2008 Region III Results - Girls

[hamlet7478]

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

[DonCChatt]

I agree. Critical Mass ensures that you should have a consistent year after year pool of good/great talent. That critical mass or size we in Tennessee can't really hope to match. Oklahoma doesn't/can't match it either though. The second part of it that anybody could match is a true soccer club/program. Maybe my experience isn't common, but while we have had a strong single team, if there is a coordinated approach that supports all of the individual teams as a true "club" should, I don't see it. Rather, I see individual teams that are affiliated with a club in name only, and are for all practical purposes, independent teams.

[mustcoach]

All good points and correct. Texas has the population to pick from thousands of players and in that area there is also professional teams. Those professional players move in, they typically stay and automatically bring in better coaching. But we forget one difference that those parents have that, at least in TN, we don't...The parents are not as involved, they let the coaches coach and don't run off to some other team/club every time little Johnny or Susie gets benched or butt chewed. Those parents have a very good understanding of the ATHLETIC PROCESS. I have some good friends in Texas that are coaches and their coaching environment is soooo different from ours. Even in SoCal, where our new DOC is from, the parent involvement is so different.

Players feel it an honor to wear the uniform of the Slammers FC in So Cal, Dallas Texans, the D'Feeters and Solar. Here in TN instead we play for whomever gives our players the playing time instead of making them earn it and learn some life lesson for it. I just had a parent tell me that if his daughter didn't make our top team she would quit and go somewhere else. I coach both teams in that age group so it has nothing to do with who is coaching. It is all about "I think my kid is a superstar and I will dictate where she will play". Yea and guess where the kid got put and dear ole dad won't let his kid earn or work to play on the top team. Go to the D'Feeters coach and tell him that. Let me know how that works out for you. I have been told that clubs and coaches in TX, especially in NTX, will blackball a player if the parent is a problem. Parents/players know it and so they shutup if they want to stay in that club and on that team. The parents I have NO problems from are the ones that played any sport at a high level. They get it, they want their kids to earn it and take pride in their kids accomplishment. They don't live their life through the kid, they live it with the kid sharing the experiences. Teams can't stay together long enough to build the type of success those Elite teams have. We don't have a large enough pool of players in one area of TN to keep moving players around and expect to have any real success on the Regional and National Level. You must combine with talent outside your area to have a chance. Then the parents on that team start getting jealous because their kid is not the best on the team. Why not take pride in what we are trying to build, what our vision is to expose these players to higher level competition and be competitive at the Elite level. Put aside "ME" or "I" and focus on the "WE" or "US" and "TEAM". It just goes on and on.

It is also hard to compete at that level when people actually think the highest level of competition in TN is high school soccer. Take any HS team, girls or boys, to Regionals and see how many games you keep under double digits. /ohmy.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":o" border="0" alt="ohmy.gif" />

In closing I remember something Anson Dorrance has said "One of the most unfortunate things I see when identifying youth players is the girl who is told over the years how great she is. By the time she's a high school freshman, she starts to believe it. By her senior year, she's fizzled out. Then there's her counterpart: a girl waiting in the wings, who quietly and with determination decides she's going to make something of herself. Invariably, this humble, hardworking girl is the one who becomes the real player."

 

------ANSON DORRANCE, Head Coach, University of North Carolina

[hamlet7478]

Mustcoach:

Interesting thoughts.

[DonCChatt]

MustCoach,

 

I like some of what you say, but I guess I take some exception to the conclusion is that the only thing stopping Tennessee teams from competing at the highest levels is parents who pull/move their kids around. I'm sure that happens, and probably more in some areas than other, but I don't see that as being the central problem with Tennessee. My daughter has played on the same team for 7 years, and probably 80% of the rest of the team has done so as well. Other than choosing to drive 2+ hours each way to go to another club team, our options are limited.

 

I don't really have the answer, but it just doesn't seem right that this is all what is stopping us. I guess we need to remember that other states with good programs (Florida, Georgia, and even North Carolina) seemed to be generally left on the outside looking in as far as Region champions go too.

 

I guess I can agree that if you were going to build a "dream team" of players, we'd have a single "super" team of players that today play on 3 or 4 different teams, plus one or two from other teams. Because of families unwillingness or inability to come together (or drive too far), it often doesn't happen.

