With the high school season over, many MN soccer fans are turning their attention to the upcoming club season. While travel budgets may be smaller with the economic down turn, may team are still planning a full winter season of tournaments.
You can almost set you clock to this annual state cup scheduling whine - also known as the "why can't everything revolove our activities" complaint. if you peeled the onion off of this whole subject it basically comes down to three points: 1) my DD might miss prom (even though we knew or should have known this could happen, but now that it has we aren't very happy). 2) my weekends at the cabin are screwed. 3) a perfect opportunity to take shots at MYSA (not that they don't always deserve them - IMO).
10:24 - understand about the wish to have games played on Wednesdays. Unfortunately, State Cup soccer does not exist in a vacuum. Do you know if anyone else is using the fields in Lakeland that night? Do you know if all the fields out there have lights (maybe someone out there knows)? If not, in May you would have to start the games no later than 6:00pm (wouldn't that be a nice commute for everyone being that warmups would get going around 5:15pm). Do you know if MYSA would have enough refs available to assign to 12 games (and that's just on the girls side for U17/U18)? I don't mean to be so blunt, but I think you might be in the vocal minority on this one. Not sure where you live, but last year those age groups had to play up in Cambridge-Isanti.
The reason you can set your clock to the complaints is that nothing ever gets done about it, the status quo is asinine, it is relatively simple to fix, any moron can see that, so all of us morons keep pointing it out.
So what's the fix (other than re-scheduling all the games to accomodate maybe 5% of those who don't like it). Give us all a logical alternative (taking into account 4:15's comments). By the way there are only 6 full size fields in Lakeland and I'm not sure they have lights. There will be 24 girls teams in the U17/U18 age groups. The vast, vast (yes I mean vast) majority of the folks I know have no issues with the current schedule (which I guess makes us all morons).
me thinks the same few people who were complaining so much about the schedules not being posted by the "post by this day or go to jail" deadline are also the same few people who are now complaining about the schedule.......
Kids should not have to miss out on 1 in a life time events associated with high school for example Prom when the scheduling can be avoided by having the older age groups in the morning. These kids give up an awful lot for soccer, which is the choice the player has made. But if a conflict can be avoided just by flipping that the older kids play in the morning, why not? Last year the U16's played at 6 pm on a Saturday, several Proms where that night, now this year the same group of girls at the U17 are having to make the same choice soccer or Prom...
There is a U-12 team from a new club (the Minnesota TC soccer club) known as MTCSC. They have just been accepted to play in State Cup this year (schedules will be redone and out by later today) This team is unbelievable! They have been quietly organizing and practicing throughout the winter at a private turfed facility. The team is made up of the best U-12 players in the State and is being funded by a single person so the kids (Mom/Dad) have NO cost to be on this team. They plan extensive travel, all paid in full by the sponsor, and will easily win State Cup this year. They have flown in top U-13, U-14 and even one U-15 team from surrounding states and have been destroyed most of those teams. This team will beat MN 13,14 and 15 teams easily ! It is unknown if the club will put together additional teams over time but for now this experimental program seems to be producing a future National Championship caliber team.
In reviewing the State Cup schedule for the U17/U18 girls, I see 6 games at 4:00pm on 5/1 and 2 games at 4:00pm on 5/8. All the other games are either earlier or on Sunday's. Please help us all understand what the issue is?
The issue is those 6 games could have been earlier just like the rest. It is not hard to put all the young age groups later in the day and give the kids that have prom a chance to attend without having to make a choice.
Its really simple, Tom just refuses to acknowledge it. He needs to go, he doesn't even live in MN anymore.
On my daughter's team you don't get a choice. She made a commitment to her team and knew that conflicts exist, but she made a commitment and has a responsibility to her teammates. She plays at 4:00pm also and she knows she'll just have to hustle to get ready and might be a few minutes late for prom, but would never let her teammates down.
Anonymous 1125, I am willing to bet you have not seen 1/2 of the teams play that you predicted to win. Stick to your NCAA brackets and picking Kansas to beat Kentucky. I am guessing you know more about the Jayhawks and Wildcats then youth soccer.
Dear Prom Queen: Did you realize that some U14 and U15 players might also want to go to prom (this includes the boys side of the bracket)? So that leaves just the 13's to play the late games. From a scheduling standpoint I don't beleive your idea will work and will not make everyone happy...especially you!
So between the ECNL on the girls side and the USSF DAP on the boys side you have to give MTA some credit for at least providing potentially the highest levels of training and competition in MN. You can debate whether the costs, staff quality, time, etc... are worth it, but at least give them some props for that.
Finally it gives our top boys the chance to get seen by D-1 colleges. Put them up against the best the other midwest states have to offer and you'll see a huge uptick in D-1 boys from this state.
The prom issue has gone on every year for the last four years. Tom ran unopposed in November and many knew he had alrady been working in California since the summer of 2008with his house for sale in Wayzata. He's up for re-election in 2012, start lining up now! There should be lots of candidates.
As long as Tom is tournament director they will never flip flop times/age groups (older girls in AM - younger girls in PM) to allow college juniors and seniors to attend their proms. To do this would be to admit he's been wrong for all these years. If you want this changed then run for election as tournament director position and spearhead this initiative.
maybe you should run 11:43 (or whoever are the one or two people who have inundated this thread regarding this issue) since this is such an important topic.
