After watching 2 games at Stillwater I cant believe how far boys hs soccer has fallen. If these were top teams Im gueasing state is wide open this year.
12:42, it sure ain't club ball. You go from watching the top U17 boys play to watching boot ball and you're bound to be depressed. Stillwater and Southwest have the most high-level club players on their rosters. It's up to Johnson and Plaisance to keep them playing that way.
When the program with the most talent (Apple Valley) doesn't believe in the "cute stuff," how are you going to get anything other than bootball.
It's that kind of restricting mentality that is holding back US Soccer. It will be a great day when the old generation of coaches polluting the sport step aside.
@421 so basically your saying his highly touted accomplishments in a sh*t level of the game isn't very impressive?
I agree
To say the "cute stuff doesn't work in soccer" shows so much ignorance for understanding the game that I could insert stupidity instead of ignorance.
Maybe he meant to say that the cute stuff doesn't work in high school soccer when you have a few talented players playing with mostly average players,against teams made up of somewhat less talent.
8:32, no one has any Shattuck players. Shattuck has them. Also, you assume MTA has all the best players. Wrong again. Not sure about Southwest, but Stillwater has had maybe one sub-.500 season in the past 15 years.
Year in and year out, Apple Valley does have the most talent. They have a strong club program that retains most of their players. Look at the success Valley United has in club soccer.
They don't have the best talent, but they have the most (and that can be said for the last 15 years).
So when that team sets the standard of playing bootball, what do you expect from the rest of the state? It will be a good day when coaches who want to grow the sport replace the old guard.
IMO, the biggest reason for the style of play is the width of the field. Standard soccer fields are upwards of 80 yards wide whle most HS teams play on re-marked football fields that are on average only 65 yards in width. It is tough to play a "possession" style when the fields are so narrow which funnels everything into the middle. Especially on the boys side as they are quicker/faster than the girls and therefore can cover more ground and close open space much more rapidly. It is tough to play it "out-then-in" when there is no "out", so the game evolves into "up-and-over". When combined with the variety of ages and abilities plus limited pre-season and the short season, most coaches take the safe and easy route. The kids don't care as they would prefer to win then lose "pretty". After a few months it really doesn't make that much of a difference as everyone goes back to their clubs anyway
I don't know how these old men with limited soccer background do it.
If I were to move into a growing suburb and take over coaching a unpopular but growing sport (i.e.lacrosse) with zero playing experience, I don't know how I could sleep at night after 20 years of doing it, knowing that the sport is way beyond my understanding. It's fraudulent. Personally, I'm going to stick to a sport that I understand, can teach, and help grow.
AV makes it known at about U12 that if the kids leave the MYSA club, they will not play high school soccer. Kids who play together, generally play better as a team 6-8 years of playing with the same guys is certainly a benefit. Good luck finding many AV kids who go on to play at the next level though. Let's face it HS soccer is fun for the players, but is garbage to watch...especially over the last 5 year or so.
Not all teams in the state hold to the bootball philosophy. Some of the younger coaches out there actually try to focus on possession and possession with purpose. Look at programs like Farmington, Prior Lake, Bloomington Kennedy, and the two Lakeville schools. Yes, they are not the top dogs but the coaches look to teach the beautiful game rather than just boot to win. My apologies for not naming other programs outside of my limited viewing area in the South Suburbs.
Hopefully this thread will not turn into focusing on just one or two teams as the season gets going and conference play heats up.
Imagine how strong Obarski would have become-and the college opportunities he would have had-if he could have played at MTA his entire career, not just after his high school career ended.
8:22 - HAHAHAHAHAHA, MTA people are laughable!!! Obarski had plenty of college soccer options, but none close to home, which is where he wanted to go to college. Playing football at Concordia-St. Paul seems to be working so far...kicked field goals of 56 and 47 yards in his first game.
Stillwater is in playoff form already but has major keeper issues Edina is alot of smoke an mirrors right now and will fall off South solid so far Eagan early loss to PL might help them focus Jefferson good team with depth issues Southwest will get stronger, cant wait fo South/southwest games this year Eastview great darkhorse to win Lake Evil Prairie should be in top 5 Anoka needs some stiffer comp. to really see where they are at AV not top 10 anymore but what a great last couple of years My teams to watch in AA Sprnglkprk/stanthony, North St.P, Prior Lake, Central, Hill Murray, Lakeville N.
Just noticed that 2 Minnesota boys are starting for a 6-0 Northern Illinois team, beating some big schools. That's awesome. Shattuck and Prairie Seeds representing.
Yes, I did say Prairie Seeds would beat Apple Valley last year. Yes, they would.
NIU is 3-0. Pre-season means nothing. But still they are 3-0. Dabarki is an example of an average player, who with flair looks better, and gets a chance to play. Kannah might be 26, but still a good player. Not much up side. Congrats to both players.
Wow still living in the past, last year was last year and AV beat every single team they played and won a state championship! The seeds did not beat every single team they played and they as well won a championship, congrats to them, but they tied eagan and AV beat eagan twice as the only common opponent and the fact that AV beat everyone else making statements like that is preposterous. #realtalk
PSA is a great idea as far as givin the kids that play there opportunities, but it has been built in a completely corrupt way. YD has broken almost every MSHSL rule and been caught on some of it and dodged alot of stuff, coachs no longer look to schedule PSA, because that is about the only way they can make it known that what is going on there is wrong, the MSHSL needs to step up and do a little more follow up on the info they have been given.
AV is a classy program and should not be judged by D1 players. they play as a team and by hard work, oh ya also they adhere to the rules of the mshl. Only one of the mighty PSA "class act" players are playing for NIU. KD played at shattuck. GB was supposed to but is playing at a juco school in iowa.
Seriously, high school programs dont develop D1 players, club develops them. AV has had an incredible amount of D1 players through the years look at the teams from the 90's
again, schools don't "produce" D1 soccer players. Clubs do. AV doesn't have D1 players because coach wants the boys playing for the local club, which is blah compared to an MTA/MU/SCV.
An "Elite talent" will be good with or without the school or club in whatever sport they choose, any club or school or coach that takes credit for developing players is way off the mark. I would like to see less coaches and soccer experts commenting on the quality of the clubs and schools and here some positive stuff from players, like hey I loved playing at AV because we won and the guys I played with were my friends or my coach at MTA taught me how to finish. I just used AV and MTA as examples. So lets here it what coach had a positive influence on you.
I hated playing against AV. I ran forward in attack. Then they get it and thump it over my head so I run backwards in defense. Every goal kick or free kick the play stops forever, we stand waiting from them to thump it, we battle for a 50-50 ball, and repeat the previous process over and over and over. Not fun to play against, probably less fun to play, and even less fun to watch. And then there's the constant cute subbing.
Recent AV player @ D1 school is Brandon Wolf at UW-Milwaukee. HS soccer does not 'produce' any players. Clubs develop players who happen to attend high schools. Nice to see the A-kissing coaches with highly ranked teams. PSA has plenty of 16-17 year olds playing U13, and 21-25 year olds, playing U17. Enough said.
Did he want to play anywhere, the vast majority of hs players could care less if they play past hs. Playing college soccer at any level in college is great and takes dedication but it is a poor measuring stick for talent. AV wins at hs soccer and those kids enjoy it, I think some of the cry babies on here need to get there own hs teams and see how they do. Wait you guys are all experts so you will probably develope the hell out of all your players and they will play pro and it will all be because of the fact they were taught to play posetion soccer and not direct!! What joke.
