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ECNL Expands for 2011-2012 to 66 Clubs in eight Conferences
RICHMOND, Va (February 7, 2011) – From the almost 90 clubs that applied for membership, the ECNL has announced that fourteen new clubs have been extended New Membership Invitations for the 2011-2012 ECNL Season. If all invitations are accepted, the number of ECNL Member Clubs will increase to 66 for the 2011-2012 season. The clubs extended ECNL New Membership Invitations for the 2011-2012 ECNL Season are:

Blue Valley SC (KS) Colorado Storm SC (CO)
Dallas Texans SC (TX) Eagles SC (CA)
East Meadow SC (NY) Gwinnett Soccer Association (GA)
Las Vegas Premier SC (NV) McLean YSA (VA)
Penn Fusion Soccer Academy (PA) Richmond Strikers (VA)
So Cal Blues (CA) Sockers FC (IL)
TSC Hurricanes (OK) World Class FC (NY/ NJ)
In 2011-2012, the 66 ECNL Member Clubs will be separated into eight regional conferences as the ECNL expands to a full 25- to 30-game season. Conference alignments will be released in the coming weeks.


“For the second year in a row, we have added some tremendous clubs to the ECNL, each with great leadership and history in developing soccer players,” said ECNL President Christian Lavers. “We are very excited about the regional conference structure that is being created for 2011-2012 for all the ECNL Member Clubs, and feel it will have a tremendous impact on player development in all our markets.”

Invitation decisions were based on various factors, including: 1) long-term club history in female soccer, 2) long-term history in development of female soccer players, 3) club leadership and management structure, and 4) geographical considerations. Lastly, all current ECNL Member Clubs voted in a democratic and confidential format.

“These decisions are always very difficult, and there are a lot of very good soccer clubs and leaders in this country,” said ECNL Vice President Doug Bracken. “With the 14 clubs that we have added, and the expansion in our schedule, we feel that the ECNL is in a wonderful position to positively impact youth female soccer for years to come.”

So far, it appears the new clubs are extremely excited about joining the ECNL for the 2011-2012 season. “We are very excited about joining the ECNL for 2011-2012. The ECNL has created a competitive environment for talented players to develop even further. The Dallas Texans believe that the ECNL, with their sponsor Nike, will create an even brighter future for young women to become their best and reach their full potential,” commented Hassan Naziri, Dallas Texans Director of Coaching.

An announcement regarding the dates and locations of the ECNL National Events, as well as the ECNL conference alignments for 2011-2012, will be made in April.

Looks like there are gonna be a lot of changes in R3P and preimer teams this fall. If the ECNL team are gonna have their own 25-30 games it does not seem they will be in the mix for anything else.

So when do ECNL and Academy combine and just call themselves somthing new, and save on admin costs and charter flights together?

Looks like no time for high school soccer, either....

This is a crazy arms race. The Region III format was fine for the girls game, the games were (are) competitive and the level was fine for the development and subsequent recruitment of the players. ODP provided another great avenue for recruitment. Traveling to different time zones to play will not help the development at all- there are limited players (approaching zero) that will play anywhere other than the southeast. The ECNL costs in Charlotte are moving to 5-6K to play- the game is getting more exclusive at a time when the oppostite track should be the goal

first touch, you nailed it. good post. if you asked any parent or player from the current u18 CESA girls premier team if their kid was recruited because of ECNL.They could not honestly tell you yes.

Can someone refresh my memory on what level of club soccer All-American Blakely Mattern played when she was at JL Mann?

so maybe the question that should be asked is "how much did it cost to Blakely to play at the highest level available, against the best teams she could possibly find, every chance she got?