cakes

Houston is very good...they would have to have a poor game to not win.

The deterrent for a National girls league is a TN state rule or season of play? I'm missing or not understanding something here...

Right now the ECNL has a Southwest Conf that has 10 teams in it...Maybe 18 per team...180 or so per age group from u18 to u14 for the South. Not sure how this is going to help more than 90 or so players in TN from u14 to u18. Haven't quite heard how this move to ECNL would help all these players. Any insight from anyone?

Gordon G. thanks for the intelligent conversation. Good luck to Anna (for real) and good luck to Franklin . You need it.

Cakes...it may be improving...that would be a good thing. You have teams because of the push by the club coaches for participation and the myth that you can't go play at a d1 level if you do not participate that is true to some degree - some schools only look at player resumes that have ODP on them somewhere or state champs or premier league, etc. . So , I don't think that is a myth at a certain level of soccer any more than a good highschool program will most likely like to have club players play for them instead of just players who play once a year....may help.....isn't required...there are too many examples of good college players never making it on the state or regional treams. My facts are straight....and as far as knowing what they're talking about....think I do....think you don't I am/have been a club coach, high school coach, college coach and odp coach -- I know what I'm talking about believe me. I'll bet the mortgage you are someone's Dad (which is okay) who's still mad about their kid getting cut...you just seem a little too defensive of something tha has been criticized for years, and foolish in your thoughts on club coaches and their influence. I'm not faulting the club coaches for their bias and the flaw in the system....I'm faulting a system that could/should be improved. Now I'm done ...I'm tired of repeating the same thing that you simply don't get or are too defensive to grasp....I'm not going to change it...and you obviously like a flawed system! Again, sounds like sour grapes ! sorry - messed up the bold and the color. Oh well. You can probably figuire out what I said.

those were the two I was thinking about. that was all in the Nashville area , right ?

Last year there were events in Chattanooga, Knoxville, and Memphis. 2 in Nashville.

Not true. Great players will be picked no matter where they are from. Good players run the risk of being one of 10 players at the same level. 8 of them may be from middle tn. The player pool in middle tn. is just much bigger than anywhere else in tn. so it ends up being represented more. And truthfully, more players come to tryouts from there. No one ever asks where is that player from with the idea that it will matter as to whether they are picked up or not. There is no "geographical bias". It really is base on playing ability. Hard to believe isn't it?

I do think if "many" equaled majority then we wouldn't have ODP teams. Arkansas doesn't field much at the region camp. Or Miss. Their ODP situation is not good. The ones that have a negative experience will always be louder. I don't know what would constitute a bad experience for someone. Sometimes it's just that this is the least involved that a parent is allowed to be with one of their child's soccer teams. No sense of control. That's tough for some to deal with. We have more players involved with Tn. ODP than at any other time in the past 10 years. Tn. ODP is more successful right now than at at other time.

Absolutely. I don't ref and never will. I totally agree with you. But what I said was that the officials don't think about protecting the offensive player. What I mean is that they will continually allow dangerous play from the same offenders whether it's girls or boys. That means that the offender can get several whacks in before they have to fear a yellow or red. That shouldn't be. Everyone should know and expect a card on a reckless play from behind even if it's in the first minute. The Tn. officials won't call a game this way. Therefore , the offensive player will get hit several times. Maybe in the 2nd half will there be some cards. If it's cardable in the 2nd half , why not the first 5 minutes ? Certainly pushing someone down from behind with two hands should be a card but why would someone slide someone from behind ? Regardless of intent, it can be a very dangerous play. Generally, I see games get out of hand before the cards come out. Fouls (violent) from behind should be carded early in the game. They are not and that's why I say that officials (general statement) don't consider protection of the offensive player until the 2nd half. I am not saying that they want someone to get hurt, or that they have a job that I could do better. I don't know what the answer is exactly.

I guess you haven't talked to many "participants". If no one liked it I would think we wouldn't have teams. I think you don't really understand the process for players to be chosen for ODP. It is next to impossible for a club coach to do what he wants. If he is showing favoritism, the other club coaches can not only call him on it , but complain to the Tn. DOC. For example , the TNFC coaches aren't interested in having the Brentwood coaches get all their players in . Neither are the Fury coaches, Impact , Redoubt , etc. Not to mention the fact that most of the head coaches are college coaches ( or have been ). And the college coaches who are involved don't care. They want the best players available for recruiting purposes and pride when they go to the region camp. The club coaches have to be involved because they encourage the players to come try out. They also know who the better players are in general. No one if Ky. knows that . The college coaches struggle with that info. just on the upper classmen. ODP certainly is improving in Tn. but it doesn't sound like you know much about it.