Jabari was the defender from AV who Mr. Soccer. He goes to the UofM and sometimes plays on their club team. I have seen him in MASL 1st division and he is an average player.
1. Eastview 2. Stillwater 3. Mpls South 4. Bloomington Jefferson 5. Mpls Southwest 6. Eden Prairie 7. Edina 8. Lakeville North 9. North St. Paul 10. Eagan
Anyone I missed? Should an undefeated team be ranked below a team with a loss? Should a 2 loss team even be considered for top 10?
The regular season is half over and it's time to start talking soccer!
1 Eastview (9-0) 53.8 2 Eden Prairie (4-0) 51.0 3 Bloomington Jefferson (4-2) 47.9 4 Hill-Murray (4-2) 47.3 5 Eagan (6-2) 47.2 T-6 North St. Paul (7-0) 47.0 T-6 Lakeville North (7-0) 47.0 8 Minneapolis South (7-0) 45.7 9 Edina (7-1) 45.4 10 Anoka (7-2) 44.9 11 Burnsville (5-1) 44.8 12 St. Louis Park (7-2) 43.9 13 Blaine (5-2) 43.1 14 Stillwater Area (8-2) 42.9 15 Maple Grove (6-2) 39.6 16 St. Paul Central (4-1) 39.2 17 Apple Valley (6-2) 38.6 18 St. Michael-Albertville (6-2) 36.6 19 Spring Lk Pk/St. Anth Vill (4-2) 36.4 20 Osseo (4-2) 36.0
One thing that has helped put Eastview on top is the addition of Mathew Gweh to the team. He played at Como his 10th grade year, and I believe did not play last year. He is very good and is a Thunder player from the team that went to nationals.
QRF Rankings: September 23, 2011 1 Eastview (10-0) 64.4 2 Bloomington Jefferson (5-2) 58.5 3 Stillwater Area (10-2) 56.4 4 Eagan (8-2) 54.7 5 Eden Prairie (5-1) 53.7 6 Minneapolis South (9-0) 52.7 7 North St. Paul (9-0) 51.8 8 Edina (9-1) 51.2 9 Hill-Murray (5-3) 49.7 10 St. Louis Park (9-2) 47.0 11 Anoka (7-3) 46.7 12 Lakeville North (7-2) 46.4 13 Burnsville (5-3) 45.8 14 Apple Valley (8-2) 45.5 15 Maple Grove (7-3) 44.8 16 Elk River (5-5) 44.5 17 Wayzata (6-4) 44.4 18 Blaine (5-3) 44.3 19 St. Paul Central (6-1) 43.9 20 Spring Lk Pk/St. Anth Vill (6-2) 43.6
Class AA boys big ones tonight: NR Apple Valley @ 1 Eastview NR Burnsville @ 6 Jefferson NR Lakeville North v. 9 Eagan
Poor Burnsville. Look at the schedule for their final 7 games: 9/19 v #3 Eden Prairie 9/20 v #1 Eastview 9/22 v #10 Eagan 9/27 v #6 Jefferson 9/29 v #5 Edina 10/4 v NR Lakeville North 10/6 v NR Apple Valley
Mr soccer will be Will Lamett. The best HS soccer player ever...to crap his own pants. Boys HS soccer is a joke these days. The Mr soccer winner will end up working at cub foods as no D3 would take him/her.
The last comment is so stupid it hardly warrants a response. The thing is that I've read/heard this chestnut a few times. The overall quality of play (by the players, if not the coaches) is light years ahead of where it was even 10 years ago. There were very special players in decades past in this state, but they usually flocked to one of several schools that took soccer seriously. More players throughout the state these days are actually becoming talented, technical players. They are a joy to watch compared to what we were seeing 10 years ago. Good for them. And good for us fans of the game who actually get to see better soccer. Granted the development of club soccer made all this happen. But high school soccer is still better off for it. Talent is just more evenly dispersed.
Interesting that two out of the metro players are among the best in the state - Bell (Little Falls) and Welter(Mankato) have both committed to good college programs
It's obvious that players are better now. All sports and athletes are constantly improving. To say otherwise would be like saying:
-Russell was better than Jordan -Jim Brown was better than Adrian Peterson -Pele was better than Messi -Williams was better than Pujols -McEnroe was better than Federer -Spitz was better than Phelps -Gretzky was better than...well, nobody is better than The Great One
Gretzky is the best! Well said 9:45, the top end talent in HS soccer is about the same as it has always been its the average player that has improved so much over the past 20 years, both in skills and soccer IQ. No longer does one kid walk through 8 players and score goals at will. The kids and most coaches at the HS level are ready and willing to play better looking soccer. If the # of subs during a game could be reduced by the MSHSL,find some wider fields, and refing continues to improve then the HS game will keep improving. I have not seen a true mr. soccer yet this year, by the end of the year someone will come to the head of the pack. Just alot of good players out there this year but no phenom yet.
Coaches AA: 1 (1) Eastview Lightning (13-0) 2 (2) North St. Paul (13-0) 3 (3) Stillwater Area (12-2) 4 (5) Edina (12-1) 5 (6) Bloomington Jefferson (8-2) 6 (4) Minneapolis South (12-2) 7 (7) Minneapolis Southwest (10-2) 8 (9) Eagan (9-3) 9 (10) St. Paul Central (10-1) 10 (8) Eden Prairie (7-3)
Others receiving votes: Lakeville North, Wayzata, Apple Valley.
Section 4AA is the section of death, with 3 of the top 10 (#2, #3, #9). Anyone else with that many?
Agreed! You have players from these little towns that no one has heard of scoring tons of goals against little towns that no one has heard of! No way you can compare someone that scores a ton of goals for Farmville versus someone that scores goals for big suburban school.
De LaSalle is a good soccer school, but look where it's location is. They should be good at soccer! Those inner city schools with a high concentration of immigrants should have outstanding soccer programs.
The delasalle kid is not an immigrant. He is an American and I have seen him play. He is perhaps the best young soccer player I have seen in the state...extreemly fun to watch!!!!
Didn't say that the kid from Delasalle was an immigrant. I just said that there's lots of immigrants in the inner city and the should be pretty good at soccer.
Boys AA picks 1AA - Lakeville North over Northfield 2AA - Holy Family over Orono 3AA - Eastview over Jefferson 4AA - Stillwater over North St. Paul 5AA - Spring Lake Park over Mounds View 6AA - South over Wayzata 7AA - Duluth East over Elk River 8AA - Little Falls over Bemidji
State seeds: 1. Eastview 2. Stillwater 3. South 4. Spring Lake Park
interesting strib article this morning. looks like mta has them drinking a stronger version of the koolaid. let's see where these kids are in five years, and what regrets they have for skipping the funnest soccer experience there is.
yes, 13-18 year olds are allowed to have fun, dad.
And everyone of those kids said they would chose club soccer over high school soccer. Seriously do you think that club soccer isn't fun. My kids are counting down the days until they can return to their club. They have alot of fun. Yes, they have fun in high school too. Let's see my kids get to enjoy Florida, California, Las Vegas and Arizona in the winter. I'm glad they feed us that kool-aid!
7:45pm. Green with envy? Otherwise why would you careless? Oh wait, when those top boys can't play HS soccer anymore, your team is going to blow without them, right?
"I do like high school, but the thought never entered my mind that I should choose high school over the academy system," said Sam Forsgren, a sophomore at St. Paul Academy High School, who will play in MTA for the first time this fall. "Everybody I know just dies to play in the academy."
