Girls and Boys playing in the Spring

[BigG]

I don't see how this affects a "huge percentage of kids from playing travel sports".  To me, this looks like it only affects the elite few...I may be wrong, and if I am that is fine, Can you explain that part, please?

Big Poppa...

 

Right now, it only affects a few.  But soon, it will affect a lot more.

[cakes]

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?

[BigG]

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?

It's soon going to involve more than ECNL or SRPL.

[Playerscoach]

It's soon going to involve more than ECNL or SRPL.

That's the point. The deterrent is the rule as it stands now.

[cakes]

That's the point. The deterrent is the rule as it stands now.

 

 

The deterrent for a National girls league is a TN state rule or season of play?

 

I'm missing or not understanding something here...

[EnsworthSoccer]

The deterrent for a National girls league is a TN state rule or season of play?

 

I'm missing or not understanding something here...

My guess (and I am not a club coach) is that with the rule in place, given the depth of the player pool in TN (based only on relative population to other R3 states and nothing else), it is a major challenge for clubs from TN to get a sense of certainty about which players will be available for such a competitive league, if we are talking about ECNL. It may also have some sort of impact on why no ECNL spot has been offered to a TN team. Again, I don't know, but since this is a forum for opinion, I am throwing it out there. If I worked with ECNL and was looking at TN, I would think that with the independent game participation rule gone, it would theoretically be easier for girls to commit to playing for their club team during the fall. Once they are past that hurdle, if they play ECNL and perceive that there is a benefit to doing so (there is, certainly), then it might be that they will decide to dedicate the entirety of their efforts towards playing for the club, making both the club and ECNL stronger.

 

I think this will all become easier to handle when we reach the point that the girls are expected to either a) choose club or school but not both, or find clubs that are willing to work with high schools during the high school season. While the latter is a two-way street, I still believe it will be easier for the clubs to issue an expectation on a club-by-club basis than the TSSAA to do so.

 

(And that emoticon that I can't get rid of happens when I put the letter "b" in front of the right parenthesis.)

Edited September 24, 2015 by EnsworthSoccer

[Big Poppa 17]

Big Poppa...

 

Right now, it only affects a few.  But soon, it will affect a lot more.

OK. I have another question that shows my ignorance.  I keep hearing from different people that soccer as well as all high school athletics will soon be changing...do you know anything about that or is it some kind of wishful thinking?

[siegelsoccer]

Not on the exact topic of thread but related:

 

http://www.lohud.com/story/sports/high-school/2015/09/11/guest-column-changing-dynamics-high-school-sports/72017218/

[ChattanoogaCannon]

EnsworthSoccer has hit the nail on the head, in my opinion. Our archaic high school rule is a deterrent to developing players for play beyond high school. ECNL has indeed chosen to ignore TN because of the rule, at least according to college coaches I know. I attended the girls U16 and U17 regional ODP camp this summer in Alabama and TN had very few girls make the final teams, and I believe only one TN girl made the U16 regional pool. This rule obviously isn't the only cause of the developmental problem in TN, but doing away with it will definitely only help give players more opportunities at the next level.

[Playerscoach]

EnsworthSoccer has hit the nail on the head, in my opinion. Our archaic high school rule is a deterrent to developing players for play beyond high school. ECNL has indeed chosen to ignore TN because of the rule, at least according to college coaches I know. I attended the girls U16 and U17 regional ODP camp this summer in Alabama and TN had very few girls make the final teams, and I believe only one TN girl made the U16 regional pool. This rule obviously isn't the only cause of the developmental problem in TN, but doing away with it will definitely only help give players more opportunities at the next level.

Kids don't make the region pool from TN because it says TN on the front. It makes no sense whatsoever that TN teams perform well against GA, TX, AL etc yet we have virtually no players on any age group?? Even Lee Smith knows what's going on when you compete with those teams and GA gets 20 kids in the pool. I've had that same conversation with Gavin, Simon and heard Heather at Belmont expressed the same sentiment this summer. If you worked the camp you saw Heathers group, which BTW is not a super strong group IMO since my daughter led them in scoring two years ago playing up an age group.

 

Put GA on the front and the numbers will jump up there.

[KingstonSoccer]

Regardless of how one feels about the current state of soccer in TN with the rules as they are now, the only question I have is about facilities and referees. As for facilities, if you put both in the fall, it would be a disaster. Football plus 2 soccer teams playing on 1 field. Never would happen. Plus many "less urban" schools have little league football and middle school football that use their high school field. Throw in that many places have 1 coach for both programs and you see how the logistics just simply will not work.

 

As for referees, we have a hard time getting enough referees now, if both boys and girls are in the same season, I feel it would be next to impossible to get games scheduled. Throw in a few weather issues and well.... you get the point. If they put Girls and Boys in the same season, would they extend the season to have more available game dates. Then you are either starting the season much earlier (freezing cold in the spring) or ending it after many schools have ended.

 

The only resolution in my opinion is to change the participation rule or just have players decide whether they want to play high school or play in these other leagues, etc.

[ChattanoogaCannon]

Kids don't make the region pool from TN because it says TN on the front. It makes no sense whatsoever that TN teams perform well against GA, TX, AL etc yet we have virtually no players on any age group?? Even Lee Smith knows what's going on when you compete with those teams and GA gets 20 kids in the pool. I've had that same conversation with Gavin, Simon and heard Heather at Belmont expressed the same sentiment this summer. If you worked the camp you saw Heathers group, which BTW is not a super strong group IMO since my daughter led them in scoring two years ago playing up an age group.

Put GA on the front and the numbers will jump up there.

No doubt politics play an unfortunate role in the lack of TN players in the regional and national pools. Not to be a broken record, but the independent game rule plays a role here too. The perception is that TN doesn't care to develop players so why bother looking at them with all the good players in Region 3 from TX, FL, and NC?