SLSG Metro Announces Membership in ECNL

SLSG Metro, based in Collinsville, IL, has been accepted into the Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) starting in the fall of 2012.  The ECNL, formed in 2009, is the premier national league for elite female youth soccer players in United States and has become the primary mode of identification for youth national team and college scouts.  The ECNL fields divisions at the U14-U18 ages as well as hosting pre-ECNL events for U13s in order to help that age group prepare for full competition when they become U14s.

Across the United States, the ECNL has greatly enhanced the ability of top female players to get placed in collegiate programs and will no doubt have the same impact on the already stellar college placement program at SLSG Metro.  For clubs like SLSG Metro, who are based in less populous metropolitan areas like Southern Illinois, the inclusion in a national league of this caliber and the regional and national exposure it will provide for players in this area is monumental. SLSG Metro will compete in a Midwest conference of the ECNL along with SLSG Missouri and will see competition against the top teams from National Powerhouse clubs including but not limited to Eclipse, Sockers, Michigan Hawks, Vardar, KCFC, and FC Milwaukee.

According to SLSG Metro Program Director, Dale Schilly, “Acceptance into the ECNL has been a goal of the staff’s since the inception of the league.  This is a crowning achievement for elite female soccer players in the Southern Illinois community.  The college opportunities that have now been opened as a result of our ECNL designation are too numerous to quantify and any serious young female player now has a vehicle to be seen by the top college programs in the region and the nation.  Metro United and now SLSG Metro has always done a great job of placing players, but now the visibility that will be offered to our girls will be unparalleled.”

The selection of SLSG Metro to the ECNL makes the club one of only 20 soccer clubs in the entire United States who possesses both a US Development Academy designation on the boys’ side and an ECNL designation on the girl’s side.  “This is a testament to the hard work of the staff and the commitment to the development of our youth on both sides of the program.  The elite level player in Southern Illinois, boy or girl, now has the vehicle to compete against the nations top talent while being seen by college coaches from across the country.  The opportunity for players in our area has never been greater.”

SLSG Metro will hold an information presentation regarding the ECNL and the SLSG Metro ECNL program on Tuesday, June 5th at the Double Tree Inn-Collinsville at 7:00 PM.  The meeting will specifically address how inclusion in the ECNL will impact the SLSG Metro girls program ages U13-U18.  The presentation is open to all girls interested in the ECNL regardless of club affiliation.  For more information, regarding the SLSG Metro ECNL program please contact Dale Schilly at DSchilly@slsgsoccer.com or Mitch Bohnak at MBohnak@slsgsoccer.com.