Looks like the MTA 12's will get to face off against the 13's again in the Regional game(provided they each get through League)...sure hope it doesn't end in a tie!
11,12 and 13 are the most fun (IMO) because all of the teams in the state are playing(except the ones playing USA Cup instead. I know several MTA teams opted for USA Cup). The other ages have the top 6 teams of each age playing in the Premier league.
Let us see how the game MTE vs MTA at U13C1 at Regionals is. They both won League Play offs and will play in South for a state/PR birth. Who wil coach who. Andy coached the U12's at US Club regionals that they won.
so if i understand how this all works at u13......... the 4 league winners are premier if edina wins their regional game they are premier with the winner of the mta/mte game if edina loses then both mta/mte earn the final two premier slots (the loser edging out edina on points won percentage)? there has never been this regional level so i could be completely wrong
6:25 Lets just hoe the song of the day isn't "Rolling Rolling Rolling" :) My bet says the 12's win 2-1 and then give the Pemier spot to the 13's. I hope the white team gets to keep their spot, they had a great season and earned it. 13 Premier teams soFar: White Eden Prairie Dakota Rev Cottage Grove
Last two spots go to either Edina (win and in) Blue thirteen or the 12's.
If EDI does not win. The remaining spots go to MTE and MTA. We have to look at league standins and both MT teams win on the league runner-ups. with .95 and .928
8:32 So your telling me "we still have a chance", check out how the weakest division at U-13 (north) ended up through districts. Edina will be in and MTA 12's will win and give their spot to the Blue 13's.
on a side note , why did the east (last year) blue 13's play in the south this season and send the south (last year) white team to the north? Don't several of the white team players live in Lakeville? Blue team would have easily clinched up north and instead had to play districts and now regionals against another MTA team in order to earn Premier status.
9:36 Agree 13's will win but not because they are a significantly better team but rather because the 12's have 2 key players at a camp who will miss the game.
Again at U-13- Coon Rapids 3-5-1 during league play earns a spot in the regional tournament. They will play Edina. For the season this team scored 8 and gave up only 9 goals. Maybe they can continue down the path as a real darkhorse and beat Edina giving MTA both at large Premier spots.
9:24, I beleive the goal for MTA was to win every League. Which meant south players drive north, east player drive south, west players drive east??? That worked well...didn't it?
it always makes me laugh when folks like 4:26 attempt to disparage without having knowledge. except for the U12's which are part of the "East" Academy, the U13 blue and white teams are comprised of players from across the metro. next time you try another weak attempt at criticism try to have all the information, or like they say in the journalism business "don't let the facts get in the way of a good story".......
TC Fire - unsubstantiated like most posts on this blog but I heard from a team parent that the 15 girls team is disbanding and DOC Tilsen has been fired due to sexual misconduct or impropriety.
Anyone see the Thunder article in the Trib this morning? Even one of their Elite boys coaches is railing against the team complaining about not being paid. I didn't think the Thunder owner had anything to do with paying MTA coaches but I guess I was wrong.
Wow , The Star Tribune article today doesn't paint a very rosey picture about the future of the Thunder. Looks like all of the past bloggers here indicating "deep pockets" of the new owners were very misled. It also looks like the claims of no intermingling of finances of the "pro" team and the youth academy were also less than accurate.
Pretty sad that the youth program can't even cover it's training space.
U16 Girls C1 winner would be the Bloomington team in my opinion. I am not a Blm parent but have a kid who has played against pretty much all of the teams up for this spot. They have it in them to do it, but this is soccer and as we all know on any given day anything can happen.
Are they going to give the open u15 premier slot (current u14) that MTA West loses from relegation to the current MTA Blue or the winner of the u14 state tournament?
MTA 12's in USA CUP are from the West Academy not the East. The USA CUP squad are mostly white teamers. Not MA"s blue team that played in East Regionals last night.
12:11 The brackets at the MYSA State Tournament line up for the MTA Blue team to play the Dakota Rev team at U-13 if both can get through pool play. If that game does occur it should be one of the more entertaining games to watch as the teams are very evenly matched (tied 0-0 in league play). Both teams have also earned Premier status for next year so the rivalry will continue beyond this year.
Did everyone know about this. I just found it looking through the Minutes of MYSA. Scroll down to the Abboud issue. Maybe this is old news. http://www.mnyouthsoccer.org/about/minutes/compjun09.pdf
New Business Mr. Abboud League Sanctions - Sherrill led the discussion regarding sanctions against Mr. Abboud for his actions at State Cup in which he instructed his Minnesota Thunder team to allow their opponent – another Minnesota Thunder Team – to advance in the State Cup competition. Sherrill moved, DeFor seconded, that a complaint be prepared by the Competitive Committee that would seek future sanctions prohibiting Mr. Abboud from all training or coaching activities for youth soccer in the state. Discussion followed. The motion passed. Favor: all. Sherrill will complete the form and circulate to the committee before submitting.
Andy Kaasa should get the same as Mark Aboud gets, because he knew in advance what was going to happen if that situation would happen. Hell...so did the entire MTA Soccer Club. (I like a few posts ago about supporting the local pro team. MTA has totally ignored the Lightning. Do you think they are pissed? I could see the boys program being the Thunder with girls taking the Lightning name. MTA can even support the womens team...HA! HA!)
Does Andy only coach with MTA now?
I remember a few years ago at Beilenberg watching him coach two teams playing each other in the same game. He would stand at midfield coaching each team. Hilarious!!!
rev u13 did choke in that game against cottage grove. 4 failed corner kicks sent into side netting, failure to pay attention to opponents goalkeeper who was playing 10 to 12 yds off the line, and unable in numerous attempts to put the ball in the net, while cottage grove had only really 2 good chances and put one in, thats all it takes somtimes. rev missing thier keeper, even if they had thier keeper that wouldnt of stopped that goal from going in.
Watched the USA Cup U14 final between MTA and Tonka. Good game, evenly matched. These will be the top two teams in their age group next year. Should include Bvl in top teams but they are ready to self-destruct. Watched their final game in USA Weekend Cup last Sunday and they were awful. Rumors of Tonka girls going to Bvl next year? Ha - why would they? Everything to lose and nothing to gain.
11:49 is correct. Rev blew it. They were in control of the game the entire way but did not finish on opportunities. The game was very physical and the refs swallowed the whistle all day (both ways). Give Cottage Grove credit they did what it took to win and Rev didn't.
Rev rebounded that afternoon and beat a pretty good Canadian team for the USA Cup Championship 5-0. The Rev girls also beat Edina 5-1 and still are mathmatically alive depending on the outcome of CG and Edina.
Also agree that the goal by CG was not the keepers fault. It may have been relevant to the game however because the backup keeper is a very solid center Midfielder and against the strength of CG's forwards/Mids her added depth may have helped. Who knows? CG won the game, everything else is just speculation.
MTA Blue Struggled and had to come from behind to beat EP 3-2. EP came out ready to play and really just missed on a few other chances that could have resulted another U-13 upset. MTA regrouped and pulled out a nice come from behind victory.
