Do the level of the teams in a district set the district up for failure?

[reaction]

I guess it could hurt, but I don't think it makes much of a difference. If you schedule a strong out of district schedule, you can get enough work in through the season to be battle tested, and ready come tournament time. 

[BarcaFan]

If you really want to see a district begin to succeed you have to get kids involved in a good club soccer program at a young age.  If the district that serves your high school does not have club soccer then only the kids who want to excel at the sport will travel to an area where there are good clubs to play with and that is just not enough players in a district to get the job done at a higher level.  Bring club soccer to your community if you don't have a good club soccer program near by.  It is a big endeavor but call TN State Soccer Assn. and find out what it takes to get a program going.  After that it is finding coaches that really understand the game.  I know a number of coaches throughout the state that are doing the best they can to allow their school to sponsor the sport for their student body but have never actually played the game of soccer themselves.  If a team has a coach who is just stepping up to do the job it really is no different than asking a basketball coach to come coach your football team.  They can learn a lot but it will take a lot of time to understand where players can play and succeed in a high school soccer environment.