Cincy DA

F

fearthekeeper

Member
The CDA is almost a year old now. Curious to hear thoughts about the DA from people who have kids (or know kids) who chose to go this route.

Pros/ Cons...

Do they regret giving up HS?
 
 
For whatever it’s worth, take a look at the DA’s Facebook page. I know it’s a marketing tool, but it does a good job of making it look like the girls are not regretting their decision. A key indicator will be if any (and how many) girls leave the DA and return to their respective high school teams.
 
Conan73 said:
For whatever it’s worth, take a look at the DA’s Facebook page. I know it’s a marketing tool, but it does a good job of making it look like the girls are not regretting their decision. A key indicator will be if any (and how many) girls leave the DA and return to their respective high school teams.
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Im looking on the Fbook page, it just shows all of the commitments.

We shall see who stays and who goes.
 
werns63 said:
Im looking on the Fbook page, it just shows all of the commitments.

We shall see who stays and who goes.
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You have to scroll down. there were/are posts of game performance, teams working out at strength and agility facility, bus rides to away games, etc.

Although, showing all of the college commits could be a good persuasion tool for some...
 
The concept is almost a year old. The girls themselves are halfway through their very first season. You're gonna have to keep circling for months to get any kind of real idea. The commits were committed before this season... don't play dumb, you know how early girls commit.

This whole question is hilariously premature.
 
I know a few kids doing it. Two of the three don't like it and those two would like to play HS soccer. One of those two wasn't committed anywhere and thought, or her parents thought, that the DA would give her the exposure she needed to get some looks. They knew that she could get looks playing in the ECNL at OE and would also get to play HS soccer but nobody in the family wanted to deal with Doug. A fourth girl that was already committed wanted to still play HS soccer but, again, did not want to go to OE so she opted to play on a CUP team (or a pre-DA team).

We're still at least a few years away from knowing if the DA is going to be a good thing for the game.
 
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There were also some families that decided to go the DA route and were disappointed when Bobby left the Cincy DA in order to be with his then fiancee and his current wife. Some may have partly based their decision on the belief that Bobby would be with the Cincy DA.

Most of you reading this are probably already aware that Bobby is now the technical director of the GDA for FC Virginia.

FC Virginia hires Bobby Puppione as Girls DA Technical Director
 
What interests me more are all the D1 commitments. There is no way every one of those girls fit the mold of a D1 program. I know a few ECNL girls chose to play D2 or D3 due to their majors or because they wanted smaller schools or less pressure. D1 programs will own kids. Some dont want that. I will be curious to see how many of these D1 committs actually transfer because their major is too rigorous for a D1 program or because they dont play. I think the DA and CUP needs to do a better job find the right school fit for these players rather than what looks best on their web page. Some of these D1 committs arent getting any money and may never play. I know a few who would have been better off playing D2 and playing games and getting money rather than being role players for a few years and coming out in debt just so they can say they played Division one.

I also think its sad that CUP has monopolized Cincinnati area soccer and many college coaches. There are plenty of very good payers for other clubs that colleges wont look at because they are buddies with CUP coaches. We are seeing more players from local clubs going D1 and D2 but those players have to really work at drawing coaches away from CUP to see them. There are many talents in Cincinnati and Dayton and they dont all fit the DA or ECNL mentality. ECNL needs better character coaches. Parents dont need to subject their kids to bad, rude mouths and offesive ridicule of some of those coaches.

I will give CUP that, at least they do have some high character adults coaching these kids.

Club Soccer is a business, and all the bragging websites and FAcebook pages are nothing more than trying to grow their business. If an entire team of 20 girls is Division 1 and the majority play 10 minutes or less a game for a few years, how is that good for them.
 
I'm still of the belief that if you are good enough college coaches will find you if you are on any club that gives you at least some degree of exposure. If you play at DA and get an D1 offer without much financial assistance you are probably better off at a D2 or D3, NAIA program that offers aid based on other criteria and that will allow you to see the pitch (if you really want to play). Like was mentioned above D1 programs, for the most part, own you. There is very little down time. You've got to really want it or it will wear you out.
 
