U-15 Age Pure Predictions/Results

zero wrote:

PremierLeagueFan wrote:

zero wrote:

PremierLeagueFan wrote:Zero, you can't even remotely imagine that I was being serious, you have to be a total noob to think that we are gonna turn our hallowed D1 into a safe space, micro aggression free, kumbaya for a few naive parents who think they have found the way to the top from D2. Yikes!

Do you go home and tell BB that his team is David and D1 is Goliath and that they are victorious because they are destined to win and will show us all what a true team looks like.

OMG I am LMFAO!

No I did not think you were serious, but I do think you think that I would think that way.  My son is in D1 (different age group) so they win some and they lose some.  The difference between you and me is that you are preparing your son to get better at Soccer and move up through teams and hopefully someday to play in meaningful games that matter.  I am preparing my son to own the team that plays those meaningful games.  My goal is for my son to have fun.

So I hope you have your son out there every single day playing soccer and I hope he ends up being so much better at Soccer than my son because of all the teams he plays for that someday when he has to work for my son they can talk about the good old days because the focus of our children's lives is purely on preparing them for the world and preparing them to be successful in life, not on the soccer field.

Is the good news that you are trolling the 02B site or that you are insulting my BB?

By saying that you want your son to own the team he is on makes it clear to all concerned that you are a somewhat angry pay to play parent who has not had much success and is bitter that your apparently high value net worth isn't delivering the playing performance that you so rightfully bought and paid for on your team.

Insulting my kid shows how desperate you must feel being trapped inside a system your money cannot control which is a shame because the beautiful game is fun and stronger competition makes it even more fun.

There is certainly nothing insulting about working for someone.  Our goals differ.  My goal is for my son to focus on success in the workplace (when he gets there) and that is and will always be first and foremost on his agenda.  You misread about our soccer experience.  Other than Stricker lying to us (and about 15 other parents) it has been absolutely what we expect and a great experience.  I can guarantee my son does not work as hard as other kids do on Soccer as his priorities are different and that won't change.  His success in Soccer and his playing time has been perfectly acceptable to me.  I have no complaints and if I did a change would occur.  As you can gather  based on what I have said in my posts I do not and would not put up with crap if I felt it were unacceptable.  His soccer goals should be to have fun and to get to play, both of which have happened.  And BTW it was my son's team who came in ahead of your son's team at the end of the year when he finished up on Bates' team.  

If I came across that I (or my son ) was unhappy with the Soccer landscape I do apologize.  Things are good  for us, but our goals for our children are obviously very different and that is OK.  There was nothing insulting about what I said.  If you prioritize Soccer and have your son working at Soccer at a rate that is exponentially higher than mine then your child's success on the soccer field will likely exceed my child's.   You saying that or pointing that out is not insulting, it is likely true.   On the same note if our focus is that on professional success and our son works at that at an exponentially higher rate then it is likely he will exceed in that field.  I just wanted to be very clear that soccer is not the end all be all for all of the posters on this board.

Having said that I certainly appreciate the opinions and predictions as it makes for a more entertaining board.  I also appreciate the honesty and the openness in which you reply as I would rather know what actually happens than some sugar coated version.

I get it, Stricker bailed on your parent/player combo after Bates left and you didn't get an Academy option or a better offer so you were upset and felt betrayed by the process. At least you have a new 03B team that makes you feel like you have more control over the process so you don't have to move BB to another team or club. That feeling while good at the moment will certainly pass the minute you are pushed aside for the good of the team so that a better player who trains more often and is more committed to the game can keep them on top (it's the D1 way). That is a far greater reality than my BB working for yours.

I think it's wonderful that you are able to provide your BB with a soccer experience that meets your requirements and if I know NTX soccer you will certainly be able to provide an even richer experience as clubs realize that you are willing to pay if you have a guarantee to play.

