I totally agree with the above point about the social aspect of playing High School ball. It gives them a new aspect of the game, one that is fun with little or no pressure and a chance to be a real superstar on their team. Most of your club coachs are more intimidated by a players excitement with playing for their HS then with the player “picking up bad habits” from an inferior coach. Who do they think they’re kidding?
And to bring this thread back around to the merger… I find this Columbia merger both amusing and troubling. Let’s face it, the only reason the merger is going through is because of the dominance in last years state finals by CESA. And from that dominance CESA is starting to put together teams that can compete on the regional level.
We live in a state that has 3.5 million people, about a million people less then the city of Atlanta. If you look at the dominant clubs in our region they come from area’s that have a large population… CASL, NTexas, Atlanta, etc. And most of these areas have gone to a single dominant club in their area. So while a merger in Columbia will certainly protect some coach’s jobs and allow the DOC to continue to collect a bonus from tournaments, and protect the local soccer store to provide uniforms and accessories… it’s not in the best interest of the elite soccer player.
The elite soccer player needs to be on a team that will get some entrance and recognition to the better tournaments where collrge coaches will be. The elite soccer player needs to be able to have a player profile that shows that they played, and were competitive with regionally/nationally ranked teams. We see from our results at ODP that our teams can play in the region, but few players advance because SC doesn’t have the respect that other states have earned.
So if you’re being told that this merger in Columbia is for the betterment of the player, it’s not. The best thing for our players would be a state club, a club that would provide them with a vehicle to be seen by college coaches. This merger will only continue to dilute the quality of the teams from SC, continuing our image of mediocrity. Yea, this merger will give Columbia a little more competitiveness in the State Championship, then they’ll go to regionals and the premier league and get destroyed.
Now please don’t get me wrong, I don’t know anyone in the clubs in Columbia so I can’t say for sure. But I would bet that this merger is more for the betterment of a few coaches, a few power mongers, and a few profiteers rather then for the betterment of the players.
