With surprise winners at last years Boy's finals, who are some of the favorites coming into this fall season? Who are some of the top players in the metro area?
Osseo should be #1 while the Lake teams beat up on each other.
Players score goals, not coaches. I don't think BJ had problems scoring goals when they were winning the state championship or going to the dome while playing the exact same system as they do now. They had players willing to score goals in those seasons.
That's the problem Bunky. The SAME system doesn't work with the talent they have. The problem is the Jags coach is stubborn and will force the SAME system on the team.A good coach is creative and flexible enough to design an offense that gives his current players the best opportunities to score.
Typical ineffective coach blaming the players. It's on you coach.
Funny to watch the haters bash on DS. This is the only coach in the state to win regionals and go to nationals in USYS and also win a State HS championship. People who truly know the game recognize that he's the best coach in the state but fools who oppose his club affiliation bash him. Ignorant fools they are.
DS was on the bench when the Thunder won 4-3 tonight. He was not on the bench when they lost 2-0. Thunder scored 4, 3, and 4 goals of late. Thunder 6-3-4 since DG/DS started coaching at the start of August. They changed to a 3-5-2. You say the game past him? That is crazy the guy does more coaching and coaching education then anyone in the state. USSF A and NSCAA Premier. He is one of the only coaches who keeps his A Lic. current, my license expired and technically I drop back to a B.
Jefferson is a different team at Bloomington Stadium. Every team that plays on that field just kicks the ball. I watched the AV game and the Eagan game vs Jefferson. All three teams just kicking it. I watched Jefferson one other time at Braemar vs Edina and a lot of possession by both teams. The field in Bloomington is terrible. As for the subbing for Jefferson, Jefferson played 11 players in both the Eagan game and the AV game. Not sure where I stand on not subbing but Jefferson was better at the end of the AV and the Eagan game then the opponents.
I know Storlien played a 3-3-4 at Regionals a few years ago because they needed to win 4-0 and won 4-1. They also played a 4-2-4 at Nationals one year. The Lightning teams have scored a lot of goals. The problem with Jefferson this year is CG is playing in the back. He is the best player in the Lake Conf this year with Ryan Schlitter and David Rosenthal a close 2nd.
When Jefferson won the state championship they did not give up a goal in sections and state. Only one sub in the final game that year. To me it looks like DS has a formula and a plan. I coached against him that year in the playoffs. Very well organized and great on set play. I am just happy to be out of HS soccer.
there should not be any question who the best player is in class A. all this talk with AA does not exist with A when the field of candidates is so small and not very deep. totino has the players to win and has done so as the nbr 1 ranked team for more than three weeks. my vote goes to totino and their stud player.
Don't fall for the bait the whiners are setting out there regarding Storlien. All of it is just animosity directed at him because he coaches for Bangu/MTA...nothing more nothing less. Storlien has taken a Jefferson team, which was horrible last year, and this season has now beaten Eden Prairie when they were #1 and now tied Apple Valley when they were #1. This is just another indication of his coaching acumen. He's taken teams to USYS National Finals, won numerous state cup championships, won the MSHSL "AA"" Boys Championship in 2005 and is on several regional and national coaching staffs. Let the whiner's whine...
MN Coaches Top 10 - Week 9/29 CLASS 2A BOYS POLL 1. Apple Valley (14-1) 2. Osseo (11-1) 3. Eden Prairie (10-1) 4. St. Louis Park (11-2) 5. Coon Rapids (11-2) 6. Eagan (14-3) 7. Bloomington Jefferson (9-3) 8. Minneapolis Southwest (10-2) 9. Edina (9-4) 10. Woodbury (8-2)
Others receiving votes: Robbinsdale Armstrong, Hopkins, St. Paul Central, Stillwater Class 2A Ranking Provided By: Coaches Association
A few thoughts o Mpls Southwest still there after losing to Mpls South? o Hopkins should be rewarded to be in Top 10 after wins over tough teams St.Louis Park, Edina, and Armstrong.
I went to the game and DS was just an onlooker. With what you're saying, DS is a good luck charm for the team. He should be on the bench all games next year and they'll do well. I don't think he really coach them. It's all Gramenz coaching. DS there to bounce off ideas.
I've been a Thunder supporter for many years and it's great to see good semipro soccer here.
Anonymous said... DS was on the bench when the Thunder won 4-3 tonight. He was not on the bench when they lost 2-0. Thunder scored 4, 3, and 4 goals of late. Thunder 6-3-4 since DG/DS started coaching at the start of August. They changed to a 3-5-2. You say the game past him? That is crazy the guy does more coaching and coaching education then anyone in the state. USSF A and NSCAA Premier. He is one of the only coaches who keeps his A Lic. current, my license expired and technically I drop back to a B. 28/9/08 11:22 PM
I thought Sunday night was for them to tally up the votes and publish the ranking on Monday. Well anyway it's good to see good teams making Top 10...eventually.
Anonymous said... The rankings are often produced a few days before they are published, thus the apparent lag when you see a team on there that just lost--like Mpls SW. 29/9/08 10:21 AM
No subs? BTW, your thinking is as old as dirt. Pros have 3 subs and some case in friendlies they can agree on number of subs. In HS there's no limit number of subs and same as MYSA.
Anonymous said... The game is meant to be played by 11 players for 90 minutes or in this case 80 minutes. 28/9/08 11:31 PM
Top 10 in Action - Monday 9/29 1. Apple Valley (off) 2. Osseo (off) 3. Eden Prairie (Away 7pm at Burnsville) 4. St. Louis Park (off) 5. Coon Rapids (off) 6. Eagan (off) 7. Bloomington Jefferson (Away 5pm at Robbinsdale Armstrong) 8. Minneapolis Southwest (Home 4:15pm vs Benilde-St. Margaret's) 9. Edina (off) 10. Woodbury (off)
Games to watch Minnetonka vs. Hopkins | 5:00 PM at Hopkins Bloomington Jefferson vs. Robbinsdale Armstrong | 5:00 PM at Robbinsdale Armstrong Benilde-St. Margaret's vs. Minneapolis Southwest | 4:15 PM at Minneapolis Southwest
Mpls SW beat No. 13 St. Paul Central and defending state champ Anoka, which was No. 7 at the time. Hopkins is 3-2-1 against ranked teams, but has won 5 games in a row and 7 of 8 overall. That section might be as deep as the EP/Jefferson section, with Hopkins, South, SW, Armstrong, St. Louis Park and Wayzata.
You are not "confused", the inner city schools of Minne and St. p have the same issues as out state. 3 good players at top with 3 at the bottom that are C-3 or trying the sport for the first time. Coaches don't see anyone but those in their own conference and vote for standouts.
You are right unlimited in HS, but that does not mean you make a bunch of subs. State Cup limited substitutions and Midwest Regional League limited substitutions. The Thunder 5 changes at USL 1 level, Lightning I think one or two more. I don't think you run kids in and out of the game every 10-15 minutes. Its not good for the game.
Me XMan not sure who you are but love your commentary! Thanks for putting so much time into it. Its lots of fun to track the teams and compare results. I am a CDH Raiders parent and I have been forwarding your posts. It is interesting to see where teams rank in the "big" picture. Thanks!
1:50- mostly true. I wouldn't quite say "didly" because it is not as though anyone can just go get one but having an "A" is not an indicator of your teams success. I think Macalaster has 3 or 4 people on staff with their "A" and they are not the best team in the country. Meanwhile, Dominic Kinnear won two mls cups as coach of the houston dynamo and he doesnt even have his "E."
An "MBA" doesn't mean diddly today. It just means a guy has a lot free time.
That's really dumm. An A license means something in the coaching world just like an MBA means something in the business world. Does it mean your the smartest coach or the smartest businessman, no, but...
I'm glad you like my writings. This is something new for me and I'm enjoying doing it so far.
Anonymous said... Me XMan not sure who you are but love your commentary! Thanks for putting so much time into it. Its lots of fun to track the teams and compare results. I am a CDH Raiders parent and I have been forwarding your posts. It is interesting to see where teams rank in the "big" picture. Thanks! 29/9/08 1:48 PM
Fresh legs will GREATLY HELP boot and scoot game! Stick with one game plan is okay but not executing correctly is bad IMO.
If you gonna play boot and scoot then get people in to scoot faster than defenders!
Anonymous said... You are right unlimited in HS, but that does not mean you make a bunch of subs. State Cup limited substitutions and Midwest Regional League limited substitutions. The Thunder 5 changes at USL 1 level, Lightning I think one or two more. I don't think you run kids in and out of the game every 10-15 minutes. Its not good for the game. 29/9/08 1:45 PM
We should execute whatever system is best for "boot and scoot" because "boot and scoot" wins the most HS games and winning is most important. We should be giving playing time to 17-18 players and once a player leaves a half, he should go back into the same half.
That is what the good coaches should do if they want to teach the game the right way.
maradona - jealous??? what degree do you have? I bet you have none so you feel left out since you claim too busy to stay in school. I bet you are one of those successful people who dropped out of HS and has since not gone back...LOL
An A license in soccer is not an MBA...not even close. An A license comes from other soccer coaches...enough said.
I am an MTA person and I think Storlien is a good coach but not a great coach. He will only take teams that have already put together the top 18 players at an age group. Anybody, and I mean anybody can win like that. He runs a good training session and certainly knows the game, but his ego gets in the way as he shows no flexibility. He also struggles to make tacticle adjustments and always has. His MO is to leave players in and not make adjustments because he doesnt know how to manage a game.
You can stop with the nobody else has had success at regionals and gone to nationals crap, the Shattuck team went and had success this year with Tim Carter. Another good, but not great coach.
6:28 When Tim Carter coaches at a public HS and has the type of success that Storlien has had at Jefferson then I'll agree with you. I'm not an "A" licensed coach yet but it would be fun to coach a team where I could offer $35K scholarships and draw on some of the best club players across the country. Carter has a job a lot of us laugh about. How do you lose when you're in his position? I'm sure I'd be as successful at SSM as Carter has been.
Robbinsdale Armstrong 1, Bloomington Jefferson 0 Where's DS tonight? Was he on the bench with the kids? Did he make any subs to support his boot and scoot game? Any recap report on this game.
