Anyone know how the non-SSM minnesota teams did at the SSM showcase last weekend?
Looks like from the schedule that the MN teams did not play each other, but state cup should be wide open at these ages, so curious to know which team(s) are looking good early.
anon 1:29- You could make a small effort, if you really gave a hoot and check the Faribault paper from Thursday of last week. Not many of the girls going D1, but I can say that most went to the College/University of their choice for various reasons. I can say that most of the kids did not make a decision where to go based upon D1, D2, D3.
So, did you care about the information you are seeking out of genuine interest- or to try and bash a program for decisions of individuals?
I thought people were going to be forced to take a moniker?
So its okay for the school to boast about having more D1 signings than any school in the country and the next year when the school has only one it is personal choice. Sounds like an excuse for A) the girls program is not that good and B) the boys program is down this year.
SSM-South- your statement started out well, just that, a statement. Don't fall into the defensive mode, everyone that matters knows that teams, groups, clubs, schools etc all have up and down years. Smart people also understand that great athletes go to schools based on their abilities and interests, not just athletics.
I agree with taking a moniker even for the people who cheat it because they want to be petty.
Hey anonymous, please be respectful. If you don't like SSM, don't send your daughter, it's ok.
Old Ref- thanks for the suggestion. I understand what you are saying, but it seems clear that our anon friend is trying to stir the pot. So, I will make statements to tell the truth.
1) The statement regarding "one D1" is not correct
2) Of the players signing NLI ONLY ONE is NOT headed to a D1 school, she is headed to D2.
3) No one is hiding the signees or where they are going. It was released the same as it has been in past years.
4) The information can be found at: http://soccer.s-sm.org/news/current-news/365-12-ssm-players-commit-on-signing-day
5) There were 12 committals in 2011, as compared to 17 in 2010.
6) Congrats to all other players and their families reading this who signed NLIs last week. It is a hard road, and those who actually earn scholarship money are far and few in-between.
13 Thunder, REV, Burnsville Centenial REV 12's Thunder 12's St Croix 14 Thunder 15 Thunder, REV or will EP sneak in again? 16 Thunder, TC Fire 17 Blue after them wide open White SSM, St Croix REV 18 EP will win should play SSM or Thunder depending on draw.
SSM big classes of Div. 1 womens players thing of past along with the size of scholarships it went over budget with to get program started. Their teams following pattern of IMG academy with teams that have a few good div. 1 players and seldom compete for or win state cup because of now greater limitations in financial aid to have overall team depth and quality. SSM academics is very good though in preparing young ladies for demands of mixing college soccer , academics , greater responsibilty and freedom of time.
Anon 8:09- Good theory, do you have any facts you could state to back it up? When was the last "big class of Div 1 players? What scholarships are you referring to- SSM scholarships or College scholarships?
The fact is that it has always been a difficult sell to get female players to leave home for sport.
I could think of worse company to be compared to than IMG......
How about you take a moniker, anon? Would be nice to know who we are talking to, so we can know how much credibility you have for your statements.
3:42. What has anyone done lately? 17 Rev team did win MN Premier league two consecutive years. They deserve mention based on that alone. Blue in a class of their own in this age group .
Looks like a few MN girls teams heading out to Vegas for the College Showcase this weekend. Good luck to all the teams! EP and Rev at u15, Burnsville at u16 and Thunder and Rev at u17. No ECNL Thunder teams I assume. Good luck to all hopefully MN will see at least one result.
TCF website is down because they are transferring their web hosting services to a new company and having an issue with their old company giving them the lock codes to transfer the domain.
I am surprised we have this many TC Fire website supporters who are concerned over out website.
Let's try to be a little more respectful on this site this year - no team bashing. TC Fire is a decent team; they have some talented girls, just like the rest of the clubs out there do. If you have not seen them play nor know any of the girls on the team, how can a person make such comments? At state cup, just like in any other sport and any other tournament, ANYTHING can happen - even to the MTA teams!
Good luck to all the girls (and boys) in state cup! GO MTA!
2:39PM. So Minnesota is a "non factor" in soccer? Give us a fighting chance otherwise go find a blog that covers a different state that might make a difference in soccer. Otherwise "see ya".
10:59am. Agreed. All teams have some talented girls who don't chose to play for MTA. And I'm an MTA parent. Still GO MTA at State Cup!
If Minnesota is a non factor on the girls side, how can MSP be ranked the #6 metro area nationwide for D1 soccer recruits? (ahead of LA, and only behind Chicago in Midwest)
http://sites.google.com/site/soccerrecruits/ , then click on the 2011-Stats tab at the bottom.
Guess college coaches don't think MN is a "non factor".
Congratulations to the MTA 17 White team on winning their group at Las Vegas Showcase (4-0). And congratulations to Dakota Rev 17 for 2nd place in their group (2 wins and 2 draws). From a TCFire 17 parent.
I love the vitriol. Parents calling coaches dinks, saying clubs are non-factors, programs are down.
You can think what you want. It is your right to do so. But, when you put it in writing on a blog, it sounds like parents trying to lower the standards of the whole so their kid looks good, or the very minimum they feel good about their kid.
Bottom line is the kid plays the game; the kid either practices or doesn't; the kid either loves to play and trains to better themselves or they don't. Parents can only do one thing when they try to control their kids life, and that is get in the way of their kid's progress.
From the sounds of this blog we have a bevy of those parents. I am sure when their kid goes off to college they will be the ones contacting the professors on their child's behalf, sitting in classes with their child, under the guise they can help the kid learn more. They will be the parent who edits their kids papers and notes. And finally, if their kid makes the college soccer team will be the parents whom nobody likes to listen to or sit next to in the bleachers.
4:20pm, it's not about being bitter or anything like that, it is about having some class! Young people read these blogs as well and although they may not know who is saying what, they will know and understand what parents think and say. Maybe try to set an example, if you have a negitive opinion, I think there are other ways to express them. Or, maybe just keep them to yourself! Either way, name calling is just another way to lower your standards :-) You are correct with one thing, life IS too short! With that being said, remember to smile and.......have a great day!
4:43pm. Ok, i'm 16 yrs old. I don't see any name calling in any of the earlier posts? what the??? I see lots of people congratulating teams. Is that wrong?
OK I don't get it. This ECNL "league". What's up with the Pool"a" and Pool "b" ? are the teams divided into two pools based on ability?geography?region? what? Then you look and see that ECNL is called a "league" with standings yet teams never play more than half of the teams (way more than half). Oh' yea and teams from pool "A" now are playing teams from pool "B". So not only do teams play only a small sampling of teams from thier own pool but they also play cross pool. All is OK except they are then ranked within their pool in the "standings".
This is NOT a league. This seems more like a group of clubs who agree to get together for a few games throughout a given offseason. Othewrwise referred to as a Tournament. Am I wrong? correct my thinking.
BTW good luck to the MTA girls playing this weekend.
6:51, ECNL has much more to do with college exposure, player showcasing, and recruiting than with having a "winner". I'm always confused......we hear so much about placing too much emphasis on "winning" and then we get a post about league standings not being up to snuff (which is completely about determing a "winner").
The ECNL structure is changing dramatically for 2011-12. Clubs will now be in 8 regional divisions. The division champions will play for the national championship in June of 2012. Teams will also play non-division opponents at any of the six national showcase events. All ECNL clubs will no longer participate in State Cup or any USYSA events. Teams will play a total of 26 games over a the season. The purpose of the ECNL is to give clubs/teams higher quality games over a longer period of time so players are getting the proper ratio of games to training. The ECNL is getting more in line with how the USDA is run and will be better in the long run for womens soccer in the US. The league is moving in the right direction and will continue to grow and develop as can be said the same for the development academy on the boys side.
Yes they will be allowed. The divisions will be set up to allow for it. So teams that play high school in the fall won't start their league play until November. All teams will finish by the end of June and have the month of July off.
I think ECNL 'clubs' won't be able to participate in state cup is probably wrong. I bet ECNL teams might be true. I still be MTA will put teams in State Cup even if it their white or grey
So, how is this different from MRL? I thought the whole intent of ECNL was exposure to college coaches, but now it sounds like they are back to a bunch of regional matches with coaches primarily from around your state. How many out of state tournaments will there be?
Tough to play regional ECNL games for region two teams since MN has fall high school and majority of region 2 has spring are they supposed to play regional schedule November-March and a few weeks in june?
My guess more and more MN ECNL players will skip high school and if so good for them.
All ECNL games will be player from Nov-June. MTA players will still play HS soccer, no need to fight that battle. Teams will have to come to MN for games in the winter and MTA will have to play some teams in June before the ECNL nationals.
As far as this just being like MRL, that is far from the case. Take the ECNL teams out of MRL and MRL is a very average league. Plus all ECNL teams will travel to National showcase events throughout the year. U15 and U18 will play two national events. U16 and U17 will play three national events. Plenty of college exposure for ECNL clubs.
