SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Club Soccer & ODP Biggest surprises of the Fall

Taylorbabe is correct that there is a player from Georgia on the U16 CESA Boys Premier team as well as a player from the Charlotte area and one from Summerville all commuting to Greenville.

Hurst,

Again, I see your point, but...does Tega Cay go ahead and accept the R3PL spot assuming they will add some new talent to their roster by the Spring?

Of course, I suppose there could be negotiations already underway between players and coaches.

How 'bout this...Tega Cay currently has a roster of 16 - the max is 18. Let's say they do pick up two awesome players from Charlotte - personally, I see a roster of 18 players being a major problem. Besides the obvious logistics issues, you also have to consider what happens when you have 16 boys (and their parents) who have committed themselves to the team for the entire year (both seasons) and now you add 2 new boys who are coming in the middle of everything, and who are, of course, going to be taking someone's position...wow, good luck with that one.

Bellig,

I got a better one for you. How about instead of getting the boys from Charlotte....Tega Cay gets them from Summerville? The kids would only be required to show up for one practice per week, but they would play for a team in the prestigious R3PL. I don't think the existing parents would mind one bit, assuming these Summerville boys are contributing to the team.

Seems to work OK at other clubs.

It's interesting to speculate about the U14 challenge. In a division with 10 teams, there would be only 6 teams returning (2 '93 teams to U13 challenge and 2 teams to Premier). Will Tega Cay go premier? Would CESA promote their classic I team to challenge II to make it seven teams? Would CUFC demote their challenge team to classic? Would some of the CESA challenge players (from last year's premier team) or players from other clubs commute to Rock Hill to participate on a premier team? Did I miss anything? More drama than a season of soap operas.

It's funny -- but from my perspective, while RIIIPL-East participation drives a lot of kids to move around in the big metropolitan areas (e.g., Atlanta, Dallas), I see more kids moving because of training opportunities in South Carolina. Of course, my perspective is fairly limited...

Hurst,

It's great to have dreams...but, you should also try and toss in a good dose of reality - just to keep things, you know, real. I seriously doubt there will be any U14 Bridge players making that move up the interstate to the Cay. Now, don't get me wrong - I really do feel for you - seriously, I do - Tega Cay has had a disappointing season. Believe me, I KNOW how that can be. But, pinning your hopes on getting two boys from another club who are going to help lift you enough to succeed in R3PL is a pipe dream. It ain't gonna happen.

Honestly, you might have a decent chance to get a couple quality players from CUFC Elite, as that is a fairly short drive, but again, I don't see two players making enough of a difference to your team to make it worthwhile playing R3PL.

Remember, don't shoot the messenger. Besides, I am still walking funny from having Soccerforfun's foot up my rear - and, that guy has BIG feet!

No doubt kids will leave a team to play R3PL. However, that usually happens at tryouts in May, not after the Fall season.

I cannot see Tega Cay giving up the slot. They earned it last year and the time to have taken a pass.....would have been months ago. My understanding is that the kids were told they would be playing in the Premier league and at this stage they should get their crack. They should work hard, play hard and do their best. They'll do fine.

I see kids moving around in South Carolina because they want to be challenged by playing on the best teams.....and playing at the highest level (premier). Our state is relatively small and one club has done a pretty good job of monopolizing state championships and they in turn have been the beneficiary of player movement.

"Our state is relatively small and one club has done a pretty good job of monopolizing state championships and they in turn have been the beneficiary of player movement."

Hurst, to me this is all cause and effect:

--Two of the top Clubs in the state (maybe the top 2) merge peacefully.....somehow Board, DOC, and coaches egos are pretty much all taken care of.

--The new Club has excellent infrastructure in place. Fields, large rec program, etc.

--Individually, the 2 old clubs won the majority of State Cups anyway. Collectively, the new CLub with its pooled talent does even better.

--New club demonstrates the creativity to attract new players from out of town by arranging for local training. New CLub starts to pull players from multiple locations outside of GSP.

--Club starts to develop a reputation as a regional Club.

CESA is not alone in this. Bridge is pulling kids from Columbia, Savannah, etc.

If planning and committment to quality are in place......good things will happen. Too few people/Clubs understand this.

My question is.........why can't this happen in York County? My 3 year old wants to know......

Daddy,

You're asking a rhetorical question. Personalities, turf, philosophies....do you have amnesia? You were there, weren't you?

I realize that Big Red have done all the right things to be successful.....and I applaud them for it. But I'm not going to concede that they have the market completely cornered on player development. A lot of the kids that end up there have honed their skills under the tutelage of some pretty good coaches and trainers at other clubs.

Does CESA have a very good staff?....absolutely. Are there other trainers and coaches in the state who do a very good job working with players?....yep.