Quote:

My daughter played on this years '93 odp team. Last year at region the team went 0-3-0, losing 8-0 in one game. This year the girls went 1-1-1, scores of 0-0, 3-2 and 1-4. The last vs MS, who had 2 region starters on their team, and the score was 1-1 at the half. When we got home, my daughter woke up the next day and jumped rope for 30 minutes, ran 2 miles and went to her club practice that afternoon. To say these girls aren't working hard enough is bull. If the state coaches and reps worked as hard promoting the girls to the region staff, we'd be getting more than one girl on the 3 region teams. It's not the girls, it's the state program. We had a total of 5 practices in 6 months. The Florida teams had 5 practices in 2 weeks. If it takes more money, I'll gladly pay. I'm not the soccer expert here. The state leaders need to step up.



Nonato,

You are one of very few people posting in this thread that seem to get it. Any player who would come home after region camp and train as your daughter has done will be a player who will be noticed. That's exactly the kind of individual dedication it will take. It also takes demanding more from each other and the program.

Our 92 boys trained a solid 3 months every Sunday, except for one because the coach had to be out of town, and they were at a 2 day team camp the Sunday and Monday prior to departure on Tuesday. This year it paid off with three straight wins, 12 pool game players and 7 holdovers and qualification for Nationals.

Last year they did the exact same thing with a very different team and came away with a handful of pool game players and no holdovers. The year prior to that, not quite as many training sessions and no team camp, but still they had a respectable showing, pool game presence and one holdover.

Keep in mind our players aren't playing club in the Spring, so we had Sundays open.

My point here is in recognizing the common denominator is in the commitment players show their state team coach from day one so he/she gets excited for them and wants their success as much as they do. Busting your butt to attend every practice is one way of doing that.

From my experience we are blessed with coaches in the program who will go the extra mile for their team. Get every player to do the same like your daughter has done and you'll see them hammer the competition and get the recognition you know they deserve.

You can bet the top 25 players in Region III have the same work ethic you've described in your own daughter. That's what it'll take to be placed among the top 100 USYSA ODP players in the country. Does your son or daughter put their stamp on the game? That's what coaches are looking for at the region level. It's more about timing than politics. Did the region coach see your son or daughter put that stamp on the game. Maybe, maybe not.

Think about that number of the top 100 players in the US, who once identified, are working to earn a place on the national team and then decide if your son or daughter really does do what it takes to be promoted by a coach to that exclusive region pool level of 44 players. If the answer is no, then you should reevaluate your criticism the program and ask your player rethink how much he/she wants to be among that group and then do the extra stuff required to be named one of the best in the region.

Looking at this another way, let's assume you're the Region coach charged with the responsibility of finding the top 25 players in one quarter of the United States. I'm sure you'll agree, that's a pretty big task to accomplish over six days.

1. Are you going to feel the need to equally distribute your selections across every state, when the players attending region camp have already gone through a rigorous selection process to earn their right to be there as a pool of players attending another tryout? Not likely.

2. Did the state team coach feel the need to distribute the selection of state team players equally across every club? Not likely.

If it's me, I'm looking for the best of the best who've proven themselves to their state coach during training and then to their assigned region coach during the first couple of days of camp.

I'm going to consider the recommendation of the assigned region coach and listen to the state coach regarding the players I've had the good fortune to see put their stamp on the game.

I'm going to think of every player as an individual who is attending a higher level tryout. That means every player I select as a Region coach must meet the highest standards I see within the talent pool available to me. Am I going to miss players I should have picked and pick players I shouldn't have picked? Probably, but that's the nature of tryouts.

No question, SC has the talent to compete and earn spots regionally across every age group. What happens beyond that point? who knows? Be proactive in making an impact by getting fired up and demanding more of everyone involved. It takes a ton of work on every level. Any coach will sense your collective excitement for the support of a team that does all of the things region players do and he/she will carry that excitement to the regional level.