hamlet7478

The Katie Hunter field is strong, as usual. Here's the link to the schedule: http://www.ladywildcatsoccer.org/katiehunter/schedule.html It can be found at the excellent ORHS girl's soccer web site.

Transam, If I'm not mistaken, you are a Powell supporter. From the description of the talent the team has, it seems possible indeed that Powell will be formidable this year, especially if their coaching situation gets sorted out favorably.

Isn't the new Hardin Valley Academy in this district? If so, they're going to be pretty mad--you didn't even put them on the list!

Hey cleansheet, I don't think MVM is saying that rich kids are better or anything like that. I thinks he's saying that the wealthier areas (middle class and above) are able to pay for travel, facilities, coaching, and equipment. I happen to think that, like mustcoach said, we're missing lots of soccer gems in this country due to money. I know most of the well established clubs offer "scholarships", i.e. waiver of fees for promising kids whose families don't have the means. But even with these "scholarships", travel and equipment costs are too heavy a burden for many lower income families. Just imagine the day in the future when the clubs have settled out for several years and have grown large enough to obtain significant sponsorships and they have the money to make sure no budding Pele has to be turned away because they can't afford to travel, buy uniforms, and pay club fees. If this stability can be obtained, it will also be good for more coaches who will be able to make a solid living for themselves coaching and administrating clubs.

MVM, Thank you for your reply. II agree with you that population is a much greater factor in developing the very best elite teams (remember, that's what we're talking about here). And I think it's not population by State, per se, but whether a State has agglomerated a large portion of its population in major metropolitan areas. Thus TX, with about 23 million people is no doubt the strongest state in RIII, but the greater key to its succes is probably the fact that it has the 2 most populous metropolitan areas in RIII with Houston area and Dallas / FW area. Atlanta is probably the third strongest metropolitan area in the RIII from a soccer standpoint, and it has the fourth highest metropolitan population area. FL is a bit of a mystery. It is the second most populous state in RIII (by a factor of 2) with almost 18 million people, and they have two very large metropolitan population centers with the Miami area (5.4 million) and Tampa (2.7 million), yet they don't really generate the same number of champions as STX and NTX, or even GA and NC. I don't have a strong opinion why FL doesn't seem to match soccer success with its population. OK is another interesting state, one that overachieves. They have very strong teams (1 finalist and several semi-finalists) even though their state population is only 3.5 million. I would speculate that they are so strong because you could almost consider them an extension of North TX (really Dallas / FW) because their strongest clubs (and major population centers) are from OK City and Tulsa. These cities are about as far from Dallas / FW as Memphis and Knoxville are from Nashville, and the OK teams play in the Western sub-regional premier league. Clearly there are some other factors at work, even if population is, in general, the most significant determinant of how good the very best teams are. Perhaps the way the HS and club teams complement each other is another factor, but maybe we make too much of it as you suggest. After all, TN is the 5th most populous state in RIII, and you'd probably rank them about there in soccer terms--behind TX, NC, GA, FL, and maybe OK. I would have to agree with you that good HS teams are much better for club teams than bad HS programs. A good general statement in TN might be that the HS are programs continuing to get better, so maybe we will continue to see improved club programs as the HS programs continue to improve.

Mustcoach: Great post. Anson Dorrence is a great source for information. He's one of the most gifted coaches in our country, in any sport. I have to say, the story about Tracey Bates Leone actually choked me up and brought a tear to my eye. It's an unbelievable story. I don't know what she's doing now, but she has a lot to teach me and I suspect all of us.

Mustcoach: Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences. I think you hit on another issue that most knowledgeable soccer people would agree with you on. That is our HS system which is different from all others in the SE (maybe Nationally?). Not denying that HS is an important experience for the kids, but from the pure standpoint of developing the best elite players and teams, it's an impediment in TN. Another thing you hit on which seems to be an emerging consensus is that for young kids, focus on skill development and not so much on winning and losing. This produces the best players later on. As for the issue with parents living through their kids, I guess that's human nature and I don't know what the best cure for that is other than intensive therapy!

mjuhb: sorry to hear about your medical problems. Get well soon.

Ah, at last mjuhb weighs in. Are you going to do your annual pre-season preview?

Good information BRSoccer

Franklin was a team last year that I thought may have been the best overall in the State. They got beat by, I believe, Siegel in the quarter's. What about them this year?

Sounds like all Knoxville area replies. How about the rest of the East, Mid, and West? What do you guys have to say?

What I hear is that although OR got by Farragut last year in Region's, Farragut is loaded and OR lost its star scorer Trenna Howell who will be tough to replace. Bearden is defending State champ. I guess enough said there. As I said, I have limited knowledge...just trying to get discussion going.

