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>>[Beezer] And CESA thinks it has it all but it's not close in Region III and the country on a consistent basis.<<

Who at CESA thinks that they have it all? I know a lot of folks from CESA and have never spoken to anyone that believes CESA is yet sufficiently competitive in RIIIPL-East across the board, let alone in RIIIPL or nationally.

I think you're confusing the general South Carolina perception of CESA with CESA's opinion concerning itself. Winning state championships is wonderful, and even more wonderful is consistently being a finalists in state championships and earning RIIIPL-East slots, but that is a far different thing than being consistently in the top 2-3 in RIIIPL-East -- which in turn is a far different thing than consistently winning Region III titles and going on to compete and occassionally win nationally.

Now...do I know of anyone at CESA who believes that the best thing we could do is to throw away what they have built to date? No. Do I know of anyone at CESA who believes that a South Carolina state structure is better than a South Carolina/Georgia/North Carolina/Tennessee regional structure [in effect what CESA has today with ambitious players from multiple states joining its teams]? No.

CESA has existed for two years. In that time, it's done well within South Carolina. Also in that time, it has produced teams that have consistently done better in RIIIPL-East play in terms of records and goal differentials. Perhaps more importantly, since CESA was created we've seen the creation of at least two other clubs that are clearly attempting to be more competitive regionally [Bridge and CUFC].

I've got to tell you, if I sat on the board of one of these clubs and the DOC came in and told me we needed to scrap what we had in order to go to a state-wide cooperative approach, I'd tell her/him that she/he was insane unless she/he could tell me how this would work better than what was already in place. Stating you're going to draw from all of South Carolina sounds great until you begin figuring that (a) we're excluding players from other states already in our system, (b) we won't get the players on our borders who play at CSC and elsewhere where good soccer is offered conveniently close by and (c) we don't have 18-24 players willing to travel 3+ hours per week 3 times per week for training in every gender and age bracket.

Apparently the '92 Girls finished strong after a tough first game. Anybody got any details?

Alex Ramsey with the 92 girls is a holdover in Alabama.

Congratulations to Alex. Alex will be a freshman at Rock Hill High School and she will be playing for CESA this fall after a couple of seasons with Charlotte United FC.

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Since the restructuring of Regionals to add a round (just for money-making), being a quarterfinalist isn't as big as one might seem. Totall teams are 12-16 per age group and 8 go through....that's 50% at least....not bad odds.

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Beezer,
Making the quarterfinals at Regionals may not seem "big" to you but, speaking as someone who has now seen it from both perspectives (once from behind a computer screen, from afar with no child involved, and once on site, up close and personal, with a child involved), making the quarterfinals of Regionals is outstanding , in my opinion. Yes, 50% of the teams in each division do go through to the quarters, but it is not as if they randomly flip a coin to determine which 8 teams these will be! Rather this is decided by 3 tough 80 minute matches (90 minute matches for u17 and older)in near 100 degree heat, against some of the best teams in the region and nation, in which every result counts and in fact, every goal for or against counts. And, although, I can't speak for the other SC teams, I do know that the 7 CESA teams representing SC prepared themselves for this challenge in the weeks leading up to Regionals, with 3-4 practices at least per week, scrimmages on the weekends, and in the last couple weeks, numerous 2-a-day practices. So please do not insinuate that the odds were simply "good" that they'd go through to the quarters anyway. I assure you that if the CESA coaches and players had looked upon it as you do, as 50-50 being good odds and simply took their chances, they would not have been among the 8 quarterfinalists in any division. Their success at Regionals came from hard work, sacrifice, dedication, determination and incredibly gutsy performances against equally tough competitors. I believe that if you had seen the matches that I saw during my 6 days in Little Rock (not just the results on the website), you would think it was a very big deal to make it to the quarterfinals.

Granted the team I'm associated with (CESA u16G) was striving to get even further than the quarters and go on to the semis, as I'm sure the other 2 CESA quarterfinalists were, as well, but the good news on that front is that the gap is narrowing between them and the top-ranked teams that have stood in their way the past 2 years. Specifically,the CESA Premier u16G lost to Dallas Texans Red (currently ranked 5th nationally) in group play 2-0 (after losing to them last year 5-0), and lost to ESC Oklahoma (currently ranked 1st nationally) in the quarters 2-0 (after losing to them 4-0 in the quarters last year). Whereas last year these 2 teams were looked upon by our girls as nearly untouchable, this year the girls were going to the bench at halftime knowing they were in a winnable game. And believe me, Dallas Texans Red's (eventual finalist) and Edmonds SC Oklahoma's (eventual champion)level of play has not declined- the CESA level of play has risen. I heard similar observations about the other CESA teams as well. The CESA u15 girls only lost 1-0 in the quarters to the 8th ranked team nationally, and the CESA u17G lost only 1-0 in the quarters to the top ranked team nationally. It's a tough row to hoe when you're playing eventual winners in the quarterfinals. I'd venture to say that you would have possibly seen a CESA team or 2 in the semis had any of them played anyone other than eventual champions in the quarters.

