I have been following girls soccer for along time but i have never seen a girl like the one i saw this weekend.Her name was AJ. she has speed and skill and knows when to use it. She is the best in the state hands down. So if you have time go out and see this young lady play. She is number one on West Florence girls soccer. No young lady plays like her.
What premier and ODP team is she on?
Good Rule:
Never declare a player "best" after watching a high school match. Better watch several matches in many different situations, including high-level club (regional play).
Amen. There is only one "best", and we probably haven't had the privilege of seeing her.
AJ played ODP last year but did not try out this year.
http://www.scsoccer.com/forum/showflat.p...=true#Post95189She didn't make the All-Tourney team. I don't doubt she's good, but that is a bad sign.
Kickin101:
I think it is great you support this youg lady. I have seen her play and she is fast, very fast, but her skill with the ball is a little suspect at a higher level. I saw her at ODP last year.
What Club team does she play for?
AJ is very, very good. Her speed is unmatchable even with a ball. The only way we could contain her in Fall of 06 (when florence u-15 won the state cup) was to be physical with her and knock her around. We still lost 4-2. AJ finished with two goals and two assists. Very impressive player indeed. She is a very passionate player as well. She played for CUFC Elite this year.
Elite doesn't say much for me!!!!
Neither does the word soccer apparently.
I too have seen her play, both club and high school. Very good player with a lot of potential, but, "best player in the state hands down", not even close.
Good one. I don't get it.
I do not think there is any one player in the state that is the best hands down. Moreover, the approach should be who belongs in the elite group in our state. Oh and Samuel "scarecrow" Jackson, "if I only had a brain!"
You have to judge players on their tasks or what they are asked to do on the field..That forward is not going to get alot accomplished without those other ten players on the field..And it is hard for a defender to stand out from everyone else when you are suppose to play as a team
Best player is Kira Campbell of Lexington hands down!!!
Sara Jacobs at Riverside is pretty off the planet. Kira is also.
Caitlin Robison would be my pick for "Elite" field player (#2 in goals 05, #1 in 06, 07) with Kendall Maxwell (Ohio State commit) making the cut in goal.
p.s. I did not edit this post
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Caitlin Robison would be my pick for "Elite" field player (#2 in goals 05, #1 in 06, 07) with Kendall Robinson (Ohio State commit) making the cut in goal.
Shouldn't that be Maxwell??
What are you talking about
?
Isn't it nice that the quotes can't be changed?
Didn't think a new thread was appropriate, but why is Ellison Sharpe not on the "watch list" for all-star games? I know Coach K is a busy guy, but I can't be the only one out there that has seen what she does for Dreher.
Marissa Sumwalt, Blue Ridge - 41 points in 6 games. Sophomore, Captain, Greer Citizen Player of the Week 3/17/08, CESA player.
Jury is still out on Sumwalt being the best. Good player!
Blue Ridge has no quality wins. Good teams played resulted in losses and no goals scored.
Goals scored against quality opponents count more than goals against weak opponents.
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I do not think there is any one player in the state that is the best hands down. Moreover, the approach should be who belongs in the elite group in our state.
How about holding Eastide (State Champion) to a 0-0 tie until 9:02 left? That isn't a quality win, but I would like to see another team do it? Marissa had two quality chances where she would have scored 90% of the time and the ball wasn't passed from ninth graders who haven't gotten there yet.
Ashleigh Sheets is an excellent player for Fort Mill. She has committed to West Point.
The best girl soccer players will be determined by the college coaches that offer schlorships to the players. Does Sumwalt want to play college soccer? If so, what schools?
PC, UNC Clemson so far. Played at Clemson camp allstar game last year. She did score on Riverside, J.L.Mann, and Wade Hampton last year as a freshman.
Thats all I need to hear to put her on my shortlist
She ran a timed 14.2 second 120 yard dash at practice followed by 6 under 16 seconds with 1 minute rest. She can fly!
Ok, I don't know that means but it sounds good. If you can tell me her qualifying time at Martinsville it might help me to understand.
What CESA team does Marissa play for
She burnt the bottoms off both feet at the first day of Premier tryouts last year and had to play the second day with raw tootsies. She played Challenge 92 (finished 3rd in state) and played midfield 1/2 time. Scored their goals in the State Cup. LOVES playing for CESA.