ECNL teams will not participate in state cup but other teams will be able to play in state cup.
The ECNL showcase events will be the #1 place for D1 college coaches to be just as it is for the 2 annual USSF Academy Showcases. The USSF Academy Showcases have over 300 D1 college coaches attending at each event.
At some point in time, people will finally realize that running soccer clubs and soccer leagues is not some unselfish altruistic act but a profit thing (and please spare me the "non-profit" BS classification that some of them have - that makes it sound like they are volunteers when all it really means is that at the end of the year the profits are all disbursed). The teams/clubs pay to belong to the leagues they are in. That is why MRL has swelled from maybe 15-20 leagues with 150 teams annually to over 60 leagues and 500 teams. The more teams the greater the economies of scale - do you think they added 4x as many office staff as they grew? Same with ECNL. This is not all about "the good of the game", but also about making money for those who own and run the league. In essence moving teams from MRL to the ECNL "regional" leagues is in business terms "grabbing market share". Instead of holding national events and let Disney, Las Vegas, etc... make the money, let's hold national events ourselves and keep the dollars in-house. Not saying there is anything wrong with this, but sometimes the layers of the onion need to be peeled back a bit. Since this is March Madness season, do you think the only reason that the NCAA holds the tournament is to crown a champion - it doesn't hurt that the tournament generates hundreds of millions in dollars and funds 95% of the NCAA's annual budget??? This is also the reason that the NCAA will never get to hold a national football playoff. Currently all the $$$$$ generated from the bowl games goes directly to the BCS conferences (NCAA gets ZERO).
MRL, ECNL, National League, select tournaments, etc. -- they're all money makers for someone and they all do have an admission gatekeeper of sorts to ensure teams are not of too low of quality. We should, however, not tout the quality of each simply because our team (or kid's team) is an accepted member thereof. Teams enter such leagues/tournaments in hopes to compete against higher caliber teams. We don't always see higher caliber teams in such play, but often do see better quality teams than exists in Minnesota (having played or seen most all in our age group).
So, nice post 2:41, but the money point is irrelevant unless you can point teams to locations for higher level competition. Yes, there is State Cup/Regionals/Nationals, but that's only one series of play. Where to go to complement the National Championship Series?
2:41 is a little of base with his post. Yes, MRL is about the dollars and Paul L is making a boat load running both MRL and the National League. Both leagues have expanded to the point of being diluted with average teams.
As far as the ECNL being about people making money, he is dead wrong. There is only one paid employee of the ECNL and that is the league commissioner. The Pres and VP both made a stipend in year one but no longer make any money from the league. The reason the league went to stand alone events was to reduce cost for the clubs. Vegas and Disney were both over $1200, ECNL events are $950. Any profits that the league make go to the identification camps that are run by ID. All players who get invited to these camps only pay airfare. All other expenses are covered by the league and the "profits" they make from league fees and tournament entry fees. The league does not make any money from the PDA and CASL events and the club pay no entry fee for the national final event in July. At the end of the day the league is about development of the womens game in the US, not lining peoples pockets.
If ECNL is about college exposure, it will be interesting to see if it has any impact. I would bet that most girls from MN will end up playing D2 or D3 soccer with no scholarships, or at the Gophers if they are really good. They could get the same exposure at MRL for less cost. I can't image that many players are going to move far away from home. If ECNL moves back to regional events then why pay all the money? All the top high school players are ending up at Minnesota and it doesnt matter what club they were on.
College coaches aren't lazy but they have had their recruiting budgets cut. That's why events like the showcase tournaments for the boys USSF Academy and the new ECNL showcases will be such a draw. The coaches can see most of the top players at one site in 1 or 2 weekends.
8:40pm, you don't get it. The ECNL is not moving away from National events, they are just adding a regional component just like the USDA. Each ECNL team will play 14 regional games, U15 and u18's will play 9 National games and the U16s and U17s will play 12 national games. The cost of travel will actually be less or equal to what the player are paying now as they won't be playing in any MYSA leagues, state cup or regionals.
As far as kids going to play for a bunch of D2 or D3 school for no scholarships. What rock do you live under?? MTA signed 24 boys and girls to D1 and D2 scholarships this year. Most of the 2012 class has already committed to D1 programs and there are several 2013s being recruited by big time programs no where near MN. There is zero college exposure for an MRL team unless you play in Crossroads or the Blue Chip and next year the ECNL will be using those events for some of the regional games.
I wonder what percentage those 24 MTA players represent? The koolaid MTA sells would lead one to believe that all of the mta players will be signing D1...thats why they pay the big bucks to train year round!
1:53pm. Two kids with MTA, two in the elite academy. Not once have we been told that they can get our kid or any kid on the teams a D1 or D2 scholarship. We've never been promised that! Don't make accusations that you know night about. MTA stresses training to become better soccer players, not to just train to get a scholarship. Oh and by the way, they stopped force feeding us kool-aid a few years ago.
4;16, that only happens on the boys' side, as many of the best players in this state are the least able to afford it. We can't compete in top showcases without them, so everyone pitches in for scholarships.
4:16pm. One child is getting the D1 looks, but NO ONE from MTA ever promised me she would get looks. We were promised that MTA train our kid to become good soccer players. The other child is only U13, so nothing for a few more years. So go ahead and keeping trying to justify that MTA is "no good" for soccer. I better sign off now, the coach is calling my weekly kool-aid is ready!
4:16pm. Not happening on girls teams, only boys! And I can name a couple of clubs besides MTA that give "club" scholarships to a recruits, again on the boys side.
2:12...relax! did you read 11:43, the comment was made to get a rise out of that parent. I know plenty of people at mta, all enjoy the experience (which is what it is all about). every club has the flag carrier spouting out how great there club is.
11:43 - so, based on your comments - each team will play 14 regional games. Since ECNL boasts only 1 game a day, that would equate to (rounded up) 5 events. Assuming MTA hosts one event (and there are no other MN teams in ECNL), that would mean travel out of state, but in region, for 4 events. Add on the national events (12 games for the U 16s), that is another 4 out of state events. Unless my math is wrong, that adds up to 8 travel events. Is the cost worth the exposure? MTA boasts all the college signings - to the Gophers, D2 teams, NDSU, Green Bay. Is it worth the cost? Coaches watch high school teams too.
9:00pm, I want to know what HS program your kid plays for because I will have my daughter transfer tomorrow to your school. My kids MTA team just played in the recent ECNL event in San Antonio and they only averaged 61 division 1 programs at each game. If I can get that much exposure at your kids school we are moving and I could save some money.
I will also simplify your math, ECNL regional games. 7 home 7 away games for each team. Not as much as you think.
8:32, most schools send two coaches to each event and schools usually watch half(or less) of each game. So that many coaches watching a game is not that unbelievable when you have 500 or so coaches walking around during an event.
couldn't it ever possibly be that the player might just want to play at the highest level - to challenge him/herself - to become a better player? this requires practicing and competing against other similar quality and driven players.
Here's a tip: My DD got a 27 the first time she took the ACT. We hired a tutor to work with her. About $500 later she retook the ACT and got a 32. Her average merit scholarship (from the private schools she applied to) is $13k per year. If Dad's looking to save some money, maybe the MTA fees would be better spent elsewhere.
Good point 1:28 but my child also wants to play soccer, so I am doing everything I can to help. Are all of my decisions golden? Nope, but I still try. Remember this is a soccer blog, not a financial blog, an academic blog, or a feel better about myself because I'm bashing others blog.
OK here are some facts for everyone to review. First MTA is only club in ECNL "league".
Here are their results: U-15 1 win 5 ties 3 losses. This team plays in the "B" pool and is in the bottom third of that pool and the only win was against the second to last place team in the B pool. Hardly boastful results.
U-16 3 wins 1 tie 5 losses. This team plays in the "B" pool. This team is at the 50% of the B pool the onlyt wins are against other teams equal to or lower than this team in the B pool standings. Again hardly boastful results.
U-17 5-2-2 This team is "the real deal" They play in the "A" pool and are in the top 20% of the A pool.
So one MTA team is having good results, the others , Not so good. So how does this translate to a MN comparison? Nobody knows for sure. The MTA kids will have good game experiences prior to State Cup which will help them. Have they played great competition? 17's yes, others No. Other MN teams have had success and have played in other tournaments too so no huge/obvious advantage to MTA. MTA does alot right, no question. They field competitive teams at all ages. They however are far from a lock at all but two age groups (U-14 and U-17). A Good club run by egomaniacs who need to get a life!
MTA 17 could have lost last year to St Croix. St Croix was the better team in the first half. MTA played better in the second half and got a fairly lucky goal with only minutes left.
If MTA show up motivated and healthy they probably will win the 17 age group but if they overlook teams they may be in trouble first game will be a good measuring stick.
