soccerdevil

Nice article in today's paper Knox News

We always try to provide 3 officials at our home games. At least in the spring every game that we had at home had three. I'm sure that cost goes into the minds of some of the coaches. I can pay $120 for a dual or $160 for three. Times 8 homes games that $320 in savings that could go toward a bus, insurance, etc. My issue is that some of the referees that we have should feel guilty for taking the money. The ones that can't keep up with the last defender, yet still call offsides being out of position need to really rethink why they are doing this. It isn't fair to my program monetarily or my team in regards to flow of the game for these guys who should have retired YEARS ago to still come out. I understand that my program will not get the top officials as compared to the Bearden v Farragut game, but we should have some way of rating these guys who are basically stealing money from the high school soccer teams. And before anyone asks, yes ... I would prefer to have club linesman than throwing away $50 on an AR who can't get it right. At least the club linesman isn't costing me precious soccer funds missing calls. Sorry, couldn't help but to type that out, been bugging me since having two home games in a row with dinosaur AR's.

Time to get back on the band wagon! 2-0 over Spain! Of course I wouldn't think we were the better team today. Luck smiled on our team today. I agree with many of your posts, and my main complaint for years is that we are a team of individuals. I still think our defense was suspect and our first touch is still not even close to many other nations. I don't have the answer, but I do hope that our team manages to find itself.

I guess the thing to consider is that college coaches don't have the time or resources to go to every local high school game. There are just too many games across the country. UT and other big time programs can't send a scout to see Farragut or Hendersonville play 3 times each, plus you have to consider even if they did, there is a chance the best player has a bad game one or two times and then even an athlete that could play D1 ball would be overlooked for bad timing. The reason Florida, Texas, and the other states get more recruits at the D1 level could be multiple, but the big reason is obviously speed which isn't a huge asset we see here in Tennessee compared to Florida. Plus just because a TN Stud kills everyone that may just mean he is killing less stellar athletes than the same stud is doing in Texas. If you aren't playing the best, how can you think you are the best? If you want to be completely honest, besides a few, how many kids that were REALLY players, didn't get to play at the next level? Just because a kid is great at Station Camp, won't make him great at even UK or SC. To think that TN kids are not given a chance is somewhat paranoid. The best play. The best will always get their chance, that is why they are the best. I'm sure some kids do get the shaft, but seriously, I would venture a guess that most of the build up and buzz around a player has more to do with parents and community than with true knowledge of what it takes to play D1. Does it make sense that any college coach WOULDN'T take the best? Of course not. They see the best and know what they need to be successful. This isn't just a topic for football ... this is all sports.

Why is Gibbs getting a new coach? Where is Coach Dave going?

Definitely straight red. From where I was sitting you could see that foul coming. From behind, studs up. Some of the West fans were screaming that he got the ball. Which he did, after getting the guys feet, ankles, and legs. Dumb foul. He almost got a soft red for shoving the keeper earlier for no real reason, he is lucky Compton just spoke to him rather than going for the cards. Disappointing to see that. West had Bearden on their heels early, but the only offense seemed to come from Tanner's throws. I certainly hoped to see West win this one but they let Bearden stay in it and the Bulldogs poise and determination helped them win it. Great game for both teams.

I would say Maryville by 2. Fox is a nice attacker, but Sevier County spends a little too much time playing physical and not enough time playing soccer.

I thought the keeper's last name was Wilson. Your predictions were better than mine, especially with my guess that West would be able to score multiples. I also just think your asessments of area soccer are better than mine. I think you might have been around the game a little longer than me. I enjoy your posts. Thanks for keeping it interesting. SD

I now defer all of my predictions to Dins (Who I think I have a guess who that is now). I completely underestimated Wilson. Plus I was going off early season Oak Ridge. I haven't seen them in a while. Going to go finish off my crow for breakfast. SD

He is a big boy, and the sweeper is smart and in control for Oak Ridge. I just think that if West is clicking they can score on anyone, and in bunches. I didn't mean to be disrespectful to Oak Ridge, my apologies.

