High School Soccer VS Club Soccer

Millard West Girls Varsity Soccer 2019

It's an exciting time at our house...high school soccer kicked off the last week of February. After sitting on the bench in the midst of ACL recovery for her whole sophomore season, Reagan is so excited to be representing the Wildcats in green again. It's mid-March and the girls have already gone through a week of tryouts, a week of practice, numerous team meals, three varsity games, picture day and a day of volunteering. Along with the new season comes a public debate in the paper and social media. Is high school soccer good for the elite athlete or do they just play club soccer year round?

There are many avenues to playing soccer...
Street soccer
Recreational
High school
"not-so" Elite Club
Elite Club
National Team
Remember this is written by a soccer mom so don't expect official names, titles and explanations. I mean, I did coach Reagan when she was four years old so maybe I could be considered an expert.

There are also so many leagues available to play within, Reagan has played in the following...
Nebraska League
Midwest Regional League (MRL)
National Premier League (NPL)
Another league but can't remember the name
Elite Clubs National League (ECNL)

Three years ago our daughter's soccer club was offered a place at the table with the new Girls Development Academy (DA). Below is a description of DA from their website.

Following a comprehensive review of elite player development in the United States and around the world, U.S. Soccer created the Development Academy in 2007. The Academy Program's philosophy is based on increased training, less total games, and more meaningful games using international rules of competition.

In the Fall of 2017, the Academy expanded programming to include a Girls' Development Academy. The Academy has 197 total clubs, comprised of teams across six age groups in the boys program: U-12, U-13, U-14, U-15, U-16/17, and U-18/19 and four age groups in the girls program: U-14, U-15, U-16/17, and U-18/19.

The Academy Program focuses on positively impacting everyday club environments to assist in maximizing youth player development across the country. The Academy values individual development of elite players over winning trophies and titles. The Academy sets the standard for elite environments for youth soccer clubs nationwide and is a part of U.S. Soccer's global leadership position in youth soccer that will impact thousands of players.

At the same time our club, Elite Girls Academy was offered a spot with ECNL, Elite Clubs National League. Below is a description of ECNL from their website.

The ECNL was founded in 2009 by forward-thinking Directors of Coaching across the country who saw a need for change in and special commitment to improving the daily environment for American elite female youth soccer players.  These Directors came together and collaborated to build what would become the top female youth development platform in the world.  The grass roots leadership and cooperation was unprecedented in American youth soccer, and the ECNL continues to be the most progressive and innovative development platform in the country.

2009-2010: Inaugural ECNL SeasonThe inaugural ECNL season, August 2009 to July 2010, included 40 of the top girls soccer clubs throughout the country, with more than 2,000 players participating in ECNL competition in the U15, U16, and U17 age groups. Teams competed in one of two competitive flights (the “A Flight” or the “B Flight”) for the ECNL National Championship, the ECNL Club National Championship, and promotion and relegation between the flights. Each team played nine regular season games within their division for placement going into the ECNL National Championship. Games were played at five different ECNL National Showcase Events held throughout the country, and all participating teams came together for the first annual ECNL National Championship in Seattle, WA in July 2010.

2017-2018In the ninth season, 2017-18, the ECNL consisted of 80 member clubs, with limited conference re-alignment. The competition structure remained the same for the ECNL Playoffs with three tiers: Champions League, North American Cup and Showcase Cup, with the U14 division expanding in the Champions League format to 32 teams in the post season. Both the North American Cup and Showcase Cup stayed the same with knockout style brackets, with 16 teams competing in each for a chance to be crowned champion in Seattle, WA. The winners of each Champions League quarterfinal game advanced to the ECNL Final Four, held in Richmond, VA.

In a side by side comparison of the two organizations there are many similarities. Basically, DA started with boys and expanded to girls 2 years ago where ECNL started with girls and expanded to boys 2 years ago. Both offer high level training, games and college exposure. My experience is with the girls side. Our club landed in ECNL mostly because of our market. Nebraska is a small market and even though most people around here think Omaha is a big city, we know it is not. Numbers matter because with the DA, kids are limited to playing for their club all year long. No guest playing, no high school soccer, nothing but the DA. Around these parts, (add in a winky smilie face here) we take pride in our high school and defending our colors. EGA's club director knew it would be a hard pill to swallow for most people if he were to come out and tell the parents, "your kids will not be able to play HS school soccer with their friends anymore." I'm glad he made that decision. However a year later another local soccer club was offered a spot with the DA and they took it. It has changed the landscape of school sports this spring and ignited drama on social media!

As the high school season started the local newpapers (Omaha World Herald and Lincoln Journal Star) wrote about this debate. Click HERE to read the LJS (Reagan has a small mention in the article). This isn't just a Nebraska issue, it affects girls all over the nation. I know good people on both sides of this high school soccer argument, for us it isn't just about playing at the highest level possible. Chris and I want to raise our children to be well rounded, good people who love the Lord (ok, so God doesn't really have anything to do with soccer) not just people who can perform their sport, activity or academic skill better than anyone else. Club sports typically have coaches who are excellent trainers, game coaches and are driven to take the athlete to the next level. High school coaches may or may not be great coaches but the high school activity world isn't just about what you do at practice 2-3 days a week. The way you perform in the classroom and how you treat your peers/teachers in the hallways or classroom impact what happens in extra curricular activities. You have to be academically eligible to play. You may get bench for hazing, drinking or bad sportsmanship. Unfortunately, in the club (pay to play) world that's not the case. Reagan gets to play with a group of 20 Division I college athletes most of the year but HS season allows her to play with a group of girls who may or may not play in college, they just love soccer and love their school

We are excited to watch our girl on the pitch in any atmosphere. This year she is a captain and will learn a lot about leadership, compromise and friendship. To our soccer loving daughter, we remind you this is a game, have fun girl! We are proud of you and love you dearly!