Ep 1 Burnsville 0. Burnsville controlled the game...had many chances to score but they were all unlucky. I would watch out for burnsville for sections there a good team who just needs to find there rhythm and its happening fast. My son's team played them and they did good maybe it's the coaching that needs to do better?
ryan schlittler scored his 52 goal of his career tonight against burnsville. overall i though burnsville should have won that game because they had better possesion, played better than eagan did and had there chemistry going but eagan came out on top and scored the first goal and kept scoring. this burnsville team is not looking good this year. they have the talent but teamwork needs improvement.
*Apple Valley Parent*
and then today Anonymous Anonymous said...
Ep 1 Burnsville 0. Burnsville controlled the game...had many chances to score but they were all unlucky. I would watch out for burnsville for sections there a good team who just needs to find there rhythm and its happening fast. My son's team played them and they did good maybe it's the coaching that needs to do better?
-I'm A Lakeville North Parent-
29/9/08 9:11 PM
LOL..incorrect use of "there" versus "they're" in both posts..Dear *Apple Valley parent* and "I'm a Lakeville North Parent-" I think you're one and the same and either a BHS player or BHS player parent, that should be brushing up on your grammar.
A Burnsville Player parent.
Yes, we have lots of frustration going on...but grow up and deal with it appropriately
ryan schlittler scored his 52 goal of his career tonight against burnsville. overall i though burnsville should have won that game because they had better possesion, played better than eagan did and had there chemistry going but eagan came out on top and scored the first goal and kept scoring. this burnsville team is not looking good this year. they have the talent but teamwork needs improvement.
*Apple Valley Parent*
25/9/08 7:36 PM
Sorry, I left off the timestamp on the first post for those that wanted to check for themselves.
why would you repost that? umm maybe they do go watch other teams play you dont know that? and why does it matter if its not a lkvl parent or a av parent or it's a bhs parent or a bhs player. if there telling you straight up that there parents of another team then take it? im pretty sure no one is hiding anything..thats why theres anonymous haha and ill tell you this im a apple vally player and i did go watch that burnsville and eagan game with my dad who posted that.
5:20, I think you missed the sarcasm in Maradona's MBA comment. Both an A License and and MBA are good things to have. Who's dumm now?
6:28, An A License is to soccer what an MBA is to business. An A comes from other soccer coaches with their A (or more), an MBA comes from other businesspeople with an MBA (or more). They are both a way to separate yourself from the average joe.
6:28: You don't know what you're talking about.
Lakeville North Parent, if Burnsville dominates the play in these games but just can't find the back of the net, isn't that on the players rather than the coach? Sounds like great tactics but the players aren't good enough to finish. Is the coach supposed to score?
You're right about the B-ville parent or player. What kind of toolbox comes in here and blames others for crap finishing? This is more ink than that team deserves this year anyway. Go out and watch Valley play and see what a real team looks like.
I've seen that guy play. I don't know what you're insinuating, but he's a singular talent, and I hope he's not hurt bad if he's hurt. Anyone have details?
Eagan will be fine as the have plenty of talent, Schlittler didn't do anything special when they played AV except boot the ball out of the stadium in frustration and get a card. Marked and negated.
11:52pm. Are we talking about Ryan S.? A.V. only marked him with 2/3 players everytime he touched the ball. I guarantee A.V. is dancing in the streets because they don't have to go up against this guy again. Kicking the ball out of frustration...I don't think so.
Great for Shattuck but lets keep one thing in mind its not like it was in the past when all the great teams were playing USYSA. Now most of the best are academy teams and don't play vs Shattuck for the Nationals. Your point about Storlien only taking top teams is true but not true. Jefferson HS is one of the smallest HS in AA and yet they still do okay. Smallest school with Kennedy in the Lake so we all know numbers help. His team that went to two National finals he put together from scratch. Lightning put together from scratch. If its so easy why don't more people put teams together and go play in three regional finals in a row and four in five years. What about his Cottage Grove team that won state cup? This guy does not have a big ego he just has a philosophy that he believes in, if you say he does not make changes then you don't watch his teams play and don't know what you are talking about. Ask his players about the tactical adjustments. State Cup Champions probably more than anyone else at different age groups, different clubs, and different genders I would bet the best winning percentage of any MN coach at Regionals with multiple trips. State Champs and Runner up at Jefferson. Lightning in the playoffs twice out of three years with no paid players.
How many State Cup winners and Lightning teams and Thunder teams and ODP teams has the AV coach coached?
Shouldn't the AV coach be first in line for the Thunder job? He's won so often for so long down in AV. Isn't it a perfect fit, especially compared to who the Thunder have now?
10:00AM I'm having a hard time understanding your point. Are you being serious? Maybe we should give the head coaching job to one of the bloggers (maybe you) since we have so many experts.
Gavin Pugh is one of the few high school coaches capable of coaching the Thunder. My guess is he wouldn't accept, but sign me up for season tickets if he does.
10:13, are you saying the AV coach is equal to the expert bloggers? Why wouldn't 10:00 be serious? On here it sounds like the AV coach is the most qualified for the job since AV is the most "real" soccer team.
AV plays with a sweeper. RS plays striker. AV marked RS as they should. Of course there would be a 2nd player in his area, by default of playing with a sweeper against a striker. There wasn't any double-teaming or triple-teaming happening, but if we gave off that illusion, it must have been pretty good defense.
So many of you have no clue what you're talking about, especially 10:12, who is trying to give a math lesson.
10:12am Appears to know a lot more about the game then someone (10:49)giving the impression they are part of the A.V. program. You obviously have know knowledge of soccer and the attention that needs to be paid to someone of his caliber. Apple Valley is good no doublt but I saw the game and there was know illusion, everytime he had the ball two defender we're on him. That's a fact.
I also saw that game, as a team A.V. is very solid and will make it out of there section rather easily. However, one on one with number 16 is laughable. There is nobody on A.V.'s team this kid couldn't feast on. He clearly is one of the best players in the state.
Watch the game film. Count how many times he was double-teamed. Naturally, if you hold onto the ball that long, more numbers will get behind the ball and there will be more help defense.
11:17 is clueless. This isn't U8 where if you beat 1 player you can walk into goal. Typically there should be a 2nd defender there for support. That's not double-teaming, that's standard defending.
I have the game tape and would love to watch it with you.
Top 10 in Action - Monday 9/29 Results 1. Apple Valley (off) 2. Osseo (off) 3. Eden Prairie (Eden Prairie 1, Burnsville 0) Won 4. St. Louis Park (off) 5. Coon Rapids (off) 6. Eagan (off) 7. Bloomington Jefferson (Robbinsdale Armstrong 1, Bloomington Jefferson 0) Lost 8. Minneapolis Southwest (Benilde-St. Margaret's 0, Minneapolis Southwest 0) Tied 9. Edina (off) 10. Woodbury (off)
Games to watch Minnetonka 1-3 Hopkins Bloomington Jefferson 0-1 Robbinsdale Armstrong Benilde-St. Margaret's 0-0 Minneapolis Southwest
Top 10 in Action - Tuesday 9/30 1. Apple Valley (Away 5pm at Cottage Grove) 2. Osseo (Home 7pm vs Champlin Park) 3. Eden Prairie (off) 4. St. Louis Park (off) 5. Coon Rapids (Home 7pm vs Maple Grove) 6. Eagan (off) 7. Bloomington Jefferson (off) 8. Minneapolis Southwest (off) 9. Edina (Away 5pm at Rosemount) 10. Woodbury (Away 5pm at Hastings)
Games to watch Champlin Park vs. Osseo | 7:00 PM at Osseo Maple Grove vs. Coon Rapids | 7:00 PM at Coon Rapids
Anonymous said... I'll be at the next AV game. At halftime, find me near the concessions. I'll be visibly holding the tape in my hand. 30/9/08 12:09 PM
Some of you missed my comment about the AV game. Let me make it more clear. Schlittler had a mark who shadowed him and another AV player who covered HIS zone, not the normal defensive zone. This explains why there were 3 players on him in the corner. Sorry for the confusion.
The key here is that regardless of how they got there, Schlittler was facing 3 players regularly. And Apple Valley WON. I am not saying AV did anything wrong. Heck it's the teams that don't play him like that who have been losing to Eagan.
It's called a sweeper. It's also called a one-man-show who holds onto the ball too long. It's not irregular, it's not wrong, it's not double-teaming or triple-teaming. It's a natural effect and it's predictable.
So why doesn't Scanlon coach the Thunder? Sounds like the guys there could use his help.
12:33 I would agree with you if Schlittler wasn't so high in the statewide assist stat. And if I had a dollar for every eagan ball that nearly went in net that Schlittler placed on the toes of one of the other Eagan forwards I would be rich.
If any of these good coaches got any guts, they would leave for higher competition like colleges and semipros and pros. Maybe they don't like getting bashed by pressure.
There ain't enough pressure in HS to lose your job over especially in soccer. Football do but not soccer.
So my challenge to good HS coaches is to prove everyone wrong that you can coach higher level than HS and still win.
12:47PM On the money about R.S. It's obvious clown 12:33pm does like to do his homework. Todays paper made it real easy to see who the leaders are to date. 12:33pm seems to be emotionally involved. Can't see the forest through the trees even in spite of the stats provided.
Thunder job is open and Scanlon would not have a chance. Great guy and great HS coach with all the wins. Gramenz is interim so its still open. It will be interesting to see if he gets it. The team was much better with him, but I think they are looking for someone with more experience. Scanlon on USSF or UEFA badge, very limitd experience outside of AV HS and AV club. Great HS coach but a lot more to it than that.
That's what I've thought. These good coaches know where they stand against the better coaches.
Anonymous said... Thunder job is open and Scanlon would not have a chance. Great guy and great HS coach with all the wins. Gramenz is interim so its still open. It will be interesting to see if he gets it. The team was much better with him, but I think they are looking for someone with more experience. Scanlon on USSF or UEFA badge, very limitd experience outside of AV HS and AV club. Great HS coach but a lot more to it than that. 30/9/08 2:09 PM
If the good HS coaches leave to a higher level, then they can't prove that "they can develop players." Then they are just going to a situation "where the talent is handed to them."
You people want the best of both worlds. You want top coaches staying at community clubs to develop young players technically. You also want top coaches to go to colleges and pro to prove they are a higher level coach.
Then DS isn't very good because an A Lic is meaningless, he can't make adjustments, and he follows talent. Then CS coaches a "real" team with all the wins at AV but he's only a nice guy and isn't good enough for the Thunder.
All this talk about the best soccer player. The best soccer player of HS age is a foreign exchange student who's not allowed to play because Stead and Perry have their heads stuck firmly in their MSHL butts.You people wouldn't recognize a real player if he ran over you.
