CALIFORNIA REGIONAL LEAGUE UPDATE

Hi Coaches, Players, Administrators and Parents,

I just wanted to send out a quick update on the healthy status of the California Regional League Premier Division’s and how we are stack up with competition around Southern California. It’s important to remember one of the CRL’s most important principles is we do everything we can to allow teams to be judge by their performance on the field, therefore the league, every season, will hold a play-in event to give multiple teams the opportunity to advance and play in this very exciting league.

First and foremost, the CRL Premier league is growing every season in every area, including competition, number of teams, quality fields and coaching standards.  When I recently looked at all the division standings the biggest thing I notice is there is more parity throughout each division.

It’s at this stage of the season the we need to remind clubs and teams that if you are in sixth, seventh or even eighth place in your age group in the CRL Premier Division, you need to play hard. Your team could still qualify for next year’s CRL Premier League.  The top six teams are guaranteed a place in the 2018 California Regional League Premier Division for your age.

I feel we have finally found our feet in how we run CRL, which has given us an opportunity to reflect on why clubs and teams want to compete in CRL and what we need to do in the future.

These would be my reasons as a Technical Director to want to compete in CRL

1. Quality competition
2. A season based on multiple games
3. Quality games
4. Games played on quality fields
5. The opportunity for a place in the US Youth Soccer National Championship Series at the Far West Regionals
6. Team subsidies for travel to Far West Regionals and National Championships (if qualified)
7. All major venues have emergency personnel and on-site staff to assist with all your needs
8. CRL is officially a scouted event for Cal South PRO+|ODP
9. Play dates announced six months in advance

Coming soon!

• CRL Match video services
• Coaches will have an opportunity to provide feedback to CRL game officials
• In the 2020 season, the CRL Premier Division will require all coaches have a US Soccer “D” Development License
• Introduction of a set of development standards for team and clubs who participate in the CRL
• Potential CRL Knock-out Cup

A coach asked me recently why playing CRL is such a great opportunity. This is what I told him: As an elite team, your goal is to go as far as you can in the National Championships and if you take a moment to think about this, how do I achieve that goal?

• I can enter CRL and play a 10-12 games season against quality teams and earn a spot in Far West Regionals
• I can also enter the Cal South National Cup Competition where you will play 3 games and hope to move into the knock out rounds and win a spot at the Far West Regionals

Both are great options, and all teams should do both, but the thing to remember is the National Cup is, by its nature, a knock-out competition with the winner standing tall; CRL is a league season consisting of multiple games.

I want to thank you all for participating in the Southern California Regional Premier League good look in the second half of the season

Yours truly,

Steve Hoffman

Cal South CRL Technical Director