Quick and FAST. You can stay with her for 10, maybe, you might stay with her for 20, but when she Cruyff's or pulls back, you are going to look like a greyhound flying by. We have several film clips of broken ankles which are pretty good. The sportswriter for the Greer News had the best quote: "If Marissa Sumwalt gets behind your defense, you had better say a prayer for your goalie." She just loves soccer.
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She burnt the bottoms off both feet at the first day of Premier tryouts last year and had to play the second day with raw tootsies. She played Challenge 92 (finished 3rd in state) and played midfield 1/2 time. Scored their goals in the State Cup. LOVES playing for CESA.
why is she not on the premier team?
Couldn't walk. Hard to show speed when the bottom of your foot is off. She will probably play premier this year, but loved the girls on the Challenge team. Relationships with them and the coach may rule.
Keep in mind she's a 10th grader. Sara Jacobs (Riverside/Senior), Austin Fagan (Riverside/Senior), are better players at this stage. Supporting casts are better. Blue Ridge starts 5 sophomores and 3 freshmen. Future is bright.
what number was she in club? in trying to place her from when we played them at state cup.
Airport's Casey Jones. She is a junior and has the ability to take over a game although she doesn't have to because the entire squad is solid.
My daughter played on the 91 premier team .
Sure could have used Sc's best soccer player.
" Region 3 Premier league is humbling !!!
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My daughter played on the 91 premier team .
Sure could have used Sc's best soccer player.
" Region 3 Premier league is a humbling !!!
go to church fat guy and pray for a better year
do you know who this kid is from the challenge team? i do not remember anyone like that when we played them in state cup.
91 premier was solid. What number was your daughter?
Article on Marissa is on the scsoccer.com site where articles are located. She was Greer Citizen Player of the Week last week. I think the date of the article was 3/18/08 or close to that.
I think this thread proves two things that scsoccer.com should consider:
(1) Start a "Shameless Plug" thread
(2) Start a "Discuss by Not-so-veiled Innuendo" thread
Happy Easter. . .
cat's cradle: That's what everyone has this thread for!!!
I like what "sweetfeet" said concerning the fact that it's the college coaches that end up making this decision in a de facto manner. The last few several high school inactive players being awarded the Gatorade player of the year were Blakely Mattern, Julie Bolt, Lindsey Beam, and Kimmie Gillespie. All have made really big impacts at some pretty impressive college programs. While there are a lot of good players named here year after year (after year!), only a few have the potential to make big impacts at highly competitive programs and can really take their game to the "next level."
I also agree with the statement that RIIIPL is humbling. I honestly couldn't tell you who was a player capable of taking their game to the next level without seeing them in RIIIPL or a similarly highly competitive environment -- the ability to take on the type of opponent or opponents you're going to see in college are pretty critical.
Still...always entertaining to read this stuff. It always has me doing the backward search to figure out the relationship with the player of the person touting the player.
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cat's cradle: That's what everyone has this thread for!!!
O! My bad. . .
It's high school....and the Player of the Year award has to be measured according to what is done at the high school level.
Does the Heisman Trophy always go to the player who will have the most success in the NFL?
Is Stephen Curry the best guard in college basketball? (He did his damage in the SoCon....not the Big East or Pac 10).
Does the best player in the state have to play R3 Premier and/or ODP?
I agree that the player being considered the best in the state should be receiving a lot of mail from D1 programs, but if Blakely, Julie and Lindsey had decided to play their collegiate soccer at Tufts, Carnegie Mellon and RPI, should we have taken their award away because they didn't go on to prove themselves at the highest level? Or does the fact that they did go to D1 programs validate their award?
No room here for your logic, Hurst. We love to chase our tail on this subject at least twice a season...you know this! You take your reasoning and stick it in a sack mister!
#7 was a player - very familiar with her
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When scsoccer.com released its most recent rankings, there was something unusual about the list of the stateıs top 3-A girls teams.
For the first time in the programıs history, the Blue Ridge Lady Tigers are ranked among the best teams in the state, entering the week at number 15.
A major reason for the success of the Lady Tigers has been the play of sophomore Marissa Sumwalt. The speedy forward has made a habit of finding the back of the net, including a pair of three-goal efforts last week in games against Chapman and Broome.
Because of her performance, Sumwalt has been named the First National Bank-The Greer Citizen Player of the Week.
"We feel like more of a family this season," Sumwalt said.
"Our success isn't based on one person. Everyone is contributing, and the good coaching is helping too."
