2019/2020 Fall Seasons update

2 winter league games for us. Playing up a year with mixed competition - largely flight 2 & 3 2008 teams + 1 other 2009 + 1 recreational team that is unfortunately misplaced.
 
I love this forum!!! It’s hands down the best on the internets.
So I had an epiphany today about GOATS and Slammers. I had it all wrong and have to thank Tim Powell for this epiphany.

All Star teams or not, everyone is just following the rules. It’s up to clubs and tournament directors to do something if they don’t like the idea. My sincere apologies for what was my strong opinion.

The other thing that opened my eyes was when I was called out for self-loathing to bring a team to Super Copa just to try and prove a point. Nail was hit on the head. Made it more about “I had to be right” than anything else.

Even though it doesn’t really matter at this point, I am still predicting PDA will be #1 after Super Copa unless Dfeeters shows up. I enjoy watching the rankings as I experience more and more top teams for contrast.
 
Tim Powell said:
Definitely would need lovelygoal to speak for themselves, but I could give my own interpretation. While the post was metaphorical, humorous, and clever, it was trying to convey something.

What I have heard (and what several are alluding to here) is that Slammers do a lot of guesting across teams. PA, arguably their top team, reportedly spreads the love with their players when they are on a weekend off. Ohishi won Cerritos Memorial in 2019. Reports are there were 2 guests from PA. MF just won Vegas. Reports were there were 3-4 guests from PA.

To be clear this is all within the rules. Where I think people might see "suffering in the system" are the players on those teams who lost minutes to guests so a group of 9-10-year-olds could win a tournament that likely doesn't matter in the long run.

Lots of philosophies on guests.

- Down a few players and need help? Yes - a big club helps.
- Want to try out some new players who might join your team? Totally.
- Adding players to a roster size you have been getting away with while taking on players from within your club who will never join your team in order to beef up for a tourney? Allowable of course, but not sure how I would feel as a parent paying for club soccer for my kid who gets bumped minutes in that scenario.

Those of us who realize that USWNT is a pipe dream and college soccer (while are kids are age 9-10) is a long way off are paying thousands of dollars for improvement and development. I think some might argue that doesn't happen in this guesting model.
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You are correct on everything you say. The thing is, is that the players that get bumped by the All Star guest players are, generally speaking, "tweeners" - too talented for Silver or Flight 2 level, but not sufficiently developed to be starters on top level Silver Elite or Flight 1 teams. So what is better? Play down and play every minute of every game, but not get challenged? Or, play up, get the opportunity to practice and play with elite players, yet knowing that game time will be less and risk getting bumped by All Star guest players at tournaments?
 
Squishy said:
You are correct on everything you say. The thing is, is that the players that get bumped by the All Star guest players are, generally speaking, "tweeners" - too talented for Silver or Flight 2 level, but not sufficiently developed to be starters on top level Silver Elite or Flight 1 teams. So what is better? Play down and play every minute of every game, but not get challenged? Or, play up, get the opportunity to practice and play with elite players, yet knowing that game time will be less and risk getting bumped by All Star guest players at tournaments?
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I hear you. The question on what is better for a tweener is up to every family to determine whether they want their kid to be a world beater in flight 2 or a sub in flight 1.

All I am saying is, those who choose the latter route maybe aren’t real happy when 4 ringers are added to the roster in a tournament who have no intention of joining their team, but are just there for the team to win the tournament.

Sure – fun to put that medal on when it’s all said and done, but when you look back and realize you lost 15 minutes of playing time in each game against awesome competition, was that what you really wanted? Especially when you picked up the tab for the costs?

It’s one thing to be a sub versus your own teammates. Being a sub for ringer guests is another.
 
MARsSPEED said:
The other thing that opened my eyes was when I was called out for self-loathing to bring a team to Super Copa just to try and prove a point.
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I have certainly had my disagreements with things you have said here before, but wasn’t trying to put you in your place or anything with that comment. I honestly thought you’d get a chuckle. We’re all just trying to enjoy the ride here. :)
 
MARsSPEED said:
I love this forum!!! It’s hands down the best on the internets.
So I had an epiphany today about GOATS and Slammers. I had it all wrong and have to thank Tim Powell for this epiphany.

All Star teams or not, everyone is just following the rules. It’s up to clubs and tournament directors to do something if they don’t like the idea. My sincere apologies for what was my strong opinion.

The other thing that opened my eyes was when I was called out for self-loathing to bring a team to Super Copa just to try and prove a point. Nail was hit on the head. Made it more about “I had to be right” than anything else.

Even though it doesn’t really matter at this point, I am still predicting PDA will be #1 after Super Copa unless Dfeeters shows up. I enjoy watching the rankings as I experience more and more top teams for contrast.
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DKSC Voutier, Solar South Adames, and Solar Angelone will all be at Supercopa this summer in Cincinnati
 
This list is from December...just 3 CA teams on the list.