I would agree with 3-1 West. Maybe different at Oak Ridge's field, I still would give West the nod. However if the West "stars" start yapping with each other, the refs, etc. then Oak Ridge could upset them. If West plays fast and confident I wouldn't put it past them putting 4 or 5 in on OR. Interesting note that if Oak Ridge doesn't win this one it looks like they could come in 3rd in their district. SD

The suspense is killing me! And it looks like West played Halls, not Oak Ridge. Anyone know when that game is going to happen?

Very interesting stuff. To take it a step further has anyone missed them ALL or been at a very low percentage?

Just curious, how many of you have an idea of your hit / miss / stopped ratio on Penalty Kicks? Anyone 100% so far this season? Or any season for that matter.

Just a guy who likes soccer. I've coached a couple of high schools, but not a name you would recognize. I kind of like being anonymous so I can post predictions on games without retaliation later. Ha! Sorry to be eating up the Thursday show down thread. All 9 of these programs lead the way for the state. They have set the bar high and it is a pleasure to watch them play. So I still want to see more people predict on these games. I am surprised at the number of people picking Oak Ridge over West. West is explosive, nothing against Oak Ridge at all, but when West is clicking on all cylinders they are tough. If they stay in the game mentally and don't start yapping at each other and the refs, I think West will do quite well. Nothing against Bearden or Farragut, but we all try to be like them and it is nice to see others starting to catch up. (Or hoping to catch up)

I probably am not in the right frame of mind to discuss refs this morning ... we had to beat 12 people last night to squeak out a win. I doubt I would be as philosophical this morning. I lost my cool for the first time with a ref last night. Hate that. And after I have to pay last night's crew $160 I want them to earn their money one way or the other, ha! I do agree that it would be discrimination to deny a player based on arbitrary traits. Well, parents ... I believe we would have more fun and better games if the parents just dropped the kids and went home (just a joke). I think the main reason all the coaches were unanimous (except Farragut's) was that we could all tell he was a distraction to himself AND the team. I didn't know the kid off the field, he could have been great. I played adult soccer with a guy who I later told "If I didn't know how nice you were off the field, I would have to kill you if I was playing against you". We all know the type. I know this is kind of rambling, but if any of you have seen Mark Sherrod play he doesn't strike me as a whiner and to have that kind of skill and to get hacked the way he does ... that makes him a truly outstanding player in my limited soccer knowledge. This kid we denied didn't have Mark's physical attributes, but he had the touch, the vision, and the desire, but he undermined his play with his behavior. I guess that poses the next question ... is that nature / nurture? Was this kid always given his way on the field / off the field? Did he expect better treatment due to his level of play? Or was he born with an extra whine chromosome? Thanks for the reply ... I hadn't thought of it the way you posed the question. Definitely makes me think more about it. I was in my early 20's at the time and you know we all know everything at that age ... until you turn 30 and realize you don't know anything.

"You people" is kind of cruel. There are a few good ones (refs). There are some terrible ones. But all the teams have their fair share of whiners that want to blame the ref, but it boils down to which team can play as a unit and a coach that keeps them focussed on the game and not the calls. I coach at a school with half (being generous to my team) the talent that Bearden, Farragut, Oak Ridge, West, CAK, and Catholic have. My players don't blame the ref. The one time that they did we ran after the game until that thought no longer existed in their mind. I don't know why I am still surprised to watch high caliber players act like cry babies when a call doesn't go their way. I'm still equally shocked that coaches leave those players in the game. They distract from the play and generally make themselves (and your team) look like a bunch of whiners. Many years ago the best player in our district played for Farragut. We (as coaches) said in no uncertain terms that we would not allow him to be our district player of the year specifically due to his whining about calls. It was embarassing. If he had spent more time playing soccer versus begging for calls no telling what he could have done. In my view, if you have to blame the refs for a loss, you deserved to lose. I know sometimes you have to over come 12 players ... but that is life. Pull the level of play up and compete. That's what my teams do. We may still lose, but we don't lose because of the refs, we just have to work harder to get better.

