The Next IE

First let me start out saying that I'm new to this forum in regards to participating, but I've always read the topics.

That all said, due to my weekend job (being a CL ref) and a former DI college player; I feel that I can make this assumption.

I witnessed IE (Irving Elite) play many times during their existance and I always thought that they would be the top INDY team that I observed and/or officiated until this past weekend. I did not get a chance to officiate this team, but I did get get to observe one their games. ETX Premier is the real deal and in my opinion (that's all it is; my opinion) they will be the next IE. I read where some think this team is coached to play dirty; that is not the case. I was sitting behind the coach during one their games; ETX was being physical, but that was due to the point that the other team (will not call in any names) was being physical. I personally heard the coach give professional soccer "pointers" to his players on how to avoid any issues on the field.

ETX got to be the fasted two touch team I have observed in years. I love how the coach FORCE them to start their play in the back versus the GK punting the ball. This team is very technically/tactically sound.

My opinion of ETX soccer has now changed.

I AM A FAN!!!

Ref00,
I certainly believe you, since you had the prime position to judge how fairly the players plaid, from the sideline.
Rm

ref00, thanks for the compliment.

My son just joined this team (he's actually a 98 playing up) and, yes, they are a 2 touch team. (Although the coach has to remind some of the players of that fact sometimes)

Very proud to be a part of this group.

Our coach is all about getting these boys next level exposure. In fact, I think all of them (except for the 3 new players) have already attracted some interest from college coaches.

Being an indy team isn't always easy. But it certainly can be an effective route for talented players.

There's talent in ETX. It just hasn't all been 'harnessed' yet.

Thanks again.

This is the 97 age group? and all but 3 have interest from colleges?
I'm not saying they aren't a good team , but I'm calling BULSH on that.

Turftoe96 wrote:This is the 97 age group? and all but 3 have interest from colleges?
I'm not saying they aren't a good team , but I'm calling BULSH on that.

I agree - unless these colleges are all NAIA then the coaches aren't even allowed to show any interest at this age - no phone calls, no e-mails, no talking to them after games - no nothing! Did these college coaches wink at them maybe?

From what I was told, they inquiries were made to the coach only. The coach passed on the 'interest' to the players and their parents.

No 'direct' contact from the coaches. let me be clear on that.

I dont know about all of them (players), but I did see @ least 6-7 players that could easily be a small DI school and below prospect.

As for the recruiting aspect. Any college coach can approach the coach, email the coach, and call the coach to inquire about a player or players. Sparking interest of a college coach @ this age is not outside the "norm". If any player get a personal invite to a Combine or ID Camp; now that's a good sign.

Either way ETX is a good team.

GOOD LUCK TO YOU GUYS THIS SEASON.

I have no doubt this ETX team is good, yes u guys have won a couple of tournaments here recently, but do remember you are playing against teams that have revamped there rosters and are playing in these tournaments to figure things out for the season. So good luck to u guys and hope u guys have great success, but comparing this team to IE is by far not the right thing to do. You guys have a long way to go to be compared to that great Indy team. Like I said good luck and maybe one day you will make it as far as they did.

If they are so good then why aren't they playing in Classic League?? Playing in warm up tournaments where teams just revamped their roster etc isn't really saying too much. I saw them beat Solar Red at Puma however SR dominiated the game. ETX scored on a defense error to the GK (new this year)in the last minute. Didn't really see much from them. They have improved from last year for sure but they do play very aggressive/dirty in my opinion.

You people are hilarious!

Revamped rosters?

Hell, OUR roster is revamped! 3-5 new players, et al.

The reason this team doesn't play in CL is because it is a waste of time and money!

The purpose of this team is to SHOWCASE!!

Not to collect silverware!

In other words, a means to an end.

Ayses SC is not a 'warm up tournament'.

Also, we will only play in maybe 2 or 3 NTX tournaments.

The rest will be played in other states.

Oh and socmom97, for your information we played the Pumas cup missing several key players. Only 14 total I think.

And from what I was told, we played Solar Red straight up.

Dirty play? Can you even distinguish between 'dirty' and aggressive?

It's a contact sport.

I think when a CL ref can substantiate and give a testimonial that ETX DOES NOT play dirty...well, that carries a little more credibility where I'm concerned.

I see that green monster rearing its ugly head....and I'm not talking about our jerseys either.

Forgot. few if any college coaches recruit at CL games anyway.

Laimport wrote:You people are hilarious!

