I agree with VoR, post #15.

 

I never said the club players should get different, or special consideration.

 

But the HS game has evolved for the better, more technical, more tactical so the top level club player, with some limited exceptions, will be way better then the kid only playing soccer during the HS season.

Agree with everything you say.

 

Athletes should always play for the love of the game. Varying levels of "love" will exist and some only play for the social aspect in their early high school years. Once the varsity level is reached at a school with the numbers & quality of SH, the attitude of "just high school" and worrying about Sally's feelings should be fairly absent. IMO more times than not, the more talented player trains 9-10 months/yr at a club compared to not playing at all besides the high school season

 

Club players have a huge impact on HS soccer, they will only impact the sport more and more in yrs to come. The game is more technical and the coaching has improved at a lot of schools, all of these aspects are making the HS game better. With few exceptions, schools not having a number of top level club players and good coaching will win far and few regional titles. I see not fault in this. The kids (and parents) that dedicate themselves to the sport by playing year round, spending hours and hours on their own just to keep up with their club teammates should be rewarded. The kids playing top level club are not handed anything for free, they have to work their tails off day after day, year after year just to hold their club roster spot. I suspect it is the same way in BB, volleyball, baseball, tennis and many other sports.

I'm fine with the kids not wanting this out of a sport, but they should not complain when their HS favors the more skilled, better players. Some kids just want to be a part of something, thats great enjoy it for just that. But some of these same kids' parents complain about playing time, coaching, etc.

IMO St Henry's goal should be a regional title every year, anything less is down grading the program. I see no shame in this. Nor do I see shame in schools setting very high academic expectations. If you don't set high expectations, the students/athletes have nothing to aim for. Mediocre won't get you far in life these days.