SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Girls Varsity Soccer Question For SCHSL

mk#11—You are making an absurb comment, but nonetheless, this is an issue of fairness. Woodruff HAS become competitive through hard work and trying to build a program, and thus, I feel making a claim about fairness is even more relevant.

Coach Chass, excellent point!

scskeeper 6-0 = worse

Here are some interesting facts and statistics for the Girls 2A/1A Soccer:

2001 – 2006: a private school has won the state championship 6 straight years.
2001 – 2006: Of the 12 teams competing over 6 years in the state championship games 10 have been private schools and 2 have been public.

Over the past six years:
100% of the state titles have gone to a private school.
83% of the upstate champions have been private schools.
83% of the lower state champions have been private schools.

If you are a small public school in SC you have 17% chance of even getting to play in the Championship Game and 0% chance of winning it. This is not a level playing field. Public schools can and will continue to build their programs, but when they have to compete against private schools which have a large pool of players training with the Greenville and Charleston Clubs …..You won’t see these statistics change much in the future. It is time for SCHSL to do something and give the public school athletes they serve a fair chance.

In addition, perhaps it's time for high schools to think of other ways to gain a competitive advantage.

From the SCHSL Constitution:

Before being considered as a member of the League, the non-public school must clearly define its attendance area
as one of the following: (1) the attendance area of the public school in whose attendance area the school is
located, (2) the school district in which the school is located, and (3) the county in which the school is located.

Public schools, however, are limited to option (1). Again, not the same rules for private and public member schools.

That said, if you eliminate all of the players who don't come from the local public school's attendance zone, would that place the private school at a severe numbers disadvantage? Probably so.

Does compensating for that by allowing the private school to pick and choose the best applicants from a county-wide area put public schools at a disadvantage? Sure...it effectively gives them the opportunity to create a county All-Star team. And it's hard to blame serious athletes for wanting to come to BE or CC to be a part of that.

Anyway, I don't have a solution that would be fair to both sides. I agree with mk#11 that any team with proper training and motivation can learn to be competitive, but being competitive is not always the same as winning championships. There are a lot of excellent, competitive teams who are sitting at home right now thinking about next season. In that arena, even a slight advantage can make the difference...which is why our governing body is in place to ensure as level a playing field as possible so that everyone is at least starting from the same point. Can't control things like the number of club teams and other feeder programs in a school's attendance area...there will always be schools at advantage or disadvantage based on that, and it's just a fact of life...but I hope the League examines carefully the things it CAN regulate.

Chico - There is no question that CESA is a great club and players have a competitive edge by participating in anything CESA has to offer. However, most of the smaller 2A/1A public schools are not located in Greenville. Unless players are planning to play in college it is extremely difficult to get them to commute an hour or more each way to participate in a CESA program.....especially while trying to maintain good grades. Again, the private schools have a geographic advantage.

SCPaver: I apologize, I was too terse. There are two things I'm trying to communicate with the above sentence. The first was the text itself: "In addition, perhaps it's time for high schools to think of other ways to gain a competitive advantage.", the second was a hyperlink giving an example. In Columbia, some high schools have short-sided teams that play at the Plex in the fall to get more work.

I wasn't trying to refute the argument you and others are making; it seems to me statistically that the league should force these schools to play at higher levels of play until one is found in which they're competitive but not dominating. But until the league does it, I was simply trying to point out alternatives for high schools, all high schools, to improve the overall quality of their programs.

Again, I apologize for the ambiguity.

i disagree with the supposition that athletes at public AA-A schools are not able to compete with athletes from AA-A private school members of the SCHSL. Rather than seeking to lessen the level of competition by eliminating the private schools, perhaps there are lessons to be learned from their programs that can be constructively applied to currently non-competitive programs.

Historically, the Bishop England girls' have been successful even during the years when the SCHSL championship was open to all classifications (including 4-A and 3-A)and they have been successful against the largest programs in Georgia (5-A) and North Carolina. We can benefit from adopting some of the very basic approaches that have been the real reason for their success. i offer a few of their approaches:
1. Fitness: You can not compete well if you are not fit. A comprehensive twelve month fitness program is essential and simple to design. There should be an established minimum fitness level documented by a test at the start of each season. It has the added benefit of limiting injuries.
2. Skill acquisition: Most my age did not learn this game on fancy fields, in fancy uniforms, and traveling to expensive locations. We learned on beaches or on dusty fields from others who learned the same way. The key is developing touch; comfort with the ball. This takes hours of daily training by individual players who are simply shown how to train.
3. Knowledge of the game: Watching the game being played at a high level is essential. This is now relatively easy to accomplish. FSN broadcasts daily matches from the EPL. Players should watch and study with their coach providing commentary.
4. Planned training sessions: Each session should be planned and there should be a progression to the daily training. There should be a season-long coaching plan that is intended to establish the style most suited to the team. For example today we will work on possession against high pressure by starting with simple 2 v 1 possession drills and building gradually to full sided keep away.
5. Seek challanges: Do not worry about wins; look to play the best teams available to you. We have all experienced the "scar building" period...do not avoid it. When the wins come and they will, success will be earned not legislated.

One final suggestion: if you need help ask for it. There are many of us in every community who are quite willing to pass on our knowledge...free of charge. If you need help with training design or finding a trainer post and we will try to help you. Good luck and best wishes.

Many,many female athletes in A/AA schools play multiple sports. When it is not soccer season it is Cross Country,Volley Ball, Basketball and cheerleading. Without the multisport athlete at this level,it would be hard for small public schools to field teams in all sports. Besides, i thought year round coaching was against the rules.

I wondered about the off-season training also. Chico, how does this fit in with the high school rules of not touching the ball until a certain date?