Top Sophomores

[pseudophobia]

So here we are again.....

 

Who are the top Sophomores playing this season

 

Great topic. It's been a while since I have posted- been watching a lot of College games. I can't wait to see some local teams in the Knoxville area play and especially the Bearden Tournament- which always has a top quality turnout. As far as the Sophomores are concerned, there are 5 players that I will go out of my way to see play this year. There are as follows:

Austin Pugh at Maryville- I have seen him play since he was 7 years old- he was special then and he is still special now. This kid has all the tools and is quietly a force on the field. He makes smart decisions and makes others around him look and play better. It is always a good thing when a player makes it easy for a teammate! I would like to throw in that his older brother is another player with a lot of those same qualities- quietly overlooked sometimes....and shouldn't be!

 

Seth Williams at Bearden- This kid has a the skills, talent, etc, etc,...but he is also a strong player- just the kind of player Coach Turner has to love having. Of all the kids I have seen, I believe this kid has the drive to play at whatever level he wants to - College for sure....possibly at a Pro level. Its not that he is some superman- he simply rises to any level of competition that is needed....and that will take a young player very far!

 

Jack McCoy at West- Another kid I have seen play since he was 7 years old. I used to "love-to-hate" this kid! That's a compliment, because he was a tough player to go against...I just got annoyed that his head didn't stay in the game....but that went away quickly! I have seen this kid mature and his drive to get better has done just that- made him better! I truely believe that he will be better than his older brother Cody....and I think that is a very, very high hurdle to clear!

 

Junior Cifuentes at McMinn County- This kid is blazing fast! The key part of fast is fast with the ball at his feet. He has tons of raw talent, but his temper gets him in a lot of trouble. Sometimes that fire is a good thing, but Junior gets mad and his game drops- it won't take long for others to figure this out and use it against him! If he learns how to include his teammates, he and his team could be dangerous for anybody. Step it up Junior!!!

 

Michael Williams at West- Another kid I have seen play since he was....probably 6 years old.....man, I'm gettin' old! Probably one of the best skilled players in the bunch, his direct kicks (or in-direct) can be deadly! Just ask Bearden- last year with under 1 minute he took a kick from about 40 yards out and placed it perfectly to Cody McCoy- who headed it into the goal. Great play all around, but it all starts with the kick! His only weakness....is himself! If someone could figure out how to get some raw emotion and really play all-out....he would be the best of all these players! Hey Michael, just pretend someone peed in your cornflakes!!

Good luck to all....I can't wait to get to the Bearden-VS West game- 3 of these 5 players will be there!!

[cnpitbull]

Pseudo, one of the most thorough and insightful posts I've read on the board. Thanks and I hope you'll come back and post more often.

[loveusasoccer]

Here in the Memphis area we have quite a few sophmores that will be impact

players this year:

Paul Banks, Matt Roberts- CBHS

Chandler Gagnon, Chip Cockerall, Emmanuel- ECS

Ryan Ascelman- SBA

Zach Ballard- BCHS

Matt Montsinger, Joseph Levy- MUS

 

Some were starters as freshman and will be even more valuable this year.

I see all these players having great seasons.

[catboy]

Junior Cifuentes at McMinn County- This kid is blazing fast!

 

16:30 5k

[manunited]

In the west the best two sophmores are Paul Banks at CBHS and Chandler Gagnon at ECS ---Gagnon is the only sophmore in the state playing with the region 3 odp team --and has played in Argentina for them ---Seniors JJ Greer and Alex Hutchins are the other two players in TN on a region team -they played in Costa Rica last week -JJ and Alex are seniores ---all three are being looked at for the national pool

[manunited]

---

In the west the best two sophmores are Paul Banks at CBHS and Chandler Gagnon at ECS ---Gagnon is the only sophmore in the state playing with the region 3 odp team --and has played in Argentina for them ---Seniors JJ Greer and Alex Hutchins are the other two players in TN on a region team -they played in Costa Rica last week -JJ and Alex are seniores ---all three are being looked at for the national pool

[sawmill]

Payne fisher Columbia Central center mid smallest player on the field but has the biggest heart does not lose many 1v1's. And wins 90% of headers. fun to watch players like him.