Rumor has is ECNL will no longer go to Disney and will instead have their own even in Sarasota, FL during the same time. Take it for what's worth. It isn't about the players.
Rumor has it ECNL will no longer go to Disney and will instead have their own event in Sarasota, FL during the same time. Take it for what's worth. It isn't about the players.
10:16, some programs have bigger recruiting budgets than other programs. Some will attend both, others wont attend either one. The question as parents need to ask, is how far does your daughter want to go play college soccer. As history has shown, most MN youth players end up going to Univ of Minnesota. So why travel to the west coast and play in front of mostly west coast programs, same thing going east. If your daugher wants to play for Univ of WI-Green Bay for example, its cheaper to send her to camps at that school for 2 or 3 yrs in a row.
LOL...most mn youth players go to the U of M. How many players do they roster? Hundreds? Because there are hundreds of mn youth players. Maybe a good percentage of the best of the best go to the U of M, but isn't that a good thing? Coach Mikki is building a national championship team with home grown talent. For those players who do not meet that level, there are many options, and the best opportunities to showcase their talents are at out of state tournaments. MN ODP is certainly NOT the answer. How many times do the MN teams train in the winter? Not many.
Coach Mikki will NEVER HAVE A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM. She is NOT building one, nor could she ever buy one. She does not have the "goods" as a coach or a recruiter to ever produce a banner like that.
Hey, it isn't too bad to finish middle to upper half of a major D1 conference. Just don't fool yourselves into thinking it will ever be more than that.
7:08 - what was two years ago? They made it to the Sweet 16 and had a very good year. MDW is a very good coach/recruiter and her program will have a solid year here and there (like making it again to the Sweet 16) but that will be about as good as it gets. She gets very good local talent, but why would some top national kid out of CA, Fl, TX, etc... want to come up to play in MN when the UNC's, UCLA's, Stanford's, etc... come calling? Schools with perennially top soccer programs and sunshine. No school keeps all the best local talent every year (see every other Gopher sport) but she has done an excellent job at building a consistent program with the key word being "solid".
Back to the recruiting thing, how many players from MN have left the state to a major program. KK going to FSU, good one, CS to KU, good one at the that time, but who else?? Sorry, didnt mean to say most youth players, lets put it this way, most top level players, the top 1-2% stay in state. Lets look, Michigan is recruitn from all over, its not much warmer over there than it is here. WI is doing a better job of recruiting as well. Building a Natl Championship team, now that is for the ages.
Minnesota doesn't do a very good job of producing high level soccer players. Yes the UofM takes usually some of the better players in the state but very rarely does a player go to or get recriuted by a top program. I know that may sting some of the parents out there, but lets be honest and not count the UofM as national contenders.
how do you know some of the players who chose MN didn't get recruited by other major programs? BTW, congrats to the two (yes TWO) current Golden Gophers who just got called into the U23 WNT camp. It's too bad MDW doesn't have an eye for talent as there probably could or should have been at least four (yes, heavy on the sarcasm).
This whole recent thread of blogs (cutting U of MN) seems to have started with the same old question about traveling out of state for the big tournaments and whether it is worth it for girls to go to these types of tournaments when they aren't going far to go to college: MN, Wisc., Iowa, Illinois, etc.
Anyway, you are all forgetting one important aspect of these tournaments...they give the girls a chance (provided the team is seeded high enough) to play the best teams in the country (look at the Woodbury Inferno playing the National Champion Eclipse in the finals of the Disney tourney this year). I can't think of another venue that would be better at getting girls ready for college level play than that level tournament. The girls on teams like the Inferno obviously planned/hoped to play college (since they are all doing that) so why argue about it. And, unless teams start going to those tournaments when the girls are young enough (and provided they do well), they won't get into those tournaments at later ages. It's a gamble but for the serious soccer player - I think it is a must. For the girls who want to play college soccer they have to do a not of other leg work too, like contact the coaches of the schools they are interested in and invite them to watch their games and then follow up with them.
It's just that time of year. State cup hasn't started yet, cause you know everyone will go crazy when that starts. ODP starts next Monday night for the 93-95's. People will complain about that too. So just wait it out!! There will be plenty going on shortly :)
EP is playing MRL Premier, it isn't like they are playing against the typical weekend fare of most MN clubs. Give them a break, they are a good side....
We may not have kids on the same team, but respect to the kids and to JE. Hang in there....
Keep in mind that teams playing in MRL premiere are traveling great distances compared to their opponents . Also, 3 weekends in a row, so league play is completed before our state cup. Minnesota teams play 3 games per weekend, others 2...generally.
11:15: MRL officials should spot EP a goal or two so they can be competitive, given the very difficult conditions they face each weekend. It is only fair.
10 goals against a team in a 3 game spread would indicate that the defense needs help - don't you think? The offensive players on that team seem to think they don't have to play defense - that won't work at this level. Defense comes first - without it a team is lost.
lol - when was the last time you saw in a high level game the offense prevent goals. Watch a little EPL, Champions League, MSL, or take in the GG's scrimmage this weekend and tell me how often any of the offensive players retreat back to the defending third.
So if a team isn't scoring, is it the defense's fault for not playing more offense?
11:26 I'll try and speak slower. Minnesota MRL Premiere teams travel 3 back to back weekends to Southern R2 fields, they play 3 games per weekend to 2 for the more local teams..... the point being , we're at a distinct disadvantage from the getgo. Infernos games look more spread out. EP and BVL are jamming the games in before state cup.