Everyone whines that the level of play in Minnesota sucks and now we have United States Soccer Federation trying to improve the level of soccer in the USA and Minnesota and people still want to complain? Think about it. This is a good thing which will elevate the level of play in Minnesota. It's great Shattuck and MTA took the initiative to lead the way. I wish USSF would step in and do the same for the girls too so my daughter would have that same opportunity.
USSF keeps you employed, keeps the rich kids (and their parents)thinking they're better than everyone else, and keeps the very best (and poorest) players stuck where they are.
Well done, MTA. You'll look back at this someday ashamed of what you did.
8:31pm. Jealous? Keep trying maybe you'll make one of those teams one day.
8:33am. Wow, the grammar police are up early? Although, it is nice that you're educated. Hopefully your child gets those same skills because they must not be very good at soccer.
Hey, 8:39, thanks for asking about my son. He has brains and skills and plays for a high school that regularly goes to state and a club team that is regularly goes to the State Cup Finals and gets regional/national attention. He has several school/soccer options and is choosing between 3 MIAC schools and 1 D1 school. He's not sure he wants to do D1 as the school isn't as good academically as the MIAC schools, and frankly, the top MIAC schools play better soccer than most D1 programs. He's getting academic scholarships too, meaning he'll be able to do more than just coach soccer when he's done with college.
9:41, Congrats! That's the great thing about this country is we're all free to make the choices we want. Some want to play against the best level of competition possible and others choose to play for their community club. Some want the challenge of D1 soccer and some choose to attend college closer to home. Whatever floats your boat! Life is good here in America and it's great the kids have these options.
This isn't something new to youth sports in Minnesota. This has been happening for years in hockey. MN has produced some great hockey players through the years. Hopefully in a few years, we'll be able to say MN is producing so top notch soccer players too.
10am, the bummer about this country (or at least way soccer is run here) is the most deserving kids - the ones who could truly benefit from an intense structured soccer program that gets them off the streets and gives them an opportunity to leverage their soccer skills to elevate themselves - don't get that chance because they can't afford it. Prairie Seeds is the only option for a lot of the kids who go there.
The 10 month thing will work out fine, its a good option for kids that are good enough and want that experience, I would assume that MTA is exploring ways to finance it so that eventually you can try to bring all the best players together without the worry of $$$$. The High School team I coach will probably lose 2 players to the Academy, I am happy for them, I wish they could do both but thats not realistic. I think most kids that play on those teams are doing it so that they can play at the highest level of compitition they feel is available. I think that by now most people should know that full rides just dont happen in mens/boys soccer. With fully funded programs only allowed 9.9 scholorships do the math. Its a good option, and will help soccer in this state!
11:17am. America was built on working hard to get what you want. Enough of the handouts! Because they're immigrants or come from a poor family; are they more deserving than the kid that has both parents working, rushing home from work to feed them and than spend the evening driving them to practice, games, conditioning. I don't think so!
Grow up, children, and take your club talk to another board where the few of you who actually care can entertain yourselves. Sorry your USSF kid plays for a crappy high school team, but we're talking high school soccer here.
Who do you like?
Seed / QRF rank 1AA 1 LVN 18 2 LVS 41 3 Mayo 32 4 Northfield 33 2AA 1 Jefferson 3 2 Edina 6 3 Eden Prairie 9 4 Prior Lake 10 3AA 1 Eastview 1 2 Eagan 5 3 Burnsville 15 4 AV 12 4AA 1 North St. Paul 4 2 Stillwater 2 3 St. Paul Central 17 4 East Ridge 40 5AA 1 Spring Lake Park 14 2 Maple Grove 10 3 Mounds View 24 4 Osseo 16 6AA 1 South 19 2 Wayzata 7 3 Southwest 26 4 St. Louis Park 13 7AA 1 Blaine 23 2 Andover 30 3 Duluth East 21 4 Coon Rapids 38 8AA 1 Anoka 8 2 St. Michael 22 3 Elk River 25 4 Buffalo 29
Who do you like? Who will make an early exit? Who goes to the Dome? Who gets seeded?
We were talking high school. The fact that some of the top boys will not be playing for your crappy high school next year. And so sorry that your kid can't play USSF otherwise you would care!
Without the USSF talk, there hardly is any talk. I find the USSF talk, which directly effects the future of HS soccer, to be far more interesting than meaningless rankings and predictions.
And mind-numbing boring! Atleast seeing postings of QRF over and over again helps me go to sleep. We know where to find those rankings, do you need to repeat yourselves!
Does the QRF take factor in; injured stars, kid had to sit due to grades, big testing day at school and most kids were exhausted, boyfriend/girlfriend troubles and just plain teen moods! Yes, these are all things that all teams have to deal with and need to play through. So a teams strength could be great one day and than the next, well we know what can happen. So the QRF might be fun to look at, but really are just a bunch of nonsense.
Speaking of Jefferson, funny that Jefferson has won the section three years in a row when EP is way bigger, has a much better youth program and only has 1 high school in their city.
Who deserved the #2 seed in that section above them? Not a single team did. South tied #3 Mayo and #7 Century.... beat #4 Northfield, #5 Farmington, #6 Owatonna, and #8 JM.
They had the second best record in section games. They just happen to play in a much harder conference than the rest of the section other than North.
Good bye Stillwater and Wayzata. I thought they'd both be playing at the dome. Any color on the Stillwater game? They beat Central 3-1 earlier this year.
They beat central 3_0 back in august, central played that game without 4 starters. Those kids were playing in this game, good game but central definetly had a game plan this time and shut down stills attack, Centrals #9 is an star, fun to watch.
over/under for red cards in the central/north game is 2. I'm picking over. Central will get ahead by two and north bench will implode. it will be ugly, which is why i plan to be there.
So I have heard a few stories now about North being quite dirty and unsportsmanlike, I do know they have a lot of reds but I have not gotten to watch them, does anyone have some insight on this? True/false?
10:23, head east on Highway 36 until you see the big snowman and turn left. You'll be able to see for yourself tomorrow at 7. If the over/under on reds is 2, I also pick the over. Central is loaded with high-caliber players who have played in many important games and will be too much for scrappy, untested North. Regardless of who takes the lead, the cleats will start flying in teh second half when the goal differential is 2 or more.
It is to bad north and central have to play on that horrid field, both teams have fast skilled players and that field is narrow chewed up and has a crown, it will be a tackle festival with the ball going out every other touch. Let the fluke goals begin.
318 comments:
1 – 200 of 318 Newer› Newest»2011 Boys Minnesota State High School Soccer Chat Thread:
Preseason #1 and 2 lose this week. Who is the new number one? Stillwater? Edina?
Stillwater. Decisive wins over St. Paul Central and Wayzata.
Quite the StarTribune article on Apple Valley this week:
"That cute stuff doesn't work in soccer."
Yeah, tell that Barcelona and Brazil. Scanlon certainly has it all figured out. What a joke.
After watching 2 games at Stillwater I cant believe how far boys hs soccer has fallen. If these were top teams Im gueasing state is wide open this year.
12:42, it sure ain't club ball. You go from watching the top U17 boys play to watching boot ball and you're bound to be depressed. Stillwater and Southwest have the most high-level club players on their rosters. It's up to Johnson and Plaisance to keep them playing that way.
When the program with the most talent (Apple Valley) doesn't believe in the "cute stuff," how are you going to get anything other than bootball.
It's that kind of restricting mentality that is holding back US Soccer. It will be a great day when the old generation of coaches polluting the sport step aside.
huh? Apple Valley has the most talent? What are you smoking?
When you have a few talented players playing with mostly average players, boot ball works. Period. Scanlon figured that out years ago.
