What's going on Cal South and State Cup Semi's?

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Just heard a rumor that Cal South has reinstated Anaheim Surf for tomorrow's semi-final. What's going on with this? Can someone explain why Cal South would take the steps to disqualify a team and then re-instate them? It seems like they wouldn't disqualify a team in the first place without some pretty decent reasons.
 
Was there really a case of the same name! What a joke if so, all the added drama and back and forth for nothing? Does seem weird that several of the girls are headed to blues after this season anyway if everything is good on the surf home front.
 
Thank you for starting this post. While there has been a ton of information already posted, it is probably time to just put all the information (notice I did not use the term facts because those are becoming harder and harder to come by) out there. None of this is meant to hurt the child but to raise a very serious issue. It is also because some CalSouth Board members have chosen to completely go against the investigation authority and mountains of evidence that points to an 'ineligible' player playing through the games to date.

But, before anything else gets said, lets all remember that this is about a 10/11 year old child. The adults surrounding this situation are the ones that this is about and the lessons that come out of this.

So, lets now get to the information and let people make their own decision on what is true. Last week a number of rumors were swirling that there was an 05 player on the Anaheim Surf team. This discussion was circulating based on a number of coaches who all began asking questions. This wasnt some sudden revelation but one that was driven by facts on the ground over the last two years. Some may ask, 'Why didnt this come out earlier?' Well, as was stated earlier, this was not one of the premier players on the team and went unnoticed. So, what information is known?

Two seasons ago, this player was playing at Corinthians and at that time was registered under one name with a birth certificate that showed a birthday in 2005. This was later confirmed by individuals who were involved at that time and provided evidence that she had a 2005 birthday. The next year, as has been stated by multiple people, she was heavily recruited (in what appears to have been a package deal) to play for BW. This girl was the lynchpin for recruiting the other 2 girls and many thought they wouldnt stay if she wasnt there. But, thats just interesting. During the 2015/16 season, this player played for BW and there were issues identified by the club about her birth year and, some have said, this contributed to BWs departure from his prior club.

However, this year is the most important. At the beginning of the year, this player was registered as a new player with a new name (added a hyphen name to the name she was previously registered with) and a new CalSouth player number. She played through the year with this team. During the year, however, some coaches in the know raised this issue. One from his prior club knew this was happening and raised it to the club and the club chose to ignore it. I cannot confirm this but am told that during one game a former coach from BWs prior club actually went to a game to see if this player was playing and demanded she be removed from the field and BW did. But, that didnt change anything. Again, I cannot confirm that but have been told that by other coaches.

As others have said on other threads, this girl and the other 2 players had tried out with other teams and those teams would not take them on because she was an 05. BW chose differently.

Now we get to the real good stuff! So, this week, after talking with prior individuals from the prior club and coaches who had talked and pieced together enough to become aware of what was happening, a protest was filed. At that point CalSouth begins its investigation. The investigation over the last week is one that you see in movies. Multiple birth certificates that were used to register and allow the player to play for 2 years that showed 05 birthdays and one this year that showed 06. I am also told that one was provided this week that was 'pristine' with not a single crease or smudge on it that showed 06. While I do not know all the info, I do know that CalSouth made the decision at that point that this player was ineligible and that would result in a forfeit of the Quarterfinals game. On Thursday the ruling was provided and posted. Rule 9.4 from the State/National Cup rule book is below:

  1. 9.4. Any team found guilty of using an ineligible player is not eligible to compete further in the State Cup and USYS Reg. IV Presidents Cup Regionals and US Youth Soccer Presidents Cup National Finals competitions in the current seasonal year. Any coach, manager, or official found guilty of knowingly using an ineligible player is not eligible to compete further in the State Cup and USYS Reg. IV Presidents Cup Regionals and US Youth Soccer Presidents Cup National Finals competitions in the current and subsequent seasonal year. Ineligible player incidents will be reported to the Cal South Protest, Appeals (PAD) Committee for review and/or disciplinary action.

We all watched the forum explode for this age group the last two days and saw the flaming emotions and comments on this topic. And, we all saw many comments from people who knew this was going on and no one was able to refute any of it.

Tonight, LAGSB was notified that Anaheim Surf would continue and play in the semifinals. They were told that there was no way to overturn this and that 'because all the parents and families didnt know' they would let them keep playing. They also stated that the player would be suspended. The decision to overturn the investigators was overturned by CQ and RC of CalSouth BoD directly. When questioned, they refused to state that the player was 'ineligible' because that would invoke rule 9.4 and they would have to hold to the original ruling.