I think the only chance that REV has is for Edina to beat CG 2-1 and then it turns into a 3-way tiebreaker (at least from a quick glance that's what I could determine). Not sure what the tiebreaker criteria is.
right now cottage grove has 8 points,edina has 1 point,and rev has 9 points.if edina wins 1 to 0 rev moves on tie breaker for two teams i beleive is head to head or goals diff, rev 9 edina 9 rev wins tie breaker. if edina wins 2 to 1 all teams tied at 9, when 3 teams are tied the head to head does not come into play, goals diff or goals for come into play. goes somthing like that.
so if CG beats or ties Edina, then our two state cup U13 finalists would have gone winless at the summer state tournament.
regarding DREV, IMO, they are a very talented team, but to truly be an elite team at some point they have to win a big game. losing to EP at state cup, CG at summer state, etc...
i agree with 12:01, it seems like with the end of regular season play, and now in the state tournament, the revs advancement is up to other teams outcome and not by their own hand. they are a talented team,but,seem to choke in the games that really matter, at the level they are playing to put almost all corner kicks into the side netting passing on goal opportunities against cottage grove, of which rev controled the play, is exactly why they dont win the games they should be winning. why would the same player who took those corners be allowed to keep taking them in that circumstance? i know players need to learn from their own mistakes but the coach at times, during certain games needs to speek up." imo
i really like rev but lets be careful on anointing them (or anyone in MN) as elite. 'elite' in MN against MN competition perhaps. but if you ask them, they aspire higher and they aren't close to their aspriations of being regionally competitive. if they get lucky, keep training, add players and avoid injuries, they may be competitive in a few years beyond MN. of course, you could say that about plenty of teams. the fact is they seems to have a great deal of pride, have fun, like the coach and compete hard.
the rev team at some point in the future could be considered an elite team, they have the physical talent, time will tell if they can make the mental adjustment needed also to compete with the big teams.
What "big teams" ? Do you mean teams with physically large players?
12:52 How is Rev's "advancement up to other teams outcomes" other than the obvious MYSA State Tournament this year?
The team is playing MRL this fall so we should see how they can compete regionally very soon. BTW REV has done fairly well against a few of the teams in the MRL league when playing them in other tournaments. Beat JUSC(iowa State Cup Champs),NSA, lost on PK's to Omaha Elite (NEB State Cup Champs) and has tied MN's other top team MTA Blue in MYSA league play.
All of the critisism of not finishing on very winnable big games is a point this team will have to address. Those pointing out the mistakes the team made are all correct. I think anyone around the game for any extended period of time has been involved with a game or two where the better skilled or more dominant team doesn't win the game. This team has had the misfortune of having those games happen when the stakes were high.
I can say that the team is comprised of a talented group of girls who is coached by a talented and very dedicated coach, playing for a club who seems well positioned for the development of these kids and many others who are participating in numerous training opportunities provided by the paid trainers of the club.
I hope the Rev team does find a way to "back in" to the final this year because barring an upset it would create a rematch of one of the most entertaining games of youth soccer I have ever watched : MTA Blue vs DKT REV in June.
As a point of comparison of teams who also were involved in games that should have gone one way with one team controlling the play look at the Current U-13 MTA Blue team. Last year they win State Cup as 12's when they were outplayed significantly, and then this year when they were forced to PK's against the current U-12's when the 13's completely dominated the game. My point is stuff happens to all good teams at some point in time that just doesn't seem to make sense.
if true, nothing against edina, but happy to see cg moving on. cg did beat drev, and there would have been something that wouldn't seem right for a team to have gone to the finals after losing a pool game 6-1.
8:22, i get where you are coming from, but it was only two games-and it also means they shutout both opponents-all depends on how you want to look at it. the old 4 team pools was a better format imo as there was added depth (the u12's out east were very good and would have been involved in previous years). Does anyone know the rationale for the 6 team format? was it due to the lack of field resources since nsc is now "evil".
Why not keep it the way it is a districts and regionals . . . win or go home. No pool play. Then you could have 8 teams in and still keep the number of games down (the rationale for having 6 teams qualify).
there is no perfect system. no matter the outcome someone can always find an excuse. next year those teams get to play each other twice...should have no excuse then.
I for one hate the 6-team format. if you're going to do a pool, make it more than two games. Most games last ngiht and tonight are meaningless. Teams should be playing to advance, not to keep other teams from advancing.
8:30 AGREE !!! All systems have flaws but the 3 team pool creates way too many potential issues. I would prefer an 8 team State with two 4 team pools. Or if not 8 forget the pool play and have it be single elimination (prefer 8 team pool).
as asked before, does anyone know why they went to the 6 team pool? what is lack of fields to accomodate the traditional 8 team fields traditionally held out at NSC? I though it was always nice to have one big event with games going on everywhere instead of it being scattered across three different locations.
9:16 - the flaw with single elimination is unless there is some form of seeding (good luck agreeing on that), the two top teams could face each other in the first round. At least with two 4 team pools there is a much better chance of getting no worse than 2 of the top 3 teams in the final (unless the top three teams all end up in a pool of death which would be rare).
Bring back single elimination. Let the best teams play for the championship, instead of earning points. The U16 Girls Championship is already decided without the 3rd game being played by some teams.
Single elimination is easiest and seeding wouldn't be much of an issue. 8 team bracket arranged so each league winner faces a regional winner in first round w/placement made so that no one from a single district would face the other team from their district until a final (giving the possibility of the two best teams coming from one district a chance to play out). All this pool play stuff is completely in a different paradigm than how districts and regionals are played. It would end up with exactly the same number of games as the current two pools of three format (7 games per class & gender).
Congrats to MTA, They were clearly the better team. CG willl periodically have success with the "pack it in" defense but long term will need to learn how to score . Only scoring one goal in the tournament will rarely get you a championship.
Makes what happened to them at State Cup sting a little bit more as IMO they were the best team in the U13 age group. Hopefully things will play out better for them next year. Congrats.
9:28, maybe-but doubtful. MTA has 9 U11 teams that are regionally based. At U13 they consolidate all the talent into blue and white teams. Now granted a bunch of the talent might currently be on one team, but there are lots of solid players on some of the other teams. At the U13 age the teams also start playing 11v11 so that added depth makes a huge difference (JMHO).
11:26, The one thing that's certain as we've seen the past few years is that come end of State Cup in 2010 MTA will once again have 7, 8 or 9 championships and all the other clubs will split up the rest. That's all the sales pitch that is necessary. Oh yeah, now they have the ECNL too.
7:17 - assuming they can figure out how to pay their bills and still exist. remember they also have to deal with tonka after their big upcoming announcement
9:26, The shortage for dome bills came when families didn't pay all their fees. The team fees are what is then paid out to domes and coaches. With the tough economy more players than ever haven't paid their fees in clubs all over the state. The same thing happened last winter in hockey programs and baseball programs this summer.
So, if that theory is true, then MTA should have fewer players attend try-outs due to the economic conditions. They will prob raise their fees to cover default. Perhaps a credit check will be done to all aspiring players......tongue in cheek
Hey everyone, before you start worrying about unpaid dome bills, do some research. Just because the StarTrib can't write a story to save their lives, doesn't mena you need to stay ignorant and pass on inaccurate info.