[ucsoccer]

pseudo, to date you a little more.... you've been watching me since i was 12. (not as young as six or seven but i would say that i am a little older then the kids mentioned.) now how old do you feel? /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" />

[pseudophobia]

pseudo, to date you a little more.... you've been watching me since i was 12. (not as young as six or seven but i would say that i am a little older then the kids mentioned.) now how old do you feel? /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" />

 

UC......Nice to hear from you!! I had just posted about another of those kids that I got to coach for a while! It was kind of fun to get to post about kids I have seen since they were very young. I hope to get to watch some of them play at the college level......just like I got to watch you play yesterday in Lexington, Ky!! Yes, I was in the stands yelling at the ref.......... Still, it was great to see 2 kids I got to coach on a Middle School team, play against a division 1 college team!! Your team ranked last year 14th I think and the University of Kentucky finished in the top 25 in division 1 last year. It was a shame that Kentucky was fresh and the University of the Cumberlands palyed a full game a little over an hour earlier. Since the scored ended 3-2 (Kentucky scoring in the last minute of the game) I am sure that "UC" would beat them if they were not so tired. Not only did Kentucky get to play fresh..at home.. without having played another game shortly before that one, the ref surely had some "home-cooking" going on!!- you guys were clearly the better team!! I was impressed with Kentucky....they played a pretty good game of soccer..not at all like most division 1 teams, which I am sad to say is not that great. I wish more of the younger players would look at the quality of the team they might go to and get over the idea that being in a division 1 school is the way to go. I would love to see more division 1 teams play some of the better NAIA schools, but since the Azuza-Pacifica and Lindsey- Wilson teams tend to destroy the Division 1 Champs...they are a little scared and wonder what the heck happened when a small school destroys them. Kind of like your team did against Norther Kentucky last week. A division 2 final four team last year getting their butts kicked by little ole' University of the Cumberlands!! Funny. I can't wait to see you guys play this year. I wish some of the top area high school players in the Knoxville area would make the trip to see "UC" play a quality team like Lindsey-Wilson (7 time National Champs in the last 15 years) or some of the other good teams they play. I THINK THEY WOULD BE SCHOCKED!!! Still, having known you for 10 + years and know getting to see you play in college is a joy! This is your Senior year....isn't it?? Make it count!!

[manunited]

.

[ucsoccer]

yes i will be back in the fall for my final year of college ball and i hope to see you a ton next year. We do play a pretty tough schdule next year too so it should be interesting. plus loosing alot of seniors will make it tough. The small group that is coming back is starting to really come together and was the squad that dominated that NKU team that was in the final four and a DIII team Ohio northern that finished 11th. The funny thing is after the NKU game i walked passed their team "having a team discussion" and they were so upset that they were handled by a NAIA team. Even stating that we didn't deserve to play on the same feild as them. They are able to play with us one year (last year) and then all of sudden they are to good for us. We have always handled them in the spring without seniors with the exception of last year, even with them being a top 5 team the last 3 or 4 years in DII. I do have to say that i was suprised with UK though. they didn't play as direct as i thought they would. I understand why they want to get in wide and cross it in. They are sooooooooooooooooooooooo darn good at it. i have never seen a team get the ball wide and wipe crosses in like that and be so deadly in the air. it was crazy. We are better at getting it wide and playing on the flanks but for different reasons. i do have to give it to UK, i think they outplayed us and were the better team. they were clearly more athletic then us (with the exception of Loki who was the most athletic player on the feild and mark miller's speed). As for the ref....... you bet there was some home cooking. told our players he wasn't giving cards but then turn around and gave cards. told us he didn't give a card to the kid who mark miller beat to put him in the 18 one v one with keeper because there was two guys there. He must have been blind because mark was one v one on the top of the box and the closest player was way over 30 yards away and they couldn't even hang with mark's speed if he gave them a head start much less giving him 30 yards. i belive that we got outplayed, but because of our skills we made this a very good game. maybe even had better looks at the goal. i do have to say i am suprised as to the movement towards rough play becoming fair play in the US. Refs are allowing for this to happen and it will only turn our sport into hockey. It's not fun to watch some one who has so much skill be allowed to be beat by dirty play. our players would be playing the play and uk would only play our team. i understand that there is a certain amount of hand use in soccer but when players can shove and obsruct others then the beauty of the game start to loss meaning. just because a player is bigger stonger and faster doesn't allows mean that he can play the game legal. once again not fun to watch when refs allow for this style to prevail. if the more atletic team is better then they are better, but the rules should still be inforced and i think refs have lost sight of what contact is legal and what is illegal.

