SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Club Soccer & ODP Midlands Soccer [Moved from Thread with **** in Name]

Does the issue now become can the midlands area clubs keep their top level players from leaving to play for CESA? You would think that the top players at u16 or u17 age and up would want to give CESA a good look.

If guys/gals in U-16 and up want to play premier then most of the choices are with CESA or MPSC. In looking at the following results from state cup you can try CESA or MPSC for 11 of the 12 premier slots, with only one in Cola. area (assuming all of these agree to play premier and I am not aware of the current U14 teams that will be playing U15 premier next season. I am sure some of those teams are CESA as well.):

Age Winner Runner-up
U15 Girls
CESA 89 Premier 1 MPSC U15G White 0
U16 Girls
CESA 88 Premier 2 MPSC U16G White 0
U17 Girls
CESA 87 Premier 3 CESA 87 Challenge 0
U18 Girls
CESA 86 Premier 2 CUSC Fusion 0

U15 Boys
CESA 89 Premier 2 NECSA Blast 2
U16 Boys
CESA 88 Premier 2 MPSC U16 White 1
U17 Boys
CESA 87 Premier 2 MPSC U17 White 0
U18 Boys
CESA 86 Premier 2 CSC Burn 86 Navy 1-OT

With all the talent at CESA, MPSC may be an option for some high level players in Cola., especially at U17 and U18 levels. (Is it about 90 min. drive to both MPSC & CESA?) Also, will MPSC offer Cola. area training similar to what CESA did last year?
A question for my soccer guru friend, Mark, - How many and what age player(s) did practice in Cola. area this past season and play on a CESA team??

To try to answer the question from above: the only soccer guru in my family is my daughter. What she tells me is primarily about the girls side -- so I'm pretty much a dufus when it comes to answering this well. She's worked for one spring and one fall with first GFC and then CESA in Columbia. I remember her telling me last spring that there were several 16-18 year old boys practicing, one of whom was a player that I've read about on this board [note: I'm pretty sensitive on this message board about names unless it's complimenting someone about play in a game]. This fall (CESA), I know that there were girls from at least the Charleston, Florence, and the Columbia area that did some training in the Columbia area and played on teams from U16G to U18G.

On my daughter's U16G team, of the 16 girls on roster, 25% of the girls were from 90+ miles away. That doesn't tell the full story, however, in that there were girls from surrounding areas ss well that traveled 30-45 minutes one-way to get to practice. The players and parents were serious about both training and games [which is what my daughter wanted].

Shearer

Back to your earlier questions. Eddie has only worked with CSC, I believe. He also was an assistant at Irmo HS and helped for a year or two with ODP. Nothing out of the ordinary for a qaulity club coach in the state. He was only the second DOC in the history of the club (if i have been told correctly by people involved with the club). Dick Hiller was the first DOC and held the position for a short period before he had to resign for personal reasons. So Eddie truly had no formal training and help before he was given control of such a large club. I believe he is doing an ok job, but makes claims and promises openly. Needs to sit back and let things develop then when things dont go CSC's way (ie. this past weekend), he will not look as bad.

I do not have children so I cannot answer your question about which club my child would play on. It really depends on which club at the best team in the midlands area. But, as TW Sharpe stated, I would not be opposed to traveling further up the road to CESA to play on one of their premier teams. The biggest problem with CSC is the attitudes of the players as you pointed out in an earlier post.

One question about the merger everyone talks about. Why does CSC automatically become the club in charge and NECSA players would have to travel to CSC to train. First of all, if a merger of this size happens, 2 facilities are going to be needed. CESA trains at both MESA and Wenwood Complexes. So, some training would inevitably have to take place in the northeast part of town and possibly even downtown if Congaree was involved. Why would Tripp merge and force all of his players to drive to CSC, when he now has more premier teams than CSC? Someone please give me a legitimate answer to that question and not the normal response that we always get, CSC has better infrastructure. The complex does not make a club. Its nice, but it can be done without a top notch facility as Tripp and the others at NECSA have shown.

Mark Campbell,

I respect your opinion and views on this board, but really think you have flipped your lid when you quote that, "At one point there was a girl flying in each weekend from California to play on a team."

Are you serious? Is she? Are her parents?

That's simply ludicrous in my opinion!

Being dedicated is one thing, but being addicted is another. Her parents could have paid a semester's tuition to a state school with five round-trip flights!

I highly doubt that the player or team will develop that much on these training sessions. Unless money is of no option and a care-free attitude persists this is a simple waste!

For so long I've watched my children grow up in a predominantly socio-economic decent level, but now only wonder if their Mother and I have cheated them of the particulars of real life. I hope not, but this kind of social separation is not what I want in club soccer!

Lower,
I am a big proponent of a merger in midlands as you may have gathered from my crazy rants in this forum. I do not believe that NECSA players should just up and leave and go to CSC to practice, etc. I believe in a full merger with LSC/CRSA/CSC & NECSA. CSC would not be the 'club in charge'; it would be one large club, of course. I agree with your assessment of Tripp as a quality coach and there are many others at NECSA who would contribute in a large quality talent pool of coaches with a merger. And Tripp can win and compete with average and above average players. I would love to see him with another quality team, like the Storm or Galaxy years ago. A mixture of the right CSC & NECSA players may produce such a team. But I still harp and pine and 'bark' for a merger because thats the way to compete every year for state championships in all age groups and genders with that 'big, bad club up north!'

OK, but if that's the direction Columbia goes, then who is going to assemble "all of the egos" to meet on this and make it happen! Who would you include?

There is no way that egos can be addressed. The clubs gotta, wanta, havit. CSC is the only one that indicated a desire to work together with the rest....but nothing came of it last year. CRSA wants to feed players into its area school, which is OK, but will not challenge CESA anytime soon; NECSA wants to win, unless too much winning infringes on the social atmosphere of the club. And I have not a clue as to what LSC wants. They have a great facility there and nice fields, but obviously don't want quality soccer played on them. So....no merger is gonna happen with those mind sets. I have decided, therefore, to start a new club to compete with CESA- it will have no egos, no name or flashy uniforms, no soccer moms,no obnoxious dads, no ODP players allowed, no parents at tryouts or practices cause they ain't gonna be nice and pretty, and no whining about playing time cause we gotta win championships. These are just a few initial regulations of the new club. I gotta work on the name, fees, fields, organization, and a few other things. But I will let you know when I get it all together.

2004striker - that's called a pipedream! Sorry to rain on your parade, but that won't happen.

I agree on many of your points and think that Charleston and Columbia would both strengthen their cause with mergers, but only under the right circumstances led by true soccer leaders.

talon,
'Hey, that may be a good name for the club *MEPSA* - 'The Midlands Elite Pipedream Soccer Academy'