Why should the AA/A bracket have all the fun? Here, based on my limited knowledge, are my predictions of the top teams. AAA: East -- Bearden, Farragut Middle -- Brentwood, Franklin West -- Houston, Collierville Div II: East -- Baylor Middle -- BGA West -- St. Agnes

Bean, Thank you for your comments. It's too late for our kids (I know it is for mine since they've both finished with soccer), but I hope that in the next decade the club structure solidifies and starts building on what exists. I really think that's important in attracting and retaining the best coaches, setting up, as you say, the best academy programs, and, maybe most important, approaching the funding sources with a strong, consistent face.

DonC: TN builds 1 dominant team like the U17 Strikers, but N. Texas has 5 or so teams as good as or better than the Strikers. N. Texas has a very strong league called the Lake Highlands League, where all the teams play each other in the Spring. [Actually, Atlanta has something like that, too]. One difference between the Strikers and the Texans is, whereas the Strikers have maybe 7 DIV I players on the field, the Texans have 11 on the field and 3 on the bench. Another difference is these really good players get a lot of high quality games--in the PL in the Fall, and in this Lake Highlands league in the Spring. Sprinkle n a couple of the best college showcases and you've got the Texans' girls playing 20 - 25 high pressure games a year before regionals. The closest thing the Strikers have (sorry to keep picking on you guys; I do it because you are one of the most successful TN teams ever) to this is the PL, but you have to play in the East PL, because the competition in PL South / East is not good enough. So you find a top club structure (Brentwood, FC Alliance, Fury, etc), aggragate kids from an extended area, get them the best games possible (PL East plus 2 - 3 of the top showcase events), the best coach around, and you can compete. Actually TN has come somewhat close with the Strikers advancing two years out of the pool games, and the Real Madrid and KFC Force teams last year. Makes what the N. Texas teams do seem all the more remarkable. Appreciate and respect what Mustcoach says, but it's a chicken or egg thing for me. If you aggragate enough players, then the issue of undue parental influence would take care of itself. Also, our clubs need to mature and sort themselves out. As they (hopefully) stabilize over time, they'll be able to keep the top players and coaches, and develop funding sources and fields.

Mustcoach: Interesting thoughts.

Congratulations to all. Looking at all the players, it's clear there's a lot of talent in E. TN.

The Region III tournament has just concluded. Of the 10 girls champions and finalists between U14 and U18, 9 were from Texas. The one outlyer was Oklahoma, which finished 2nd in the U18 bracket. Narrowing the focus, 7 of the 9 Texas finalists and champions were from North Texas. Clearly, they are doing something right. One of the things they are doing right is accumulating population. Dallas - Ft. Worth ranks 4th in the Country among Metropolitan Statistical Areas with 6.1 million people. Houston is #6 at 5.6 million. Atlanta is #9 at 5.3 m. The next most populous area in Region III is Charlotte which is way down at #35 with 1.7 million people. Interestingly, Nashville is not too far behind Charlotte, ranked #39 with 1.5 million people. [please see link below for all 567 US MSA's] But having written the above, I think there is more to the dominance we're seeing in Texas generally and N. Texas specifically. My belief is that between N. Texas, S. Texas, and even Oklahoma, they have developed a critical mass of great teams with a certain amount of permance, funding, and coaching. The most important outcome of this critical mass is that their teams get great games on a consistent basis. They play better at Regionals because they are used to playing at a higher level week in , week out. If you watch these teams you see that they have good atheletes, sure, but they also play at a higher pace than our teams, with a higher standard of play. They play good because expect to play good. And maybe they expect to play good because if they don't, they will get killed by the team down the road next week. All in all a very envious situation from a soccer perspective. I say this not in a regretful way. My belief is that it is great to see and play these superior teams. It gives our TN teams (and coaches) a picture of how they should want to play, if they truly want to be among the best. Population isn't everything, although it certainly helps. Look at how powerful Oklahoma has become. The whole populaton of that State is 3.6 million, much less than TN's 6.0 million or so, and if you speak to our TN teams that played the OK teams, they would tell you they are a handful. I hope some other posters weigh in with thoughts. link to MSA's: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_of_Unit...atistical_Areas

Bearden will be very strong again...along with Farragut. Both have a chance to go all the way. As usual, it will depend on injuries, leadership, chemistry. Wait a minute, what year is this?

Nice article in the Knox News Sentinel about the highly successful Arsenal team: http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/jun/19/soccer-brothers/

Anyone have news (results, commentary) with regards to any of the other age groups? Thanks.

Get well soon Coach Plummer. Hope to see you back on the sidelines soon (but not driving any ATV's or Gators).

Both methods have drawbacks, but PK's has history on its side. One of the great things about soccer is that it has relatively few rules and they never change. Sustaining something that allows for comparisons accross States, Nations and generations is important. That's why I say keep the PK's.

Very impressive achievment for TN teams.