The Lady Tigers are playing for a first-year coach, but it is one Sumwalt is quite familiar with, her father.
"It is interesting having him as my coach, but I like it because I can be myself," Sumwalt said.
Blue Ridge will be tested often in region play as Riverside, Eastside, and J.L. Mann are also ranked. Although Sumwalt admits that she is looking forward to seeing how the Lady Tigers stack up against the stateıs best, she added that the team isnıt looking past anyone.
"We are looking forward to playing those teams, but our only focus is on the next game," Sumwalt said.
Sumwalt is proud to be part of the schoolıs first-ever ranked team, but doesnıt expect the Lady Tigers to be content with the ranking.
"I feel like we can go all the way," Sumwalt said. "As long as we are serious and work hard in practice, I believe we can make the playoffs and see what happens from there."
So Junior, is it a subjective argument or an objective argument?
Let's look at the facts.
The best high school girls soccer player in South Carolina is Taylor Parker.
Taylor is the sophomore center midfielder for Fort Mill. She is so reliable, and so valuable, that she has bumped CESA Premier '89 (and West Point-bound) senior Ashleigh Sheeets back to center defense.
Taylor has been a mainstay and one of the best players on the South Carolina '92 ODP team.
Taylor plays club soccer for Charlotte Soccer Club '91 Blue, Region 3 Premier CHAMPIONS of last fall's U-16 league.
Taylor has been to WAGS, Jefferson Cup and the Disney Showcase. She has also, though only a sophomore, received correspondence from D1 programs.
Objectively, Taylor Parker is the best high school girls soccer player in South Carolina.
Fort Mill went winless in the VC so unless she was unavailable during those three games than all points are invalid
Ahhhhh.....by Junior logic, only players from Wando are eligible to be considered the best girls high school soccer player in the state.
By the way Junior, Taylor played real well in that Fort Mill win over Irmo, how did you guys do against them?
Remember: "It is better to have played and lost, than to have never played at all."
Correctamundo on the Wando deduction.
We prefer the logic "It is better to have played, than to tear an ACL and sit out a season."
Send me the key to defeating Irmo and I'll hype any FM player you want!
Key to defeating Irmo?
You need to have Taylor Parker in the center of your midfield.
And then take her out against Aiken?
Retired:
Has Marissa been promised a starting spot on the CESA 91 Premier, or will she have to secure that spot in tryouts?
Good luck the rest of the year.
Heck yeah.
Take her and the 10 other starters out as well. Give a little love to the bench. It is the 31st place consolation game isn't it?
She hasn't been asked that I know of. The team she played on last year had several past premier players who played down as I understand it and they really had a great time. She'll tryout for Premier.
>>It's high school....and the Player of the Year award has to be measured according to what is done at the high school level.<<
Agreed. It's just easier if the player is more skilled. But I'd agree that while a correlation exists, it is not indicative of a causal relationship.
>>Does the best player in the state have to play R3 Premier and/or ODP?<<
Doesn't have to. But it sure seems to help. The reason is that the player who does this is pushing herself to compete against increasingly higher level of players. Thus, a player who wants to offensively take on 3 players in high school has a better chance if they're used to taking on 1-2 very talented players in RIIIPL or ODP.
There's always a player with a lot of speed, or a big leg, or some other single characteristic that sets them apart when their young. However, as a player gets older they run into situations in which there are other fast, or strong, or whatever players. It's difficult (not impossible, but difficult) to be the best player unless you've continually subjected yourself to the most challenging environments possible.
>>I agree that the player being considered the best in the state should be receiving a lot of mail from D1 programs, but if Blakely, Julie and Lindsey had decided to play their collegiate soccer at Tufts, Carnegie Mellon and RPI, should we have taken their award away because they didn't go on to prove themselves at the highest level? Or does the fact that they did go to D1 programs validate their award? <<
Again, let's not confuse correlation with causation. It is correlatable that larger universities, with larger student bodies, and larger scholarship funds, are going to capture a larger percentage of our top athletes. But it is not causal -- the best soccer player in the world can decide to go play intramural at a division 3 school.
If I have a bias in terms of soccer players, it's a bias toward versatility and toward players that elevate the play of all around them. In basketball, I'd take Kobe Bryant over Steve Nash -- but there are only five players in basketball -- in soccer I'd take Steve Nash every time because my leverage is greater with eleven players. But what the heck do I know...