Ok. It fits a lot of opinions then. I personally think the DA and ECNL are just money makers. A lot of money for travel that isn’t necessary but if you like that kind of thing it’s good for you. It’s like how select soccer because non select and SAY went away (almost). There are now 5 select teams on every club and some of those kids would have been SAY kids 5 years ago. Now there are two premium teams and then there children. It never ends. They are taking away times for kids to be kids. Filled with politics and money and greed. If your kid is good they don’t need the DA or ECNL.
 
The fact of the matter is this.

Girls playing the upper half of club soccer it is their goal to play in college somewhere.
But, first you must get out in front of that college coach and impress them.

if you are a great player and play on a crappy low level team I do not believe the college coaches will find you.
as you get older and still play on that crappy team your skills become just that.

Playing at the highest level possible forces the kids to learn, because the competetion demands it.

The kids that don't play at a high level will not be ready to play in college, that game will pass them by.
Does the D1 game demand commitment ? YES IT DOES

But lets all remember this only last 4 years and it is over.
What a kid can learn from that kind of commitment is off the charts, because no one ever said it was going to be easy.

The DA has a decent platform, but will struggle until they change and focus more on getting the really good kids who will not make a national team into college, otherwise they will lose all of those kids to somewhere they will get into college, IE ECNL, National League.

Makes you wonder What idoit is running US Soccer ?
 
pricesoccer17 said:
I think the DA and CUP needs to do a better job find the right school fit for these players rather than what looks best on their web page. Some of these D1 committs arent getting any money and may never play. I know a few who would have been better off playing D2 and playing games and getting money rather than being role players for a few years and coming out in debt just so they can say they played Division one.
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This is not the "job" of DA, CUP, or any other club. It's the job of the player and family to ensure a college is the right fit for the prospective student-athlete. Sure, the club can influence it, but in the end, if a parent/player is making a decision on their future based off a club it's their own fault.

I would probably say that the clubs don't purposely place kids at the "wrong" schools or programs. There's a lot that changes within programs, and it can happen instantly. There's also a lot that changes in players when they enter college and can affect how they develop (on or off the field).

Quit passing the buck. It's so much easier to blame someone else than to take the responsibility.
 
Totally agree !
It is up to the player and the parents to decide what college is a good fit.

SO what can the club do to help promote that ?

Maybe the Club should ask the player to start doing some research and find 10-15 schools that would offer them what they are looking for in all areas.
which includes phone calls and visits to the campuses.
Once that has been completed give the Club the 10-15 schools in order you would like.

The Club then sets out with emails and phone calls to those coaches informing them of players interested in playing at those schools offering them to come watch them play.
Pretty Novel idea isn't it ?
I know first hand of one club in town that does just that Ohio Elite.
I know a lot of you hate OE, But might be a good idea to have what ever club you are at to do the same thing.

How many kids get brained washed into going to a Big name school not knowing at those schools you will not see the field the first two years ?
Are you really willing to give up two of the four years you have left ?

Find your kid a great school where she will be able to play a ton for four years and enjoy those last four years and create some super memories.

Good Luck you all
Been there done that !
 
pure class said:
People probably dont hate OE as much as you think, they just hate the pompous jackholes like you who spew OE propaganda non stop.
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My daughter played on the HS Fall team her senior year and thought DB was a bigger d-bag than Tim. She had intention of accepting a spot on their ECNL team.
 
A few thoughts:

If you're not familiar with DB, I can see how he comes of as a DBag especially compared to Tim. He's very brash and direct with the girls and usually says what he's thinking. But he also does a good job knowing the girls and showing patience and support when they're struggling. I would say that his approach does a great job of preparing girls for the college game.

If you watch at practice or on the sidelines, he also does a solid job of preaching values and sportsmanship to the girls. He once called a parent meeting after a contentious game with OP to ask the parents not to applaud yellow and red cars for opponents because it sends the wrong message to the girls.

On the otherhand I'd disagree with Buck. DB is notoriously disorganized and parents routinely complained about emails or expressed interest that were not passed on from colleges. One girl actually visited a local school who was surprised she was interested because they had been reaching out to him for a year about her. But DB says if they're good enough they'll find a good fit for themselves and for the most part he's been right.

Toe, unless your Mia went DA, I'd say passing up on the opportunities that OE offers is more a reflection of you than OE. The exposure is secondary to the development that comes with the intensity and pace of those practices, which are generally tougher than the games. You can't match the development that comes with practicing against national team level players and a roster full of future D1 talent, at that intensity. One of the teams did have a girl leave OE early in the season and go back to the Pre-DA.