I hate it when parents minimize one teams efforts. I was a neutral observer at the final U16 game. It was a good goal late in the game by a team pushing to win. St. Croix played a wonderful game. MTA just decided they were going to win and pushed for it. That is what exceptional teams do. St. Croix was almost there, but could not keep up the momentum.
Good goal? St Croix tried to clear the ball and the ball hit a MTA player and into the goal. They all count the same but to call it a good goal may be a stretch.
1:21 AM The play unfolded with a throw in by MTA. The center mid got the ball, passed it back out to the defender and the defender passed it back into the forward who controlled the ball with two touches and placed it over the goalkeepers head. I have it all on dvd if you'd like a copy.
12:21pm What is wrong with a DVD of MN youth soccer game? What if it was your kid? One parent on our team records games and sends DVD to husband/father serving in Iraq so he can see his child play. Really what is sad is that you are so shallow that it makes you laugh. Never judge unless you know the facts!
1:08 Good to hear, I know several parents who would like a copy when they are out of town or have other siblings to take of. I've seen parents purchase HS games as well.
If someone has not actually seen an ECNL game, how can they determine if a team from another club is good or not. People always try by looking at standings, scores, "A" or "B" Pool, etc but that does not even come close to painting the real picture. Fact is, you can try and judge the results all you want but unless you have seen the team's play, you just come off sounding stupid.
Looks like the St. Croix gal tried to clear the ball and it hit off the MTA player. You do have to watch it a few times to see it. Also, it is good to video tape games, kind of like keep sakes.
First of all, I think this is inconclusive. Secondly, it is irrelevant. Even if St. Croix would have won, they would not have fared well at regions. The right team won. Let it go. As for this year, both are different teams. Let's see what happens.
How come the 17 MTA blue has dropped to 100 in Got Soccer? Do they not account for ECNL games? If they are 5th in league and finished 5th at Nationals last year what gives?
gotsoccer rankings are currently flawed since they don't count the ECNL standalone events in their ranking calculation. nationalsoccerranking.com seems to be calculating all events correctly.
You have to look farther into Gotsoccer rankings to understand.
I am not saying these are true "rankings", so much depends on how much you travel (for MN teams). This is just a tool to help guage your child's team against others. Have fun with it, but don't rely on it too much.
Every year points drop off when the tournament or league you won them at comes around. Other teams may have picked up points and passed you... lot's of tournament play happening ... it's mostly based on winning against other teams that have points, so not many points available in MN. Just look at teams in CA, they play a regular league and pick up points, etc.
Old Ref: You are partly correct. CA teams do NOT get national ratings points for a local league. They DO get STATE ranking points for instate leagues but those points do not get added in to the national rating system. Now the truth is many of the top teams play in multiple state leagues (like our MRL) and national rating points do get awarded for those leagues. The real GOTSOCCER advantage CA teams have is the fact that virtually every local tournament gives points vs here where almost every local tournament Does not give points. To GOTSOCCER'S credit they have now changed the formula so all tournaments should yield points. By next year (points stay with a team for one year from the earned date) the CA advantage should be lessened. I do agree it is by no means a perfect ranking system but do believe it is a decent indicator of a teams strength. The best part of the program is seeing how a teams winning percentage looks and getting to see who they played in any given tournament. (IMO)
If nothing else, gotsoccer allows you to see how other teams have done against common opponents. That helps me figure out how we might do on a given weekend.
Thank You anonymous, that is what I meant but didn't want to go into too much detail.
Watch out for new teams, they won't have any GotSoccer points and could be amazing.
For some MN teams the lack of significant rankings have actually worked in their favor (some clubs stack the tournament pools against their rivals and assume the MN team will be a push over, then the MN team beats the host club and walks into the finals...)
Again, just have fun with it. And yes it's ok to be proud of your child and his/her team's accomplishments, just don't rub them in other's faces...
By the way, time is running out on getting your 2011 USSF certification or re-cert. Come on, many of you could help by being a referee. Get experience with some younger teams, then move up to more and more competitive matches. It's a great way to pay it back to the game!
7:36 Ive seen all three play and I think EP is the most improved and is better than the other two. They put numbers behind the ball and then counter attack effectively. I think 2 time defending champion Eden Prairie is the favorite this year. Rev and MTA in the same pool and unless they tie one is unlikely to advance from pool play.
I would recommend that you talk to your coach about the id2 program. Any coach can recommend players. If you get invited to camp, the only expense is air fare. It is a great opportunity. There is link on US Club soccer. There are no politics associated with this program. ODP, in my opinion, is expensive, and Minnesota does not have a strong program. Other states train together all year. The expenses early are not bad, but the regional camp is expensive. Might want to try a camp at a college that interests you instead.
I think SCV will beat the white team and take on the blue team in the finals. That will be a good game to watch. If SCV can control the play and get a quick goal, anything can happen.
SCV is more dangerous on offense, but MTA is better defensively. SVC goalie is good but vertically challenged, I predict a high shot may seal the deal. I'm rooting for SCV.
How about U15 and U16...finally both ages appear to have the best four teams, with no clear favorite. Both have a strong MTA team, but each would need to bring there best to get past the competition. Should be a fun semi for both...close competitive matches, lets hope the weather doesn't decide any with a unkucky goal!
Most clubs have 5 to 6 solid players on any given team. When the fillers move to other clubs there is a noticable difference. Note: Fillers are are players that work hard day in and day out for their teams, talent is just a notch below the solid player.
All clubs are different. Maybe those kids made the top team with a lower level club (I won't name names). They than decide to leave their lower level club team to try out for one of the bigger clubs (I won't name names). They quickly find out that their club didn't have the quality of training, coaching, field time. etc that some of the top clubs have. So they make the C2 team. Because your the star of your less than average club team, doesn't mean you'll be the star at larger clubs with lots of stars.
6:23 I have yet to see a "C1" league that is stronger than a Premier league. I have seen a select C1 team that is stronger than a weak Premier team but never a whole league regardless of the district.
Regularly the "big fish" in the "small sea" is humbled when they try to move to the next level of play. The bigger problem is the coach or evaluater who watches the player play at that lower level and tries to draw a conclusion about that player as they move up to the next play level. Often even an exceptional C1 player struggles with the move to Premier. It is even more evident as a player tries to move from Premier to one of the upper level regional leagues (MRL Premier or ECNL).
I've seen some very good C1 players that can't play at a higher level because of cost, travel etc. But can someone please tell why C3 players walk around like their the next Donovan or Wambach! Seriously! They show up for high school tryouts (as they should) like they're there to save the team! Come on C3 your not much better than a rec player.
I'm with you on the club levels and who plays at what level, but what I saw is my friend who made a top club premiere and not make a roster of 18 at a crappy C1 team. Everyone knows the girl is good too. BS. How can they justify it?
7:27 Nobody said anything about a whole C1 league stronger than a Premier league. Can't you read? "Some Premier teams aren't as good as C1 teams who play in tough districts."
Some C1 teams are better than the Premier teams because the Premier team got their spot because they won a weak district.
Or maybe the criteria for tryouts is flawed and biased and coaches who evaluate are overrated and play politics? I watched a girl literally stand in one place because she was nervous the whole tryout and make a team. Another who sat out because of being tired for a whole session and another half and make a top team. Coaching is overrated at times. Anyone can pick the top athletes and win at youth soccer. It's the real coaches who can take a bunch of average kids and make them successful. There are many bad coaches out there collecting a check.
Qualifying for premier is a joke, but there is no other way to award the spots (initially). The problem is, once you make premier it's almost hard to lose it. Which also means there are many deserving teams that do not get to earn a spot, simply because a bad premier team was able to go 3-7 and stay there. I say take the bottom three premier teams and the top three C1 teams and playoff. Turnover is good.
Relegation The last place team in each Premier league is automatically relegated. If two teams tie in points for last place they will both be relegated. Premier teams that score 25 percent or lower of the total number of points possible for their league are automatically relegated.
OK, tryouts are done today, let's start making picks.
Statistically, the biggest early indicator of success is number of returning upperclassmen. Here’s how the AA teams receiving votes in last year’s final poll stack up sorted by highest number of returning upperclassmen: Eagan 55% Woodbury 55% Duluth East 45% Bloomington Jefferson 38% Edina 36% White Bear Lake 35% Centennial 33% Mounds View 32% East Ridge 27% Eden Prairie 26% --- Anoka 24% Burnsville 23% Stillwater Area 18% Wayzata 9%
You can bank on the first preseason poll basically following this.
Could you also draw (loosely) on using the top competitive (Premier) teams at u15-u18? Obviously there is some fault in that since Thunder and many other teams draw from multiple areas but maybe there is some correlation.
must be from eagan...they were good last year and probably will be good as well this year. however top three point playlers have graduated. those three represented 50% of the offense. will the returners be able to make up that difference?? time will tell.
