I give you a 100% ***** thumbs up sir. I'm serious. Classy and respectful. I want to be like you but since we have no more soccer and college is online and public schools want all charter schools to be closed or else ((my son killed at a charter school)), I have to speak up. I swear as if God was my almighty that I was not into politics from 1988 til Nov 2016. After that, well, you know. I long for the days that we only talk about soccer. My dd is training to be her best. I found her a very strong boy and girls scrimmage group and each team has three girls and they have to hang. Boys are better but it's really fast and all about possession.I have enjoyed this board very much over the years - I was first involved MANY years ago when my kid had her first experience at Surf Cup (before they expanded the field) and, in a quarterfinal game, there was a red card called on our GK which generated a lot of discussion. @Dominic reached out to me about the NorCal board in one of its iterations and that was fun to see take off and, after years, peter out.
This board has been really consistent and I have enjoyed follow the progress of some of the participants' kids, getting inside info about certain college programs and certain coaches and making real life contact with some. I like that we come with different viewpoints, expectations about what "soccer" represents (youth, college, pro, community, national identity, etc.). I've tangled with some but b/c I don't like to fight on the internet, I try to express disagreement w/o using insults or derision (I have failed more on the latter than on the former) and back when the thumbs down feature existed, I am proud that I never gave anyone a thumbs down (if I don't like a post, I'd prefer saying so and explaining why. Sometimes I learn something and sometimes we can just part respectfully).
Why all this? Well, I don't have any blocked names but I can't stand the threads that get so hijacked on the political track. I get the "why" behind that but I do think that the Covid impact can be discussed w/o resorting politics. So while sometimes I do read the threads, and get depressed as hell, it's easy enough to ignore it. And while I am often tempted to just cancel my account, I do like the D1 threads and I do like the recruiting thread (I learn things that may help my younger kids and I can share aspects of my older kid's experience that might be helpful to others).
I hope everyone can focus their anger, anxiety, fear and frustration in positive ways (on that, I am often not successful but at least I get to see my dog all day every day). And I look forward to more threads that are entirely soccer-related b/c that will be an indication that we will be on the other side of Coronavirus.
Boys are faster and stronger, not better. It is about respect.Boys are better but it's really fast and all about possession.
Great stuff. I also was part of the old forum and miss those discussions with a level of respect. Along with the threads you mentioned I started reading the boys threads (preferably something by Kante) because they still converse matters regarding soccer. Covid/or the political threads have become cancerous. Covid is not an excuse for the level of embarrassment brought to this forum by those who have engaged and perpetuated these disgusting posts.I have enjoyed this board very much over the years - I was first involved MANY years ago when my kid had her first experience at Surf Cup (before they expanded the field) and, in a quarterfinal game, there was a red card called on our GK which generated a lot of discussion. @Dominic reached out to me about the NorCal board in one of its iterations and that was fun to see take off and, after years, peter out.
This board has been really consistent and I have enjoyed follow the progress of some of the participants' kids, getting inside info about certain college programs and certain coaches and making real life contact with some. I like that we come with different viewpoints, expectations about what "soccer" represents (youth, college, pro, community, national identity, etc.). I've tangled with some but b/c I don't like to fight on the internet, I try to express disagreement w/o using insults or derision (I have failed more on the latter than on the former) and back when the thumbs down feature existed, I am proud that I never gave anyone a thumbs down (if I don't like a post, I'd prefer saying so and explaining why. Sometimes I learn something and sometimes we can just part respectfully).
Why all this? Well, I don't have any blocked names but I can't stand the threads that get so hijacked on the political track. I get the "why" behind that but I do think that the Covid impact can be discussed w/o resorting politics. So while sometimes I do read the threads, and get depressed as hell, it's easy enough to ignore it. And while I am often tempted to just cancel my account, I do like the D1 threads and I do like the recruiting thread (I learn things that may help my younger kids and I can share aspects of my older kid's experience that might be helpful to others).
I hope everyone can focus their anger, anxiety, fear and frustration in positive ways (on that, I am often not successful but at least I get to see my dog all day every day). And I look forward to more threads that are entirely soccer-related b/c that will be an indication that we will be on the other side of Coronavirus.
