SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Girls Varsity Soccer 4/4/06 Scores

Congrats to the Lady Jackets on their victory over the Dark Force to the West.

James Island 18 - Goose Creek 0, I'm told. Ouch.

That'll teach those Goose Creek girls to try out for the soccer team! At least they didn't do as Lakewood did to Lake City and beat them 28-0. Check out their scores this season during their 6 game losing streak. Wow.

Marlboro County took West Florence to OT but came up just short 3-2. Good game by the Bulldogs.

Dutch Fork 4
Spring valley 2
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halftime score 2-2

DF 7-1 in region with
2 games remaining (Ridge View and RNE)

William Aiken...

I'm sure you didn't stop to think about the effects comments like that have on struggling teams before you popped off with, "hey, check out how bad these guys have been getting beat," or "That'll teach them to try out." Maybe you've never had to work to build something from the bottom up. But spotlighting someone else's misfortunes seems in bad taste.

I don't know anything about Lake City, but I do know that precious few Goose Creek girls DID try out this year; that's a big part of the problem. I've seen them have to play with 10 on the field, but those 10 played their hearts out and their tails off. I for one would hate to see their program go under for lack of participation; I'm sure they'd thank you for encouraging them to come back out next year, or for other athletes to join and support the program.

As for the lopsided wins...I've coached on both sides of 18-0 games. To tell you the truth, for me, being on the winning side of that didn't feel much better than being on the losing side. But, to each his own.

Coach...I was being facetious when I "popped off". Read it again there, guy.

First off, my daughter endured the whipping last night at Goose Creek. It is only by the grace of God that college coaches don't put a lot of emphasis on high school ball or she would not have a prayer to play at the next level. Thank you Jesus for Challenge and Premier level soccer!
It is very frustrating to watch that type of game, especially when the whipper does not let up. This has been discussed many times before but if they think this type of gamesmanship is going to get them into the state finals, I hope they get beat down in the first round. I'm not upset about getting beat - just the manner in which it was carried out. All I can say is, we'll see you individually in December in the State Cup, or will we?

Scores like that make a case for a 'mercy rule". It seems 10-0 demonstrates domination, and anything beyond can't help either team.... That lacking, maybe coaches should be more respectful of the game, remember they ARE kids out there, and hold it down.

Mercy Rule

Sorry, W.A.; I guess I just heard too many echoes from the past when I read that. Three years ago, 2003 season, teams like JI were posting 18-0 wins against our team. The following year, when I took over as head coach and was trying to recruit some solid fall and winter sport athletes to play soccer in the spring, all too often I heard, "Why would I want to try out for a team that's just going to get embarrassed like that?" The hardest thing to change was to instill the belief that with hard work and a little faith, we CAN win, and we can make even the great teams in our area work for what they get from us.

Three years and a lot of hope, faith, and amazingly dedicated athletes later, we're still an underdog team playing in a big dogs' world, but the gap has closed significantly. My thanks to every coach who has sincerely complimented my players on their effort and improvement; it makes a world of difference in how they see themselves, and consequently in how they play.

Maybe I've had a bit too much to say about this topic lately; if so, I apologize. I would just like to see more of the starting, struggling, and rebuilding teams out there get the encouragement they need to follow through, improve, and become more today than what they were yesterday; for one, I think every aspiring soccer player should be able to play for love of the game. For another, I can't help but think that as these teams become more competitive, it will raise the bar across the state.

W.A.--My sincere apologies for a reflexive reaction. I've read enough of your posts to know you wouldn't intentionally say anything to bring negative attention to a struggling team.