At the end of the day, these are 10 and 11 year old girls! What are we teaching these children? Anaheim Surf has been working to systematically cover this up for over a year! No one can deny that! I dont think anyone would disagree that the majority of players and parents on that team deserve to get to play. And, I understand the EMOTIONAL argument that 'this wasnt an impact player so why does it matter?' It matters because we all play by a set of rules. Cal South stands up on its high horse with rules but doesnt adhere to them. What does this teach our kids? Oh, we dont want to hurt their feelings so we are going to find a way to let this one slide. Why didnt they let the issue slide last year with the boys in this age group that had an 'ineligible' player for a game that they had to forfeit and the losing QF team moved forward? Because they were playing by the rules!

Some other things to ponder:

1) BW is a CalSouth ODP coach.
2) Why did CQ and RC choose to overrule this ruling at 7PM the night before the game?
3) Did no parent on AS team really know about this?
4) Why did Anaheim Surf not do something about this when it was raised to them months ago?
5) Do we really believe the coach didnt know about this when many other coaches knew about this?

Youth sports plays a major role in our kids lives and helps them learn values of teamwork, discipline, honesty and integrity. In this case, we do not see that. It will be interesting to see how long this child has to have fake birthdays to substantiate a 2006 birthday.

Thanks spineless CalSouth for completely disposing of the core values you espouse.

Core Values:

Excellence | Passion | Integrity | Innovation | Development
 
If the above is true and there was in fact a 2005 on the team then the team should be out. It's a TEAM sport. You win as a team you lose as a team, etc . If the 2005 was on their team during last weekend's game then it doesn't matter what the other players did or did not know. The team should forfeit that win. If a high school gets caught playing with an ineligible player, we all know what happens...to the WHOLE team.
The precedent this is teaching for all teams and coaches going forward is not ideal and this will taint any win that Anaheim will have going forward this season regardless..
Yes, it stinks for those girls and parents who were unaware but the above decision surprises and disappoints me and my daughters aren't on any of the teams at play here. This seems like a fail for Calsouth. I also feel for Legends girls having to go through all of this indecision on who they are playing tomorrow. It's most unfair to them.
 
The rule is pretty clear regarding the team being disqualified for using an ineligible player.

Doesn't sit right to many with Cal South overturning their decision and now quantifying the punishment to be different then what the rule states, in particular at the midnight hour.

Tech, its really interesting that CQ refused to use the term 'ineligible' but said she was disqualified for having multiple documents. I havent had a chance to comb through all the CalSouth rules but did read the State Cup rules and didnt see that as one of them. I also didnt see any that would rule a player 'disqualified' for playing future games due to improper documentation. Quite a foul smell
 
Thank you for starting this post. While there has been a ton of information already posted, it is probably time to just put all the information (notice I did not use the term facts because those are becoming harder and harder to come by) out there. None of this is meant to hurt the child but to raise a very serious issue. It is also because some CalSouth Board members have chosen to completely go against the investigation authority and mountains of evidence that points to an 'ineligible' player playing through the games to date.

But, before anything else gets said, lets all remember that this is about a 10/11 year old child. The adults surrounding this situation are the ones that this is about and the lessons that come out of this.

So, lets now get to the information and let people make their own decision on what is true. Last week a number of rumors were swirling that there was an 05 player on the Anaheim Surf team. This discussion was circulating based on a number of coaches who all began asking questions. This wasnt some sudden revelation but one that was driven by facts on the ground over the last two years. Some may ask, 'Why didnt this come out earlier?' Well, as was stated earlier, this was not one of the premier players on the team and went unnoticed. So, what information is known?

Two seasons ago, this player was playing at Corinthians and at that time was registered under one name with a birth certificate that showed a birthday in 2005. This was later confirmed by individuals who were involved at that time and provided evidence that she had a 2005 birthday. The next year, as has been stated by multiple people, she was heavily recruited (in what appears to have been a package deal) to play for BW. This girl was the lynchpin for recruiting the other 2 girls and many thought they wouldnt stay if she wasnt there. But, thats just interesting. During the 2015/16 season, this player played for BW and there were issues identified by the club about her birth year and, some have said, this contributed to BWs departure from his prior club.

However, this year is the most important. At the beginning of the year, this player was registered as a new player with a new name (added a hyphen name to the name she was previously registered with) and a new CalSouth player number. She played through the year with this team. During the year, however, some coaches in the know raised this issue. One from his prior club knew this was happening and raised it to the club and the club chose to ignore it. I cannot confirm this but am told that during one game a former coach from BWs prior club actually went to a game to see if this player was playing and demanded she be removed from the field and BW did. But, that didnt change anything. Again, I cannot confirm that but have been told that by other coaches.

