Ur correct! Both KHA and Javanon beat most teams by 4-5 goals last yr in ky state cup.. KHA coach said he won't play ky state again cuz OH cup is a lot more competitive

Yes partly, but I have heard a coach in NKY state that KPL is where it is. It was also mentioned that the Kings team is listed as OS which I assume means Ohio South? Is soccer better in Southwest Ohio than in Kentucky?

 

Kinda what I figured... I have also heard coaches trying to convince others that KPL is "IT".... It also seems like they are also trying to convince themselves as well.

 

By and large, the soccer is better in Ohio South, it does depend on age groups and gender as well. NKY does have some quality teams but I do not think there is the depth of quality in KY that exists in OS.

Yellow Card makes some good points.

It comes down to numbers, population size that is. Chicago area has much more depth the Cincinnati, NY city area has more depth then Chicago.

 

As for the KPL, short of kysa making it mandatory to be eligible for ky state cup, if survives past a couple years it will be a mid level, maybe second division buckeye caliber at best.

Yellow Card makes some good points.

It comes down to numbers, population size that is. Chicago area has much more depth the Cincinnati, NY city area has more depth then Chicago.

 

As for the KPL, short of kysa making it mandatory to be eligible for ky state cup, if survives past a couple years it will be a mid level, maybe second division buckeye caliber at best.

 

Thanks, I believe that is already my second one this month!!!

Thanks, I believe that is already my second one this month!!!

 

To be clear for those not following the complete thread which is WAY off topic of HS soccer, here are some basic facts.

 

KPL= Kentucky Premier League (statewide competitive league bound to only Ky registered teams)

MRL = Midwest Regional League (league based on top 1-2 teams from Ohio out to Kansas and Minn down to Ky roughly)

OS = Ohio South

NL= National League (highest level OPEN league) in the country

 

All states have their own sanctioned soccer program with some larger population states being divided up into parts thus Ohio has both Ohio South (basically Columbus southward) and Ohio North.

 

When a team registers for a state association which is required for just about any competitive league it's based on the residence of their players which is why some NKY teams for the same club vary between OS and KY.

 

For Ky association, who runs the State CUP, they require any team who wishes to play in it to participate in the KPL.

 

This is where it gets even more confusing. The state also has control over who is allowed to participate in the MRL. Kentucky will only approve teams to participate in MRL if they participate in the KPL. I don't believe they require them to compete in KPL if they are in NL but unsure.

 

To add to the confusion there is one last major league made of teams that are part of a club that is a "Development Academy Club" which are the top clubs year after year in the country with the closest being either the Columbus Crew or Indiana Fire.

 

Some club teams participate in both NL and Development Academy League like Vardar in Michigan.

 

The goal of all truly competitive soccer clubs is to obtain a Development Academy demotion.

The closest team that use to have it was Ohio Elite but that was years ago. It's also what the River City/Derby city Rovers (formed a coupe of years ago in Louisville with top players mainly in Louisville are but have players from all over Ky and parts of Indiana and I believe only have boys team at this time) is looking targeting to to get. BTW, they don't compete in the KY state cup and those teams are not based on age in soccer season (Aug-Aug) but calendar year which is how the national teams are rostered which is how FIFA (international gov body)

 

There are of course a ton of other leagues such as TPL, CUSL, etc. but the above mentioned are the top in terms of level of competition with KPL being the lowest.

 

As for comparing competition between KPL and OS it's a numbers game. In OS, they pull from such a much larger population and the shear number of teams and clubs (as stated by someone above) will of course produce more talented teams than whats in KY.

 

Unlike most competitive club teams from what I've seen, the HS teams actually allow kids (yes, they are in fact kids playing) to enjoy a few month playing and competing with friends and representing their schools before they go back to spend the other 8 months with their club teammates who they rarely if ever see outside of practice/games and very long road trips.

 

A little light reading but i guess the real reason is to shed some light on levels of competition varies in club just as they are in HS.

Great summary futbalfan!!!

 

A little more to add to the confusion...

 

Rover's started a girls program this season.

 

Both Rover's and Ohio Elite play in the NPL. I would say this league is fairly equal to the NL and the Premier Division of MRL.

 

You were correct about teams in the NL, they are not required to play in the KPL to be eligible for State Cup.

Are other state associations doing similar things as kysa is doing with this new KPL? Forcing your own state registered teams to play in a league that may not be able to offer competitive games on a consistent basis makes no sense with regard to player development. It does little to no good to either team's players (the strong dominant teams and the lower level teams) to have very uncompetitive games. The difference between your top 2, maybe 3 KY teams and the next tier is in most age groups, pretty significant, then you drop down a whole level again to get 8-10 teams to make a division. Will this force more KY registered teams to recruit more OH residents so they can register as an osysa team, time will tell.