Copa Del Mar

July 14 – July 16 2018

The 13th Copa Del Mar Sharks Invitational Tournament is a Class I Tournament open to USYSA, US ClubSoccer, Super Y League, AYSO, and FIFA affiliated teams. We will also have Class III brackets for 2011 and 2012 age brackets.

All games will be played in the San Diego County. The tournament is located only 90 minutes from Disneyland, 45 minutes from the Mexican border, and 20 minutes to all the sights of the San Diego area including the internationally renowned San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park, Sea World, and Legoland California.

Each team is guaranteed three (3) games. Top quality trophies as well as individual medals will be presented to teams finishing in 1st and 2nd place. The Copa Del Mar will be using 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 seasonal passes for all age groups.

• Games played at Del Mar Polo Fields, and nearby Carmel Valley fields.
• Elite brackets for U13-U19
• Nike Premier Event

http://dmcvsharks.com/copa-del-mar/

Nefutous said:

There are a couple issues with this tournament that I believe people should be aware of.

First, Albion is the same weekend so a lot of the better talent is split between the tournaments. If you look at last year’s brackets I believe most of the higher flight teams choose Albion.

Second the tournament director should NOT also coach teams in this tournament. For a tournament this size, issues pop up and an informed person needs to always be available to make decisions.

Last year my son’s team played in Copa. The refs mistakenly cut each half 5 minutes short. Despite both teams, including team managers and parents knowing of this issue at half time, the game was tied so our team just let it go. Nado was the other team and you could hear them also deciding to let it go until they lost the game. Most of our families left right after the game and only then did Nado complain. My understanding is that they continued to complain up the chain of command until someone said that we were required to play the 10 minutes. The tournament director was busy coaching his team and claimed it was not his decision.

Despite saying that we were willing to play the 10 minutes after our third game if it impacted which teams would advance, Nado insisted the game be played immediately.

So an hour after the game, when most of us were at home, our manager texted our team to get back to the field within 45 minutes. Most of us live at least 30 minutes from the Polo Fields and traffic was tough getting back in. Our coach had to leave the end of the other game he was coaching, our manager stalled and we just got 12 players at kick off for our 10 minute game. After the game there was not enough time to go anywhere to eat before our next game so everyone spent a lot more money on food at the field. There was no apology to our team.

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Sometimes in youth sports you just need to let things go and choose a loss over a headache because it flat out doesn't matter. In the end probably only one kid on the team will remember the banter from last year and that's because their parental unit wouldn't drop it.

If you've played in many tournaments - You'll get a bit of a "stinker" once in a while. Games run late. Parking lots are full. Referee is on his 5th game of the day and not keeping up with play. A team bails at the last minute and you only get to play 2 games. A sprinkle of rain shuts down the city fields even though its dry and sunny by game time. An injury happens and the response is less than timely. A parent fight breaks out. You need a refund and it takes several months to get a check back.

Pick a tournament that fits your schedule, has a good competitive level for your team and is inline with your travel expectations.

Nefutous said:

There are a couple issues with this tournament that I believe people should be aware of.

First, Albion is the same weekend so a lot of the better talent is split between the tournaments. If you look at last year’s brackets I believe most of the higher flight teams choose Albion.

Second the tournament director should NOT also coach teams in this tournament. For a tournament this size, issues pop up and an informed person needs to always be available to make decisions.

Last year my son’s team played in Copa. The refs mistakenly cut each half 5 minutes short. Despite both teams, including team managers and parents knowing of this issue at half time, the game was tied so our team just let it go. Nado was the other team and you could hear them also deciding to let it go until they lost the game. Most of our families left right after the game and only then did Nado complain. My understanding is that they continued to complain up the chain of command until someone said that we were required to play the 10 minutes. The tournament director was busy coaching his team and claimed it was not his decision.

Despite saying that we were willing to play the 10 minutes after our third game if it impacted which teams would advance, Nado insisted the game be played immediately.

So an hour after the game, when most of us were at home, our manager texted our team to get back to the field within 45 minutes. Most of us live at least 30 minutes from the Polo Fields and traffic was tough getting back in. Our coach had to leave the end of the other game he was coaching, our manager stalled and we just got 12 players at kick off for our 10 minute game. After the game there was not enough time to go anywhere to eat before our next game so everyone spent a lot more money on food at the field. There was no apology to our team.

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Both tournaments have solid offerings for various teams (both our kids have played in both tournaments). Unfortunately they do conflict. As TB said, pick a tournament that has a schedule and competition level appropriate for your team. We tend to lean towards a tournament that has all games in one venue so we get the chance to watch both kids play. In our experience, our memories of watching our kids play lasts way longer than the results of any game or tournament in our kids' minds.

