[futbol(soccer)] There is one bit of data that will need to reviewed in 2 years. How many players drop out because they do not want to go through the travel and cost of playing CESA and Bridge if they cannot break the upper echelon.
Several years ago if I lived in Columbia and had a highly ambitious child who wanted to play regionally and nationally competitive soccer my choices within a 100 mile radius was Charlotte -- or I could cross my fingers and hope that a Columbia, Greenville, or Charleston "blue moon" team existed near my child's age/gender. Now if I'm in that same situation there is another choice in Greenville, and what I hope is an emerging choice in Charleston. Things seem to be getting better.
I don't think that self-delusion is a profitable philosophy to teach children. The truth is that South Carolina has been largely a joke in terms of soccer at the regional and national level. Heck -- read the Georgia message boards now and you'll see some folks are still laughing. Our kids playing soccer have understood that; there's hasn't been a lot of pride being known as a South Carolina player at region camp or losing 10-0 in RIIIPL or getting blown out in the first round at regionals.
Will we lose some players because their self-esteem is damaged when they begin losing by greater amounts to better South Carolina teams? It could be [doesn't make sense to me, but I'm trying to be open to the probability] -- but it could also be the catalyst to wake up complacent players and parents so that more South Carolina players understand just how far we have to go to become regionally and nationally competitive.
To use an analogy from another sport. Did the entry of Tiger Woods onto the PGA tour cause the competitive level of the tour to become stronger or weaker? Most analysts say stronger. I think that the same could be true for South Carolina soccer. Then again, at last year's state cup, I didn't see many blow-out's -- so I think all clubs have a way to go.