Southwest? How many Shattuck or MTA kids do they have? Zero? Both teams suck and could not go .500 5-7 years ago.
@421 so basically your saying his highly touted accomplishments in a sh*t level of the game isn't very impressive?
I agree
To say the "cute stuff doesn't work in soccer" shows so much ignorance for understanding the game that I could insert stupidity instead of ignorance.
Maybe he meant to say that the cute stuff doesn't work in high school soccer when you have a few talented players playing with mostly average players,against teams made up of somewhat less talent.
8:32, no one has any Shattuck players. Shattuck has them. Also, you assume MTA has all the best players. Wrong again. Not sure about Southwest, but Stillwater has had maybe one sub-.500 season in the past 15 years.
Year in and year out, Apple Valley does have the most talent. They have a strong club program that retains most of their players. Look at the success Valley United has in club soccer.
They don't have the best talent, but they have the most (and that can be said for the last 15 years).
So when that team sets the standard of playing bootball, what do you expect from the rest of the state? It will be a good day when coaches who want to grow the sport replace the old guard.
Look at the old guard at some of our biggest, most talented schools...Apple Valley, Eagan, Eden Prairie...that says it all right there.
IMO, the biggest reason for the style of play is the width of the field. Standard soccer fields are upwards of 80 yards wide whle most HS teams play on re-marked football fields that are on average only 65 yards in width. It is tough to play a "possession" style when the fields are so narrow which funnels everything into the middle. Especially on the boys side as they are quicker/faster than the girls and therefore can cover more ground and close open space much more rapidly. It is tough to play it "out-then-in" when there is no "out", so the game evolves into "up-and-over". When combined with the variety of ages and abilities plus limited pre-season and the short season, most coaches take the safe and easy route. The kids don't care as they would prefer to win then lose "pretty". After a few months it really doesn't make that much of a difference as everyone goes back to their clubs anyway
don't buy the size of field reasoning since most fields in this state are not 80 yards in width to begin with.
do agree with coaches playing safe and easy approach.
10:49 comes out every year about this time.
Also, year in and year out, NO ONE has the most talent...and certainly not AV this year.
I don't know how these old men with limited soccer background do it.
If I were to move into a growing suburb and take over coaching a unpopular but growing sport (i.e.lacrosse) with zero playing experience, I don't know how I could sleep at night after 20 years of doing it, knowing that the sport is way beyond my understanding. It's fraudulent. Personally, I'm going to stick to a sport that I understand, can teach, and help grow.
maybe it's the kids...i.e., the talent pool the local clubs develop.
AV makes it known at about U12 that if the kids leave the MYSA club, they will not play high school soccer. Kids who play together, generally play better as a team 6-8 years of playing with the same guys is certainly a benefit. Good luck finding many AV kids who go on to play at the next level though. Let's face it HS soccer is fun for the players, but is garbage to watch...especially over the last 5 year or so.
Not all teams in the state hold to the bootball philosophy. Some of the younger coaches out there actually try to focus on possession and possession with purpose. Look at programs like Farmington, Prior Lake, Bloomington Kennedy, and the two Lakeville schools. Yes, they are not the top dogs but the coaches look to teach the beautiful game rather than just boot to win. My apologies for not naming other programs outside of my limited viewing area in the South Suburbs.
Hopefully this thread will not turn into focusing on just one or two teams as the season gets going and conference play heats up.
Imagine how strong Obarski would have become-and the college opportunities he would have had-if he could have played at MTA his entire career, not just after his high school career ended.
8:22 AM -- Right, the dream that MTA tries to sell to every soccer parent.
8:22 - HAHAHAHAHAHA, MTA people are laughable!!! Obarski had plenty of college soccer options, but none close to home, which is where he wanted to go to college. Playing football at Concordia-St. Paul seems to be working so far...kicked field goals of 56 and 47 yards in his first game.
#1 (3) Stillwater Area Ponies(4-0)
2 (8) Edina (4-0)
3 (7) Minneapolis South (2-0)
4 (6) Eagan (2-0)
5 (NR) Bloomington Jefferson(2-1)
6 (2) Minneapolis Southwest (2-1)
7 (NR) Eastview (3-0)
8 (4) Eden Prairie (0-0-1)
9 (NR) Anoka (3-0)
10 (1) Apple Valley (3-1)
Others receiving votes: Centennial, Wayzata, Lakeville North, North St. Paul
Class 2A Ranking Provided By: Coaches Association
AV ties again: "must kick ball farther and run faster. MUST KICK BALL FARTHER AND RUN FASTER!"
Is that really the Top 10?
8 team from the south metro. Anoka from the north. Perennial Stillwater from the east.
The State Tournament is dumm.
high soccer is dumm....
Sweet grammer!!!
grammar??
@901- Absolutely Stellar Comment!
Stillwater is in playoff form already but has major keeper issues
Edina is alot of smoke an mirrors right now and will fall off
South solid so far
Eagan early loss to PL might help them focus
Jefferson good team with depth issues
Southwest will get stronger, cant wait fo South/southwest games this year
Eastview great darkhorse to win Lake
Evil Prairie should be in top 5
Anoka needs some stiffer comp. to really see where they are at
AV not top 10 anymore but what a great last couple of years
My teams to watch in AA
Sprnglkprk/stanthony, North St.P, Prior Lake, Central, Hill Murray, Lakeville N.
1 goal against in 4 games for stillwater? your right. MAJOR keeper issues.
Tomass, you love 1/2 the things I write and hate the other half.
@200 - well at least I'm consistent
;-)
Jefferson over Apple Valley 2-0
"must kick ball farther and run faster. MUST KICK BALL FARTHER AND RUN FASTER!"
That one will always make me chuckle
Apple Valley: A coach is only as good as his players.
9/9/11 8:42am - spot on! Too funny!
Parents - stop yelling "NICE BOOT!"
Any thoughts on the upcoming 2A rankings?
Here are mine
Stillwater
Eastview
Minneapolis South
Bloomington Jefferson
Edina
Minneapolis Southwest
Eden Prairie
Prior Lake
Eagan
Anoka
Any one I missed???
North St. Paul deserves a look. They haven't played anyone yet, but have been winning handily.
Just noticed that 2 Minnesota boys are starting for a 6-0 Northern Illinois team, beating some big schools. That's awesome. Shattuck and Prairie Seeds representing.
Yes, I did say Prairie Seeds would beat Apple Valley last year. Yes, they would.
NIU is 3-0. Pre-season means nothing. But still they are 3-0. Dabarki is an example of an average player, who with flair looks better, and gets a chance to play. Kannah might be 26, but still a good player. Not much up side. Congrats to both players.
Wow still living in the past, last year was last year and AV beat every single team they played and won a state championship! The seeds did not beat every single team they played and they as well won a championship, congrats to them, but they tied eagan and AV beat eagan twice as the only common opponent and the fact that AV beat everyone else making statements like that is preposterous. #realtalk
"must kick ball farther and run faster. MUST KICK BALL FARTHER AND RUN FASTER!"
PSA is a great idea as far as givin the kids that play there opportunities, but it has been built in a completely corrupt way. YD has broken almost every MSHSL rule and been caught on some of it and dodged alot of stuff, coachs no longer look to schedule PSA, because that is about the only way they can make it known that what is going on there is wrong, the MSHSL needs to step up and do a little more follow up on the info they have been given.
I don't see any AV players starting for undefeated D1 teams.
http://www.niuhuskies.com/sports/m-soccer/recaps/090911aab.html
Beating Mich St and St. Louis is pretty good.