Revamped rosters?

Hell, OUR roster is revamped! 3-5 new players, et al.

The reason this team doesn't play in CL is because it is a waste of time and money!

The purpose of this team is to SHOWCASE!!

Not to collect silverware!

In other words, a means to an end.

Ayses SC is not a 'warm up tournament'.

Also, we will only play in maybe 2 or 3 NTX tournaments.

The rest will be played in other states.

Oh and socmom97, for your information we played the Pumas cup missing several key players. Only 14 total I think.

And from what I was told, we played Solar Red straight up.

Dirty play? Can you even distinguish between 'dirty' and aggressive?

It's a contact sport.

I think when a CL ref can substantiate and give a testimonial that ETX DOES NOT play dirty...well, that carries a little more credibility where I'm concerned.

I see that green monster rearing its ugly head....and I'm not talking about our jerseys either.

Well for your information I was told that SR has 14 new players with only 8 return due to USSF. Wow the aggressive/dirty play comment hit home.

Your statement about college coaches not recruiting from CL is totally false. For a fact I know of 15 boys this past U17 year that received college D1 offers by just playing CL. They are still one of the top leagues in the country.

No green monster just think its funny....Good luck to your team playing in those Showcase tourneys. Good luck getting into Dallas Cup, Disney and the other big ones without any league play to fall back on.

I didn't say classic league wasn't competitive. Just not logistically expedient. A waste of our time and resources.

I've done CL. So, I know firsthand what it does and doesn't do. It sure as hell doesn't have ALL the best players and isn't the alpha and omega of competitive soccer.

Forgive me if I sound skeptical regarding your D1 CL recruiting pool.

The 'dity' comment didn't hit home.

It's just false based on what I've observed personally.

I haven't seen one of our players throw and elbow, slide in studs up, trip or kick an opposing player...

If we were 'dirty' we would be seeing a lot more cards.

So, yes I draw a distinction between aggressive and 'dirty'.

You are probably a typical soccer mom whose knowledge and experience of the game is limited to watching her children through stained 'parent goggles'.

Let me guess...TFC mom?

You are probably a typical soccer mom whose knowledge and experience of the game is limited to watching her children through stained 'parent goggles'.
Not really typical soccer mom. Don't use those stained "parent goggles" you mentioned. Would like a pair if you can tell me where you got yours. Rather than complain about the system I instead have given 5 years to the CL board not including 4 years as manager. I just enjoy watching good soccer. I believe Classic League still offers it even with USSF and Pre Academy which my son has already been through.

Let me guess...TFC mom? . NOPE!!! You got that one wrong.
Enjoyed the chat we can agree to disagree. Good Luck to your team.

Laimport wrote:
Let me guess...TFC mom?

To my knowledge, I'm the only TFC 97B Blue mom on here...

I think it is bit premature to put them in the same sentence as IE. IE was winning tournaments this time last year playing a year up. Not to mention all the other domination they were a part of over the years.

ETX will need to have a few skins on the wall, win a couple of big tournaments like Plano Labor Day, or a Dallas Cup qualifer to start that conversation.

However, it is nice to see a good NTX team from out of DFW get some wins to shake things up. I hope they do play in a few more NTX tourneys.

personally, I never saw IE play. Although I have been made fully aware of their reputation.

So, to be fair I can't compare ETX Premiere to IE.

A third party observer started this thread. Not one of our coaches or parents.

In my opinion, our team only played 2 or 3 quality games in this tournament.

Then again, it's difficult for any team to play 5 games in less than 48 hrs and to execute perfectly.

That's just the nature of tournament play.

So, someone gives us a compliment, and the vultures show up. Our team does not "play dirty".

Then the 'revamped rosters' excuse. Look, it is a preseason tournament for pretty much every team.

We scored 11 goals and gave up 2. That's a convincing win where I come from. (Not that mistakes weren't made...could and should have been better)

Again, I think a ref carries a lot more credibility than a couple of speculative parents.

