ECNL Member Club Standards and Guidelines
CHARLESTON, S.C. (Oct. 9, 2009) – The Elite Clubs National League is pleased to announce the adoption of the ECNL Member Club Standards and Guidelines for the 2009-10 season. The Standards and Guidelines have been established by the Board of Directors of the Elite Clubs National League, Inc., for its member clubs to help share best practices in player development across the country, to improve the overall standard of player development in each club, and to ensure the long-term success and stability of the league as a platform for development of the country's top female youth soccer players.
The ECNL Member Standards and Guidelines document is comprised of three key sections: (i) Participation/Communication Standards, (ii) Administrative Standards and (iii) Technical Guidelines. The Participation/Communication Standards and Administrative Standards are requirements for membership in the ECNL, while the Technical Guidelines are provided as recommendations to assist member clubs in offering an optimal environment for player development.
The Participation/Communication Standard and Administrative Standards address requirements regarding club information and communication requirements, event participation, ECNL Summit Meeting attendance, rules compliance, required documentation and marketing guidelines and other related areas. "The ECNL is a member-run league,” said ECNL Vice President Doug Bracken. “As such, to be successful, the member clubs must hold each other to a very high standard. The standards set forth in this document give our member clubs a clear picture of those high standards. Moving forward as a league and as a platform for improving player development, our members and our league are committed to operating with the utmost professionalism in all aspects – technical and administrative."
Adopted with the input and support of various U.S. National Team and WPS coaches, coaches of multiple NCAA national championships, and other leading coaches in the youth, collegiate and professional game, the Technical Guidelines provide member clubs with recommendations on staffing, coaching education, training environment and frequency, player development curriculum, technical reporting, the competition environment and coach/player conduct.
“Clearly the ECNL has reached out to a number of prominent former U.S. Women's National Team coaches to provide input,” said US Club Soccer Executive Director Bill Sage. “It's further proof that the ECNL is following its mission of providing the best soccer opportunity for competitive girls' players in country.”
"The ECNL was established to help raise the bar for female youth soccer in this country, and the Technical Guidelines are a key step in this direction," said ECNL President Christian Lavers. "The Technical Guidelines represent what we believe to be the key components for creating the best possible developmental environment for players within our member clubs, and within the ECNL."Our goal is for this to be a ‘working' document over the coming years, with additional information, processes and tools added each year to help improve the overall developmental environment for the female player,” said Lavers. “As the ECNL gains roots in the soccer community, we hope that some of these guidelines will eventually become expectations for all clubs, but we must move forward one step at a time, with a long-term view of our ultimate goals.”
The next ECNL regular-season event will be held in conjunction with the NCAA Division I women's soccer championship, Dec. 4-6, 2009, in College Station, Texas.