"A little flair":
http://www.niuhuskies.com/sports/m-soccer/recaps/091111aaa.html
#1 (1) Stillwater Area Ponies (6-1)
2 (2) Edina (6-0)
3 (3) Minneapolis South (3-0)
4 (5) Bloomington Jefferson (4-1)
5 (7) Eastview (6-0)
6 (6) Minneapolis Southwest (4-1)
7 (4) Eagan (4-1)
8 (8) Eden Prairie (3-0)
9 (NR) North St. Paul (6-0)
10 (NR) Lakeville North (4-0)
Others receiving votes: Prior Lake, Anoka, Wayzata
So, Stillwater loses and stays at #1? What up with dat? Are they that good? Who is Brookfield East anyway?
AV is a classy program and should not be judged by D1 players. they play as a team and by hard work, oh ya also they adhere to the rules of the mshl. Only one of the mighty PSA "class act" players are playing for NIU. KD played at shattuck. GB was supposed to but is playing at a juco school in iowa.
Nobody ever cited the rules PSA broke on here.
I will judge by D1 players.
i think PSA cheats (though they're not as good this year...won't win it all), but I too will judge by D1 players.
Seriously, high school programs dont develop D1 players, club develops them. AV has had an incredible amount of D1 players through the years look at the teams from the 90's
boy valley's getting defensive. club's not feeding them the players they used to get.
Name the D1 players from AV. I can think of 3 in the last 15-20 years, all from the mid-90s. Doesn't seem like "an incredible amount."
They've had a number of D3 players, which is pretty good.
Point is, AV is a solid program, but they don't produce elite talent as you would expect from a successful program.
again, schools don't "produce" D1 soccer players. Clubs do. AV doesn't have D1 players because coach wants the boys playing for the local club, which is blah compared to an MTA/MU/SCV.
An "Elite talent" will be good with or without the school or club in whatever sport they choose, any club or school or coach that takes credit for developing players is way off the mark. I would like to see less coaches and soccer experts commenting on the quality of the clubs and schools and here some positive stuff from players, like hey I loved playing at AV because we won and the guys I played with were my friends or my coach at MTA taught me how to finish.
I just used AV and MTA as examples.
So lets here it what coach had a positive influence on you.
I hated playing against AV. I ran forward in attack. Then they get it and thump it over my head so I run backwards in defense. Every goal kick or free kick the play stops forever, we stand waiting from them to thump it, we battle for a 50-50 ball, and repeat the previous process over and over and over. Not fun to play against, probably less fun to play, and even less fun to watch. And then there's the constant cute subbing.
Looks like 11:23 lives an interesting life!
Recent AV player @ D1 school is Brandon Wolf at UW-Milwaukee. HS soccer does not 'produce' any players. Clubs develop players who happen to attend high schools. Nice to see the A-kissing coaches with highly ranked teams. PSA has plenty of 16-17 year olds playing U13, and 21-25 year olds, playing U17. Enough said.
I can't agree with 11:23 more. AV is notorious for wasting about 10-15 minutes a game with that constant cute subbing.
I'd say 11:23's description above is spot on and has a little something to do with why so few players from such a winning program play beyond HS.
What happened to that guy that won Mr. Soccer a couple years ago? Is he playing anywhere?
Didn't Brandon Wolf play at Rosemount, not AV? I thought he even sat out his senior year...
Did he want to play anywhere, the vast majority of hs players could care less if they play past hs.
Playing college soccer at any level in college is great and takes dedication but it is a poor measuring stick for talent. AV wins at hs soccer and those kids enjoy it, I think some of the cry babies on here need to get there own hs teams and see how they do. Wait you guys are all experts so you will probably develope the hell out of all your players and they will play pro and it will all be because of the fact they were taught to play posetion soccer and not direct!! What joke.
Sorry for my spelling on that last rant:)
"posetion" soccer? Did you skip English class? What a joke.
Too much hoopla over AV for me. Next topic please.
All D1 prospects should skip high school soccer. Too many injuries from all the bad play and hackers!
Next topic? Let's see, after AV, then it's Stillwater. They're no good.
After AV? There are lots of teams BEFORE AV!
Any predictions for tonight's games?
And yes, I am trying to change this blog to be more than griping, whining, and attacking.
Let's talk soccer and what is going on now instead of all of the other crap you all feel the need to spew
AV is going to LOOSE!
Ok, let's talk soccer! Real soccer, not this rec-plus boot ball that all the high schools play.
Jabari was the defender from AV who Mr. Soccer. He goes to the UofM and sometimes plays on their club team. I have seen him in MASL 1st division and he is an average player.
Predictions for next weeks AA rankings?
1. Eastview
2. Stillwater
3. Mpls South
4. Bloomington Jefferson
5. Mpls Southwest
6. Eden Prairie
7. Edina
8. Lakeville North
9. North St. Paul
10. Eagan
Anyone I missed? Should an undefeated team be ranked below a team with a loss? Should a 2 loss team even be considered for top 10?
The regular season is half over and it's time to start talking soccer!
Does anyone know where the so called two u14 national team players go to high school and how they are doing?
Stillwater will remain #1 with a win over North St Paul
Max Stiegwaldt goes to Maple Grove High School. High School team isn't doing so well.
The other u14 national team player goes to DeLasalle.
How is Eastview running up the strong record and beating many highly ranked teams. Which clubs are their players from?
Eastview players tend to come from Valley United, Dakota REV, Eagan and MTA.
Eastview has has least 4 players from MTA.
9/19 QRF ranking
1 Eastview (9-0) 53.8
2 Eden Prairie (4-0) 51.0
3 Bloomington Jefferson (4-2) 47.9
4 Hill-Murray (4-2) 47.3
5 Eagan (6-2) 47.2
T-6 North St. Paul (7-0) 47.0
T-6 Lakeville North (7-0) 47.0
8 Minneapolis South (7-0) 45.7
9 Edina (7-1) 45.4
10 Anoka (7-2) 44.9
11 Burnsville (5-1) 44.8
12 St. Louis Park (7-2) 43.9
13 Blaine (5-2) 43.1
14 Stillwater Area (8-2) 42.9
15 Maple Grove (6-2) 39.6
16 St. Paul Central (4-1) 39.2
17 Apple Valley (6-2) 38.6
18 St. Michael-Albertville (6-2) 36.6
19 Spring Lk Pk/St. Anth Vill (4-2) 36.4
20 Osseo (4-2) 36.0
Hill Murray #4? Huh? They haven't beaten anyone and got smoked by Stillwater and Maple Grove!
One thing that has helped put Eastview on top is the addition of Mathew Gweh to the team. He played at Como his 10th grade year, and I believe did not play last year. He is very good and is a Thunder player from the team that went to nationals.
QRF Rankings: September 23, 2011
1 Eastview (10-0) 64.4
2 Bloomington Jefferson (5-2) 58.5
3 Stillwater Area (10-2) 56.4
4 Eagan (8-2) 54.7
5 Eden Prairie (5-1) 53.7
6 Minneapolis South (9-0) 52.7
7 North St. Paul (9-0) 51.8
8 Edina (9-1) 51.2
9 Hill-Murray (5-3) 49.7
10 St. Louis Park (9-2) 47.0
11 Anoka (7-3) 46.7
12 Lakeville North (7-2) 46.4
13 Burnsville (5-3) 45.8
14 Apple Valley (8-2) 45.5
15 Maple Grove (7-3) 44.8
16 Elk River (5-5) 44.5
17 Wayzata (6-4) 44.4
18 Blaine (5-3) 44.3
19 St. Paul Central (6-1) 43.9
20 Spring Lk Pk/St. Anth Vill (6-2) 43.6
Still wondering how Hill is top 10.
how about predictions for mr. and ms. soccer?
