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Happy,

I believe the CUFC Girls U18 team has several players from CESA and Mt. Pleasant Club on it rosters this year. How many players does it take to be home grown?

Here is another way to look at "possible" reasons for club success in South Carolina.

Each section of the state of South Carolina possesses a distinct mentality, which may in turn translate into a unique "soccer" mentality at the club level. The Charleston area, the Columbia area, and the Greenville area have fielded a number of successful clubs over the last 20 years (Hungryneck, CMSA, DSA, St. Giles, GFC, NECSA, etc.) I grew up in Aiken, so I never played for a club IN one of the larger Metro areas, but as a player and now as a high school and club coach, I have competed against many dif. teams.

Over the course of 30 years I have spent a lot of time in each city, seeing the best and the worst, and I think that the mindset of many people who live in the Charleston and Columbia areas is to a degree a more South Carolinian, pride in the state, old school. Things seem more clickish, ideologies a tad more forged, etc.

I've lived in the upstate since 2000, and the mindset of many people in the Greenville area is different than what I saw in Aiken, Charleston or Columbia. Greenville seems less a part of "old" South Carolina and more an example of a midsize city in the new South. There seems to more of a mindset of collaboration across the board in people, from the revitilization of downtown, to people on the street, to perhaps the merging of two strong clubs by two coaches who saw a chance to do something differently.

There are a LOT of good coaches and players in Columbia and Charleston, and I think CUFC is doing things the right way, but I also think it's going to be harder for a club in Columbia to see the comprehensive success that CESA is experiencing simply because CESA is in Greenville and CUFC is in Columbia. The same for Bridge or MPSC in Charleston. The cities are different. The people are different. And the ideas and mindsets they bring with them are different.

Affluence, geographic size and ease of navigation all play roles also, but those are different points for a different day.

Fair enough.

Most ringers are playing for their team at state..We had two players sign on late due to injuries..Two starters were out and unable to play..The players that were brought in played less than half the game..They were there to help support the team..not win the game for them

I'm afraid I didn't quite understand that.

I certainly don't have any objection to adding players late, most especially if there are injuries or other issues, and if the added players are from other teams within the club that didn't qualify for state cup. When [we] start bringing in players from out of state, between the end of the season and the roster deadline, well, that's a bit different.

As long as we all remember that the entire exercise is for the kids, and not the parents, coaches, administrators, etc., we'll generally do the right thing.

Cheers

Happydaddy your kid plays for a good club and on a great team.no matter if developing young talent or bringing in out of towners is the answer it looks like it is working better for cesa. you are going to dislike cesa even if they lost every game.
as far as bringing in kids for state cup.i have raised this issue before but for reginals.with our state cup so early for the older ages your roster is locked for state cup.other states do not have their state cup until spring and it gives them 6 more months to add players.at reginals in oklahoma there was a team we played a few times that had 4 different players at reginals.that was 4 i knew of.

I'm afraid you've got me figured wrong. I don't "dislike CESA." I do very much dislike a couple of things about the way they tend to do things. Big, big difference. I like the kids and and I like their parents. I've had one occasion to deal with a coach from CESA on a personally important matter and he was patient, professional and understanding. They're fine folks up there. So, I'm not accepting service on the "CESA hater" charge that gets leveled at me. It just ain't true.

c'mon happydaddy. go ahead and wear that hat.

i disagree with the statement/philosophy (or whatever you want to call it) that cufc is the only club developing local talent. i have to believe that every club in the state develops the talent that is available to them, wherever that talent is from. if a club just happens to have enough talent locally to form a successful team, wonderful. but, i doubt very seriously that cufc is going to turn away talented players just because they are from out of town.

if i recall correctly, that cufc u17 boys team has been together, and successful, for quite some time now. if this is true, cufc is not doing anything different, i.e., developing local talent – it just so happens the majority of that team has been together for years.

so, i don’t think cesa is specifically NOT developing local talent – i think they are doing what every other club in the state is doing – they hold tryouts, and the best players make the team – period – whichever city you are from. i’m sure they would love to say “hey, look at us, we have a team that just came in first place in R3, and guess what else – everybody on the team is from the greenville area!” it just doesn’t work out that way.