7th Region Bracket

[bothways]

Well not really. Rec is rec, and always will be. The coaching/training has never been very good for rec soccer. That level will always be the same. You can have some better competition if some of those kids chose rec instead of club, but my argument would be those kids would develop at a much higher rate playing club (even at a low level) than they would on a rec team. Cost is definitely a problem. Not arguing that at all. Part of that is how much tournaments are costing these days though. But the majority of kids do develop at a higher rate on a club team than on a rec team. I don't think that is very debatable.

Correct, I have no debate for that. It would just be nice if people had realistic goals and didn't keep the money train going for these clubs when they don't need to.

[groinpull]

That is the point though. The cause of the lower rec caliber is because those that would have played rec in the past now just shell out money for glorified competitive rec. High cost low return.

 

I don't disagree with this. Lower level club is essentially rec soccer of the past. This phenomenon is directly related to the club structure and their need for money. Clubs used to have one or two top teams and that was it. As their overhead grew, so did their number of teams with kids shelling out $1000+ per year to play. I remember when Buckeye Premier was considered an elite league, something for CUSL teams to aspire to.........now it's just another rec plus league.

 

This structure has decimated the old rec leagues, which no longer exist for older players. Parents oftentimes coached those teams and it may have cost $50 or so to play a season. Those days are gone.

[Goal15]

This is true, but I think we have more depth now with more kids playing club. It has made things thinner at the top though.

[warbeagle]

Part of that is how much tournaments are costing these days though.

 

I HATE TCLUB TOURNAMENTS.

1. Travel cost can get pretty high(hotels, meals,gas,etc). But I look at as good one on one time with a child, but it is expensive

2. Format is awful. 4 games can be tough one players. Often the last match is grueling.

3. Competition is questionable. I have gone to tournaments to find we overmatch ever team and the games are useless to both teams. 9-0 10-1 games do nothing for other team. OR getting pushed up an age group to help the host fill out their bracket and on the other side of a physical mismatch. Injuries happen when there are 50 pound weight differences at every position.

 

Waste of team resources and time. I would rather schedule 2 games against teams I know that are a good match.

[gameplayedright]

Not sure what tournaments your kid is playing in warbeagle, but a lot of what you are experiencing (9-0, 10-1 results) I have not seen from around the time my kids were U10 or so.

Most HS age tournaments, at least the decent player level to elite player level have changed quite a bit in the last 7-8 years. With the exception of State Cup tournaments most are showcase type events where the players play one game per day over 3 days. Some such as the Disney event at the end of December will play a consultation and championship round, giving 4 teams a 4th game played on the 4th day. And these better tournaments, Disney, CASL, Crossroads, etc do a pretty good job of bracketing teams, 9-0 and 10-1 type games are unheard of in these type tournaments, at least in the upper divisions. Most games are very very competitive and a lot of the games are played as a MRL game, so obviously bracketing is very competitive.

 

I'm not sure I have ever seen a 50lb weight difference , (at any position, let alone "every position") in any game any of my kids have played, likely over 1000 games. That is a lot of weight difference for kids between the age of 7 to 18 playing soccer.

[Goal15]

Agree with the above, but these "showcase" fees are getting ridiculous. Looking at $1000 and up for a lot of the better showcases these days when most kids are not getting their money's worth out of it. Competition usually is pretty good, but I don't understand why showcases have to be so high. Once you are playing high school aged club (especially now with the age group changes) most of your "tournaments" will probably be showcases along with your state tournament.

[warbeagle]

Not sure what tournaments your kid is playing in warbeagle, but a lot of what you are experiencing (9-0, 10-1 results) I have not seen from around the time my kids were U10 or so.

I am not talking about showcases, I am talking about standard club tournaments. huge differences in team ability.

[warbeagle]

I'm not sure I have ever seen a 50lb weight difference , (at any position, let alone "every position") in any game any of my kids have played, likely over 1000 games. That is a lot of weight difference for kids between the age of 7 to 18 playing soccer.

 

I am not sure what 1,000 games you have watched and never seen a 50 pound difference. Look at any high school roster that list weight. here is one

Saint Patrick High School | Boys Soccer | Team Roster

these kids are all the same age, it is a freshman roster. You have weights of 83,90,101,104, 115 and on the other extreme 150, 165,165,180, 198

 

that team has 5 sets of kids that AVERAGE 73 POUND DIFFERENCE. One boy out weighs another by 115 pounds.

I think you may want to think back over that 1,000 games and maybe, just maybe you will find one kid that outweighed another by 50 pounds.

 

If you are watching HS Varsity soccer, there are 50 pound differences every night.