10:18 doubt it...like you said most premier and some very good c1 teams are made up of players from neighboring communities. also, the coacing style might be different from hs to club, so it would be difficult to really gage any success based on club soccer. lastly, club soccer is based on one age...hs could have four ages participating.
Centenial/Burnsville should be interesting, but don't think either of these teams are real contenders this year -- Burnsville will get the win.
The Duluth tourney will be very interesting, looks liek EP vs. Woodbury and then likley Duluth East vs. Woodbury in the 2nd game. Woodbury by 3 goals in each of these games.
Looks like most of the other games are the typical soft schedule starts, next week's schedules start to tighten up.
what happened in duluth? your prediction for a burnsville win didnt pan out. love the last comment, typical soft schedule. its a new season with new players...dont count anyone out at this early stage!
Article in Star Trib today about soccer. It mentions that next hear US Soccer Development league will now allow players to play high school. It goes on to say it will effect about 250 kids in Dallas and about 50 kids in the Twin Cities. They quoted Danny Storlein (Jefferson boys coach, MTA ECNL 15 girls). Does anyone know, does that effect just the boys? Or will effect the girls too?
U18 FIRE SC 94 MIDDLE FLIGHT 1-1-1 VS LIVERPOOL 94 GIRLS RED 2-0 VS WC ST. LOUIS DOEBBER 0-1 VS KCFC STORM 0-0
U17 FIRE SC 95 TOP FLIGHT VS (#26 R2)KCFC FUTURA ACADEMY 0-6 VS (#24 R2)OMAHA ELITE ONE 0-0 VS (#15 R2)STRIKERS FV PREMIER 0-1
U15 PRIOR LAKE SPLASH TOP FLIGHT 1-1-1 VS (#13 R2)KC BLAZE BLUE ANGLES 0-0 VS (#11 R2)MIDWEST REIGN KNOCKOUTS 1-0 VS (#12 R2)JB MARINE-WIPKE 0-2
As I coach the FIRE SC 95 team I was dissappointed in the results but the team figured out much after the 1st half against a regional semi finalist. The level of play in all of our games was very high and each player learned a ton.
FIRE SC 97 VS #59 R2 CARMEL PREMIER BLUE 0-1 STATE CUP FINALISTS
VS #130 R3 NMSC RED 0-2 STATE CUP SEMI FINALISTS
VS #48 R3 WEST FLORIDA PREMIER ELITE 2-3
Best 0-3 tournament I have coached in. And for the haters their have been many (LOL). C1 girls played really hard and for a new team having had huge changeover in the team was very happy. Every game was competitive and exciting. Easily could have had better results but play was solid.
COLLEGE CUP was a great time also seeing the best of the best play live was an eye opener to players and parents. Skilled, fast, athletic, strong and smart female soccer players competiting for everything was great!
SORRY LOTS OF BRACKETS AND DIDNT SEE ANY OTHER MINNESOTA TEAMS AROUND SO ASSUME WE WERE THE ONLY ONES WHO WENT IF I LEFT YOU OFF PLEASE ADD AND I HOPE YOU DID WELL.
477 comments:
1 – 200 of 477 Newer› Newest»Anyone know how the non-SSM minnesota teams did at the SSM showcase last weekend?
Looks like from the schedule that the MN teams did not play each other, but state cup should be wide open at these ages, so curious to know which team(s) are looking good early.
17
REV 0-1-2
EP 0-2-1
Eagan 0-0-3
18
Thunder 3-0?
EP 3-0
Woodbury 0-2-1
I was surprised not to see SSM list their players going on to play D1 Soccer?
anon 1:29- You could make a small effort, if you really gave a hoot and check the Faribault paper from Thursday of last week. Not many of the girls going D1, but I can say that most went to the College/University of their choice for various reasons. I can say that most of the kids did not make a decision where to go based upon D1, D2, D3.
So, did you care about the information you are seeking out of genuine interest- or to try and bash a program for decisions of individuals?
I thought people were going to be forced to take a moniker?
So its okay for the school to boast about having more D1 signings than any school in the country and the next year when the school has only one it is personal choice. Sounds like an excuse for A) the girls program is not that good and B) the boys program is down this year.
Can't have it both ways!!
SSM-South- your statement started out well, just that, a statement. Don't fall into the defensive mode, everyone that matters knows that teams, groups, clubs, schools etc all have up and down years. Smart people also understand that great athletes go to schools based on their abilities and interests, not just athletics.
I agree with taking a moniker even for the people who cheat it because they want to be petty.
Hey anonymous, please be respectful. If you don't like SSM, don't send your daughter, it's ok.
Old Ref- thanks for the suggestion. I understand what you are saying, but it seems clear that our anon friend is trying to stir the pot. So, I will make statements to tell the truth.
1) The statement regarding "one D1" is not correct
2) Of the players signing NLI ONLY ONE is NOT headed to a D1 school, she is headed to D2.
3) No one is hiding the signees or where they are going. It was released the same as it has been in past years.
4) The information can be found at: http://soccer.s-sm.org/news/current-news/365-12-ssm-players-commit-on-signing-day
5) There were 12 committals in 2011, as compared to 17 in 2010.
6) Congrats to all other players and their families reading this who signed NLIs last week. It is a hard road, and those who actually earn scholarship money are far and few in-between.
Thanks for the info SSM-South.
Has anyone seen the the twin city fire girls 94 team play?
Yeah, they are a good team, but their coach is dink.
More like an average team with a dink for a coach
Girls State Cup Predictions:
13 Thunder, Rev, Prior Lake, St Croix
14 Wayzata, Prior lake, Thunder
15 Thunder, Rev, EP
16 Thunder, Bville
17 Thunder, SSM, Rev
18 Bloomington, St Croix, Thunder
Thunder appears to be a player in every bracket. Thoughts?
13 Thunder, REV, Burnsville Centenial REV 12's Thunder 12's St Croix
14 Thunder
15 Thunder, REV or will EP sneak in again?
16 Thunder, TC Fire
17 Blue after them wide open White SSM, St Croix REV
18 EP will win should play SSM or Thunder depending on draw.
State cup U-17 Dakota Rev is over rated what have they done lately?
SSM big classes of Div. 1 womens players thing of past along with the size of scholarships it went over budget with to get program started. Their teams following pattern of IMG academy with teams that have a few good div. 1 players and seldom compete for or win state cup because of now greater limitations in financial aid to have overall team depth and quality. SSM academics is very good though in preparing young ladies for demands of mixing college soccer , academics , greater responsibilty and freedom of time.
Anon 8:09- Good theory, do you have any facts you could state to back it up? When was the last "big class of Div 1 players? What scholarships are you referring to- SSM scholarships or College scholarships?
The fact is that it has always been a difficult sell to get female players to leave home for sport.
I could think of worse company to be compared to than IMG......
How about you take a moniker, anon? Would be nice to know who we are talking to, so we can know how much credibility you have for your statements.
WPSL site is saying Minnesota will field womens team this summer. Anyone with any information on whose in charge or where to contact.
www.mnkings.com
The WPSL roster isn't out yet, but here's the site.
3:42. What has anyone done lately? 17 Rev team did win MN Premier league two consecutive years. They deserve mention based on that alone. Blue in a class of their own in this age group .
Good luck to all MN teams playing this weekend in Vegas and AZ.
Good luck to all MN teams playing this weekend in Vegas and AZ.
Las Vegas Mayors cup championship game, lower flight, but still cool that it was between two teams from MN.
Final
TONKA UNITED TUNDRA (MN) 0
DAKOTA REV SC REBELS (C1) 1
splitsville
2/22/2011 3:14:07 AM
MTA u13 White won the Disney Tournament silver flight.
State Cup draw results anyone? Any surprises? Anyone have information they would be willing to share? Looking especially for U18G draw......
Looks like a few MN girls teams heading out to Vegas for the College Showcase this weekend. Good luck to all the teams! EP and Rev at u15, Burnsville at u16 and Thunder and Rev at u17. No ECNL Thunder teams I assume. Good luck to all hopefully MN will see at least one result.
Anybody know what happened to the Twin Cities Fire website? It's been down for awhile? Please post link if you have one. Thanks!
TCF went poof.
TCF website is down because they are transferring their web hosting services to a new company and having an issue with their old company giving them the lock codes to transfer the domain.
I am surprised we have this many TC Fire website supporters who are concerned over out website.
The only TCF haters are MTA enrollees.
TCF is a non factor.
TCF is a non-factor. I really have no interest in TCF, but I wanted the website to look for a list of their board members. Otherwise, don't care!
Happy Friday to you too 8:10.
If you have no interest why would you want a list of their board members? Hate to break it to you but Minnesota is a non-factor in Soccer.
Try the MYSA website for club contacts to get a contact for TCFire. Or call Aaron Tilsen.