Get over it! MSHL it has been a rule for the past 8 years. They have consistant enforced the rule for the past 8 years. So...it is not personnel, it a rule.
And if you talk to the parents at EP they will tell you that the varsity coach should have retired years ago so somebody who could really coach could take over. If you watch them play this year, see who is doing more coaching, the head or the assistant.
So the 3 schools in the Lake Conf that have won state in recent years (AV, EP, BJ) all have weak head coaches? Are there any good coaches in the Lake, which is the best conference in the state?
4:03pm Talking to the parents is your first mistake. I bet you they mention their Johnny should be playing a lot more too. Not many coaches make it when they start listening to the parents. I don't think any conclusions can be drawn by seeing an assistant coaching from the sidelines in a game. Check out a practice session first, don't just peel back one layer.
4:30pm Someone who could really coach...? All for the peanuts that these coaches get paid. I'd like to see what a real coach could do in 8 weeks with a new crop every year. Not to mention the other administrative duties this real coach would be responsible for, recruiting coaches for all the teams, bus schedule, fund raising etc, etc. Yeh, get a real coach. Get a clue buddy!
Whoever won't stop talking about how bad high school soccer is... give it a rest. Everyone knows it's not quality soccer, it's just shows what schools have the the best players. Give it a rest!!!
VT at EP is a great guy. Okay coach but has a great assistant coach and does not pretend to be the best coach in the world. My kids could play for VT, CS, or DS anyday and have a very good experience. By the way the classic lake and lake have won all the boys championships but one(Anoka) over the past ten years. And the classic and lake have a lot of second place finished too. I know Wayzata and Jefferson finished 2nd and maybe EP and Armstrong too.
Do you really think the Lake is so ggod because of the coaches? Good one. Take a look at the demographics they draw from. Take a look at the club programs and the high participation. Take a look at the successfull schools in the state. They have certain things in common, and it's not coaches. Yes, I am a coach.
Talk about bad coaches! Edina lost to Rosemount 1-0. Thats 4 in a row. You don't play as well as Edina did earlier in the season against good teams and then go into the tank as bad as they have with out some help from the coaches.
minnesota is a joke. most schools play bootball. not REAL soccer. in my opinion high school soccer should be passing the ball around take your time get your momentum going attack with good pace instead of charging straight to goal. go out play the game dont play american bootball. lame.
Simple fact is most HS teams don't have the depth to play that type of game. It the type of game that takes maturity and skill. I would say 75% of the players on the field either lack one or both of those skills.
Mix that with what I would consider HS Soccer biggest problem...STATS. Players and Coaches start playing for the stats. Everybody thinks they have a shot at Mr. Soccer and just need to score more goals. WB post above point in fact!
Defenders/holding Mids can have some of the biggest impacts on a game but if you can't keep track of them in stats no one notices.
thats what HS is all about STATS. To be honest who cares if your Mr. Soccer or not. go out and play have fun. but i don't know i guess its HS for you. My opinion you don't need STATS to get a good college to recruit you. Yeah they may be looking for that for sure but if you go out and play your game and not worry about it you'll do fine. Call some recruiters to come watch some games and if you think you did good in a game i'm sure they will be thinking the same. Stats are lame and it doesn't matter. That's just my opinion
Top 10 in Action - Tuesday 9/30 Results 1. Apple Valley (Apple Valley 1, Cottage Grove 0) Won 2. Osseo (Osseo 2, Champlin Park 1) Won 3. Eden Prairie (off) 4. St. Louis Park (off) 5. Coon Rapids (Coon Rapids 1, Maple Grove 0) 6. Eagan (off) 7. Bloomington Jefferson (off) 8. Minneapolis Southwest (off) 9. Edina (Edina 0, Rosemount 1) 10. Woodbury (Woodbury 3, Hastings 0)
Games to watch - Results Champlin Park 1-2 Osseo Maple Grove 0-1 Coon Rapids
A few thoughts o Edina lost again and it's four straight losses. What's going with the team. They were doing good and now falling apart. Armstrong will eat them up tomorrow if they don't wake up soon. o Osseo is likely to win their Northwest Suburban conference. Got last conference game with Elk River on Thursday. o Apple Valley is likely to win their Lake conference. Got last conference game with Burnsville. o Stillwater to win their Suburban East conference. Got last conference game with White Bear Lake. o Robbinsdale Armstrong is likely to win their Classic Lake conference. Got last conference game with Edina. o St.Louis Park to win their North Suburban conference. Got last conference game with Irondale.
Anon 10:37 First HS soccer is all about STAT at the end there lame.
I don't think there was any mention of college recruiting. The point was STAT will keep HS Soccer in it simpliest form of "boot and scoot" Nothing wrong with it, can be alot of fun for some. Not much fun to watch, doesn't require a whole lot of skill, just speed. Helps explain why some players who have not had much sucess in Club soccer have a lot of success in HS soccer. Which is probably why most College Coaches don't pay a whole lot of attention to HS Soccer.
If STATS didn't matter and no one paid much attention to them, why is it pretty much the first thing the Osseo teams does but give WB stats for the night?
After reading comments regarding "boot ball". I feel compelled to chime in.
from 200-2006 State representatives especially Lake Conference quality teams (excluding Apple Valley) DID NOT PLAY BOOT BALL. They played possession style football and usually were only beaten by teams who had one phenomenal player.
This boot ball garbage should be linked to Apple Valley and AV only. Their coach, who I respect and is a great HIGH SCHOOL coach stresses a type of game that is NOT football. Dump in the corner from a center back, chase it down, and let that kid try and beat 8 guys. That is not football. It gets the job done because most high school teams are not organized well defensively.
The Eastview, Burnsville, Jefferson, Eden Prarie, and Eagan teams played a great style of football. It might not have always got the job done in State, because like I said before one great player can change a game in high school.
Off topic, what's with Jefferson being ranked? What a joke.
1:26AM, Jefferson is ranked because they beat EP when EP was #1 and tied Apple Valley when AV was/is #1. Coaches know the Lake Conference has been best in state for last 8-10 years.
1:26AM, Jefferson is ranked because they beat EP when EP was #1 and tied Apple Valley when AV was/is #1. Coaches know the Lake Conference has been best in state for last 8-10 years.
Scholes worked hard and won a lot of balls too, but Cristiano scored 55 goals and became the player of the year. Many can win balls; few can score goals. That's why we track and care about goals.
How do you win a football game? By winning more balls than the opponent or scoring more goals than the opponent?
(well you need to win balls to score goals...blah blah blah)
tough one for Eagan...8 wins in a row and were playing as good as anybody in the State. Would have been a great game against Valley in the section finals.
Jefferson should be around #10. Lost to Eagan and they are top 5, beat EP and they are top 3, tied AV and they are number 1, lost to Armstrong when they were number 11 and moving up, and lost to Edina when Edina was good. Prior Lake is only questionable game. Almost everyone has questionable games, St Louis Park has not beat a top ten team. Coon Rapids has not beaten that many good teams and they are top 5. I think AV, Osseo, EP, and Eagan are the only top teams. Everyone else is next tier. My point Jefferson 1-1-1 vs the best four teams. That is why they should be around number 10.
Top 10 in Action - Wednesday 10/1 1. Apple Valley (off) 2. Osseo (off) 3. Eden Prairie (off) 4. St. Louis Park (off) 5. Coon Rapids (off) 6. Eagan (off) 7. Bloomington Jefferson (Away 7pm at Chaska) 8. Minneapolis Southwest (home 4:30pm vs Minneapolis Henry) 9. Edina (Away 5pm at Robbinsdale Armstrong) 10. Woodbury (off)
Games to watch Edina vs. Robbinsdale Armstrong | 5:00 PM at Robbinsdale Armstrong Bloomington Jefferson vs. Chaska | 7:00 PM at Chaska
Jefferson is a good team and the light switch could turn on anytime. But, who have they really beat in the last few weeks? Just when you want to believe they are contenders...pretenders. Top 5, don't think so.
1:43pm Gutless comment on Eagan. Don't you have the answer on the question of best coaches or are you one of those guys that will argue with anything. Lake/Classic conference is the toughest. Can't get around 1:43pm. Agree 1:11p/1:13p on R.S. Eagan analysis.
1:15pm The questions is, how will Eagan respond on Thursday against Eastview after the loss of R.S. Getting past that game could continue the mo or deflate. My guess Eagan comes out just fine. Still, getting past A.V. in the sections w/out R.S., if it comes to that, is to big of feat. Time of the season where one player does make an impact on who wins the big games.
Eagan comment.....no state titles but I would put there winning percentage over the past decade against anybody's. But, yes no state titles that is the rap on them. Close many times but no cigar.
Check out Eagan's difficult non-conference schedule. They play a bunch of A teams. That doesn't help when they get to the big games in the AA playoffs, but it does help their winning percentage.
Early season non-conference games are used by Eagan (as well as most teams)as a testing ground for their line-ups and tactics. No one should take that portion of the season seriously. When you are in the Lake Conference you don't have to look for a tough match!
If you do want to look at Eagan's non-conference play notice that most of the A schools are in the top 10 in the state.
No matter how you stack the teams in the top ten, it is normal for a team in the top five not to go to state because of how the sections are set up. Knowing how political that would be to change, I propose 16 teams go to state instead of 8.
More teams than that is limiting the honor and recognition. And 16 teams would create a better mix.
1. Osseo 2. Apple Valley 3. Eden Prairie 4. Owatonna 5. Rochester Mayo 6. St. Louis Park 7. Eagan 8. Coon Rapids 9. Armstrong 10. Bloomington Jefferson
Owatana and Mayo to high, no team from the Big Nine ever make it the final game. I think both could be top 10 but not 4 and 5. Big win for Owatana vs Eagan early in the year. I think you have the right 10 teams
I would put Eagan's schedule against anyone's in the state when you factor in all games. Duluth East and Simley are both rated in the top 5 in Class A who Eagan played.
I say the best way to do the state tournament would be to to rank the teams 1-64 and then start the tournament, when you get down to the final 8 you can call it the "state" tournament if you want, but thats the best way to do it, yes i realize not really realistic, but at the same time if you want the best teams to have to get their and still give everyone a chance and make it fair to everyone, it covers all of those areas
WOW! Do I think putting 64 High School coaches in a room to decided the their ranking for the State Tournment is a good ideal? No, but it could be interesting to watch. Kind of like cage wrestling.