3:51pm, sorry still not getting it-don't all of the teams have to travel for the weekend? Not sure why this puts anyone at a disadvantage, MRL is a regional traveling league.
it looks like burnsville at least hung in there although they played the lower level teams. if they get 2 or 3 more results (win-draw) that is probably the best they can do. no knock on them just the way it is. hopefully MN soccer folks support all the out of state teams.
4:06 - I'll try to speak even slower......flying from MN to somewhere like OH to play local OH teams. Yes, you are correct all of the teams have to travel. Some have to travel by plane and then car rental, others have to drive and commute from their homes to the fields. With MRL there is usually a host team(s) for the weekend. I'm not sure why I'm trying as I believe your criticisms have less to with this issue, but something deeper.....
The funny thing is if an MTA parent was making the argument about travelling three straight weekends the EP would be bashing them for making excuses. I agree 100% with the EP parent about travel for MRL, it is very tough on the players. However, this was only weekend 1 and you gave up 10 goals, if this happened in weekend 3 you would have a reason for the excuses. MRL is not MN friendly and if your team continues to struggle I get it, however weekend 1 is not the time to start making excuses.
At the risk of making a positive comment on EP 17s (I have no player in the age group, not from EP)...
They tied two games (4-4, 3-3) in MRL Premier against two very good teams, and lost 3-0 to the 1st placea team, the defending MRL Spring Premier League champs from 2009.
The new coach may be fine with the progress of the team. I'm sure they will work on defending as the season progresses - its about development, right?
11:13 - not sure the point you are trying to make (twice as usual). Driving 700-750 miles each way is better on a player than flying? Since they're "driving" that gives the home teams who are also "driving" no advantage (and the same thing holds true for when MRL games have been held at SSM/AHA). Help me understand.
I have not weighed in on this travel disadvantage discussion yet. My kid plays for none of the mentioned clubs but does travel extensively for tournaments and MRL. I believe there is no question that a traveling team has a disadvantage in the games played for an MRL weekend or a highly competitive tournament.
A 5-6 hr (or more) drive or flight and then sleeping in a different bed, eating at restraunts vs home cooking, often double bunking with other teammates, and then often having to play three or more games in a weekend when the local team only plays two (MRL) does impact the play of the kids. The more a team travels however the better they become at overcoming these issues.
The Spring League is not nearly as strong as the Fall League. In the Spring you don't have IL, MO, MI, WI. To name just a few. No coach can be happy with 10 goals against in 3 games, especially if the coach is a former GK. I am sure JE is worried about the quality of the team. EP added a lot of players and the team is struggling. Do they have injured players? Will they be the favorite for State Cup?
Regarding traveling, Wow Eclipse does it, and they do pretty well. So does the Hawks, Slammers, PDA, and the list goes on and on. If you want to be known as a high level club, like MTA wants and thinks they are, then stop your crying about travel.
no one is crying about traveling to out of state tournaments. i believe all the comments have been about mn teams traveling to mrl weekends in il, oh, & in where they are playing "home" teams and having to squeeze more games into the weekend than the other "home" teams.
EP17s tie 3-3 with Ohio Elite ECNL. Oh, the shame. They gave up 3 goals again. They should quit. JE should quit from embarrassment. After all, the good Region II teams don't play in the spring.
Of course, Ohio Elite is ranked #1 in Ohio South, #5 in Region II. Clearly Ohio Elite ECNL should disband. And Cleveland FC (the only team that beat EP to date) is #1 in Ohio North, #2 in Region II.
EP should just forfeit their State Cup games, since they clearly have no chance in MN.
The comment was that the spring MRL is not as strong. Its true and a fact. Yes Ohio has some good teams playing in MRL. Most of the top teams will be out of MRL in the very near future with the expansion of ECNL, another fact.
The comment was that EP has been playing top rated teams in Region II. It is true, and a fact. It doesn't matter where they come from.
Another fact. Your ECNL comment is a supposition. Neither the success or failure of ECNL is a foregone conclusion. Check back after ECNL has a few years of operation with more than a 9 game "season".
Spring League is not as strong as fall for MRL on the girls side. Minnesota has had some teams finish first or second im MRL Premier in the Spring and those teams were not even close to being best or second best in the region.
Thunder 17 parents cannot stand the attention that EP 17's are getting. They simply have the best players, but nowhere near as good as the 18 Woodbury squad and this comes from someone with no kid on ANY of those three teams---just a fact. The Woodbury 18 team is far superior the a squad combined of MTA and EDP 17's. Just ask JE. MDW will soon find out that she lost out on the very best players in both '09/'10 and '11. It will show in her 2011-2013 seasons. Take that to the proverbial bank!
The teams EP is playing in the Spring MRL league from Ohio North and Ohio South are rated very highly in Region II, two in the top 5. That was the point, not a comparison of relative strength of Spring and Fall MRL.
The EP bashing by people who have not witnessed the games based on these results is moronic.
How can people say the 2010 class is superior to 2011? The top talent in the 2010 class is by all measures combined on one team. Yet that team was no more successful (A 3W and 9L record at regions I believe?) from U14-U17 than the teams comprised of 2011 players. This in spite of the fact that talent at that age group is spread across 2-3 teams. What happens at U18 or U19 is irrelevant as most teams have already begun disbanding and focusing on college at that point. I think MDW is more clued in than many want to give her credit for.