The unpaid bills are from the Thunder professional team, not MTA. They are seperate legal entities, and money is also seperated.
It has been said a hundred times but here is 101. Until MTA teams start being relevant beyond the state (regionals, top tier tournaments, etc.) they have nothing to brag about. Pooling some of the top kids in MN and prepping them to beat CC teams at state cup is cute. Being the top club with the top teams in Mn is fine but lets not brag too much. It would be really impressive if MTA took MN teams and through their world class coaching and curriculum, were able to make teams regionally competitive. Until that day comes, I can't see the advantage of MTA over a decent CC.
251, MTA 's #1 goal has been the number of kids in their program. They need White, Gray, Navy, yellow, Orange, and Rainbow teams to afford all the paid staff they have in their program. I have a question? What does a technical advisor do?? They have several with that title. Is it sort of like calling a Garbage man a Sanitation engineer. Did they sit around thinking what title would make them sound more important.
When my DD played for them, we paid $100 per player for the Girls Technical Director salary. 3 teams at that age level (17 x 3=51). A nice salary and that is just one age level. He attended 3 partial games that year.
1:26 You are saying it was the pro team who did not pay their rent at the Rosemount Irish Dome? You are sure? Why would the pro team practice in Rosemount? when did they practice in Rosemount?
The newspaper quoted the General Manager of the Irish Dome.
Yeah, the guy trying to separate MTA from the Thunder is a weak PR hack. (They sure look alike when they're prancing around in their MTA outfits.) Money issues pervade the organization. Yeah, lots of people are struggling, but lots of kids were irresponsibly brought in on scholarship (hence the rainbow levels), and the fixed costs tied to technical directors and others are way out of line for a club that will never get a dime of support from the "pro" team.
Fact: My buddy was asked mid-season to kick in extra money to fund the team's new scholarship player. Bummer that the scholarship player took his kid's spot on the field.
To the point raised above, until MTA figures out how to compete on a regional or national level, all they can say they're good at is recruiting the top players in an age group and beating the kids that remain.
A Casehardened Minty Mount (a nickel to the person who can figure out what my name means)
251 so you consider this years MTA 15, 18 and 19 girls to not be competitive regionally and/or nationally? If so then apparently you only must consider 4-6 teams in the nation to be in that class.
I just need to re-state that the 3-team group play format of the state tournament is totally flawed. If you're going to do group play, 4 teams are needed. In that u11g bracket, all three teams tied on 10 points. Yet via kicks from the mark one team was decided to be the team to advance? At 11? Disgusting.
635 please add to your list AK's U13 Blue team, yes the one in the controversy. In the past twelve months they have only lost three games total, including 5 out of state tournaments. I'd say that is competing regionally and yes nationally.
2:51 just has higher standards. Unfortunately with that criteria, there isn't much to root for here in MN as the Gophers have a hard time competing with the better B10 schools (especially in football), Vikings have never won the Super Bowl, the Twins can't compete with the Red Sox, Yankeees, Angels, etc.....
You just have to read between the lines - just a different angle at taking a rip at MTA.
My only alert to potential MTA families is, make sure you ask to see a detailed budget for the year, and make sure you understand each line item of that budget.
whoa - MTA has its own stated goals of winning state cup and competing regionally with the top teams. frankly, if that wasn't the goal, why should they have an Elite academy. That is the only barometer that matters. Of the teams that actually won State Cup, none made a splash at regions. Remember, those are only the best single team from each state let alone all the teams. And admittedly, region 2 is the weakest region nationally. AK's team is nice but they don't even register on any serious soccer ranking of impact teams regionally or nationally. that is not a knock, just facts. one could argue that the u14 blue team has some success regionally winning MRL first division but lets see how their stint in Premier league does. MTA is a nice club with a few good teams. Kasaa's u13 team is really good but they cant beat DREV consistently so again lets check the egos and put down the kool aid. nice team, nice kids, good coach, not elite
I think you will see a rule change proposal coming out of the south district addressing this blog's topic. Twice now in the past 3 years the C3 teams in the south have been screwed over because whoever didn't like whoever. Despite having all the info needed to place teams at an appropriate level when asked, the DOC has time and again proven they cannot or will not make the decision for the kids instead of thier own bias'. Hopefully the measure will pass and we won't have to revisit these type of issues anymore.
2:47, Good point. Sticking a team from SSM or MTA in C3 ruins the chance of a true C3 team from winning the league and moving up to C2. The pettiness of MYSA decision makers has harmed many innocent teams and players in this situation.
I think new teams should self-select into C2 or C3, and let them earn C1 and premier. I mean, really, C3 is expensive rec soccer. Why force a team that wants to compete to play there?
4:26...have you done your homework? There are more C3 teams than C2 teams in MYSA. I do agree common sense has left the building when placing these new teams in C3, however your comment comes across like mysa should do without C3.
1:37 You would like everyone to believe you post in the name of the truth. Your " Minnesota Nice"(passive aggressive) analysis of not only Minnesotas best but even our regions weakness. Minnesotas best can compete with the best from anywhere. The problem is US. If this soccer community wasnt so cynical ,we would be able to decipher the truth. You mentioned the MTA U14 blue team and their successes in MRL. On this Blog , Anonymous posters talk about Twin City Fire U14, falling apart,negative comments about Tonka U14,State cup champ- Burnsville is crashing. All of these are absolute B.S.Fire was second in the state league and was building all year. Tonka did start slow but definitly improve.Burnsville is a regional contender,evidenced by their MRL games. Millwakee Blue was a regional semi-finalist who had to rally late to tie,FC United the league winner lost to Burnsville.3 State Cup winners of the 7 team league.
152 I would agree on the MTA 15's and add 18's and 19's. Way too early to know about U12's. Also think SSM 18's and WDB 17's would merit consideration. It will be interesting to see how MTA does without MA to draw in talent at young ages and with their best team at U18 aging out. The draw may not be there anymore.
Check out the link below on the relationship Sounders FC and Washington Youth Soccer created. Glad to know at least one pro team and state association are playing nice.
http://www.soundersfc.com/Youth/Youth-Teams.aspx
Summary: Sounders FC and Washington Youth Soccer form relationship to serve as another avenue for those youth players who want to play at a elite level.
MA will build yet another club at Eastridge, and bring his lacky AK with him. Because you know....where ever MA is, AK is only a half a step behind him. We would probably all agree that AK should grow a set and cut ties with MA, and start thinking, and coaching for himself.
Which in turn will take kids from the MTA club to Eastridge. Curious to see if Eastridge Athletic Association will be just like the MTA in terms of having another car payment each month to play youth soccer.
According to the MYSA minutes, they are planning on handing out more sanctions against MA. He really can't be a factor until all the cards are on the table. He may have to leave the state and start over.
Thats where the comment comes from him coaching in the Hudson area comes from. He could and im sure will try if Minnesota Sanctions him, he will just move across the river to Hudson and he can have his followers there. His followers will go we can pretty much be assured of that. How many is the question. He already burned bridges in Woodbury now MTA, and next if the sanctions do happen to the state of Wisconsin. He just needs to learn one thing. Play fair. He wouldnt have these issues
Also, sanctions by one USSF member are generally honored by the other members which would include every organized soccer group (USClub, AYSO, etc.) Agree w/9:24, play by the rules and all the problems disappear.