Don't you just love it when coaches and assistants get on blogs and rail about how bad other (read - more successful) coaches are. It's hilarious. Just let everyone know who you are or reserve your comments.
Ranking the 64 teams in AA is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. Taking 16 teams to the tourney is dumb too. The section system is good because it draws from all over the state. Take 8 teams, let them play. If someone doesn't make it out of sections, they shouldn't be in state.
I liked it better when we played only one class, and the big and small schools all played each-other. One champion.
How come Minnesota soccer playoffs start so soon? Wisconsin playoffs don't start until October 23rd and the state tournament is played out of doors on grass. It would be a lot more interesting if the whole of the soccer season wasn't played in 5 weeks.
1. Osseo 2. Apple Valley 3. Eden Prairie 4. Owatonna 5. Rochester Mayo 6. St. Louis Park 7. Eagan 8. Coon Rapids 9. Armstrong 10. Bloomington Jefferson
Bloomington Jefferson is a good high school soccer team. A team that has a great defense to go along with one of the best midfields. But their forwards are not goal scorers. I would not be worried any more if i have to play jefferson then Burnsville, chaska, Kennedy, or Minnetonka. Jefferson has a chance to go somewhere if their mids can score on every shot or if they don't miss penalty kicks. One of the best if not the best defensive team in the state, but you can't go very far if you don't score. They have to change forwards or do something to get the ball in the back of the net. What happened to their Junior goal scorer last year? If they got him back or any decent forward you are looking a state championship team.
Jefferson's junior goal scorer is still there; but no matter who plays forward, the Jefferson midfield is not effective at playing the ball to feet and then pushing up to support the forwards.
Osseo hasn't played a strong schedule whne compared to several other top 10 ranked teams. Because of that I would rank Apple Valley or Eden Prairie as #1.
From watching CR kids and their games, they are as big and faster than AV, EP, and Jefferson. They don't play bootball as much as others. They have some sort of build up attack and/or direct plays that can be very dangerous. They should take out Anoka their Section playoff.
Me Xman Said: Coon rapids can whip Apple Valley, Eden Prarie, Eagan, or even Jefferson IMO. I expect CR to make out of Section and doing well in State Tournament.
Can you comment on the CDH v CR game. Cretin beat CR was it a fluke or a bad night? Or have they improved vastly since then?
Class AA Section Champions Prediction 1AA: Rochester Mayo (Big 9) 2AA: Eden Prairie (Lake) 3AA: Apple Valley (Lake) 4AA: Woodbury (Suburban East) 5AA: Osseo (Northwest Suburban) 6AA: Hopkins (Classic Lake) 7AA: Coon Rapids (Northwest Suburban) 8AA: Elk River (Northwest Suburban)
I went to the CR game against Maple Grove. Coon Rapids didn't look that great. In fact, MG could have won the game--they had the better part of play. The goal was a semi-fluke--pressure and field related.
anon 11:41, Ever watch the Tsunami Sota girls from back in 2002-2003? They were national runners ups 2 consecutive years. When he has the horses he can gear up offense as well as anyone. Ever see his Jefferson boys team play that won MSHSL "AA" championship in 2005? I'll bet you didn't see either of those teams play because if you did you wouldn't make such a clueless post.
Top 10 in Action - Wednesday 10/1 Results 1. Apple Valley (off) 2. Osseo (off) 3. Eden Prairie (off) 4. St. Louis Park (off) 5. Coon Rapids (off) 6. Eagan (off) 7. Bloomington Jefferson (Bloomington Jefferson 0, Chaska 0) Tied 8. Minneapolis Southwest (Minneapolis Southwest 8, Minneapolis Henry 0) Won 9. Edina (Robbinsdale Armstrong 2, Edina 1) Lost 10. Woodbury (off)
Games to watch Edina 1-2 Robbinsdale Armstrong Bloomington Jefferson 0-0 Chaska
Top 10 in Action - Thursday 10/2 1. Apple Valley (Home 7pm vs Burnsville) 2. Osseo (Away 7pm at Elk River) 3. Eden Prairie (Home 7pm vs Lakeville North) 4. St. Louis Park (Home 5pm vs Irondale) 5. Coon Rapids (Away 7pm at Andover) 6. Eagan (Home 7pm vs Eastview) 7. Bloomington Jefferson (Done) 8. Minneapolis Southwest (Away 4:30pm at Minneapolis Edison) 9. Edina (Away 5pm at Minnetonka) 10. Woodbury (Done)
Games to watch Anoka vs. Champlin Park | 7:00 PM at Champlin Park Lakeville North vs. Eden Prairie | 7:00 PM at Eden Prairie Edina vs. Minnetonka | 5:00 PM at Minnetonka Owatonna vs. Rochester Mayo | 7:00 PM at Rochester Mayo Monticello vs. Rogers | 5:00 PM at Rogers Hopkins vs. Wayzata | 7:00 PM at Wayzata
A few thoughts o Hopkins is HOT! They're on a tear since lost to Wayzata 2-1 on 9/11. They've out scored opponents 21-8 in past six games. Beating Edina, Armstrong, Minnetonka. o Anoka got beat by lowly Blaine 5-1. Not 1-0 but FIVE-ONE. Ouch! How could it be? Can they recover from the thrashing. o Owatonna and Rochester Mayo are playing for conference title. o Edina and Bloomington Jefferson should be out Top 10.
Eagan/Eastview tonight! How good will Eagan be without RS? If Eagan wins and Burnsville ties or beats Valley---Eagan wins the conference outright. Not sure how good Eagan will be now though...any thoughts?
There is a lot of coach bashing on here. Are there any good coaches in MN high school? Appears as though people aren't performing a thorough comparative analysis. They only want to bash the 1 or 2 coaches they know but they don't know anything about what else is out there.
1,557 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 1201 – 1400 of 1557 Newer› Newest»Osseo should be #1 while the Lake teams beat up on each other.
Players score goals, not coaches. I don't think BJ had problems scoring goals when they were winning the state championship or going to the dome while playing the exact same system as they do now. They had players willing to score goals in those seasons.
That's the problem Bunky. The SAME system doesn't work with the talent they have. The problem is the Jags coach is stubborn and will force the SAME system on the team.A good coach is creative and flexible enough to design an offense that gives his current players the best opportunities to score.
Typical ineffective coach blaming the players. It's on you coach.
Looks like Breck will probably win the Tri-Metro conference and Blake and Mounds Park Academy will be tied, each one game back.
I havent heard much about class A. Who are the teams to beat besides totino.
No doubt for AA Mr. Soccer...Dula Fadis from Mpls. South.
Funny to watch the haters bash on DS.
This is the only coach in the state to win regionals and go to nationals in USYS and also win a State HS championship.
People who truly know the game recognize that he's the best coach in the state but fools who oppose his club affiliation bash him.
Ignorant fools they are.
DS is ancient history. The game has passed him bye.He's nothing more than a gym coach these days.
Except Buzz Lagos, who wasn't a great coach either.
DS was on the bench when the Thunder won 4-3 tonight. He was not on the bench when they lost 2-0. Thunder scored 4, 3, and 4 goals of late.
Thunder 6-3-4 since DG/DS started coaching at the start of August. They changed to a 3-5-2. You say the game past him? That is crazy the guy does more coaching and coaching education then anyone in the state. USSF A and NSCAA Premier. He is one of the only coaches who keeps his A Lic. current, my license expired and technically I drop back to a B.
Jefferson is a different team at Bloomington Stadium. Every team that plays on that field just kicks the ball. I watched the AV game and the Eagan game vs Jefferson. All three teams just kicking it. I watched Jefferson one other time at Braemar vs Edina and a lot of possession by both teams. The field in Bloomington is terrible. As for the subbing for Jefferson, Jefferson played 11 players in both the Eagan game and the AV game. Not sure where I stand on not subbing but Jefferson was better at the end of the AV and the Eagan game then the opponents.
The game is meant to be played by 11 players for 90 minutes or in this case 80 minutes.
I know Storlien played a 3-3-4 at Regionals a few years ago because they needed to win 4-0 and won 4-1. They also played a 4-2-4 at Nationals one year. The Lightning teams have scored a lot of goals. The problem with Jefferson this year is CG is playing in the back. He is the best player in the Lake Conf this year with Ryan Schlitter and David Rosenthal a close 2nd.
When Jefferson won the state championship they did not give up a goal in sections and state. Only one sub in the final game that year. To me it looks like DS has a formula and a plan. I coached against him that year in the playoffs. Very well organized and great on set play. I am just happy to be out of HS soccer.
there should not be any question who the best player is in class A. all this talk with AA does not exist with A when the field of candidates is so small and not very deep. totino has the players to win and has done so as the nbr 1 ranked team for more than three weeks. my vote goes to totino and their stud player.
12:33,
I agree. Matt Canton deserves to be considered for Mr. Soccer. He leads Totino in goals scored.
Don't fall for the bait the whiners are setting out there regarding Storlien.
All of it is just animosity directed at him because he coaches for Bangu/MTA...nothing more nothing less.
Storlien has taken a Jefferson team, which was horrible last year, and this season has now beaten Eden Prairie when they were #1 and now tied Apple Valley when they were #1.
This is just another indication of his coaching acumen.
He's taken teams to USYS National Finals, won numerous state cup championships, won the MSHSL "AA"" Boys Championship in 2005 and is on several regional and national coaching staffs.
Let the whiner's whine...
MIAC Fan,
Did you take the bait?
MN Coaches Top 10 - Week 9/29
CLASS 2A BOYS POLL
1. Apple Valley (14-1)
2. Osseo (11-1)
3. Eden Prairie (10-1)
4. St. Louis Park (11-2)
5. Coon Rapids (11-2)
6. Eagan (14-3)
7. Bloomington Jefferson (9-3)
8. Minneapolis Southwest (10-2)
9. Edina (9-4)
10. Woodbury (8-2)
Others receiving votes: Robbinsdale Armstrong, Hopkins, St. Paul Central, Stillwater
Class 2A Ranking Provided By: Coaches Association
A few thoughts
o Mpls Southwest still there after losing to Mpls South?
o Hopkins should be rewarded to be in Top 10 after wins over tough teams St.Louis Park, Edina, and Armstrong.
I went to the game and DS was just an onlooker. With what you're saying, DS is a good luck charm for the team. He should be on the bench all games next year and they'll do well. I don't think he really coach them. It's all Gramenz coaching. DS there to bounce off ideas.
