Home Forums Long Island & Eastern New York Soccer Message Boards BOTN Main Message Board ENYYSA Premier League & National League Pathway UPDATE

US Youth Soccer's mission is to support all our State Associations, we are excited by the initial proposal put forward by ENYYSA, to create a pathway for all teams looking to access US Youth Soccer National League North Atlantic Conference, the highest level of league play within the region.

ENYYSA intends to offer a State Premier League that meets the needs of all players and teams. Its primary intention is to collaboratively work with all affiliated leagues and players to provide an open pathway to the next level of competition. As the league evolves teams will understand the value of 'earn your place', which is the US Youth Soccer National League hash tag for all teams that progress to the next level of competition.

This statement says absolutely nothing of substance.....

Let me add some as I understand it....

First, ENYYSA is creating a state premier league which is expected to encompass the entire state...Long Island to Buffalo. My understanding is this will for all of the states.

Secondly, while it cryptic the pathway to the National League and North Atlantic Conference will now go through ENYYSA and no longer through EDP starting with the Fall 2022 season. If you read the National league rule book it says that the pathway to the National League is through the state team, meaning that all teams that want to apply to enter the National League will have to registered with ENYYSA, which is the case for all since those teams already USYSA carded.

Does that help you?

US Youth Soccer and ENYYSA will be working together to create a pathway for teams that are looking to access the highest level of play under US Youth Soccer.

The initial chats are to create an ENYYSA State Premier league that can be accessed from all member affiliate leagues. The state league would be under the direction of ENYYSA and administered under collaboratively by the state association and US Youth Soccer.

The vision is to create this structure where teams can go from their local competitions to the new ENYYSA league and then to US Youth Soccer National North Atlantic Conferences.

It will be (hopefully) a promotion/relegation system where top performing teams in the ENYYSA league have road to compete in the US Youth Soccer National North Atlantic Conferences replacing the lowest performing teams.

The model is not based on a team’s location, club affiliation, finances, league affiliation or any other factor besides their ability in matches.

US Youth Soccer and ENYYSA will be working together to create a pathway for teams that are looking to access the highest level of play under US Youth Soccer.

The initial chats are to create an ENYYSA State Premier league that can be accessed from all member affiliate leagues. The state league would be under the direction of ENYYSA and administered under collaboratively by the state association and US Youth Soccer.

The vision is to create this structure where teams can go from their local competitions to the new ENYYSA league and then to US Youth Soccer National North Atlantic Conferences.

It will be (hopefully) a promotion/relegation system where top performing teams in the ENYYSA league have road to compete in the US Youth Soccer National North Atlantic Conferences replacing the lowest performing teams.

The model is not based on a team’s location, club affiliation, finances, league affiliation or any other factor besides their ability in matches.

There will be more details coming during the Spring season in preparation for the Fall 2022 launch of the Premier League (name TBD), to the participation of the ENYYSA expressway to the National League.

ENYYSA ends around Syracuse going west, not Buffalo.

You are correct about we are ENYYSA ends however USYSA & ENYY to incorporate the western New York youth soccer association and their number leagues and clubs to be involved.

My understanding is that both the east and the west are in conversations.

I also should have mentioned that "Premier League" is a description and not the name of the new league. There is no name as of yet. Keep in mind that it will be all the state associations with the pathway to the National League going forward starting in the Fall. This what I have been told and have seen coming directly from USYSA.

New York is a big state. Hopefully the will negotiate some neutral site game to cut down on the travel. Last spring we had a 10 hour round trip and beat the team by 6 goals. It was a long day.

I see your point. I would think that if the west is included, which I am hopeful they will be, my guess is that if there are east meets west games that wouldn't occur until after some point where only top teams from each are ready for quarter, or semi-finals...

The facts right now are nothing has been decided and no group or committee has been named so this is all new and at the beginning.

I think it will be very helpful if you have suggestions to post them here as they will be read and considered as ENYYSA and WNY are reading this thread.

You got it Larry. Divide the state up into 4 regions and have a final 4 every July that rotates between the regions.

Well for starters, they should be mindful of what made nycsl successful and mimic it and make it better, one being to change their rigid scheduling system

That doesn't make sense. New York West is part of the Great Lakes Region, not EDP North Atlantic. Connecticut on the other hand is part of EDP North Atlantic and would have to be involved in any play-in league.

I think you are missing the part that EDP's involvement appears to have been changed. You also missed that this is not a ENYYSA creation, but changes and creation coming down from USYS.

While it wasn't told to me, it seems that EDP's involvement with gary Grossman and how they manipulated the appearance of NYSCL being a USYSA league last year and for registrations this year via the CJSL was not well received by USYSA.

From my seats, I think EDP got their balls smacked and may not see a contract renewal , which I believe has another 5 years to go, meanwhile EDP's influence and involvement appears to have been a bit curtailed. I'm sure they will say otherwise.

5 years? Most of the current kids will be playing in Europe by then.....

. EDP will not be the pathway to the National league. The 5 years is what I understand their contract is with USYSA. Two separate issues.

Whether EDP continues to manage it or not, this is still about (a pathway to) the USYS North Atlantic Conference, which is made up of Eastern New York and Connecticut. Western New York is part of the Great Lakes conference, not the North Atlantic Conference and I can't imagine that anyone wants that to change due to the travel it would require.

I understand that CT may be an issue, and they can join or not join as no where in the discussion did I nor in conversations with me has anyone brought up CT other than as an aside whether they want to stick with EDP or not, however, focus on the statement in the top post, which does apply to ENYYSA. USYSA can make adjustments regarding west and east, and as of this writing the west not a given. As I wrote above the west is in discussion.

Lol why is a new “pathway” needed? The pathway is to … apply and register? Several LIJSL teams did just that recently. Why is another league needed to do that?

My guess is because EDP has been removed from equation, and whether that's the case or not, it is what USYSA and ENYYSA want done.

I admit that much of what is going on here is behind closed doors, so give me time to have my crew get in to both USYSA and ENYYSA offices and bug the the places

I am trying my best to report accurately, however, the story changes after every meeting with these many players involved....

The official USYS National Conference divisions that EDP runs are Premier I and Premier II. The Premier III and Premier IV divisions that EDP has been running the last few years in addition to those were creations of EDP and not official USYS National Conference divisions. But they were used as the unofficial path into those top two official divisions. The various travel leagues weren't happy about those two lower divisions and their discontent became much greater once NYCSL (now NYCS) came into the mix. EDP today continues to run Premier I and Premier II for USYS but have replaced Premier III and Premier IV EDP divisions with a multitude of NYCS divisions.

ENYYSA is pissed off about the whole situation. First they are pissed off that they are losing a number of teams from their own leagues to these NYCS leagues. Second, and much more importantly, they resent the fact that their teams that are worthy of playing premier almost have to go through these lower NYCS divisions first in order to be considered for placement in the official USYS National Conference Premier I and Premier II divisions. So their solution is to construct their own regional league, with the help of USYS, to create an official pathway that they help run that supplants the NYCS leagues.

One thing are correct about is that NYCS will be facing very strong head-winds after the Spring. The rest of your diatribe seems to be opinion, and it is a fairly good grab, but neglect to factor in the strained relationship between USYS and EDP.

As far as ENYYSA goes what they are guilty of is being asleep at the wheel, but I'm seeing them awakening from their deep sleep, and they do have the very strong support of USYS, at least today they do, and I say that because I dont buy into the word of USYSA...another political group of soccer whores.