Let's try to be a little more respectful on this site this year - no team bashing. TC Fire is a decent team; they have some talented girls, just like the rest of the clubs out there do. If you have not seen them play nor know any of the girls on the team, how can a person make such comments? At state cup, just like in any other sport and any other tournament, ANYTHING can happen - even to the MTA teams!
Good luck to all the girls (and boys) in state cup! GO MTA!
2:39PM. So Minnesota is a "non factor" in soccer? Give us a fighting chance otherwise go find a blog that covers a different state that might make a difference in soccer. Otherwise "see ya".
10:59am. Agreed. All teams have some talented girls who don't chose to play for MTA. And I'm an MTA parent. Still GO MTA at State Cup!
If Minnesota is a non factor on the girls side, how can MSP be ranked the #6 metro area nationwide for D1 soccer recruits? (ahead of LA, and only behind Chicago in Midwest)
http://sites.google.com/site/soccerrecruits/ , then click on the 2011-Stats tab at the bottom.
Guess college coaches don't think MN is a "non factor".
Congratulations to the MTA 17 White team on winning their group at Las Vegas Showcase (4-0). And congratulations to Dakota Rev 17 for 2nd place in their group (2 wins and 2 draws). From a TCFire 17 parent.
7:55 - great post! Minnesota is a factor and we're getting stronger every year.
Congratulations to all of the Minnesota teams that performed well this weekend!
Congrats to REV 15's who went 4-0 in vegas.
Other MN teams results from Vegas this weekend.
U-15 Eden Prairie 2-1-1 3rd place in their group
U-16 Burnsville 1 win 3 losses.
any other teams?
I love the vitriol. Parents calling coaches dinks, saying clubs are non-factors, programs are down.
You can think what you want. It is your right to do so. But, when you put it in writing on a blog, it sounds like parents trying to lower the standards of the whole so their kid looks good, or the very minimum they feel good about their kid.
Bottom line is the kid plays the game; the kid either practices or doesn't; the kid either loves to play and trains to better themselves or they don't. Parents can only do one thing when they try to control their kids life, and that is get in the way of their kid's progress.
From the sounds of this blog we have a bevy of those parents. I am sure when their kid goes off to college they will be the ones contacting the professors on their child's behalf, sitting in classes with their child, under the guise they can help the kid learn more. They will be the parent who edits their kids papers and notes. And finally, if their kid makes the college soccer team will be the parents whom nobody likes to listen to or sit next to in the bleachers.
3:33pm sorry you're so bitter. Anyway have a great day and smile, life is too short!
4:20pm, it's not about being bitter or anything like that, it is about having some class! Young people read these blogs as well and although they may not know who is saying what, they will know and understand what parents think and say. Maybe try to set an example, if you have a negitive opinion, I think there are other ways to express them. Or, maybe just keep them to yourself! Either way, name calling is just another way to lower your standards :-) You are correct with one thing, life IS too short! With that being said, remember to smile and.......have a great day!
4:43pm. Ok, i'm 16 yrs old. I don't see any name calling in any of the earlier posts? what the??? I see lots of people congratulating teams. Is that wrong?
OK I don't get it. This ECNL "league". What's up with the Pool"a" and Pool "b" ? are the teams divided into two pools based on ability?geography?region? what? Then you look and see that ECNL is called a "league" with standings yet teams never play more than half of the teams (way more than half). Oh' yea and teams from pool "A" now are playing teams from pool "B". So not only do teams play only a small sampling of teams from thier own pool but they also play cross pool. All is OK except they are then ranked within their pool in the "standings".
This is NOT a league. This seems more like a group of clubs who agree to get together for a few games throughout a given offseason. Othewrwise referred to as a Tournament. Am I wrong? correct my thinking.
BTW good luck to the MTA girls playing this weekend.
6:51, ECNL has much more to do with college exposure, player
showcasing, and recruiting than with having a "winner". I'm always confused......we hear so much about placing too much emphasis on "winning" and then we get a post about league standings not being up to snuff (which is completely about determing a "winner").
ECNL is not about player exposure, it is about club exposure.
State Cup brackets are up.
The ECNL structure is changing dramatically for 2011-12. Clubs will now be in 8 regional divisions. The division champions will play for the national championship in June of 2012. Teams will also play non-division opponents at any of the six national showcase events. All ECNL clubs will no longer participate in State Cup or any USYSA events. Teams will play a total of 26 games over a the season. The purpose of the ECNL is to give clubs/teams higher quality games over a longer period of time so players are getting the proper ratio of games to training. The ECNL is getting more in line with how the USDA is run and will be better in the long run for womens soccer in the US. The league is moving in the right direction and will continue to grow and develop as can be said the same for the development academy on the boys side.
2:19pm. Good info, thanks. Maybe a dumb question, but will ECNL players even bother/or be allowed to play high school?
Yes they will be allowed. The divisions will be set up to allow for it. So teams that play high school in the fall won't start their league play until November. All teams will finish by the end of June and have the month of July off.
I think ECNL 'clubs' won't be able to participate in state cup is probably wrong. I bet ECNL teams might be true. I still be MTA will put teams in State Cup even if it their white or grey
So, how is this different from MRL? I thought the whole intent of ECNL was exposure to college coaches, but now it sounds like they are back to a bunch of regional matches with coaches primarily from around your state. How many out of state tournaments will there be?
Tough to play regional ECNL games for region two teams since MN has fall high school and majority of region 2 has spring are they supposed to play regional schedule November-March and a few weeks in june?
My guess more and more MN ECNL players will skip high school and if so good for them.
that'd be a big bummer. whine all you want about the quality of high school ball, but for most kids it's their most vivid soccer memory.
All ECNL games will be player from Nov-June. MTA players will still play HS soccer, no need to fight that battle. Teams will have to come to MN for games in the winter and MTA will have to play some teams in June before the ECNL nationals.
As far as this just being like MRL, that is far from the case. Take the ECNL teams out of MRL and MRL is a very average league. Plus all ECNL teams will travel to National showcase events throughout the year. U15 and U18 will play two national events. U16 and U17 will play three national events. Plenty of college exposure for ECNL clubs.
ECNL teams will not participate in state cup but other teams will be able to play in state cup.
The ECNL showcase events will be the #1 place for D1 college coaches to be just as it is for the 2 annual USSF Academy Showcases.
The USSF Academy Showcases have over 300 D1 college coaches attending at each event.
There are not 300 Division 1 mens programs so it would be very hard to have 300 coaches, unless you are counting assistant coaches.
At some point in time, people will finally realize that running soccer clubs and soccer leagues is not some unselfish altruistic act but a profit thing (and please spare me the "non-profit" BS classification that some of them have - that makes it sound like they are volunteers when all it really means is that at the end of the year the profits are all disbursed).
The teams/clubs pay to belong to the leagues they are in. That is why MRL has swelled from maybe 15-20 leagues with 150 teams annually to over 60 leagues and 500 teams. The more teams the greater the economies of scale - do you think they added 4x as many office staff as they grew?
Same with ECNL. This is not all about "the good of the game", but also about making money for those who own and run the league. In essence moving teams from MRL to the ECNL "regional" leagues is in business terms "grabbing market share". Instead of holding national events and let Disney, Las Vegas, etc... make the money, let's hold national events ourselves and keep the dollars in-house.
Not saying there is anything wrong with this, but sometimes the layers of the onion need to be peeled back a bit.
Since this is March Madness season, do you think the only reason that the NCAA holds the tournament is to crown a champion - it doesn't hurt that the tournament generates hundreds of millions in dollars and funds 95% of the NCAA's annual budget??? This is also the reason that the NCAA will never get to hold a national football playoff. Currently all the $$$$$ generated from the bowl games goes directly to the BCS conferences (NCAA gets ZERO).
241, Hell yea!!
241 - Nice post!
MRL, ECNL, National League, select tournaments, etc. -- they're all money makers for someone and they all do have an admission gatekeeper of sorts to ensure teams are not of too low of quality. We should, however, not tout the quality of each simply because our team (or kid's team) is an accepted member thereof. Teams enter such leagues/tournaments in hopes to compete against higher caliber teams. We don't always see higher caliber teams in such play, but often do see better quality teams than exists in Minnesota (having played or seen most all in our age group).
So, nice post 2:41, but the money point is irrelevant unless you can point teams to locations for higher level competition. Yes, there is State Cup/Regionals/Nationals, but that's only one series of play. Where to go to complement the National Championship Series?
2:41,
Agreed. And good teams will then migrate to the newest best league to find higher levels of play, and make someone else some $$s.
And we'll get yet another blog chat category to monitor. All in good fun.
3:42
3:42, yep.
2:41
2:41 is a little of base with his post. Yes, MRL is about the dollars and Paul L is making a boat load running both MRL and the National League. Both leagues have expanded to the point of being diluted with average teams.