Maybe because most of the posts that you submit are "troll" like. Trying to stir the pot in a negative way isn't beneficial to what these boards are for. Promoting good soccer across Tennessee is a big task, and having to read your inaccurate and often insensitive posts detracts from our enjoyment of finding out more about this sport that we all love. Just a guess.

I'd have to agree. Farragut is always solid. I have watched as many Bearden / Farragut matches as possible over the years. For the longest time Bearden seemed scared or maybe not as confident as Farragut. Then when Bearden began winning state championships the team seemed to be on level ground with Farragut. The last time I watched them the pendulum seems to have swung back to Farragut. CAK and Catholic I haven't seen play. I think West should be able to handle Oak Ridge with ease. If they were playing at Oak Ridge, maybe a different outcome, but West at home and Oak Ridge without their wide field they won't be able to deny West ... I would guess West 3-1.

And the major problem is that the players then act like the coaches. I was reffing a tournament and I was chatting with the players (U10 Girl's) before the game and I asked where they were from and how the tournament was going and I get an earful from 3 or 4 10 year old girl's about how the refs are making them lose all of their games. I should have seen what was going to happen next, but the coach got on me and road me for the entire game. Unfortunately for him injury time stopped immediately after the opposing team scored the go ahead goal.

Not a bad idea. When I have reffed I have had the same idea to point out the coach's mistakes. I think the point that most fans/coaches/players seem to miss is that refs almost never really effect the outcome of the game. I know some people will argue that point, but the last poorly officiated game we had it wasn't just against us, it was like every call was backwards. We fouled them, we got the ball and vice versa. The guy just doesn't know the game that well. Did him missing calls hurt us? Sure. Did it hurt the other team? Sure. Did it change the score? Not really. The thing I tell my players and parents is that the officials are going to stink (which isn't completely accurate, but that isn't my point) and we either have to let it go and just play the game or we can let it change the way we play and the way we behave and focus and that only hurts us. Let me know if any of you have ever gotten a ref to change a call by yelling and screaming at them. I've never seen it and I've played or coached in Knoxville for 25+ years. And sadly some of the same refs from when I played are still reffing and they have not gotten a whole lot better.

I would give West a chance if Thompson is playing (Farragut may still be too much for them) ... is he still serving time for the red card in S.C.? If Thompson is out then I would give the nod to Farragut. West is a quality side, though. Big, fast, and strong.

It does look like Seymour has had the tougher schedule, but if S. Fox at Sevier County can get one then Sherrod can get 2 or 3. So you can take a guess that Seymour needs 3 to win or tie and with no goals against Sevier County and only 2 against Clinton they may not be able to have the offensive power to take down Carter in my opinion. The only time the goals have come for Seymour have been against some of the weaker teams.

I haven't had a chance to see West play this year and the information has been limited to scores in the paper. Are they as strong as last year? Are McCoy and Thompson their main threats? Just curious to see how they are going to match up with the other strong teams in AAA.

There aren't many teams that will be able to beat Carter without big, strong, fast defenders. I predicted Hardin Valley would beat Carter, but Sherrod got 2-3 goals. HVA was probably too small in the back to defend against him. He is so big fast and strong that unless you can put a body on him he will control the front and he is such a good all around player that he will drop it off to the other players. He is a special player not just for his abilities, but for what he does to make the other players around him better. Carter goes as Sherrod goes. If Seymour can't beat Sevier County (nothing against Sevier County ... they are good and Fox is a special player too), Carter should be able to handle them. However Alcoa should get the nod in that contest ... but I've already made my one mistake of picking against Mark and that didn't work out too well. Gibbs and Berean won't fair well against Carter in my opinion.