TEAM
CITY​
STATE​
STATUS​
1)CEDAR STARS ACADEMY MONMOUTH 2009G GREEN
Trinton Falls​
NJ​
Committed​
2)CFJ SOUTH 09G PREMIER
Chicago​
IL​
Committed​
3)CULM 09G ATLETICO MADRID
West Chester​
OH​
Committed​
4)DKSC BONES
Dallas​
TX​
Committed​
5)DKSC VOUTIER
Dallas​
TX​
Committed​
6)DALLAS COSMOS 09G BLACK
Dallas​
TX​
Committed​
7)G2009 WEST SLAMMERS
Tustin​
CA​
Committed​
8)LEHIGH VALLEY UNITED BLACK
Allentown​
PA​
Committed​
9)PLAYERS SC 2009 GIRLS ELITE
Las Vegas​
NV​
Committed​
10)SEATTLE UNITED COPA
Seattle​
WA​
Committed​
11)SOLAR SRSA ULTRA
Dallas​
TX​
Committed​
12)SOLAR SRSA BOOST
Dallas​
TX​
Committed​
13)TFA G09 ELITE
Cincinnati​
OH​
Committed​
14)TENNESSEE SC 09G PREMIER BLUE
Franklin​
TN​
Committed​
15)ALBION SC ACADEMY
San Diego​
CA​
Pending​
16)INTERNATIONALS SC RED
Medina​
OH​
Pending​
17)LIVERPOOL SC RED
San Diego​
CA​
Pending​
18)RISE SC 09 GIRLS ELITE I
Houston​
TX​
Pending​
 
Liverpool's tournaments budget must be pretty hefty. They are at every possible major tournament, in and out of state! :oops:
 
Agree with JSoccer, would be good to see PDA at Super Copa. Too many Texas teams going, the event needs to get more representation outside of CA and TX to have a “national” feel. But, still great to get teams together for different comp and experience
 
PDA (Players Development Academy) is hands down the top club on the East Coast. The reason why is the fact that they have access to New York City and Eastern Pennsylvania. This area is not nearly as diluted as SoCAL. Only a handful of good clubs in the NYC area. That said, they have absolutely no reason to not have a top team every year. Both Tobin Heath and Heather O'Reilly are products of the system.

I am not a big fan of PDA, but know many of the 2009 girls playing there and my DD has played against them. It is an unfair advantage to have access to such a large population. Some parents drive over an hour each way if they're child makes the top team. PDA does not allow players to guest play at other clubs or do smaller tournaments unless a PDA coach is somehow involved.

I will say Cedar Stars is also one of the top and hangs with PDA in just about every game. They did well at least year's Super Copa and will be attending once again.

Lastly, the same Texas team that won Surf Cup will be competing in the East Coast's biggest youth tournament in March, Jefferson Cup. Both Lehigh and Cedar Stars are entered and somehow, Solar Angelone was put in the same bracket as Cedar Stars to start. That was probably a big mistake by the committee as one of those teams will be eliminated early.

EDIT: Just looked, and they moved Cedar Stars and Solar Angelone into different brackets. Good job by the committee there.
 
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Marspeed, what is your opinon why PDA will not play in any national tournaments ? What are they afraid of if they consider themselves a a top U-11G team? Sure like to see them at Supercopa this year......Another team who never plays any BIG GIRL tournaments is Nationals Macomb Black....Not sure how these teams can be ranked in top 10 when they hardly play any national tournaments....
 
Heard Voutier was supposed to go to Jefferson Cup, but ended up conflicted. Too bad, would have been good to see them vs Lehigh. I guess this is one of the last years it matters given all these teams will start changing with ECNL and DA starting up in a few years.
 
It's a hard sell to have families spend a lot of money to travel across the country for a U-littles tournament...especially if they have good competition in their backyard. To Sam's point we have DA and ECNL showcases to look forward to for comparison against teams from across the country.
 
rainbow_unicorn said:
It's a hard sell to have families spend a lot of money to travel across the country for a U-littles tournament...especially if they have good competition in their backyard. To Sam's point we have DA and ECNL showcases to look forward to for comparison against teams from across the country.
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EXCEPT for Goats of course. I am still working on shaping this fundraiser. We just need to see if lovelygoal in his/her advanced age would agree to maybe a less violent arm wrestle and whether that would have similar appeal. Also - a shift in venue due to Troy not being available presents its complications.

I heard if this comes together, MARspeed will be getting the East Coast All Star team together and related fundraising efforts. He's volunteering to be in a dunk tank so word is it's going to be a HUGE seller - people flying in from SoCal and NTX to get their shots in. :p
 
jsoccer said:
Marspeed, what is your opinon why PDA will not play in any national tournaments ? What are they afraid of if they consider themselves a a top U-11G team? Sure like to see them at Supercopa this year......Another team who never plays any BIG GIRL tournaments is Nationals Macomb Black....Not sure how these teams can be ranked in top 10 when they hardly play any national tournaments....
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So Macomb played Lehigh last fall along with some other East Coast teams I am familiar with. IMO they are overrated...Lehigh is also a bit overrated where IMO Cedar Stars, SUSA, and PDA are better teams. Why Lehigh gets the results is because they are hands down, the most physical team I have seen play. Have seen my DD play against them multiple times. After U12, girls quickly move as there is no DA or ECNL offering at Lehigh.

As for PDA, I am not sure why they aren’t doing Jeff Cup. They did last year. I actually can’t find any Spring tournaments they have entered? But the elder ECNL teams do plenty of tournaments. I know they only like to do only what is required to eliminate “bad beats”. I was surprised they did that international tournament. I think PDA is #1 in 4 out of 8 age groups in Region I on YSR and if not #1 they are in top 5...
 
Tim Powell said:
EXCEPT for Goats of course. I am still working on shaping this fundraiser. We just need to see if lovelygoal in his/her advanced age would agree to maybe a less violent arm wrestle and whether that would have similar appeal. Also - a shift in venue due to Troy not being available presents its complications.

I heard if this comes together, MARspeed will be getting the East Coast All Star team together and related fundraising efforts. He's volunteering to be in a dunk tank so word is it's going to be a HUGE seller - people flying in from SoCal and NTX to get their shots in. :p
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Wish I could! Since we switched clubs over the break, I have decided to discontinue my hopes and dreams of winning one of the top U11 girls tournaments. I cry myself to sleep every night!

As for the dunk tank, I am happy to volunteer with a guest spot for DD on the GOATs squad.
 
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