The environment is broken – let’s fix it

[Unregistered]

No one really has to worry about losing their team under this "super team" scenario because the clubs would be adding a level and that new level is the only level where you would have promo/relegation. The proposal would simply create roster pressure that some players would probably find desirable because it would give all of the top players in the club a team to aspire to and play together on.

As I see it this is exactly the type of situation a coach who has their player's best interests in mind would love to have because then their top player wouldn't be forced to find another club. The only time that would happen is if that top team wasn't good enough and got relegated out. An additional benefit would obviously be that the clubs could dual roster the player and keep them on the age appropriate team also if that is what everyone wanted to do. Seems win-win to me.

So the players who benefit are the ones already benefiting with access to RTs and NTs? Why would a player at those levels already on a top team be forced to find another club as things stand now? Is that happening?

[Unregistered]

You could get relegated out of the open league. Might impact some of the other players on those lower level teams as players move down to their age appropriate teams at the next highest level. More likely though those top level players will just move to another club if their team gets relegated.

So where are the teams being promoted from. Why would teams be in this league when they could stay where they are?

[Unregistered]

Doesn't that suggest something is broken if a team goes 15-0 and wins 67% of their games in blowout.

Would also suggest that the landscape really changes between the U13 level and the U17 level. If a U17 team is getting blown out that frequently would anyone disagree they don't belong? The fact is you don't really see that once teams get to the high school years.

That would suggest that, if that was their record in their league. Their record in the league is much more reasonable. That is the record against the most local teams. That is why the system works. The generally don't bother playing those teams.

My point is there is no reason to play against those teams. That is why they wouldn't be interested in your idea.

Before you say but what about the super teams, I will tell that the super teams will not make for better competition, it will actually make for more blow outs. With rare exception, the top clubs are strong in most age groups. Add together the best players from several strong teams and you will increase the separation from the competition. Making blowouts more common.

[Unregistered]

So where are the teams being promoted from. Why would teams be in this league when they could stay where they are?

I think the poster is mincing words so that it doesn't sound like ECNL and that's why he keeps throwing in the promo/relegation bit which really is just confusing things. He's basically asking for a regional super league with an open age group so that a few U14 and U15 can play with the best U17s and U18s. So really wouldn't have anything to do with existing leagues and hence the reference to dual rostering. Just another elite opportunity among many, and not clear how this really benefits the U17 and U18 kids.

[Unregistered]

Unless those U17-18's are used to playing with all D1 prospects (rarely) they will be playing with better teammates. Unless the club is relatively weak all of the players on this sort of team will be legit D1 prospects. Even the younger ones who would more than likely represent the bottom part of the roster.

[Unregistered]

Given the recent unveiling of NEFC's new IDP program, it seemed appropriate to bump this back up.

[Unregistered]

Given the recent unveiling of NEFC's new IDP program, it seemed appropriate to bump this back up.

yawn!

[Unregistered]

Given the discussion in the U20 WNT thread it seemed appropriate to bring this thread back because many of the issues were first raised in it,

[Unregistered]

Given the discussion in the U20 WNT thread it seemed appropriate to bring this thread back because many of the issues were first raised in it,

Bump it up because of NEFC's IDP unveiling. Bump it up because of U20 WNT talk. Of course. Thanks, BTDT.

[Unregistered]

Bump it up because of NEFC's IDP unveiling. Bump it up because of U20 WNT talk. Of course. Thanks, BTDT.

Sure give him all of the bows.

[Unregistered]

I don’t think we need to necessarily recreate the world to fix all of this. There are a lot of existing components out there that if you pulled them together into one competitive environment would go a long way towards fixing things.

The first is component is promo-relegation. MAPLE had it right, we need promo-relegation to keep the clubs pushing hard to develop/recruit players and to ensure the highest competitive level possible. There should be multiple divisions that you must prove you are competitive in, in order to stay in one. In order to move up you must beat everyone but if you can’t do that consistently enough you move down and at some point you get thrown out.

Next, no more county club leagues where you can buy admission. USYS had it right. Everything should be proved on the field and not because of strategic partnerships. A great team from a small mom and pop club should have just as much access to the highest level of competition as the mega clubs do. There should be a very rigid and transparent application process that dovetails with the promo-relegation process.

Next, divide the country into reasonable groupings to make the logistics of running the league more sensible than our current national league offering. Somewhere in between the large fixed structure that USYS has for its regions and what DAP or USCS (ECNL/NPL) have for their regions is a sensible synergy that would facilitate strong intra regional competition without breaking the banks of the families involved.

The last thing is we need to do is get rid of the age groups. We need to create something like DAP but with only 1 possible age group. A true open level. A club would be allowed to enter only 1 team which could be comprised of any players capable of making the roster so long as they are still in high school.

I believe that once you fix the top tier of club soccer by making it so that there is a clearly definable merit based path for the “top” players to aspire to that the other levels will begin to make more sense as all of the talent seeks its highest and most competitive level. Right now that highest level is strictly a beauty contest where the “value” is wholly dependent on perception shaped by marketing hype. The truth is that value is largely homogenized for the benefit of the masses. I think if we can fix that everyone will benefit.

This is for the people who wish to discuss where the WNT is at and whether it needs to be fixed.