SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Club Soccer & ODP SCYSA Special Commission Report

Someone asked for my opinion way back in the thread.

Well, needless to say I'm not in a position to offer an opinion on this subject at the moment.

There are some things that I don't understand about the special commission's decision at the present time.

Bridge FA is an organizational member of the SCYSA. The club structure and by laws were approved last year at the proper filing period. So, if this decision is intended to apply to Bridge FA, then the commission acted to remove the organizational status of a member club without due process.

Further, if during the deliberations of the commission, it became evident that Bridge FA was somehow linked to the proceedings, then by due process we should have been included in the proceedings.

However, neither of these occurred, which is very dissapointing. So now, I must work to find out what impact this truly has on the low country.

Coldhardtruth,

Your opinion, which is probably shared by others at the clubs you mentioned, of Bridge FA only serving the few, misses the mark and shows your lack of understanding of the overall arrangement. Perhaps you and I could talk about this some other time, in some other venue.

Of course, that would require removing the veil of anonymity.

Why is everyone so tore up about this? I think this announcement, at face value, is probably the correct decision. Any linkage to Bridge is strictly people rumoring on this Board.

Look, SCYSA is setup in districts. People can grow as much as they want within their own district. But you can't also start worming you way into other districts in an attempt to fuel growth further.

Imagine if all of a sudden NCYSA decided to start registering teams in SC. Imagine if all of a sudden....the Dallas Cowboys decided to setup their own marketing group outside of the NFL. Whoops...already tried that, right?

Boundaries are setup to create organization and prevent chaos. There is a ton of room for CESA to grow...in their own district. Bridge appears to have been created within the confines of the same district.

I'm unaffiliated with any of these Clubs and have nothing to gain or lose by it.

Regarding comments regarding competition....

Again, I'll use the NFL as an example. What is good for the NFL is good for all of the teams. What is good for a handful of teams....may not be good for the NFL or all of the teams.

Do some groups get to exercise their "rights" to achieve their best possible options at the expense of others?

Or, for organizations such as the NFL or SCYSA....should the intention be to create a system that is mixed. Protect the rights of all, yet allow some degree of autonomy for Clubs with strong leadership.

Same thing with Congress......CA has 2 senators, just like Delaware. Delaware has 1 congressman, CA about 50.

Clubs like CESA have tremendous power and influence within the State becasue of their size. But that doesn't mean it is in the best interests of the State to allow them to do whatever they want to do in their own best interests.

Chico or whomever.....I'm not saying anything negative about CESA, so don't read into what I wrote.

All I'm saying is that organized soccer requires a balancing act of the indiviudal club, with the overall association of clubs.

Big Daddy,
It's ironic that you mention NCYSA because they don't have boundaries within the state as far as I can tell. I have read their bylaws and they are more more thorough and concise than SCYSA's. They also have rules in place to deal with out of state players. I don't remember reading it, but I bet they have a requirement of being located in the state of NC to be an affiliate. SCYSA's bylaws DO NOT state that a club has to operate in a certain district. The bylaws state that are a member of the district in which they are located. This means they can only choose representatives for their district and not others.

Guess I'm not locked into the legalistic end of it. More looking at the logic.

CESA is a Greenville based CLub. Now, as the GSP area grows there is certainly a contiguous market that they serve that extends out into Anderson, Spartanburg, etc. No problems there.

But setting up shop in Columbia is a market oriented move. How many Clubs are in Columbia metro area already? 3-5? Does the area really need another?

Underpriveledged/underserved kids? What the heck is that? I can imagine....but please?

This is about establishing a presence in a new metro area in an attempt to further fuel growth, both in terms of deepening your player pool as well as your revenue stream.

I have no problems with that other than......is this what we really want? The dang state is already dominated by CESA, now adding Bridge to the mix.

I would argue this has nothing to do increasing competition, and everything to do with minimizing competition and consolidating control.

Again...as an outsider, its how I see it.

Big daddy,

As a tarheel, how do you see the relation that CASL of NC has with CASL of Virginia with regards to this situation?

For the record, while my kids play Club out of Charlotte we live in York County.

I was told one time....that VA CASL has nothing to do with the CASL based out of Raleigh. Totally different organizations with a shared nickname.

Kind of like Columbia Soccer Club and Charlotte Soccer Club share the CSC handle.

Whether that is accurate or not I don't know.

I don't think it is accurate. Their logos are exactly the same.

Ok, assuming you are right, I'm not totally square with it, but its still a different situation from CESA and "COLA".

CASL NC is crossing state lines into VA, which doesn't affect another club in NC. There is no pain to a fellow NC Club.

A better NC analogy to what CESA is doing would be if CASL setup operations in Charlotte or Greensboro. Run a joint venture with a minor Club with a field or 2 and use the CASL name to ciphon off the best players.

My guess is if they did.....WW3 would erupt, bylaws or no.