Ben Lemay - St Thomas Academy
Katie Holder - Stillwater
KH from Stillwater - no.
ummm. yes.
There are no superstar seniors in Girls this year. KH is good but Mahtomedi senior is better. Have seen both play this year.
Take your girls to the other blog, please.
Class AA boys big ones tonight:
NR Apple Valley @ 1 Eastview
NR Burnsville @ 6 Jefferson
NR Lakeville North v. 9 Eagan
Poor Burnsville. Look at the schedule for their final 7 games:
9/19 v #3 Eden Prairie
9/20 v #1 Eastview
9/22 v #10 Eagan
9/27 v #6 Jefferson
9/29 v #5 Edina
10/4 v NR Lakeville North
10/6 v NR Apple Valley
Big one Saturday. Prairie Seeds vs. Minneapolis South.
Predictions?
Mr soccer- Brandon Welter Mankato East
yah right. who?
Mr soccer will be Will Lamett. The best HS soccer player ever...to crap his own pants. Boys HS soccer is a joke these days. The Mr soccer winner will end up working at cub foods as no D3 would take him/her.
The last comment is so stupid it hardly warrants a response. The thing is that I've read/heard this chestnut a few times. The overall quality of play (by the players, if not the coaches) is light years ahead of where it was even 10 years ago. There were very special players in decades past in this state, but they usually flocked to one of several schools that took soccer seriously. More players throughout the state these days are actually becoming talented, technical players. They are a joy to watch compared to what we were seeing 10 years ago. Good for them. And good for us fans of the game who actually get to see better soccer. Granted the development of club soccer made all this happen. But high school soccer is still better off for it. Talent is just more evenly dispersed.
Brandon Welter, Adama Keita, Grant Bell are all
Interesting that two out of the metro players are among the best in the state - Bell (Little Falls) and Welter(Mankato) have both committed to good college programs
On Keita - will his coach's rep hurt or help him?
It's obvious that players are better now. All sports and athletes are constantly improving. To say otherwise would be like saying:
-Russell was better than Jordan
-Jim Brown was better than Adrian Peterson
-Pele was better than Messi
-Williams was better than Pujols
-McEnroe was better than Federer
-Spitz was better than Phelps
-Gretzky was better than...well, nobody is better than The Great One
Gretzky is the best! Well said 9:45, the top end talent in HS soccer is about the same as it has always been its the average player that has improved so much over the past 20 years, both in skills and soccer IQ. No longer does one kid walk through 8 players and score goals at will. The kids and most coaches at the HS level are ready and willing to play better looking soccer. If the # of subs during a game could be reduced by the MSHSL,find some wider fields, and refing continues to improve then the HS game will keep improving. I have not seen a true mr. soccer yet this year, by the end of the year someone will come to the head of the pack. Just alot of good players out there this year but no phenom yet.
Dude, Gretzky was a hockey player.
9/30 QRF (combines A and AA)
1 Eastview (12-0) 77.1
2 Stillwater Area (12-2) 64.5
3 Bloomington Jefferson (7-2) 63.5
4 Edina (11-1) 61.9
5 Eagan (9-3) 61.1
6 North St. Paul (12-0) 60.9
7 Prairie Seeds Academy (8-0) 60.1
8 Benilde-St. Margaret's (12-1) 55.4
9 Anoka (8-3) 55.1
10 Apple Valley (9-3) 53.9
11 Wayzata (8-4) 53.4
12 Lakeville North (8-3) 52.0
13 Eden Prairie (7-2) 51.1
T-14 Minneapolis South (12-1) 51.0
T-14 Duluth Marshall (8-2) 51.0
T-14 Rochester Lourdes (10-2) 51.0
17 St. Louis Park (9-3) 49.3
T-18 Prior Lake (8-5) 48.3
T-18 Minneapolis Southwest (9-2) 48.3
20 Elk River (7-6) 48.2
21 Maple Grove (8-4) 48.1
22 Bloomington Kennedy (8-6) 48.0
23 Little Falls (10-0) 47.6
24 Holy Family Catholic (8-4) 47.3
25 Blaine (7-4) 47.0
26 Osseo (6-3) 46.6
27 Holy Angels (8-1) 46.3
28 St. Paul Central (8-1) 46.2
29 Spring Lk Pk/St. Anth Vill (7-2) 45.4
30 Sartell-St. Stephen (8-1) 45.1
Mr. Soccer will be best player for Eastview, probably someone who scores a lot of goals. That's how it usually works.
Not normally how it works at all...look at the past five years.
Also, Eastview doesn't have a senior worthy of the award.
ESPN offers its MN all-star team. Apparently the only two clubs in MN are MTA and SSM. Everyone else's club is listed as "none."
Coaches AA:
1 (1) Eastview Lightning (13-0)
2 (2) North St. Paul (13-0)
3 (3) Stillwater Area (12-2)
4 (5) Edina (12-1)
5 (6) Bloomington Jefferson (8-2)
6 (4) Minneapolis South (12-2)
7 (7) Minneapolis Southwest (10-2)
8 (9) Eagan (9-3)
9 (10) St. Paul Central (10-1)
10 (8) Eden Prairie (7-3)
Others receiving votes: Lakeville North, Wayzata, Apple Valley.
Section 4AA is the section of death, with 3 of the top 10 (#2, #3, #9). Anyone else with that many?
I think Edina, Jefferson, EP, and Prior Lake are in the same section.
Eastview, Eagan, Apple Valley. They are all in the same section.
Bummer that only one team gets to go from each section, as half the sections are garbage.
Half of sections are garbage, but that's ok since 98% of high school soccer is garbage.
How does Eagan move up the ranks after losing last week to Lakeville North? What are these coaches watching?
Not that LN should be in the top 10 but Eagan gets a third loss and moves up the ranks???
freshman leading all scorers in the state...wow. Who is this kid, anybody knows?
He is a very good player but they should separate Double A and single A when putting them in the papers. Single A is far inferior to Double A.
Agreed! You have players from these little towns that no one has heard of scoring tons of goals against little towns that no one has heard of! No way you can compare someone that scores a ton of goals for Farmville versus someone that scores goals for big suburban school.
Those little town teams are funny. You usually have 1-2 good players and the rest of the team are players that don't want to play football.
The freshman leading the state in scoring is one of the MTA kids who is on the U-14 national team.
little teams like De La Salle in little old Minneapolis? huh? the kid rocks.
De LaSalle is a good soccer school, but look where it's location is. They should be good at soccer! Those inner city schools with a high concentration of immigrants should have outstanding soccer programs.
Not talking about leading scorer from Delasalle. Talking about the stats on some kids from schools like; La Crescent, Hermantown, Kassaon-Mantorville.
The delasalle kid is not an immigrant. He is an American and I have seen him play. He is perhaps the best young soccer player I have seen in the state...extreemly fun to watch!!!!
Didn't say that the kid from Delasalle was an immigrant. I just said that there's lots of immigrants in the inner city and the should be pretty good at soccer.
is that you, shekki?
He is not an immigrant. He is the best player in Minnesota right now. This just means being an immigrant doesn't make you good at soccer.
Yep, so good is north high, washburn, edison...you get the point.
Which brings up the issue that that you need $$$ to play soccer now. No $$$$, not so good at soccer! Very much like the hockey programs!
