ucsoccer

yeah, i sat a year out and have also have rolled my ankle (out for four weeks), worst times of my life. Don't get me wrong i do like my school. I complain alot about it but in the end i couldn't imagine being anywhere else. There are advantages to being in a smaller school. I'm less likely to get in trouble and i have more time to focus on classes. College is college anywhere you go. it's just a matter of what kind of environment you are looking for. Go for the right environment.

lol didn't relize he was a two sport athlete. i'm impressed. I think that if there was someone doing recuiting for some of these kids then maybe some of them won't go to the wasteside. uniden..... VERY well put and yeah all i do is play, go to school, and........ well there's nothing else to do. i get bored so i try to see what trouble i can get into...... Without internet or TV i would probolly go insane up here. That's why big campus should have soccer teams so kids shouldn't have to suffer in "no-where" land.

asaininvasion, i would expect you to make an impact as of next year and i hope to hear many goals scored in your career.... and i do agree with you to a certain extent and i see your point on it's harder for them to "get up for the game" (we have had our struggles there). i'm not the first person to tell you that every game you should go 100%. It was different for us because EVERY GAME COUNTS and we still didn't bring it ever game. We were looking to get an at large bid to the tourny and it's also that way for the NCAA if i am correct (unless you win the conferance). This is actually the main reason D-I schools do not play us is because if they do loose then it hurts there tourny shoots or seeding. Trust me if i was a D-I coach, i would leave some NAIA schools off my schdule no matter how bad they wanted to play. Lindsey Wilson, Azuza, Rio Grande and Auburn-montgomery can have some sick teams. I do agree that D-I as a whole is better then NAIA (probolly not even close), but i know the top programs in NAIA can play ANYONE in the country and be able to beat them. Not to say they wouldn't loose somewhere in there, but they have the capablity to win the D-I tourny.These teams are stacked. The players that play at some of these programs are INSAINLY good. As for your question, i play at the cumberlands that is in Kentucky. I think the one that played your club team was the one in Tennessee. That is a shame that you were sick, do you know what the score was? and was it there varsity squad or was it there reserves? What i want to know is if more kids are going on to play at the next level (mainly from the knoxville area because i know that when i was there ALOT of kids who could have decided not to)? I know that it's hard to keep track because of the lack of publicity, but i was wondering if anyone else noticed this was a problem and if has changed. BigG i know the kind of players who would have laughed at you, but these were the kids who should have played at places like Tusculum, king, carson-newman, Lee, and others. Has this changed any or is it still the same? Like i've said in my past post, I know WAY to many kids that i have ran into the past couple of years that wished they were still playing and i hope this trend doesn't continue.

torontofc once again you bring up a valid point that i forgot. there is a hugh drop off from the top 20 (i would say) in NAIA and D-II compared to the rest of the country. asaininvasion, i respect your veiw but i would disagree. Before i even start, i would like to say congrads on your signing and i wish you the best of luck, also that what i have to say is not to take anything away from D-I, it is FULL of very talented players. First if a player NEEDS an excuse to get motivated to play then i feel he doesn't deserve to play at that high of a level, that's just weak and sounds like an excuse to me. When we play smaller schools, we have learned that those are the games that you have to take care of bussiness or else it comes back to bite you in the butt. There's a reason we play the game instead of deciding the final results on a place like.... coacht for example. Second how can you disagree with the fact that lindsey was beating IU on a consistant basis (another small detail i forgot is these games were being played when IU was winning the national championship year in and year out or at least competing for it)? Georgetown of KY play UK ever year and that game is usually alot closer then what it should be with scores like 3-1, 2-0... and georgetown finishes no better then third or fourth in our conference. I would expect Uk to beat them alot worse then that. The bad thing about this is we will never know because the bigger D-I schools almost refuse to play the top 20 NAIA. Heck we play a semi-pro team and have tied them the past two years. I have watched many D-I games and many more NAIA (only because i play in NAIA) games, D-I is filled with extremely talented college kids (mostly americans), but NAIA has advantages that D-I does not, they can pull more of an international influence and recruit players who were playing for money (professionals). I've seen the top four (actually have played against them and most of the top 10) NAIA programs play this year and i have also watched the top four D-I programs play as well, i think these match-ups might shock you alittle more then what you might think. Back to original reason for the tread..... Players can't let the title 9 keep you from playing. Just because your not getting scouted by a D-I program doesn't mean there is no where else worthy of playing. Yes title 9 effects men's soccer in america but once again not all your talented programs are D-I. I do respect the fact that it takes away from the chance for our american boys to play at the next level but at the same time, i've watched alot of talented boys walk away for other reasons then the fact that title 9 wouldn't let them play. This is more sad then the rule of title 9 itself. (not to pick on him, but first of many people that comes to mind) Victor Upshaw could have gone to any DI-DIII or NAIA program he wanted, title 9 did not prevent him from playing.... his mindset prevented him from playing. He felt that since no one (and by no one i mean any major D-I programs) was looking at him, it was no worth his time to contnuie to play. This is a shame! No one was doing his recruiting and so he gave up. He also felt that he was to talented to play NAIA or D-II (is the way his attitude came off). Once again a kid who is talented enough to play D-I is no longer playing and all because of a mindset. This is the main reason american kids do not play at the next level and not title 9. Title 9 only gives more places to play. Remember title 9 doesn't just effect D-I but D-II and D-III as well (it's a NCAA rule). I bet if some of these kids took a chance with a DII or NAIA programs they would be very surprised (i know i was). There are alot of kids who are not very talented playing college ball... why is this? because the talented kids decide that it's not worth there time, once again this is a shame! BIG G as for your question i currently play at The University of the Cumberlands

