SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Club Soccer & ODP High School Soccer: Hurt or Help?

Dear Mr. Gates,
I have used your products for many years. They are the BEST! I am not so crass as to ask for money to build soccer fields. I only need $351.74 to make my car payment now, and about $7,500,000.85 for a Coke and a pack of crackers and some other assundry items, which you can send next week by certified check.
Thanks

>>[purpleandyellow] setting aside that i may have been called a BAD marxist—i sincerely believe, all, that soccer and sports matter way too much to be a carrot, a lure—i also KNOW that an education matters too much to be taken lightly or given lip-service just so johnny or jane can play soccer in HS or college—<<

Actually, this is a great point. You've persuaded me. From a sports-perspective, you're absolutely right. I came up playing football and was shocked when I began understanding this whole high school/club duality thing in soccer. But the more I think about it, the cleaner the soccer approach is.

>>and since this is scsoccer.com and not scschols.com—i am making the case that disassociating sports from schools would benefit SPORTS—and i stand firmly by that assertion—<<

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.

I find the school stuff so interesting I looked at it from that perspective instead of the sports perspective. You're absolutely right -- wrong message board for that.

>>thanks, chico, for the topic!—although you do realize that now that you have mentioned gates this thread is being monitored. .<<

Actually, it was Beezer and you who started all of this -- thank you for raising it -- the most interesting thing on here for a while! [But then again, I'm a sucker for school-related stuff.]

>>[Hurst66] I have a lot of respect for soccer40's daughter. The best player her age in the state, playing on arguably the worst 4A high school team in the state. She runs around the hallways of her school trying to get 10 other girls to come out for the team. Yeah....that's loving the game. <<

I don't have a clue as to who is soccer40's daughter; but unless she plays for Orangeburg-Wilkinson, she does not have "bragging rights" to the worst 4A girls team in the state.

[Note: I spent a lot of my youth in Orangeburg -- so this is said with both shame and affection.]

Okay...one more aside...I can't help it...with the Fed bowing to pressure on interest rate hikes but incipient yet persistant long-term inflation occurring there's not much to do but optimize relatively short-term yields. I promise to try my best not to go off-subject again.

I once heard a debate regarding who helped humanity more; Mother Teresa or Bill Gates. This was some number of years ago [before the Gates Foundation really started making an impact] and I still thought that the debater who chose Gates won the debate.

I love that passion of soccer40's daughter! I am not at all advocating there is anything wrong at all with high school soccer. It is a tremendous outlet for those who want to participate in a high school sport, and have a ball doing it. Those memories of playing your cross-town rivals and the bus rides out of town and the trouble you can get into with your coach, and the friendships made......all these high school memories will last forever. My one and hopefully only point, is that by training and developing with your club team year-round, without the separate coach and another system of play and another system of development; has proven to produce very strong club teams, that compete successfully regionally and nationally, if thats what you want.

here is a job for you chico.
in the spring when school soccer starts up, you keep up with the wins and losses of the 4a schools and we will see who is the worse.the bigger question will be did any of these kids get anything out of playing for their school.the answer may not be the one that this thread got started for but i bet it will be "yes".my daughter played jv the last 2 years and will be a 9th grader this year so she can enjoy the butt whoopings.its not for the lack of trying or for the lack of heart of these kids.when you have a team that not only did no one else ever play club soccer<no one else has ever played soccer.most of these kids cant afford to play club soccer.there was a day when sports were free except for a physical.
IT WAS CALLED SCHOOL SPORTS.
i guess what i am trying to say in all this is,
you shouldnt compare the 2.if a kid wants to do both then do it.if they dont think school ball is up to their ability then they can stay at home in the spring.

Perhaps Fred and Tony graduated with a BA in Psych and a BS in Econ (respectively).. and then worked as waiters trying to pay off their $80,000 in loans. Only to succumb to the debt collectors and eventually take up "residence" in your town.

Yay Devil's Advocate!

Edit: Whoa.. looks like I'm a whole page behind

Whats up wid dat?

Unfortunately the law discussed does not prevent the HS or club coach from being an a*****e and prevent the kid from playing because of his "lofty" ideals. Truth is we should have the best interest of the kid in mind, this does not happen all the time.

Someone educate me. Overseas adolescences play club sponsored ball..but they also have "school" teams. Yes/No?