Dragon Nation wrote:You all make the 02 forum the most fun of all
I'm curious about a few things though.  For Zero, what exactly did Stricker lie to you about?  It's been a few discussions ago so I've forgetting what you said & don't want to go back to reread it all.  I know you guys won state cup & went to regionals last year.  Based on that, the team secured an RPL & NPL spot.  So that would appear to be a more successful year than most CL teams.  Age pure was not a Stricker think.  It destroyed all the teams so everyone has had to rebuild.  I don't know if anyone exactly when the change would happen but if you had known, would you rather have left Stricker then & missed winning state cup & regionals?  Don't misunderstand, I'm not defending Stricker or anyone else.  I'm just trying to understand the lie you mentioned.  I love your commentary so I look forward to your reply.

I was not with Stricker this past year.  When Bates decided he needed to step down we (parents collectively) decided we needed to find a good coach.  We thought we had one found but for some reason that coach was not able to take over.  The consensus among the parents were that we wanted to find a coach that would practice in the same area as Bates did (meaning Keller) and that the team would be kept together.  Stricker accepted these circumstances and in fact he was very clear in a meeting with the parents about 2 things.  1)  He stated he would keep the team together and 2) They would practice in Keller.  In the very first week he moved practice to Coppell.  Not a deal breaker to most but it certainly raised some red flags among the parents that he went back on what he said very quickly.  Second thing he did later was he decided he would not keep the team together, except he did not say anything until it was too late.  In fact 2 kids (not mine) couldn't even play that year because he told the parents their son would not be on the team after all the other teams in the area had roster spots filled.  

Now I have no issue with any coach running the team however they see fit, but be honest to the parents.  Had Stricker flat out told us that his terms for accepting the team were that he would tryout every single kid and that going forward there was no guarantee of spots I (among others ) would have no issue with it, but with so many not having contingency plans due to what he said what he did was despicable.  Luckily for me I could tell from the get go something was wrong with him and had contingency plans so it affected me none.  To add very few if any parents that played this last year for him thought they had to worry about their kid not being on that team for the current year yet all but 2 are gone.  At least he told them a little earlier, but I can promise you had he been honest and up front about what he wanted to do he likely would not have been coaching the team from the get go.  If he wanted to establish an 02 team then he should have either done so from scratch or been honest about his intentions.  Contrary to what PLF believes I have no problem with a coach doing anything with a team they coach as long as they are transparent and honest about what and how they are going to do things.  Personally I never felt betrayed because I know how the world works and I was the first to figure it out.  To add I told all the Stricker parents that I came in contact with to watch out as they will be next.  None of them believed me and 12 months later all that I spoke with were looking for new teams for their kids just as I knew they would be.

It is also why I asked if these Academy players have to pay.  I'd be willing to bet anything that no coaches told all of the parents prior to signing they would be subsidizing better kids who from time to time will take their kid's playing time even though they will not be making all of the games on a regular basis nor will the be making all of the practices on a regular basis.  If a coach somehow did do that and all of the parents are good with it then I have no problem with the coaches as that is full transparency.   I do think the parents that are subsidizing other people's kids are idiots however.

zero wrote:
Contrary to what PLF believes I have no problem with a coach doing anything with a team they coach as long as they are transparent and honest about what and how they are going to do things.  Personally I never felt betrayed because I know how the world works and I was the first to figure it out.  To add I told all the Stricker parents that I came in contact with to watch out as they will be next.  None of them believed me and 12 months later all that I spoke with were looking for new teams for their kids just as I knew they would be.  

I hear what you are saying but you are in the forum and also contribute to it and knew that the coach was gonna do what's in his best D1 interest which means "WINNING" so why are you surprised?

Furthermore why bemoan FCDP for having a few DP's when you experienced how competitive Stricker is first hand and then watched how serious he felt about it last season when he shed the 03 players.

Stricker didn't dump good for bad, he dumped good for BFS players who were better and older and he even mixed his new team with players from Ody and Solar Castro to enhance his chances of winning.