big G you asking where i go? as for foriegn influence..... (and yes this might be alittle bit of a bias input) but the better soccer is being played in NAIA. i have a strong feeling that if you took the top four NAIA programs and put them against the top four D-I programs that NAIA would prevail. I know that NAIA has rules that allow 20-30 year old former professional players from other countries come and play. The rules for recruiting are different for NAIA which allows them to bring in anyone they pretty much want. The foriegn influence in NAIA is very strong and makes the game look very smooth and more fun to watch unlike D-I where i feel the game is tied up in kickball (whoever is bigger stronger faster wins). I watched the 06 D-I national championship between UCLA and UCSB and i was very unimpressed by both teams. I feel like any top NAIA team could have handled ethier team. If you are a high school player and looking to play at the next level, i strongly advice that you GO and WATCH a few college games. If you get the chance WATCH lindsey wilson, Auburn u of montgomery or any other programs that is ranked top 20 in the NAIA and in D-II. Better yet at least schdule a visit where you have the chance to play with one of them. It will tell you alot about college soccer.

torontofc, does bowers have anything around him at Karns? I'm kind of curious how the team looks this year... and do you know any more about this bowers kid?

torontofc, you bring up an excellent point in the fact that privite universities cost so much. i would much rather attend UT, and not just because of cost. But i choose to play soccer and that ment going to a school (one that in all reality i do not enjoy besides the soccer aspect). i would much rather be at a major university and this is the biggest reason (I feel) that a HUGH amount of soccer players who were very talented did not go on to play at the next level. Victor Upshaw (Bearden graduate and the most underrated player off that team) choose not to play because he didn't get scouted by a major university, Spencer Bobrowski (farragut grad) decided that he would rather attend UT then play (i think he was burned out on the sport though), and the list goes on and on. The appeal of a big school can be hugh when the time to decide comes. I think the biggest problem is the fact that alot of these high school kids don't understand how talented some D-II, NAIA, and even D-III teams are, I know i didn't until after i graduated. Take Lindsey Wilson (one of the top NAIA programs in the nation) for example, they can beat anyone in the country (D-1 through D-III). They use to play Indiana every year but Indiana quiet playing them because lindsey was winning and it didn't look good that a top D-I program was loosing to a NAIA program. I actually think they did play recently and the game was a tie or one goal difference in favor of IU (close game ethier way). I was shocked at the amount of talent that plays in the NAIA. High school kids look at these programs and write them off, when in reality some of these kids should be trying to play at some of these D-II and NAIA programs. BigG brings up a good point, there are alot of talented programs around tenn. Lee university, Lambuth, and King are a couple of more teams that have been having recent success. LMU is an extremly talented program who made the national championship game and i think some people overlook that accomplishment. I am glad to hear of more kids from tenn signing with these programs and with the D-I programs as well. I've watched alot of talented kids decide to hang up the cleats after high school and only end up regreting the decision.

Looking back on this past season i never once saw a varsity college team run a sweeper-stopper style of system. now i do understand that in high school you don't always have your pick of talent to run the system that you want as oppose to college where players are recruited to play in a particular system. if you have the talent to run this system though, i would encourage you to run this system bescause of the advantages it holds in the attacking from the back. I would have to say that our outside backs are EXETREMELY talented and very smart, also the most fit players on our team. To run this system would require players to be able to play one touch style soccer from all eleven players and have the knowledge of where to move and how to move the ball around. If you can teach your players to move the ball from side to side using one touch then building the attack becomes more easy. Our coach is brazilian and we play a mixture of european soccer with the brazilan style. He enforces quick passes mixed with long switches out of the back and midfield, attacking with our outside backs. Our two central defenders learn to slide over and take each others positions as our defensive midfielder drops in. If you do deside to teach this system in the high school level i would teach the importance of moving as a team and defending as a team. If the ball is turned over, get back in shape or stop play (quick foul). One touch ball is the key with correct movement from EVERY position.

I think that it's sad that western cut the program.... i couldn't imagine what the players at western are going through. Are there any other players looking for another school to play at? My coach is always looking for talented players and we have had alot of kids transfer in since he has been here. How many seniors were on the team? Those are the ones , I would imagine, who are taking most of the punishment (besides maybe the coaching staff). I think it's sad that they would do that to college kids. Good luck to all who were effected by this and i hope that things will work out for you...

Where is this game being played?

i agree big G... brazil is an amazing place to be if you love soccer

i had the oppurtunity to play against nathian about a week ago. he is playing for an indoor team that plays in alot of toury's and does leauge play as well. as for me i played high school ball at karns and i am currently playing at the university of the cumberlands.

I have played with and against him both on the high school and college level. He has been a nightmare in goal on both levels. i also talked to nathian defrities and he just finished playing at asbury. they won they're confrence this year.

Brent Cole just finished his senior year in the net for the LMU Railsplitters, leading them to the ncaa D-II national title game only to fall 1-0 to Franklin Pierce. Brent played high school at Gibbs high school in knoxville. graduated in 2004. He was an outstanding keeper on both the high school and college level.

How did he do last season? and can someone tell me when the jamboree is?

alcoa-cookville...... i'm interested in seeing how that turns out. how is alcoa looking this year? What saturday is the jamboree? and does any body know if mark still plays for carter?