TOP 10 2007 teams

The LP tournament is not broken into gold or silver. It's just multiple brackets playing round robin -- so the teams are not being placed based on gold or silver status. As far as the Carey tourney, a team dropped out, so LP took the slot last minute to get extra touches. It was 7v7.

KOSoccer92 wrote:I feel as if LFC Owen has been in a bit of a free fall lately.  Their Prime Time season didn't go so well, plus, at the Carey Invitational they played Silver and like Dybala21 said, in the upcoming Liverpool tournament, they look to be playing Silver again.  I personally would not rank them in the current top 10.  A few months ago?  Absolutely, but not so much currently.

I also plan on catching a Rebel's game if they play a top 10 team in the upcoming tourney.  

IF Liverpool has the same system as Texans, FCD and Solar - Im sure they're "asked" to play in their own tournament. LP Owen has always been able to play with any team in the top teams and play them close. IMO, I still think this team is top 10 for sure.

FCD Premier
PST Salazar
Solar McKinney
DTR Elite
Rush
LP Owen

I can't think of any other team I would place above them.

I tend to break down the age group into Tiers.  A tier to me is defined by the likelihood of a result.  For instance even in the top 10 their are at least 2 if not 3 tiers.  (3 if you consider FCD Premier Red in a tier by themselves which I do).  Tier 3 for me is LP Owen, Solar Kennington, Solar Volkan, and FC Legends.  A team should win or tie 50% of the time vs their same tier.  They should win or tie 30% of the time vs tier 2 (McKinney, Texans Red, PST, Elite, Rush), and 10% vs tier 1 (FCD Premier).  Going the other way they should win 65% vs tier 4, 90% vs tier 5, 99.9% vs the rest.  

LP Owen is somewhat unique in that they don't really follow the tier trend.  They win 99% vs lower tier and lose 99% vs higher tier.  I don't buy the idea that they slipped this Spring.  They're 2-5-1 record was entirely predictable as they played 5 teams that are higher tier, and none of the games were greater than 2 goal margin.  You can argue where they fall in the 7-10 argument, but there is absolutely no argument that puts them outside the top 10.

Dybala21 wrote:Thoughts on PremierCopa Brackets?

Assuming top 2 from each bracket advance, I think FCD Premier, DT Red, Solar McKinney, and PST advance. Difficult to predict beyond that because we don't get to see knockout round matchups, A1 vs D2, etc. I will say I expect FCD Premier to make it at least to the semi's and DT Red is my next choice to make a deep run. I don't see the other 2 making it past quarters based on playing style and current form. Good luck to all NTX teams though...represent!

Very good point made by Stryker...if some of the high ranked national teams are just now making the transition from 7v7 to 9v9, we could definitely see some upsets and it favors NTX!

Any top teams playing in tournaments this weekend?
(depending on rain, of course)

TayJ6 wrote:Any top teams playing in tournaments this weekend?
(depending on rain, of course)

The only tourney I know of this weekend is Shawnee Trail. Volkan should dominate as the rest of the field is Silver.

TayJ6 wrote:Any top teams playing in tournaments this weekend?
(depending on rain, of course)

Dallas TNT is....we are playing in the Spring Bash, I know we are ranked @ 21st but we have a pretty good group of boys.

Overreaction Monday:

Apparently the Rankings site knew something I didn't. I didn't put too much stock in ETX Wildcatters nipping at top 10 heels but they had a solid weekend in winning a meh tourney in Frisco. Ayses further solidified their spot with a good showing.

Can anyone shed some light on the ETX 3-1 win over Volkan? I don't want to overreact by dropping them from top 10 but up to now I've given them a pass on not playing anyone in the past 6 months (except for Iber). Here's your opportunity to talk me off the ledge TayJ6.

Tough game. Both teams played hard, fast, and physical. Solar dominated possession for the most part but gave up a couple chances on counters that were capitalized on. 1 of the Wildcatters goals was a clear off-sides "no call". The linesman put the flag up and then slowly put it back down when the ref signaled the goal. The big story was Solar had 2 goals waived off early by the ref and pulled back for free kicks for Solar because the Solar player that scored was fouled before the shot. Should have been 3-3 at worst. The ref was in over his head at the speed and physicality of play. He couldn't decide what to call or not call the entire game, had both sides' parents aggravated. Game ended with ETX trying to kill off the clock at all costs and Solar in a scramble for goals until the ref blew the whistle 6 minutes early, which had Volkan and Wells (who was also on the sideline for the game) livid.

