Real Colorado leaving Girls DA

https://realcolorado.net/real-colorado-is-baacckkkk/

An Open Letter to our Membership
Since its inception, Real Colorado soccer has strived to create the highest standards for player development. The girl’s platform has changed over the years, being US Youth Soccer in the 90’s, Red Bull – Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) for a number of years and the last 2 ½ years, the US Soccer Development Academy. Throughout these times, the one consistent piece has been the dedication of our staff to the highest level of development and opportunity for our players.
As we are determined to continue to set the standard for youth clubs in Colorado and beyond, and in exploring the opportunities in front of us, we have decided to re-engage with the ECNL for the development of our players beginning the Fall of 2020 for our girls programs. With the ECNL’s core values of Innovation, Respect, Opportunity, Development and Excellence falling closely in line with ours, their focus on the college exposure model, and the ability to expand our national league program to involve the top two teams from Real Colorado in the U13-U19 age groups, it was the right decision for Real Colorado.
How we play the game is important regardless of the platform we play it on and we remain strongly committed to finishing up our season in the US Soccer Development Academy as we strive to win Cup Championships in two (2) age groups and National Championship in four (4) age groups.
It is also extremely important to note this is only for the girls side. What is best for one is not what is necessarily best for the other. The boys side will continue to support the US Soccer Development Academy with our 1st teams, where our players are competing against the best in the country, including the MLS clubs, and the Elite Clubs National league for our 2nd teams.
We will be sure to offer more information related to the details over the coming days and weeks including player placement dates. Thank you for your commitment to Real Colorado and we look forward to the exciting chance to continue being a leader in the development and success of soccer in the United States.

So... this begs the question who is next...

If Lonestar and Texans leave for ECNL, as is reasonably rumored, then I don't see what choice FCD and Solar will have. There will be nobody left to play (Dash, Energy, and plane trips). I think they'll have to try and get a two team deal to justify the move, just like Real was able to secure in return for dropping DA (and many other top clubs like Hawks, Eclipse, PDA, etc.). There's a lot more money to be made in having 2 ECNL teams than just one DA team.

https://www.eliteclubsnationalleague.com/2020/03/10/real-colorado-and-dallas-texans-join-ecnl-girls-for-2020-2021-season/

I will be very surprised it Lonestar doesn't follow. Is the carrot of YNT callups the only thing keeping Lonestar, Solar, and FCD in the DA?

Tophat rumored to be taking the 2 for 1 team deal, also. If Lonestar joins Texans in leaving, I can't imagine that Solar and FCD stick with GDA unless US Soccer funds travel and they combine with Socal. With just Dash and OKE within driving range, there just isn't enough other quality teams to play without overly burdening families with travel costs. FCD should be strongly considering the ECNL two team deal immediately before it's gone. Solar can take it's time as that offer is always on the table.

Dash and Energy should be very worried. They might just get left out in the cold here.

If Solar and Lonestar take the deal does ECNL Texas have to think about retracting under-performing clubs?

Word on the STX board is that LS request to get back in ECNL was rejected unless they gave up their boys DA as well. So for next year at least, sounds like they are staying.

Regardless, if Solar and FCD bolt, LS, Dash, and OK teams are in trouble from a travel perspective.

kickball2005 wrote:If Solar and Lonestar take the deal does ECNL Texas have to think about retracting under-performing clubs?  

They should. Let the Colorado teams go do their own conference. Replacing, say, Sting Austin with Lonestar and replacing Celtic with Solar B would be a huge upgrade in team quality.

Just gotta remember ECNL is dominated by politics, and not sure Sting Dallas wants to lose that Sting Austin revenue stream. Kenny was among the first backroom deal makers to drop DA for the 2nd ECNL team.

dtk9119 wrote:Word on the STX board is that LS request to get back in ECNL was rejected unless they gave up their boys DA as well. So for next year at least, sounds like they are staying.

If that's the word, it's wrong. Lonestar already gave up boys DA (the top LS boys teams will be in ECNL beginning next year).