Agree, his folks must have sent him to all the fancy and expensive soccer camps
Boys AA picks
1AA - Lakeville North over Northfield
2AA - Holy Family over Orono
3AA - Eastview over Jefferson
4AA - Stillwater over North St. Paul
5AA - Spring Lake Park over Mounds View
6AA - South over Wayzata
7AA - Duluth East over Elk River
8AA - Little Falls over Bemidji
State seeds:
1. Eastview
2. Stillwater
3. South
4. Spring Lake Park
Final: Eastview v. South
Champ: South
You might want to check your sections again. Jefferson is 2AA , Orono and holy family are Class A.
Everyone's a critic.
Anyone have a link to who plays in what section?
For your prognosticating pleasure. QRF rankings for the top four teams in each AA section. If QRF is right, Sections 3, 2, and 4 are strongest.
Section 1AA Standings (Coaches Vote)
QRF Rank Seed Team
No. 19 Lakeville North
No. 27 Rochester Mayo
No. 32 Northfield
No. 41 Lakeville South
Section 2AA Standings (Method TBD)
QRF Rank Seed Team
No. 3 Bloomington Jefferson
No. 6 Edina
No. 9 Prior Lake
No. 12 Eden Prairie
Section 3AA Standings (Method TBD)
QRF Rank Seed Team
No. 1 Eastview
No. 5 Eagan
No. 10 Apple Valley
No. 13 Burnsville
Section 4AA Standings (Method TBD)
QRF Rank Seed Team
No. 2 Stillwater Area
No. 4 North St. Paul
No. 14 St. Paul Central
No. 33 Hill-Murray
Section 5AA Standings (Method TBD)
QRF Rank Seed Team
No. 15 Maple Grove
No. 16 Spring Lk Pk/St. Anth Vill
No. 18 Osseo
No. 22 Mounds View
Section 6AA Standings (Method TBD)
QRF Rank Seed Team (
No. 7 Wayzata
No. 11 St. Louis Park
No. 17 Minneapolis South
No. 23 Minneapolis Southwest
Section 7AA Standings (Method TBD)
QRF Rank Seed Team
No. 21 Duluth East
No. 26 Blaine
No. 31 Andover
No. 38 Coon Rapids
Section 8AA Standings (Method TBD)
QRF Rank Seed Team
No. 8 Anoka
No. 24 St. Michael-Albertville
No. 24 Elk River
No. 34 Moorhead
interesting strib article this morning. looks like mta has them drinking a stronger version of the koolaid. let's see where these kids are in five years, and what regrets they have for skipping the funnest soccer experience there is.
yes, 13-18 year olds are allowed to have fun, dad.
And everyone of those kids said they would chose club soccer over high school soccer. Seriously do you think that club soccer isn't fun. My kids are counting down the days until they can return to their club. They have alot of fun. Yes, they have fun in high school too. Let's see my kids get to enjoy Florida, California, Las Vegas and Arizona in the winter. I'm glad they feed us that kool-aid!
7:45pm. Green with envy? Otherwise why would you careless? Oh wait, when those top boys can't play HS soccer anymore, your team is going to blow without them, right?
A quote from the article;
"I do like high school, but the thought never entered my mind that I should choose high school over the academy system," said Sam Forsgren, a sophomore at St. Paul Academy High School, who will play in MTA for the first time this fall. "Everybody I know just dies to play in the academy."
Thank goodness, I do love kool-aid!
Everyone whines that the level of play in Minnesota sucks and now we have United States Soccer Federation trying to improve the level of soccer in the USA and Minnesota and people still want to complain?
Think about it. This is a good thing which will elevate the level of play in Minnesota.
It's great Shattuck and MTA took the initiative to lead the way.
I wish USSF would step in and do the same for the girls too so my daughter would have that same opportunity.
8:09am Agreed!
Whoa, the MTA coaches woke up early today.
USSF keeps you employed, keeps the rich kids (and their parents)thinking they're better than everyone else, and keeps the very best (and poorest) players stuck where they are.
Well done, MTA. You'll look back at this someday ashamed of what you did.
Actually, posts 7:59 to 8:09 were written by the same person. Consistent grammatical errors: nice work.
8:31pm. Jealous? Keep trying maybe you'll make one of those teams one day.
8:33am. Wow, the grammar police are up early? Although, it is nice that you're educated. Hopefully your child gets those same skills because they must not be very good at soccer.
8:33...please point out the "grammatical errors" in 8:09's post.
Hey, 8:39, thanks for asking about my son. He has brains and skills and plays for a high school that regularly goes to state and a club team that is regularly goes to the State Cup Finals and gets regional/national attention. He has several school/soccer options and is choosing between 3 MIAC schools and 1 D1 school. He's not sure he wants to do D1 as the school isn't as good academically as the MIAC schools, and frankly, the top MIAC schools play better soccer than most D1 programs. He's getting academic scholarships too, meaning he'll be able to do more than just coach soccer when he's done with college.
Way to live through your child 9:41am.
9:41,
Congrats! That's the great thing about this country is we're all free to make the choices we want.
Some want to play against the best level of competition possible and others choose to play for their community club. Some want the challenge of D1 soccer and some choose to attend college closer to home. Whatever floats your boat!
Life is good here in America and it's great the kids have these options.
This isn't something new to youth sports in Minnesota. This has been happening for years in hockey. MN has produced some great hockey players through the years. Hopefully in a few years, we'll be able to say MN is producing so top notch soccer players too.
10am, the bummer about this country (or at least way soccer is run here) is the most deserving kids - the ones who could truly benefit from an intense structured soccer program that gets them off the streets and gives them an opportunity to leverage their soccer skills to elevate themselves - don't get that chance because they can't afford it. Prairie Seeds is the only option for a lot of the kids who go there.
You're nuts, 9:51. I imagine people don't like standing next to you on the sidelines.
The 10 month thing will work out fine, its a good option for kids that are good enough and want that experience, I would assume that MTA is exploring ways to finance it so that eventually you can try to bring all the best players together without the worry of $$$$.
The High School team I coach will probably lose 2 players to the Academy, I am happy for them, I wish they could do both but thats not realistic.
I think most kids that play on those teams are doing it so that they can play at the highest level of compitition they feel is available.
I think that by now most people should know that full rides just dont happen in mens/boys soccer. With fully funded programs only allowed 9.9 scholorships do the math.
Its a good option, and will help soccer in this state!
MTA has no $$$$. That's the problem.
11:17am. America was built on working hard to get what you want. Enough of the handouts! Because they're immigrants or come from a poor family; are they more deserving than the kid that has both parents working, rushing home from work to feed them and than spend the evening driving them to practice, games, conditioning. I don't think so!
You people live in a whacked out world.
Grow up, children, and take your club talk to another board where the few of you who actually care can entertain yourselves. Sorry your USSF kid plays for a crappy high school team, but we're talking high school soccer here.
Who do you like?
Seed / QRF rank
1AA
1 LVN 18
2 LVS 41
3 Mayo 32
4 Northfield 33
2AA
1 Jefferson 3
2 Edina 6
3 Eden Prairie 9
4 Prior Lake 10
3AA
1 Eastview 1
2 Eagan 5
3 Burnsville 15
4 AV 12
4AA
1 North St. Paul 4
2 Stillwater 2
3 St. Paul Central 17
4 East Ridge 40
5AA
1 Spring Lake Park 14
2 Maple Grove 10
3 Mounds View 24
4 Osseo 16
6AA
1 South 19
2 Wayzata 7
3 Southwest 26
4 St. Louis Park 13
7AA
1 Blaine 23
2 Andover 30
3 Duluth East 21
4 Coon Rapids 38
8AA
1 Anoka 8
2 St. Michael 22
3 Elk River 25
4 Buffalo 29
Who do you like? Who will make an early exit? Who goes to the Dome? Who gets seeded?
