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The US Youth Soccer National League Under-15, Under-16 and Under-17 Boys teams will open the fourth season of league play Nov. 18-21 in Wilson, N.C. Three SC teams will compete:

Three time state champion CESA 93 Premier will compete against reigning Region II Champion and National Champion Grand Rapids Crew Juniors in their opening match. CESA 93 has five ODP Region III players (Walker Johnson, Reid Grayson, Kevin Fielden, Matthew Freeman, Raad Wullner) and a National Team player (Cole Seiler)

CESA 94 Premier (SC) have been the reigning South Carolina State Champion since 2008 and enter league play with three ODP Region III players (Austen Burnikel, Christian Calloway, Erik Clark) and Arthur Eggers in addition to being on the ODP Region III player is also a National Team player.

CESA 95 Premier (SC) is a two-time South Carolina State Champion.

http://www.usyouthsoccer.org/news/story.asp?story_id=5789

Which begs the question(s), what IS this US Youth Soccer National Weekend, what is it all about, and how the heck did those cesa 93, 94 and 95 boys do?

From the beginning, this 'National' get-together has appeared to me to be some sort of consolation prize for those clubs/teams who were not accepted into the Development Academy (although, there are some clubs who have teams in both).

The first weekend of play was the same weekend as CASL's College Showcase tournament (in fact, CASL co-hosts the National Weekend thing). In years past, the College Showcase tournament has been regarded as one of the more competitive tournaments in the east, with plenty of college coaches in attendance. Looking over this year's list of coaches, it does not appear overall to be as quality as it has in the past. Does anyone know the benefit of attending the National Weekend thing versus just attending the College Showcase? Or did they just move the top level from the showcase over to Wilson, thus making it a moot point? I see the benefit for CASL, at least; it looks like they figured out a way to make a lot more money. Other than that, it looks like USYS put their stamp of approval on it, CASL printed some new glossy brochures, and everyone started blowing smoke.

Moving along, here are the first National Weekend results:

cesa 93 premier went 0-4-0 (0 goals for, 8 goals against)
cesa 94 premier went 1-1-2 (2 goals for, 4 goals against)
cesa 95 premier went 0-4-0 (4 goals for, 12 goals against)

(is this the type of thing that was used to justify the 15% and 23% salary increase the last two years for cesa's 'leadership'?)

Belligerent.....has your son aged out of Academy or is he on his way to Phoenix? Academy Showcase should be outstanding!!

My upstate cesa friends said that they had easily 40-50 coaches at there games (95 boys premier games).Having a win , loss and two ties is a pretty good showing. Also, the stud Moseley kid from Concorde played at the National League event in lieu of playing in the Academy games that same weekend. I checked myself and yes the Concorde kid did play in the National League event and has scored a few goals in the Academy league this season as well.The state seems to have two good options to choose from.

At the CESA 93 Premier game on Thursday night there was every South Carolina Division 1 program(coach)in attendance except two along with many more coaches watching over the weekend. I was very impressed with the caliber of programs represented over the weekend. I know the Academy event in Phoenix will be well represented as well.

Daddy, if Mom is referring to Concorde Fire of Atlanta then I would say the player was a developmental academy player. Such players may register with US Soccer Development Academy to play no more than 6 academy matches, which allows the player to also play his US Youth Soccer schedule. This can only be done when the player is playing a club sanctioned as a feeder for the academy program. Concorde Fire is such a club.

I was there. I didn't see 40-50 coaches all weekend.

Conversely, I counted that many at a single game yesterday in Phoenix. The day before I sat at a game surrounded by 4 affiliated with MLS Academies.
For what it's worth, many college coaches are on hand to CONFIRM, rather than discover. My sense is, they're working hard to be visible, with logo apparel and vehicles, as much as they're actively mining new prospects.

College Coaches attending CESA 93 Boys Premier Matches, USYS National League. On Thursday there were 50 coaches from 15 schools in attendance.

Clemson
Elon
Erskine
Francis Marion
Furman
High Point
Limestone
Pittsburg
Presbyterian
St. Louis
UNC-Charlotte
University of Chicago
University of Cincinnati
USC-Upstate
Wofford
Georgetown
Ashland
Carnegie Melon
Connecticut College
East Tennessee State
Gardner Webb
Oberlin
UNC-Wilmington
University of Chicago
Lancer
Oberlin

"50 coaches from 15 schools in attendance." So, on average, each of those 15 schools brought 3 or more coaches. That is amazing.

Bellig

Glad to see you know how to divide. The 50 coach count came from the # of team profiles handed out to college coaches during a particular match and the school they represented duly noted. There were a few colleges with 2 or 3 coaches in attendance. Evidently, due to your "audit" of the #'s, several college names were not noted when the profiles were handed out.

Note to parents:
No need to obsess about how many schools/coaches are at any given event. If your kid can play, coaches will know. If your kid can't play, coaches will know that, too. And oh, by the way, if you're the type of parent who obsesses over how many schools/coaches see your kid play, coaches will know THAT, too.
Point is, coaches generally don't discover kids at showcases. And if they did, they wouldn't award a grant without significant follow-up and due diligence.
Attendance numbers such as those posted above are for the benefit of clubs/organizers trying to lure PAYING CUSTOMERS. (That would be you, oh obsessed parents.)

