SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Club Soccer & ODP enough already?

do we need other "showcase" leagues? what's not working with the state, r3pl, tournaments setup within usys?

does cufc have enough "horsepower" to compete in theses national leagues? most sc teams get pounded in r3pl.

see this link for info from ga folks on the national, academy leauges.

http://www.network54.com/Forum/171923/thread/1239038113/elite+national+league-

You bring up good points..on the other hand do we want to settle for what we have? This venture sounds to me like a partnership between two clubs..Maybe between the two there would be more horsepower for certain age groups and it might have a greater influence on the younger players down the road..Anything that helps promote girls soccer would be a plus for SC

i think it will just water-down/spread out the limited number of players (and talent) we have in SC.

if SC can't make a go of it in r3pl how will adding more teams to the mix that play at a higher level be a positive? plus cost more money.

Dollar requirements alone 'water down' the talent level, just as with ODP. How many families can afford $5K+ a year for one child. If not national caliber and looking for college scholarship money, might be more economical to put the money into a college fund and keep soccer more 'local'.

I think it's interesting that so many people seem to be so focused on not "watering down" or "diluting" what they see as the "talent pool" in SC, as if there were some finite number of players within the state that can't be increased, only reallocated. It's almost as if talented soccer players are somehow like electoral votes--each state has a given number, and some states just have more than others.

Maybe--and this is just a maybe, just a theory, a possibility--the answer to making SC competitive with other states isn't in narrowing services and opportunities offered in order to focus the talent we have available now; maybe the answer lies in expanding SC's services and opportunities, in reaching, developing, and challenging a broader base of athletes, and perhaps discovering an additional pool of talent within a group who may have been overlooked or under-served in previous years. Perhaps rather than thinking in terms of concentrating or diluting the current talent pool, we should be thinking in terms of INCREASING the talent pool in SC.

Look at it this way...in an area with only one upper-level competitive team (for the sake of consolidation of talent) a player barely misses the cut; despite having talent and potential, there is simply no more room on the roster. Choices would be to either relegate that player to a less challenging level (possibly resulting in discouragement, likely resulting in lack of pressure to excel), or to provide another option--another nearby team competing at the same level, where he/she would be playing head-to-head against the same caliber (or slightly better) players. Which is more likely to develop that athlete into a true competitor and asset to a team down the road? It could be that the player who didn't make the cut at a young age grows into a blue chip in the end--if given the opportunity and the challenge.

Being the best team in SC isn't going to help in competing with other states unless the best team in SC had to EARN its way to that spot by hard-fought competition within the state--which means having someone worth fighting against, not putting all the perceived talent on one team and calling it good. Granted, this is taking the long view...consolidation of talent would produce the best possible results at that given moment. Question is, is this given moment the best we can do--and is it enough to be truly competitive? Or would be do better to take that long view, grow and develop as much talent throughout the state as we possibly can, and down the road, a true elite SC team will hopefully have a much larger talent pool to draw from?

I think the worst that can happen is that a larger group of young people will have an opportunity to learn, grow, and find chances to be proud of and enjoy who they are and what they do...and that by itself isn't so bad.

letmeputittooyouthisway, you asked "what's not working with the state, r3pl, tournaments setup within usys?"

do you recall how the U.S. team did during the last world cup?

does that answer your question?

Very good points coach. I believe if you can remove the money each players parents put into the system you could increase the talent pool. Maybe the MLS and WPS could adopt the English model of creating and funding development teams. This might even remove the parent's ownership they feel by providing the money for the system thus allowing coaches to spend more time developing talent and not explaining their actions. Just my two cents worth.....

one of the main problems with that idea, i believe, comes down simply, to money.

does anyone have any idea how many professional teams in the U.S. - in any league - make a profit?

i imagine that number is fairly low (or extremely low)

even if we were lucky enough to have one team per state that is sponsored by a professional team, does anyone here believe there are fifty professional teams that turn a profit AND/OR a profit large enough to give a decent amount of money to a youth team to sponsor them?

I agree with import on the "more local" aspect. We play in a Charlotte area club to save travel to Columiba every weekend (well almost every weekend)when we were in a SC club. There are many girls(and boys) here in Fort Mill playing in Charlotte clubs and I think that they face a high level of competition than they would if playing at the same level in SC.
Perhaps youth soccer would be better suited to scrap the state based structure and use a regional setup where a regional body assigns areas based on population and playing pool in a given area. I know some people are wrapped up in the money making side but would'nt the development of the players be better suited.