Minnesota Thunder question - we recently moved to MN (south suburbs) and my daughters are going to tryout for MTA this year (among others including Burnsville Fire, Dakota Rev) this weekend. What is the policy generally for MTA (and others) around player notifications for team placement? Do MN clubs usually wait to notify players, force them to commit or what? Do they typically form fall teams (under 14) and then re-form summer? Thanks for the info
LOL, 1:07! I assume you already know, and were hoping to stir the pot.
Just in case, though, MTA typically does not announce Blue/White placement at the younger ages until November. Instead, they use what they call a training pool.
The kool aid drinkers see this as a way of having extended tryouts, making sure the best players make the top team.
The haters see this as MTA's way of keeping the white team players in the fold with false hope until after it is too late to take a spot on the top team with another club.
I'm sure MA will do just fine, probably serving in a capacity other than coaching while serving out his sanctions. Like him or not the guy has been able to train and improve kids. I'm sure if he offered his services as a private instructor/trainer, players (and parents) would be lining up. He could even take a job with Shattuck for non-MYSA related activities. This blog might spontaneously explode if that happened.
I would not be surprised to see the MTA girls (12 and 13 blue) stay at MTA this year but would think at least a few of them are contemplating the uncertainty of the whole program as a potential reason to look elsewhere.
Looking at the issues that are affecting the future of MTA and it is hard to blame anyone for looking.
-Loss of MA (Love him or hate him he built the program) -Financial troubles well publicized -High cost for participation
And then add in all of the economic uncertainty of the world. I understand that some families are doing well but on a team of 15 players it is very likely some families are going to be affected. If the player is very good what do you do? Scholorships?, sure but how many can reasonably be supported by the others on the team?
I hope the players remember that they are the real reason for the success of those teams. Good players can find a "quality home" If they look for one. The Bangu/MTA experience has certainly created some winning teams, some really good teams but with the financial issues of the club, the personell issues with the club and the terrible economy I would think keeping the group together may be difficult.
There were lots of predictions about a big exit from Bangu last year. I know of several players (very good players) who did in fact leave but in general have no idea how much of a loss they took last year. My guess is the MA loss will be significant as he was really a positive marketer for the club. Time will tell.
I would certainly agree with the above comments that good players will find a spot to play on an equally good team if they look. Question is... how many will even look?
It's funny after following this blog now for a few years how everyone gets all fired up before tryouts and State Cup but then after State Cup all the bragging and false bravado are gone. I'm sure the same will happen again this year.
State Cup and Tryouts are the two big "seasons" for this blog. That's the best time to bash MTA, as the rest of the year they're out winning tournaments.
As for the MTA tryout question, quite a few clubs have learned to keep a few spots open on their top teams for the MTA kids who get strung along and then put on a white team. Why pay that kinda dough for an average experience?
3:20 - I agree with your comments about all of the "predictions", but once all the dust settles, I really can't think of many top notch kids who left. There will always be the "bench" kids who come and go, but rarely do the true top 1-3 kids on any team ever leave.
Our online registration system asks people what club their at now. From what I've see, their will be MTA defections. I bet my club isn't alone. We have lots of good teams.
lol - must be a newbie, lots of kids try out at multiple clubs. i would bet that at the upcoming mta tryouts there are also tons of current non-mta kids trying out. doesn' really mean squat this time of the year.
You can tell the time of year by the activity on this blog...it's like clockwork. All the haters try to persuade people to leave MTA at tryout time but rarely do any players but numbers 14-18 on the roster leave the top teams. Then again we see all the bragging before the haters see their teams lose to MTA at State Cup. Then after that it's quiet as they lick their wounds and overcome their embarrassment as MTA has again won 7 or 8 State Cup Championships. Then in a few months we're back at tryouts again as they start their silly "leave MTA dance" once more. It's quite comical to watch the haters clucking year after year as they do. By the way does anyone know if it's true that Abboud left MTA?
who are the early favorites in the 13-15?
ReplyDeleteLooks like the MTA 12's will get to face off against the 13's again in the Regional game(provided they each get through League)...sure hope it doesn't end in a tie!
ReplyDelete11,12 and 13 are the most fun (IMO) because all of the teams in the state are playing(except the ones playing USA Cup instead. I know several MTA teams opted for USA Cup). The other ages have the top 6 teams of each age playing in the Premier league.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know if MYSA posts game results on their website in a timely manner, or do they wait until Monday to post scores of weekend games?
ReplyDeleteLet us see how the game MTE vs MTA at U13C1 at Regionals is. They both won League Play offs and will play in South for a state/PR birth. Who wil coach who. Andy coached the U12's at US Club regionals that they won.
ReplyDeleteso if i understand how this all works at u13.........
ReplyDeletethe 4 league winners are premier
if edina wins their regional game they are premier with the winner of the mta/mte game
if edina loses then both mta/mte earn the final two premier slots (the loser edging out edina on points won percentage)?
there has never been this regional level so i could be completely wrong
6:25 Lets just hoe the song of the day isn't "Rolling Rolling Rolling" :) My bet says the 12's win 2-1 and then give the Pemier spot to the 13's. I hope the white team gets to keep their spot, they had a great season and earned it.
ReplyDelete13 Premier teams soFar:
White
Eden Prairie
Dakota Rev
Cottage Grove
Last two spots go to either Edina (win and in) Blue thirteen or the 12's.
ain't nothing that drives up the 'ol "comment counter" like a little mta-love.........
ReplyDeleteIf EDI does not win. The remaining spots go to MTE and MTA. We have to look at league standins and both MT teams win on the league runner-ups. with .95 and .928
ReplyDelete8:32 So your telling me "we still have a chance", check out how the weakest division at U-13 (north) ended up through districts. Edina will be in and MTA 12's will win and give their spot to the Blue 13's.
ReplyDeleteon a side note , why did the east (last year) blue 13's play in the south this season and send the south (last year) white team to the north? Don't several of the white team players live in Lakeville? Blue team would have easily clinched up north and instead had to play districts and now regionals against another MTA team in order to earn Premier status.
Who's in the East. No who's in the North.Well then,who's in the West?
ReplyDeleteMTA 13's will win this week as they are the better team (IMO).
ReplyDeleteThe top three MTA teams played a total of 33 U13 games and did not lose a single one.
Anyone have any thoughts on who the strongest U16C1 Girls team is going to Regionals?
ReplyDeleteAndy Kaasa has always been blessed coaching Select Teams. EXCELLENT PLAYERS make average coaches look GREAT!!!
ReplyDeleteKaasa learned from the expert Storlien the most over rated coach in the state.
ReplyDelete12:32pm must be a anotherSelect Team(s) coach and thinks he/she is the shizzle.
ReplyDelete9:36 Agree 13's will win but not because they are a significantly better team but rather because the 12's have 2 key players at a camp who will miss the game.
ReplyDeleteAgain at U-13- Coon Rapids 3-5-1 during league play earns a spot in the regional tournament. They will play Edina. For the season this team scored 8 and gave up only 9 goals. Maybe they can continue down the path as a real darkhorse and beat Edina giving MTA both at large Premier spots.