I've been a Thunder supporter for many years and it's great to see good semipro soccer here.
Anonymous said...
DS was on the bench when the Thunder won 4-3 tonight. He was not on the bench when they lost 2-0. Thunder scored 4, 3, and 4 goals of late.
Thunder 6-3-4 since DG/DS started coaching at the start of August. They changed to a 3-5-2. You say the game past him? That is crazy the guy does more coaching and coaching education then anyone in the state. USSF A and NSCAA Premier. He is one of the only coaches who keeps his A Lic. current, my license expired and technically I drop back to a B.
28/9/08 11:22 PM
BTW, Thunder came close in tying up the aggregate goals.
Sanchez didn't do the team any good with that red card for verbally abusing the Ref.
if they had tied in aggregate, would "away" goals be the next tiebreaker?
The rankings are often produced a few days before they are published, thus the apparent lag when you see a team on there that just lost--like Mpls SW.
I thought Sunday night was for them to tally up the votes and publish the ranking on Monday. Well anyway it's good to see good teams making Top 10...eventually.
Anonymous said...
The rankings are often produced a few days before they are published, thus the apparent lag when you see a team on there that just lost--like Mpls SW.
29/9/08 10:21 AM
The rankings are done Sunday by noon to get the Saturday games.
No. Just the goals.
Anonymous said...
if they had tied in aggregate, would "away" goals be the next tiebreaker?
29/9/08 10:19 AM
No subs? BTW, your thinking is as old as dirt. Pros have 3 subs and some case in friendlies they can agree on number of subs. In HS there's no limit number of subs and same as MYSA.
Anonymous said...
The game is meant to be played by 11 players for 90 minutes or in this case 80 minutes.
28/9/08 11:31 PM
Who is voting for Mpls-sw other than the other Mpls schools - I don't get it. Edina has good players, but lost to Chaska?
It seems like we don't have a lot of head to head matches between east and west.
Can someone explain the reason for Mpls-sw in the rankings? I personally don't see any mpls school in the top 10.
"Confused"
Top 10 in Action - Monday 9/29
1. Apple Valley (off)
2. Osseo (off)
3. Eden Prairie (Away 7pm at Burnsville)
4. St. Louis Park (off)
5. Coon Rapids (off)
6. Eagan (off)
7. Bloomington Jefferson (Away 5pm at Robbinsdale Armstrong)
8. Minneapolis Southwest (Home 4:15pm vs Benilde-St. Margaret's)
9. Edina (off)
10. Woodbury (off)
Games to watch
Minnetonka vs. Hopkins | 5:00 PM at Hopkins
Bloomington Jefferson vs. Robbinsdale Armstrong | 5:00 PM at Robbinsdale Armstrong
Benilde-St. Margaret's vs. Minneapolis Southwest | 4:15 PM at Minneapolis Southwest
I'm as confused as you 11:32.
Hopkins is much better than Mpls SW.
Mpls SW beat No. 13 St. Paul Central and defending state champ Anoka, which was No. 7 at the time. Hopkins is 3-2-1 against ranked teams, but has won 5 games in a row and 7 of 8 overall. That section might be as deep as the EP/Jefferson section, with Hopkins, South, SW, Armstrong, St. Louis Park and Wayzata.
You are not "confused", the inner city schools of Minne and St. p have the same issues as out state. 3 good players at top with 3 at the bottom that are C-3 or trying the sport for the first time. Coaches don't see anyone but those in their own conference and vote for standouts.
The lake confernce deck really gets shuffled at section time. Eden Prairie and Apple Valley have to be happy they are not in the same section.
Are there any good games tonight, besides the games Me Xman identified above??
You are right unlimited in HS, but that does not mean you make a bunch of subs. State Cup limited substitutions and Midwest Regional League limited substitutions. The Thunder 5 changes at USL 1 level, Lightning I think one or two more. I don't think you run kids in and out of the game every 10-15 minutes. Its not good for the game.
Me XMan not sure who you are but love your commentary! Thanks for putting so much time into it. Its lots of fun to track the teams and compare results. I am a CDH Raiders parent and I have been forwarding your posts. It is interesting to see where teams rank in the "big" picture. Thanks!
An "A" lic doesn't mean diddly today. It just means a guy has a lot of free time. Taking a cheap shot at those who don't is the smack of an egomaniac.
1:50- mostly true. I wouldn't quite say "didly" because it is not as though anyone can just go get one but having an "A" is not an indicator of your teams success. I think Macalaster has 3 or 4 people on staff with their "A" and they are not the best team in the country. Meanwhile, Dominic Kinnear won two mls cups as coach of the houston dynamo and he doesnt even have his "E."
Or at least he didnt...
An "MBA" doesn't mean diddly today. It just means a guy has a lot free time.
That's really dumm. An A license means something in the coaching world just like an MBA means something in the business world. Does it mean your the smartest coach or the smartest businessman, no, but...
yawn.
I'm glad you like my writings.
This is something new for me and I'm enjoying doing it so far.
Anonymous said...
Me XMan not sure who you are but love your commentary! Thanks for putting so much time into it. Its lots of fun to track the teams and compare results. I am a CDH Raiders parent and I have been forwarding your posts. It is interesting to see where teams rank in the "big" picture. Thanks!
29/9/08 1:48 PM
Fresh legs will GREATLY HELP boot and scoot game! Stick with one game plan is okay but not executing correctly is bad IMO.
If you gonna play boot and scoot then get people in to scoot faster than defenders!
Anonymous said...
You are right unlimited in HS, but that does not mean you make a bunch of subs. State Cup limited substitutions and Midwest Regional League limited substitutions. The Thunder 5 changes at USL 1 level, Lightning I think one or two more. I don't think you run kids in and out of the game every 10-15 minutes. Its not good for the game.
29/9/08 1:45 PM
We should execute whatever system is best for "boot and scoot" because "boot and scoot" wins the most HS games and winning is most important. We should be giving playing time to 17-18 players and once a player leaves a half, he should go back into the same half.
That is what the good coaches should do if they want to teach the game the right way.
;)
And we should listen to parents complain about playing time while they complain about poor coaching when only 14-15 players are getting playing time.
maradona - jealous??? what degree do you have? I bet you have none so you feel left out since you claim too busy to stay in school. I bet you are one of those successful people who dropped out of HS and has since not gone back...LOL
An A license in soccer is not an MBA...not even close. An A license comes from other soccer coaches...enough said.
I am an MTA person and I think Storlien is a good coach but not a great coach. He will only take teams that have already put together the top 18 players at an age group. Anybody, and I mean anybody can win like that. He runs a good training session and certainly knows the game, but his ego gets in the way as he shows no flexibility. He also struggles to make tacticle adjustments and always has. His MO is to leave players in and not make adjustments because he doesnt know how to manage a game.
You can stop with the nobody else has had success at regionals and gone to nationals crap, the Shattuck team went and had success this year with Tim Carter. Another good, but not great coach.
6:28
When Tim Carter coaches at a public HS and has the type of success that Storlien has had at Jefferson then I'll agree with you.
I'm not an "A" licensed coach yet but it would be fun to coach a team where I could offer $35K scholarships and draw on some of the best club players across the country. Carter has a job a lot of us laugh about. How do you lose when you're in his position?
I'm sure I'd be as successful at SSM as Carter has been.
This just in: Eagan loses RS for the remainder of the season
why what happened
What a bummer.
Minneapolis South 18, Minneapolis North 0
Why play the game get humiliated like this?
This doesn't serve anyone good.
Robbinsdale Armstrong 1, Bloomington Jefferson 0
Where's DS tonight?
Was he on the bench with the kids?
Did he make any subs to support his boot and scoot game?
Any recap report on this game.
Ep 1 Burnsville 0. Burnsville controlled the game...had many chances to score but they were all unlucky. I would watch out for burnsville for sections there a good team who just needs to find there rhythm and its happening fast. My son's team played them and they did good maybe it's the coaching that needs to do better?
-I'm A Lakeville North Parent-
umm ep bootball of course their bad..? that's all they do. same with apple valley. Burnsville is playing it now too. lake is bootball of all.
Anonymous Anonymous said...
ryan schlittler scored his 52 goal of his career tonight against burnsville. overall i though burnsville should have won that game because they had better possesion, played better than eagan did and had there chemistry going but eagan came out on top and scored the first goal and kept scoring. this burnsville team is not looking good this year. they have the talent but teamwork needs improvement.
*Apple Valley Parent*
and then today
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Ep 1 Burnsville 0. Burnsville controlled the game...had many chances to score but they were all unlucky. I would watch out for burnsville for sections there a good team who just needs to find there rhythm and its happening fast. My son's team played them and they did good maybe it's the coaching that needs to do better?
-I'm A Lakeville North Parent-
29/9/08 9:11 PM
LOL..incorrect use of "there" versus "they're" in both posts..Dear *Apple Valley parent* and "I'm a Lakeville North Parent-" I think you're one and the same and either a BHS player or BHS player parent, that should be brushing up on your grammar.
A Burnsville Player parent.
Yes, we have lots of frustration going on...but grow up and deal with it appropriately
Anonymous Anonymous said...
ryan schlittler scored his 52 goal of his career tonight against burnsville. overall i though burnsville should have won that game because they had better possesion, played better than eagan did and had there chemistry going but eagan came out on top and scored the first goal and kept scoring. this burnsville team is not looking good this year. they have the talent but teamwork needs improvement.
*Apple Valley Parent*
25/9/08 7:36 PM
Sorry, I left off the timestamp on the first post for those that wanted to check for themselves.
why would you repost that? umm maybe they do go watch other teams play you dont know that? and why does it matter if its not a lkvl parent or a av parent or it's a bhs parent or a bhs player. if there telling you straight up that there parents of another team then take it? im pretty sure no one is hiding anything..thats why theres anonymous haha and ill tell you this im a apple vally player and i did go watch that burnsville and eagan game with my dad who posted that.
5:20, I think you missed the sarcasm in Maradona's MBA comment. Both an A License and and MBA are good things to have. Who's dumm now?
6:28, An A License is to soccer what an MBA is to business. An A comes from other soccer coaches with their A (or more), an MBA comes from other businesspeople with an MBA (or more). They are both a way to separate yourself from the average joe.
6:28: You don't know what you're talking about.
Lakeville North Parent, if Burnsville dominates the play in these games but just can't find the back of the net, isn't that on the players rather than the coach? Sounds like great tactics but the players aren't good enough to finish. Is the coach supposed to score?