This is D1, it's all about Winning and if you don't win you get sent down to d2 and if you don't win there you get sent down to d3 and if you don't win there you go to APL/PPL until you reverse your luck and go back up the league ladder or buy into a better team that has talented players who enable you to improve as a group.

Even Andro isn't the rags to riches story they pretend to be. They have arguably one of the best midfielders in our league and I know that first hand because he was a top player at the Texans during youth Academy and could play any position which is why he left with the 02/03 group during the Nipper exodus to continue developing albeit stealthily on a struggling D3 to D2 to D1 rise that is just a little too hard to believe without the true backstory. If you don't know the player, just see who the top players on the opposing side say hello to before each game. If that's not enough just watch the Andro FCDP game in YouTube and look for the player who is all over our attacking forwards and punishing them for individual play on attack.

FYI Andro still has several of its 03 players on the 02 team. Rags to riches? Well I do believe all teams had to add new players due to age pure. But they have moved up from D3 to D1 over the years, so something is being done right. Should be an interesting season, as it has been thus far. Good luck to all the teams.

booe817 wrote:FYI Andro still has several of its 03 players on the 02 team. Rags to riches? Well I do believe all teams had to add new players due to age pure. But they have moved up from D3 to D1 over the years, so something is being done right. Should be an interesting season, as it has been thus far. Good luck to all the teams.

I am not complaing about your roster, just throwing some reality into your team story. One great player does not a team make, however that particular player isn't hurting your game either.

If your gains were ill gotten I wouldn't be praising your efforts every week and by now you must have figured out that I think pretty highly of your team considering the hurdles I know you have traversed to get here.

Your team has a good coach and a good work ethic, and you believed in yourselves and stuck together through D3 then D2 and now D1 which is why you are in the hunt for a top 5 finish and others like myself have given your team the respect it has earned and wish you continued success.

Not saying you were complaining PL. I don't think any of us believe that we are a super power, and would agree one player does not make the team. One day at a time for us. Thanks for the compliment. The team is striving to get better each and every day and hopefully will get a positive result at the end of the year for bigger and better things.

I have no problem with doing any of the things you say so long as you do so with some integrity. If you are transparent and honest to the people then no one should have an issue. When you are not honest and transparent that makes you despicable. In fact I can tell you my experience with Odyssey was the opposite. Paddy was always 100% honest and transparent. He never sold a bill of goods nor did he ever lie to my wife or me. I would be the first to admit my sone would get very little (if any) playing time if he played for Odyssey yet I have not one issue with Paddy. I have no doubt Paddy wants to win as much as Stricker with the difference being he actually has some integrity.

booe817 wrote:Not saying you were complaining PL. I don't think any of us believe that we are a super power, and would agree one player does not make the team.  One day at a time for us. Thanks for the compliment. The team is striving to get better each and every day and hopefully will get a positive result at the end of the year for bigger and better things.

Yes and when it's all said and done, if you break into the top 5 in your first year then 02B D2 will have permanent bragging rights and name drop you every chance they get which will make for some interesting tournament challenges and trash talk from D2 to D1 all the way to U18.

zero wrote:I have no problem with doing any of the things you say so long as you do so with some integrity.  If you are transparent and honest to the people then no one should have an issue.  When you are not honest and transparent that makes you despicable.  In fact I can tell you my experience with Odyssey was the opposite.  Paddy was always 100% honest and transparent.  He never sold a bill of goods nor did he ever lie to my wife or me.  I would be the first to admit my sone would get very little (if any) playing time if he played for Odyssey yet I have not one issue with Paddy.  I have no doubt Paddy wants to win as much as Stricker with the difference being he actually has some integrity.