A tackle from behind can very easily be a red based on intent and/or recklessness. At least it should be consistently viewed as a yellow. The offensive player can not protect themselves from what they can't see. A few years ago FIFA officials were carding any tackle from behind, trying to eliminate some of the dangerous plays that were putting some of the stars (Ronaldo) out of the game. Tn. officials don't even think about protecting the offensive player from dangerous play.

Yeah, I'm starting to pick up on that . I'll still post politely and try to be informative or ask decent questions. I don't think I know what SHS stands for yet . Is it Siegel or Smyrna ?

You can't "buy out " the ODP coaches. The parents aren't allowed much if any contact with the coaches, which the coaches love. The parents, needless to say, do not pay the ODP coaches anything, they pay the state. That was not a very respectful comment. No one is saying she was a bad goalie, most are saying she was good. No one has been disrespectful about her as a player, just realistic. None but you are saying that she was the best ever in middle tn. At this point it's more about people (coaches) who are fairly unbiased just disagreeing with you (a parent, I assume). Again, is she playing in college somewhere ? I hope she is . If she liked playing that much and seemed to do well, then I'm sure there was somewhere for her to play. Is she at Austin Peay ?

I understand what you mean about girls jumping. I think I was commenting more on height. If your goalie is short , she better be able to jump (I don't mean dive). I haven't seen too many short jumping goalies. Although ND seems to have one. A gk has to be able to defend the crossbar in high school soccer imo. The only other thing I would say in your defense of your evaluation of Berigan is that she was state pool for ODP. That says to me that at best several ODP coaches felt there were 2 or 3 girls better in her age group. I do realize that ODP can be political sometimes, but if you excel they can't ignore you.

Who plays for them. I know Laura Novikoff (great player). Who else ?

It was very much a defensive game with a lot of long balls played forward from the back . Not much possession going on for either team. Baylor out shot and out ck'ed ND but ND definitely had several good opportunities to score (mostly in the second half). Baylor very easily could've dominated the stats in shots and cks and lost 1-nil. It was tough for Cooper to get involved as the ball was constantly flying over her head. Best ND team I've seen play at Baylor. I think in 6-7 years ND has scored once and now has this tie vs. Baylor. Fun game to watch.

Girls can't jump. As a consequence many of the college coaches look at a gk's height/weight listing on their player resume first. I'm not saying they wouldn't watch someone or recruit someone who is 5'2 160; I'm just saying it has to be considered. If you can't touch the crossbar it's tough to be a starting gk. Even in high school (unless there is no other choice). There are different components to athleticism. Agility, quickness, power,reaction.

I hope you also consider size - especially with girls.

Are any of the tullahoma girls playing in college ? I don't know if you even have any srs.

Sorry, I don't see anyone bashing any player on this thread. There's a difference between being critical and being negative. I think most of the posters have been thinking critically, not negatively. I don't see any response from the player at MS State but her stats (I know she's just a freshman) don't lend itself to her being the best of middle tn. Right now it's just a question of whether anyone thinks that there has been anyone better than Ann Shelton from Tullahoma. Also, Kelly Dyer was mentioned early in the thread although she is not in middle tn. (memphis I think). Don't be so uptight. Coaches are very pragmatic in their evaluations of players and teams. It's nothing personal.

Grace's defense in the back was not good. Their gk struggled as well, although 3 of the 4 goals were hit well. I was a little surprised Cristin Moss didn't take over at some point. After the game someone asked if she had played. Maybe she's injured ? Sarah Rogers and Samantha Pope made a big difference in stopping/disrupting the Grace offensive play. I think Grace scored all 3 when Rogers was up front. Grace did hit the post/crossbar 5 times.

You are definitely entitled to your opinion, but there is no way Berigan is the "... best of all time in Middle TN ..." You need to see a little more soccer, I think.

What happens if someone is injured from an insurance standpoint in a game w/out officials ??