This was in the works for a long time and the cowards at the top of US Soccer want to blame it on Covid-19. We know better.
And, once again, the girls are left out in the cold.
My daughter (u13) had just made our local DA for U14 play. She's gutted. I'm praying that the club joins ECNL, but I'm guessing Eclipse's monopoly grip on Chicago will hold.
Sorry for your daughter. And I've heard some horror stories about Eclipse.
Thankfully they aren't in my neck of the woods, they moved closer when they gobbled up Spartan, but haven't come NW to us.
I like our setup, but the coaches don't love me because I'm not pushing my still somewhat young daughter into soccer year round. She's shown an aptitude, and it's her favorite sport so far, but I'm trying not to burn her out on it just yet, plus I'm not sure of her talent level or if it's just trying to get my money either, that said, I actually like our coaches, so I don't think it's a cash grab.
But that sucks for your daughter, very sorry to hear it. I'll probably post the same thing when Eclipse gobbles up our program. I'm sure it's coming.
starting a year-round program. We've never had any of our kids in something like that, but I know indirectly through friends that it can be a significant time commitment, including the travel. It's not for every child.
that many ECNL clubs are offering a 10 month AND a 6 month program.
Weird how year round used to be attacked by ECNL clubs who used high school as a selling point. now, I am hearing that the "A" team in clubs with both will likely be the 10 month program.
How things change.
My kid has never played above the state level and has been basically year round since he was 13.
Now he just has the 2 month break for HS soccer, but that's it.
... soccer. But they played all year except for a 2-3 month break for HS. Fall season, winter/spring state cups, summer tournaments and Far West Regionals. When the got to college they played much less of the year.
ECNL sold to draw kids away from DA. The best kids play year round. Even the ECNL ones.
ECNL will let FCU and Sockers in but only after bleeding off their best players, so maybe in a year or two.
My daughter is a "younger" at her age, so I kind of like the idea of year round play so she doesn't have to sit out a season while her teammates are freshmen in high school.
You seem to know the Chicagoland teams - are you NW in the sense of CL Force or FC Alliance northwest or like Rockford Northwest?
And, I've heard good things about Northbrook Eclipse.
We aren't Rockford or Crystal Lake. We're in Arlington Heights, smack dab in Brian McBride country.
She's really young (finishing Kindergarten) so we're not in any rush (she's also very old for her grade). We're waiting until she's closer to the 8 time frame to see how she does and what we want to do.
When the coaches approached us, we started digging in and researching (thankfully we have lots of family friends who have navigated some of these waters already). I still have a lot to learn, but have heard and read some horror stories about Eclipse and their gobbling up of other clubs like Spartan, etc.
You have a lot of great choices between Green White, Aces, Elite, Sockers - a nice place to live (I grew up there).
The attached link takes you to the "Changing Landscape" of Chicago soccer thread on Bigsoccer's forums. This is required reading for any parent in Chicagoland. I've read from the beginning, but I would start at least around page 100. Great scoop on the local scene, coaches and teams.
Thank you
to keep up with the current news that seems to be changing by the day.
Interestingly, the concept of EVERYONE playing in the MRL next year because of travel restrictions would really be great. There's no reason you couldn't just create a top Illinois pyramid. There is really no need to travel beyond Wisconsin, Missouri, and Michigan if you have top Illinois teams to play.
MLS is (almost) entirely free for DA. The other clubs are not. So, naturally, the top tier is going to the academies, not the non-MLS DA sides.
You can't mix pay to play and 'free' in the same system like that.
DA teams like Sockers and FCU to play in the MLS league. ECNL Boys spent the day gobbling up non-DA teams. They basically created the nightmare mirror image of the Girls side (GDA and ECNL with neither being the premier platform and each having downsides).
So while I agree that the MLS teams are very different than the non-MLS DAs, Sockers will in fact continue tio fight Chicago Fire Juniors. This was just a way for MLS to grab control of the DA, to throw off the girls teams, and to throw out the "have-not" DA clubs.
Meanwhile, the girls have nothing. FCU and Sockers have joined up with Varger, Michigan Wolves, Varder and some others to create a midwest regional of non-MLS girls DA teams that will play against each other.
It looks like the soccer landscape will never be the same. No more national play (except for tournaments). Everything will be regional (even in ECNL) and a team from say Minnesota and a team from Illinois will meet somewhere like Madison WI, play their game and then go home. No more overnights. No long distances beyond what can be done in a day.
Very interesting times.
will be invited to the MLS league "for stability".
So, at a time that US Soccer has a bad look for bashing the pro women in a deposition, this was basically just a way to transfer BDA to the MLS and ditch GDA.
Nice work by gender traitor Cindy Parlow Cone