9:46, Excellent detective work and great point.
How will losing schlittler effect eagan as sections are about to start?
what happened? did schlittler wreck his knee? did he get arrested for drunk driving?
10:56,
You're right about the B-ville parent or player. What kind of toolbox comes in here and blames others for crap finishing? This is more ink than that team deserves this year anyway. Go out and watch Valley play and see what a real team looks like.
11:43,
I've seen that guy play. I don't know what you're insinuating, but he's a singular talent, and I hope he's not hurt bad if he's hurt. Anyone have details?
Eagan will be fine as the have plenty of talent, Schlittler didn't do anything special when they played AV except boot the ball out of the stadium in frustration and get a card. Marked and negated.
Anon
29/9/08 9:46 PM
wrote:
I think you're one and the same and either a BHS player or BHS player parent, that should be brushing up on your grammar.
That should be 'parent WHO should be brushing up on THEIR grammer.'
or 'YOU should be brushing up on YOUR grammer.'
I think those are the correct forms. IMBW
11:52pm. Are we talking about Ryan S.? A.V. only marked him with 2/3 players everytime he touched the ball. I guarantee A.V. is dancing in the streets because they don't have to go up against this guy again. Kicking the ball out of frustration...I don't think so.
Great for Shattuck but lets keep one thing in mind its not like it was in the past when all the great teams were playing USYSA. Now most of the best are academy teams and don't play vs Shattuck for the Nationals. Your point about Storlien only taking top teams is true but not true. Jefferson HS is one of the smallest HS in AA and yet they still do okay. Smallest school with Kennedy in the Lake so we all know numbers help. His team that went to two National finals he put together from scratch. Lightning put together from scratch. If its so easy why don't more people put teams together and go play in three regional finals in a row and four in five years. What about his Cottage Grove team that won state cup? This guy does not have a big ego he just has a philosophy that he believes in, if you say he does not make changes then you don't watch his teams play and don't know what you are talking about. Ask his players about the tactical adjustments. State Cup Champions probably more than anyone else at different age groups, different clubs, and different genders I would bet the best winning percentage of any MN coach at Regionals with multiple trips. State Champs and Runner up at Jefferson. Lightning in the playoffs twice out of three years with no paid players.
Current Lightning player
11:46
LOL! Valley plays boot ball man. HAHAHAHAHA!
If that's the real team then we're in soccer hell.
Everyone LEAVE DS ALONE!
Just LEAVE DS ALONE!
8:34am Maybe Scanlon will let you wear one of his State Championship medals for a day...he has how many?
You probably have no idea. Take you big nose and floppy feet to another blog.
How many State Cup winners and Lightning teams and Thunder teams and ODP teams has the AV coach coached?
Shouldn't the AV coach be first in line for the Thunder job? He's won so often for so long down in AV. Isn't it a perfect fit, especially compared to who the Thunder have now?
Isn't this a high school blog?
That would be big high school news if the AV coach got the Thunder job.
If the Thunder want a real team, they should get a guy who coaches a real team.
Ryan Schlittler is the most popular player for Apple Valley right now if he is out for the season. He is a Force - certainly a Mr. Soccer Candidate.
When Valley played Eagan they parked a player directly on him, and had a second in his zone.
Do the math, this leaves unmarked players on the field when Schlittler takes two. Even more in the corner when he frequently takes 3.
Working so hard to "Stop Schlittler" is one of the main reasons Eagan has won the last 9 games straight.
10:00AM I'm having a hard time understanding your point. Are you being serious? Maybe we should give the head coaching job to one of the bloggers (maybe you) since we have so many experts.
Gavin Pugh is one of the few high school coaches capable of coaching the Thunder. My guess is he wouldn't accept, but sign me up for season tickets if he does.
10:13, are you saying the AV coach is equal to the expert bloggers? Why wouldn't 10:00 be serious? On here it sounds like the AV coach is the most qualified for the job since AV is the most "real" soccer team.
AV plays with a sweeper. RS plays striker. AV marked RS as they should. Of course there would be a 2nd player in his area, by default of playing with a sweeper against a striker. There wasn't any double-teaming or triple-teaming happening, but if we gave off that illusion, it must have been pretty good defense.
So many of you have no clue what you're talking about, especially 10:12, who is trying to give a math lesson.
10:12am Appears to know a lot more about the game then someone (10:49)giving the impression they are part of the A.V. program. You obviously have know knowledge of soccer and the attention that needs to be paid to someone of his caliber. Apple Valley is good no doublt but I saw the game and there was know illusion, everytime he had the ball two defender we're on him. That's a fact.
Whitney Browne takes more than 2 to stop him.
WB is #1.
RS is #2.
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{
See ball.
Kick ball.
Chase ball.
}
End While
I also saw that game, as a team A.V. is very solid and will make it out of there section rather easily. However, one on one with number 16 is laughable. There is nobody on A.V.'s team this kid couldn't feast on. He clearly is one of the best players in the state.
AV plays kickball game.
11:25pm agree...It's a shame we won't see the matchup between these two exceptional players down the road. Remember the Moss vs T.O. build up?
If he's so good, why Gavin won't coach college teams? Because he can't.
AV plays hard. They don't play pretty soccer. Get over it. They win.
Watch the game film. Count how many times he was double-teamed. Naturally, if you hold onto the ball that long, more numbers will get behind the ball and there will be more help defense.
11:17 is clueless. This isn't U8 where if you beat 1 player you can walk into goal. Typically there should be a 2nd defender there for support. That's not double-teaming, that's standard defending.
I have the game tape and would love to watch it with you.
11:44pm Tell me where to meet you...maybe the whole blog would like to see it as well. Plus, we could get your autograph.
I'll be at the next AV game. At halftime, find me near the concessions. I'll be visibly holding the tape in my hand.
Top 10 in Action - Monday 9/29 Results
1. Apple Valley (off)
2. Osseo (off)
3. Eden Prairie (Eden Prairie 1, Burnsville 0) Won
4. St. Louis Park (off)
5. Coon Rapids (off)
6. Eagan (off)
7. Bloomington Jefferson (Robbinsdale Armstrong 1, Bloomington Jefferson 0) Lost
8. Minneapolis Southwest (Benilde-St. Margaret's 0, Minneapolis Southwest 0) Tied
9. Edina (off)
10. Woodbury (off)
Games to watch
Minnetonka 1-3 Hopkins
Bloomington Jefferson 0-1 Robbinsdale Armstrong
Benilde-St. Margaret's 0-0 Minneapolis Southwest
Top 10 in Action - Tuesday 9/30
1. Apple Valley (Away 5pm at Cottage Grove)
2. Osseo (Home 7pm vs Champlin Park)
3. Eden Prairie (off)
4. St. Louis Park (off)
5. Coon Rapids (Home 7pm vs Maple Grove)
6. Eagan (off)
7. Bloomington Jefferson (off)
8. Minneapolis Southwest (off)
9. Edina (Away 5pm at Rosemount)
10. Woodbury (Away 5pm at Hastings)
Games to watch
Champlin Park vs. Osseo | 7:00 PM at Osseo
Maple Grove vs. Coon Rapids | 7:00 PM at Coon Rapids
Too bad AV not playing tonight.
Anonymous said...
I'll be at the next AV game. At halftime, find me near the concessions. I'll be visibly holding the tape in my hand.
30/9/08 12:09 PM
Could you also bring the Eden Prairie tape as well. I'd like to point out how well the defense played in that game as well.
Pugh and Scanlon are good coaches and know the game well enough to have good games.
Got to love me xman!
12:09pm What will be in the other hand?
Some of you missed my comment about the AV game. Let me make it more clear. Schlittler had a mark who shadowed him and another AV player who covered HIS zone, not the normal defensive zone. This explains why there were 3 players on him in the corner. Sorry for the confusion.
The key here is that regardless of how they got there, Schlittler was facing 3 players regularly. And Apple Valley WON. I am not saying AV did anything wrong. Heck it's the teams that don't play him like that who have been losing to Eagan.
I am with you on Pugh, not boot-n-scoot Scanlon. Scanlon's state champions are usually summer state champions before he ever gets them.
Is the Thunder job really open??
It's called a sweeper. It's also called a one-man-show who holds onto the ball too long. It's not irregular, it's not wrong, it's not double-teaming or triple-teaming. It's a natural effect and it's predictable.
So why doesn't Scanlon coach the Thunder? Sounds like the guys there could use his help.
12:33 I would agree with you if Schlittler wasn't so high in the statewide assist stat. And if I had a dollar for every eagan ball that nearly went in net that Schlittler placed on the toes of one of the other Eagan forwards I would be rich.
If any of these good coaches got any guts, they would leave for higher competition like colleges and semipros and pros. Maybe they don't like getting bashed by pressure.
There ain't enough pressure in HS to lose your job over especially in soccer. Football do but not soccer.
So my challenge to good HS coaches is to prove everyone wrong that you can coach higher level than HS and still win.
Here's another one thinking he's good coach and he's at Anoka.
HOLD THE DOOR OPEN! I've got to run and PUKE!!!
BTW, he's been there for over 20 years.
GET YER STINKING BUTT OUT DA DOOR!!
12:47PM On the money about R.S. It's obvious clown 12:33pm does like to do his homework. Todays paper made it real easy to see who the leaders are to date. 12:33pm seems to be emotionally involved. Can't see the forest through the trees even in spite of the stats provided.
Thunder job is open and Scanlon would not have a chance. Great guy and great HS coach with all the wins. Gramenz is interim so its still open. It will be interesting to see if he gets it. The team was much better with him, but I think they are looking for someone with more experience. Scanlon on USSF or UEFA badge, very limitd experience outside of AV HS and AV club. Great HS coach but a lot more to it than that.
AV is at Park/Cottage Grove tonite.
That's what I've thought.
These good coaches know where they stand against the better coaches.
Anonymous said...
Thunder job is open and Scanlon would not have a chance. Great guy and great HS coach with all the wins. Gramenz is interim so its still open. It will be interesting to see if he gets it. The team was much better with him, but I think they are looking for someone with more experience. Scanlon on USSF or UEFA badge, very limitd experience outside of AV HS and AV club. Great HS coach but a lot more to it than that.
30/9/08 2:09 PM
If the good HS coaches leave to a higher level, then they can't prove that "they can develop players." Then they are just going to a situation "where the talent is handed to them."