Oh please, not the "Coach X didn't land Player A, therefore she's a bad recruiter" discussion. Doesn't the kid have a say in the matter? What if she wanted to get away from home? What if she wanted to go to a different (warmer) part of the country? What if a school offered a stronger curriculum in the classes that interested her? What if a style of play elsewhere suited a player better? What if where that girl played there was already a strong incumbent and playing time would be diminished? I always love black-and-white answers for the grayest of topics.
8:35, your points apply to all sports. If Brewster (or Tubby) had a loaded team in his back yard that was handily beating top Regional and National teams, and he got only one player from that team, would you give him a pass too?
8:57 - if that was true. Unfortunately, other than the hockey coaches (and maybe volleyball), name one other youth sport here in "our back yard" that's loaded and would handily beat up Regional and National teams. It would make a great discussion topic if it only applied better. The kid from CDH went to USC - maybe you do but I don't blame Brewster, the girls BBall player went to OSU - maybe you do but I don't blame Borton. Kid's have choices and they go where the "fit" is the best. That doesn't mean the UofM isn't a good school, the athletic programs are bad, the coaches are inferior, but that a student-athlete chose elsewhere (this also means that nothing is also perfect at the UofM and efforts should always be made to improve things). Now if the coaches that 8:57 NEVER even attmepted to recruit any of these players then that would be a different story.
ECNL is a success the other clubs that were not part of ECNL are now joining. The only club ECNL is missing is the Texans. I think the Texans are the best club but all the other top clubs are now on board. Including a few more from Region II. Most of the clubs will be optioning out of MRL to play in Regional ECNL.
This is the first year of expansion of the ECNL. Expansion of the ECNL is a two-year process that will carefully and gradually establish the membership necessary to create regional and national competition in a 25- to 30-game schedule. Significant additional expansion is expected for the 2011-12 season.
How "Elite" is the ECNL going to be when there will be significant additional expansion? Sounds alot like how MRL went from being truly selective to now where there are roughly 60 U14 teams and how Disney now has 5 flights. No surprise with all of this as it's all driven by $$$$$$$. More teams, more fees, more $$$, etc... Does anything honestly think that this is a pro-bono venture (and please don't tell me about "non-profit" status - I know folks who run non-profits who make hundreds of thousands per year)? If it was just the current RII ECNL clubs playing kind of a MRL league then that might have some appeal as the ECNL clubs move away from USYS State Cups the teams are going to need some other form of competition other than 4+ tournaments a year.
I thought I'd find more MRL results on here from this past weekend. Burnsville must have stunk it up because their normally braggy parents aren't on here.
1,123 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 1001 – 1123 of 1123You can almost set you clock to this annual state cup scheduling whine - also known as the "why can't everything revolove our activities" complaint.
if you peeled the onion off of this whole subject it basically comes down to three points:
1) my DD might miss prom (even though we knew or should have known this could happen, but now that it has we aren't very happy).
2) my weekends at the cabin are screwed.
3) a perfect opportunity to take shots at MYSA (not that they don't always deserve them - IMO).
8:27--Amen!
Now that the State Cup schedules are "official" and MRL is underway, can we start two new threads for State Cup and MRL?
10:24 - understand about the wish to have games played on Wednesdays. Unfortunately, State Cup soccer does not exist in a vacuum.
Do you know if anyone else is using the fields in Lakeland that night?
Do you know if all the fields out there have lights (maybe someone out there knows)? If not, in May you would have to start the games no later than 6:00pm (wouldn't that be a nice commute for everyone being that warmups would get going around 5:15pm).
Do you know if MYSA would have enough refs available to assign to 12 games (and that's just on the girls side for U17/U18)?
I don't mean to be so blunt, but I think you might be in the vocal minority on this one. Not sure where you live, but last year those age groups had to play up in Cambridge-Isanti.
The reason you can set your clock to the complaints is that nothing ever gets done about it, the status quo is asinine, it is relatively simple to fix, any moron can see that, so all of us morons keep pointing it out.
So what's the fix (other than re-scheduling all the games to accomodate maybe 5% of those who don't like it).
Give us all a logical alternative (taking into account 4:15's comments). By the way there are only 6 full size fields in Lakeland and I'm not sure they have lights. There will be 24 girls teams in the U17/U18 age groups.
The vast, vast (yes I mean vast) majority of the folks I know have no issues with the current schedule (which I guess makes us all morons).
me thinks the same few people who were complaining so much about the schedules not being posted by the "post by this day or go to jail" deadline are also the same few people who are now complaining about the schedule.......
1.Post the playing dates for each age group in November.
2.Play the older groups earliest in the day.
No complaints about schedule, because everyone knows the dates 5 months in advance instead of 4 weeks.
A bottle of red and the state cup semi finals and finals are set you can pick the winners.
U13
MTA E vs WYZ
PRL vs MTA N
Final
MTA E vs PRL
U14
EDP vs MTA
DKT vs DKT
Final
DKT vs MTA
U15
BVL vs TCF
MTE vs TNK
Final
BVL vs MTE
U16
MTE vs MTA W
DKT vs EP
Final
MTE vs DKT
U17
WYZ vs SSM
EP vs SCV
Final
WYZ vs SCV
U18
WDB vs SCV
EDI vs SSM
WDB vs SSM
U19
MTA vs WDB
Good luck to all the teams!