You get my agreement on that one because even when Paddy is being a Grumpy Gus he says what he means and does what he says. Like him or not him he definitely has integrity and has developed some great players.

zero wrote:

There is certainly nothing insulting about working for someone.  Our goals differ.  My goal is for my son to focus on success in the workplace (when he gets there) and that is and will always be first and foremost on his agenda.  You misread about our soccer experience.  Other than Stricker lying to us (and about 15 other parents) it has been absolutely what we expect and a great experience.  I can guarantee my son does not work as hard as other kids do on Soccer as his priorities are different and that won't change.  His success in Soccer and his playing time has been perfectly acceptable to me.  I have no complaints and if I did a change would occur.  As you can gather  based on what I have said in my posts I do not and would not put up with crap if I felt it were unacceptable.  His soccer goals should be to have fun and to get to play, both of which have happened.  And BTW it was my son's team who came in ahead of your son's team at the end of the year when he finished up on Bates' team.  

If I came across that I (or my son ) was unhappy with the Soccer landscape I do apologize.  Things are good  for us, but our goals for our children are obviously very different and that is OK.  There was nothing insulting about what I said.  If you prioritize Soccer and have your son working at Soccer at a rate that is exponentially higher than mine then your child's success on the soccer field will likely exceed my child's.   You saying that or pointing that out is not insulting, it is likely true.   On the same note if our focus is that on professional success and our son works at that at an exponentially higher rate then it is likely he will exceed in that field.  I just wanted to be very clear that soccer is not the end all be all for all of the posters on this board.

Having said that I certainly appreciate the opinions and predictions as it makes for a more entertaining board.  I also appreciate the honesty and the openness in which you reply as I would rather know what actually happens than some sugar coated version.

Are we just going to stand by and allow this blasphemy???!!!

How about predications for next week?
I'll take Real GP in an upset over FCDP 2-1.  No DP's this week.
Andro over DTS 2-1.  Andro is too physical & fast but DTS won't roll over.
LP Hunt wins big over Cruz Azul 4-0.  After taking the Solar scoring machine to the limit Hunt playing with confidence hits its stride & starts a winning streak.
Odyssey, LP Rush & Solar Red all play RPL games on Sat & Sun this weekend.  I don't believe either  Paddy or Sticker have DP's each will play with his regular 18 player roster...no rest of the weary.  Not sure about LP Rush.  So their Wed night CL games will depend on how tough it is in Oklahoma & how quickly each can recover.  
With that said I'll take Odyssey over Solar Castro 2-0 as Odyssey regains confidence from the 2 RPL wins I predict they'll get in Oklahoma this weekend. 
I'll take Solar Stricker over LP Rush 3-1.  The scoring machine slows but with the return of several starters including the 2 top scoring forwards who were missing from the LP Hunt game Solar finds the net a few times.

I'll go with FCD steam rolling Real GP. Unless they can get the ball to their star forward , I don't see that result being any different than last week.


Andro will beat DT 3-1.

Liverpool Hunt 2-0 over Cruz Azul.


Ody over Solar Gold by a landslide.

SolarStricker over Liverpool Rush. Probably not close.

Andro doesn't get the respect they deserved. We are all talking about how they have gotten lucky beating these teams and how they play a kickball game
(including me). I have watched Andro's game and once you get to there mildfielders and fowards, they can be as good any other top 4 team in D1. Andro has not gotten lucky at all, they have proved that they belong in D1 and can knock off the top teams and that they can earn a top 3 finish this year.

Let's be honest, the whole "your kid is gonna be working for my kid" bit is no more insulting than the dude in Good Will Hunting telling Matt Damon that he will be serving him French fries on the way to the ski resort.  That guy was pretty cool.  

The DP thing overblown.  Those kids may train with the DA team, but their main play outlet is CL.  So shockingly they played in a CL Game.   It's just a testament to the embarrassment of riches at FCD that the kids on the fringes of the DA program but unable to get PT are still much much better than most CL players.  That's the way it goes.    

I'm unsure how Ody would have DP players with no DA team.  