You people want the best of both worlds. You want top coaches staying at community clubs to develop young players technically. You also want top coaches to go to colleges and pro to prove they are a higher level coach.
Then DS isn't very good because an A Lic is meaningless, he can't make adjustments, and he follows talent. Then CS coaches a "real" team with all the wins at AV but he's only a nice guy and isn't good enough for the Thunder.
I don't get it. Is anyone worthy of MN soccer?
Who are the top high school coaches and which schools are they at?
I would think the schools that are consistently good have the top coaches, like EP, AV and Edina.
All this talk about the best soccer player. The best soccer player of HS age is a foreign exchange student who's not allowed to play because Stead and Perry have their heads stuck firmly in their MSHL butts.You people wouldn't recognize a real player if he ran over you.
It's too bad our players don't get to learn from that exchange student.
That's what the exchange program is all about, right? Learning from others?
Anon 3:36
Get over it! MSHL it has been a rule for the past 8 years. They have consistant enforced the rule for the past 8 years. So...it is not personnel, it a rule.
And if you talk to the parents at EP they will tell you that the varsity coach should have retired years ago so somebody who could really coach could take over. If you watch them play this year, see who is doing more coaching, the head or the assistant.
I hope when my son studies abroad next year in Germany they limit his extra-curricular participation.
So the 3 schools in the Lake Conf that have won state in recent years (AV, EP, BJ) all have weak head coaches? Are there any good coaches in the Lake, which is the best conference in the state?
4:00PM Well said. It's not like the rule just snuck up on everyone.
4:03pm Talking to the parents is your first mistake. I bet you they mention their Johnny should be playing a lot more too. Not many coaches make it when they start listening to the parents. I don't think any conclusions can be drawn by seeing an assistant coaching from the sidelines in a game. Check out a practice session first, don't just peel back one layer.
Maradona, would he be studying or playing soccer. Probably have a better chance playing here than there. Is he a raisin juggler too.
4:30pm Someone who could really coach...? All for the peanuts that these coaches get paid. I'd like to see what a real coach could do in 8 weeks with a new crop every year. Not to mention the other administrative duties this real coach would be responsible for, recruiting coaches for all the teams, bus schedule, fund raising etc, etc. Yeh, get a real coach. Get a clue buddy!
Whoever won't stop talking about how bad high school soccer is... give it a rest. Everyone knows it's not quality soccer, it's just shows what schools have the the best players. Give it a rest!!!
VT at EP is a great guy. Okay coach but has a great assistant coach and does not pretend to be the best coach in the world. My kids could play for VT, CS, or DS anyday and have a very good experience. By the way the classic lake and lake have won all the boys championships but one(Anoka) over the past ten years. And the classic and lake have a lot of second place finished too. I know Wayzata and Jefferson finished 2nd and maybe EP and Armstrong too.
The Lake is the best conference year in and year out.
Maybe in every sport year in and year out.
Do you really think the Lake is so ggod because of the coaches? Good one. Take a look at the demographics they draw from. Take a look at the club programs and the high participation. Take a look at the successfull schools in the state. They have certain things in common, and it's not coaches. Yes, I am a coach.
AV 1 Park CG 0
NWSC Scores?
ER 5 - PC 4
No I think the lake has the best players
Talk about bad coaches! Edina lost to Rosemount 1-0. Thats 4 in a row. You don't play as well as Edina did earlier in the season against good teams and then go into the tank as bad as they have with out some help from the coaches.
AV=BOOTBALL! end of story!
EP=BOOTBALL! end of story!
Lake conference is a joke this year.
Ohhh No!
MR BILL
The state champion will come from the Lake Conf.
Osseo 2, Champlin Park 1
Whitney Browne score 2 goals
minnesota is a joke. most schools play bootball. not REAL soccer. in my opinion high school soccer should be passing the ball around take your time get your momentum going attack with good pace instead of charging straight to goal. go out play the game dont play american bootball. lame.
Simple fact is most HS teams don't have the depth to play that type of game. It the type of game that takes maturity and skill. I would say 75% of the players on the field either lack one or both of those skills.
Mix that with what I would consider HS Soccer biggest problem...STATS. Players and Coaches start playing for the stats. Everybody thinks they have a shot at Mr. Soccer and just need to score more goals. WB post above point in fact!
Defenders/holding Mids can have some of the biggest impacts on a game but if you can't keep track of them in stats no one notices.
thats what HS is all about STATS. To be honest who cares if your Mr. Soccer or not. go out and play have fun. but i don't know i guess its HS for you. My opinion you don't need STATS to get a good college to recruit you. Yeah they may be looking for that for sure but if you go out and play your game and not worry about it you'll do fine. Call some recruiters to come watch some games and if you think you did good in a game i'm sure they will be thinking the same. Stats are lame and it doesn't matter. That's just my opinion
WB is my boy and he's doing great.
Of course there's a lot of help from defenders and midfielders.
Top 10 in Action - Tuesday 9/30 Results
1. Apple Valley (Apple Valley 1, Cottage Grove 0) Won
2. Osseo (Osseo 2, Champlin Park 1) Won
3. Eden Prairie (off)
4. St. Louis Park (off)
5. Coon Rapids (Coon Rapids 1, Maple Grove 0)
6. Eagan (off)
7. Bloomington Jefferson (off)
8. Minneapolis Southwest (off)
9. Edina (Edina 0, Rosemount 1)
10. Woodbury (Woodbury 3, Hastings 0)
Games to watch - Results
Champlin Park 1-2 Osseo
Maple Grove 0-1 Coon Rapids
A few thoughts
o Edina lost again and it's four straight losses. What's going with the team. They were doing good and now falling apart. Armstrong will eat them up tomorrow if they don't wake up soon.
o Osseo is likely to win their Northwest Suburban conference. Got last conference game with Elk River on Thursday.
o Apple Valley is likely to win their Lake conference. Got last conference game with Burnsville.
o Stillwater to win their Suburban East conference. Got last conference game with White Bear Lake.
o Robbinsdale Armstrong is likely to win their Classic Lake conference. Got last conference game with Edina.
o St.Louis Park to win their North Suburban conference. Got last conference game with Irondale.
Stillwater could drop to 4th in their conference if they loose to Wbl and they already gave up a loss to them at home
Anon 10:37
First HS soccer is all about STAT
at the end there lame.
I don't think there was any mention of college recruiting. The point was STAT will keep HS Soccer in it simpliest form of "boot and scoot" Nothing wrong with it, can be alot of fun for some. Not much fun to watch, doesn't require a whole lot of skill, just speed. Helps explain why some players who have not had much sucess in Club soccer have a lot of success in HS soccer. Which is probably why most College Coaches don't pay a whole lot of attention to HS Soccer.
If STATS didn't matter and no one paid much attention to them, why is it pretty much the first thing the Osseo teams does but give WB stats for the night?
After reading comments regarding "boot ball". I feel compelled to chime in.
from 200-2006 State representatives especially Lake Conference quality teams (excluding Apple Valley) DID NOT PLAY BOOT BALL. They played possession style football and usually were only beaten by teams who had one phenomenal player.
This boot ball garbage should be linked to Apple Valley and AV only. Their coach, who I respect and is a great HIGH SCHOOL coach stresses a type of game that is NOT football. Dump in the corner from a center back, chase it down, and let that kid try and beat 8 guys. That is not football. It gets the job done because most high school teams are not organized well defensively.
The Eastview, Burnsville, Jefferson, Eden Prarie, and Eagan teams played a great style of football. It might not have always got the job done in State, because like I said before one great player can change a game in high school.
Off topic, what's with Jefferson being ranked? What a joke.
1:26AM,
Jefferson is ranked because they beat EP when EP was #1 and tied Apple Valley when AV was/is #1.
Coaches know the Lake Conference has been best in state for last 8-10 years.
1:26AM,
Jefferson is ranked because they beat EP when EP was #1 and tied Apple Valley when AV was/is #1.
Coaches know the Lake Conference has been best in state for last 8-10 years.
WB missed two breakaways.
Do these make to the stats sheet?
Lucas Hoang and Ahmad Bah worked hard in the midfield to get possession and balls to the forwards. Any stats for this?
Scholes worked hard and won a lot of balls too, but Cristiano scored 55 goals and became the player of the year. Many can win balls; few can score goals. That's why we track and care about goals.
How do you win a football game? By winning more balls than the opponent or scoring more goals than the opponent?
(well you need to win balls to score goals...blah blah blah)
so what happened to Schlittler at Eagan?
regarding Schlittler----I heard it was drinking.
Must be second violation.
Out for 6 games and you're done for the season.
tough one for Eagan...8 wins in a row and were playing as good as anybody in the State. Would have been a great game against Valley in the section finals.
problem with HS soccer is the field. Most are too narrow and that causes teams to play more direct. the other problem is only a few top level players.
Jefferson should be around #10. Lost to Eagan and they are top 5, beat EP and they are top 3, tied AV and they are number 1, lost to Armstrong when they were number 11 and moving up, and lost to Edina when Edina was good. Prior Lake is only questionable game. Almost everyone has questionable games, St Louis Park has not beat a top ten team. Coon Rapids has not beaten that many good teams and they are top 5. I think AV, Osseo, EP, and Eagan are the only top teams. Everyone else is next tier. My point Jefferson 1-1-1 vs the best four teams. That is why they should be around number 10.
Top 10 in Action - Wednesday 10/1
1. Apple Valley (off)
2. Osseo (off)
3. Eden Prairie (off)
4. St. Louis Park (off)
5. Coon Rapids (off)
6. Eagan (off)
7. Bloomington Jefferson (Away 7pm at Chaska)
8. Minneapolis Southwest (home 4:30pm vs Minneapolis Henry)
9. Edina (Away 5pm at Robbinsdale Armstrong)
10. Woodbury (off)
Games to watch
Edina vs. Robbinsdale Armstrong | 5:00 PM at Robbinsdale Armstrong
Bloomington Jefferson vs. Chaska | 7:00 PM at Chaska
I hope Edina won't self-destruct tonight. What's going on with them lately? Anyone knows?
Jefferson is surrounded by studs. AV EP Lakeville North and underrated Eagan.
Jefferson beat Rosemount who beat #9 Edina, and tied 9-1-1 #1 AV
Jefferson is top 5 for sure!!!!!!
10:45, I agree. Bad fields and bad players results in direct play. Go forward, not wide. Kick the ball, not pass the ball.
This could be solved by making the HS game 8v8 on smaller fields. Results in better players, more goals, more fans, more money, more fun.
