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In a single penetrating flash of brilliance, you have ripped through endless years of debate on heredity versus the environment, free will versus predestination, and so on -- using as your tool only one incredibly shallow and facile aphorism.

All I'm sure of is that where there's a will, I want to be in it.

P.S. I'm still waiting to read a sensical reply to "coach" and the whole 78th minute, padding stats kerfuffle. But after this type of in-depth analysis, I'll probably just quit waiting.

Chico,
Do you think this map is accurate? Are Calhoun, Fairfield, and Oconee really among the counties with the highest property tax per student?

Chico are you saying a quality HS program depends on the area per capita, or are you referring strictly to "club"?

Because of the cost of participating in competitive club programs, high schools in economically depressed areas will not have many, if any, club players. The lack of club experience is clearly a disadvantage for any high school program.

Good points by both Chico and Coach P. Affluent communities have an economic advantage. Keep your eyes on some of the other programs in this neck of the woods as their demographics are rapidly changing. Indian Land, Clover, Rock Hill & South Pointe (who will get some of Northwestern's players in re-zoning) will continue to get better, especially if these kids hook into one of the area clubs.

Chico, if you go down one more page on the thread you cite above, you see my reply to coach (and lpaf). I agree that when you leave one of your best players on the field at the end of a lopsided game, you run the risk of having her get hurt tripping over the 18-yard line.

Coach P: I think it's accurate for 5 years ago [source is SC government]; however, I copied it less because of the property tax information and more just to illustrate how "random" districting is (and of course this doesn't show sub-districting within the district.] In terms of the lack of club players -- I agree this is huge -- as I've said before, I honestly think that the biggest difference between the best 4A teams and the average ones isn't the best 3-4 players on the team but the least talented 5-6 players starting for that team. Almost every highly competitive 4-A school has a wonderful player or two [or whatever], it's those players coming from the clubs in the area [or more to your point, are not coming from clubs] that are not quite so celebrated that seem to me to make a tremendous difference.

FMdad: I'm saying that the quality of high school soccer programs seems highly correlated with the following factors: population density [in census-speak, metropolitan statistical areas], county school district layout, strength of youth soccer clubs, and affluence. At a higher level, I'm saying that the differences between Fort Mill and Orangeburg are astronomical and that expecting Orangeburg parents to "just try harder" isn't going to mean much. But please note; there are plenty of communities with many of the same advantages of Fort Mill -- the Charleston and Columbia both have large MSA's and relatively larger school districts -- so this ***is not*** a shot at Fort Mill. Greenville is a bit more problematic with the typically smaller districts. More to the point, however, strength in CESA will never translate directly to upstate high schools not only because of smaller school districts, but because there is a tendency in the upstate to not think twice about spending 20-30 minutes one-way to get an ambitious kid to practice; while from what I can tell in Charleston, and from what I've seen first-hand in Columbia, this is often not the case.

Hurst66: I think that the coast, if it follows demographic trends in the broader US, will also experience tremendous improvement. And on the other: stats are important, too.

Bottom line: When someone from Fort Mill says in effect "you can do it too", I think that should resonate with someone from Lexington [for example]. Parents willing to drive their kids an extra 20 minutes to a better club [e.g., CSC or NECSA], better local clubs [e.g., Lexington], and the like are an important factor. Perhaps more importantly, the ability of local area clubs to increase the penetration rate of soccer is incredibly important; the amount of money the club reinvests in reaching underserved/unserved markets is critical. But ironically, in the first few days of this thread, the people who responded were from places in which it's incredibly more difficult to build a strong soccer program due to quite a few influences beyond their control. Does it mean that they can't do it? Of course not. But it means that we might have some sympathy for the incredibly arduous task in front of them and understand how lucky we are in other places.

Good points again Chico. It didn't happen overnight in Fort Mill, took at least five years of laying some groundwork.

Recent results have been good when you consider three years ago FM didn't qualify for the state playoffs and as little as two years ago they weren't even worthy of an invitation to the Viking Cup.

Hurst66: Do your local youth soccer club(s) work with the high school(s), in opposition to your high school(s), or is it a neutral relationship?

Historically it's been a very positive relationship.

The Northwestern boys head coach and one of his assistants is on the Northside Soccer Club staff. The other Northwestern Boys assistant is on the Discoveries staff. The Northwestern varsity girls coach is on the Northside staff and the JV girls coach is an alum of both Discoveries and Northside.

The Fort Mill boys varsity assistant is on the Northside staff and I believe the other assistant may have worked with Discoveries in the past. The Fort Mill girls varsity coach and both assistants have also served as coaches & trainers on the Northside staff.

We've been fortunate in York County to have a good relationship between the high schools and the clubs.

Some very solid points by all. HS school coaches need to work with clubs and Middle Schools to develop a solid program, for any sport! The sooner the better!