Kids should not have to miss out on 1 in a life time events associated with high school for example Prom when the scheduling can be avoided by having the older age groups in the morning. These kids give up an awful lot for soccer, which is the choice the player has made. But if a conflict can be avoided just by flipping that the older kids play in the morning, why not? Last year the U16's played at 6 pm on a Saturday, several Proms where that night, now this year the same group of girls at the U17 are having to make the same choice soccer or Prom...
There is a U-12 team from a new club (the Minnesota TC soccer club) known as MTCSC. They have just been accepted to play in State Cup this year (schedules will be redone and out by later today) This team is unbelievable! They have been quietly organizing and practicing throughout the winter at a private turfed facility. The team is made up of the best U-12 players in the State and is being funded by a single person so the kids (Mom/Dad) have NO cost to be on this team. They plan extensive travel, all paid in full by the sponsor, and will easily win State Cup this year. They have flown in top U-13, U-14 and even one U-15 team from surrounding states and have been destroyed most of those teams.
This team will beat MN 13,14 and 15 teams easily ! It is unknown if the club will put together additional teams over time but for now this experimental program seems to be producing a future National Championship caliber team.
... and then you woke up from your dream.
Another April Fools Joke, you got us.
The better one is on www.insidemnsoccer.com
Nice April Fools day joke!
In reviewing the State Cup schedule for the U17/U18 girls, I see 6 games at 4:00pm on 5/1 and 2 games at 4:00pm on 5/8. All the other games are either earlier or on Sunday's. Please help us all understand what the issue is?
The issue is those 6 games could have been earlier just like the rest. It is not hard to put all the young age groups later in the day and give the kids that have prom a chance to attend without having to make a choice.
Its really simple, Tom just refuses to acknowledge it. He needs to go, he doesn't even live in MN anymore.
Feel free to apply. I wouldn't recommend you over Tom, because it looks like you are in it for you and you only...
what time do proms start?
On my daughter's team you don't get a choice. She made a commitment to her team and knew that conflicts exist, but she made a commitment and has a responsibility to her teammates. She plays at 4:00pm also and she knows she'll just have to hustle to get ready and might be a few minutes late for prom, but would never let her teammates down.
MTA and SSM invited as Development Academy clubs today
5:44 - inside info or has there been a press release? I'll believe it when I read it.
April 1
Anonymous 1125, I am willing to bet you have not seen 1/2 of the teams play that you predicted to win. Stick to your NCAA brackets and picking Kansas to beat Kentucky. I am guessing you know more about the Jayhawks and Wildcats then youth soccer.
Tom needs to go for sure. Have your club Pres. get a movement going. He is not in it for the kids best interest.
Dear Prom Queen:
Did you realize that some U14 and U15 players might also want to go to prom (this includes the boys side of the bracket)? So that leaves just the 13's to play the late games. From a scheduling standpoint I don't beleive your idea will work and will not make everyone happy...especially you!
956 who in there right mind would let a U14 (8th grade and maybe a few 9th graders) go to prom!! If you ask me you would be asking for trouble.
8th and 9th graders can't go to most proms, unless they go with juniors or seniors. THAT's asking for trouble.
So between the ECNL on the girls side and the USSF DAP on the boys side you have to give MTA some credit for at least providing potentially the highest levels of training and competition in MN. You can debate whether the costs, staff quality, time, etc... are worth it, but at least give them some props for that.
Finally it gives our top boys the chance to get seen by D-1 colleges. Put them up against the best the other midwest states have to offer and you'll see a huge uptick in D-1 boys from this state.
The prom issue has gone on every year for the last four years. Tom ran unopposed in November and many knew he had alrady been working in California since the summer of 2008with his house for sale in Wayzata. He's up for re-election in 2012, start lining up now! There should be lots of candidates.
no one will run but everyone will still complain......
12:48 is absolutely correct.
The prom issue has been going on for at least four years and angers roughly at best a half dozen people every year.
...A lot more realistic...
U13
Final
MTA E vs TCF
U14
Final
DKT vs MTA
U15
Final
TCF vs MTE
U16
Final
MTE vs DKT
U17
Final
WYZ vs SCV
U18
Final
WDB vs SSM
U19
Final
MTA vs WDB
As long as Tom is tournament director they will never flip flop times/age groups (older girls in AM - younger girls in PM) to allow college juniors and seniors to attend their proms.
To do this would be to admit he's been wrong for all these years.
If you want this changed then run for election as tournament director position and spearhead this initiative.
maybe you should run 11:43 (or whoever are the one or two people who have inundated this thread regarding this issue) since this is such an important topic.
So 11:43 is from TCF. The other picks were the same. Guessing the earlier picks were less biased, probably more accurate.
good call on the U19 game.
Rumor has is ECNL will no longer go to Disney and will instead have their own even in Sarasota, FL during the same time. Take it for what's worth. It isn't about the players.
Rumor has it ECNL will no longer go to Disney and will instead have their own event in Sarasota, FL during the same time. Take it for what's worth. It isn't about the players.
If true from a cost perspective it make sense. Question is what site college coaches will choose or if they will attend both.
10:16, some programs have bigger recruiting budgets than other programs. Some will attend both, others wont attend either one. The question as parents need to ask, is how far does your daughter want to go play college soccer. As history has shown, most MN youth players end up going to Univ of Minnesota. So why travel to the west coast and play in front of mostly west coast programs, same thing going east. If your daugher wants to play for Univ of WI-Green Bay for example, its cheaper to send her to camps at that school for 2 or 3 yrs in a row.
