SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Club Soccer & ODP U13 and up challenge league Fall 06

Let me jump in here....I believe that CUFC has a competitive advantage over CRSA and LCSC at the elite level as they take advantage of the higher level players. CRSA does not field a challange level team at our age group. Maybe more clubs should combine? However, I would not be surpirsed to see these clubs benefit next year in terms of the numbers at tryouts which should translate in an increase in their performance. I think that the mediocre results at the (CUFC) Elite team level is related more to team chemistry and ultimately team selection.

I believe that the two days tryouts does not translate well toward building a team. From my experience there were several missed selections in our age group. The team is good but there are still a few weak links in the team. Which can frustrate the top level players on the team, as well. This may be corrected through next years tryouts and attrition if the numbers improve or stay the same in the overall player pool in which to select a team. I hope that next years players are selected with some reasonable analysis of past performance and tryouts. It is a shame to see quality players who fit into a team struggling on losing teams while less skilled players(or less team fit players) fight for playing time. Also, the necessity to make sure the even number of CSC players and NECSA players were selected will not exist next year. The results will be very interesting to watch.

Do you see any of the high school teams, boys or girls, directly or indirectly benefiting, this spring, from the CUFC merger? I'm sure this wasn't the primary reason for the merger...probably not even a factor at all in the decision.....but is there an ancillary benefit for perhaps one high school team?

If the players are receiving better training and player development and playing at a higher level of competition, then the various high school teams should benefit. I do think this is happening in some cases if not across the board. Other than that, I don't know of anyway a specific high school team will benefit above what they would have under the previous club structure.

I know several high school coaches that were very much in favor of this merger and of their players being involved. So, they apparently believe it will benefit their programs.

>>[Coach P] I did not intend to say that there already exists a definite competitive advantage in terms of training and player development.<<

I didn't think that you did and/or were implying that; I was asking a straightforward question because I honestly wondered if there was a belief that CUFC was offering something other clubs weren't. More on this in a minute...

>>It would seem to me, however, that this is an area where a competitive advantage needs to be established and maintained in order to attract and retain Challenge level players.<<

I could not agree more!!!

This is an area where I'd love to see clubs get creative and inventive and advertise what they are doing differently and better.

>>At first glance one might answer that the level of coaching expertise and experience constitutes an advantage in training. But I think this needs to be proven over a period of time on a week-in and week-out basis. It needs to be evidenced through performance improvement at the player and team level, but not necessarily in wins. The players need to see that they are benefitting from the training and development. I'm not saying that this is not happening. I think it is. I just don't think enough time has passed to have established this as a clear advantage.<<

When I think of training advantages, I think of the following:

• Coaches.
  
• Trainers.
  
• Other players being trained.
  
• Methods.
  
• Frequency.
  
• Flexibility.
  

Just a few examples...

With respect to coaches and trainers, everyone gets the best they can get.

With respect to "other players being trained" -- it helps players to train with better players (you've noted that.) This is an area where looking at win/loss rates for challenge teams gives a prospective player insight into the other players with whom she/he will train. This is one reason that the 30% win rate is such a concern at a club level.

With respect to methods, the two questions I ask are (1) does the club have a training philosophy or is it every team for itself and (2) what is the training philosophy. In terms of philosophy, is there an emphasis on short-sided games over more static drills, full-sided games over posession, and so on (almost endlessly).

With respect to frequency, how often is training offered? How flexible is the training? Are players allowed and/or encouraged to train with "better" teams as well as their own? Are outside players allowed and/or encouraged into the training environment? Etcetera.

>>I guess the real proof will show itself at tryouts next Spring.<<

Certainly retention/attraction numbers will show the long-term trend -- the question in my mind is how you get ahead of these numbers to figure out proactively what is going on.

Great discussion...thank you!!!

>>[Hurst66] Do you see any of the high school teams, boys or girls, directly or indirectly benefiting, this spring, from the CUFC merger?<<

I think so. To take a specific example, there are players on the CUFC U15G, U16G, U17G and U18G Elite teams that are training and playing with better players than before with very good coaches (Eberlin, Hiller, Fryland, Savitz, respectively). The 15, 16, and 18 teams are all playing RIIIPL-East and thus are playing at a higher level of competition than is typical for the average Columbia-area team.

I don't think that there's any question that the CUFC merger on the whole has benefited the top 15-18 players in any given age bracket (i.e., their Elite teams.)

No doubt about it Chico, all of those players will benefit from the quality coaching and higher level of competition. I was also curious, as the teams were put together, if any specific high school was well-represented on a team. If those 15-18 players that you refer to above, are scattered over ten high schools, the net effect would average to be 1.5 players per school.

Traditionally, I think CRSA was made up mostly of B-C players and the Summerville Soccer Club teams fed directly into Summerville HS. Tega Cay feeds Fort Mill.

Didn't know if any of these CUFC teams were heavily dominated by Irmo, Chapin, Lex, DF, RV, SV......etc. players.

Hurst 66,

To answer your question more directly - at least for the 18G CUFC Elite team. Lexington - 5, Irmo - 5, Spring Valley - 3, Cardinal Newman - 2, Dutch Fork - 2, Chapin - 1,Ridge View - 1.

Sorry, I don't know enough about the other teams to be completely accurate.

Thanks deahler, that's excellent for Lex & Irmo. I believe that Lex may have another girl from their high school also playing at a fairly high level at CESA.

;>)

Yes, plus at least three more that I know of playing at the "elite" level (one of them actually playing in the Challenge league) at CUFC on younger teams.