Ody typically starts three 03 kids on defense alone, and two in midfield born last week of 02.  I would guess most games their average bday is pretty close to Jan 1, 03.   It's hard playing older kids.  Tough beats.  Step up or step off.

Soccer14fanatic wrote: Andro doesn't get the respect they deserved. We are all talking about how they have gotten lucky beating these teams and how they play a kickball game
(including me). I have watched Andro's game and once you get to there mildfielders and fowards, they can be as good any other top 4 team in D1. Andro has not gotten lucky at all, they have proved that they belong in D1 and can knock off the top teams and that they can earn a top 3 finish this year.

Quit drinking the Kool-Aid, Andro is doing great for their first year, but they were totally unable to score in the first half against FCDP and Ody drove them to fouling in that loss and Stricker just plain beat the tar out of them at their own game. Andro is shooting for the #5 spot in the top 5 and that is an accomplishment worthy of mention on it's own merits.

They definitely are a kickball team mixed with some boot and run and an occasional string of passes that would not be misconstrued as an attempt at possession. If you really think they can possess the ball have them play a possession game against Adames and let me know how that works out.  

Don't jinx the Andro boys by pressuring them to knock out the top 3 cause it ain't gonna happen and I dont think that they have played their kryptonite team yet so just let them accumulate some more games under their belt before crowning them supreme and putting them on the hot seat.

PremierLeagueFan wrote:

Soccer14fanatic wrote: Andro doesn't get the respect they deserved. We are all talking about how they have gotten lucky beating these teams and how they play a kickball game
(including me). I have watched Andro's game and once you get to there mildfielders and fowards, they can be as good any other top 4 team in D1. Andro has not gotten lucky at all, they have proved that they belong in D1 and can knock off the top teams and that they can earn a top 3 finish this year.

Quit drinking the Kool-Aid, Andro is doing great for their first year, but they were totally unable to score in the first half against FCDP and Ody drove them to fouling in that loss and Stricker just plain beat the tar out of them at their own game. Andro is shooting for the #5 spot in the top 5 and that is an accomplishment worthy of mention on it's own merits.

They definitely are a kickball team mixed with some boot and run and an occasional string of passes that would not be misconstrued as an attempt at possession. If you really think they can possess the ball have them play a possession game against Adames and let me know how that works out.  

Don't jinx the Andro boys by pressuring them to knock out the top 3 cause it ain't gonna happen and I dont think that they have played their kryptonite team yet so just let them accumulate some more games under their belt before crowning them supreme and putting them on the hot seat.

Who is pushing for the 4th spot then?

Number13 wrote:  

Ody typically starts three 03 kids on defense alone, and two in midfield born last week of 02.  I would guess most games their average bday is pretty close to Jan 1, 03.   It's hard playing older kids.  Tough beats.  Step up or step off.

The age thing is easy to spot, but when Ody is "ON" the speed and size disadvantage is neutralized by disciplined play and time of possession...  In the end, development is still the ultimate goal (although I hate to lose), so the disadvantage of being young will only make these boys stronger in the long run...  That being said, we had a long unbeaten streak in CL that just came to screeching halt when FCD beat us like a rented mule...  Maybe the experience will motivate us to come back to the top form that has escaped us over the last few weeks; this group is much better than what we have displayed lately...  Tin Cup overcame a case of the "shanks", and Odyssey currently has a case of the "stabs"...  I'm sure that the virus will run it's course and we will at least start to play our style again soon...

PremierLeagueFan wrote:
Odyssey is a great team and State Champs and is a dual rostered academy team, same goes for Stricker who is also a State Champ and a dual rostered academy team. Trevino is a dual rostered academy team with some additional players from Hunt.

What Academy program does Odyssey and Liverpool Trevino have?

No Texans U14's have any dual rostered players, so they will not be showing up for DTS.

Number13 wrote:   

I'm unsure how Ody would have DP players with no DA team.  

NM. 13 got it.