We played Copa last year and there were some issues. We did some recon, and I'm just going to pass it along to clarify some of what was posted earlier:
-Last year's Copa director was a parent/board member, not a coach. Coaches may have been asked about issues (they are easy to identify in their Sharks gear and it's probably assumed they can help). But, they did not have authority to make decisions and/or changes.
-This year the Copa director is a coach. When asked, the Copa director for this year said he will not be coaching his teams in the tournament so he can handle issues that pop up, which they will as Nefutous correctly pointed out.

Again, both tournaments offer excellent opportunities for your family. Good luck!

Nefutous said:

There are a couple issues with this tournament that I believe people should be aware of.

Despite saying that we were willing to play the 10 minutes after our third game if it impacted which teams would advance, Nado insisted the game be played immediately.

So an hour after the game, when most of us were at home, our manager texted our team to get back to the field within 45 minutes. Most of us live at least 30 minutes from the Polo Fields and traffic was tough getting back in. Our coach had to leave the end of the other game he was coaching, our manager stalled and we just got 12 players at kick off for our 10 minute game.

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That's crazy. Tournament refs often use the wrong game length, maybe because they don't read the tournament rules, forget the age group lengths, etc. We just accepted it and moved on, win, lose or tie. But to require a team to come back and play 10 minutes is nuts. Your team should have just blew them off.

Fact said:

That's crazy. Tournament refs often use the wrong game length, maybe because they don't read the tournament rules, forget the age group lengths, etc. We just accepted it and moved on, win, lose or tie. But to require a team to come back and play 10 minutes is nuts. Your team should have just blew them off.

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True to a point, but also poor management. All rosters should have the length of the game, or at least a chart of age years, and length, with specification for semis and finals if different. Most leagues and tournaments do this.

While referees "should" know every different tournament rule nuance, there are so many differences that it's hard to keep up with, especially when they have changing divisions at the same field, and you are trying to learn different rules every other weekend.

Bringing back teams to play 10 minutes in between games, is just plain stupid.

Having been involved in tournaments at multiple levels, I agree that the "Director" must manage the tournament first. If the Director is coaching a team or teams, then Assistant Directors with authority are in place. The better run tournaments have multiple representatives AND referee coordinators that are knowledgeable on all elements of the tournament rules and procedures. These tournaments have "radios" to communicate and don't rely on cell phones. They have tents/stations in central locations for managers to check in, referee coordinators collect and report the scores and deal with the drama queen coaches that want to argue judgment calls. So, if you want to know if you are at a good or bad tournament, its easy to figure out. Here are the insider secrets:

1) 1 Athletic Trainer for every 4 to 6 11v11 fields and 1 EMT for every 4 7v7 and 9v9 fields. The AT is more qualified to assess concussions and has taping skills. If bringing in higher level olders, US Soccer recommends 1 AT per 2 fields. The 7v7 and 9v9 rarely have serious injuries, so most tournaments can get away with 1 AT and 1-2 EMTs. Tournaments will cheap out on this element and refuse to bring in medical, despite the fact that every year kids get concussions, lower leg injuries, and broken bones. Avoid any tournament that does not promise AT's and EMTs.

2) Referee Coordinator(s). The Referee Coordinator is absolutely invaluable in dealing with issues and educating the lazy referees. The RC should be responsible for no more than 8 fields, which represents 24 referees each cycle. Having 2 to 3 Referee coordinators for a large venue is a must because the Referee Coordinator is the first line of defense for unruly sidelines and takes the pressure off the Tournament Director with regard to the inevitable coach/parent conflicts that occur. RCs are also your backup referee in the event of an injury or no-show. Tournaments that don't pay for RCs should be avoided.

3) Tournament Director. The TD and assistant TD's are physically present and capable of being at every field within 5 minutes of a radio call. If a TD is coaching, then there are adequate assistants with authority to resolve all issues. Having volunteer parents at a park with little knowledge of the rules and no ability to resolve conflicts is not good.

That said, let's look at Copa Del Mar:

1) Medical. The marketing website for the tournament is silent on the issue of ATs or EMTs.
2) Referee Coordinators. Again silent on the issue.
3) Tournament Directors/Assistants. Again silent.

My recommendations would be for @Copa Del Mar to address the above in its marketing of the tournament. I would assume, given the single location and size of the tournament, these items (especially 1 and 2) are accounted for.

I’d rather play a bad tournament in Del Mar in the summer than any other tournament in Norco.