So, the person or persons who "duly" noted the coaches and their respective schools really weren't quite so "duly" after all (at least you were close, I'm sure)

I do find it interesting, though, that GSDad (who appears to be quite the cesa fan) says he didn't see 40-50 coaches all weekend. Maybe he really wasn't there?

Ya know, they say there's 3 sides to every story...

Belligerent,
There were no coaches there.

Ok, since Loc chimed in, let me change that to 4 sides (although, I sense that he/she was being maybe a little sarcastic?)

Belligerent,
Your mind is made up so there is little reason to argue. As far as I know, you were not in Raleigh, so you really have no idea of the number of coaches there or of the caliber of teams. Here is my opinion. I think there are both good and bad teams in each league. There are good and bad coaches in each league. There are college coaches that go to both leagues. But I understand that you want to champion the affiliation you are associated with- human nature.

I thought the way you stated that the CESA teams did so poorly was a shot at the teams and the players on those teams. Players do read this as well. And unless you have walked in the shoes of Tormey and Hyslop you really don't know if they are worth their money or not. Maybe they are and maybe they aren't, but I thought that was a cheap shot.But again your call to post or not post.

Everything has not been sunny on the Academy side, but I don't see anyone running it down on this board. I've been guilty of running off at the mouth and running Cola. down but it's pointless. I think both sides are trying to serve players the best they can.

Hi Mom:

Guess my point is twofold. 1) The numbers the clubs report are often irrelevant, or at least exaggerated, precisely because that's what they're selling to tuition-threatened parents; and 2) If a child is good enough to play college soccer, EVERYBODY knows it already. The soccer community is small, and when coaches congregate, the conversation generally centers on players. There are very few "secrets."

Yes, there are exceptions; i.e., the club player in Utah who flies under the radar as a "youth" player, but matures physically in his 20s and is randomly discovered in an adult league, then signs an MLS contract.

My advice to parents is simple. Save money for tuition like your kid will never play in college. Encourage him/her to get great grades. Foster his/her development as an athlete and person. THAT'S how your child will attract genuine attention: not at some over-hyped showcase.

Loc, firstly, I'm not sure what it is you believe my mind is made up about. When I mentioned the 15 schools and 3 or more coaches, I was mostly trying to impress everyone with my mad mathematical skills. Not that I've ever really sat down and counted, and not that I've been to all that many of these types of events, but I did think that 15 schools, all bringing 3 or more coaches (that number coming from dropkick's duly-noted stats) was truly amazing. I mean, I've seen schools bring that many coaches to entire events before, but not that many all at one match. I stand by my statement – "That is amazing."

You are correct; I was not in Raleigh, which is why I was completely dependent on other posters' information. My original comment regarding coach attendance was like I stated above. I guess that made dropkick feel guilty, because he/she admitted shortly thereafter that his/her data might not have been quite as accurate as initially reported. And that is when I finally wondered out loud about the apparent discrepancy between dropkick's and gsdad's reporting.

Over the years, you have misquoted me numerous times, even going so far as to call me a liar on one occasion. Each time, I have asked you to show me where I have stated the things you've accused me of saying, and each time you have been unable to do so. You get upset when I ask you to read my posts slowly, but this is exactly why I ask.

All the while, I have shared my feelings that you are all about negativity, hate and discontent; only wanting to tear down anything that is not cesa. Not one time have you denied this. Not once.

So, to continue in the same vein, and for the record, I absolutely did NOT state "that the CESA teams did so poorly…" In fact, I made no statements at all regarding the cesa teams. I simply listed the stats from that weekend.

I did comment on the college showcase and the national league; and I will give you this much – while I will not give it the status of a "cheap shot," I'll admit that the last comment in my original post was a "jab." But I did ask the question, and no one seems to feel the need to answer it. Could it be that nobody has the answer? I asked a couple other questions, both of which still seem pretty reasonable.

Yes, you are, as you say, "guilty of running off at the mouth and running Cola. down." But the only reason it's "pointless" now, is that before, when you were spitting venom at everybody and everything outside of Greenville, you thought cesa would be a part of the Academy. Because that's what they were telling you. And you believed it. But it didn't happen. And you probably feel bad for all the very nasty, awful, hateful, spiteful things you said before; as well you should. But please don't get on here now and act like you just wish everyone could get along; it's distasteful.

Belligerent,
Sorry. Didn't mean to ruffle your feathers. Nice post though bud.

Just a lil known fact, schools recruiting for soccer can only leaglly have two coaches on the road at a time. period.

Indeed, it's that way for many sports, which is why you see staff rotating on and off the road: to assure that 2, but no MORE than 2, are out at any given time.

Loc,
Absolutely no need to apologize; I was bored, and you make it almost too easy; but I should have realized some time ago it's "pointless" to try and get any real information out of you. And thank you.

Oh you're welcome Al. I'm glad your blood pressure is down.