LPDL this year

[gatorsoccerdad]

Just curious how the LPDL teams for each club is shaping up this year.

[3balz]

Mandeville and CSC Rage will have very good '01 teams and one of those two will win state. I don't think Fire will field an '01 team so there may only be 4 teams in that age group. '01 Slidell team is probably 3rd or 4th best (along with BRSC) but I don't think they can play LPDL unless LSA makes an exception for them. Cabosa will be outmatched. It will be interesting to see what happens in this age group with Slidell.

[laffysoccermom]

I thought the only level where a club didn't have to field a team was U19 this year. That was the rationale for only allowing the big 5 in because they were the only ones that could commit to it at every level. Already changing the rules and the first game hasn't been played?!

[gatorsoccerdad]

I thought there were only 5 teams. New Orleans, BR, Mandeville, Lafayette and Shreveport. Where does Slidell cone in?

[laffysoccermom]

I think they are saying Fire didn't field a U17 team for LPDL so they are thinking they might allow Slidell to take their place. I'm curious how Fire can remain in LPDL and not field a teamat that age.

[3balz]

I don't think LA Fire was on board with the LPDL decision. Maybe I'm incorrect though. I guess they could force the '02 team to play up but currently there's no girls '01 team on their website.

[laffysoccermom]

Looks like they have 01 red and navy teams if I'm looking in the right spot. I didn't see any 00 teams- only 99 teams.

[3balz]

I don't think you are looking in the right place. Here is the link for 2017-18.


www.louisianafirejrs.com/page/show/3370638-2017-18-competitive-teams

[laffysoccermom]

Nope... I was on their website but something different came up.

[coachguam]

Slidell has been told no, despite the Fire having no 01 girls team. Fire is telling LSA they have a team to compete in the LPDL 01 girls division, but the remaining 01 players from the original 01 Red team are on the 00 Red roster.  Additionally, the 02 Red team and their players chose not to participate in the LPDL.  So the question is, if your best 01 and 02 players are on teams that are not part of the LPDL then what group will be thrown at the LPDL to say the Fire has something?  Apparently, the LPDL clubs do not have to live up to any of the rules or intent of the LPDL just so long as they throw something at it...  Bigger issue is, LSA has been made aware and has chose to do nothing about it.

[3balz]

I think Slidell is the 3rd best 01 team in the state. It would be better for LPDL (better competition) and Comp 1 if Slidell was in LPDL. The idea of only allowing 5 clubs seems unfair and younger players always had the option of playing up. The best teams already have better coaches and spend more time practicing. The best players tend to want to play for the best coaches and for the best programs. Why should LSA dictate who the best programs are? The best teams should be allowed to play in the top division regardless of what club they are with.

Just my two cents.

[laffysoccermom]

First of all, LPDL is about eliminating competition and more players and money for the bigger clubs. There may be value for a truly elite player- mostly due to exposure from the tournaments many of these teams will attend and probably attended before LPDL.

I

[cosmos]

I am starting to think the LPDL is as much or more about keeping the LSA relevant as it is about helping the larger clubs.

The LSA is even trying to tweak ODP this coming year to try and make the schedule more appealing etc in attempt to lure more players on LPDL teams to tryout.

For now at least, the top teams at the "large" clubs in Louisiana still want to compete in the state cup/regionals and pathway to compete
in one of the national championships (there are several) in youth soccer. Also for now, high school and club soccer coexist at the top level in Louisiana.

Imagine what would happen in Louisiana, if the larger clubs only entered their B and C teams in the Louisiana state soccer league like in many other states. It would affect LSA revenue and could most of the remaining Louisiana teams that would qualify for regionals even compete?

In other states there are many other league options. Clubs form alliances for local city leagues and there are many regional leagues to choose from also outside of the state soccer associations.

[laffysoccermom]

It may be about keeping LSA relevant. I don't really know. I just don't buy the it's about player development line. To me it's just reincarnating Comp 1 but limiting a few out. Mostly the larger clubs dominated Comp 1 anyway. This way- they are guaranteed a place and it keeps other smaller clubs out.