Ultimately, I think the Wildcatters are in the conversation...definitely top 15 or so. I also think Solar Volkan beat themselves when they let the first 2 goals being waived off put them off their game. You could see the immediate frustration set in across the team. 2-0 in the first 5 minutes would have changed everything. I still think Solar Volkan is a top 10 team, just like I still think Solar McKinney is a top 3 team after losing 4-1 to an Allegiance team that got smoked 6-2 by Rush a week later. Another loss to a bubble team and I'm on board dropping them to 12 or so.

I agree that AYSES can be a contender when they have their fast striker up top (which they did in this tournament). Again, top 15 for sure..top 10?..maybe when they are at their best.

TayJ6 wrote:Tough game. Both teams played hard, fast, and physical. Solar dominated possession for the most part but gave up a couple chances on counters that were capitalized on. 1 of the Wildcatters goals was a clear off-sides "no call".  The linesman put the flag up and then slowly put it back down when the ref signaled the goal.  The big story was Solar had 2 goals waived off early by the ref and pulled back for free kicks for Solar because the Solar player that scored was fouled before the shot. Should have been 3-3 at worst. The ref was in over his head at the speed and physicality of play.  He couldn't decide what to call or not call the entire game, had both sides' parents aggravated.  Game ended with ETX trying to kill off the clock at all costs and Solar in a scramble for goals until the ref blew the whistle 6 minutes early, which had Volkan and Wells (who was also on the sideline for the game) livid.  

Ultimately, I think the Wildcatters are in the conversation...definitely top 15 or so.  I also think Solar Volkan beat themselves when they let the first 2 goals being waived off put them off their game.  You could see the immediate frustration set in across the team.  2-0 in the first 5 minutes would have changed everything.  I still think Solar Volkan is a top 10 team, just like I still think Solar McKinney is a top 3 team after losing 4-1 to an Allegiance team that got smoked 6-2 by Rush a week later.  Another loss to a bubble team and I'm on board dropping them to 12 or so.  

I agree that AYSES can be a contender when they have their fast striker up top (which they did in this tournament). Again, top 15 for sure..top 10?..maybe when they are at their best.

Okay, TayJ6 you've talked me off the ledge for now. We've all seen crazy things at the pitch. I do move both Ayses and Wildcatters up though, 11-13 range. Question is are they truly tier 3 (I currently have tier 3 as 7-10, do we expand tier 3 to 7-13? Or Does Volkan belong in tier 4, 10-13?) Not ready to make that call yet.

Its early but FCD Blue and Che have underwhelmed. I boldly predicted with the transfer season they would charge up the rankings to top 10 territory. Haven't seen either in person. Will they accumulate the talent? Will they be cohesive units by QT?

Looking ahead, Allegiance has another chance to make a statement with a brutal schedule this weekend. PST, Rush, and Kennington in the group stage, ouch! Pretender or Real Deal? Also the establishment gets their first live look at Rebels. All questions to be answered in short order.

Man this is getting fun!!

Che didn't look any different in this tournament at all, to me.

If you put FCD Premier in their own tier (and I do), then my tiers are this...

Tier 1
FCD Premier

Tier 2
2-6 (I'll put Rush in this tier for now, but I'm convinced they will end up in Tier 3.)

Tier 3
7-13 (For now. I think this will separate out over the summer tournaments to be a 7-10 and 4th tier running 11-15. It depends a lot on Allegiance, Wildcatters, and Rebels playing some more top 10 quality; Volkan and Kennington figuring out what they are doing; Che and Blue bolstering their lineups or not)

You're right. Volkan had the perfect opportunity to lock themselves into the top 10 with a more convincing result from the tourney. I thought the Tulsa team was a better team in that tourney than the Wildcatters.

Do you guys think that with PST becoming part of the Texans, the Texans will eventually be able to create a team strong enough to overtake FCD Premier?

Also, the Dallas Open schedule is out. Looks like the Rebels will face off against Dallas Rush, and PST. I just wish those games weren't so early.

I think PST will still be it's own entity, just under the Texans umbrella. Now, perhaps when DA comes along that may change a little bit...but I think Salazar will still kind of do his own thing. Just my thought.

KOSoccer92 wrote:Do you guys think that with PST becoming part of the Texans, the Texans will eventually be able to create a team strong enough to overtake FCD Premier?