[pseudophobia]

yes i will be back in the fall for my final year of college ball and i hope to see you a ton next year. We do play a pretty tough schdule next year too so it should be interesting. plus loosing alot of seniors will make it tough. The small group that is coming back is starting to really come together and was the squad that dominated that NKU team that was in the final four and a DIII team Ohio northern that finished 11th. The funny thing is after the NKU game i walked passed their team "having a team discussion" and they were so upset that they were handled by a NAIA team. Even stating that we didn't deserve to play on the same feild as them. They are able to play with us one year (last year) and then all of sudden they are to good for us. We have always handled them in the spring without seniors with the exception of last year, even with them being a top 5 team the last 3 or 4 years in DII. I do have to say that i was suprised with UK though. they didn't play as direct as i thought they would. I understand why they want to get in wide and cross it in. They are sooooooooooooooooooooooo darn good at it. i have never seen a team get the ball wide and wipe crosses in like that and be so deadly in the air. it was crazy. We are better at getting it wide and playing on the flanks but for different reasons. i do have to give it to UK, i think they outplayed us and were the better team. they were clearly more athletic then us (with the exception of Loki who was the most athletic player on the feild and mark miller's speed). As for the ref....... you bet there was some home cooking. told our players he wasn't giving cards but then turn around and gave cards. told us he didn't give a card to the kid who mark miller beat to put him in the 18 one v one with keeper because there was two guys there. He must have been blind because mark was one v one on the top of the box and the closest player was way over 30 yards away and they couldn't even hang with mark's speed if he gave them a head start much less giving him 30 yards. i belive that we got outplayed, but because of our skills we made this a very good game. maybe even had better looks at the goal. i do have to say i am suprised as to the movement towards rough play becoming fair play in the US. Refs are allowing for this to happen and it will only turn our sport into hockey. It's not fun to watch some one who has so much skill be allowed to be beat by dirty play. our players would be playing the play and uk would only play our team. i understand that there is a certain amount of hand use in soccer but when players can shove and obsruct others then the beauty of the game start to loss meaning. just because a player is bigger stonger and faster doesn't allows mean that he can play the game legal. once again not fun to watch when refs allow for this style to prevail. if the more atletic team is better then they are better, but the rules should still be inforced and i think refs have lost sight of what contact is legal and what is illegal.

 

I am amazed with your gracious comments about them! Very classy! I will say that they were amazing in the air! I would remind you that they were fresh, no games played before you. Your team had just finished another game 1 1/2 hrs before this one. It's easy to be the more physical team when your opponent is tired...and you are not. I would love to see that game played when both teams are rested and refs that were more.......balanced! I hate to ever say ref's this and ref's that....but when you pull someone down by placing your hand on their shoulder...from behind, twisting them to the ground- come on!! that has GOT to be called- yet they let it happen over and over. I was amazed at how poised you guys were in that situation! That is the sign of a well prepared, well coached team!! Can't wait to see you guys again!