Kind of a funky comment, mpheel. For the record....my sons team played both CESA 94 and Bridge 94 this past Fall.
My take is this.....too many parents are too quick to not give good coaching sufficient credit in their kids development. Conversely, too many clubs and coaches......are too quick to claim or accept credit for their good players development.
I've seen this young guy play a number of times....in a variety of different settings and he's a really, really good player. And, he would be a really, really good player whether he lived in MP or Columbia or Raleigh or CHicago or Atlanta. Give him the credit he deserves......he's not a great player becasue of Bridge. They helped, for sure......but he'd be the player he is....regardless.
The CESA 94 team he's going to is a fabulous team. They are exceedingly well coached and play a terrific style. I guarantee his development will not stall out with this team, my guess is it will accelerate rapidly.
The Bridge team he left was ok....but not remotely comparable to the team he's joined. The level of teammate and the level of coaching he'll get with this team....will be superior to what he got at Bridge, or anywhere else in Region 3 geography...save maybe 1 or 2 places in Texas.
Bridge is a funny animal. Their 93 Boys team played as good a soccer as anyone around....a very elegant style, obviously well coached. Their 92 team was ok.....good, but not VERY good. Never a threat to the CESA team. I guess what I'm trying to say is.....without being ugly, I just don't see how the BFA can hang in there. Their older teams have aged out and outside of the U16 Academy team....what do they have? At least on the boys side.
I just don't think they have the momentum required to maintain a USSF Academy program. There are very good players in that area. But for whatever reason....they no longer seem to be getting them. And Charleston is a lovely city....but its not exactly a cross roads in pulling kids in from out of town to play.
Most parents try to make solid decisions for their kids that are in their best interests....not about pride or ego or whatever. As a third party when I look at the 94 CESA team....and then compare it to the apparent talent pool at Bridge in a 94-95-96 birthyear perspective...it ain't close. There are a handful of hyper talented 94 birthyear players at BFA for sure...just not sure thats enough to fuel an Academy team, or program... in the coming years.
Seems like the family made a reasonable decision to me.
Last edited by Big Daddy; 02/26/09 09:39 PM.