ReplyDelete9:24, I beleive the goal for MTA was to win every League. Which meant south players drive north, east player drive south, west players drive east??? That worked well...didn't it?
ReplyDelete12:53 - sorry MoM, your kid and one other dont make a team. Get on the field and win.
ReplyDeleteit always makes me laugh when folks like 4:26 attempt to disparage without having knowledge. except for the U12's which are part of the "East" Academy, the U13 blue and white teams are comprised of players from across the metro. next time you try another weak attempt at criticism try to have all the information, or like they say in the journalism business "don't let the facts get in the way of a good story".......
ReplyDeleteanyone have info on the debacle going on over at TC Fire?
ReplyDelete9-53 TC Fire Stuff?? I do know that they are out in force trying to recruit/steal players, invitig them to play into their mess
ReplyDeleteunfortunately TC Fire is still very much a parent-driven club, and we all know what the #1 priority is going to be when that's the club foundation.
ReplyDeleteTC Fire - unsubstantiated like most posts on this blog but I heard from a team parent that the 15 girls team is disbanding and DOC Tilsen has been fired due to sexual misconduct or impropriety.
ReplyDeleteAnyone see the Thunder article in the Trib this morning? Even one of their Elite boys coaches is railing against the team complaining about not being paid. I didn't think the Thunder owner had anything to do with paying MTA coaches but I guess I was wrong.
I think it's best to refrain from spreading rumors, of a sexual nature, about any male coach.
ReplyDeleteThat is really serious stuff folks.
Wow , The Star Tribune article today doesn't paint a very rosey picture about the future of the Thunder. Looks like all of the past bloggers here indicating "deep pockets" of the new owners were very misled. It also looks like the claims of no intermingling of finances of the "pro" team and the youth academy were also less than accurate.
ReplyDeletePretty sad that the youth program can't even cover it's training space.
Are the Star Trib author and GH drinking buddies ?
ReplyDeleteHow does a newspaper reporter even know the MTA coaches.
U16 Girls C1 winner would be the Bloomington team in my opinion. I am not a Blm parent but have a kid who has played against pretty much all of the teams up for this spot. They have it in them to do it, but this is soccer and as we all know on any given day anything can happen.
ReplyDeleteRun for your lives!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.startribune.com/sports/51267487.html
Are they going to give the open u15 premier slot (current u14) that MTA West loses from relegation to the current MTA Blue or the winner of the u14 state tournament?
ReplyDeleteThoughts on the U16C1 Girls team playing tonight in Shakopee?
ReplyDeleteYeah. Who cares.
ReplyDeleteHighest placing league champ gets the spot. MTA blue can have a spot also ,if they choose.A league of 7.
ReplyDeleteAnyone know who won the MTA-blue vs MTA jrs. game?
ReplyDelete5-1 Blue
ReplyDeletehow about edina gu13?
ReplyDelete5-1 Blue after winning their game at noon at the USA Cup playing U14
ReplyDeleteI'll bite, who won the U-16 C1 games last night?
ReplyDelete11:04 (MTA MOM) thanks for the update!
ReplyDeleteThe 12's also had a game yesterday at USA Cup, later than the 13's and also won 5-1 playing up in the U-13 bracket!
ReplyDeletemy goodness, those MTA teams are AMAZING! Playing and WINNING TWO GAMES IN ONE DAY!
ReplyDeleteWOW! SIGN ME UP!
10:57,
ReplyDeleteWhy don't you just take your team and go beat them?
11:08...they have and they will again (soon).
ReplyDeleteWhat MN team (at age level) beat the MTA Blue 12's 0r 13's?
ReplyDeletethe only team that comes to mind is DREV U13 has beaten the MTA U12's a few times.
ReplyDeleteMTA 12's in USA CUP are from the West Academy not the East. The USA CUP squad are mostly white teamers. Not MA"s blue team that played in East Regionals last night.
ReplyDeleteIs MTA coming apart on the field? For USA Cup Weekend, MTA entered 29 teams, and had only one winner (and 28 whiners, I suspect).
ReplyDeleteNot too good for a club that promotes and prices itself as a regional powerhouse.
MTA Elite??? or were they MTA S, N, W, teams? Navy, Silver and White. MTA Regional teams are CC caliber and not many Minnesota teams won at all.
ReplyDeleteWHATS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BLUE, WHITE, NAVY? ALL SEEM TO PLAY VERY WELL?
ReplyDelete12:11 The brackets at the MYSA State Tournament line up for the MTA Blue team to play the Dakota Rev team at U-13 if both can get through pool play. If that game does occur it should be one of the more entertaining games to watch as the teams are very evenly matched (tied 0-0 in league play). Both teams have also earned Premier status for next year so the rivalry will continue beyond this year.
ReplyDeleteDid everyone know about this. I just found it looking through the Minutes of MYSA. Scroll down to the Abboud issue. Maybe this is old news. http://www.mnyouthsoccer.org/about/minutes/compjun09.pdf
ReplyDeleteNew Business
ReplyDeleteMr. Abboud League Sanctions - Sherrill led the discussion regarding sanctions against Mr. Abboud for his actions at State Cup in which he instructed his Minnesota Thunder team to allow their opponent – another Minnesota Thunder Team – to advance in the State Cup competition. Sherrill moved, DeFor seconded, that a complaint be prepared by the Competitive Committee that would seek future sanctions prohibiting Mr. Abboud from all training or coaching activities for youth soccer in the state. Discussion followed. The motion passed. Favor: all. Sherrill will complete the form and circulate to the committee before submitting.
Does that also include High School. Or just at the MYSA level. If so our High School will be looking for a new coach.
ReplyDeleteMYSA and MSHSL are independent of one another.
ReplyDeleteIt should have no affect on MA coaching at the new Woodbury HS.
Andy Kaasa should get the same as Mark Aboud gets, because he knew in advance what was going to happen if that situation would happen. Hell...so did the entire MTA Soccer Club.
ReplyDelete(I like a few posts ago about supporting the local pro team. MTA has totally ignored the Lightning. Do you think they are pissed? I could see the boys program being the Thunder with girls taking the Lightning name. MTA can even support the womens team...HA! HA!)
Does Andy only coach with MTA now?
I remember a few years ago at Beilenberg watching him coach two teams playing each other in the same game. He would stand at midfield coaching each team. Hilarious!!!
12:35 is DB or SB, princess was cut from MTA
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone the timelimit on the sanctions against MA?
ReplyDeletePeople will be very interested to hear where the U13G talent will consolidate next year at U14. Watch out, 'goons.
ReplyDelete3:55 just spit it out - where?
ReplyDeleteNot where you think.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing the 13 girls will go where they have gone the previous years??? What a dork!
ReplyDeleteU13 Cottage Grove beat DK Rampage at State this morning. Nice.
ReplyDeleteREV played without their goalie.
ReplyDeleteStill lost the game, it's called having a back up keeper.
ReplyDeletewow, usually not too many CG's folks on this blog llke 8:45....
ReplyDeletetell us what your part was in their success 8:45 (other than driving your daughter to the game)?
Maybe it is not about their own success but about the success of their daughter 8:59?