As others have said on other threads, this girl and the other 2 players had tried out with other teams and those teams would not take them on because she was an 05. BW chose differently.

Now we get to the real good stuff! So, this week, after talking with prior individuals from the prior club and coaches who had talked and pieced together enough to become aware of what was happening, a protest was filed. At that point CalSouth begins its investigation. The investigation over the last week is one that you see in movies. Multiple birth certificates that were used to register and allow the player to play for 2 years that showed 05 birthdays and one this year that showed 06. I am also told that one was provided this week that was 'pristine' with not a single crease or smudge on it that showed 06. While I do not know all the info, I do know that CalSouth made the decision at that point that this player was ineligible and that would result in a forfeit of the Quarterfinals game. On Thursday the ruling was provided and posted. Rule 9.4 from the State/National Cup rule book is below:

  1. 9.4. Any team found guilty of using an ineligible player is not eligible to compete further in the State Cup and USYS Reg. IV Presidents Cup Regionals and US Youth Soccer Presidents Cup National Finals competitions in the current seasonal year. Any coach, manager, or official found guilty of knowingly using an ineligible player is not eligible to compete further in the State Cup and USYS Reg. IV Presidents Cup Regionals and US Youth Soccer Presidents Cup National Finals competitions in the current and subsequent seasonal year. Ineligible player incidents will be reported to the Cal South Protest, Appeals (PAD) Committee for review and/or disciplinary action.

We all watched the forum explode for this age group the last two days and saw the flaming emotions and comments on this topic. And, we all saw many comments from people who knew this was going on and no one was able to refute any of it.

Tonight, LAGSB was notified that Anaheim Surf would continue and play in the semifinals. They were told that there was no way to overturn this and that 'because all the parents and families didnt know' they would let them keep playing. They also stated that the player would be suspended. The decision to overturn the investigators was overturned by CQ and RC of CalSouth BoD directly. When questioned, they refused to state that the player was 'ineligible' because that would invoke rule 9.4 and they would have to hold to the original ruling.

At the end of the day, these are 10 and 11 year old girls! What are we teaching these children? Anaheim Surf has been working to systematically cover this up for over a year! No one can deny that! I dont think anyone would disagree that the majority of players and parents on that team deserve to get to play. And, I understand the EMOTIONAL argument that 'this wasnt an impact player so why does it matter?' It matters because we all play by a set of rules. Cal South stands up on its high horse with rules but doesnt adhere to them. What does this teach our kids? Oh, we dont want to hurt their feelings so we are going to find a way to let this one slide. Why didnt they let the issue slide last year with the boys in this age group that had an 'ineligible' player for a game that they had to forfeit and the losing QF team moved forward? Because they were playing by the rules!

Some other things to ponder:

1) BW is a CalSouth ODP coach.
2) Why did CQ and RC choose to overrule this ruling at 7PM the night before the game?
3) Did no parent on AS team really know about this?
4) Why did Anaheim Surf not do something about this when it was raised to them months ago?
5) Do we really believe the coach didnt know about this when many other coaches knew about this?

Youth sports plays a major role in our kids lives and helps them learn values of teamwork, discipline, honesty and integrity. In this case, we do not see that. It will be interesting to see how long this child has to have fake birthdays to substantiate a 2006 birthday.

Thanks spineless CalSouth for completely disposing of the core values you espouse.

Core Values:

Excellence | Passion | Integrity | Innovation | Development

Everything you stated is 100% accurate. I'm very disappointed in the politics of CalSouth. And I can say, the coach, manager, parents from the Arsenal team ALL knew she was an 05 player. Even new players parents were informed. For them to say otherwise is complete BS.
I feel bad for Galaxy and their coach. Respectable team.
Go LEGENDS!!!!
 
Tech, its really interesting that CQ refused to use the term 'ineligible' but said she was disqualified for having multiple documents. I havent had a chance to comb through all the CalSouth rules but did read the State Cup rules and didnt see that as one of them. I also didnt see any that would rule a player 'disqualified' for playing future games due to improper documentation. Quite a foul smell
Technicality, that has do when the transgression was discovered. Disqualify if the player has yet to participate, in particular to this event....but if the player partakes in said event which the rule is in place for, said player then naturally is categorized as "ineligible".
 
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