SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums College, Pro & International Soccer USC Keepers

Now were getting to the heart of the matter.
"Where does USC come off telling kids they are not good enough at his level?"
It's the job of a college or professional coach to make opinions and project a players ability at the next level. That's what makes a good recruiter. National team kids are easy...they're all good. It's the sleepers that make or break you. You have to make decisions based on personel and scholarship available. If you don't want to hear it, don't ask.

"it looks to me like alsmost every kid that wasn't good enough was good enough or better!"
Which of these many that you listed started at a major D1 school which USC is (16+NCAA Tourney bids in 25 years), which Furman has become and Clemson has been for quite some time (Ibraham and now Adair)? Charleston is getting there, but not yet.

"Who is to say what would have happened if the SV boys had been given a chance at USC? Carolina wasn't that strong back then in the mid 90's after Clint/Josh left. Duke was in the thick of things with Josh henderson and Ali Curtis. But any way typical Bersonite response! NEVER WRONG!!!!!"
Your right, who knows, but the fact that they didn't make it at Duke says they weren't major D1 prospects. In the mid 90's (93-97) Carolina was at it's height in recent years being ranked in the top 20 all that time with the exception of '96 (when they beat Duke in Charleston). Rob Smith, Chris Faklaris and co left in 94. Clint and Josh left after the 97 season.

"Wilson got in Clemson but not USC!!!!! WRONG USC did not offer. " USC did not offer because they were told he would not be admitted. He was one of those guys that was easy to see he was good.

"fopr Gregory Berson wanted him till a bad call cost him his season his own fault really but for books USC could have had a good player from COla." Ummm, you answered your own question...his fault really.

Clint Smith.."Would have been twice as good as Brockmeyr(SP) and Jordan( what a joke!!!!!!!!)"
Not sure of Clint's year,one would assume that with Ring, Bachmeyer, and Landman on the roster, you would only want a "free" goalkeeper if you had a roster spot available. They only get 24 spots by USC rules.

"I played for the Patriots and was some what looked at by USC. " I guess this is what makes you an expert.

I never claimed to be one.

What does Randy Owen's (Irmo) academic status have to do with SEC qualification? Last time I looked USC was not a member of the Southeastern Conference in men's soccer since only Kentucky and Vanderbilt offer the sport at the D1 level.

Also, what ever happened to Joel Conkle (Irmo) from Irmo? I remember that Mike Harmon (Dreher) got hurt, but the person up above is correct that David Gregory (B-C) was better than both those players in the Midlands area during that time.

Where did Michael Kozak (West Florence) end up and what happened between David Testo and Mark Berson? One season he was playing for South Carolina and the next year he wins a National Championship at North Carolina. Another good one was Jeremy Ransom (Chapin), who was a D2 All-American at Presbyterian College. Jimmy May (James Island) and Gus Goding (Dreher) were also good players for PC.

The point in this entire conversation is that good at PC or good at Newberry or good at Tulsa or good at Syracuse does not equal a player that can step on the field and compete against UCLA, Duke, Clemson, Indiana, Portland, SMU, Chapel Hill, Rutgers, Maryland, Virginia, etc. which are the teams that USC, Clemson and Furman and Duke and Indiana play on a regular basis. Good at a mid-major or minor does not equal able to play at a high D1 level.

As for SEC, USC has to follow SEC rules, even in men's soccer as far as qualifiers, title IX etc. even though they don't compete in a conference championship (as does Kentucky and Vanderbilt).

Conkle left the program to pursue his academics by doing exchange programs. Conkle was a kid that was given a chance even though it was probably a stretch for him to play there. I know his father was told that Conkle would probably be better off at Emory but Joel wanted to try.

Harmon quit in midseason the day after winning a starting spot to camp and fish.
Testo missed his friends from club ball and didn't get along with team members at USC. I heard through the grapevine that Berson is the one who called Bolowich to take Testo.

Kozak wanted more PT and went to Wofford.

scdrewablank: are you a former player or a coach at USC or something, because you seem to have all the answers. Thanks for the information though. As I said last night about R. Quest, was it true his girlfriend was pregnant or something to that effect? I had a class with him and suddenly he wasn't there anymore.

I never heard the story on Quest. Only that it was for personal reasons.

All you have to do to get information is talk to some of the players or former players or managers or former managers or parents or former parents...they tell you everthing (some of which may be fact some of which may be opinion)!

Try sitting with the parents or the alumni at a game some time. You'll find it enlightening.

When you go to tournaments, talk to the assistant coaches who are recruiting, they'll tell you some stuff too.