The level of exposure definitely has not dropped since the creation of the DA, but maybe the level of competition has dropped somewhat. It's like the DA scooped out 10-15 of the top 30 teams in every age group. There are still plenty of great clubs (ECNL brought some great clubs in) but the depth isn't as deep as in the past. OE seems to usually finish mid 20-s in the club standings and it will be interesting to see where they finish this year.
 
Oldnsweaty,
Welcome to yappi. The decision was a reflection on my daughter more than me. Just to put into perspective, the MRL was a good fit for my daughter. She finished college soccer a little over a year ago so there was no DA for her. The OE at her age wasn't all that good, at best, a distant 3rd best team in Cincinnati. So I'm not saying an invite to OE was all that special. As for competition, the top level MRL at the time was fine for her. She played against National Team players from Ohio at the time included Sandra Yu, I think one that played up an age at TFA and you may have heard of Rose. At least for her, she wanted to play on a competitive team and a team and coach that she enjoyed as well as challenged her. It all worked out fine for her. She got a great education and college experience and she has a good job.
 
Soccer Toe said:
Oldnsweaty,
Welcome to yappi. The decision was a reflection on my daughter more than me. Just to put into perspective, the MRL was a good fit for my daughter. She finished college soccer a little over a year ago so there was no DA for her. The OE at her age wasn't all that good, at best, a distant 3rd best team in Cincinnati. So I'm not saying an invite to OE was all that special. As for competition, the top level MRL at the time was fine for her. She played against National Team players from Ohio at the time included Sandra Yu, I think one that played up an age at TFA and you may have heard of Rose. At least for her, she wanted to play on a competitive team and a team and coach that she enjoyed as well as challenged her. It all worked out fine for her. She got a great education and college experience and she has a good job.
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Well said.
 
Unless you all live down the rabbit holes that the DA girls live in, then you apparently don't know what most of them are thinking.
Especially at the older age groups, more than half want to jump ship. The DA (rather Tif) is so concerned about this that the DA players are being asked to decide NOW if they are going to play DA or not for the next season.
There is a very real scenario that the next DA teams are made of at least 50% players that typically wouldn't make a first team at a standard competitive club. If that happens - then quality College exposure won't last long at the DA platform.
BP effectively destroyed CUP and led the city to the DA. The way he and Tiffany went about forming the DA in Cincinnati is leading to it's demise before it's barely begun - only time will tell if the DA survives here.
 
I've heard of one DA girl who was dissatisfied and was planning on playing HS in the fall, then graduating early and heading to college rather than do DA next season. Who knows if it's true, just parent gossip.

It seems hard to calculate the damage the DA did to the DA. There are about 250 less D1 girls in ECNL girls between the 2017 and 2018 classes, but with 79 DA clubs, I would have thought it would have been more. I'd like to know where those girls were on the D1 spectrum (Power5 vs Horizon).

Cinci DA seems to be doing well in DA almost as well as CUP did in National league.

It will be interesting to what happens in the next couple of years.
 
sportsfanofyear said:
Youth soccer is losing players – down from 11.2 million in 2011 to 8.9 million in 2015

Read more at https://www.fourfourtwo.com/us/features/us-soccer-youth-player-development-parents-understand#2HG2O4iGBtv4QYE7.01
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I am interested in to why the numbers are down - Cost, concussion worries, travel, other sports, or what? Also seems odd because in this area BPYSL and other leagues have said they have record number of teams. Maybe the rest of the country is down but not sure the Ohio area is.
 
coachg said:
I am interested in to why the numbers are down - Cost, concussion worries, travel, other sports, or what? Also seems odd because in this area BPYSL and other leagues have said they have record number of teams. Maybe the rest of the country is down but not sure the Ohio area is.
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I think BPYSL has become watered down with many teams that used to play in the CUSL.

I think the cost is a factor along with other sports, and just a lot of options for kids.

Seems like there are a lot of coaches coming into soccer that see the U.S. soccer family as a cash cow and are only in it for the money. I see that at clubs like CUSE where the average player is being asked to pay high fees for average instruction and training. If your child is just in it for the fun, why pay high fees?
 
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