SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Boys Varsity Soccer Pre-formed brackets in 3a, 4a and 5a

Good post Snickle !!

Agree that the current system where the "H" determines the bracket can be improved upon. That is where a state ranking can help break that tie instead. That forces a stronger non region schedule and lends credence to those games. We had a game cancelled this season where we were told the non region game "didn't matter anyway" so thats a flaw. Problem is that I also like to use those games to experiment and get playing time, squad rotation etc. So always some give and take in any decision.

I would love to see them get rid of regions and then seed all the classifications for the tournament. The argument against the doing away with regions is would hurt teams in the rural regions from getting games.
I'm sure Shilo, at Wando, has a strong opinion about the "H". I don't want to speak for him but it seemed like 4 or 5 years in a row he was playing either at Irmo or River Bluff in the Lower state final.

I'm a fan of having a seeding playoff rather than the pre-determined format we currently have. Look at some of the match-ups we've had and will have and it makes no sense:

-Wren/Berea (as someone already posted) was a 1st round match of 2 top 10 4A teams
-RB/Wando play tonight in the 2nd round & they're ranked 3rd & 4th, respectively, in the state.
-Academic Magnet boys & girls, who have been ranked in the top 2 in 3A all season, have to travel for 2nd round games and beyond.

I'm sure there's more anomalies as well. I do like CloverSoccer's idea of adding more wildcards and top seeds getting a bye. I'm definitely on board on joining that battle of extending the playoffs for soccer

When's the last time he had a home lower state game??? Lol his argument is definitely valid

If you want to take it a step further...
When I was in a different state, we had 8 districts. My district had 23 schools. Everyone got into the playoffs. Once teams were seeded, the coach put their name on the board at the location of his/her choice. So, if you were the 3 seed and liked your match-up better with the #1 as opposed to the #2, you could put yourself on that half of the bracket. Ultimate control for the coach, ultimate importance of regular season to get a seed where you get to choose your path.

Cant argue that Shilo has been on the wrong end of the 'H' for sure lately.

Wando v River Bluff 2nd round !!! sheesh.

Having been through pre-bracketed and now open seeding, I must admit that I prefer the seeding method. However, I would like to see more teeth in the process with a clearly spelled out criteria to follow for Class 2A. My thoughts would be to have this in writing for the 2A ADs to approve for the 2019-2020 year.

1. S.C. High School Soccer Coaches Association’s State Rankings via MaxPreps information
2. Region Standings – i.e. one team finished 2nd in their region, the other 3rd in theirs
3. Head-to-Head
4. Strength of Schedule via MaxPreps
5. Common Opponents
6. Overall Record

State rankings
Strength of total schedule
Region
HTH
Overall record
Common opp

The regions are geographic convenience, nothing more. Using region results for much of anything needs to be de-emphasized.

you could pick the top teams from each region and seed them but even them you risk ruling out a fifth place team in a region with a better strength of schedule that a region top four team from elsewhere.

the bottom line here is getting the top 16 teams into the tournament and get them seeded according to their entire body of work for the season. Pre-formed doesn't come close

I can appreciate everything surrounding this topic, but sometimes there are many more underlying issues that none of us are aware of at different schools. What if a school is in an 8 team region? That is 14 games, which does not leave a lot of room for outside commitments. So, the strength of schedule may be lacking when compared to others.
What if a school has funding problems, so they cannot afford to travel? For most of us, the soccer team is not a big revenue generator, no matter how good they are for a season. I may be an anomaly, but I don't have a real problem with the current set-up. This season, it is a favorable scenario, and in the past it has been unfavorable. All you can do is play the team in front of you, no matter the location. If your team is good enough to get to the latter stages of the playoff, then they are good enough to win home or away.