03 - State Cup.

Has anyone been watching this age group in State Cup?

Not much to see, next week Ody v Texans and Bates v Castro. Looks like Classic League and no big surprises.

Bracket C was competitive (3 top teams) but Adames had a ridiculous red card on their GK who was called for defending his goal (go figure) which hurt them in their second game of the day against Ody. Kudos to their temp GK (who is an excellent offensive player) for filling in and playing with heart and class.

On Sunday Ody had a winning goal called back for a tie with FC Dallas who plays even better when they have their full roster and the game ended in 2-2 draw as FC Dallas was mounting an aggressive last minute attack (they can bring it for sure) and looking for the win.

Bates lost by 1 to the Dallas Texans who now play a combination of Boot and Run and Possession. They had their elite central defender back so it wasn't possible to crash the box against them (well at least with the ball that is) and both teams crushed their earlier games so both teams move forward. Bates gets to see what Castro will bring and Ody will try not to allow any more 50 yard goals from the Dallas Division (Charlie Adams must have had held a camp at Ross Stewart).

Both games will be fun to watch, but in the end no upsets can be expected because they are all top 5 (Bates is an official top 5 now).

It is a tournament after all, and the clubs want to win at all costs. The Texans will play the style that best suits the matchup, in order to win. I will say that they train to posses but don't always play that way. Can't say it's much different than what I've seen from all of teams, at times.

The system doesn't help much. As long as we have a win at all costs for bragging and mostly recruiting rights, and a system of relegation and promotion at such young ages, with big fields to boot, such will be the way of American soccer life.

Wasn't trying to dig on the Dallas division just pointing out that they were going back to what works for them which is possession. Boot and run is difficult against Bates, Trevino, Joy, and well everything is difficult against Castro. Big Boys all and not too shy about it makes pushing against them counterproductive and hazardous to your body.

Boot and run (aka Direct) is powerful, fast, and to the point and creates a ton of goal scoring opportunities. Since it is successfully played by blasting (I mean passing) down the center of the pitch it is a great way to level up the score or overwhelm a smaller team. The main caveat is that it requires a player who can gain possession against a bunch of midfielders and ultimately move towards the center of the box which is the most highly occupied spot for some of our teams who have the advantage of "Man Child" defensive players.

I saw one of our forwards actually disappear for a second when two of the Joy Defenders sandwiched him in as he made a beeline to the goal, suffice it to say Joy got possession (clean) and our player got to pick himself up off the pitch. Against FC Dallas that wasn't an option either because their BFS defenders take possession in the air and are very good at shielding the ball once they have possession.

I also realize that tournaments are "ONLY" about winning and it sucks to lose, but I believe that some of our top 5 teams need to focus on possession to stay relevant over the next few years.

Ultimately, the only realistic option against the boot and run is possession play or else recruit more BFS players, but even then a team mixed with BFS and possession style players will not always have the edge so I try to encourage others to stick with the style that best suits the players on their team.

(*Disclaimer: Yes! there are a few teams that can play both styles and yes that is awesome, but those teams will probably choose one over the other at some point in the near future)

Congratulations to Odyssey on moving into the final State Cup game. Heard it was a thriller and that the Texans played really well. Kudos kids!

That was a very entertaining game to say the least. I would say the Texans deserved the W this morning, but I'm biased and that's the way it rolls sometimes. Both sides played well, and Odyssey took advantage of their opportunities, the Texans did not. Clean, hard fought game and good group of boys on both sides from what I saw. Congrats to Odyssey and good luck in the final, hope it's as entertaining and competitive as this mornings match!

The Texans game was a nail biter to the very end with the Texans successfully attacking and drawing the Odyssey defense way out of their comfort zone.

The Texans primary striker was his usual now you see him, now you see the back of his jersey self as he is attacking your goal one on one. The Texans left side attack was in full force today and was both relentless and impressive.

I saw a lot more intensity against Odyssey this time around and the Texans offensive blitz in their attacking third made me cross my fingers on more than one occasion. Odyssey made the most of their opportunities including the final goal which was hard fought as was everything else in this game.

Today Odyssey got the result, but in all honesty it was the kind of game that could have gone either way and both teams played to the whistle and gave it their best.

Really good game!

Odd to see a team with 13 kids playing a team with 14 kids.  This season truly has gone on far far too long.  Was certainly entertaining.  Would have been fair if it was won with great first time volley by "Seempleee Red" near the end that hit crossbar.   A number of opposing kids were very gracious with shaking hands and wishing BB luck after it was over.   But now he has strep, probably got it from one of them   .  Boo.

Well hope he gets feeling better. Looks like he will get at least one more day on antibiotics before he gets to play.

Thanks.  He was happy to hear it was not tonight as was a mess, but now he is going to have to sweat off the cocaine and red bulls that we gave him to get his head straight.   Yeah, Yeah, I know, caffeine is bad for a 12 year old.

On the downside, some people schedule vacations for the week after State Cup is suppose to end.  Like coaches.    Ooops.  

I don't know what their rules are, but I wasn't going to be shocked to just hear that they punted the U11 and U12 divisions as no Regional rep needed.   Splitsies?

The Evelyn Swissler Cup must have a champion.  With the forecast for rain the next  7 days straight, I suggest they schedule State Cup finals for June 27th to make sure it has time to dry out.  

The U12 and U11 finals were scheduled for tonight and tomorrow, respectively, and have been cancelled already, according to a source, but not yet shown on tournament schedule.

Congratulations to Solar Castro (Previously known as Dallas Texans previously known as Solar Castro) for a championship repeat in the State Cup Final.

Kudos to Odyssey who put up a good challenge and kept it 0-0 for the first 50 minutes. The game was exciting and very close, but the few mistakes made were enough to make all the difference against the number 1 team. All in all it was a great experience and well worth the effort.

Kind words were exchanged towards both teams by Coach Castro at the awards ceremony which was a welcome surprise so it will be exciting to see how both teams fare in the upcoming Premier SuperCopa as they represent NTX in the U12 division.