96 State Cup Follies

Real Barcelona wrote:

soccermom040 wrote:CL may not be a top league anymore but it's not intramural sports either. When a lot of the skilled players left for DA, it left most teams scrambling for size and speed, sacrificing skill all together. And since D1 is the most desirable level, D1 teams had their pick of the biggest and fastest players... as long as they help rack up those W's.

And... there is good soccer out there at the college level. We just don't have it here locally. Some of the D2 colleges down South play some good soccer.

NOt enough DA kids to fill out the rosters in college either because of numbers or grades. They will have to put up with the big and faaassst or not fill the rosters at all

soccermom040 wrote:Wake up holmes; CL is not a "top league" anymore. D1 is a player pool of athletic, strong kids. There is still some skill out there but it's not the same. Really ? Funny because NTX teams sure seem to still show very well at out of state tournaments.
Watch some good college soccer from out West or the Northeast; you'll see what is called "skill" and tactical awareness. Then you will realize that the finer points of the game don't include kick ball and crash the box. [color=green] Oh maybe I shouldgo to the College Cup for a couple of years and see the best teams college has to offer. Oh wait , already did that. Best pretty possession teams were UCLA 2011 and Georgetown 2012. Charlotte 2011 was full out direct , or kick ball and crash box, quite ugly really, and they made it to the final and almost won.[/color]
Parents with the "our team does no wrong, we're the best" attitutde feed the monster. Please, please find where I ever said any team was going to be or was the best
The players feed off that mentality and play like they're untouchable. That's why Real got 3-4 players hurt. That's why against Solar, there was a horrible cheap shot that resulted in a send off. That's why FCDP beats you guys... no skill = no composure. ed[color=green]]No composure hmmm. DTR had 5 yellow cards In CL this year. 5 players with 1 caution each. I think ikt is the lowest in the 96 group. The horrible and inexcusable shot happened because the game had spiraled completely out of control. (very glad to hear he is OK) My son who had nothing to do with that was punched prior to that. Yes, flat out punched when play and all eyes went up field. He said it was the dirtiest team he has played ( one of the few exceptions was unfortunately the player that got hurt) and some of his D1 Solar aquaintenances agreed when discussing the game. Real game HMMM. Two players left after collisions with their own teammates and the keeper dove into the post twice and got trucked once by his own teammate. Bottomline is you have not a clue as to what you are talking about. I came on here to contradict your opinion that DTR did not play well. You the proceeded to denegrate me and the players and parents of DTR to bolster your opinion. Really sad. The only valid point you tried to make was of FCD being a very good team and to that I agree. I really enjoy watching them play, especially building an attack.

But keep talking... it makes all this fun.

I will keep talking but will not again respond to any post of yours. You can have all the fun you want putting down me, DTR and whomever else you fancy completely uncontested. I am out on this.

Gatorz wrote:

soccermom040 wrote:Wake up holmes; CL is not a "top league" anymore. D1 is a player pool of athletic, strong kids. There is still some skill out there but it's not the same. Watch some good college soccer from out West or the Northeast; you'll see what is called "skill" and tactical awareness. Then you will realize that the finer points of the game don't include kick ball and crash the box.
Parents with the "our team does no wrong, we're the best" attitutde feed the monster. The players feed off that mentality and play like they're untouchable. That's why Real got 3-4 players hurt. That's why against Solar, there was a horrible cheap shot that resulted in a send off. That's why FCDP beats you guys... no skill = no composure.
But keep talking... it makes all this fun.

Maybe it is possible that the kids left in CL by age 16-18 that did not make a DA roster are there not for the development side of things, but just to have fun and try to WIN. There is nothing wrong with playing a little kickball, smash em up soccer ( as long as no one gets hurt) if you know you are not a college level player and you are just trying to finish up your soccer career and have some fun. I have been told by coaches in CL that D1 at U16-U18 since DA came along is more like RUGBY.