Soccer is the world's sport. No one cares about softball but the USA!!! I love softball too and played for 10 years. Batting champ one year after I married my wife. She had no idea how good I was. We played in Whittier. BTW, this was big time softball with ex college baseball players and those who coudn't make the pros. I was so good, I was invited by invite only to be on an elite travel softball team and we went to a Vegas tournament. I was well on my to being a pro but my freaking lower back gave way. This is a true story. I was playing in a league and my wife was pregnant with my first born son. I was playing ss and made a throw and threw out my back. It was last inning and we were down two runs. Two outs and bases loaded and guess who is up. I could not walk at all. I was losing all power in my legs and I was going to freeze up but I came to bat anyways. I ripped a liner up the middle and was called out at first from center fielder and we lost. After that, I went to the ER and it was Morphine for three days. I quit after that and retired at 33.My oldest DD play travel softball. I frequent a forum that is the polar opposite of what it is like around here lately.
It's nice to be able to still talk about the actual sport and its related subjects without it turning into the war room scene from Dr. Strangelove.
Long ago I quit the office softball team when they wouldn't let me take my beer into the outfield. Catching pop flies with my dad's mid 50's three finger baseball glove was interesting and somewhat painfull.Soccer is the world's sport. No one cares about softball but the USA!!! I love softball too and played for 10 years. Batting champ one year after I married my wife. She had no idea how good I was. We played in Whittier. BTW, this was big time softball with ex college baseball players and those who coudn't make the pros. I was so good, I was invited by invite only to be on an elite travel softball team and we went to a Vegas tournament. I was well on my to being a pro but my freaking lower back gave way. This is a true story. I was playing in a league and my wife was pregnant with my first born son. I was playing ss and made a throw and threw out my back. It was last inning and we were down two runs. Two outs and bases loaded and guess who is up. I could not walk at all. I was losing all power in my legs and I was going to freeze up but I came to bat anyways. I ripped a liner up the middle and was called out at first from center fielder and we lost. After that, I went to the ER and it was Morphine for three days. I quit after that and retired at 33.
Soccer is the world's sport. No one cares about softball but the USA!!! I love softball too and played for 10 years. Batting champ one year after I married my wife. She had no idea how good I was. We played in Whittier. BTW, this was big time softball with ex college baseball players and those who coudn't make the pros. I was so good, I was invited by invite only to be on an elite travel softball team and we went to a Vegas tournament. I was well on my to being a pro but my freaking lower back gave way. This is a true story. I was playing in a league and my wife was pregnant with my first born son. I was playing ss and made a throw and threw out my back. It was last inning and we were down two runs. Two outs and bases loaded and guess who is up. I could not walk at all. I was losing all power in my legs and I was going to freeze up but I came to bat anyways. I ripped a liner up the middle and was called out at first from center fielder and we lost. After that, I went to the ER and it was Morphine for three days. I quit after that and retired at 33.
I never thought I would say that I can't wait to get back to regularly reading threads about "possession vs. direct" soccer, but man would that be such a relief right now.I actually have 59 people on my ignored list now. I usually use the "New posts" link to see if any helpful posters have posted something new. Unfortunately these days almost every thread is last updated by someone on my ignored list. Accordingly this site has become less useful and enjoyable for me.
View attachment 8122
Rough demographic of people on my ignored list:
19: Self-appointed Covid experts, i.e. they know how to use a browser to google things
10: These people are both Covid and soccer experts
10: Perpetual whiners of everything related to club soccer
8: Fiver-year-old's who have to have the last words. Their discussions usually end by correcting each other's grammar.
7: People who have zero ability to stay on topic
3: People who have zero intention to stay on topic
2: Perpetual whiners of everything
I hope when soccer resumes, there will be more posts from helpful posers such as @Mystery Train, @mirage, and @Dos Equis. They and others have helped flatten my learning curve for club soccer since my kids started playing a few years back.
I never thought I would say that I can't wait to get back to regularly reading threads about "possession vs. direct" soccer, but man would that be such a relief right now.
Interesting parallel; -- Many people in those debates obviously didn't know what they were talking about, but that didn't stop them from vehemently defending their opinions.
I had no ignore list until recently. Then some posters started acting as you suggest, so I actually started a short list and only read them when someone else makes a response to one of them that makes me wonder what it was about.
You are the biggest problem in here.Interesting parallel; -- Many people in those debates obviously didn't know what they were talking about, but that didn't stop them from vehemently defending their opinions.
One feature I have encountered about having someone on ignore -- when I take a look at a recent post after ignoring that poster for a time, I have lost track of their ongoing insults and code words and have difficulty understanding what he means.