As far as the ECNL being about people making money, he is dead wrong. There is only one paid employee of the ECNL and that is the league commissioner. The Pres and VP both made a stipend in year one but no longer make any money from the league. The reason the league went to stand alone events was to reduce cost for the clubs. Vegas and Disney were both over $1200, ECNL events are $950. Any profits that the league make go to the identification camps that are run by ID. All players who get invited to these camps only pay airfare. All other expenses are covered by the league and the "profits" they make from league fees and tournament entry fees. The league does not make any money from the PDA and CASL events and the club pay no entry fee for the national final event in July. At the end of the day the league is about development of the womens game in the US, not lining peoples pockets.
he, he. sure, 9:35.
so who's running these "regional" leagues (fields, refs, etc...)?
If ECNL is about college exposure, it will be interesting to see if it has any impact. I would bet that most girls from MN will end up playing D2 or D3 soccer with no scholarships, or at the Gophers if they are really good. They could get the same exposure at MRL for less cost. I can't image that many players are going to move far away from home. If ECNL moves back to regional events then why pay all the money? All the top high school players are ending up at Minnesota and it doesnt matter what club they were on.
Lazy college coaches love the MTAs of the world because they don't have to spend all their time searching for talent.
College coaches aren't lazy but they have had their recruiting budgets cut.
That's why events like the showcase tournaments for the boys USSF Academy and the new ECNL showcases will be such a draw.
The coaches can see most of the top players at one site in 1 or 2 weekends.
8:40pm, you don't get it. The ECNL is not moving away from National events, they are just adding a regional component just like the USDA. Each ECNL team will play 14 regional games, U15 and u18's will play 9 National games and the U16s and U17s will play 12 national games. The cost of travel will actually be less or equal to what the player are paying now as they won't be playing in any MYSA leagues, state cup or regionals.
As far as kids going to play for a bunch of D2 or D3 school for no scholarships. What rock do you live under?? MTA signed 24 boys and girls to D1 and D2 scholarships this year. Most of the 2012 class has already committed to D1 programs and there are several 2013s being recruited by big time programs no where near MN. There is zero college exposure for an MRL team unless you play in Crossroads or the Blue Chip and next year the ECNL will be using those events for some of the regional games.
I wonder what percentage those 24 MTA players represent? The koolaid MTA sells would lead one to believe that all of the mta players will be signing D1...thats why they pay the big bucks to train year round!
1:53pm. Two kids with MTA, two in the elite academy. Not once have we been told that they can get our kid or any kid on the teams a D1 or D2 scholarship. We've never been promised that! Don't make accusations that you know night about. MTA stresses training to become better soccer players, not to just train to get a scholarship.
Oh and by the way, they stopped force feeding us kool-aid a few years ago.
2:12, I hate to say it, but you must be the one paying full boat to support the kids who ARE getting the D1 looks.
4;16, that only happens on the boys' side, as many of the best players in this state are the least able to afford it. We can't compete in top showcases without them, so everyone pitches in for scholarships.
4:16pm. One child is getting the D1 looks, but NO ONE from MTA ever promised me she would get looks. We were promised that MTA train our kid to become good soccer players. The other child is only U13, so nothing for a few more years. So go ahead and keeping trying to justify that MTA is "no good" for soccer.
I better sign off now, the coach is calling my weekly kool-aid is ready!
4:16pm. Not happening on girls teams, only boys! And I can name a couple of clubs besides MTA that give "club" scholarships to a recruits, again on the boys side.
2:12...relax! did you read 11:43, the comment was made to get a rise out of that parent. I know plenty of people at mta, all enjoy the experience (which is what it is all about). every club has the flag carrier spouting out how great there club is.
I do beleive all clubs provide Kool-aid. Some spiked more than others!
11:43 - so, based on your comments - each team will play 14 regional games. Since ECNL boasts only 1 game a day, that would equate to (rounded up) 5 events. Assuming MTA hosts one event (and there are no other MN teams in ECNL), that would mean travel out of state, but in region, for 4 events. Add on the national events (12 games for the U 16s), that is another 4 out of state events. Unless my math is wrong, that adds up to 8 travel events. Is the cost worth the exposure? MTA boasts all the college signings - to the Gophers, D2 teams, NDSU, Green Bay. Is it worth the cost? Coaches watch high school teams too.
no, it is not worth the cost. but no one associated with the club will ever admit it.
9:00pm, I want to know what HS program your kid plays for because I will have my daughter transfer tomorrow to your school. My kids MTA team just played in the recent ECNL event in San Antonio and they only averaged 61 division 1 programs at each game. If I can get that much exposure at your kids school we are moving and I could save some money.
I will also simplify your math, ECNL regional games. 7 home 7 away games for each team. Not as much as you think.
One small word in 12:19's response above succinctly defines what is SO wrong in youth sports today.
The word is "I," as used in the following sentence:
"If I can get that much exposure at your kids school..."
Huh?
Dude, stop living through your kid and get out of the way.
That's amazing. There are about 300 women's D1 programs in the country, so 20 PERCENT of ALL programs were at EACH of your GAMES.
That's either amazing, or Michele Bachmann did your counting.
8:32, most schools send two coaches to each event and schools usually watch half(or less) of each game. So that many coaches watching a game is not that unbelievable when you have 500 or so coaches walking around during an event.
couldn't it ever possibly be that the player might just want to play at the highest level - to challenge him/herself - to become a better player? this requires practicing and competing against other similar quality and driven players.
Here's a tip: My DD got a 27 the first time she took the ACT. We hired a tutor to work with her. About $500 later she retook the ACT and got a 32. Her average merit scholarship (from the private schools she applied to) is $13k per year. If Dad's looking to save some money, maybe the MTA fees would be better spent elsewhere.
Good point 1:28 but my child also wants to play soccer, so I am doing everything I can to help. Are all of my decisions golden? Nope, but I still try. Remember this is a soccer blog, not a financial blog, an academic blog, or a feel better about myself because I'm bashing others blog.
OK here are some facts for everyone to review. First MTA is only club in ECNL "league".
Here are their results:
U-15 1 win 5 ties 3 losses. This team plays in the "B" pool and is in the bottom third of that pool and the only win was against the second to last place team in the B pool. Hardly boastful results.
U-16 3 wins 1 tie 5 losses. This team plays in the "B" pool. This team is at the 50% of the B pool the onlyt wins are against other teams equal to or lower than this team in the B pool standings. Again hardly boastful results.
U-17 5-2-2 This team is "the real deal" They play in the "A" pool and are in the top 20% of the A pool.
So one MTA team is having good results, the others , Not so good. So how does this translate to a MN comparison? Nobody knows for sure. The MTA kids will have good game experiences prior to State Cup which will help them. Have they played great competition? 17's yes, others No.
Other MN teams have had success and have played in other tournaments too so no huge/obvious advantage to MTA. MTA does alot right, no question. They field competitive teams at all ages. They however are far from a lock at all but two age groups (U-14 and U-17). A Good club run by egomaniacs who need to get a life!
MTA 17 could have lost last year to St Croix. St Croix was the better team in the first half. MTA played better in the second half and got a fairly lucky goal with only minutes left.
If MTA show up motivated and healthy they probably will win the 17 age group but if they overlook teams they may be in trouble first game will be a good measuring stick.
I hate it when parents minimize one teams efforts. I was a neutral observer at the final U16 game. It was a good goal late in the game by a team pushing to win. St. Croix played a wonderful game. MTA just decided they were going to win and pushed for it. That is what exceptional teams do. St. Croix was almost there, but could not keep up the momentum.
Good goal? St Croix tried to clear the ball and the ball hit a MTA player and into the goal. They all count the same but to call it a good goal may be a stretch.
1:21 AM The play unfolded with a throw in by MTA. The center mid got the ball, passed it back out to the defender and the defender passed it back into the forward who controlled the ball with two touches and placed it over the goalkeepers head. I have it all on dvd if you'd like a copy.
PUT IT ON YOU TUBE
1:21am blog posts.....DVD of a MN youth soccer game......almost makes you laugh if it wasn't so sad.
12:21 Why is that sad that there is a DVD of a soccer game? Coaches like to watch the games, kids like to watch the games.
12:21pm What is wrong with a DVD of MN youth soccer game? What if it was your kid? One parent on our team records games and sends DVD to husband/father serving in Iraq so he can see his child play. Really what is sad is that you are so shallow that it makes you laugh. Never judge unless you know the facts!
12:21pm. I like to watch the video replay of my game to see what I can improve on. Is that sad?
1:08 Good to hear, I know several parents who would like a copy when they are out of town or have other siblings to take of. I've seen parents purchase HS games as well.
If someone has not actually seen an ECNL game, how can they determine if a team from another club is good or not. People always try by looking at standings, scores, "A" or "B" Pool, etc but that does not even come close to painting the real picture. Fact is, you can try and judge the results all you want but unless you have seen the team's play, you just come off sounding stupid.
What's sad is the poster who lied about the goal being a sloppy goal....why lie?
