SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Club Soccer & ODP SC Region / Club Superiority

How do we explain the success of the Aiken Fire? A small market club with almost exclusively local players who dominate the powerhouse upstate clubs consistantly over the last 3 years. Is this just a pig in a python?

lpaf

Tom, I believe your analysis of the U-16 teams to be pretty accurate, however let me offer a perspective from the individual player. For the player that wants to play at the highest level and possibly play college soccer the best opportunity for exposure to college coaches is in the Premier League and quality tournaments. For the U-16 boys in SC only St Giles and CSC offer that opportunity. It will be the same again next year at the U-17 level when most of the players will be in 11th or 12th grade, the years they need the most exposure. If they adopt the wait to next year mentality it would be 12 months before they would have a chance to make the state finals and 21 months before they would play their first premier match. So for the individual player the decision is to increase their chances for college exposure or remain at the status quo.

R2:

I think you are absolutely correct. Every individual player (and his or her parents) have to make a decision on what is best for them.

For us, the decisions are easy. I don't think my son's college path includes soccer (except for fun).

Speaking for me (and not my son or anyone else connected with his team), I am not sad that we are missing the Premier play. Less time on the road for me.

R2 is right. The junior and senior years (U17,U18)are the prime years that college coaches begin to look at prospects. I know premier play involves more from the player and the parents. But it is only for a short time and that is the best chance for the player to be seen by coaches at premier games, where there are usually U-18 games on the next field or sometime that same day. The high level tournaments(Jefferson Cup, Atlanta Cup, Raleigh Shootout, Tampa Cup) are also where they will be seen. I doubt too many college coaches go to Myrtle Beach, Columbia, Greenville, Charleston tournaments.
Thomas P.,
You said you were sorta not too disappointed that you did not make it to premier league this year. You know the team could have declined to play and then it would be the 3rd place team.

I'll go on record as being 1 Necsa Ambush parent that is very disappointed that the semifinal ended the way it did, and the Ambush was denied Premier League play.I guess driving an hour to practices has desensitized us to travel hardships.I would relish the chance to see our team play at the highest level.I think this would be a great experience for the kids and I suspect once there, the Ambush parents would take delight in watching their sons compete at that level.

As for Premier League play being seen by college coaches, I'M sure this is true , but I feel if a player is capable of playing somewhere at the next level , he will get that opportunity.Overhearing parents of older players talk, it seems unless you are a regional caliber player, you have to recruit the colleges harder than they recruit you anyway.

Good luck to CSC and St Gile's next season in Premier League.

As I said, I was only speaking for myself.

I believe Aiken Fire made it 4 strait titles this year? correct me if im wrong.

Rectifier --

You are, of course, right. Aiken Fire has won the state championship for four (not three) years in a row. What interests me here is how such a small club can produce such a powerful, dominating team, and do it with talent that doesn't have to come in from all over the state. I follow the girls' side of SC soccer much more than the boys, and did not buy into the "GFC and Saint Giles are clearly better than the rest of the state" until Mark set out the last four years' stats in this topic. On the girls' side there is room for debate if you go on a club by club basis, but on the guys' side the trend is undeniable.... except for the Aiken Anomaly. I'm interested in how Aiken has been able to pull this off in the face of undeniable club superiority by the upstate clubs (as described by most of the posters here) and an overwhelming demographic disadvantage.

How does a small club win big? Can other smaller clubs compete effectively or do we have to move to two superclubs in each of the three major metropolitan markets -- Greenville, Columbia and Charleston?

Thanks for input from any source.

lpaf

A quick divergence into boring demographics:

Did anyone else do a doubletake at the quoted (but undoubtably true -- the Greenville Chamber of Commerce so attests) statistic floated for City of Greenville population of 56,181 souls. If ever there has been a more misleading snapshot of a vibrant metropolitan area I have yet to see it. I'm still struggling with the concept of how the "rural" areas of Greenville county (population 386,693) don't contribute to the prowess of GFC and Saint Giles, yet these teams draw quality players from all over the rest of the state.

A long time ago, when he was still alive, Charles Schulz wrote a Peanuts comic strip that ended with the punch line "It's better to be healthy and rich than sick and poor." As applied to SC classic soccer, as I see it, it's good to have solid club structure and the best demographics in the state.

lpaf

Personally, I have observed that the major tournaments are much more effective for college recruiting than Premier league (at least on girls side). Rarely at a Premier league game did more than 1 or 2 local college coaches attend. Of course, premier League gives you better regular season competition which helps you get better which helps reach your goal but in and of itself it is not a major college recruiting tool (for girls).