As history has shown, most college bound soccer players DON'T go to the Univ of Minnesota. 11:47 get your facts straight.
LOL...most mn youth players go to the U of M. How many players do they roster? Hundreds? Because there are hundreds of mn youth players. Maybe a good percentage of the best of the best go to the U of M, but isn't that a good thing? Coach Mikki is building a national championship team with home grown talent. For those players who do not meet that level, there are many options, and the best opportunities to showcase their talents are at out of state tournaments. MN ODP is certainly NOT the answer. How many times do the MN teams train in the winter? Not many.
Coach Mikki will NEVER HAVE A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM. She is NOT building one, nor could she ever buy one. She does not have the "goods" as a coach or a recruiter to ever produce a banner like that.
Hey, it isn't too bad to finish middle to upper half of a major D1 conference. Just don't fool yourselves into thinking it will ever be more than that.
11:39,
Wasn't it a lot more than that just 2 years ago? Did you forget already?
Care to explain that?
7:08 - what was two years ago? They made it to the Sweet 16 and had a very good year. MDW is a very good coach/recruiter and her program will have a solid year here and there (like making it again to the Sweet 16) but that will be about as good as it gets. She gets very good local talent, but why would some top national kid out of CA, Fl, TX, etc... want to come up to play in MN when the UNC's, UCLA's, Stanford's, etc... come calling? Schools with perennially top soccer programs and sunshine.
No school keeps all the best local talent every year (see every other Gopher sport) but she has done an excellent job at building a consistent program with the key word being "solid".
Back to the recruiting thing, how many players from MN have left the state to a major program. KK going to FSU, good one, CS to KU, good one at the that time, but who else?? Sorry, didnt mean to say most youth players, lets put it this way, most top level players, the top 1-2% stay in state. Lets look, Michigan is recruitn from all over, its not much warmer over there than it is here. WI is doing a better job of recruiting as well. Building a Natl Championship team, now that is for the ages.
Getting to the NCAA Sweet 16 is a heckuva lot better than being middle of the pack in a D1 conference.
Minnesota doesn't do a very good job of producing high level soccer players. Yes the UofM takes usually some of the better players in the state but very rarely does a player go to or get recriuted by a top program. I know that may sting some of the parents out there, but lets be honest and not count the UofM as national contenders.
how do you know some of the players who chose MN didn't get recruited by other major programs?
BTW, congrats to the two (yes TWO) current Golden Gophers who just got called into the U23 WNT camp. It's too bad MDW doesn't have an eye for talent as there probably could or should have been at least four (yes, heavy on the sarcasm).
Hey people, there is a different thread for the Gopher Women discussion...
This whole recent thread of blogs (cutting U of MN) seems to have started with the same old question about traveling out of state for the big tournaments and whether it is worth it for girls to go to these types of tournaments when they aren't going far to go to college: MN, Wisc., Iowa, Illinois, etc.
Anyway, you are all forgetting one important aspect of these tournaments...they give the girls a chance (provided the team is seeded high enough) to play the best teams in the country (look at the Woodbury Inferno playing the National Champion Eclipse in the finals of the Disney tourney this year). I can't think of another venue that would be better at getting girls ready for college level play than that level tournament. The girls on teams like the Inferno obviously planned/hoped to play college (since they are all doing that) so why argue about it. And, unless teams start going to those tournaments when the girls are young enough (and provided they do well), they won't get into those tournaments at later ages. It's a gamble but for the serious soccer player - I think it is a must. For the girls who want to play college soccer they have to do a not of other leg work too, like contact the coaches of the schools they are interested in and invite them to watch their games and then follow up with them.
9:31
Drunk
5:19, I totally agree.
It's just that time of year. State cup hasn't started yet, cause you know everyone will go crazy when that starts. ODP starts next Monday night for the 93-95's. People will complain about that too. So just wait it out!! There will be plenty going on shortly :)
April Fool's, you ding-dong!
EP U 17 girls gave up 10 goals in 3 games this weekend? Did I read that correctly? Were they missing players?
EP is over-rated! 10 goals in three games! I thought they were stacked...
EP is playing MRL Premier, it isn't like they are playing against the typical weekend fare of most MN clubs. Give them a break, they are a good side....
We may not have kids on the same team, but respect to the kids and to JE. Hang in there....
SSMSouthCampus
Yea... hang in there EP! You guys might start winning again...
winning or whining?
Any other out of state results? I believe there were tournaments in Rockford, Des Moines, and other locations. MTA Blue U13 Girls win championship.
MTA 14 Blue won premier games 14's lose final.
Big MRL weekend with MN teams in Rockford Indiana and Blue Chip, finally it feels like soccer season
10 goals is still a lot of goals.
Keep in mind that teams playing in MRL premiere are traveling great distances compared to their opponents . Also, 3 weekends in a row, so league play is completed before our state cup. Minnesota teams play 3 games per weekend, others 2...generally.
11:15am, so what is your point?
11:15: MRL officials should spot EP a goal or two so they can be competitive, given the very difficult conditions they face each weekend. It is only fair.
Or, maybe your team could participate in MRL and you can spend your week days fending off criticism from those who know not of what they speak?
Nah, that would be too easy wouldn't it? Would ruin your record of 5 straight State Championships at C1....
It is much more comfortable sitting on the porch talking crap about those who are out there "doing it".
