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

I do not agree with all your comments regarding the Spring... As a matter of fact the Palmetto Cup is the only opportunity where in state schools actually go to games to look at players.

It stands to reason that in the fall when you have the college season in full swing the number of times you are able to see players is severely reduced. Thus the reason why Score at the Shore has grown in popularity with coaches because of the timing. After that only major tournaments are the attraction CASL, Disney, etc..

The problem is that most everywhere soccer is a fall sport in HS (which is mostly the reason why regionals and nationals are played in the spring). If your club team wanted to participate in showcase tournament the spring would provide more opportunities to be seen. This is after (I agree with you) you have done all the proper marketing to get on the radar screen.

So dual participation is only good if there is no conflict, when the conflict arises then what takes precedent? That is my only question.


Lastly, with some of the schools the give and take you discuss can work, with others it does not.

Kyle,
My comments were made in response to the hypothetical put forward by futbol that a preseason tournament was conflicting with a high level club tournament. I most definitely am serious, that as a coach, I would be supportive of my players to attend the club tournament. Not to be seen by out-of-state coaches, but to play with their club team on their quest to develop into a team that would challenge at Regionals.
And just to clarify my statement regarding the rest of the high school season, region play is the only determining factor for the playoffs. Those games carry the highest degree of importance, and if the club team conflicted with one of those, then as a coach, I would have more of a problem.
Additionally, a club coach of a high profile team will not, and probably should not, accept that a player wants to stay home and play in a high school preseason tournament.

futbol,

Many....I would argue most, of the South Carolina D1 & D2 coaches attend the Viking Cup as well. I've seen coaches speak with players at this event.

Why do you need to go to Disney? To be seen by out-of-state college coaches? How many of our kids are playing out-of-state? (Chico....time for this research exercise again). I know there is a young lady at Villanova, but let's look at the best players over the past few years.

Boys: Goose, Geathers....playing in-state.

Girls: Bolt, Ficklen, Mattern, Mouton.....playing in-state.

Kyle is right. The player reaches out to the school (attend the school's summer camp, ask the coach to see you play at HS play-off game or a club match). Make the initial contact yourself, don't expect the college coach to discover you out of the blue because you are at WAGS or Disney.

Not trying to pull off a 'Chico research project', but a quick look at some D1 women's rosters reveal the following out-of-state players:

Charlotte (3)
Hailey Beam, Riverside/Texas Tech
Lindsey Beam Ozimek, Riverside/Clemson
Sara Jane Harris, Dorman/USC

Davidson (3)
Isabel Carlton, Ashley Hall
Bevin English, Bishop England
Loring Ward, Academic Magnet

East Carolina (1)
Patty Pierce, A.C. Flora

Kentucky (1)
Laura Speer, Dutch Fork

Villanova (1)
Nicole Coia, St. Joseph's

Western Carolina (1)
Kelly Gulledge, Summerville HS
Natasha Moore, Hillcrest HS -- completed her eligibility in 2005

Let me throw my two cents in.....My experience has been that the club team has more problems/difficulties/issues with my son playing high school ball than the other way around. I know someone will throw up the 30 year arguement but I am dealing in the here and now. The high school coach left any playing decision up to the player with no ramifications. I am all for year round club soccer but why is it that the club's can't offer more practices than the current 2 nights a week. I believe high schools offer better conditioning and more touches on the ball due to the additional practices. Why can't clubs offer it. I am a parent and i am willing to drive, my son is itching to practice more but what would the club charge for this kind of service?

hurst... I agreed with Kyle on the marketing/radar screen discussion - you do not do this, you willnot be succesful.

I know of some players that went out-of-state (some of the aiken fire and old GFC come to mind)... but your comment is a double edge sword...

If I stay in-state you will only be seen by in-state, If I go to one of the Elite camps you will be seen by a few more out-of-state coaches (and at least I cannot afford every single SC school camp). But you will not get the broader chance unless you attend a big tournament (say the Jefferson Cup) AFTER you have done all your homework.

The truth is that most kids that play in SC schools that are from out-of-state, where "found" because of their involvement with ODP, Region tournaments and nationals (notice SPRING).

But the key as Chico likes to say is CHOICE. The more exposure the greater the choices. Coaches recruit many more players than they will take because, the more recruits you have the better choices you can make. The same has to be said for the player - the more exposure you have the more choices you have. The caveat is the player must be capable.

Lastly you state to have them see you at a HS playoff - no guarantee that the rest of the HS team will cooperate to get to the playoffs - or a club match.... Club matches are in the fall and the availability of the coach is severely reduced. This is my argument, I work closely with the schools and realize strongly that the school spirit aspect is a key ingredient to teenage life.... All I ask is either work with the player in the give and take scenario or move the sport to the fall.

Are those bombs disguised as footballs I see coming my way????


USMNT2014... I disagree strongly with those club coaches that prevent the players from enjoying HS. Work with each other

practices- with the exception of some schools the quality is not there for the technical or tactical, it is for the physical.

And the last time I discussed for the younger ones practice more than 2 nights parents flipped out (again not all but some - and ussually not a problem with older High level players). In a team sport one dissent and you have problems

futbol,
I always thought boys HS soccer would be better served in the fall. I'm sure it's not a problem on the 3A and 4A front. For the smaller schools, are there still a lot of boys that play both HS football and soccer?

kyle,
Jenny Hasik from Spring Valley is the goalkeeper for Queens.
http://www.queens.edu/athletics/wsoccer/hasik.asp

Also futbol,
Good point about the school having to be a fit and the player having to be "capable". South Carolina has enough D1 & D2 schools that offer competitive programs. If you go out of state you are risking losing in-state scholarship/grant money. We all know there is not a lot of true "athletic" money out there for soccer.

five poor practices a week v. 2 or 3 high-quality practices a week?—that is the reality now in most of SC—many high school practices are ultimately detrimental to good soccer—as are many high school matches—a few players are lucky to have high quality in both—i suspect that those are some of our best SC players—but as i have told my players a 1,000,000 times—practicing BADLY is worse than doing nothing—very few high school soccer programs place a high premium on the coach's credentials when hiring for soccer—i can't imagine any of our clubs doing that for their coaches—

>>[Kyle Heise] Dual participation is a give-and-take between the high school program and the club program with a player in the middle. Choices have to be made by all parties and if there are some repercussions that go along with those decisions then I say, "welcome to life".<<

Amen.

The issue seems to me to focus around trust. The coach has to do the best thing for her or his team. The player has to do the best thing for the player. The coach and the player have to rely on each other to care about their secondary responsibility -- in the case of the coach the individual player's development and in the case of the player the team. The best possible situation is when both the coach and the player have a big common ground because they both care so deeply about the same set of things.