Maybe I'm wrong and in 5 years- LA state teams will be competing at a National level. If so I will readily admit it.

[willowdale]

LSA will soon find out that this idea of LPDL will backfire. Soccer is more than individual talent. Team culture is paramount and the critical mass of a good team develops over time. Breaking up the teams ever year is counterproductive to developing a team and thus players. It will be hard for LA to compete on a National level when the team grows for a year and starts over the next year if you play into the LPDL model. Do you think a successful 01/02 team will want to break up the next year? No. The players will want to stay together which will cause problems next year. The small clubs benefit on odd years because they have a better chance of winning a state championship. For example, the 04's and 02's are watered down this year with top talent at large clubs going to LPDL.

[cosmos]

Louisiana will not have teams competing at the top level in a few years. We will also not be placing players in top D1 college programs on a consistent basis in a few years.

LA Fire and BRSC are not even restructuring their teams for the LPDL. So they do not see a large value to this compared to what they are already doing without the LPDL.

I feel what the LPDL will likley accomplish is result in a couple more players from the other 3 clubs playing college soccer each year than would otherwise. As a result of not only better teams and competiton, but also more families and players who have been focused on the college soccer program search for longer than they previously would have been.

The desire of players to play college soccer and the hope from their families for scholarships is probably the largest financial driver for participation on the top teams at the large clubs at the older ages.

Perhaps all this is enough to justify the LPDL to most of the clubs, families of players involved and the LSA.

[willowdale]

I like the idea of knowing what you are signing up for when you join an LPDL team. Too often kids join a C1 team even at the top clubs in LA only to find out that they are acting like a C2 team- don't want to travel or afraid to lose a game by playing tough competition. Last year most LA teams decided against playing RPL because it required travel to Texas/Oklahoma. I understand the burden and cost but LA teams will only get better by playing those teams. The teams that decided to do it are successful teams and the kids got the wanted exposure.

I heard that Mandeville, Lafayette, and Cabosa are not playing RPL. Is this true? If true, how do we justify the added cost and formation of LPDL when LA teams are taking a step back from the best competition in the region. GSPL will not give you competition against top Alabama and Tennessee teams as RPL will. Are we counting on the extra day of practice to get these kids college scholarships or are there plans to play more showcases to get the kids more exposure/competition with the absence of RPL?

ENCL has expanded to the southeast and includes BUSA (AL) this year for boys. The top AL boys will be playing on this team for sure. This will weaken the AL RPL teams. I think one or two ENCL or DA teams in LA per age group should be our goal.

I really hope LPDL raises the level of soccer in LA and increases scholarships for LA players. I'm not totally sold on the idea, though. The colleges could do their part and offer more opportunity for boys in LA and all over the US by adding more men's programs.

[cosmos]

Aug 4, 2017 19:32:29 GMT -6 willowdale said:

I like the idea of knowing what you are signing up for when you join an LPDL team. Too often kids join a C1 team even at the top clubs in LA only to find out that they are acting like a C2 team- don't want to travel or afraid to lose a game by playing tough competition. Last year most LA teams decided against playing RPL because it required travel to Texas/Oklahoma. I understand the burden and cost but LA teams will only get better by playing those teams. The teams that decided to do it are successful teams and the kids got the wanted exposure.

I heard that Mandeville, Lafayette, and Cabosa are not playing RPL. Is this true? If true, how do we justify the added cost and formation of LPDL when LA teams are taking a step back from the best competition in the region. GSPL will not give you competition against top Alabama and Tennessee teams as RPL will. Are we counting on the extra day of practice to get these kids college scholarships or are there plans to play more showcases to get the kids more exposure/competition with the absence of RPL?

ENCL has expanded to the southeast and includes BUSA (AL) this year for boys. The top AL boys will be playing on this team for sure. This will weaken the AL RPL teams. I think one or two ENCL or DA teams in LA per age group should be our goal.