When your kids go to camp, talk to the staff ask them questions like what's the story with that Wilson kid, why didn't USC recruit him? Or how did yo manage to get Whetstone away from Furman?

The bottom line for whatever reason is that local kids DO NOT get a fair shake at USC!!!!!!!! Never have never will! And PLEASE do not throw the few exceptions at me! Having one/two kids on the roster from SC is a JOKE!!!!!!!!! I don't care what you say, SC will not be as good as the past! Can't beat Clemson! What's next! the team looks more like the u 0f texas than SC! Two players is a joke. I am not an expert but you know WAY too much for my liking! Is this Berson or just another Bersonite?

The joke is youth soccer in SC. Sure, there is a club or two that make it through open cup regions into nationals, but that's not a true gauge of talent in THE STATE. ODP is a better gauge and for years and years SC teams have gotten drilled in region and subregion play. The fact of the matter is SC is a heavily rural state and soccer hasn't reached those areas to develop better talent from that pool of athletes.
None of the SC colleges are heavy with state talent. This rap on USC is silly. Berson's got more at stake than any other coach/program in the state and he still puts together good teams. He goes where he must to get talent.

I beg to differ with you there soccermaniac, but our ODP teams have done well at region camp the last few years.The 88's were as good as any ODP team in region 3.I think the 85's, 86's and 87's have all done well in regional competetion the last few years. SC might not be as deep in talent as NC,GA.Fla.etc but our top players compare well with most states.

soccermaniac, the last time I looked you can't get any more rural than Williston-Elko, Blackville-Hilda, or Buford (those teams all played in the 1A state championships recently).

Maybe you should take off your garnet colored glasses and recognize that Coach Berson has simply overlooked top S.C. talent recently in lieu of players from Illinois, New Mexico, New York, and Utah and those players aren't involved with Gamecock soccer anymore (all left before completing their eligibility).

So be it for Coach Berson and USC, because he has a responsibility as the head coach to win games for the University of South Carolina regardless of where the players are from. However, I believe if he would have recognized (or at least the USC staff) that players such as Hunter Gilstrap (Lexington), Nick Rivera (TL Hanna), Rob Smith (JL Mann), John Cooper (Riverside), Michael Conway (Wando), Jonathan Delap (Riverside), Jay Bracknell (Greenville), John Robert Foster (TL Hanna), Adam Walker (Bishop England), Erik Forbes (Seneca), Troy Lesesne (Brookland-Cayce), Joseph Mosser (Dreher), Jabari Seabrook (Brookland-Cayce), Nick Hansell (Ridge View), Turner Walters (James Island), Randy Owen (Irmo), Zack Moorer (South Aiken), Sam Moore (Porter-Gaud), Tim Mittmann (Dorman), Jay Orders (Greenville), Michael Gonzales (James Island), RP Benik (Myrtle Beach), Howard Ash (James Island), Ben Hollingsworth (Bishop England), Lionel Boisvert (Sumter), Cody Perrot (Ridge View), Josh Pavlischek (Pinewood Prep), Jeff Haigler (Dutch Fork), Eddie Naugle (Summerville), Ian O'Shea (James Island), Montae Seabrook (Wando), and Wayne Osborne (Wando) could play D1 soccer and contribute in some fashion for little USC scholarship money at all.

Just don't neglect the state kids and think that by jumping overseas or across the U.S. is the way to solve a problem that's existed in USC men's soccer for a long time.

I don't have connections to USC, didn't grow up in SC, never played soccer and have only in the last several years have I developed an interest in soccer. My, what I consider, objective view of this thread could possibly anger some individuals. But here's how I see it. It seems that some members just don't like Mark Berson. He is criticized for only having two players from SC. Clemson has more, but it's only four players from the home state. Why then is Trevor Adair not receiving the criticism Berson receives? Coastal Carolina only has two SC players, Furman only one and College of Charleston has up to seven listed on their roster. There are also many variables involved such as; academic eligibility, whether the special talents or skills of a player are needed on the team at the time, personal characteristics of the player, and probably most important is do all of those players want to play at USC at all.

There just seems to be a lot of anger towards Berson and if he had 11 starters from SC he would probably be criticized for having the wrong 11 SC players. Just go watch their games and look at the talent that is there. It would be just as fair to criticize all SC players who desire to go play out of state instead of trying to stay at home and try out as a walk on if they aren't offered a scholarship. If recruiting information was as widely available for soccer as it is football then you could see who is being recruited by whom. It would then be a lot easier to understand why some SC players go elsewhere.