soccerrus2 wrote:

onetenguy wrote:

Last year Marcus had eight USSF Academy players - four seniors, one junior and three sophomores.

I stand corrected, and you still didn't get to state with that much talent?

We ran up against the Jesuit "Recruiters". When you have DFW as your attendance zone, Jesuit has a serious unfair advantage. Anybody with money can go to Jesuit and play. You know, it's go to Jesuit and buy your kid a trophy.......

onetenguy wrote: I can confirm that is correct. Although, there are rumors that the Academy itself will ban high school play in the near future - not a good thing.

Yeah I hear the same rumors. This will be nothing but trouble, and for what?

Maybe so other kids can get some exposure. The AL kids will be seen by colleges etc. How about openening up those opportunities for the other kids who with the AL kids on the squad would not get to feature?

go99 wrote:Maybe so other kids can get some exposure. The AL kids will be seen by colleges etc. How about openening up those opportunities for the other kids who with the AL kids on the squad would not get to feature?

What?? I'm not following.

The AL kids were playing D1 just a couple of years ago. Now way back in those days there was no question bout D1 players not playing in HS. .

Basically if the AL kid is not on the squad, another kid would take his spot. A kid who does not have the advantadge of the AL exposure.

go99 wrote:Basically if the AL kid is not on the squad, another kid would take his spot. A kid who does not have the advantadge of the AL exposure.

OK you keep saying the same thing. First off how about a basic explaination of your understanding of all this expsoure you reference. Then how this exposure relates in any way to who or who is not allowed to play HS ball (and please keep in mind how a HS coach might feel ).

gpoo wrote:

go99 wrote:Basically if the AL kid is not on the squad, another kid would take his spot. A kid who does not have the advantadge of the AL exposure.

OK you keep saying the same thing. First off how about a basic explaination of your understanding of all this expsoure you reference. Then how this exposure relates in any way to who or who is not allowed to play HS ball (and please keep in mind how a HS coach might feel ).

By the highschool age I am assuming many of the competative soccer players are trying to get into colleges. The exposure is getting seen by recruiters. The recruiters will see the AL games and many of the competative tournaments and some highschool games. I don't think it is needed for the same small group of kids to feature in every single one of those. If we pull the AL kid out of the equation, not only does the HS coach have to work on developing his other talent, the HS player also gets his chance to shine. BTW I didn't consider how the HS coach feels at all because it shouldn't be about him. Of course the coach wants the AL kids so he can win. AL, CL, HS are all opportunities, I just don't think it's great for the same small group of kids to take all of the opportunities. Just thought of an example. FCD 96 boys are advancing in the state cup. They have already qualified for regionals through the PL. Would have love to see them skip the state cup. If they win the state cup, the only thing they accomplish is denying another NTX team the opportunity to go to regionals. That would be FCD taking both opportunities. Not saying I endorse the AL pulling players just saying I also see the upside. The kid who doesn't play or get the attention and developement from the coach would because now the coach has to use him.

go99 wrote:

gpoo wrote:

go99 wrote:Basically if the AL kid is not on the squad, another kid would take his spot. A kid who does not have the advantadge of the AL exposure.

OK you keep saying the same thing. First off how about a basic explaination of your understanding of all this expsoure you reference. Then how this exposure relates in any way to who or who is not allowed to play HS ball (and please keep in mind how a HS coach might feel ).

By the highschool age I am assuming many of the competative soccer players are trying to get into colleges. The exposure is getting seen by recruiters. The recruiters will see the AL games and many of the competative tournaments and some highschool games. I don't think it is needed for the same small group of kids to feature in every single one of those. If we pull the AL kid out of the equation, not only does the HS coach have to work on developing his other talent, the HS player also gets his chance to shine. BTW I didn't consider how the HS coach feels at all because it shouldn't be about him. Of course the coach wants the AL kids so he can win. AL, CL, HS are all opportunities, I just don't think it's great for the same small group of kids to take all of the opportunities. Just thought of an example. FCD 96 boys are advancing in the state cup. They have already qualified for regionals through the PL. Would have love to see them skip the state cup. If they win the state cup, the only thing they accomplish is denying another NTX team the opportunity to go to regionals. That would be FCD taking both opportunities. Not saying I endorse the AL pulling players just saying I also see the upside. The kid who doesn't play or get the attention and developement from the coach would because now the coach has to use him.

Actually, there are very very few boys that play in college (read the other 100 threads on this). I would say all high school players play to represent their school not for college scholarships because no recruiters go to the games. Also, don't expect a whole lot of development from high school coaches. This is why they love their academy and club players.

maybe if they didnt have those AL players they would

I don't think it will always be that way, where the HS coach has to rely on his club kids to carry the team. With the advancement of soccer at the MS level, we should start to see a better product coming from outside the clubs. Not a replacement, but a better developed product across the roster.

finish1 wrote:I don't think it will always be that way, where the HS coach has to rely on his club kids to carry the team. With the advancement of soccer at the MS level, we should start to see a better product coming from outside the clubs. Not a replacement, but a better developed product across the roster.

My son played middle school soccer in Lewisville ISD. The coaches main offensive strategy was "Kick it". None of the coaches had a clue about soccer. The club players basically ran everything (seventh and eight graders). I don't think middle school soccer will be a force for development anytime soon. Sorry to burst your bubble but that's how it has been so far at least in LISD.

soccerrus2 wrote:

go99 wrote:

gpoo wrote:

go99 wrote:Basically if the AL kid is not on the squad, another kid would take his spot. A kid who does not have the advantadge of the AL exposure.

OK you keep saying the same thing. First off how about a basic explaination of your understanding of all this expsoure you reference. Then how this exposure relates in any way to who or who is not allowed to play HS ball (and please keep in mind how a HS coach might feel ).