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The State's "elite" club, if correct, has one semifinalist and three others went out in the quarters. Not very good considering there's 12 titles up for grabs and 48 semifinal spots. 1 for 48 isn't a elite club in the region, just in a poor state. What's good for South Carolina still isn't good in the big picture.

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I'm afraid your "logic" here is a little off. True, there are a total of 48 semi-final spots but any one team can only expect to claim 1 of them, per division. Thus, SC was 1 for 11, as far as semi-finalists go (SC didn't field a u19G team), not 1 for 48.

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Kind of like the U.S. in the World Cup. Everyone think they are good in CONCACAF and meaningless friendlies until they step into the World Cup and are, yes, poor

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If you are trying to say that the SC teams that represented at Regionals, including the ones that reached the quarters, are only "good" in SC, and that they are still "poor" regionally and nationally, you are way off, in my opinion.

Congratulations to all the teams that represented SC at Regionals and especially to the CESA Premier u15G, CESA Premier u16G, CESA Premier u17G on their outstanding performances in reaching the quarterfinals!! Also congratulations to the CESA Premier u15G, CESA Premier u16G, and CESA Premier u17G on their new national rankings: 37th, 34th, and 27th respectively!

I would also like to say Congratulations to the CESA DOCs and coaching staff for the successes of their teams at Regionals. Being a first time parent at Regionals, I was so impressed by the organization of the tournament, the venue (best soccer park I've ever seen) and the top-notch level of competition and even reffing! But I was also impressed by the top-notch performance of the CESA coaching staff, and the way they all worked together to encourage the successes of their teams. From the behind-the-scenes weeks of preparing their teams to compete,to the days in advance arrival at Regionals to acclimate and put the finishing touches on their team's preparation, to the at-the-moment-of-truth execution at game time, the CESA coaching staff was on top of their game. Of the matches I saw involving CESA teams (and I did see a lot),there were at least 2, sometimes 3, CESA coaches (including the head coach) on the bench at every game,to encourage, coach and support, as well as help during warm-ups. And that's not to mention the numerous other CESA coaches on hand on the sidelines observing when their schedules allowed. The CESA coaches were up early and to the fields for the first games of the day, and stayed until the very last CESA team had played each evening, as well as managing to take care of their own teams and making sure they were sufficiently prepared for their own games. It was obvious to me that this was a club effort amongst the coaches, not just individual teams that happened to play for the same club. Never was this more obvious than, when it was apparent that goal differential was going to be the determining factor as to which of two teams would advance to the quarters (1 of them a CESA team). These 2 teams were playing different opponents simultaneously on adjacent fields, and one of the CESA DOCs was radioing scoring updates to the CESA bench as the 2 games were progressing, to let the CESA team know how many more goals they would have to score in order to advance. I haven't stopped to research it but I wouldn't be surprised if CESA had more teams at Regionals than almost any other club. I think the CESA coaching staff has done a remarkable job in the last 2 years of taking their teams to a new level of competitiveness, and after watching them in action at Regionals, it's easy to see why. Congratulations on a job well-done.

One more congratulations should go out to the CESA u16G coached by Ralston Moore, who not only made it to the quarterfinals, but won the 2006 REGION III Fair Play award for their division, as well.

In terms of the number of teams that advanced out of group play, SC had 6 of the 88 total. 5 state associations had more and 5 had fewer. Florida also had 6.

SC residents comprise 4.9% of the population of Region III, yet SC teams comprised 6.8% of the 88 that advanced beyond group play.

SC ranks 9th among the 12 R3 states in population but tied for 6th in the number of teams that advanced beyond group play.

If you look at population size as a primary factor feeding clubs with quality soccer players, I'd say SC's showing at the Southern Regionals was not too bad.

Using that "logic," 1-11 isn't something to brag about. And, with Premier League spots, states can have multiple teams in the semifinals so that "48" isn't as far fetched as you explained.

Also, to some other folks, I'm not questioning the work ethic, commitment or professionalism of players, coaches and DOCs. I commend the job they are doing!

HOWEVER, the bottom line is South Carolina is not up to the level, right now, any way you paint the picture. I'm not talking about competing but WINNING. And, those who say it doesn't matter say that because they are not winning at the Region III and National. It's not hard to organize decent level American youth players to compete and keep a match close but can they play consistently well and WIN vs. the best clubs? No.

Dallas Texans and CESA should not be used in the same sentence because of a match or two. As we know, the sun shines on all dogs' places at some time.

The best players need to be with the best players, period! All those examples that came "close" and "did so well?" I'm sure there were other players around the state who could have helped to, not only win, but raise the level.

And, I disagree strongly that players wouldn't travel to be on a hypothetical top team of all the best players. And, if it's true they do not want to travel, then there's an even bigger part of the problem. Alot of the top clubs in the U.S. have a good majority of players traveling 1-2 hours, one-way, three times a week.

It's amazing how people in this state settle, justify and rationalize. We're behind! And, talk to National and Regional ODP coaches about individuals. We have a few one-off examples but they will tell you point blank: South Carolina is behind!

And, those national club rankings? Come on.

And, the statement of the SC showing being poor as way off? I'm talking of objective numbers of the final finishes and you're talking of subjective feelings as a club rep, parent, manager, fan and/or God knows what. American youth soccer at its finest!