P.S. I've successfully largely avoided this "best player" thread for a year (last year and this year.) I'll go back to that behavior now -- I just had to get on and respond when I saw cat's note -- just rang too true.
P.S.S. I believe that Sheets is one of the better players in the state. I'd guess that any placement of Sheets was strategic, not tactical or competitive. Very good player and like almost every very good player I see, she's truly versatile and truly unselfish.
Shibumi,
Good points. I've always avoided this topic as well, as far as I'm concerned, we mind as well start a thread on the prettiest girl soccer player in SC. I feel we would get the same type of answers and the same differing of opinion.
I used Taylor Parker as an example of a player with a sterling resume. I'm not sure it makes her the best player but if people want to come at it from an objective approach, rather than a subjective approach....she certainly has quality credentials.
I've already talked to Ashleigh's parents so there wouldn't be any confusion. Miss Sheets is an excellent player and team leader, I'm glad you think as highly of her as I do. Poor choice of words on my part.....I used the term "bumped" to exagerate my Taylor Parker argument. Ashleigh's certainly in the back for strategic purposes.
Hahahaha!!!! There has never been a topic you've avoided!!! You've taken 3 years to hit the 3 grand mark while I worked diligently and needed 6
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91 premier was solid. What number was your daughter?
mine wears #10.
i guess your idea of solid is a lot different from mine.
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She hasn't been asked that I know of. The team she played on last year had several past premier players who played down as I understand it and they really had a great time. She'll tryout for Premier.
if there were any premier players playing down on the challenge team it wasnt because they wanted to.more likely they had to.
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Keep in mind she's a 10th grader.
Retired,
You may want to drop the "she's a 10th grader" asterisk, when nominating Marissa for "Best Girl Soccer Player". "Best" includes everyone, and there are some other very fast, very skilled players to be considered out there. I've watched Marissa off and on since she was playing U-8. She's always seemed a solid player with a great work ethic, but considering everyone out there this year I think it would be a stretch at this time to consider her "Best" out of all.
If she's looking to get a "pre-tryout" jump on impressing the CESA coaches this year, there is a friendly scheduled for 2:00pm this Saturday at USC Upstate between the '92 ODP team and the '90 CESA Premier team (along with some guest players). She might contact CESA to see if Coach Osorio's '90 team needs another guest player for the event.
The '92 ODP team consists of 9th and 10th graders. The '90 CESA team is predominently 11th graders, but does include a 10th grader that "plays up" a year in club (Marissa wouldn't be the only 10th grader on that side). It seems like it would be a good opportunity for her, as well as a good opportunity for the rest of us to see her on the same field with Hurst's Taylor Parker and some of the other 9th and 10th graders we've been hearing about on other threads. If she gets a chance to play (she needs to make the call), I'm sure she won't have the problem you mentioned earlier of finding players that can get the ball to her. Hope we get to see her this weekend, and congratulations to her for the success she's having this year.
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It's high school....and the Player of the Year award has to be measured according to what is done at the high school level.
...if Blakely, Julie and Lindsey had decided to play their collegiate soccer at Tufts, Carnegie Mellon and RPI, should we have taken their award away because they didn't go on to prove themselves at the highest level?
Hurst,
I have to agree. Giving up soccer to row some skinny little boat doesn't make Sarah Delap's high school career as a keeper less impressive. And, I may be mistaken on this, but I believe Lindsey passed on an opportunity to play at Chapel Hill to go to UNC Charlotte.
I have no idea of the criteria actually used by the powers that be to pick "Best" each year, but it IS interesting reading the debate.
is this sumwalt kid the best in the state? i really do not think so with all the good upperclassmen out there but do not hold against her who she scores against and who she does not.a kid can not help who she plays against. i think we had the same thread about teams one time before.a team can not help they play in a bad conference. take ft mill for example.alot of their wins come in a sorry conference.this year it appears no one is much good in it.they are still one of the best teams in the state.
I agree sweetfeet. I think alot of girls may not even play their true position becuase of their teams needs. The best players will get a FULL ride to an ACC school or top 20 team.
As far as AJ my daughter played against her for 3-4 years. I think she mainly stayed in the Classic league for several years and moved up to a challenge team later. She is Fast. I think if she had played with a better team and better competition at an earlier age she would be alot better than she is now. Not the best player is state by far, but a very very good athlete.