ReplyDeleteMighty U13 Rev falters and people sure get crabby.
so the point of 8:45's post was to boast about his daughter??
ReplyDelete8:45:: no daughter on team or age group just laughing at Rev for choking again in post season play
ReplyDeleteno daughter on team or age group.....so your interest in this is........sounds kind of creepy to me.
ReplyDeleterev u13 did choke in that game against cottage grove. 4 failed corner kicks sent into side netting, failure to pay attention to opponents goalkeeper who was playing 10 to 12 yds off the line, and unable in numerous attempts to put the ball in the net, while cottage grove had only really 2 good chances and put one in, thats all it takes somtimes. rev missing thier keeper, even if they had thier keeper that wouldnt of stopped that goal from going in.
ReplyDeleteimo cg will be good for one more teay than the talent will go elsewhere as there are no advanced coaches to take this tean over
ReplyDeletesorry one more year not teay
ReplyDeletedid REV rebound today against Edina?
ReplyDeletenot sure if rev won or not today, but if they did, it will come down to the edina, cottage grove game and the score of that game for who will advance.
ReplyDeleteWatched the USA Cup U14 final between MTA and Tonka. Good game, evenly matched. These will be the top two teams in their age group next year. Should include Bvl in top teams but they are ready to self-destruct. Watched their final game in USA Weekend Cup last Sunday and they were awful. Rumors of Tonka girls going to Bvl next year? Ha - why would they? Everything to lose and nothing to gain.
ReplyDelete11:49 is correct. Rev blew it. They were in control of the game the entire way but did not finish on opportunities. The game was very physical and the refs swallowed the whistle all day (both ways). Give Cottage Grove credit they did what it took to win and Rev didn't.
ReplyDeleteRev rebounded that afternoon and beat a pretty good Canadian team for the USA Cup Championship 5-0. The Rev girls also beat Edina 5-1 and still are mathmatically alive depending on the outcome of CG and Edina.
Also agree that the goal by CG was not the keepers fault. It may have been relevant to the game however because the backup keeper is a very solid center Midfielder and against the strength of CG's forwards/Mids her added depth may have helped. Who knows? CG won the game, everything else is just speculation.
MTA Blue Struggled and had to come from behind to beat EP 3-2. EP came out ready to play and really just missed on a few other chances that could have resulted another U-13 upset. MTA regrouped and pulled out a nice come from behind victory.
I think the only chance that REV has is for Edina to beat CG 2-1 and then it turns into a 3-way tiebreaker (at least from a quick glance that's what I could determine). Not sure what the tiebreaker criteria is.
ReplyDelete2:33 now that's funny - the 3-6-1 in premier tonka team? they are poised for sure!
ReplyDelete2:33 sounds like the pres of bvl
ReplyDelete2:33 sounds like the pres of bvl
ReplyDelete2:33 Whats wrong with tc fire? They took second in the premier league.
ReplyDeleteright now cottage grove has 8 points,edina has 1 point,and rev has 9 points.if edina wins 1 to 0 rev moves on tie breaker for two teams i beleive is head to head or goals diff, rev 9 edina 9 rev wins tie breaker. if edina wins 2 to 1 all teams tied at 9, when 3 teams are tied the head to head does not come into play, goals diff or goals for come into play. goes somthing like that.
ReplyDeleteFor the U16C1 girls: Is Three Rivers and Bloomington the best U16C1 teams in the state??????
ReplyDeleteEasiest and most likely solution is Cottage Grove wins and they play MTA Blue (who will beat North by 3 goals) in the Championship.
ReplyDelete10:32...just to add, CG win or tie they get to play mta blue (who will beat both mta north and cg by 3 goals)
ReplyDeleteCG could lose 3-4 and still get to advance
ReplyDeleteso if CG beats or ties Edina, then our two state cup U13 finalists would have gone winless at the summer state tournament.
ReplyDeleteregarding DREV, IMO, they are a very talented team, but to truly be an elite team at some point they have to win a big game. losing to EP at state cup, CG at summer state, etc...
i agree with 12:01, it seems like with the end of regular season play, and now in the state tournament, the revs advancement is up to other teams outcome and not by their own hand. they are a talented team,but,seem to choke in the games that really matter, at the level they are playing to put almost all corner kicks into the side netting passing on goal opportunities against cottage grove, of which rev controled the play, is exactly why they dont win the games they should be winning. why would the same player who took those corners be allowed to keep taking them in that circumstance? i know players need to learn from their own mistakes but the coach at times, during certain games needs to speek up." imo
ReplyDeletei really like rev but lets be careful on anointing them (or anyone in MN) as elite. 'elite' in MN against MN competition perhaps. but if you ask them, they aspire higher and they aren't close to their aspriations of being regionally competitive. if they get lucky, keep training, add players and avoid injuries, they may be competitive in a few years beyond MN. of course, you could say that about plenty of teams. the fact is they seems to have a great deal of pride, have fun, like the coach and compete hard.
ReplyDeletethe rev team at some point in the future could be considered an elite team, they have the physical talent, time will tell if they can make the mental adjustment needed also to compete with the big teams.
ReplyDeleteWhat "big teams" ? Do you mean teams with physically large players?
ReplyDelete12:52 How is Rev's "advancement up to other teams outcomes" other than the obvious MYSA State Tournament this year?
The team is playing MRL this fall so we should see how they can compete regionally very soon. BTW REV has done fairly well against a few of the teams in the MRL league when playing them in other tournaments. Beat JUSC(iowa State Cup Champs),NSA, lost on PK's to Omaha Elite (NEB State Cup Champs) and has tied MN's other top team MTA Blue in MYSA league play.
All of the critisism of not finishing on very winnable big games is a point this team will have to address. Those pointing out the mistakes the team made are all correct. I think anyone around the game for any extended period of time has been involved with a game or two where the better skilled or more dominant team doesn't win the game. This team has had the misfortune of having those games happen when the stakes were high.
I can say that the team is comprised of a talented group of girls who is coached by a talented and very dedicated coach, playing for a club who seems well positioned for the development of these kids and many others who are participating in numerous training opportunities provided by the paid trainers of the club.
I hope the Rev team does find a way to "back in" to the final this year because barring an upset it would create a rematch of one of the most entertaining games of youth soccer I have ever watched : MTA Blue vs DKT REV in June.
As a point of comparison of teams who also were involved in games that should have gone one way with one team controlling the play look at the Current U-13 MTA Blue team. Last year they win State Cup as 12's when they were outplayed significantly, and then this year when they were forced to PK's against the current U-12's when the 13's completely dominated the game. My point is stuff happens to all good teams at some point in time that just doesn't seem to make sense.
anyone know how the u13 girls edina and cottage grove game ended. wondering which teams will be playing in the final game?
ReplyDeleteEnded 0-0 so MTA Blue and CG in the finals.
ReplyDeleteif true, nothing against edina, but happy to see cg moving on. cg did beat drev, and there would have been something that wouldn't seem right for a team to have gone to the finals after losing a pool game 6-1.
ReplyDeleteHow about a team moving to the final after scoring only 1 goal in two games? Anyone else feel the format was a little flawed?
ReplyDeleteNot a rip on CG but odd just the same to move on with only one goal scored.
