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I agree with the speed of play..As far as girls soccer in S.C. We make alot more mistakes but the other thing I noticed at regions this year is that the stronger teams still play as a unit.I seen to many players from S.C. trying to do it themselves and there is no way that is going to work in that atmosphere

Totally agree with everything Shibumi said. Also, what Hyslop does with the talent he has is amazing.

>>[Coach P] I just want to clarify that I was not referring to coaching as the difference either. Good technical skills and good tactical play can both be influenced by good coaches in training.<<

I apologize if I implied differently.

In my opinion, what's needed in South Carolina aren't better coaches (and again, I'm not trying to imply that you're saying that) -- what's needed are more/better full-time executives in our youth soccer clubs that are incented and driven to increase the penetration of soccer such that more players are attracted to the sport at a young age. Again, just my opinion.

>>[cht] I agree with the speed of play..As far as girls soccer in S.C. We make alot more mistakes but the other thing I noticed at regions this year is that the stronger teams still play as a unit.I seen to many players from S.C. trying to do it themselves and there is no way that is going to work in that atmosphere<<

I'm with you on this. It is incredibly frustrating to sit on the sideline, see 1-2 open players on the 20 to the right, and see a player on the left carry the ball and try an impossible shot -- and beyond frustrating when all the parents cheer.

I used to think the primary motivation of this was simple greed implying a lack of teamwork. But I don't think so anymore (or at least I don't think this is the primary reason), I think the fact is that at speed many more South Carolina players tend to lose the scope of their field vision and just can't respond and plan quickly enough.

Please note that I believe there exist players from South Carolina who absolutely have the capability to scale their game -- just a few examples from the past are Kimmy Gillespie, Lindsey Beam, Julie Bolt and Blakely Mattern. But on an average, per-team basis, we just have far fewer.

Again, just my opinion.

If a kid can't receive a ball or make a pass, it doesn't matter how much tactical training a team receives.

Almost a sweep by Texas...

Champions | US Youth Soccer Region III Championships
Girls
Under-14* D'Feeters 94 (NTX)
Under-15* Lonestars 93 Red (STX)
Under-16* Sting Royal 92 (NTX)
Under-17* Dallas Texans Red (NTX)
Under-18* Sting 90 (NTX)
Under-19* Challenge 89 (STX)
Boys
Under-14* SCSA Gold (NC)
Under-15* Dallas Texans Red (NTX)
Under-16* Triangle United Gold (NC)
Under-17* Andromeda 91 (NTX)
Under-18* Andromeda 90 (NTX)
Under-19* Solar 89 (NTX)

Good points all around...I think the big lesson is that it takes a combination of factors for a team to be at its best, not just one element. Sometimes we fall into the trap of arguing about what "the" deciding factor is, when the truth is, there are many factors that work together (or against one another) to determine how well a team performs.

The key, I think, lies in Hurst's "all other things equal" question. All other things equal, yes, one element can be the deciding factor. All other things equal, yes, the team with the better athletes will win. All other things including athletic ability equal, the team with better tactics will win. Tactics, athletic ability, individual skill, and all other things equal, the team with better motivation and desire will win. It's hard to find a situation, though, where "all other things are equal"...little differences in all of those elements are cumulative. Some build on each other, some cancel each other out.

One of the "beautiful" things about soccer is that it's a team sport; there is plenty of room for individual achievement, but it takes a combination of players to create winning situations that take full advantage of individual skills. Knowing how to send and receive a pass at top game speed is crucial; it's next to impossible to succeed without this. Knowing how to ANTICIPATE the pass because you know what your teammates are going to do before they do it and you're in position before the ball is even in play...that takes the game to another level, and it takes enough experience and practice with the players around you to know exactly what to expect from them. Accurate anticipation will create a higher effective game speed than pure reaction every time, but it requires time spent with the people you need to anticipate so that knowing their actions as well as your own is just second nature. Players aren't like high-performance auto parts that you can just "drop in" and expect them to be at peak performance. It takes a bit of time for even the best players to acclimate to a position, a playing style, the speed and tactics of their teammates, etc. There are plenty of times when you watch an all-star game (not just soccer) and see amazingly talented players looking awkward and even downright foolish because they don't correctly anticipate what their unfamiliar (yet equally talented) teammates are going to do. Sometimes if you want to create results on the field, the key lies not always in the best individual players, but in the players who work best together.

So...I think the original question was whether coming back from a separated high school season affects the play of a club team who hasn't been together in months. Would a team who has practiced and played together for the months prior to region playoffs be able to beat a team with better athletes who hasn't? Not necessarily...all other things aren't equal. Would a team who has practiced together in the prior months enough to work seamlessly stand a better CHANCE than one who hasn't? All other things equal, yes.

In my opinion, the primary reason South Carolina hasn't been more successful at Regionals is because we don't have enough kids who are fundamentally comfortable handling the ball. Larger MSAs who have more kids to draw from have a better chance of fielding an entire team of fundamentally sound kids. Our experience has been that the regional teams we've been on have, by necessity in order to get numbers, been supplanted with kids who aren't fundamentally sound. There are enough of those kids playing that SC teams are at a disadvantage when playing stiffer competition.

The same fundamental problems still exist during league play and scrimmage situations. The strength of regional play just exacerbates the existing situation. Fundamentals need to be taught and stressed at younger ages or kids won't have skills necessary to play at older ages.