Probably just a jealous troll.
Here is the video 12:03 requested.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKWN8TzL_Po
Looks like the St. Croix gal tried to clear the ball and it hit off the MTA player. You do have to watch it a few times to see it. Also, it is good to video tape games, kind of like keep sakes.
First of all, I think this is inconclusive. Secondly, it is irrelevant. Even if St. Croix would have won, they would not have fared well at regions. The right team won. Let it go. As for this year, both are different teams. Let's see what happens.
Thanks 4:18! Nice music ;-)
Thanks for posting 4:18, Nice goal Millie!
How come the 17 MTA blue has dropped to 100 in Got Soccer? Do they not account for ECNL games? If they are 5th in league and finished 5th at Nationals last year what gives?
gotsoccer rankings are currently flawed since they don't count the ECNL standalone events in their ranking calculation. nationalsoccerranking.com seems to be calculating all events correctly.
You have to look farther into Gotsoccer rankings to understand.
I am not saying these are true "rankings", so much depends on how much you travel (for MN teams). This is just a tool to help guage your child's team against others. Have fun with it, but don't rely on it too much.
Every year points drop off when the tournament or league you won them at comes around. Other teams may have picked up points and passed you... lot's of tournament play happening ... it's mostly based on winning against other teams that have points, so not many points available in MN. Just look at teams in CA, they play a regular league and pick up points, etc.
Old Ref: You are partly correct. CA teams do NOT get national ratings points for a local league. They DO get STATE ranking points for instate leagues but those points do not get added in to the national rating system. Now the truth is many of the top teams play in multiple state leagues (like our MRL) and national rating points do get awarded for those leagues.
The real GOTSOCCER advantage CA teams have is the fact that virtually every local tournament gives points vs here where almost every local tournament Does not give points. To GOTSOCCER'S credit they have now changed the formula so all tournaments should yield points. By next year (points stay with a team for one year from the earned date) the CA advantage should be lessened.
I do agree it is by no means a perfect ranking system but do believe it is a decent indicator of a teams strength. The best part of the program is seeing how a teams winning percentage looks and getting to see who they played in any given tournament. (IMO)
If nothing else, gotsoccer allows you to see how other teams have done against common opponents. That helps me figure out how we might do on a given weekend.
Thank You anonymous, that is what I meant but didn't want to go into too much detail.
Watch out for new teams, they won't have any GotSoccer points and could be amazing.
For some MN teams the lack of significant rankings have actually worked in their favor (some clubs stack the tournament pools against their rivals and assume the MN team will be a push over, then the MN team beats the host club and walks into the finals...)
Again, just have fun with it. And yes it's ok to be proud of your child and his/her team's accomplishments, just don't rub them in other's faces...
By the way, time is running out on getting your 2011 USSF certification or re-cert. Come on, many of you could help by being a referee. Get experience with some younger teams, then move up to more and more competitive matches. It's a great way to pay it back to the game!
This weekend at Farmington high school.
8-Apr
6:00 MTA 16- Albertti Dakota Rev 17- Thorsell
9-Apr
10:00 Dakota Rev 17- Thorsell University of Concordia- Bellis
12:00 Dakota Rev 15- Dokken Bloomington 18- Foerster
1:20 Dakota Rev 18- Kruse Dakota Rev 15- Harttwell
2:40 MTA 15- Kassa Burnsville 16- Dennehy
4:00 Bloomington 18- Foerster Eagan 17- Woyno
5:20 Dakota Rev 17- Ozturk Dakota Rev 18- Kruse
10-Apr
9:00 Dakota Rev 15- Dokken Burnsville 16- Dennehy
10:20 MTA 16- Albertti Eagan 17- Woyno
11:40 MTA 15- Kassa Dakota Rev 18 -Kruse
1:00 Dakota Rev 15- Dokken Dakota Rev 17- Ozturk
2:20 Eagan 17- Woyno Burnsville 16- Dennehy
3:40 Bloomington 18- Foerster MTA 16- Albertti
5:00 Dakota Rev 17- Ozturk MTA 15- Kassa
i'll bite...how did the scrimmages go? One month to state cup, any surprises or thoughts on the outcome?
Rev 15s and MTa 15s looking like favorites for State Cup.
they are in the same bracket this year. ep is defending two time champ, who played well in Vegas. should come down to a three way race.
I've seen all three play and EP is not as good as the other two, but anything can happen.
Interesting play coming up this weekend at the U17G level -- most of the potential threats to MTA seeing action at the Bluechip showcase.
7:36 Ive seen all three play and I think EP is the most improved and is better than the other two. They put numbers behind the ball and then counter attack effectively. I think 2 time defending champion Eden Prairie is the favorite this year. Rev and MTA in the same pool and unless they tie one is unlikely to advance from pool play.
most improved with same players or new additions? they have good coaching at ep15
ODP is starting up again. Are girls still interested in participating? Or feel like it's a waste of time?
Some good training, but an overall it really wasn't worth it.
323, Parent or Kid???
3:37pm I guess you call me a kid. I'm a 15 year old kid who's parent wanted me to do ODP. Still isn't worth it.
5:46 must be from MTA. "parent wanted me to do ODP."
5:50pm. No I don't like MTA, I'm from Prior Lake! Parent suggested I do ODP, but does not make me do it.
I would recommend that you talk to your coach about the id2 program. Any coach can recommend players. If you get invited to camp, the only expense is air fare. It is a great opportunity. There is link on US Club soccer. There are no politics associated with this program. ODP, in my opinion, is expensive, and Minnesota does not have a strong program. Other states train together all year. The expenses early are not bad, but the regional camp is expensive. Might want to try a camp at a college that interests you instead.
901, There are always politics involved. If a player is reccommended who makes the decision whether or not a Minnesota kid gets to go??
Bud Grant?
US Club soccer - but maybe Bud Grant is on their payroll.
Here are the results from last week bluechip for 17 girls.
St.Croix 2-0-1 6th place
TCF 2-0-1 7th place
MTA silver 1-1-1 18th
EDP 1-0-2 23rd
MTA white 1-0-2 24th
Eagan 0-0-3 31st
St.Croix lost 1-2 FC Milwaukee ECNL (rank 46th nation). Won 3-0 Westfield (IN). Won 2-0 CSA (rank 22 nation)(OS).
TCF won 3-2 Ohio premier Red (ON). Lost 2-5 Indiana invaders(rank 35 region 2). Won 3-1 greater toledo (ON).
MTA silver lost 1-3 Everest (rank 15 region 2)(ON). Tied 1-1 Cleveland (ON). Won 1-0 Carmel United Premier (IN).
EDP tied 2-2 Cleveland, lost 0-1 Carmel United. lost 3-4 Everest.
MTA white won 2-1 Fort Wayne (IN). lost 1-5 Ohio Premier Red. lost 0-1 Ohio Premier Eagles ECNL (rank 34 region 2).
Eagan lost 0-3 Indiana Invaders. lost 0-1 Ohio Elite ECNL (rank 26 region 2). lost 1-2 Ohio Premier Red.
nice informative post!
thanks!!!
yeah. bravo.
It looks like st croix had the toughest schedule and they came out well. TCF also did well. Watch for these 2 teams at state cup.
Since that other thread went off the deep end, anyone want to discuss games for tomorrow?
Sure. Any thoughts on the gu17 white vs scv game?
I think SCV will beat the white team and take on the blue team in the finals. That will be a good game to watch. If SCV can control the play and get a quick goal, anything can happen.
Agreed... weather can always be a factor as well.
SCV is more dangerous on offense, but MTA is better defensively. SVC goalie is good but vertically challenged, I predict a high shot may seal the deal. I'm rooting for SCV.
How about U15 and U16...finally both ages appear to have the best four teams, with no clear favorite. Both have a strong MTA team, but each would need to bring there best to get past the competition. Should be a fun semi for both...close competitive matches, lets hope the weather doesn't decide any with a unkucky goal!
Girls semi's should be excellent games. I hope the weather cooperates.
Lots of teams traveling this coming weekend - PDA, Colorado. Others? Lots of MN teams trying to get regional exposure. Wish them all the best.
See Wayzata beat the Fire at U16G. Anyone have any info on how the game went?
They must have squeezed the WYZ vs TCF game in this morning before MYSA canceled the remaining games.
Way to go Wayzata!
what up, girlz?
Many clubs lost their top players that left to play for MTA ECNL!
he he he. funny. Really, what UP girlz?
I'm amazed at the tryout process and how it differ's from club to club. Kid's who make top teams in the state make C2 for other clubs. Clique?
Most clubs have 5 to 6 solid players on any given team. When the fillers move to other clubs there is a noticable difference. Note: Fillers are are players that work hard day in and day out for their teams, talent is just a notch below the solid player.
3:14, again....Fillers solidify the "team". They truly play for the love of the game and less for the fame........