Jefferson is a good team and the light switch could turn on anytime. But, who have they really beat in the last few weeks? Just when you want to believe they are contenders...pretenders. Top 5, don't think so.
Agreed....AV,Osseo,EP,and Eagan as the top teams.
It sucks having AV EP and Eagan in our conference.
Those three AV, EP, and Eagan dominate the conference and state polls every year.
I would say that it is down to top 3 AV EP and Osseo, Eagan is no longer a top contender with RS gone from the team
Hard to disagree with the Schlittler/Eagan assessment.
I've been watching Eagan games for years...never count them out! Always play hard and well in big games.
Is that why Eagan has so many state championshi....
Nobody ever answered the question about who the best high school coaches are? Does anyone have a list? Who are the top coaches in the dominant Lake?
1:43pm Gutless comment on Eagan. Don't you have the answer on the question of best coaches or are you one of those guys that will argue with anything. Lake/Classic conference is the toughest. Can't get around 1:43pm. Agree 1:11p/1:13p on R.S. Eagan analysis.
1:15pm The questions is, how will Eagan respond on Thursday against Eastview after the loss of R.S. Getting past that game could continue the mo or deflate. My guess Eagan comes out just fine. Still, getting past A.V. in the sections w/out R.S., if it comes to that, is to big of feat. Time of the season where one player does make an impact on who wins the big games.
Eagan comment.....no state titles but I would put there winning percentage over the past decade against anybody's. But, yes no state titles that is the rap on them. Close many times but no cigar.
Check out Eagan's difficult non-conference schedule. They play a bunch of A teams. That doesn't help when they get to the big games in the AA playoffs, but it does help their winning percentage.
Early season non-conference games are used by Eagan (as well as most teams)as a testing ground for their line-ups and tactics. No one should take that portion of the season seriously. When you are in the Lake Conference you don't have to look for a tough match!
If you do want to look at Eagan's non-conference play notice that most of the A schools are in the top 10 in the state.
No matter how you stack the teams in the top ten, it is normal for a team in the top five not to go to state because of how the sections are set up. Knowing how political that would be to change, I propose 16 teams go to state instead of 8.
More teams than that is limiting the honor and recognition. And 16 teams would create a better mix.
1. Osseo
2. Apple Valley
3. Eden Prairie
4. Owatonna
5. Rochester Mayo
6. St. Louis Park
7. Eagan
8. Coon Rapids
9. Armstrong
10. Bloomington Jefferson
Owatana and Mayo to high, no team from the Big Nine ever make it the final game. I think both could be top 10 but not 4 and 5. Big win for Owatana vs Eagan early in the year. I think you have the right 10 teams
I would put Eagan's schedule against anyone's in the state when you factor in all games. Duluth East and Simley are both rated in the top 5 in Class A who Eagan played.
I'm going to watch the Eagan/Eastview match...will be interesting to see where this team is at now with no RS. Still a contender?
I say the best way to do the state tournament would be to to rank the teams 1-64 and then start the tournament, when you get down to the final 8 you can call it the "state" tournament if you want, but thats the best way to do it, yes i realize not really realistic, but at the same time if you want the best teams to have to get their and still give everyone a chance and make it fair to everyone, it covers all of those areas
WOW! Do I think putting 64 High School coaches in a room to decided the their ranking for the State Tournment is a good ideal? No, but it could be interesting to watch. Kind of like cage wrestling.
Don't you just love it when coaches and assistants get on blogs and rail about how bad other (read - more successful) coaches are. It's hilarious. Just let everyone know who you are or reserve your comments.
Max, how about start with you.
Tell us your true identify.
Ranking the 64 teams in AA is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. Taking 16 teams to the tourney is dumb too. The section system is good because it draws from all over the state. Take 8 teams, let them play. If someone doesn't make it out of sections, they shouldn't be in state.
I liked it better when we played only one class, and the big and small schools all played each-other. One champion.
How come Minnesota soccer playoffs start so soon? Wisconsin playoffs don't start until October 23rd and the state tournament is played out of doors on grass. It would be a lot more interesting if the whole of the soccer season wasn't played in 5 weeks.
Armstrong 2, Edina 1
CLassic Lake conference champions
Osseo will win Northwest Suburban conference title tomorrow night.
1. Osseo
2. Apple Valley
3. Eden Prairie
4. Owatonna
5. Rochester Mayo
6. St. Louis Park
7. Eagan
8. Coon Rapids
9. Armstrong
10. Bloomington Jefferson
Bloomington Jefferson is a good high school soccer team. A team that has a great defense to go along with one of the best midfields. But their forwards are not goal scorers. I would not be worried any more if i have to play jefferson then Burnsville, chaska, Kennedy, or Minnetonka. Jefferson has a chance to go somewhere if their mids can score on every shot or if they don't miss penalty kicks. One of the best if not the best defensive team in the state, but you can't go very far if you don't score. They have to change forwards or do something to get the ball in the back of the net. What happened to their Junior goal scorer last year? If they got him back or any decent forward you are looking a state championship team.
Jefferson's junior goal scorer is still there; but no matter who plays forward, the Jefferson midfield is not effective at playing the ball to feet and then pushing up to support the forwards.
Osseo hasn't played a strong schedule whne compared to several other top 10 ranked teams.
Because of that I would rank Apple Valley or Eden Prairie as #1.
I agree with 9:02pm - Let's finish the season outside. We would save $ and get more fans.
Coon rapids can whip Apple Valley, Eden Prarie, Eagan, or even Jefferson IMO.
I expect CR to make out of Section and doing well in State Tournament.
From watching CR kids and their games, they are as big and faster than AV, EP, and Jefferson. They don't play bootball as much as others. They have some sort of build up attack and/or direct plays that can be very dangerous. They should take out Anoka their Section playoff.
Me Xman Said: Coon rapids can whip Apple Valley, Eden Prarie, Eagan, or even Jefferson IMO.
I expect CR to make out of Section and doing well in State Tournament.
Can you comment on the CDH v CR game. Cretin beat CR was it a fluke or a bad night? Or have they improved vastly since then?
I wasn't at that game or can't find any video for it so I'm not sure what to say about it.
Class AA Section Champions Prediction
1AA: Rochester Mayo (Big 9)
2AA: Eden Prairie (Lake)
3AA: Apple Valley (Lake)
4AA: Woodbury (Suburban East)
5AA: Osseo (Northwest Suburban)
6AA: Hopkins (Classic Lake)
7AA: Coon Rapids (Northwest Suburban)
8AA: Elk River (Northwest Suburban)
Section Predictions (AA)
1: Rochester Mayo
2: Eden Prairie
3: Apple Valley
4: White Bear Lake
5: Osseo
6: Armstrong
7: Coon Rapids
8: Brainerd
I went to the CR game against Maple Grove. Coon Rapids didn't look that great. In fact, MG could have won the game--they had the better part of play. The goal was a semi-fluke--pressure and field related.
Either Cr is inconsistent, or MG is improving.
Jefferson is a typical Storlien coached team. The guy just doesn't know how to coach offense. It's his MO.
anon 11:41,
Ever watch the Tsunami Sota girls from back in 2002-2003? They were national runners ups 2 consecutive years.
When he has the horses he can gear up offense as well as anyone.
Ever see his Jefferson boys team play that won MSHSL "AA" championship in 2005?
I'll bet you didn't see either of those teams play because if you did you wouldn't make such a clueless post.
Who are the best offensive coaches in MN and the best coaches in MN high school soccer?
Wow! I'm flattered. Thanks but I wish. My writings must put me in the rank of best coaches. Thank YOU!
ps: Now where's the job posting for Anoka head coach position...
Anonymous said...
Me-x and Me-x
2/10/08 12:38 PM
Top 10 in Action - Wednesday 10/1 Results
1. Apple Valley (off)
2. Osseo (off)
3. Eden Prairie (off)
4. St. Louis Park (off)
5. Coon Rapids (off)
6. Eagan (off)
7. Bloomington Jefferson (Bloomington Jefferson 0, Chaska 0) Tied
8. Minneapolis Southwest (Minneapolis Southwest 8, Minneapolis Henry 0) Won
9. Edina (Robbinsdale Armstrong 2, Edina 1) Lost
10. Woodbury (off)
Games to watch
Edina 1-2 Robbinsdale Armstrong
Bloomington Jefferson 0-0 Chaska
Top 10 in Action - Thursday 10/2
1. Apple Valley (Home 7pm vs Burnsville)
2. Osseo (Away 7pm at Elk River)
3. Eden Prairie (Home 7pm vs Lakeville North)
4. St. Louis Park (Home 5pm vs Irondale)
5. Coon Rapids (Away 7pm at Andover)
6. Eagan (Home 7pm vs Eastview)
7. Bloomington Jefferson (Done)
8. Minneapolis Southwest (Away 4:30pm at Minneapolis Edison)
9. Edina (Away 5pm at Minnetonka)
10. Woodbury (Done)
Games to watch
Anoka vs. Champlin Park | 7:00 PM at Champlin Park
Lakeville North vs. Eden Prairie | 7:00 PM at Eden Prairie
Edina vs. Minnetonka | 5:00 PM at Minnetonka
Owatonna vs. Rochester Mayo | 7:00 PM at Rochester Mayo
Monticello vs. Rogers | 5:00 PM at Rogers
Hopkins vs. Wayzata | 7:00 PM at Wayzata
A few thoughts
o Hopkins is HOT! They're on a tear since lost to Wayzata 2-1 on 9/11. They've out scored opponents 21-8 in past six games. Beating Edina, Armstrong, Minnetonka.
o Anoka got beat by lowly Blaine 5-1. Not 1-0 but FIVE-ONE. Ouch! How could it be? Can they recover from the thrashing.
o Owatonna and Rochester Mayo are playing for conference title.
o Edina and Bloomington Jefferson should be out Top 10.
Eagan/Eastview tonight! How good will Eagan be without RS? If Eagan wins and Burnsville ties or beats Valley---Eagan wins the conference outright. Not sure how good Eagan will be now though...any thoughts?
There is a lot of coach bashing on here. Are there any good coaches in MN high school? Appears as though people aren't performing a thorough comparative analysis. They only want to bash the 1 or 2 coaches they know but they don't know anything about what else is out there.
Me xman - You are missing one really good game to watch. On paper this is a snoozer, but this is a same school district rivalry. Eagan vs. Eastview.
Will Eagan extend to a 9 game winning streak????
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