 

I think when a team has ongoing success, you will see some players migrate to that team (U17 Strikers have this I think; so does the U16 Impact team) from outside their immediate area. Maybe we should have more of that, but some people are content to be the big fish in their own small pond, rather than joining the really strong team.

[Bean0007]

Some thought-provoking comments for sure. As previously stated by hamlet, the issue is building a program.....a much harder concept than building a team. Hopefully a club with a number of excellent coaches at all age groups would attract the best players, and from there the best chances to develop the best teams year after year. I think one has to move away from competition during the early years of training; concentrating instead on the fundamentals. Kids change a bunch, but should retain and hone their skills with age, and if there is one large club with fluid movement within the age brackets without the worry of tournaments, travel, extra expenses, etc., then I think the cream would really rise to the top. It would also allow more participation by those without the $$ to be introduced to the sport possibly finding the best athletes regardless of socio-economic concerns. As players get older, the 'pool' is also shrinking, which is just another reason for consolidation. I don't necessarily think other states have that better an athlete, they simply have more of them on each team. That is why, for example, Texas has their success. Just about every game they play, they have to do so for a full 80 minutes to win. That is not always true here in TN. and therefore an inconsistency in the intensity is the result.

[hamlet7478]

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.

[hamlet7478]

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.

[DonCChatt]

Hamlet,

 

I think you hit the nail on the head about play at the highest level, not once or twice a year, but year-round, improves your game, and makes you the best you can be. FYI, the PL league Tennessee now plays in is the Central PL, with TN, AL, LA, MS, and Ark. Arguably the weakest section of the the three in Region III.

[catorce]

If Tennessee teams are going to be competitive at Regionals, 2 things have got to happen: First they need to be trained at an early age to not even worry about winning or losing. They need confidence on the ball at an early age and that come from quality coaches that are more concerned with player development than results. Unfortunately we still have coaches that "coach to win" at the early age by focusing on more tactial training then technical. I'm not saying that winning is wrong at the early age, but the teams that are trying to "play soccer" by trying to work the ball around, trying moves, making good 1st touches and actually are trying to do something with the ball instead of just kicking it as hard as they can to the most athletic player on the team relying on that player to score a majority of their goals. These teams are inevitably going to lose more games then they'll win. But a few years later everything will flip-flop.

 

Seccondly, I think someone made the arugment that population, competition, parents letting the coaches coach, etc are the reasons the Texas teams are successful at Regionals. All this is true, but in the end its the population size and competition that make them great. They have their North Texas leagues that all the great teams play in coupled with the Premier League that they play in, the new National leauge, the Red Bull League, great tourneys in their own backyard. They play great teams game in, game out. As with anything, the key to success is consistency. The only reason the Oklahoma teams are successful is called geography. By being right above North Texas and so close to Dallas, they have access to playing great teams and great tourneys. If TN was located above Texas, we'd be a whole lot more competitive, guaranteed!

[cleansheet1]

I agree on several of the "reasons" why Tennessee or other areas do not perform at the level of the Texas teams.

It has to start with training / coaching.

Are the kids buying into the system and here is where the seperation begins:

 

What ar ethe kids doing after the training session? Do they continue to work on their game? Do they work on their conditioning?

 

This is where all the good players improve and the great players dominate.

 

So instead of having a team with one or two weapons they have 9,10 ,11, or 14 that are committed to getting better and that is the differnce between the good teams and the the teams that are great just in their zip code.

These teams that are so far out in front you don't even see them!

 

Is your kid this committed is your team and club this committed? Do they have a plan on where they want to compete- regardless of where it may take you or what holiday you may miss?

 

Once people understand what commitment "means" we will always be asking the question- "What just happened?"

[mustcoach]

Everyone under my post has touched on every area I did.

I touched on population. Texas has such a pool of players compared to what Nashville, Knoxville or even Memphis has TN in one area can't keep up. Dallas alone has more players than all three major cities in TN combined. CASL in NC has over 20,000 players alone.

But here is where I touched on coaching. Most everyone agreed that coaching plays a huge part in this. Look at this comparison as to why CASL, Atlanta can't compete even with a huge population. They, Atlanta and Raleigh, don't have a professional team as in MLS like Dallas, Houston etc...So the professional players that move there in most cases stay, live there and coach.. They bring with them a better understanding of the game and alot of foreign influence. Just numbers alone will mean they have more, not always better, athletes. Combine with better coaches and it makes for a strong team to be sure.

