who is the best ECNL 01 team?

haterinho wrote:

1more_dd_dad wrote:

Pinnochio wrote:

I have tons of confidence that you will attempt to do that coach. No problems with your commitment and dedication to providing the best training and competition possible. I do have some doubts that your team will continue to be able to play those top teams. Mainly just don't agree with 4-3-3 and his nonstop PR machine.

THIS^^^^^^^ I think it just rubs some of us the wrong way to be categorized as sheep, lemmings, buying a bill of goods, ect...  Some of us have had DD's on the same team for years and it has nothing to do with ECNL.  To have a "numbers" guy constantly ignore numbers in regards to ECNL is silly, just admit it is going to be an uphill battle.  We all know the success Kicks has had and probably will continue have and if there is a coach out there to do it Juan is probably the guy.  Now to what Poppi said, should be a two horse fight between Sting/Solar with Lonestar being the strongest non-DFW team.

If you're really wanting to do this dance, you need to be precise. Sheep and lemmings are your words alone...never once uttered or written by me.

The "sold a bill of goods" was reference to that % of ECNL parents who bought a patch but will see very little, if any, ECNL minutes the entire year. I'm suggesting it is these parents invested in throwing shade towards kicks at every opportunity. It's a defense mechanism to justify their own decisions.

The parents confident of their child's status as an elite player have no need for such nonsense. Why does it matter to them whether kicks continues to be a top shelf team or not? Why does it concern them what happens in LH D1? It doesn't. It only makes sense that borderline parents, not parents of actual ECNL participants, would have any need to make statements like d1 is now "a bunch of ECNL holdovers", or take illogical shots at an Oklahoma team that has more than held their own against the best in NTX. Why would the parents of truly elite players need to try so hard with these jabs?

ECNL rosters turn over these borderline players every year; problem is this is ECNL u14...first year...and a good many still THINK they are in that playing group, but are about realize they might've been throwing rocks prematurely. That's why the gloves are off this summer...but I predict this will die down once reality sets in this fall.

Now when it comes to numbers, I did a very comprehensive analysis of ECNL vs non-ECNL college commitments. There was nothing ignored. The majority of top players in the country commit from ECNL clubs. The trends are accelerating on this each year. In most regions (not all), there is little doubt of the supremacy of ECNL as the top competitive platform. As ECNL continues adding clubs (and hopefully kicking out the scrubs), that will continue to be the case. There is no inconsistency, subterfuge or pipe dream in anything I've posted. LOL.

But I have confirmed that this idea players don't commit to top schools unless they are ECNL may be true in NTX, but is not true in other markets. 30 to 40% of commits nation wide are non ECNL, and these commits happen even in markets where there are ECNL clubs nearby. There are top soccer schools that still sign non ECNL players. I didn't go off forum parent posts. I rolled the numbers myself. That says to me colleges do not believe ECNL has ALL the talent, and that merely being in ECNL is no guarantee of anything.

As far as admitting anything...it's an uphill battle whether your kid is in ECNL or not. Your kid has just as much an uphill battle as mine. Their individual development is what matters most in the end, and I don't happen to believe the league alone has all that much impact on developing the player. It's the coaching they're exposed to, the team's competitive environment, and most importantly the player's own desire and ability.

I also don't think kids get "discovered" because they play ECNL and hundreds of coaches are randomly watching games and offering scholarships to kids with whom they had no prior awareness or contact. ECNL helps, but it looks to me the process is still the same as pre ECNL era. Players identify their target schools, solicit contact and the coaches have to be interested enough to watch them play.

So the bottom line for Kicks (or anyone else non ECNL) is can INDIVIDUAL players continue to develop at the same or better pace as their peers, and get their targeted coaches to watch them play when it matters.

Time will tell. But, I wouldn't bet against them, and I certainly wouldn't hold tight to the idea coaches will ignore their talent because they play surf cup and national league instead of ECNL.

tschlurker wrote:With regard to one of the Kicksters saying: "What teams will NTX ecnl teams be playing at U14? Surf, Blues, Slammers, Hawks, Bethesda, Arsenal, Legends etc......? We have played all these teams and will play them in the future."

How exactly does that happen?  It is far more likely that a non-ECNL U14 team, no matter how good, will never play the ECNL team of one of the top ECNL clubs -- you will play B teams only.  Would think most ECNL clubs would not want their ECNL teams playing non-ECNL teams, as they have nothing to gain from a club perspective.

Big Poppy wrote:My daughter played in the AYSES Summer Classic this weekend and I have to say the weather was brutal.  Not only for the players, but for the fans.  

Is there a point where games should not be played due to heat?  I realize these are young and resilient girls, but the level of play at the end of this tournament was nothing compared to the first few games.  

Maybe I'm just a wimp!

Soccer Madman wrote:Speaking of wimps, I am too lazy to check the results of the tournament.  I assume Solar Red blew past everyone to easily win the championship?

Ntxrocks wrote:Real deep bracket too Shelby.   I heard Texans beat a u8 team 24-0 in a win that was a bit more impressive.  

kickin-it wrote:

Ntxrocks wrote:Real deep bracket too Shelby.   I heard Texans beat a u8 team 24-0 in a win that was a bit more impressive.  

I really don't think anyone went into this tournament thinking they would be playing the best of the best no matter who you are. Some teams played better competition than others depending on where your team is right now. You can only play the teams that enter, right?

Anyway, at this point (season hasn't started yet), seems to me you're trying to get some games under your belt with the newly formed rosters to get a sense of where you are right now, where you see gaps and where you feel you can improve so can be better when the season does start.

Sorta like NFL preseason  

Shelby01 wrote:is solar not going to be playing any pre game soccer ?

Gunners wrote:Judging from the result of a scrimmage last night, the best '01 team might be an '02 team.