SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Other Prep Sports Poverty Index in S.C. High Schools

Being the coach at Eau Claire the poverty issue is a major detriment to our success. Coach Brown at Chester was the first to mention last season it to me and this summer it really became apparent. The major reason for the disparity is the lack of exposure of kids in poverty to advanced soccer. For example, please don't think I am being resentful maybe a little jealous, but Coach Heise took his entire varsity team to Marc Berson's camp last week, while not one of my kids could afford to go, and my efforts to raise enough money to send a player or two came up short. So while coach Heise team was working on team building and developing better skills mine are at their summer jobs doing nothing to enhance their soccer ability, and I am not allowed to work with them because of the High School League rules.
While many of the top players in the area may spend the summer playing for Columbia FC, my players can't afford it. Now Ron Tryon did say he would help our kids out finacially if they needed it so the could afford the club fees, but unfortunately my kids don't have rides out to NE Columbia. Many of my kids if I don't drive them home after practice have to ride the city bus to get home, because their parents have no car. Its a sad situation really and if you are wondering why their is the disparity that is the reason.

I remember a series of posts from a few months (or years?) back that discussed all the things that CRSA did -- including going beyond financial needs scholarships to figuring out ways to get kids to practice who didn't have rides. It might be worth your while to contact CRSA to talk to them about what they've done and how you might partner with them -- they've had some success working in relatively less affluent sections of Richland.

danny_j_t: Did you contact Berson and ask for help in terms of the fees?

I did talk to Coach Berson and he was very accommodating, but he told me his hands were tied by NCAA recruitment rules. His explanation was that the NCAA essentially assumes that if coaches were allowed to make camp tuition exceptions for players then the highly sought after prospects would be the ones getting all the exceptions and therefore would be receiving "extra benefits". In the end I did have enough money raised to send one maybe two players to camp, but then I would have had to pick from the 4 seniors I told I wanted to send to camp the one or two that would go, and it didn't seem like a good situation to start playing favorites like that so I didn't send any.

As for CRSA, I have never heard of them, what do they do?

Danny, you get ten offseason days to get your teams together and practice/compete. Ask an AD, basketball, or football coach for details.

SAHS -- Technically you had all summer until Monday, July 23 (start of "Closed Season") to train with your specific team. In addition the SCHSL allows for 10 days, including camp(s), to compete with outside competition.

I have already contacted danny_j_t via private message in regards to CRSA and the possibility of including the Eau Claire program in the future.

SHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Region 4 is hard enough as it is!!!!