Shearer, I've been traveling on business, so I didn't see your post.
It's a numbers game. There are many more High School teams than Club teams playing at the Challenge level. Therefore each team often only has a few players of that level, which means they have to include younger players of ability and others who are not quite as skilled. It just stands to reason that these teams are not quite as good.
I'm a referee too and therefore my comments on referees comes from experience. Two man systems, (where you have to cover offsides) keep you too distant from the action.
As for your kind words on my Son. Robert had 11 (9 D1's)offers, only four in State, and the most money was actually offered by an out of State program. However. after being away in Florida he wanted to play College in South Carolina, and he really likes the Coach and Furman set up. On the second point, yes Robert was on the bench at Furman this Fall. However, it's still not bad for a Kid who's still only 17 and was pretty advisable seeing as he had a broken leg. He started playing again at Christmas and had his first College game last weekend at Mercer. We'll see if he has the ability to play and make an impact in College over the next few years.
It's a shame that some of the South Carolina soccer community shows such a negative attitude to the things teams like CESA U17s do. I say well done and good luck to each of those Guys.