In a word, no. If they were to combine this year, which I heard was a consideration at one time but is now off the table, Red would have only picked up 3-4 players from PST based on playing style. But importantly it would have solved Red's still unanswered GK issue. That being said they would have separated themselves from teams 3-10 and joined FCD in tier 1, but I think they'd only win 2 out of 5 head to head games vs FCD.

U12 is another consideration as the two teams will largely combine to form Texans DA squad. I still give FCD the edge but this is where some of the top players from Rush, Elite, etc... potentially get involved and may swing the balance of power.

The interesting dynamic to me is how the A/B squads stack up. (For U12 - DA if you see FCD vs Houston Texans the A squads play each other and the B squads play each other). Taking the independents out of the equation and just combining the top teams from each club, ie FCD Red and Blue; Texans Red and PST; Solar McKinney, Kennington, and Volkan; I see the DA squads stacking up as follows:

A squads
1. FCD
2. Texans
3. Solar

B squads
1. Solar B
2. Texans B
3. FCD B

Bottom line is Solar and Texans don't have the star power of FCD but have significantly more depth.

One of the challenges faced by FCD is methodically sifting through the giant player base that they have at this age group. Even if they have the talent in the club, getting it all organized is a challenge. The obvious choices may standout, but the complementary puzzle pieces could be buried in the machine.

Socceropath wrote:

KOSoccer92 wrote:Do you guys think that with PST becoming part of the Texans, the Texans will eventually be able to create a team strong enough to overtake FCD Premier?

In a word, no.  If they were to combine this year, which I heard was a consideration at one time but is now off the table, Red would have only picked up 3-4 players from PST based on playing style.  But importantly it would have solved Red's still unanswered GK issue.  That being said they would have separated themselves from teams 3-10 and joined FCD in tier 1, but I think they'd only win 2 out of 5 head to head games vs FCD.  

U12 is another consideration as the two teams will largely combine to form Texans DA squad.  I still give FCD the edge but this is where some of the top players from Rush, Elite, etc... potentially get involved and may swing the balance of power.  

The interesting dynamic to me is how the A/B squads stack up.  (For U12 - DA if you see FCD vs Houston Texans the A squads play each other and the B squads play each other). Taking the independents out of the equation and just combining the top teams from each club, ie FCD Red and Blue; Texans Red and PST; Solar McKinney, Kennington, and Volkan; I see the DA squads stacking up as follows:

A squads
1.  FCD
2.  Texans
3.  Solar

B squads
1.  Solar B
2.  Texans B
3.  FCD B

Bottom line is Solar and Texans don't have the star power of FCD but have significantly more depth.

This is true today and may still be true when this group gets to u12 DA but it won't be true for long. The top kids will gravitate to FCD simply because their program is better.

Wouldn't surprise me to see some make the move at u13 honestly, especially if the kids are serious about the sport and if you're considering DA, you should be.

Free, integrated school schedule, afternoon vs evening practices, exposure to the pro team, did I mention free? Lots of advantages to FCD's DA program.

May not happen at u12, but I'd wager the top kids start migrating there at u13/14

TayJ6 wrote:One of the challenges faced by FCD is methodically sifting through the giant player base that they have at this age group.  Even if they have the talent in the club, getting it all organized is a challenge. The obvious choices may standout, but the complementary puzzle pieces could be buried in the machine.

With the pool practices they run and the coordination of coaching, it's not hard to identify the best players.

Its just that parents don't always agree who the best is and the best athletes may not always be the best choices for the teams being built and the tactical style of play being taught (opposite holds true as well, there could be highly athletic kids picked over more skilled kids for reasons not understood by parents).

I hear this argument all the time, can someone please explain to me what the difference between a highly athletic kid is compared to a more skilled kid? I guess I just haven't seen many skilled kids that aren't athletic. In my experience, the highly technical kids are very athletic, hence the ability to master the technical skill.

I would guess the general thinking is the "athletic kid" is raw when it comes to soccer specific skills. First touch, vision, etc. He may be faster, stronger, bigger than everybody - but struggles w/ technical skills.

Agree - often debated on what is more valued from team to team and coach to coach. Could be system dictated... But does a coach favor a player who is coachable, high soccer IQ, skilled - but may lack raw speed, power, etc over a player who hasn't learned or developed some of the technical skills but is a beast athletically....

cruiser wrote:I would guess the general thinking is the "athletic kid" is raw when it comes to soccer specific skills.  First touch, vision, etc.  He may be faster, stronger, bigger than everybody - but struggles w/ technical skills.  