10 goals against a team in a 3 game spread would indicate that the defense needs help - don't you think? The offensive players on that team seem to think they don't have to play defense - that won't work at this level. Defense comes first - without it a team is lost.
lol - when was the last time you saw in a high level game the offense prevent goals. Watch a little EPL, Champions League, MSL, or take in the GG's scrimmage this weekend and tell me how often any of the offensive players retreat back to the defending third.
So if a team isn't scoring, is it the defense's fault for not playing more offense?
Yes, it is a team game. Geez, this isn't old-school girls basketball.
Allowing 10 goals in 3 games, and being shutout in one of those games, shows that a team has problems across the board.
11:26
I'll try and speak slower. Minnesota MRL Premiere teams travel 3 back to back weekends to Southern R2 fields, they play 3 games per weekend to 2 for the more local teams..... the point being , we're at a distinct disadvantage from the getgo. Infernos games look more spread out. EP and BVL are jamming the games in before state cup.
3:51pm, sorry still not getting it-don't all of the teams have to travel for the weekend? Not sure why this puts anyone at a disadvantage, MRL is a regional traveling league.
it looks like burnsville at least hung in there although they played the lower level teams. if they get 2 or 3 more results (win-draw) that is probably the best they can do. no knock on them just the way it is. hopefully MN soccer folks support all the out of state teams.
4:06 - I'll try to speak even slower......flying from MN to somewhere like OH to play local OH teams. Yes, you are correct all of the teams have to travel. Some have to travel by plane and then car rental, others have to drive and commute from their homes to the fields. With MRL there is usually a host team(s) for the weekend. I'm not sure why I'm trying as I believe your criticisms have less to with this issue, but something deeper.....
5:01- Seems to me EP parents make a lot of excuses. All the best players in the state and still can not win a game.
They could win a game if they stayed here and played against only the second best players in the state. What don't you get?
Now, now children. Just a few more weeks and state cup will be here to put your words to rest - one way or another!
7:06 you have some severe mental issues comparing your kid to the "second best players in the state."
The funny thing is if an MTA parent was making the argument about travelling three straight weekends the EP would be bashing them for making excuses. I agree 100% with the EP parent about travel for MRL, it is very tough on the players. However, this was only weekend 1 and you gave up 10 goals, if this happened in weekend 3 you would have a reason for the excuses. MRL is not MN friendly and if your team continues to struggle I get it, however weekend 1 is not the time to start making excuses.
6:11 you are correct.
At the risk of making a positive comment on EP 17s (I have no player in the age group, not from EP)...
They tied two games (4-4, 3-3) in MRL Premier against two very good teams, and lost 3-0 to the
1st placea team, the defending MRL Spring Premier League champs from 2009.
The new coach may be fine with the progress of the team. I'm sure they will work on defending as the season progresses - its about development, right?
12:05
I'm a BVL parent.
5:01
Half of our team are driving.
5:01
Half of our team are driving.
4:19
None are "lower level".
11:13 - not sure the point you are trying to make (twice as usual). Driving 700-750 miles each way is better on a player than flying? Since they're "driving" that gives the home teams who are also "driving" no advantage (and the same thing holds true for when MRL games have been held at SSM/AHA). Help me understand.
I have not weighed in on this travel disadvantage discussion yet. My kid plays for none of the mentioned clubs but does travel extensively for tournaments and MRL. I believe there is no question that a traveling team has a disadvantage in the games played for an MRL weekend or a highly competitive tournament.
A 5-6 hr (or more) drive or flight and then sleeping in a different bed, eating at restraunts vs home cooking, often double bunking with other teammates, and then often having to play three or more games in a weekend when the local team only plays two (MRL) does impact the play of the kids. The more a team travels however the better they become at overcoming these issues.
The Spring League is not nearly as strong as the Fall League. In the Spring you don't have IL, MO, MI, WI. To name just a few. No coach can be happy with 10 goals against in 3 games, especially if the coach is a former GK. I am sure JE is worried about the quality of the team. EP added a lot of players and the team is struggling. Do they have injured players? Will they be the favorite for State Cup?
Good luck to the MTA U14 and U12 girls teams traveling to Milwaukee this weekend in the Junior ECNL Spring Invitational.
Regarding traveling, Wow Eclipse does it, and they do pretty well. So does the Hawks, Slammers, PDA, and the list goes on and on. If you want to be known as a high level club, like MTA wants and thinks they are, then stop your crying about travel.
16/4/10 2:53 PM Wake up, this has nothing to do with MTA, this was about EP, genius.
no one is crying about traveling to out of state tournaments. i believe all the comments have been about mn teams traveling to mrl weekends in il, oh, & in where they are playing "home" teams and having to squeeze more games into the weekend than the other "home" teams.
MRL
REV 16's 1 Classics Hammer (Ohio)1
EP17s tie 3-3 with Ohio Elite ECNL. Oh, the shame. They gave up 3 goals again. They should quit. JE should quit from embarrassment. After all, the good Region II teams don't play in the spring.
Of course, Ohio Elite is ranked #1 in Ohio South, #5 in Region II. Clearly Ohio Elite ECNL should disband. And Cleveland FC (the only team that beat EP to date) is #1 in Ohio North, #2 in Region II.
EP should just forfeit their State Cup games, since they clearly have no chance in MN.
9:42,
I agree 100%
I love how the EP come on here right away to defend their results. Congrats on the 3-3 tie.