Now add to that these teams stay together for many years. Yes, they have players cut, dropoff, whatever. But in all these teams have played together for a while without players changing teams every year or two because someones child "Superstar" didn't get the playing time, or butt chewed etc....The parents know if they cause problems and cause drama where there is no drama then the word will be put out and a second or third level team is the only option for that superstar.

Here in TN the BIGGEST single reason players change teams is parents moving their kid for a reason other than going to a better team. That hits on people wanting their player to be "the big fish in a small pond". There are examples of this all across the state. The Strikers, KFC Force, Real Madrid and Impact '92 were and have been fortuniate to keep most of what they have built for many years. But all of them have one thing in common...they built with the best players inside and outside of their area. Ask yourself this...How often do we really see teams stay together? They usually end up the way of the KFC Mustangs '92, TUSC United '92, Murfeeesboro Strikers '94, Brentwood Beat '92 and the list goes on. You do see teams with ongoing success have more players migrate to them. But what happens there is jealousy. Parents from in town don't like someone coming from out of town and taking their kids spot. Again we hit on "parental issues". Now some of it is the player who gets upset and then recruits their parent into the fray because of this grave injustice. Now instead of keeping the kid on the team, making them work and compete to win back position or more field time, they move them to the "small pond" to fix the injustice. What life lesson is learned here? Hey cleansheet1, here is where commitment starts and a missed opportunity to be learned!!!

Now Bean007 talked about building programs. All true! But in building the program the expectations need to be outlined clearly as what the club/team are trying to accomplish. Again the player and the parents need to buy into this and accept it good or bad, starting or not starting, etc...Yes, in the early stages of player development, U12 and younger, it is NOT about winning. Some coaches, I use that term loosely, can't seperate winning and developing. TSSA has stopped all state championships from U12 and younger starting this year. I agree, but also don't agree. That is for another thread. But again...more experienced coaches, some with foreign influence get it. That is where larger areas like Texas excel. KFC has an amazing Academy program. I dare say it is the best in the state. I don't see players at any age from U12 down that can compete skill wise. Again don't compare wins/losses. I am talking about the TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT of the player. You also see the PARENTS/PLAYERS being educated on what the true goal of all this is. It isn't perfect, but better than most I have seen in this state. Even as these kids get older, they will have to combine with the best from around the state to compete Regionally and Nationally. The pool is to small in Knoxville and all others in the state.

Competition is another. Wanna play year round you say!!! How many times do you read in this message board and in the HS soccer boards about "burnout"? Or HS is so important to the social development of kids? Like I said in my thread earlier..."It is also hard to compete at that level when people actually think the highest level of competition in TN is high school soccer. Take any HS team, girls or boys, to Regionals and see how many games you keep under double digits." Some BIG clubs west of the Mississippi has outlined that if you want to play on the clubs TOP team...you don't play HS. I talked to my old team about this three years ago. You would have thought they would hang me. I told them I have NO problem with playing HS soccer. I understand completely WHY they want to do it. But I tried to educate them as to the pros and cons. In TN you can't play most of the TOP teams in Region 3 because while we play HS in the fall, all others are playing CLUB!!! I threw out there in one thread last year that TN misses some of the best showcases in the fall because of this. Here we go again...this issue has to do with parents pride in walking the sidelines during a HS match with chest so far out it bursts buttons. They are wanting the attention from their kids accomplishment. It makes me sick!! I see so many dads budding up with HS coaches just so they can get their child playing time. The parent really thinks they are in the KNOW of soccer because they hang with the HS coach. Now come back to CLUB and that same child is NOT the star she was in HS and LOOK OUT!!! Let the games begin and now that player is on another team. In the past month I have had no less than four parents come to me and say "my child is a starter on the high school varsity, they were this and that...yada, yada yada". I tell them "so do I need to be calling the National Team Coach?" But again it is the parents who dictate this attitude.

In closing I just got back from working the UNC Lady Tarheels team camp. Anson Dorrance spent two WHOLE coaches lectures on this. I am going to post a new topic on an email I am sending out to my parents. Look it over and see if it doesn't make sense.

My GOSH did I write all of this? I have to much time on my hands. /biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin.gif" />