The current plan for girls is to stay in GDA, but that could obviously change in the coming weeks/months as the landscape adjusts and that possibly doesn't look very attractive. ECNL did not and would not reject Lonestar if they also wanted to drop DA for ECNL on the girls side.

Well I hope the rest of the teams follow suit, because less traveling is great.

Mpereztx10 wrote:Well I hope the rest of the teams follow suit, because less traveling is great.

That's my only hope in all this. Plane trips for league games for 14 year old girls is the dumbest thing ever.  Over the course of 5 years that's easily more than $5k in travel just for league games against teams that are worse than other local teams who play in the other league.  There is zero need to play a Big 12 schedule for girls youth soccer when plenty of appropriate competition is nearby (but you are barred from playing them because the people in charge of such things are squabbling).

Ideally somebody wins this DA vs ECNL war and we can get back to trying to do what's best for kids and families.

timmyh wrote:

Mpereztx10 wrote:Well I hope the rest of the teams follow suit, because less traveling is great.

That's my only hope in all this. Plane trips for league games for 14 year old girls is the dumbest thing ever.  Over the course of 5 years that's easily more than $5k in travel just for league games against teams that are worse than other local teams who play in the other league.  There is zero need to play a Big 12 schedule for girls youth soccer when plenty of appropriate competition is nearby (but you are barred from playing them because the people in charge of such things are squabbling).

Ideally somebody wins this DA vs ECNL war and we can get back to trying to do what's best for kids and families.

Oh man you have so much to learn

timmyh wrote:

kickball2005 wrote:If Solar and Lonestar take the deal does ECNL Texas have to think about retracting under-performing clubs?  

They should. Let the Colorado teams go do their own conference. Replacing, say, Sting Austin with Lonestar and replacing Celtic with Solar B would be a huge upgrade in team quality.

Just gotta remember ECNL is dominated by politics, and not sure Sting Dallas wants to lose that Sting Austin revenue stream.  Kenny was among the first backroom deal makers to drop DA for the 2nd ECNL team.

I'm not sure how long the deal to give Sting two teams was designed to last, but ECNL owes Sting a lot, so I don't think Sting Austin will be going anywhere unless it is their choice. Sting staying loyal to ECNL was huge for ECNL. It gave them credibility in this area during the DA experiment. As you said, politics is a big player.

Whatever happens, i would like to travel less. If other teams follow suit that would be great. We can all get better by playing each other as well. If ECNL has more girls teams in the area, then i am all for it. No reason to travel somewhere far and beat a team 10 to 0. There is plenty of competition here.

cenTex wrote:

dtk9119 wrote:Word on the STX board is that LS request to get back in ECNL was rejected unless they gave up their boys DA as well. So for next year at least, sounds like they are staying.

If that's the word, it's wrong.  Lonestar already gave up boys DA (the top LS boys teams will be in ECNL beginning next year).  

The current plan for girls is to stay in GDA, but that could obviously change in the coming weeks/months as the landscape adjusts and that possibly doesn't look very attractive.  ECNL did not and would not reject Lonestar if they also wanted to drop DA for ECNL on the girls side.

The TOP LS boys are going to the MLS club

Does anyone know the deadline for the clubs to decide if they want to be in DA or ECNL in order to play in that league Starting July 2020?

Everyone suggesting 2 team deal... Solar is the only local club to have success in both leagues and it wasn’t exactly major success. If any club gets a two team deal, one of those teams will experience minimal success if any. IF all the local clubs go all in ECNL, then kids will be pushed to DPL if that still exists and LH may have a rise in quality talent. But give it a year or two and DA will probably be defunct for the girls side.

I can speak from an 04 perspective that no matter the platform, you still have to have the talent and coaches to win.

If Solar leaves DA I’m sure that will be a hit that DA couldn’t recover from.

Mpereztx10 wrote:Does anyone know the deadline for the clubs to decide if they want to be in DA or ECNL in order to play in that league Starting July 2020?  

Texans will be ECNL. Don’t expect FCD and Solar to make that jump....yet.

