>>[Coach P] The CUFC Elite teams have not faired as well in the R3 Premier League. While Bridge had 26% compared to CUFC's 16%, they only had one team in the R3PL. CUFC has 2 teams whose results are above the 26% and 2 that are much lower. This is definitely an area for improvement and needs to be addressed if CUFC seeks to be a regionally competitive club.<<
From the CUFC mission: We will organize and train youth travel teams who seek the highest level of team competition and achievement at the local, state, regional, and national levels.
So there's little doubt concerning what CUFC seeks, or for that matter what CUFC has aggressively marketed itself as. Look...CUFC still might pull out a few wins at the state challenge cup and attempt to salvage this season...and given the very nature of youth soccer, it's not that hard to envision it occurring. But that's very different than stating you're going to organize and train youth soccer teams to compete regionally and nationally.
The fact that CUFC has been more aggressive in both marketing and politically than in training and results hurts it in two ways: first, because CUFC has marketed and extensively advertised that it's the best choice in Columbia, and secondly because CUFC has quite aggressively worked to keep others out of what it perceives as "its territory" (i.e., Columbia) -- and appears to have been successful in that as well.
>>The largest deficit, however, appears to be with the Challenge teams. 11% is quite disappointing when compared with 50% for Bridge's Red teams and 65% for CESA's Challenge teams during their first year.<<
>>As I have posted before, I am not extremely surprised with the Challenge results given the fact that the CUFC talent pool has come primarily from the merger of two clubs that had only moderate success at certain age groups. The top players from CSC and NECSA made the Elite teams. Those that did not were assigned to the Challenge teams. Since CSC and NECSA did not each have wildly successful teams in each age group, the talent pool is limited.<<
>>I think the choice to field "B" teams and place them in the Challenge league was an aggressive one. Note that only 3 clubs in SC have "B" teams in the Challenge League: Bridge, CESA, and CUFC. Bridge only has two. So, CESA, is really the only club in the state to have "B" teams performing competitively in the Challenge league across the board.<<
Another way to put this -- CUFC is the only club that markets and advertises itself as providing all levels of youth soccer and offers teams "across the board" that on average loses to smaller, less capable, clubs.
I realize that this sounds harsh: but to me it's even harsher to consider what is being done here. Ignore the elite teams and RIIIPL-East -- being regionally competitive is tough. It's not the elite players that are getting hurt here -- it's the other players who are paying more to be put into less competitive training and match situations than they were twelve months ago.