All clubs are different. Maybe those kids made the top team with a lower level club (I won't name names). They than decide to leave their lower level club team to try out for one of the bigger clubs (I won't name names). They quickly find out that their club didn't have the quality of training, coaching, field time. etc that some of the top clubs have. So they make the C2 team. Because your the star of your less than average club team, doesn't mean you'll be the star at larger clubs with lots of stars.
So true 4:00PM. How strong your league is makes a big difference too. Some Premier teams aren't as good as C1 teams who play in tough districts.
6:23 I have yet to see a "C1" league that is stronger than a Premier league. I have seen a select C1 team that is stronger than a weak Premier team but never a whole league regardless of the district.
Regularly the "big fish" in the "small sea" is humbled when they try to move to the next level of play. The bigger problem is the coach or evaluater who watches the player play at that lower level and tries to draw a conclusion about that player as they move up to the next play level. Often even an exceptional C1 player struggles with the move to Premier. It is even more evident as a player tries to move from Premier to one of the upper level regional leagues (MRL Premier or ECNL).
Exceptional C1 players tend to be exceptional at most levels.
I've seen some very good C1 players that can't play at a higher level because of cost, travel etc.
But can someone please tell why C3 players walk around like their the next Donovan or Wambach! Seriously! They show up for high school tryouts (as they should) like they're there to save the team! Come on C3 your not much better than a rec player.
4:00,
I'm with you on the club levels and who plays at what level, but what I saw is my friend who made a top club premiere and not make a roster of 18 at a crappy C1 team. Everyone knows the girl is good too. BS. How can they justify it?
Maybe they aren't as good as you thought.
7:27 Nobody said anything about a whole C1 league stronger than a Premier league. Can't you read? "Some Premier teams aren't as good as C1 teams who play in tough districts."
Some C1 teams are better than the Premier teams because the Premier team got their spot because they won a weak district.
Or maybe the criteria for tryouts is flawed and biased and coaches who evaluate are overrated and play politics? I watched a girl literally stand in one place because she was nervous the whole tryout and make a team. Another who sat out because of being tired for a whole session and another half and make a top team. Coaching is overrated at times. Anyone can pick the top athletes and win at youth soccer. It's the real coaches who can take a bunch of average kids and make them successful. There are many bad coaches out there collecting a check.
Qualifying for premier is a joke, but there is no other way to award the spots (initially). The problem is, once you make premier it's almost hard to lose it. Which also means there are many deserving teams that do not get to earn a spot, simply because a bad premier team was able to go 3-7 and stay there. I say take the bottom three premier teams and the top three C1 teams and playoff. Turnover is good.
Agreed. My kid's C1 team tried for years to get to premier. They had a spot given to them this past season and they went undefeated.
Don't the bottom two teams get relegated now?
Relegation
The last place team in each Premier league is automatically relegated. If two teams tie in points for last place they will both be relegated.
Premier teams that score 25 percent or lower of the total number of points possible for their league are automatically relegated.
can someone contact the blog manager and create a HS Soccer Thread?
High school thread!
High school thread!
High school thread!
OK, tryouts are done today, let's start making picks.
Statistically, the biggest early indicator of success is number of returning upperclassmen. Here’s how the AA teams receiving votes in last year’s final poll stack up sorted by highest number of returning upperclassmen:
Eagan 55%
Woodbury 55%
Duluth East 45%
Bloomington Jefferson 38%
Edina 36%
White Bear Lake 35%
Centennial 33%
Mounds View 32%
East Ridge 27%
Eden Prairie 26%
---
Anoka 24%
Burnsville 23%
Stillwater Area 18%
Wayzata 9%
You can bank on the first preseason poll basically following this.
Could you also draw (loosely) on using the top competitive (Premier) teams at u15-u18? Obviously there is some fault in that since Thunder and many other teams draw from multiple areas but maybe there is some correlation.
must be from eagan...they were good last year and probably will be good as well this year. however top three point playlers have graduated. those three represented 50% of the offense. will the returners be able to make up that difference?? time will tell.
10:18 doubt it...like you said most premier and some very good c1 teams are made up of players from neighboring communities. also, the coacing style might be different from hs to club, so it would be difficult to really gage any success based on club soccer. lastly, club soccer is based on one age...hs could have four ages participating.
I take it there isnt going to be a HS thread?? Any good games tonight to open up the season?
Centenial/Burnsville should be interesting, but don't think either of these teams are real contenders this year -- Burnsville will get the win.
The Duluth tourney will be very interesting, looks liek EP vs. Woodbury and then likley Duluth East vs. Woodbury in the 2nd game. Woodbury by 3 goals in each of these games.
Looks like most of the other games are the typical soft schedule starts, next week's schedules start to tighten up.
what happened in duluth? your prediction for a burnsville win didnt pan out. love the last comment, typical soft schedule. its a new season with new players...dont count anyone out at this early stage!
Article in Star Trib today about soccer. It mentions that next hear US Soccer Development league will now allow players to play high school. It goes on to say it will effect about 250 kids in Dallas and about 50 kids in the Twin Cities. They quoted Danny Storlein (Jefferson boys coach, MTA ECNL 15 girls). Does anyone know, does that effect just the boys? Or will effect the girls too?
No impact on girls
Games to watch this week:
Woodbury vs. Eagan (tues): Woodbury 1-0
Centennial vs. Armstrong (tues): will end in a 2-2 tie
Stillwater vs. Edina (tues) - gonna go with Stillwater 2-1, but this is a good early test for both teams
Eagan vs. Duluth East (thr) – Duluth East 2-1
Jefferson vs. Edina (thr) – Edina 3-1
Wayzata vs. Duluth East (sat) – Duluth East 3-2
The streak is over. The streak is over. Holy Family over Apple Valley. (boys)
Who cares! This is the girls page!
Finally a high school page, and sure enough, comments are disabled.
Yes, club begins!
GSI SHOWCASE UPDATE:
U18 FIRE SC 94
MIDDLE FLIGHT
1-1-1
VS LIVERPOOL 94 GIRLS RED 2-0
VS WC ST. LOUIS DOEBBER 0-1
VS KCFC STORM 0-0
U17 FIRE SC 95
TOP FLIGHT
VS (#26 R2)KCFC FUTURA ACADEMY 0-6
VS (#24 R2)OMAHA ELITE ONE 0-0
VS (#15 R2)STRIKERS FV PREMIER 0-1
U15 PRIOR LAKE SPLASH
TOP FLIGHT
1-1-1
VS (#13 R2)KC BLAZE BLUE ANGLES 0-0
VS (#11 R2)MIDWEST REIGN KNOCKOUTS 1-0
VS (#12 R2)JB MARINE-WIPKE 0-2
As I coach the FIRE SC 95 team I was dissappointed in the results but the team figured out much after the 1st half against a regional semi finalist. The level of play in all of our games was very high and each player learned a ton.
Pretty blah results. About what most expected, though.
ATLANTA SHOWCASE RESULTS
FIRE SC 97
VS #59 R2 CARMEL PREMIER BLUE 0-1
STATE CUP FINALISTS
VS #130 R3 NMSC RED 0-2
STATE CUP SEMI FINALISTS
VS #48 R3 WEST FLORIDA PREMIER ELITE 2-3
Best 0-3 tournament I have coached in. And for the haters their have been many (LOL). C1 girls played really hard and for a new team having had huge changeover in the team was very happy. Every game was competitive and exciting. Easily could have had better results but play was solid.
COLLEGE CUP was a great time also seeing the best of the best play live was an eye opener to players and parents. Skilled, fast, athletic, strong and smart female soccer players competiting for everything was great!
SORRY LOTS OF BRACKETS AND DIDNT SEE ANY OTHER MINNESOTA TEAMS AROUND SO ASSUME WE WERE THE ONLY ONES WHO WENT IF I LEFT YOU OFF PLEASE ADD AND I HOPE YOU DID WELL.
Keep begging for attention, TCF. No one cares enough to even be considered a hater.
12/5/11 8:54 AM - why so bitter? What do you have against TCF?
Thanks for the post AT, hopefully, we will meet up at state cup.
pfffffffft.
Looks like TCF laid an egg at Disney.
1/4/12 8:31 AM - What did your team do?
U17 TCF will lay lots of eggs this coming year. They lost numerous players to MTA and I believe a coach to MTA.
WOW! Tough crowd!
U16 parents from fire last year are mostly nuts!!
10:16pm Agreed! Although, the nutty parents remained with the Fire!
1158, how can that be possible its a new team with only 3 original members. The crazy parents all left!!
Only 3 players stayed from the TCF U16 premier team. Something is seriously wrong? I would say that the 3 that stayed behind maybe nutty!
126, you'd be wrong
LOL! And what, might I ask, constitutes as a "nutty" parent?
NDSU coach off to Wyoming.
And can we guess who is going to get the NDSU job?
Looks like TCF laid another egg last weekend.
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