You couldn't be more wrong on many levels. now the physicality, cheap shot crap is definitely there and usually to level the playing field against better passing/possession teams or teams that do have skill. After all, if you suck, then take out the better players. but many of the kids are there to get better and hopefully get noticed. Just because they don't play DA ball doesn't mean otherwise. some kids just don't want to play DA ball recognizing it for what it is. Another layer of crap.

Talk of Development is for the younger ages. By the time you are 16-18 if you don't have it, you wont get it.

Laimport wrote:This is interesting. Really.

DA/PA types like to look down their noses on "lowly D1" teams. D1 teams think D2 and D3 is beneath them.

Then there's the assumption that DA somehow has a monopoly on the top talent. While there may be some or even a lot of truth to that...some players and their families just don't want to join a DA team.

For a variety of reasons. But it isn't always because they "aren't good enough".

I also find it interesting when someone complains about or speculates about an "academy player" playing on a club team. Who cares? Obviously many parents do.

If it's really about winning then beating the best should be the objective.

Or is it winning at all costs? That certainly is the mantra for the majority of NTX clubs. Because winning equates to revenue ie. "more customers".

The relative "competitiveness" of classic league isn't the issue.

The real issue is parent egos and unrealistic expectations...and a lack of perspective.

In other words, parents seem to be more concerned about how they and their kids are perceived than the enjoyment of playing the game and the pursuit of excellence.

soccergrinder wrote:Just for clarification. Rostered full-time DA players cannot play in State Cup on ANY team just like they cannot play on their High School team. It is forbidden by USSF DA rules. However, players that are rostered on a Classic League team that periodically plays on a DA team, a so called DP player, can play on his Classic League team. DP players are not real DA players in the sense that they are limited to 6 DA games and don't normally travel with the team.

On the issue of DA having the corner on talent. There are many players who want to play for their high school, want to play other sports, or just don't want to do all of the travel that DA does. And these players could easily make a DA team. However, the main difference between a DA team and say a Classic League team is that ALL of the players on the DA teams are of the highest level. Where a Classic League team may have a couple of DA quality players the rest are not at the level. Just my observance from having a player having gone through the DA program.

I have no doubt at least 2 of the players (that I know of) on the Solar 96 team, who played with my DA son in high school, were good enough to make a DA team had they wanted to.

hammer's dad wrote:

soccergrinder wrote:Just for clarification. Rostered full-time DA players cannot play in State Cup on ANY team just like they cannot play on their High School team. It is forbidden by USSF DA rules. However, players that are rostered on a Classic League team that periodically plays on a DA team, a so called DP player, can play on his Classic League team. DP players are not real DA players in the sense that they are limited to 6 DA games and don't normally travel with the team.

On the issue of DA having the corner on talent. There are many players who want to play for their high school, want to play other sports, or just don't want to do all of the travel that DA does. And these players could easily make a DA team. However, the main difference between a DA team and say a Classic League team is that ALL of the players on the DA teams are of the highest level. Where a Classic League team may have a couple of DA quality players the rest are not at the level. Just my observance from having a player having gone through the DA program.

I have no doubt at least 2 of the players (that I know of) on the Solar 96 team, who played with my DA son in high school, were good enough to make a DA team had they wanted to.

I would like to add the 96 Solar team DID NOT add any players for State Cup. This is the same group of boys that have played together all year. As grinder said above the 2 boys (I think that 3 were asked from same school on the 96 Solar team) he is talking about wanted to play high school ball with their friends. I know that I am very proud of these boys for what they have done and hope that Solar represents the state of Texas in Regionals the way we would like to see any of the top teams from North Texas do for our league.

One side note as for the top 5 teams in classic league I personal do not think that one is hands down better than the other. Everyone talks about FC how they can’t be stopped or beat. They did beat us this year in very very close game so for anyone one to say they are in a league of their own I think you need to look at both Texans, TFC and Solar a little better and not have on blinders. All of these YOUNG MEN can play and a lot of them will continue on into collage and I look for some to be playing Pro on down the road.