Any 04 girls thinking of defecting next year?

77 ECNL clubs listed

http://www.eliteclubsnationalleague.com/clubs/index_E.html

I saw on the Florida Board talk that only 84 ECNL clubs would be accepted. I am pretty hard-pressed to think that OFC is one of the seven best non ECNL clubs in the nation.

I've been told that OFC is not being considered for ECNL any time soon. That comes from some very reliable sources. It has nothing to do with TSC blocking anything or a 5 year moratorium. The decision makers at ECNL do not see OFC as a good fit regionally. They are more interested in obtaining clubs from San Antonio, Houston, and possibly Arkansas. They believe it fits better with the conference alignment.

SSD2004 wrote:Any parents considering switching teams?  I really like what I have seen out of OFC the last few months...

I hope my daughter doesn't think it too weird when I am on the opposite side of the field cheering.  

I heard that 22 left mid 23 right mid 24 centerback and goalie might be going to tryouts at OFC:)

Arkansas club soccer is not good enough to be on ECNL's radar and they have some odd rules which foreclose the ability of high school players to play club during HS season. Part of OFC's problem is that NTx has too many ECNL teams and ECNL would probably have to contract one before OFC gets in the mix. A few of the best OFC kids go to Tulsa and Dallas to play ECNL but not many. Not being an ECNL club does make it tougher to get exposure. NPL for girls is not good competition, and PLW can generate some exposure but the competition is also not ECNL level (a team from OFC winds up playing NTx and STx B teams) so there is less college scouting. It is an unfortunate situation for OFC.

On Kitterman-Winters, unless the club decides to put a new coach in to evaluate all the kids and pick the top 16, you will have a similar situation to this year as parents of kids at that age all drink the KoolAid about keeping the group together.  The club is not very good about putting the best kids together, and it sometimes happens way past when it should.  That's what happened in the 00s and it has not worked out well yet in terms of regional success.  The best 99s and 98s came together early (although that happened at Blitz and then they moved to TSC) and those teams have done well regionally.  It would be a good to do that with the 04s this year or next.  As to how that would work, IMO most coaches would admit that when A and B teams combine it is better to be one of the top 5 kids on the B team than one of the bottom 5 kids on the A team.  I think some 04 parents would get a rude awakening to the crappy side of kids' soccer if club management forces a combination (which is probably why it doesn't happen too often as it is a messy process).

Hopefully, regardless of what the club does, all of the top girls at TSC will end up on the top team in preparation for ECNL....the earlier the better! Parents need to realize that loyalty to a particular coach is a great thing while the child is young, but as they grow older, the more important loyalty and duty is to their daughter. A coach with the girls best interests at heart should know this and act accordingly and not make it too difficult to leave a team to go to a better team, be that a "better" team or a team that is "better" for that particular kid. Some coaches get this and some, unfortunately, get blinded by ego, past disappointments, love for their team, whatever...still, at some point, they've gotta let go for the good of the girls (which is what this is supposed to be all about!). This also applies to parents, too. 
It'll be very interesting to see what shakes out this May!
BTW, totally agree with you on the 98,99,and 2000 ECNL experience at TSC. Hopefully they learned from this and won't have another debacle like the 2000's or need to import a good team like the 98's and 99's! Makes you wonder, though... Maybe with Umelo giving up the Blitz girls that came over, the 2000's can get their act together...too much talent in the 2000 pool for such a poor record. It'll be fun to see what happens to the mix on that team this May and a good indicator of how serious TSC takes its ECNL teams.

As girls get older they get closer to the team that they will be scouted and recruited from. Make sure they are positioned well if this is your goal. (no pun intended). Time is of the essence. The chatter becomes less chatter and more instruction as the days close in. Oklahoma needs a few kids looked at for down the road.