Wolf- Are you saying that there were 8000+ fans at the 4A game?!? I would be interested in the capacity of Riggs Field at Clemson. I agree that Winthrop, Furman and C of C would be too small, but I think Stone (USC) and Blackbaud would be plenty big. The stadium issue is that in January, we did not know where the finals would take place. Someone should ask USC, "are there future improvements planned for Stone Stadium?" Then, let's lock them into a 3-5 year contract to host the State Final. Oh wait, the SCHSL has changed the calendar the past 3 years. If the SCHSL would stick to a consistent calendar, we could get some firm answers from USC. If they are not willing to commit to a multi-year contract, why should we be loyal and try to host there? Outside of the kids being able to play "on a college field", Memorial was a better logistical site.
Playing the State Championship game on a "soccer field" is great if you play the majority of your games on that kind of field. The field at AMHS is small... so is Christ Church's... BE has a regular field but I do not think Emerald does... the last I knew, Eastside had a small field... i do not know about South Aiken... Northwestern has a soccer field but last i knew Irmo did not. So out of 8 boys teams in the State Championship game, three maybe four have full size soccer fields. The State Championship game should be played on something that resembles a compromise between the teams that compete on converted football fields and those that have soccer specific fields. I thought the dimensions at Memorial were a good compromise... a little bigger for teams playing on converted football fields and a little smaller for teams playing on regulations soccer fields.
The Rail- My main issue with the SCHSL is the fact that they think b/c Spaulding makes quality footballs, they automatically make quality game balls for other sports. The SCHSL signed the agreement with Spaulding seemingly without testing the "game" balls for any other sports. The Spaulding soccer ball is one of the worst game balls I have ever seen. Could we play with one of their training balls? Maybe they are not coated in stick-um. I would rather play with a $20 Wal-Mart ball that comes with shinguards. However, you probably could not wear those guards in the game b/c they are not NOCSA certified.
One year, I would like the SCHSL to see what a state final could be with a decent ball and for them to go back to Spaulding and say, "improve your game level soccer ball or we refuse to use it in our state finals." Of course, they will never do that b/c their deal for football is probably too sweet.
