ECNL swings back at DA

USSF has already caved and split out the U14/U15 age groups.  The member clubs will soon drive the split of the U16/U17 age groups as well.  That will get them back to 5 top teams U14/U15/U16/U17/U18-19 to keep the fees coming with the same roster spots as ECNL.  This will bring the level of play right back to where ECNL is currently.  DA was supposed to be a level above ECNL with the combined teams, now it will end up right back at the ECNL level.  Same small numbers of market training invites, GNT/YNT pool players pulled from same regions.  

Its a power grab by USSF over US Club.  They are tired of the continuous ECNL press releases showing how many GNT/YNT are ECNL'ers.  USSF should have come to the table and merged/taken over ECNL from the very beginning. Egos wouldnt allow it.

SoccerTexas wrote:USSF has already caved and split out the U14/U15 age groups.  The member clubs will soon drive the split of the U16/U17 age groups as well.  That will get them back to 5 top teams U14/U15/U16/U17/U18-19 to keep the fees coming with the same roster spots as ECNL.  This will bring the level of play right back to where ECNL is currently.  DA was supposed to be a level above ECNL with the combined teams, now it will end up right back at the ECNL level.  Same small numbers of market training invites, GNT/YNT pool players pulled from same regions.  

Its a power grab by USSF over US Club.  They are tired of the continuous ECNL press releases showing how many GNT/YNT are ECNL'ers.  USSF should have come to the table and merged/taken over ECNL from the very beginning. Egos wouldnt allow it.

Agree, and it is unfortunate.

Having single age group competition inhibits the development of the best players. Nothing develops a player more than training with, competing against, and playing with players who are better than them.

Be it an athletic player, having to compete against a better athlete, a skilled player having to compete against a more skilled player, or a smart/read player having to compete against a more experienced, faster recognition player.

I think it's a good idea to split out u14/u15. One of the issues USSF has is narrowing the pool way too early trying to identify everyone at u12/u13.   u14/u15 being split keeps more players in the pool for a while longer. No reason clubs can't still have the super talented kids play up.

Doubtful USSF would ever split out the older age groups.  Only way DA ends up being same quality as ECNL is if costs aren't addressed at the top level. Even then, sub rules will still change the way the game is played.

Looks like Houston got its DA situation sorted out.
Just one team. Megaclub merger under the Houston Dash banner...
www.dynamodashyouth.com

http://www.soccerwire.com/news/clubs/youth-boys/houston-area-pro-youth-clubs-partner-to-create-youth-soccer-behemoth/

timmyh wrote:Looks like Houston got its DA situation sorted out.
Just one team. Megaclub merger under the Houston Dash banner...
www.dynamodashyouth.com

So it seems Houston has it figured out ... This is exactly what should happen in DFW from the recreational level on up.

Now for FCD to officially take the NWSL leap!

[quote="timmyh"]http://www.soccerwire.com/news/clubs/youth-boys/houston-area-pro-youth-clubs-partner-to-create-youth-soccer-behemoth/[/quote]


I guess Texas Rush on the boys side in DA is going away? Those kids will merge into Houston Dynamo DA? Fewer boys DA teams in the Texas Region?

The only certainty in Youth Soccer is change.

sprint wrote:

timmyh wrote:http://www.soccerwire.com/news/clubs/youth-boys/houston-area-pro-youth-clubs-partner-to-create-youth-soccer-behemoth/

I guess Texas Rush on the boys side in DA is going away?  Those kids will merge into Houston Dynamo DA?  Fewer boys DA teams in the Texas Region?  

The only certainty in Youth Soccer is change.  

Nope. There will be two Dynamo DA teams. Dynamo North and Dynamo South.

But only one girl DA team (Dash).

sprint wrote:

timmyh wrote:http://www.soccerwire.com/news/clubs/youth-boys/houston-area-pro-youth-clubs-partner-to-create-youth-soccer-behemoth/

I guess Texas Rush on the boys side in DA is going away?  Those kids will merge into Houston Dynamo DA?  Fewer boys DA teams in the Texas Region?  

The only certainty in Youth Soccer is change.  

Are Houston Express expanding past U12?

tpitty wrote:

sprint wrote:

timmyh wrote:http://www.soccerwire.com/news/clubs/youth-boys/houston-area-pro-youth-clubs-partner-to-create-youth-soccer-behemoth/

I guess Texas Rush on the boys side in DA is going away?  Those kids will merge into Houston Dynamo DA?  Fewer boys DA teams in the Texas Region?  

The only certainty in Youth Soccer is change.  

If Houston Express is expanding, it would just fill the gap of Texas Rush.
Are they expanding past U12 is the question.

They are not. Their campus is a few miles from the main Dynamo campus (now Dynamo South). Very, very unlikely Express (actually now called Rise FC as they also merged with Eclipse..a lot going of good changes/mergers going on in Houston) ever gets full DA membership.

