First of all, most of the girls that were there this week haven't faced Ponte Vedra over the last 4 years. Most of those girls saw them for the first time this year.
Second, is that really what you're worried about? Whether some kid in Florida respects your daughter as a soccer player? Wow! Since you seem to be a little slow in your understanding of human nature, let me break it down for you. The Ponte Vedra girls aren't thinking one bit about whether or not they respect your daughter. They've moved on and have other things to think about. I know, you'll tell me that she met a couple at region ODP camp and they're lifelong friends. That being the case, they'll still respect her. Or maybe they're awful friends.
Third, you've demonstrated on here that you know the ins and outs of CESA policy, SC high school rules, ODP procedures, and all else. So, I'll take you at your word that this is stated CESA policy. I'll also suggest that any organization that doesn't leave room for common sense to alter policy, probably isn't very forward thinking or big-picture oriented or customer service guided. I'm sorry the alteration of policy didn't suit you. I'd venture to say that it suited the U-16 team and I'd also venture to say that there are others on the U-18 team that saw the sense in it.
Finally, the statement that his absence was "flat wrong any way you look at it" is completely inaccurate. The way I look at it, it made a lot of sense given the circumstances. Even if it didn't please you. Ask yourself this question, if the U-18s had lost 4-0 like the South Texas Champs Lonestar did in the semifinal and your daughter maintained the respect of the Ponte Vedra players, would Russ' absence still been "flat wrong"? Since we didn't hear about it after the second day and are only hearing about it now, I'll bet not.