I really hope LPDL raises the level of soccer in LA and increases scholarships for LA players. I'm not totally sold on the idea, though. The colleges could do their part and offer more opportunity for boys in LA and all over the US by adding more men's programs.

Agree with pretty much everything you said.

I do not beive anyone else is doing the SRPL other than LA Fire and BRSC this year. I know the LPDL encourages the U17 and U19 teams that qualify to join (BRSC and LA Fire already hae teams much younger than this in the SRPL). Makes sense as the RPL teams that do well partcipate in the USYS championship series and go straight to regionals.

I think some of the other LPDL clubs that are not in the RPL are going to a college showcase tournament.

Interestingly on the boys side the ECNL and NPL have formed a national championship series this year called the ENPL. The GSPL was not a chosen NPL league that can send a team.

The LPDL really as you said provides a more comitted team that is willing to travel, and potentially play at even a higher level and travel even farther if they are good enough. It may not change things much at BRSC or LA Fire, but is probably a step forward for the other 3 clubs.

The boys have it real tough for college soccer scholarships and even some of the D3 programs with no scholarships actually take way too many kids as a way to boost enrollment.

[copakid14]

I think everyone is focusing on the competition piece of LPDL a little too much. There are only 4 games per season in LPDL. How you group these teams, be it LCSL C1, C2, or LPDL really doesn't have any effect on how many of these kids can go play at the next level. The primary focus and shift in mentality for our club is coming within the training environment. We have revamped our LPDL program to now include partnerships with outside entities to further the player development process. We are now incorporating strength/conditioning and recovery sessions with the newly opened YMCA facility where players will have the opportunity to get exposure to being in the weight room and learning how to take care of their bodies as athletes. Willis Knighton health will be working with us regarding a nutritional plan and injury prevention and recovery. We have modified our training days to allow LPDL teams to have a full field for practice during certain tactical sessions. We will be filming every game and doing film study with the teams as well as tactical classroom sessions. On top of these things will be providing a more professional experience for the kids in regards to event participation. The logistics of RPL have not worked for our club in the past so we are concentrating on more elite level tournament participation with exposure to college coaches. Our players will travel by team bus (one girls and one boys) and stay together as a team, not with their parents. Their meals will be catered by the club to ensure they are eating correctly etc.

Long story short, we are trying to raise the bar of what happens in our own backyard in terms of professionalism and the training environment. As some have stated, we will probably struggle with our results early in this process but that is not the focus or what is on the horizon that has sparked these changes. We will see how it works and if it doesn't we will go back to the drawing board!

[rlb2024]

I'm glad to see that SRPL has gone back to the East/Central/West arrangement this year. The East/West just did not work for Louisiana teams, especially for those in the southeastern part of the state. The new RPL Central may make it more feasible going forward, although when you add a minimum of three LPDL games in the fall that will make it difficult.

My son's then-U18 team played RPL West two years ago, which was the first year of only having East and West play. The travel was horrendous -- Dallas (500 miles one way), Tulsa (700 miles one way, playing 3 games over Labor Day weekend -- keep in mind that in RPL play teams only play one game per day), Baton Rouge (not bad) and College Station (430 miles one way), plus they wanted us to play a meaningless (to the standings) consolation weekend in San Marcos, TX (550 miles one way) which we and may other teams told them we would not do. All of this was within 10 weeks, since Louisiana teams had to finish RPL before high school season started. His team was almost all high school seniors that year, and after playing RPL every year from eighth grade on they had missed out on doing a lot of the things high school kids need to experience -- going to football games, homecoming, working, etc. As parents we did not want them to miss out on everything from high school, so many of the boys missed one or more RPL weekends that year. Had the team been together the following year we as parents had decided that the team would not play RPL West again.

Also, I don't remember ever seeing a college coach at an RPL weekend as this was in the middle of their season. Disney and the Region III Championships absolutely, but not at RPL weekends.