I will be very surprised if Lonestar, Solar, and FCD are still in the GDA in 2021-22.  Perhaps no change for next year, but playing in a league with only Dash and OKE as others within a day trip (while driving past a half dozen fairly similar teams who play in another league) is eventually going to be rejected by a large swath of lower to middle class families who simply can't afford the travel and disruption. Are Texas teams really going to continue to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in total to fly to Colorado and KC so that the Rush and Sporting girls get competitive teams to play?

If any can get the 2 team deal (LS can't, but Solar definitely can and FCD likely can) they should take it now before it no longer exists.


I am convinced that if GDA dies, when we look back the no high school soccer rule will be seen as the primary reason.  If they had allowed high school play, ECNL would have never gotten a foothold. Girls are different than boys (and have differing pots of gold at the end of soccer career rainbows). US Soccer failed to understand that, and are likely to pay the price.

At this point, assuming ECNL is going back to just a TX/OK conference, if you polled the families of DA players at Solar and FC Dallas (and probably Lonestar), I would bet a lot of money that the overwhelming majority would be in favor of returning to ECNL.

I don't feel so hot about jumping on an aeroplane to go beat a bunch of ppl level teams 9-0. Especially with all this Covid-19 business going around.

The DA's had its 15 minutes of fame. Can we please go back to the ECNL?

Hooper214 wrote:I don't feel so hot about jumping on an aeroplane to go beat a bunch of ppl level teams 9-0. Especially with all this Covid-19 business going around.

The DA's had its 15 minutes of fame. Can we please go back to the ECNL?

Texans DA is one of the teams that lose by questionable margins
along with Omaha and OKE. The Colorado teams are worthy opponents and TOPHAT and a few Cali squads. Is it worth the plane ticket? Ehhh, sometimes but I guess them coming here to beat up on Texans and OKE isn’t really worth it.

cenTex wrote:I will be very surprised if Lonestar, Solar, and FCD are still in the GDA in 2021-22.  Perhaps no change for next year, but playing in a league with only Dash and OKE as others within a day trip (while driving past a half dozen fairly similar teams who play in another league) is eventually going to be rejected by a large swath of lower to middle class families who simply can't afford the travel and disruption. Are Texas teams really going to continue to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in total to fly to Colorado and KC so that the Rush and Sporting girls get competitive teams to play?

If any can get the 2 team deal (LS can't, but Solar definitely can and FCD likely can) they should take it now before it no longer exists.


I am convinced that if GDA dies, when we look back the no high school soccer rule will be seen as the primary reason.  If they had allowed high school play, ECNL would have never gotten a foothold. Girls are different than boys (and have differing pots of gold at the end of soccer career rainbows). US Soccer failed to understand that, and are likely to pay the price.

The no-HS thing as well as the substitution rule. Odd choice they made for 'developmental' years.

We're in year 3 and I have not seen the USSF's desired outcome of this rule changing the way teams play. There are clubs in the Frontier that are, were and always will be Highway 1. So just another instance of subjecting all the kids to something meant for a very small minority. The NCAA sub rules would have been fine since that's where the great majority are headed anyway.

We’re in our first year of DA and the sub rule hasn’t been much of an issue at all - negative or positive. Assume it’s supposed to condition the girls early to understand how it works later. I’m sure our team wouldn’t sub much different should the rule not even be in place.

One woulda thought that this wouldn't have been such a secret, but given most of the content on this thread, it seems it may be ...

From what I was told by those in the know back when the GDA was introduced, the intent was to eventually contract to the pro clubs only and be fully funded ... similar to some of the YourApeeIn models.  Many of us that have been there from the beginning have had a similar message passed on from the "powers" at each year's preseason meeting.

Recently, there has also been more evidence that this is the case with the rapid regional expansion of the MLS -- There are already 30 and you'll see 32 clubs awarded in no time, each with regional logistical consideration in mind.  If ya asked me I'd tell you that I'd guess you'll see fully funded teams competing in a regional league consisting of Dallas, Austin, Houston, Colorado (Rapids in case you're wondering), and Nashville, among others in the somewhat near future.  Thus truly making the USSDA exclusively for the most committed and talented girls in the country, leaving the others in the ECNL.