SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums SCHSSCA North-South Soccer Classic Update

....Excuses excuses excuses...... This makes soccer look second hand to BOYS TENNIS!!!!! COME ON.....The players deserve this.. We sit and talk "this for the kids" "that for the kids" but when it comes down to it.....oh it won't be the same .....BE DONE WITH IT!!! BS....Just take the bull by the horns and deal with it....


By the way...My time at the N/S in 94 was a "once in a lifetime" deal.....I had a blast....Thanks for the memories Dr Tom.

As a response to the 25,ooo dollar question.......Team gear....Hotel rooms.....meals......banquets.......support staff...etc....it is first class but desperate times call for desperate measures.

I agree with you all that this game MUST BE PLAYED! Playing the game and getting the recognition is what is important to the players! Sponsors are nice, but the money for a slim version is there....so forgot the egos and put this back on for the kids!

We can post about this for pages and pages.. maybe some e-mails and phone calls to the appropriate people will actually get something done...no?

Shearer, while I have not yet helped organize one of these events, I can tell you that those who have organized them in the past and this year have worked hard for this event. For you to say that it is their fault is ridiculous and inconsiderate. If facilitating such an event were as easy as many posters on here believe it be, then we wouldn't have these problems. Also, to have the event is great for all soccer supporters. However, I would not want to have it if it were not first class.

Thank you Dick, Kevin, Kyle, Tom and all of the people who have worked very hard to make this event work.

WOW, everyone keeps talking about first class, hotels, uniforms, blah, blah, blah......there are kids all over the world that would love to just have a real soccer ball, much less the boots, a goal, a feild...what's the problem, all we need is a feild for the kids to play on, one day event, the kids can travel that day....someone can donate water or even powdered Gatorade...give them a t-shirt and let them enjoy...all the other stuff is second to the kids actually playing the game

Coach,
I respect you and the other coaches in the association who want this to be a first class affair. We read in the forum of a number of soccer tournaments that are disorganized and poorly run. The BC tournament has to be the best run HS tournament in the nation thanx to the Heises & their crew, and I know that you and the other coaches want the North South Classic to reflect that kind of professional quality. It is truly good to hear that there are dedicated, quality leaders in the HS association. That is the way things like this should be done and I applaud you for that desire to stage a quality event. But, the event should not be cancelled for lack of quality. You still have the most important elements to stage the event, and those are quality coaches and organizers in the association. Maybe this year won't be the most enjoyable or quality event, but its a game that needs to be played. From what I read here, thats all the kids want; a game. I don't have a senior, but the seniors who have spent their last 4 years playing the game deserve a game. Even if you had the big sponsor and put on a quality event this year, 5-10 years from now the guys/gals will only remember the game they played.

Concerned High School Soccer Community:

I'm not really sure what to write in this reply, but let me assure you that there are some coaches within the association still working hard to try and pull together a North-South Soccer Classic of some form for this year.

We have run into some obstacles that are very simply out of the control of the S.C. High School Soccer Coaches Association or any of the coaches that serve in an organizational capacity.

I understand the responses to this issue and only wish more heed had been paid in February when it was first announced that Home Depot had pulled their substantial sponsorship. Dr. Tom Reilly the director of the North-South Soccer Classic, has worked tirelessly trying to replace those funds. It has not led to fruition. Coach Reilly, SC Soccer Chairman Dickie Smith, Assistant North-South Director Scott Ruggles, SCHSSCA President Peter Heusinger, SCSOCCER.COM's Kyle Heise, the SCHSSCA Executive Board, and a host of dedicated high school soccer coaches, have worked extremely hard for years to make the North-South Soccer Classic a premier prep event.

There are sentiments not to stage the event, if we cannot meet our previous high standards, but I for one agree that the game "must go on" if only in fairness to the senior players that only have this once in a lifetime opportunity. As a former North-South player from the inaugural game in 1989, I can attest that the event has grown into a grandiose affair and is one the coaches' association should be proud. However, the essence of being recognized as one of the state's top senior players is a credit to years of hard work and commitment. It's also the last time many of these young people will have the opportunity to play soccer in a competitive environment.

There are questions with liability and responsibility for the players if we staged only a one day event. I know the convenient reply is "no more than if it's a two-three-day event", but these are issues that have to be decided by those that are ultimately accountable.

The SCHSSCA Executive Board will be meeting on Sunday at Brookland-Cayce High School following the All-State committee meetings at 1:00 p.m.

In closing, I think that we have to remember that the game - whether grandiose or not - is for the kids! (keeping my fingers crossed for a positive result)

Kevin Heise
SCHSSCA

 We can’t depend on AD’s to even get nomination forms to coaches. I doubt if they would pony-up with any money.
 It costs in excess of $10,000 just to house the players.
How much money can you raise? Talk is cheap. Where were all these fund-raising ideas in Feb? Is your check in the mail?
 Parents paying the hotel bill could work. Or, kids could raise their own money. But, this could eliminate some from poor families.
 We could name a team and send certificates, even t-shirts just to keep the string alive.
 Show-up and play is an option. But we have kids every year who don’t show-up after being selected when it is a 3-day event. They can’t be torn away from the beach. Now picture them on the beach at first week. It’s Friday night and they have to decide whether to get up the next day and play a pick-up soccer game as opposed to staying another day on the beach.
And, what if the weather looks bad where you are staying and you decide you don’t feel like making the drive. So, 18 players show up. What do we do? Play 9 v 9?
 A multi-day event comes with a built in commitment. We know on Thursday if Beach Billy didn’t come. And, we can get a replacement in. If the weather is bad Saturday, the players are already here. They can wait it out. Or, at the very least, they have already been recognized and given their awards.
 Many of you while showing concern for the game are not on the inside of what this involves. Your love for the game is strong. But, real ideas and real money were needed in March when the problem was first posted by my friend Kevin.
I personally offered an idea last summer that could have perhaps been the answer to the problem before the problem existed. I took steps to broker the deal with little support from some of those at the top of the food chain of the N/S. The ball was dropped. Hindsight is 20-20. We move on.

Wayne, why do you have to house any players? A one day event involves them driving in that morning and leaving that day. Why does it have to be during their beach week? The state finals are the 14th, how about the next Saturday? The kids who want to play will show, if they don't, remember it's for fun, play 10v10, 9v9, whatever. The event doesn't have to be held in Charleston, why not a more central area, or hell, if all the kids are at MB anyway, why not there? Most of these kids play club/ODP they are used to travel for one day. If the organizers really wanted it for the kids it would be done. Think outside the box! Don't let money be an issue, it's shallow, we live in America!

I think it's safe to say..that updates on this situation were few and far between. A month ago it was: "We have a problem..we lost our sponsor." Now it's "The game is cancelled."

Again..at the least name the team..

I'm not pointing fingers at anyone..or calling anyone out.. I know we don't know everything that is discussed and all the liabilities that must be considered..but with limited information it's hard to help even the little that we can.

We have this wonderful medium to share information and figure out a solution.. let's take advantage of it.

I'm crossing my fingers as well!