A number of the teams play in a 2nd (or 3rd) league.  Stricker, Trevino, Odyssey.   I think that is all that anybody means.   Trevino/LP and Ody are in NPL league which uses a completely separate roster from the NTX one.  So, in theory, the teams playing in NPL could bring "reinforcements" in those leagues from anywhere.   Which is sort of what some (not me) may be accusing FCD of doing here in CL.   Stricker and Trevino could, if they wish, also bring Player Pass players to their SRPL/CL etc games.    But, mostly, all of those teams use largely the same kids across leagues (hence could refer to it as dual rostered I suppose).  

That's all.  There is no Academy program.   I would guess the kids on Stricker, Trevino, Odyssey are training twice a week with their normal coach and that is it.   Unless you count football practices, etc.  

I don't believe Ody was ever State Champs.

Sorry too slow on the post

My understanding was that DPs are players who are rostered with,and play primarily with, their classic league teams. They train some with the academy, but only play in a handful of academy games. So it doesn't seem like those kids playing for their own CL teams is some nefarious plot. But maybe I am missing something. My guess is that the DPs just want a chance to get some game time minutes along with all that training.

SRPL, SCPL, TEPAL, RPL, and DA are all academy soccer leagues.  The top 3 classic league teams can play competitively in any of them regardless of what anyone says.

The real challenge comes at showcase or regionals or the national tournament so if you think that the top 3 in CL who play in a different is academy league are nothing but cannon fodder against a different academy league go out and watch a DA game and see for yourself that the competition is as good, but not always better.

FC Dallas Academy practices a lot and so do most other academy teams which is why they can play multiple styles in a single game.

I am guilty of trash talking Stricker because he plays kickball on purpose, but sometimes he is forced to play direct and that is when his talented players have to control and play more strategically. Hunt has academy players also and forced Stricker to change course in the last 20 minutes because Hunt was crashing through and could have gone up on many of their attacks.

***Apologies for the misinformation stating Ody as state champs, I make some definite wordsmith errors writing and reordering sentences from my cell phone.

OP05 wrote:My understanding was that DPs are players who are rostered with,and play primarily with, their classic league teams.  They train some with the academy, but only play in a handful of academy games.  So it doesn't seem like those kids playing for their own CL teams is some nefarious plot.  But maybe I am missing something.  My guess is that the DPs just want a chance to get some game time minutes along with all that training.

Agreed.

All I know is that it felt like Ody got DP'd on Sat.  

Personally the main thing I would associate with "Academy" is USSF Development Academy. Playing in an extra league is a nice way to get some team travel and may be a reward for performance in the local leagues. Not a bad thing, but not the same.

PremierLeagueFan wrote:SRPL, SCPL, TEPAL, RPL, and DA are all academy soccer leagues.  The top 3 classic league teams can play competitively in any of them regardless of what anyone says.

The leagues you mentioned are USYSA/US Club classic league level leagues, excluding DA. The better classic teams get together and play locally, and regionally. That in no way has anything to do with USSF Academy. I am not discounting those leagues, I am however saying, one is not the same as the other. USSF Academy (DA) has its own Regional tournaments, and its own national tournament. It is its own league and designation.

Can the top 3 classic league teams play competitively, I don't know. I do know that there are some really quality kids on those classic teams. Them being able to compete, or being quality does not make them Academy. Being a part of the USSF Academy does.

Whatever! I watched an academy game on Saturday and Stricker or Odyssey or FCDP could have easily hung with the Academy teams.

I would really like to see some cross league play to open up some peoples eyes on the competitive reality of DA regionally.

FC Dallas Academy is a leviathan and yes they train a lot and have an excellent reputation, but just how competitive do you think the other teams are against them?

FC Dallas has to play against 1 maybe 2 competitive teams in our region and the rest is just another day at work.

I would like to see more teams get an opportunity to play FC Dallas academy teams because it would raise everyone's game.

At U12, you may have an argument. At U18, the gap is huge.