Well, more craziness has been added to the Southern California soccer scene. A while back I wrote about the changing So Cal scene with ECNL, NPL, SCDSL and CSL and now the Pacific Developmental NPL was announced as the newest addition to the NPL (National Premier League). I still don’t totally understand what it is, but it seems to be part of the SCDSL, start at U13 and play games in both the fall and spring. The clubs involved are non ECNL clubs for the most part and all have strong girls programs. I guess the advantage of this new league is the elimination of much of the travel required in ECNL. This will soon directly affect our family as our daughters’ club is one of the members and our oldest will be U13 in 2013. Sounds exciting to me!
What’s really interesting is that it’s going to be a component of the SCDSL. It’s a great move to appease the non-ECNL clubs as there have been rumblings that the only way to get your daughter seen by college coaches is to have her at an ECNL club. This will give many more girls opportunities to play at the highest levels. I wonder if it will also be more affordable as the travel will be reduced.
This might be the final nail in the coffin for CSL keeping any of the top clubs. Rumor has it that the Eagles, an excellent ECNL club, are still considering moving from CSL. It will be interesting to see what happens- things are changing every day!
If you are interested in reading more, here’s the text of the press release and the link
US Club Soccer’s National Premier Leagues continue to expand in Southern California with introduction of Pacific Developmental NPL
NationalPremierLeagues.com | www.scdslsoccer.com | usclubsoccer.org
CHARLESTON, S.C. (May 15, 2012) – US Club Soccer has announced the creation of the Pacific Developmental NPL as the newest addition to the organization’s National Premier Leagues (NPL).
The NPL has been created to provide a unified, league-based national developmental platform with the highest level of competition in given geographic areas, and to elevate and change the competitive youth soccer landscape based upon fundamental principles outlined in US Club Soccer’s 10-year vision.
Set to kick off in fall 2012, the Pacific Developmental NPL will be administrated by the Southern California Developmental Soccer League (SCDSL) in conjunction with the SCDSL season. Nineteen member clubs from the SCDSL will initially comprise the Pacific Developmental NPL, which will include U-13 through U-17 boys and girls:
- Beach FC
- Central CA Blues
- Chelsea SC
- DMCV Sharks
- Exiles SC
- FRAM
- LA Galaxy
- Laguna Hills Eclipse
- Laguna United
- Legends FC
- Pateadores
- San Diego SC
- Santa Barbara SC
- So Cal Blues
- South Bay Force
- Strikers FC
- TVSA Hawks
- United FC
- West Coast FC
Pacific Developmental NPL participating teams will play a regular-season schedule with winning teams in each age group advancing to the 2013 NPL Champions Cup. The Pacific Developmental NPL will play half of its games in the fall and the remaining games in the spring, following the U.S. Soccer Development Academy and ECNL model for scheduling.
“The SCDSL is pleased to be joining with US Club Soccer in offering the Pacific Developmental NPL as a component of the SCDSL,” said league Operations Manager Michelle Romero. “The flexibility of the SCDSL structure allows us to offer the NPL program as an option to our member clubs and provides an added benefit of membership in the SCDSL with the top NPL teams representing the league in the 2013 NPL Champions Cup. Having the ability to play half of the games in the fall and half of the games in the spring allows us to balance the amount of games being played over the course of the year.”
“The addition of the Pacific Developmental NPL reflects the continued growth of the National Premier Leagues all across the United States,” said US Club Soccer Executive Director Bill Sage.
The Pacific Developmental NPL website will be available soon. Until then, please visit www.scdslsoccer.com.
For more information on the Pacific Developmental NPL, please contact Michelle Romero at michelle@scdslsoccer.com. For more information on the NPL, please contact NPL General Manager Chris Baer at cbaer@usclubsoccer.org or (614) 783-2237