I heard EP is giving up goals, just for the pure entertainment value of seeing this blog talk about it.
scores today?
Woodbury seems to be doing much better without JE. 4 Wins in MRL Premier
EP ties again! Wow! they are terrible. What a let down with this squad.
I want to hear the excuses now.
The same poster seems to be quite obsessed with EP and has an axe to grind. Let the anger go man, its bad for your health.
JE and EP....take the attacks as a compliment.
The comment was that the spring MRL is not as strong. Its true and a fact. Yes Ohio has some good teams playing in MRL. Most of the top teams will be out of MRL in the very near future with the expansion of ECNL, another fact.
The comment was that EP has been playing top rated teams in Region II. It is true, and a fact. It doesn't matter where they come from.
Another fact. Your ECNL comment is a supposition. Neither the success or failure of ECNL is a foregone conclusion. Check back after ECNL has a few years of operation with more than a 9 game "season".
Spring League is not as strong as fall for MRL on the girls side. Minnesota has had some teams finish first or second im MRL Premier in the Spring and those teams were not even close to being best or second best in the region.
Thunder 17 parents cannot stand the attention that EP 17's are getting. They simply have the best players, but nowhere near as good as the 18 Woodbury squad and this comes from someone with no kid on ANY of those three teams---just a fact. The Woodbury 18 team is far superior the a squad combined of MTA and EDP 17's. Just ask JE. MDW will soon find out that she lost out on the very best players in both '09/'10 and '11. It will show in her 2011-2013 seasons. Take that to the proverbial bank!
2010 - maybe, but she did quite well the other years. Beg to also differ on your WDB comparison.
The teams EP is playing in the Spring MRL league from Ohio North and Ohio South are rated very highly in Region II, two in the top 5. That was the point, not a comparison of relative strength of Spring and Fall MRL.
The EP bashing by people who have not witnessed the games based on these results is moronic.
How can people say the 2010 class is superior to 2011? The top talent in the 2010 class is by all measures combined on one team. Yet that team was no more successful (A 3W and 9L record at regions I believe?) from U14-U17 than the teams comprised of 2011 players. This in spite of the fact that talent at that age group is spread across 2-3 teams. What happens at U18 or U19 is irrelevant as most teams have already begun disbanding and focusing on college at that point. I think MDW is more clued in than many want to give her credit for.
7:44, can I have some of what you are smoking?
9:19 - why, having read your posts I can only assume you ran out.....
I agree with 1:07. I think MN missed out on the best 2010s. Would be interesting to know why....but I suppose we never will.
MN missed out because those players did NOT want to play for MDW.
Oh please, not the "Coach X didn't land Player A, therefore she's a bad recruiter" discussion. Doesn't the kid have a say in the matter? What if she wanted to get away from home? What if she wanted to go to a different (warmer) part of the country? What if a school offered a stronger curriculum in the classes that interested her? What if a style of play elsewhere suited a player better? What if where that girl played there was already a strong incumbent and playing time would be diminished?
I always love black-and-white answers for the grayest of topics.
8:35, your points apply to all sports. If Brewster (or Tubby) had a loaded team in his back yard that was handily beating top Regional and National teams, and he got only one player from that team, would you give him a pass too?
8:57 - if that was true. Unfortunately, other than the hockey coaches (and maybe volleyball), name one other youth sport here in "our back yard" that's loaded and would handily beat up Regional and National teams. It would make a great discussion topic if it only applied better. The kid from CDH went to USC - maybe you do but I don't blame Brewster, the girls BBall player went to OSU - maybe you do but I don't blame Borton. Kid's have choices and they go where the "fit" is the best. That doesn't mean the UofM isn't a good school, the athletic programs are bad, the coaches are inferior, but that a student-athlete chose elsewhere (this also means that nothing is also perfect at the UofM and efforts should always be made to improve things).
Now if the coaches that 8:57 NEVER even attmepted to recruit any of these players then that would be a different story.
What team is 8:57am referring to? When was the last time a U14-U17 MN team even got out of pool play at regionals?
ECNL is a success the other clubs that were not part of ECNL are now joining. The only club ECNL is missing is the Texans. I think the Texans are the best club but all the other top clubs are now on board. Including a few more from Region II. Most of the clubs will be optioning out of MRL to play in Regional ECNL.
What is Regional ECNL....MRL 2.0?
From the ECNL Website:
This is the first year of expansion of the ECNL. Expansion of the ECNL is a two-year process that will carefully and gradually establish the membership necessary to create regional and national competition in a 25- to 30-game schedule. Significant additional expansion is expected for the 2011-12 season.
How "Elite" is the ECNL going to be when there will be significant additional expansion?
Sounds alot like how MRL went from being truly selective to now where there are roughly 60 U14 teams and how Disney now has 5 flights.
No surprise with all of this as it's all driven by $$$$$$$. More teams, more fees, more $$$, etc... Does anything honestly think that this is a pro-bono venture (and please don't tell me about "non-profit" status - I know folks who run non-profits who make hundreds of thousands per year)?
If it was just the current RII ECNL clubs playing kind of a MRL league then that might have some appeal as the ECNL clubs move away from USYS State Cups the teams are going to need some other form of competition other than 4+ tournaments a year.
I thought I'd find more MRL results on here from this past weekend. Burnsville must have stunk it up because their normally braggy parents aren't on here.
Post a Comment