District 7-AAA soccer teams doubling up this season
With athletes playing together a lot during the offseason in travel ball, Rutherford County high school soccer players and teams are very familiar with each other.
This season they'll be even more familiar.
District 7-AAA has devised a 2017 soccer schedule that in unlike the past, where each team will play the rest of the district teams twice, as opposed to the previous one time through the schedule.
There were several upside factors in the change, which now has every league team playing 12 district games and four non-district games on their 16-game slate.
"A couple of years ago, the idea got thrown out there and quickly dismissed," said Smyrna coach Brian Grogan, who was a major proponent of the new format. "I pushed it more the last meeting we had. From a budget standpoint, you keep travel down and have more crowds and bigger gates. The boys play outside of high school together, and these are games they look forward to.
"It's also difficult to find (10) games outside the district, having to travel 45 minutes to a game. It's hard to get parents and fans to travel, and that would make for smaller crowds and gates."
With the new schedule, the regular-season district champ will earn an automatic berth into the Region 4-AAA Tournament, with the other bid going to the tournament champ (or runner-up if the tourney winner is also the regular-season champ).
"Sometimes we weren't sending over the best team(s)," said Stewarts Creek coach Brooke Mayo. "A team might be the best all season and lose (in the tournament) in a shootout or free kick or something that eliminated them."
The new format can also help filter through tie-breaking procedures when seeding the district tournament.
"You'll have more of a clear-cut winner," said Oakland coach Jeff Porter. "In years past, it was such a tough district, you would have two or three teams tied, and it would come to goal differential."
Porter, however, wasn't necessarily a proponent of the move, citing the opposite reasoning of Grogan.
"The negative side is it takes away too many games," Porter said. "With 12 district games, you have four left to schedule. You're picky about who you schedule out of district. We've basically cut out playing teams from the other region where we can still play some Williamson County teams."
There will be just five teams in the district next year, meaning just eight league games and eight out-of-district contests can be scheduled.
"Most of the new districts are going (with this format) next year," said Grogan.
Reach Cecil Joyce at cjoyce@dnj.com or 615-278-5168 and on Twitter @Cecil_Joyce.
Remaining District 7-AAA soccer schedule
Friday, March 24
Smyrna at Siegel, 7 p.m.; Stewarts Creek at Blackman, 7 p.m.; Riverdale at La Vergne, 7 p.m.
Monday, March 27
Siegel at La Vergne, 7 p.m.; Stewarts Creek at Riverdale, 6 p.m.
Tuesday, March 28
Oakland at Smyrna, 5 p.m.
Tuesday, April 4
Oakland at Siegel, 7 p.m.; La Vergne at Stewarts Creek, 7 p.m.; Blackman at Smyrna, 5 p.m.
Thursday, April 6
Riverdale at Siegel, 7 p.m.; Stewarts Creek at Oakland, 7:30 p.m.; La Vergne at Blackman, 7 p.m.
Saturday, April 8
Siegel at Blackman, TBA; Riverdale at Oakland, 7 p.m.; La Vergne at Smyrna, 3 p.m.
Tuesday, April 11
Siegel at Stewarts Creek, 7 p.m.; Oakland at Blackman, 7 p.m.; Riverdale at Smyrna, 5 p.m.
Thursday, April 13
La Vergne at Oakland, 7 p.m.; Stewarts Creek at Smyrna, 6 p.m.; Riverdale at Blackman, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, April 18
Siegel at Smyrna, 5 p.m.; Blackman at Stewarts Creek, 7 p.m.; La Vergne at Riverdale, 7 p.m.
Thursday, April 20
Smyrna at Oakland, 7 p.m.
Friday, April 21
La Vergne at Siegel, 7 p.m.; Riverdale at Stewarts Creek, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, April 25
Siegel at Oakland, 7 p.m.; Stewarts Creek at La Vergne, 7 p.m.; Smyrna at Blackman, 7 p.m.
Thursday, April 27
Oakland at Stewarts Creek, 7 p.m.
Friday, April 28
Siegel at Riverdale, 7 p.m.; Blackman at La Vergne, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, May 2
Blackman at Siegel, 7 p.m.; Riverdale at Oakland, 7 p.m.
Thursday, May 4
Smyrna at La Vergne, 7 p.m.