SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Club Soccer & ODP College Recruiting in Women's Soccer

I applaud the new programs and efforts by CUFC and others to bring a higher level of play to women's soccer in South Carolina. There are always mechanisms and methods for continual improvement. However, my question is this. In the southeast, mid-Atlantic areas (Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina) will new programs beyond R3PL and top-level showcase tournaments provide an increase in the number and quality of female college recruits? We played with the Augusta Arsenal and I have helped with our U17 and U19 recruiting efforts now for 3-4 years and have talked with perhaps up to a hundred different college recruiters, certainly many dozens, for perhaps 20 different girls. Outside of web sites such as soccerincollege.com.; soccerscheduler(soccer).com; topdrawer, etc; showcases like Disney, Orange Classic, Atlanta Cup, Raliegh, WAGS, Germantown, Savannah, etc; and independent marketing efforts by player families; will the expense and time of the new leagues make a difference? Just posing the question!

I think the players that are capable of playing college ball would get more exposure..meaning more colleges might be interested in a particular player so the player has more options..Do I think the new league will raise the number of recruits? I do not think so right away but with time the numbers could increase.Any new programs that are centered around girls is a good move for SC

Any programs that help put our girls up front..I feel is a good thing..The ODP system has left something to be desired and not to many clubs offer programs just for girls outside of CESA's CAP program..Most programs are built around boys first and girls later..Just like the USSF academy..Not to say anyone is doing a poor job with girls..I just feel it has not been enough..

Not meant to be adversarial. I know you have advocated for girls programs for quite some time.

Not enough, or not enough in my backyard and Columbia is closer to Charleston than Greenville?

As you've pointed out several times it's always been a numbers game, which is probably why the one girls program/club that was in the Charleston area went away.

Not enough..Period..Compared to boys..Girls have received the short end of the stick..

Bear,

Any reason why anyone in SC shouldn't expect to have a satisfying girls' program available without having to make the drive from Charleston to Greenville (or similar distances) to do it? How many girls would that exclude just due to logistical difficulties alone? "In your backyard" sounds a bit petty, but if the "backyard" is considered to be at least your own half of the state, it doesn't sound so unreasonable.

I'm sure CHT wasn't trying to take away anything from the Greenville folks and neither am I, but if driving clear across the state to practices is the foremost answer to the problem, then I'd say that qualifies as "not enough" being done for girls' soccer in SC.

Please reread the opening of that post, I really meant that.

As for back yard, it was meant to be representative, nothing more. I understand how that could sound petty, but it really wasn't meant to be. So, pick a different reference. It doesn't change the fact that many people in the lowcountry want both very competitive teams, and convenience. The two don't always agree.

There is no reason that the expectations of a girls program should be any different. And yes driving across the state logistically cannot be accomplished by many.

Now there's something to change that, and lessen the drive, however, I think it too comes at a price for the girls in the lowcountry. Only time will tell.

Sorry, Bear, I didn't mean to say YOU were being petty...just that wanting to have something "in your backyard" sounds like someone asking for that is, until you realize just how many square miles the backyard really covers. That wasn't meant as a barb toward you, and I apologize if it sounded that way.

I still think, if we develop all of our resources as fully as possible, there is room for more than one competitive team in the state; maybe there is more that can be done to grow the overall talent pool in the state.

Curious...what price do you envision for the girls in the lowcountry? Just trying to get as many perspectives as possible.

Check your pm.