit offensive. There are many lessons to be learned in playing HS sports even if from a skill standpoint they come out neutral (I don't buy into the "regression" argument that some make, I leave it as indifferent). Her over-use argument is legit but clearly all they care about is protecting their most desired assets which is the top 1%. -
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So DA is 10 months with 2 off in the summer. Taking 4 more months off for high school season Late Oct-Jan. playoffs in Florida leaves the girls with 6 months of DA! Come on, what is this all about? DA needs to take a stance, high school or no high school for all in DA!Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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Hey, if you are good enough . . . you can get special "accomodations". That's how it has always been in just about every sport. Elite athletes always get special privileges beause they are . . . elite!!!Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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The DA in America will be subpar and the new ECNL if the players are allowed to do high school soccer.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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Here's a good quote from April:
"Do you think your daughter’s college-bound? And if she is, she should play on a Girls Development Academy team.
Because in college soccer, those girls are getting “paid” $30,000, $50,000, $60,000 a year [in scholarship] to play college soccer. College coaches want their future players to be in the Girls Development Academy."
She's way off the mark here. Sure, there are very select few that are getting the money she speaks of but a big majority of the players aren't getting nearly that much - especially with the trend of expanded roster sizes. Some players might only be getting books paid for. She's attempting to sell the dream that if you want to play DI soccer, you had better be in the GDA. Who is she trying to fool? There are a lot more players that will be freshmen at DI programs in any single year than there are spots in GDA.Comment
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USSF took the cop-out route and officially allows GDA players to play high school "if the academy club allows it". That way the Federation can look like the good guys and continue promoting GDA as the top tier program.Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
The truth is no club will actually allow this. If you join GDA thinking you will be playing high school you are incredibly naive. Special "accommodations" will be rare or non-existent.Comment
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This seals the decision to go Girls Dev. Academy. ECNL too risky
Thank you April!Comment
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Ask April to give you a list of Academy clubs that will actually allow girls to play High School soccer. Hint: It's an empty list. Don't be April Fooled.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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OMG!!! High School Soccer is so awesome. Tell everyone. They must join. Its so much fun!
Buffy, come play High School Soccer with me. Yay!Comment
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You are so naive. Some people think - "Well, let's see....my daughter is going to play in the Academy."This seals the decision to go Girls Dev. Academy. ECNL too risky
It's not that simple. There are a total of 6 GDA clubs throughout the entire state of Florida. Each club has 3 teams - 14/15, 16/17, 18/19. That's a total of 18 teams. USSF wants those teams to be pretty much equally divided between the two age groups that they represent. Proposed roster size is about 22 players. That's 11 players per age on each team, give or take. We're talking about approximately 66 players of each age throughout the entire state of Florida that will be be on a GDA team. That's not a lot of spots. Think your Little Mia will be good enough to make it?Comment
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We have been told our little Mia can play DA and play high school soccer because she is one of the exceptional ones.Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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Not only that, South Florida has 2 clubs. If you're in SFla, your better be one of the top 22 players at her age to end up on a GDA team. The same is true for the Tampa area - 2 clubs. There's one each in Jax and Orlando. So if you're in one of those areas your kid better be one of the 11 best at her age. I know that there will be soe that will travel great distances if they don't make the local GDA team but there is no guarantees that they will where they are willing to travel to. It's going to be very exclusive and people don't seem to realize that. They think that it's going to be as simple as "We're going to the GDA."Originally posted by Unregistered View PostComment
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