Agree - often debated on what is more valued from team to team and coach to coach.  Could be system dictated... But does a coach favor a player who is coachable, high soccer IQ, skilled - but may lack raw speed, power, etc over a player who hasn't learned or developed some of the technical skills but is a beast athletically....

The debate is only a debate due to a coach's ego. You can't teach athleticism but you can teach technique, tactics, and soccer IQ. And every coach out there thinks THEY can coach 'em up, but few succeed.

Defender is a great example where athleticism often trumps skill at the younger ages. Speed can make up for many mistakes as a defender. A position where coaches in younger age groups just need a big fast kid to get to the ball and knock it out, or up to a skilled player. This obviously should change as teams get older and hopefully try to posses the ball in the back, as well as contribute to the attack with the outside backs. DeAndre Yedlin is a great example of how this continues even at the highest level.

Also, skill can also be mental. Seeing the game develop; anticipating player movement on and off the ball; game-speed decision making. These are skills that have nothing to do with athleticism. Having the technical ability to make a pass and the timing to execute it during a game are not the same thing.

In looking at your top ten I would say that it is spot on with:
FCD Premier Red, Solar McKinney and Texans Red being the top three.  With the next 7 teams I think any of them can be placed in any order because it is 9 year old soccer. PST plays kickball and only form of offense is goalie punts it far and they hope for a mistake. Elite plays direct soccer as well but have two good forwards that can score. LP Owen is system based, plays well out of the back but if the team they are playing against figures it out they lose.  Solar Kennington and Volkan are solid teams.  Dallas Rush can play out of the back and has two solid midfielders but lacks finishing. Allegiance has solid skill and possession but are hit and miss.  Ayses is good when the fast forward is there.  Being that we have not seen the west side of the metroplex it is hard to determine who is the best behind the top 3.  It is fun to look at the this age group and determine but it is 9 year old soccer.

1) FCD Premier Red- too much depth and talent from back to front, strong defender and forwards with speed who can finish, best stable of forwards for sure, top of the class

2) Texans Red - have a very good forward and strong hard working crew who can play well and play hard and fast. Do a great job of getting the most out of their talent.

3) Solar Mckinney- very good midfielder and defender who are big and strong, they do a good job of finishing with their forwards, great depth, but sometimes put up an interesting loss

4) PST- they win games but play kick and run, almost like 8 forwards on the field pressing forward, but play hard and very physical, will punt from end to end just to get a win with the goalie. Tough to beat.

5) Elite United- have to put here after their strong spring, but also put up interesting losses. Very good midfielder and forward, play attack soccer and like to send up to the forward.

6) Rush- weak spring season, pass the ball and play possession soccer, all their games are close and lack a forward up top who can finish, best midfielder in the age group who covers lots of ground and sees the whole field.

7) Allegiance- play possession soccer, very good center back, fast forward on the outside and very good midfielder who covers lots of ground. Play hard and fun to watch, should get better and better as they play tougher competition.

LP Owen- play good possession soccer out of the back, good goalie, have a hard time scoring goals and rarely put up more than two, lack of depth an issue.

9) Dallas Rebels- will find out this weekend with their schedule at Dallas Open, killing everyone but haven not played a top 10 team until this weekend.

10+ Solar Kennington- continue to drop, possession soccer but lack of depth seems to be hurting them. Very good forward up top.

Solar Volkan- continue to drop, not sure why they don't join forces with Kennington and would then be top 5, in the same area geographically.

Ayses- best forward in the age group, if he ever moves to a top 10 team they could challenge for top one or two spots, crazy fast and technical but with no supporting cast.

ETX Wildcatters- scrappy bunch and better than FC Dallas ETX

Not sure of some of the teams in the west as mentioned previously.

It will be interesting to see the movement as we go to DA next year- Rush, Elite, Ayses and Allegiance have some guys that on the right team could change the top three.

Tough to put Allegiance in the top 10 given their results (beating McKinney is a feather in their cap but not enough to warrant that ranking given their losses against top competition). There's a massive gap from the top ten to the top 20. And beating up on the 10-20 group says very little about how a team would fair against the top 10. Rebels are in the same boat though they've played even weaker competition than Allegiance.

Allegiance had their chance two weeks ago to stake a claim in top 10 status and got smoked by two top 10 squads along with a tie against FCD Blue that got a ton of goals scored on them by everyone else they played. They'll get another chance, along with the Rebels, this coming weekend with PST, Rush, and Solar Kennington in the field. I'll be surprised if they manage any wins against those three teams.