By the highschool age I am assuming many of the competative soccer players are trying to get into colleges. The exposure is getting seen by recruiters. The recruiters will see the AL games and many of the competative tournaments and some highschool games. I don't think it is needed for the same small group of kids to feature in every single one of those. If we pull the AL kid out of the equation, not only does the HS coach have to work on developing his other talent, the HS player also gets his chance to shine. BTW I didn't consider how the HS coach feels at all because it shouldn't be about him. Of course the coach wants the AL kids so he can win. AL, CL, HS are all opportunities, I just don't think it's great for the same small group of kids to take all of the opportunities. Just thought of an example. FCD 96 boys are advancing in the state cup. They have already qualified for regionals through the PL. Would have love to see them skip the state cup. If they win the state cup, the only thing they accomplish is denying another NTX team the opportunity to go to regionals. That would be FCD taking both opportunities. Not saying I endorse the AL pulling players just saying I also see the upside. The kid who doesn't play or get the attention and developement from the coach would because now the coach has to use him.

Actually, there are very very few boys that play in college (read the other 100 threads on this). I would say all high school players play to represent their school not for college scholarships because no recruiters go to the games. Also, don't expect a whole lot of development from high school coaches. This is why they love their academy and club players.

This is, unfortunately, the myth that will never go away as long as there are parents who can scrape together enough money to finance the dream.....

.......you could probably pay off the national debt.......

finish1 wrote:I don't think it will always be that way, where the HS coach has to rely on his club kids to carry the team. With the advancement of soccer at the MS level, we should start to see a better product coming from outside the clubs. Not a replacement, but a better developed product across the roster.

I competely disagree. I think you have too much trust in the middle/high school coaches. Most middle school seasons last a month...you think the soccer (or freshman football) coaches work with the boys any of the rest of the 11 months? No. The best teams are those that have the higher quality club players.

soccerrus2 wrote:

finish1 wrote:I don't think it will always be that way, where the HS coach has to rely on his club kids to carry the team. With the advancement of soccer at the MS level, we should start to see a better product coming from outside the clubs. Not a replacement, but a better developed product across the roster.

I competely disagree. I think you have too much trust in the middle/high school coaches. Most middle school seasons last a month...you think the soccer (or freshman football) coaches work with the boys any of the rest of the 11 months? No. The best teams are those that have the higher quality club players.

I don't disagree with your arguement. In fact, I agree. My point is that as middle school soccer develops over time (it is still relatively new across the metroplex), the quality of non-club players should increase. If so, HS coaches should have a deeper talent pool to choose from in regards to the non-club players. Personally, I think good athleticism develops at home (nutrition/exercise/rest/game understanding) and coaches at all levels benefit from healthy parental involvement.

finish1 wrote:

soccerrus2 wrote:

finish1 wrote:I don't think it will always be that way, where the HS coach has to rely on his club kids to carry the team. With the advancement of soccer at the MS level, we should start to see a better product coming from outside the clubs. Not a replacement, but a better developed product across the roster.

I competely disagree. I think you have too much trust in the middle/high school coaches. Most middle school seasons last a month...you think the soccer (or freshman football) coaches work with the boys any of the rest of the 11 months? No. The best teams are those that have the higher quality club players.

I don't disagree with your arguement. In fact, I agree. My point is that as middle school soccer develops over time (it is still relatively new across the metroplex), the quality of non-club players should increase. If so, HS coaches should have a deeper talent pool to choose from in regards to the non-club players. Personally, I think good athleticism develops at home (nutrition/exercise/rest/game understanding) and coaches at all levels benefit from healthy parental involvement.

I don't think anyone would argue, but it is the reality that is being pointed out. HS is tough enough in terms of getting a coach that knows the game, and has...perspective. The best HS coaches I know are also club coaches. They know the game, know how to train the kids, and have a much healthier perspective since it's a given that much of the starting line-up are products of the club system.

MS soccer from my DD's experience was pure-dee fun. And yes it was great seeing kids out there that probably hadn't played since their last rec game, and watching them start back on the development curve was more pure-dee fun. We were very fortunate to have a women soccer player/MS teacher step-up as the coach. She allowed the girls to play the game, and not force feed them the typical dump and run that is so common in school ball.

Anyways the point as I ramble is that MS is currently a very fun activty for the soccer kids. It may hopefully bring some back to the game but in terms of developing it is much too short a cycle to have much effect. Now if you are talking MS football, well between a full fall of practices and spring ball there is much more focus there on development.

gpoo wrote:


MS soccer from my DD's experience was pure-dee fun. And yes it was great seeing kids out there that probably hadn't played since their last rec game, and watching them start back on the development curve was more pure-dee fun. We were very fortunate to have a women soccer player/MS teacher step-up as the coach. She allowed the girls to play the game, and not force feed them the typical dump and run that is so common in school ball.

Anyways the point as I ramble is that MS is currently a very fun activty for the soccer kids. It may hopefully bring some back to the game but in terms of developing it is much too short a cycle to have much effect. Now if you are talking MS football, well between a full fall of practices and spring ball there is much more focus there on development.

You lost me at DD.!

If you have MS (Middle School) soccer enjoy it. It's a brief, but enjoyable experince. Not much more to be gained but fun, camaraderie (companionship, friendship), and some healthy competition, which is not a bad thing for sure.

My DD (daughter) enjoyed it very much.

Glad to hear kids are having fun with MS soccer. In the short term, I agree there is more to gain on the friendship level. The longer perspective is that as more kids enter the system, the competition will become greater and the strength of the players will improve.

Is the middle school soccer season over? How was it this year?