I know we are all sensitive to the hard work that coaches are do for the high school teams, but what is being said about RHHS is true. While the coaches are undoubtably enjoying the new talent, it is the club experience that has made the change at RHHS and not anything worth noting within the program itself.
Before the rezoning, the RHHS program did not have kids with club experience. Everyone knew that. Last year there was a senior on the team who had never even played the sport before. Having room on your roster for an inexperienced senior is not an option in most 4-A schools.
The rezoning impacts the current Junior, Sophmore and Freshman class. So it is easy for the coaches to say that they are bringing the kids up through the program (has RHHS really yet to define a program for themselves?). What they are really doing is reaping the benefits of gaining club experienced contenders who have not only played at club level, but more importantly have been coached at the club level. These kids would not be in their program if it were not for the change in the zoning that Rock Hill went through.
What the coaches are not owning up to is that of the starters, 7 would be at Northwestern right now if it were not for the rezoning. This includes the two Arzaluz brothers, the Robinson kid (who actually won the MVP for RHHS’ Varsity as a FRESHMAN - that is NOT bringing him up through the ranks coach since he didn't play JV for you), the Spradley goalkeeper (who was named to the 2007 Byrnes All Tournament Team a few weeks ago), and the Lehman kid who won 2006 MVP for the JV team…and his playing JV was HIS choice. The Lehman kid actually DID go to Northwestern his freshman year. When he came to RHHS last year, the coaches wanted him to play Varsity, but he did not want to play against his big brother at Northwestern, so he played JV. More than half of the bench would also be at Northwestern if it weren't for the new zones. By the way, it isn’t that I know so much about all of these kids. I got all of the information about the starters from the school’s soccer site.
The Raad kid is playing JV not because the coaches have this wonderful and developmental program, but because his dad wouldn’t let him play Varsity as a freshman, a decision I certainly respect. Of course there is Fernando playing JV, but he's still in middle school. It will be interesting to see if he stays with the RHHS program or either moves to Northwestern as Enzo did.
Ok, so the point of this ramble is that RHHS now has something worth noticing. So what changed, the coaches or the players? It is frustrating to see the talent pool do so well under a club coach (many of the sophmores played for Discoveries U15 champion team) and then fall apart during the school season. I understand that the RRHS coaches do not demand near the level of commitment, conditioning, and comradre as the club coaches, but do expect these players to play club during the off season so they can get these qualities elsewhere. That isn't coaching, but riding coat-tails of the club coaches.
I have caught a couple of their games and you can tell by watching the games that the kids have heart and talent, but no real strategy that works with their strengths, which shows the coaches are in way over their heads. It is only a matter of time before the parents and AD demand a change in leadership from competent enough to take the program up a notch for their hardworking kids.
