San Diego Rebels SC Joins Prestigious ECNL, Creating New Opportunities for Southern California’s Girls
Girls Elite Clubs National League has announced that Rebels Soccer Club is joining the Girls ECNL beginning in the 2019-2020 ECNL Season.
The Girls Elite Clubs National League has expanded in the Southern California area and has welcomed the Rebels Soccer Club to the Girls ECNL beginning in the 2019-2020 ECNL Season.
ECNL has long been the flagship of player development. Years before the U.S. Soccer Development Academy opened its girl’s program, ECNL was busy producing amazing young women. Closed off to many youth soccer clubs, participation in ECNL was available to only a few youth soccer clubs across America.
“Being accepted to and joining ECNL is a tremendous moment for our club,” said Rebels SC Executive Director, Ryan Marquez. “Our goal has always been to push our girls’ teams to compete at the highest level possible while maintaining our possession soccer identity.”
“ECNL is made up of the highest caliber teams,” said Marquez. “We take pride that our players will now have an opportunity to play against the best teams in the country.”
This sentiment was echoed by Abel Martinez who said, “Being accepted and joining the ECNL is a big moment for our club. We are excited for our girls to get this opportunity to compete in the ECNL, which is a platform for elite clubs and players and has a proven track record of showcasing players to the best colleges in the country.”
Rebels SC is known for its commitment to developing high-quality teams and players with a holistic development perspective.
“ECNL is meaningful to us because when we first started at Rebels eight years ago, we wanted our girls to be able to have all the opportunities an elite club had,” said Martinez. “ECNL was that goal for us. This is the pinnacle of achieving that goal.”
“Now we feel our pathway is complete. Our girls have every opportunity an elite club has”
Abel Martinez
Founded in 1982 in Chula Vista, CA, Rebels SC deserves this ‘elite’ classification. Rebels SC has over 120 teams currently playing soccer in America’s finest city. With dozens of college commits over the past several years and a USYS National Championship in 2018, the club has built a strong reputation in the Southern California market.
“We always believed the goal of joining ECNL was achievable — but we knew it was not going to be easy,” said Martinez. “We knew if we taught soccer the right way, it would come.”
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“Since the start of the club, we have focused on developing our players in a positive environment with a possession-based style— and we knew winning would be a byproduct of our training and that our approach would teach our girls how to play the right way,” said Martinez. “Learning positional play and having soccer awareness — these are the things that have led to our players to attain a high soccer IQ and has helped them receive scholarships at the college level.”
“It’s been hard achieving ECNL status, but the journey has been insightful, fun and worthwhile,” said Martinez. “It gives us great satisfaction that we can now offer this to our girls.”
“ECNL is pleased to welcome Rebels SC to the league as one of the top programs in the region,” said ECNL Commissioner, Jen Winnagle.
“Rebels SC will provide a presence in a new market in California and will strengthen the Southwest Conference overall,” said Winnagle. “We look forward to working with the club and supporting their growth as they move into the nation’s top league for female youth players.”
Girls Elite Clubs National League (Girls ECNL) was founded in 2009 in order to enhance the developmental experience of female youth soccer players in the United States through the creation of a national competitive league. ENCL also provides a scouting process for identifying elite female soccer players.
Source: ECNL Press Release and interviews
