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

Sounds like a challenge for Northwestern. Didn't they split last year and NW take the 2nd seed? Is Clover good enough to leap from 3rd in the region to 1st? Didn't they lose every match against a ranked opponent (Fort Mill twice, 3A Airport, and Irmo)?

Not a hater, just getting the discussional juices going!

Clover should be favored over Northwestern in Region 3 this year but Cantona can keep his team in any game by playing tough defense.

Cid, I don't know the answers to all of your questions concerning Clover. I will say, however, that I don't think it's the job of the high school coach to "develop" her players. She only has her players for three months out of the year. It's up to them to put the work in during the other nine months so that they can be in a position to make a solid contribution to the varsity team.

That is a big, AND I MEAN BIG, amen. Hurst, post of the month to you my friend.

Hurst,

I agree to a point.
You are right that a HS coach doesn't develop their players, but they do put in a system and develop the system. FM plays the same way var and JV and just plugs in nex players each year. Granted, they are getting better in the offseason with club, but they know what is expected of them with their HS.
My question was more about whether or not Clover has the ability to best use what they have and find "roles" for their weaker players to be successful at. Northwestern got beat up by Clover in game 1 and Cantona made adjustment and won the second game. Can Clover do that???
Also, is Clover pushing their players to get better in the offseason?? That would be the big question. My argument is "are they placing all of their hopes on the starting 11?" What happens with an injury? Are the "non-starters" being pushed to get better or are they just "along for the ride"? If it is the latter, that is the coaches problem.

cid,

You appear to be a lot closer to the Clover program than I am......you tell me.

Not too many teams in South Carolina are eleven deep with high-level club players. Depth is a problem that most schools will have to overcome. That's what makes the Wando's, Lexington's, Dorman's and Dutch Fork's stand above the rest.

unfortunately hurst, I am not. I am going off of what I have been told by some friends in the area. I was only able to get up to the York area for the second game that was played against NW and FM. It was at that time I was given info about the 1st games. I was just trying to figure out how you almost beat FM and then get run over in the second game. That to me looks like either the FM coach is Brilliant (and I do hear that he is a great coach) and makes great adjustments. or that the clover coach didn't adjust anything. OR a combination of the 2. I agree with Chass that it is the coaches responsibility to find depth or create it. I think that if a club team didn't develop it's non-starters over a 3 month season(i.e. the spring or fall), that club coach may not be the coach for very long. Besides playing club, what do Wando, Lex., etc do to create a more competitive environment that a Clover could do? Or, better yet, Clover has money (which has been discussed at length on here). why aren't all of the clover kids pushed toward playing club? Once again, developing the program begins with developing the youth in the community through club, doesn't it???

Plain and simple, different programs have different goals.

Some HS programs (and even clubs) are geared more towards player development. Some are geared towards "W"s and championships.

And there are a handful of teams out there that are caught in the middle - especially in prep soccer.

With only minimal knowledge of Clover, it seems to me that they are a program on the rise. But as the powers on both sides of the ball in all classifications will tell you - the key is consistency. It doesn't happen over night..and it doesn't happen over three months.

Of course, once the system and tradition are in place..then it is a whole different game. Etc...

Chass (bow returned)

When I started at Hanna, we had a core of five or six club players. We found an old club charter and got our players involved. Along came ASA and we transferred our status there as it was more structured. The ambitious players moved to CESA in Greenville and from there the program has turned self sustaining with parents who have put in a lot of time and money (shout out to my former parents who made the program work!).

When dealing with soccer at a top 20ish level, you have to have the club players to make it go. If a parent is hoping their team can compete with the likes of Ft. Mill year in and year out - while having few club players to rely on...yikes. It's not going to happen. My comments were directed to address the over zealous hopes that magic will occur and the program will take off regardless of the other nine months of the season are spent. You play soccer to get better at soccer and since HS coaches are restricted in that area...it might fall on the family's shoulders.

It takes more work in my opinion to get a team off the ground than it does to take it from mid table to top 15. You should be commended for your efforts. It would be easy to interview and take another job in a soccer rich environment, but sticking it out and having to really, really work to keep them at that level takes guts. Take a look at what Ryan Roseberry has done at Westside.

Now, looking at Clover and evaluating what the coach has been doing brings us to this:

2005 6-8 (according to website)
2006 8-6
2007 13-5

I'm not a genius but that looks like progress to me. Lets not forget they were also in their transitional year from AAA to AAAA. You have a near .500 record in 3A, move to 4A, take Ft. Mill to OT, split with NW (losing at NW in pks), and lose by 2 to #4 Irmo in the playoffs.

I don't think she's making chicken salad from chicken feathers, but looks like she's doing one fine job of work in South Carolina and I hear she is going to be rewarded for it. Face it, sometimes fans can see program X over here and wish they could have the same thing. Even coaches see ODP and premier level players and think "what if?". These things take time. Sure, the kids could spend less time having lives and train more, the parents could vacation/tithe less and pay for private lessons/summer camps/high level far away clubs, and the coach could spend less time at home and more time planning every spare moment for maximum efficiency.

I'd imagine those kids, parents, and coaches are working hard over there. One could 2nd guess and complain, or do something about it. Like I told a parent 3 years ago after several failed attempts for increased playing time: "It's obvious you and your child aren't happy playing here. I don't want to see you unhappy so maybe you should go find another team."

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