4:24 another example Blue ties white tonight.
8:22, i get where you are coming from, but it was only two games-and it also means they shutout both opponents-all depends on how you want to look at it. the old 4 team pools was a better format imo as there was added depth (the u12's out east were very good and would have been involved in previous years).
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know the rationale for the 6 team format? was it due to the lack of field resources since nsc is now "evil".
Why not keep it the way it is a districts and regionals . . . win or go home. No pool play. Then you could have 8 teams in and still keep the number of games down (the rationale for having 6 teams qualify).
ReplyDeletethere is no perfect system. no matter the outcome someone can always find an excuse. next year those teams get to play each other twice...should have no excuse then.
ReplyDeleteyawn...is this girls soccer again?
ReplyDelete8:22 - unless the website is wrong, u13 blues beat u13 whites 2-0.
ReplyDeletestate cup finalists went 0-2-2 which shows how fickle things are at this age.
good luck to cg & mta in the championship game. don't expect a lot of goals to be scored.
I for one hate the 6-team format. if you're going to do a pool, make it more than two games. Most games last ngiht and tonight are meaningless. Teams should be playing to advance, not to keep other teams from advancing.
ReplyDelete8:30 AGREE !!! All systems have flaws but the 3 team pool creates way too many potential issues. I would prefer an 8 team State with two 4 team pools. Or if not 8 forget the pool play and have it be single elimination (prefer 8 team pool).
ReplyDeleteas asked before, does anyone know why they went to the 6 team pool? what is lack of fields to accomodate the traditional 8 team fields traditionally held out at NSC? I though it was always nice to have one big event with games going on everywhere instead of it being scattered across three different locations.
ReplyDelete9:16 - the flaw with single elimination is unless there is some form of seeding (good luck agreeing on that), the two top teams could face each other in the first round. At least with two 4 team pools there is a much better chance of getting no worse than 2 of the top 3 teams in the final (unless the top three teams all end up in a pool of death which would be rare).
ReplyDeleteBring back single elimination. Let the best teams play for the championship, instead of earning points. The U16 Girls Championship is already decided without the 3rd game being played by some teams.
ReplyDeletethank goodness the MYSA wrecking crew is still hard at work.
ReplyDeleteMYSA is the reason Minnesota soccer sucks.
ReplyDeleteTo be totally inclusive, I think MYSA should move the fall Harvest Fest from Rochester to Eau Claire...or maybe Detroit Lakes.
ReplyDeleteSingle elimination is easiest and seeding wouldn't be much of an issue. 8 team bracket arranged so each league winner faces a regional winner in first round w/placement made so that no one from a single district would face the other team from their district until a final (giving the possibility of the two best teams coming from one district a chance to play out). All this pool play stuff is completely in a different paradigm than how districts and regionals are played. It would end up with exactly the same number of games as the current two pools of three format (7 games per class & gender).
ReplyDeleteAnyone have the score from CG vs. MTA?
ReplyDeleteMTA 2 CG 0
ReplyDeleteCongrats to MTA, They were clearly the better team. CG willl periodically have success with the "pack it in" defense but long term will need to learn how to score . Only scoring one goal in the tournament will rarely get you a championship.
ReplyDeleteMakes what happened to them at State Cup sting a little bit more as IMO they were the best team in the U13 age group. Hopefully things will play out better for them next year. Congrats.
ReplyDeleteMaybe what happened to MTA U13 girls in State Cup game them more drive to finish on top in Summer State.
ReplyDeletemore DKRev and MTA drama at U11G, seems like both teams are going to PK's before championship game, another age group rivalry in the making?
ReplyDelete9:28, maybe-but doubtful. MTA has 9 U11 teams that are regionally based. At U13 they consolidate all the talent into blue and white teams. Now granted a bunch of the talent might currently be on one team, but there are lots of solid players on some of the other teams. At the U13 age the teams also start playing 11v11 so that added depth makes a huge difference (JMHO).
ReplyDelete9:45, so you're saying MTA will be the place to be at U13 for these girls since DKR won't have 9 other teams to pull from? how are the other 9 doing?
ReplyDelete9;28
ReplyDeleteThe sales pitch is working on you. Make sure your DD is on the high one.
11:26,
ReplyDeleteThe one thing that's certain as we've seen the past few years is that come end of State Cup in 2010 MTA will once again have 7, 8 or 9 championships and all the other clubs will split up the rest.
That's all the sales pitch that is necessary.
Oh yeah, now they have the ECNL too.
7:17 - assuming they can figure out how to pay their bills and still exist. remember they also have to deal with tonka after their big upcoming announcement
ReplyDeleteWhere did the money go that pays the dome bills? That is directly figured into each team's budget. Interesting.
ReplyDelete9:26,
ReplyDeleteThe shortage for dome bills came when families didn't pay all their fees. The team fees are what is then paid out to domes and coaches.
With the tough economy more players than ever haven't paid their fees in clubs all over the state.
The same thing happened last winter in hockey programs and baseball programs this summer.
what big tonka announcement?
ReplyDeletewhat does "DD" mean. Sorry I am new to this blog
ReplyDeleteDude, is it all about championships?
ReplyDelete1106, Dude its all about development. Championships matter way more to the parents!!
ReplyDeleteand some coaches!
ReplyDeleteSo, if that theory is true, then MTA should have fewer players attend try-outs due to the economic conditions. They will prob raise their fees to cover default. Perhaps a credit check will be done to all aspiring players......tongue in cheek
ReplyDeleteI bet scholarship funds will be down too.
ReplyDeleteDD = Darling Daughter
ReplyDeleteHey everyone, before you start worrying about unpaid dome bills, do some research. Just because the StarTrib can't write a story to save their lives, doesn't mena you need to stay ignorant and pass on inaccurate info.
ReplyDeleteThe unpaid bills are from the Thunder professional team, not MTA. They are seperate legal entities, and money is also seperated.
1255- What about unpaid dome bills?
ReplyDelete1:12 try to follow this.
ReplyDeleteUnpaid dome bills are from the Thunder professional team, not MTA.
They are seperate.
Clear now?
126, Calm down, everything will be just fine. 3 deep breaths and some meds will help you!
ReplyDeleteWell, there are still ethics issues.....clear,now?
ReplyDeleteIt has been said a hundred times but here is 101. Until MTA teams start being relevant beyond the state (regionals, top tier tournaments, etc.) they have nothing to brag about. Pooling some of the top kids in MN and prepping them to beat CC teams at state cup is cute. Being the top club with the top teams in Mn is fine but lets not brag too much. It would be really impressive if MTA took MN teams and through their world class coaching and curriculum, were able to make teams regionally competitive. Until that day comes, I can't see the advantage of MTA over a decent CC.
ReplyDelete251, MTA 's #1 goal has been the number of kids in their program. They need White, Gray, Navy, yellow, Orange, and Rainbow teams to afford all the paid staff they have in their program. I have a question? What does a technical advisor do?? They have several with that title. Is it sort of like calling a Garbage man a Sanitation engineer. Did they sit around thinking what title would make them sound more important.
