SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Boys Varsity Soccer How good is T.L. Hanna?

Kyle,
Do you honestly feel that the 1a public schools feel it is no harm done for a school to be able to draw from that far? Anderson to Greenville.

EHS --

I agree that a 35-mile trip one way is a bit far to go to school, but I do know the background on Tomek and the Christ Church Episcopal School is a good fit for him. He also plays for a club team out of Atlanta, so apparently travel does not matter to him or his family.

To you and I who live in areas that have several schools in a certain area, 35 miles sounds like a lot -- but, how about some of the schools in the rural areas or a school such as Carolina Forest in Myrtle Beach that buses kids in from 30-40 miles away?

Certain schools (Academic Magnet, Bishop England, Southside, etc.) offer specific courses or programs that attract certain types of student-athletes (I personally have no problem with this). And, I think you'll find it relevant to "Olympic Sports" is that most of these schools are quite competitive in those sports due to the socio-economic situations often accorded with these youth. This is not a "slap" at any demographic, just trying to relay a point.

I know some people in our soccer community "frown upon" what they perceive is an unlevel playing field. However, how about just 5-10 years ago when Bishop England was a woeful football program or how about Academic Magnet in its' current state on the gridiron?

Take Bishop England for instance. For a lowcountry teenager raised in the Catholic faith, BE is the ultimate goal for many and a place where you will receive a solid education and a chance to compete at the highest athletics level possible. This is not always a panacea for these programs -- good coaching, solid backing from the administration and community, etc., are vital aspects of these programs!

Does this hurt their normal-zoned public schools such as Wando, West Ashley, James Island, Stratford, Summerville, Fort Dorchester, etc.? Sure it does -- but not as many as you'd think, because a good many of these have gone the parochial school route all along. The same is true for Midlands-area schools that have four main private high schools in Ben Lippen, Cardinal Newman, Hammone, and Heathwood Hall.

I'm glad that the SCHSL affords those private schools the opportunity to compete in the public school system, so long as they abide by the same rules every other school has to follow. Overall, programs like Bishop England, Christ Church, Southside Christian, etc., enhance the schedules for our public schools and offer quality competition on the pitch.

"To be the best, you have to beat the best." And for Class 2A and Class 1A, that means Bishop England and Christ Church, respectively!

Kyle,
Thanks for taking the time to respond. I truely respect and appreciate your opinion. I also hope you understand ( my opinion) that it is not fair to public schools. I have no problem with B.E. & CCES playing against public school comp. It is good for both, but they should not compete for championships except in the SCISA. They should not be playing football or anything else in a public school league ( again for titles). I will also state that if I could draw from the same area (miles) they are drawing from then I would feel very confident about beating the best. They are without a doubt the 2 best "private schools" in the state of S.C. Until you or anyone can convience me that it is OK for a school to draw any player outside of their own county, forget about zones, I will continue to say it is not fair. I play CCES and they beat us 3-0. It is nothing against the kids or Dave. It is just not a level field. I have been handed my tail by B.E. in the final in 98 and thats fine. I just personally don't think everyone is held to the same rules. If there is a descretion in the rules at all then there is a problem. There is no playing cost and academics and other stuff off against athletics. All public schools compete under the same guidelines and the private schools can't because of the zoning, so they should compete for championships in the SCISA. Which by the way has some other quality teams. It is not about winning. This is high school athletics. There is no pressure to produce titles day in and out like I see on the college level. I just personally feel that their should be no gray area and everyone should be under the same book.
Thanks again for the discussion.
Brad Nickles

I can assure you we wish we were playing better and we will give no excuses for the games we have lost. We congratulate the winners and just try to work to get better. As far as the Westside game goes it was not something that we tried to accomplish. It was very unforunate for Westside and us. It got out of hand and mesures to stop it didn't work. We will play again and the score will be different I assure you no matter what has to be done.

Also from a coach's perspective, however, I feel it is important to remember that the match was meant to be played for 80 minutes ... not modified to appear like it was close. It is a team's job to stop the opponent from scoring and I would not tell a group of young men to simply stop scoring.

In 'worst case scenarios' one might impose restrictions on how they do score (number of touches, head only, etc.) or adding some creativity to the offense but as long as the coach isn't keeping the starters out there for no good reason and folks are playing, they should be playing their best. And I know Dick Smith's caliber of coaching and he is not going to settle for less than the best from his players. He doesn't run up the score, either.

In the matches I've seen Hanna play, they have not quit in defeat and have played hard through victory. That is what you are supposed to do.

Kyle,
I know that you arent writing an A&E biography on Tomek but I am one of his good friends and some of your facts are wrong. He is from Poland first of all(not Romania). Second, he wasnt late for enrollment bc he moved here. He was late because he had a soccer tournament that went two weeks into the school year, he had been living in the U.S. for three years before high school. Just thought that i would let you know that.

Good enough! I stand corrected and thank you for your input!