We were talking high school. The fact that some of the top boys will not be playing for your crappy high school next year. And so sorry that your kid can't play USSF otherwise you would care!
Without the USSF talk, there hardly is any talk. I find the USSF talk, which directly effects the future of HS soccer, to be far more interesting than meaningless rankings and predictions.
Funny how everyone/everything is a threat to the fragile MTA egos.
At least two of the top 5 teams in the state will be completely unaffected by this.
4:34pm. Exactly. Not a huge deal and besides, it's a choice that player makes. It's his business; high school or club.
And for the first time I actually agree with Mister Soccer! Hashing and re-hashing rankings and section seeds is extremely tiresome!
And mind-numbing boring! Atleast seeing postings of QRF over and over again helps me go to sleep. We know where to find those rankings, do you need to repeat yourselves!
So what do you really think about QRF as a gauge of a team's strength?
Does the QRF take factor in; injured stars, kid had to sit due to grades, big testing day at school and most kids were exhausted, boyfriend/girlfriend troubles and just plain teen moods! Yes, these are all things that all teams have to deal with and need to play through.
So a teams strength could be great one day and than the next, well we know what can happen.
So the QRF might be fun to look at, but really are just a bunch of nonsense.
Sounds like a parent from a team with a low QRF!
How about Park (QRF27) over Burnsville (QRF15)? I bet the rest of 3AA is glad they're gone.
Actually our QRF is 3. And yes, I'm from one of the schools named after a president.
I just think they're somewhat pointless.
I thought Lincoln closed years ago?
Speaking of Jefferson, funny that Jefferson has won the section three years in a row when EP is way bigger, has a much better youth program and only has 1 high school in their city.
Kennedy?
Kennedy wasn't doing too bad, top 25, in those QRF Ratings. Combine any top 5 team with a top 25 team and you'd get a pretty good team.
Hopkins Eisenhower?
My prediction for tonight; someone will score more goals and win.
No way. Not going to happen.
AA, no major upsets. remaining matches
1aa: 1/4, 2/3
2aa: 1/4, 2/3
3aa: 1/2
4aa: 1/5, 2/3
5aa: 1/?, 2/3
6aa: 1/5, 2/3
7aa: 1/4, 2/3
8aa: ???
Key matches for Saturday
EP @ EDI
WDB @ NSP
MV @ MG
SW @ WAY
Tuesday
EAG @ EV
So Lakeville South goes 0-9 in conference and gets a #2 seed in Section 1AA. Wow.
Lakeville N
Jefferson
Eastview
North St Paul
Spring Lake Park
South
Blaine
Anoka
#1 seeds: Who doesn't go to State?
Is that for real on Lakeville South?
HS Section play is just as stoopid as the BCS, only, I don't think it's about the money.
Who deserved the #2 seed in that section above them? Not a single team did. South tied #3 Mayo and #7 Century.... beat #4 Northfield, #5 Farmington, #6 Owatonna, and #8 JM.
They had the second best record in section games. They just happen to play in a much harder conference than the rest of the section other than North.
Congratulations on getting a high seed by default.
Stoopid system.
The Metro Rankings, as dumb as they are, are more meaningful that where you finish in the playoffs.
Good bye Stillwater and Wayzata. I thought they'd both be playing at the dome. Any color on the Stillwater game? They beat Central 3-1 earlier this year.
They beat central 3_0 back in august, central played that game without 4 starters. Those kids were playing in this game, good game but central definetly had a game plan this time and shut down stills attack, Centrals #9 is an star, fun to watch.
#9 from Central played on the MTA u16 team that went to Nationals this summer. He's really improved in the last 2 years. Agree he's fun to watch.
central #9 is dangerous. foul in first half should have been a red. cleats up halfway to defender's knee.
over/under for red cards in the central/north game is 2. I'm picking over. Central will get ahead by two and north bench will implode. it will be ugly, which is why i plan to be there.
Dirty, passionate soccer is fun to watch. Kind of explains why there are so few fans at games around here.
So I have heard a few stories now about North being quite dirty and unsportsmanlike, I do know they have a lot of reds but I have not gotten to watch them, does anyone have some insight on this? True/false?
10:23, head east on Highway 36 until you see the big snowman and turn left. You'll be able to see for yourself tomorrow at 7. If the over/under on reds is 2, I also pick the over. Central is loaded with high-caliber players who have played in many important games and will be too much for scrappy, untested North. Regardless of who takes the lead, the cleats will start flying in teh second half when the goal differential is 2 or more.
It is to bad north and central have to play on that horrid field, both teams have fast skilled players and that field is narrow chewed up and has a crown, it will be a tackle festival with the ball going out every other touch. Let the fluke goals begin.
Throw-ins favor central. big time.
bold prediction: maple grove to state and will do very well
I expect to see a lot of this in the section finals:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77Tu4toTypY
All that top end training from MTA and playing 6 days a week in the fall would certainly get that as a result.
Class AA QRF updated as of yesterday...huh?
Rankings: October 17, 2011
1 Eastview (17-0-1) 89.1
2 Bloomington Jefferson (12-2-4) 84.9
3 Stillwater Area (14-3-1) 78.8
4 North St. Paul (17-0-1) 78.7
5 Eagan (13-3-2) 75.1
6 Eden Prairie (12-3-3) 74.2
7 Anoka (11-3-4) 71.7
8 Edina (13-4-1) 69.9
9 Wayzata (12-5-1) 68.8
10 St. Paul Central (15-2-1) 68.2
11 Maple Grove (12-4-2) 67.8
12 Prior Lake (11-7) 65.7
13 Apple Valley (11-6-1) 65.6
14 Spring Lk Pk/St. Anth Vill (13-2-3) 64.9
15 Minneapolis Southwest (13-3-1) 61.9
16 Minneapolis South (14-2-1) 61.6
17 St. Louis Park (12-4) 61.4
18 Burnsville (7-6-4) 60.3
19 Osseo (8-5-3) 59.5
20 Duluth East (12-4-2) 58.9
21 Andover (11-6-1) 58.3
22 Blaine (9-5-2) 57.4
23 St. Michael-Albertville (12-4-2) 57.3
24 Northfield (12-5-1) 57.0
25 Lakeville North (9-6-2) 56.3
26 Elk River (9-9) 56.2
27 Moorhead (14-3-1) 55.7
28 Bloomington Kennedy (9-8) 55.5
29 Centennial (8-5-5) 54.6
30 Rochester Mayo (12-3-2) 54.5
QRF section finals tonight
Section 1: 24 v 30
Section 2: 2 v 6
Section 3: 1 v 5
Section 4: 4 v 10
Section 5: 11 v 14
Section 6: 15 v 16
Section 7: 21 v 22
Section 8: 7 v 23
Gone: 3 Stillwater, 8 Edina, 9 Wayzata.
North over Central in PKs.
Who else?
Southwest over South
yawn. doesn't anyone care about boys soccer?
Nope!
Boys thread: 200 posts
Girls thread: 750 posts
I think it's clear where all the crazies and bashers come from.
Please continue to separate the crazies from the civilized.
Love to see North v Anoka first round.
It's just that boys soccer is so boring and really doesn't matter much in MN.
predictions for the first round state games?
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