[quote="timmyh"][quote="sprint"][quote="timmyh"]http://www.soccerwire.com/news/clubs/youth-boys/houston-area-pro-youth-clubs-partner-to-create-youth-soccer-behemoth/[/quote]


I guess Texas Rush on the boys side in DA is going away?  Those kids will merge into Houston Dynamo DA?  Fewer boys DA teams in the Texas Region?  

The only certainty in Youth Soccer is change.  [/quote]

Nope. There will be two Dynamo DA teams. Dynamo North and Dynamo South.

But only one girl DA team (Dash).[/quote]

Great, that drive to the woodlands is easier than the drive to Dynamo facility. Got to hold onto that Woodlands team. I guess Bear Branch park will be Dynamo North?

Where does that leave Houston Texans? No Girls DA and Dynamo/Dash pro club gobbling up all the talent....


Can a club have 2 DA teams????? North & South? Has anyone checked the constitution. Do we need a so called judge to take a look at this situation?

davito wrote:Where does that leave Houston Texans? No Girls DA and Dynamo/Dash pro club gobbling up all the talent....


Can a club have 2 DA teams????? North & South? Has anyone checked the constitution. Do we need a so called judge to take a look at this situation?

Texans Soccer Club - Houston is boys only.

davito wrote:Where does that leave Houston Texans? No Girls DA and Dynamo/Dash pro club gobbling up all the talent....


Can a club have 2 DA teams????? North & South? Has anyone checked the constitution. Do we need a so called judge to take a look at this situation?

Or in the case of NTX potentially an East and a West?

SoccerTexas wrote:

davito wrote:Where does that leave Houston Texans? No Girls DA and Dynamo/Dash pro club gobbling up all the talent....


Can a club have 2 DA teams????? North & South? Has anyone checked the constitution. Do we need a so called judge to take a look at this situation?

Texans Soccer Club - Houston is boys only.

Not even a girls DA club left for Houston Texans to merge with now Dash and Rush are merged with Dynamo.

Looks like we might expect more M&A activity in the Dallas metro area this year. With 4 DA teams for girls and 6 for boys plus ECNL and RPL etc. is is going to pay to be a very big club. Especially as USSF wants DA to be subsidized.

Latest rumor is that Lonestar surveyed the ECNL landscape, doesn't like what they see, and will be reversing their initial decision to forego the DA and just play ECNL. I assume they'll be let back into the fold.

So it looks like the Frontier Conference now shapes up with 10 teams and some natural travel partners...

Four Dallas teams (two pairs). Two Missouri teams. Two Colorado teams. Two South Texas teams.

Speaking of ECNL vs DA....

http://www.socceramerica.com/article/72332/anson-dorrance-on-girls-da-vs-ecnl-and-why-the.html

New director of the Girls DA appointed and she shares some opinions in Q&A.

http://www.ussoccerda.com/20170216-miriam-hickey-named-director-of-us-soccer-girls-development-academy

http://www.ussoccerda.com/20170216-feat-miriam-hickey-director-of-us-soccer-girls-development-academy-qa

davito wrote:New director of the Girls DA appointed and she shares some opinions in Q&A.

http://www.ussoccerda.com/20170216-miriam-hickey-named-director-of-us-soccer-girls-development-academy

http://www.ussoccerda.com/20170216-feat-miriam-hickey-director-of-us-soccer-girls-development-academy-qa

So, beneath the Q&A from the second link above, there are links to the Youth National Teams!

Whoops.  Only to the Men's Youth National Teams  

Apparently, the Women's teams aren't considered "Youth National Teams"

timmyh wrote:Latest rumor is that Lonestar surveyed the ECNL landscape, doesn't like what they see, and will be reversing their initial decision to forego the DA and just play ECNL. I assume they'll be let back into the fold.

So it looks like the Frontier Conference now shapes up with 10 teams and some natural travel partners...

Four Dallas teams (two pairs).  Two Missouri teams.  Two Colorado teams.  Two South Texas teams.

confirmed LS is back in DA

DA played hard ball with LS on boys DA, either you are a DA CLUB or not, both genders

its what is best imo

timmyh wrote:Likely wildly inaccurate prediction based on nothing but my own speculation for Texas that will make me look very silly in a couple weeks when this all shakes out:

DA: Dash, Lonestar, Texans, FCD, Solar
ECNL: Albion, Challenge, Classics Elite, Sting, D'Feeters

Sting (gambling that ECNL will still be a major draw for elite players for whom the DA isn't quite a great fit and seeing the writing on the wall that the resources behind the DA teams will be hard to compete with long term) tells ECNL they will drop out of DA and only focus on ECNL on the one condition that ECNL not allow any other Dallas DA team to field their 2nd team in ECNL.  It's a good deal for ECNL to keep an elite national name in North Texas and a good deal for Sting.  ECNL agrees.

