96 PPL Strong Returning Group

Looks like a very strong returning group of teams.....

Stampede
CDI
DFW Tornados
TFC
Solar Gold
Texoma United
Fc Dallas Red
Liverpool Red
Metro
FC Dallas North

Stampede sure did well against DFW and CDI during challenge.
FC Dallas Red has done very well @ it's last few tournaments.
Solar Gold was making a late run @ the end of the year.
I think most of these teams can win on any given day.
Looking forward to a very good U-14 season.

That is a great group, should be a fun and exciting year for this group and I think it will be some good soccer.

What I know is Stampede has lost a few players and continues to follow the route of independent teams, start strong with a good core of players then slowly lose one player after another.

Metro should make but still a question, they also lost a few players and picked up a few new ones. DFW lost the strong team (opps I meant player). TFC picked up a few new players and will be tough. Liverpool is stonger with also a pick up or two. Solar gold should have another good year and who knows about FC Dallas the way they move players and colors, we will have to see.

This league is a good group of teams/players... will be a good year.

We started 2nd to last place in U11 Plano, I wouldn't call that starting strong. Finishing 2nd in Plano the following year, then finishing 3rd in the challenge the year after that is pretty good though. Not many teams have that kind of success that quickly.
Every player/family on our team is considered our "core". We lost 3 families, they were great and wish them the best. But talking X's and O's, we lost 1 starter to a D1 team, then picked up 3 new starters. We've lost 1 starter since U11... I can see how people think we're "slowly" falling apart. We're doing fine, and that's w/o paying over $2500 for select soccer.

Rusty,
Nice to see you guys are still hanging in there.

lost one starter, gained 3 starters. So you demoted two kids who have been loyal over at least the last year. Did you bother to tell them they are now bench warmers?

txstampede96 wrote:...But talking X's and O's, we lost 1 starter to a D1 team, then picked up 3 new starters. We've lost 1 starter since U11...

One point worth adding is that the one starter that left for a D1 team did not join the Stampede until mid-season after the team was already playing in Classic, and then left at the end of the year. So the core that played their way out of Plano the year before is essentially still there. Some independents stick together better than others, as this one has.

But I think every team has to have a balance of developing their core players as well as adding talent that extends the team as a whole. Some of the teams on the list above have upgraded, some have downgraded, and some are essentially the same. We'll find out which team has the right mix of experience and talent come this fall.

homer999 wrote:lost one starter, gained 3 starters. So you demoted two kids who have been loyal over at least the last year. Did you bother to tell them they are now bench warmers?

Actually, I think it would be accurate to say that the team only had 8-9 starters. The other positions had different players starting all the time, depending upon how the kids had been playing in practice, how the kids matched up against the style of team we would be playing, etc. Those other 2-3 spots could not be claimed by any player as 'his' spot.

So what I think the coach is saying is that he's found some new kids that can fill the role as a starter for those other spots. And the kids that come off the bench will continue to do what they have done. Fill roles as necessary.

But regardless, I doubt there are any teams trying to improve their competitive stature that would grant a starting spot to a player just because he played in that position the prior year.

Tornados signed 3 that played with Odyssey last year.

soccerdad1 wrote:Tornados signed 3 that played with Odyssey last year.

Which Tornados team signed 3?

Tornados Blue (Plano) signed 3 from Odyssey-Tornados White (D2) signed 1 from Odyssey
Odyssey signed 2 from Tornados White and 1 from Tornados Blue
Interesting

sounds like a fairly even swap. Don't know exactly how many others DFWT blue signed, but it was a bunch, white signed acouple other new kids too.

Hate to rain on the parade, but in general you will see a deterioration of quality in Plano this year. With the rosters expanding to 18, lots of the better players for Plano teams (and Arlington, for that matter) have moved on up the ladder. By this time, with only a few exceptions each year...players move, teams don't. And the better players move to the better teams in Classic league.
Add to that the fact that the Plano representatives in the challenge games finsihed last and next to last...doesn't speak too highly of the Plano league.
Will there be some exceptions? Sure...I think FCD Red showed very well in the June Tournaments...and TFC Blue should be pretty good. But beyond the first 3 or 4 teams, I think the quality will drop off very fast.
Just my opinion...for as little as that is worth.

I might agree with you. For us, my PPL son is moved to a D2 team this year. And although we didn't increase the roster size to 18, I have seen others who did. Time will tell.

homer999 wrote:lost one starter, gained 3 starters. So you demoted two kids who have been loyal over at least the last year. Did you bother to tell them they are now bench warmers?

How dare teams try to get better by looking for permenant starters! I hope the family at least got a nice fruit basket or some such. This is competitive sports, not the YMCA! As for the know it all from a couple of post earlier... of course the teams in your backyard are falling apart... wishful thinking I suppose.
U14 PPL will be weak, like prism and centermidad predict. Competitive soccer at this age is all about getting on the best team as quick as possible; the migration is fast and furious! Sometimes development takes a back seat to playing on those plush Richland fields... which by the way were WAY under par this past yr!
So who's gonna win this watered downed league? I'll show you mine if you show me ours!!

Texoma failed to make this year. Good luck to all of ya'll this season.

rusty29000 wrote:Texoma failed to make this year. Good luck to all of ya'll this season.

Sorry to here that rusty. Where you guys headed? PM me!!!

Solar Gold has lost 4 players and gotten one. But it seems as if the one is better than the other 4 combined.
Andremoda has lost one player that i know of.
It will be suprising to see how these 2 teams end up this season. Any thoughts?