>>[2004striker] MC, What do you surmise to be is the principal reason why NECSA,CRSA,LSC don't want to merge on some level, as CSC has proposed?<<
>>[Shearer] B/C EVERYONE ELSE has accepted the fact that IT IS NOT GOIGN TO HAPPEN!!!! MOVE ON dude!<<
I think Shearer is right and that Columbia merger discussions are the rhetorical equivalent of the beating of the proverbial dead equine. Why [IMHO]?
o CRSA: Kevin Heise a while back did a great job of outlining his belief system about local, high school-oriented club soccer for particular areas -- and I believe that CRSA is executing toward that vision and thus has no reason to merge with anyone. He noted if he had outstanding players who wanted to play at more regionally and nationally competitive clubs he'd encourage them to do so.
o LCSC: I'd be surprised if LCRAC or Lexington County or whoever owns the fantastic fields at the Gibson Road complex would allow a merger with other classic clubs.
o NECSA: Appears to be a declining program that has to want it before they can entertain alternative ways of getting it, i.e., being more competitive. I understand NECSA least of all -- my evaluation is based more on looking at numbers and talking to folks than on any kind of internal understanding of the club.
o CSC: I honestly think these folks want it, but there's no one left, so they have to do it by themselves. I'm encouraged by their aggressive hiring of coaches.
So, the bottom line is that I think other than one-off teams that it's CSC if you want a home-grown Columbia-based club. Not much more to say about any of this; the "dead horse" isn't getting any deader!
