What is the Elite Clubs National League Boys- Regional League?
ECNL Boys Regional Leagues are operated and managed so as to ensure a consistent environment and level of professionalism across all leagues, facilitating more club connectivity between levels of play and providing a path for more players within each Member Club to reach their fullest potential. Each league allows for coordination and collaboration between the teams of different levels within ECNL clubs, or opportunity for teams and players in other clubs to develop through regular high-level competition.
The ECNL Boys Regional Leagues will offer a pathway to the ECNL Boys Regional League Finals, held in conjunction with the ECNL Boys Playoffs in San Diego, CA.
You can use this link to access the ECNL Regional League Boys website
How will this help my son reach his goals of collegiate and professional soccer?
ECNL Regional League clubs compete against other ECNL Regional League clubs in national tournaments, college showcases, and special cross-conference events. Competing against some of the biggest and best clubs and players in the country, our players will see high quality opponents each week and also have the opportunity to showcase their talents on the national stage.
What Conference will South Carolina Surf participate in and who are the clubs/teams?
Starting the 2023 season, the ECNL Regional League Southeast Conference will be spit into East and West Divisions.
We will compete in the East Division along with SCUFC, CESA, AFU, CF Premier, and NTH-NASA for 6 teams total. The West Division will consist of 6 teams including: Alabama FC, CF Platinum, UFA, GSA, TSC, and FC Alliance
Our U15-U18/19 (High School age players) teams will play each team in our East Division home and away, and each team in the West Division either home OR away. The fixture versus the West Division opponent will alternate each season. The total number of league games played is 16
Our U13-U14 (non- High School age players) teams will play each team in the East Division and each team in the West Division home and away across the Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 season for 22 league games
How long is the ECNL Season?
The season will begin in August and commence with playoffs in June. High School aged players will break from league play for High School sports participation from February to May.
What is the travel commitment like?
With the restructuring of the ECNL Southeast into East and West Divisions it makes travel much easier for our older teams. You can expect to travel 3-4 weekends in the Fall season for U15-U18/19 league games, plus showcases/events. For U13-U14, you can expect to travel 3-4 weekends in the Fall and Spring season each as the league games are spread across the entire season
How do you qualify for the playoffs?
With the restructuring of the ECNL Southeast Conference into East and West Divisions the new playoff qualification process is as follows:
U13 -U18/19 – the top 2 teams from the East and the top 2 teams from the West will advance to play the top 4 teams from the Carolinas Regional League with the winners advancing to the Regional League National Finals
How many showcases are hosted per year?
ECNL Regional League host numerous showcase events each year. These events are not required but are suggested by the league. Our teams will likely attend 1 ECNL Regional League event per year, with our older (U15-U18/19) teams possibly attending two for college recruiting purposes
Will I be allowed to play school sports while in the ECNL?
YES, Participation in school sports will be allowed. We are focused on the players, their development and health so we will continue to monitor during the High School break as some players may elect to not participate in school sports. Players suffer more injuries due to overuse and we want to support players with proper periodization.
What age groups will SC Surf place in the ECNL Boys Regional League?
We will place teams at U-13, U-14, U-15, U-16 U17, & U-18/19.
Will I get to play with the ECNL team? If so, how does that process work?
SC Surf utilizes a passport system that provides training and game opportunities for our players on our second and third tier teams based on performance, attitude and commitment. Constant dialogue between age group coaches and periodic age group trainings allow these players to be under constant evaluation and when deserved get opportunities to play up.
How do I find out more information on the ECNL Boys Regional League?
Please contact ECNL-RL Director Vladimir Henderson-Suite at vladimir@southcarolinasurfsoccer.com