I am also in the camp of "the is way premature" and I am an ETX parent. In my opinion tournament results aren't necessarily the best way to evaluate the relative merits of two teams. Did Team A bring in 5 "stud hoss" guest players, did Team B not bring a full roster, are the teams on "equal legs" (# of games played). For instance in the Puma Cup ETX had 2 field substitutes for the entire 4 game tournament. In the AYSES Summer Classic we played our 3rd bracket game against a team only playing their second bracket game. In the Puma Cup our goal (and subsequent winner) against Solar Red was an early Christmas present. Still I thought we matched up well with them without several of our key players not back from Summer vacation or camps (likewise Solar Red could also have had roster issues). I will say this, the team is very deep. We have 20 kids that love to play and in a tournament we can platoon like mad and not suffer much (if any) drop off from the starting 11. We as a group (coaches, parents and players) made the decision to forgo league play so that we could attend more showcase tournaments. I would hope with our recent run of form we could score some friendlies with the top echelon teams in the Metro (either in Tyler or Dallas) and see how we stack up in a one off on fresh legs for both squads. At the end of the day we all have to play the ranking game so we can reach for the prestigious invitationals.

Well put futbolfiend.

Time will tell where ETX will stack up.

Being an indy team can certainly be a disadvantage where rankings are concerned due to lack of points earned from league play.

But this team isn't about league play. Logistically it doesn't work for us.

And getting invites to the top showcases won't be easy.

First let me start by stating that I did not intend to make this a ETX vs IE issue. The title of this topic is "The Next IE" not "Better Than IE"; not one time did I say they're better than IE. I was bascially complimenting on how ETX plays the game of soccer. IE will always be tied to the success they were able to accomplish; no one nor no team can take that away from them, but what can happen is that another team (ie: ETX) can do just as much without going thru CL; to each it's own

That said, I find it very disturbing when parents from other teams respond back with remarks that can be harmful to a team and their coach.

ETX I do apologize for starting this topic; as it has gotten out of hand with the remarks made by other parents.

ETX keep doing what you guys are doing; believe it or not there are a lot of coaches and officials here in NTX that respect you guys and your coach.

Laimport wrote:Forgot. few if any college coaches recruit at CL games anyway.

Few if any colleges recruit or even scout incoming sophmores. Even if you get in the showcases don't hold your breathe waiting for the college scouts to show up to the bottom division of the sophamore bracket games. This year you may have been better served going to dallas every other weekend for two games like the west TX teams do. It would be better development than being seeded against crap teams in low brackets at tournaments.

@ my2cents...I totally disagree with you comment. As a former DI college recruit and eventual student athlete; I was getting "touted" the summer before my sophmore year in HS. The only reason you're not getting scouted/recruited as a sophmore is because you're not trying to get scouted/recruited or dont know how. I strongly advise any/all players/parents to start ASAP due to the fact that there are few scholarships for men.

There's a reason in MOST showcases the U16 age group is listed to be in the actual showcase format.

I cannot tell you the last time I seen top tier or middle of the road DI coaches @ CL games on consistent basis...

I can recognize them a mile away.

ref00 wrote:That said, I find it very disturbing when parents from other teams respond back with remarks that can be harmful to a team and their coach.

ETX I do apologize for starting this topic; as it has gotten out of hand with the remarks made by other parents.

Unfortunately that is the case with this forum. A simple compliment turns into team bashing very easily

Well, I thank ref00 owes no one an apology. His compliments have been a breath of fresh air where ETX players/teams are concerned.

His comments have certainly encouraged us. Especially given the sacrifices we are making regarding travel and time to make this venture work. (Especially those of us who travel in just to train.)

I'm not bashing CL as a playing venue or its level of play. That TFC team was exceptional and I predict they will end up as a top D1 team when its all said and done. Hopefully they can keep their families/players committed to their cause.

That said, there's an aura of elitism by many on this board that seem to think you are inferior if you aren't CL (especially d1)and/or DA/PA.

There are talented (even "elite") players not rostered on the top teams. In fact, it's highly debatable if it is in the best interests of player development. Especially at the younger levels...where technique and tactical awareness should be top priority!

This team is going the developmental route.

And frankly, that's what youth soccer SHOULD be all about!

We do not seek out "crap teams" in order to just collect tournament trophies. Our rankings dictate seeding more than anything else. That said, you have to have a mixture of competition in order to build consistentcy of play as well as to challenge individual players..appropriately.

After all, Barcelona doesn't play ManU, Real Madrid, Chelsea, etc. EVERY match. And we are talking about professionals. So, it can't be obviously be that way for youth teams either. Especially given the emphasis (should be) on developing players!

Finally, there are other "competitive venues" that ETX participates in that better serve our needs than CL does.

I apologize in advance if some of you don't know or don't 'get it'.

Laimport wrote:
I apologize in advance if some of you don't know or don't 'get it'.

Apologies accepted!!