SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Club Soccer & ODP South Carolina club soccer is decadent and depraved....

It is what it is. CESA wins state every year in all divisions. Then the CESA teams play regionally and get their butts kicked every year. Just look at the results Big Daddy posted above on CESA's regional track record. That's never changed. Maybe SC kids should join the Charlotte and Atlanta's clubs so they could get a taste of winning on a regional and national level. Heck there's Charleston and Columbia kids driving to Greenville to train with CESA. Atlanta and Charlotte probably are not that much farther, maybe even closer. 90 miles from Columbia to Greenville, how far is it between Columbia and Charlotte? I could never figure out why Rock Hill, Northwestern, Fort Mill kids would want to drive to Greenville to train with CESA when they have the much better Charlotte club right in their backyard.

So.......my intent wasn't to start CESA bashing or anything of the sort. My intent....was to share my concerns over the lack of competition and see if anyone else sees it as well.

Can we stay on that? Or do the majority of people think the status quo is just fine?

Here's a thought...and I'm just thinking out loud, so to speak...

18 blue-chip players divided evenly between two teams = all 18 (9 per team) playing 90-95% of every match, with four others "on the bubble" (two for each team to round out the 11)stepping up to support them (actually, no telling how many working to step up their game to earn those last two field spots per team).

18 blue-chip players consolidated onto one team = either 11 on the field for the majority of time and 7 sitting on the bench, or all 18 with significantly reduced playing time and experience so that they can share--while the ones on the field aren't forced to play with as much intensity because the players who could best challenge them as opponents are sitting on their own bench waiting their turn.

We all want to "do what's best for the kids," but for how many of what kinds of kids and in what way?

This would only apply to in-state competition, of course, before a team earns its way into region, and again, this thought is arguable; just turning it all over in my head.

Good post Coach...
Why do kids leave a team where they could play 80-95% of every match to a team where they come in the game with 2 mins of time left? If a college coach comes to the game to see that kid play, what does he/she think?

GSDad, I think you're confusing who has the chip; if you'll go back over time and look at Daddy's posts, I think you'll find that while his boy is not currently playing at cesa, he (daddy) has got the kool-aid in his blood.

JAK, "...the best of the best." You don't seriously believe that, do you? Most of the best have left, so maybe the "best of the rest" would be more appropriate.

Now, it would be silly of me to say there are not any very good teams going to regionals, so I won't. I'm sure there are. But, "the best of the best" is equally as silly.

SCUDad, I would hope the reason a child leaves one for another is that he/she wants to play at a higher level, and figure they can only do that by practicing with better players and playing against tougher competition. I doubt they see that 2 minutes of playtime per game as a long-term situation. They are probably working hard at moving up into a starting spot. Maybe they make it, maybe they don't. If they didn't even try, they'll never know. But if they do, then they'll have learned a valuable lesson about what a person can achieve through hard work and dedication.

But, I'm sure there are lots of reasons why a player would leave for another team; maybe they like the other team's uniforms better. Maybe they like the coach better. Maybe they enjoy spending time in a car. Stranger things have happened.

but are they not leaving after this year also?