Do I win a prize?

timmyh wrote:

timmyh wrote:Likely wildly inaccurate prediction based on nothing but my own speculation for Texas that will make me look very silly in a couple weeks when this all shakes out:

DA: Dash, Lonestar, Texans, FCD, Solar
ECNL: Albion, Challenge, Classics Elite, Sting, D'Feeters

Sting (gambling that ECNL will still be a major draw for elite players for whom the DA isn't quite a great fit and seeing the writing on the wall that the resources behind the DA teams will be hard to compete with long term) tells ECNL they will drop out of DA and only focus on ECNL on the one condition that ECNL not allow any other Dallas DA team to field their 2nd team in ECNL.  It's a good deal for ECNL to keep an elite national name in North Texas and a good deal for Sting.  ECNL agrees.

Do I win a prize?

Did I miss some news?

ForReal wrote:

timmyh wrote:

timmyh wrote:Likely wildly inaccurate prediction based on nothing but my own speculation for Texas that will make me look very silly in a couple weeks when this all shakes out:

DA: Dash, Lonestar, Texans, FCD, Solar
ECNL: Albion, Challenge, Classics Elite, Sting, D'Feeters

Sting (gambling that ECNL will still be a major draw for elite players for whom the DA isn't quite a great fit and seeing the writing on the wall that the resources behind the DA teams will be hard to compete with long term) tells ECNL they will drop out of DA and only focus on ECNL on the one condition that ECNL not allow any other Dallas DA team to field their 2nd team in ECNL.  It's a good deal for ECNL to keep an elite national name in North Texas and a good deal for Sting.  ECNL agrees.

Do I win a prize?

Did I miss some news?

Sting's website is suddenly and oddly scrubbed clean of any reference to the DA.

timmyh wrote:

timmyh wrote:Likely wildly inaccurate prediction based on nothing but my own speculation for Texas that will make me look very silly in a couple weeks when this all shakes out:

DA: Dash, Lonestar, Texans, FCD, Solar
ECNL: Albion, Challenge, Classics Elite, Sting, D'Feeters

Sting (gambling that ECNL will still be a major draw for elite players for whom the DA isn't quite a great fit and seeing the writing on the wall that the resources behind the DA teams will be hard to compete with long term) tells ECNL they will drop out of DA and only focus on ECNL on the one condition that ECNL not allow any other Dallas DA team to field their 2nd team in ECNL.  It's a good deal for ECNL to keep an elite national name in North Texas and a good deal for Sting.  ECNL agrees.

Do I win a prize?

You should, nice prediction there Timmy Turner. I can see that playing out.

timmyh wrote:

ForReal wrote:

timmyh wrote:

timmyh wrote:Likely wildly inaccurate prediction based on nothing but my own speculation for Texas that will make me look very silly in a couple weeks when this all shakes out:

DA: Dash, Lonestar, Texans, FCD, Solar
ECNL: Albion, Challenge, Classics Elite, Sting, D'Feeters

Sting (gambling that ECNL will still be a major draw for elite players for whom the DA isn't quite a great fit and seeing the writing on the wall that the resources behind the DA teams will be hard to compete with long term) tells ECNL they will drop out of DA and only focus on ECNL on the one condition that ECNL not allow any other Dallas DA team to field their 2nd team in ECNL.  It's a good deal for ECNL to keep an elite national name in North Texas and a good deal for Sting.  ECNL agrees.

Do I win a prize?

Did I miss some news?  

Sting's website is suddenly and oddly scrubbed clean of any reference to the DA.

I raised this issue about a week ago. Back then I couldn't find it. Was there ever anything or anything prominent about DA on its site?

ForReal wrote:

timmyh wrote:

ForReal wrote:

timmyh wrote:

timmyh wrote:Likely wildly inaccurate prediction based on nothing but my own speculation for Texas that will make me look very silly in a couple weeks when this all shakes out:

DA: Dash, Lonestar, Texans, FCD, Solar
ECNL: Albion, Challenge, Classics Elite, Sting, D'Feeters

Sting (gambling that ECNL will still be a major draw for elite players for whom the DA isn't quite a great fit and seeing the writing on the wall that the resources behind the DA teams will be hard to compete with long term) tells ECNL they will drop out of DA and only focus on ECNL on the one condition that ECNL not allow any other Dallas DA team to field their 2nd team in ECNL.  It's a good deal for ECNL to keep an elite national name in North Texas and a good deal for Sting.  ECNL agrees.

Do I win a prize?

Did I miss some news?  

Sting's website is suddenly and oddly scrubbed clean of any reference to the DA.

I raised this issue about a week ago. Back then I couldn't find it. Was there ever anything or anything prominent about DA on its site?

There was the DA announcement, which is gone. Maybe it's nothing and I'm reading too much into it being removed.