SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Girls Varsity Soccer Top AAAA Programs in Recent Years

Coach chass,

Good point. I had no intention of diminishing the contribution of the high school coach. You are correct, your situation is different from the one that cid and I referenced. In your situation, you have to do all you can with your kids. In certain other school districts, the players spend a good part of their nine-month "off season" with hired guns.....playing on high-level teams.

Your point about "investment" is very good. That's the real secret, not just for your program, but for the most competitive teams in the state as well. Getting your players to think "school first" and "team first", from February through May is critical. The teams that buy into what their high school coach is serving, really have a great chance of playing a few more games in May.

Cid, how do you only "make it up to York area to see FM and NW", but know so much about Clover soccer. You have a friend or two in the area, but are just hammering what's being done there. Axe to grind? Disgruntled parent? I mean, one could only look at these post to see she has done something to you and yours. Are you one of the forgotten 11 she is supposively not developing? Look at these derrogatory post:

Why worry about Clover:
http://www.scsoccer.com/forum/showflat.p...=true#Post90066

Coach makes weak schedule:
http://www.scsoccer.com/forum/showflat.p...=true#Post89671

A more sensitive and reverse stance side of you:
http://www.scsoccer.com/forum/showflat.p...=true#Post90179

Now this time, I agree with everything you said, and with Jack as well. In our case, the first step was to use the "free" high school season to develop the players to the point where they felt like they COULD win, before many of them become willing to put in the extra off-season effort and expense to ensure that they DO win consistently. It's still a building thing, and it will take time. I still think it's a bonding force in a team, though, no matter what the level, when they feel they are working together with their coaches to create success rather than just showing up ready to do a job.

So, I think in order to get the MOST out of a team, it takes both--players who are willing to go the distance in the off season to train and prepare themselves to be ready for varsity season, and varsity coaches who are willing to take the players who show up in late January and BUILD on those skills all season long, so that when playoff time comes, the whole is a lot greater than the sum of the parts that showed up at first practice. There are a lot of intangibles that show up on the field beyond pure skill and athletic ability...when players either do or don't believe in not only what they're doing, but who they're doing it for and with, that's when many of those intangibles start to show up.

And yes, I'd definitely say Clover's on the right track!

...and Will, it's not like you have a plethora of equally talented teams in your area. The lower coastal area has large schools with powerful club scenes that really don't help out with the scheduling for a developing team like yours. Make the job that much more admirable.

What if a AAAA school had to depend on recreational soccer for its talent pool? What results would you get? Why is important to get club players?

What if the NFL had to draft only kids from the NAIA? What result would you get? Why is it important to get kids from the best feeder program?

I'm not mocking, just going a parallel route. The most competitive leagues produce the most competitive players.

I was hoping someone would go through facts and figures and not be cute. I am working with a club and trying to build a feeder system, but some hard head people think dad's can make top caliber talent. My belief is club players equal wins in the AAAA ranks.

Well if you wanted for people to do all the leg work and research for you so the glory could be all yours, why didn't you say so! I'd start by posting actual questions that require subjective answers instead of broad based queries that could result in infinite objective discussion that would never get you the info you desire in order to show these "hard head people" who is the boss.