ReplyDeleteWhen my DD played for them, we paid $100 per player for the Girls Technical Director salary. 3 teams at that age level (17 x 3=51). A nice salary and that is just one age level. He attended 3 partial games that year.
ReplyDelete337, who was your techical director?
ReplyDeleteHow many teams are going down at U15 Prem?
ReplyDelete1:26 You are saying it was the pro team who did not pay their rent at the Rosemount Irish Dome? You are sure? Why would the pro team practice in Rosemount? when did they practice in Rosemount?
ReplyDeleteThe newspaper quoted the General Manager of the Irish Dome.
Yeah, the guy trying to separate MTA from the Thunder is a weak PR hack. (They sure look alike when they're prancing around in their MTA outfits.) Money issues pervade the organization. Yeah, lots of people are struggling, but lots of kids were irresponsibly brought in on scholarship (hence the rainbow levels), and the fixed costs tied to technical directors and others are way out of line for a club that will never get a dime of support from the "pro" team.
ReplyDeleteFact: My buddy was asked mid-season to kick in extra money to fund the team's new scholarship player. Bummer that the scholarship player took his kid's spot on the field.
To the point raised above, until MTA figures out how to compete on a regional or national level, all they can say they're good at is recruiting the top players in an age group and beating the kids that remain.
A Casehardened Minty Mount
(a nickel to the person who can figure out what my name means)
Minty (aka Shekki)
ReplyDeleteLet us know when your kid's team beats their MTA rivals.
I stand corrected...it was for the Girls Elite Academy Director. MC.
ReplyDelete251 so you consider this years MTA 15, 18 and 19 girls to not be competitive regionally and/or nationally? If so then apparently you only must consider 4-6 teams in the nation to be in that class.
ReplyDeleteREV 11 won state looks like they will try to go head to head with Thunder at that age group both teams will play up next year.
ReplyDeleteI just need to re-state that the 3-team group play format of the state tournament is totally flawed. If you're going to do group play, 4 teams are needed. In that u11g bracket, all three teams tied on 10 points. Yet via kicks from the mark one team was decided to be the team to advance? At 11? Disgusting.
ReplyDelete635 please add to your list AK's U13 Blue team, yes the one in the controversy. In the past twelve months they have only lost three games total, including 5 out of state tournaments. I'd say that is competing regionally and yes nationally.
ReplyDelete2:51 just has higher standards. Unfortunately with that criteria, there isn't much to root for here in MN as the Gophers have a hard time competing with the better B10 schools (especially in football), Vikings have never won the Super Bowl, the Twins can't compete with the Red Sox, Yankeees, Angels, etc.....
ReplyDeleteYou just have to read between the lines - just a different angle at taking a rip at MTA.
My only alert to potential MTA families is, make sure you ask to see a detailed budget for the year, and make sure you understand each line item of that budget.
ReplyDeleteits against club policy to provide pertinent information
ReplyDeleteMA fired by MTA earlier this week
ReplyDeleteTime to can the other lack of ethics guy at MTA next. Clean house.
ReplyDelete12:25 PM
ReplyDeleteWhat is your source?
whoa - MTA has its own stated goals of winning state cup and competing regionally with the top teams. frankly, if that wasn't the goal, why should they have an Elite academy. That is the only barometer that matters. Of the teams that actually won State Cup, none made a splash at regions. Remember, those are only the best single team from each state let alone all the teams. And admittedly, region 2 is the weakest region nationally. AK's team is nice but they don't even register on any serious soccer ranking of impact teams regionally or nationally. that is not a knock, just facts. one could argue that the u14 blue team has some success regionally winning MRL first division but lets see how their stint in Premier league does. MTA is a nice club with a few good teams. Kasaa's u13 team is really good but they cant beat DREV consistently so again lets check the egos and put down the kool aid. nice team, nice kids, good coach, not elite
ReplyDeleteMTA has 2 girls teams that are able to complete effectively at the region and national level - MA's 12's and MC's 15's
ReplyDeleteyou mean ex-MA's 12s. So, can he move to Hudson and create a Napoleanic dynasty there?
ReplyDeleteyeah
ReplyDeleteI think you will see a rule change proposal coming out of the south district addressing this blog's topic. Twice now in the past 3 years the C3 teams in the south have been screwed over because whoever didn't like whoever. Despite having all the info needed to place teams at an appropriate level when asked, the DOC has time and again proven they cannot or will not make the decision for the kids instead of thier own bias'. Hopefully the measure will pass and we won't have to revisit these type of issues anymore.
ReplyDelete2:47,
ReplyDeleteGood point.
Sticking a team from SSM or MTA in C3 ruins the chance of a true C3 team from winning the league and moving up to C2.
The pettiness of MYSA decision makers has harmed many innocent teams and players in this situation.
I think new teams should self-select into C2 or C3, and let them earn C1 and premier. I mean, really, C3 is expensive rec soccer. Why force a team that wants to compete to play there?
ReplyDelete4:26...have you done your homework? There are more C3 teams than C2 teams in MYSA. I do agree common sense has left the building when placing these new teams in C3, however your comment comes across like mysa should do without C3.
ReplyDelete1:37
ReplyDeleteYou would like everyone to believe you post in the name of the truth. Your " Minnesota Nice"(passive aggressive) analysis of not only Minnesotas best but even our regions weakness. Minnesotas best can compete with the best from anywhere. The problem is US. If this soccer community wasnt so cynical ,we would be able to decipher the truth.
You mentioned the MTA U14 blue team and their successes in MRL. On this Blog , Anonymous posters talk about Twin City Fire U14, falling apart,negative comments about Tonka U14,State cup champ- Burnsville is crashing. All of these are absolute B.S.Fire was second in the state league and was building all year. Tonka did start slow but definitly improve.Burnsville is a regional contender,evidenced by their MRL games. Millwakee Blue was a regional semi-finalist who had to rally late to tie,FC United the league winner lost to Burnsville.3 State Cup winners of the 7 team league.
152 I would agree on the MTA 15's and add 18's and 19's. Way too early to know about U12's. Also think SSM 18's and WDB 17's would merit consideration. It will be interesting to see how MTA does without MA to draw in talent at young ages and with their best team at U18 aging out. The draw may not be there anymore.
ReplyDelete7:15
ReplyDeleteWow...goin out on a limb.
Check out the link below on the relationship Sounders FC and Washington Youth Soccer created. Glad to know at least one pro team and state association are playing nice.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.soundersfc.com/Youth/Youth-Teams.aspx
Summary: Sounders FC and Washington Youth Soccer form relationship to serve as another avenue for those youth players who want to play at a elite level.
Just heard from a good source that MTA's golden boy MA is no longer with MTA. No Rumor!!!!
ReplyDeletefunny who started mta is gone??
ReplyDeleteMA will rebound and build a great program
FOR TODAY ,
ReplyDeleteNOBODY IS ON ANY TEAM
EVERYBODY IS A FREE AGENT
THINK ONE MORE TIME WHAT PROGRAM YOU WANT
TRY OUT
GIVE IT YOUR BEST
HAVE FUN
IT'S A WHOLE NEW YEAR
AND IT'S YOUR CHOICE
AND,
ReplyDeleteTHERE'S NO FANCY PROGRAM OUT THERE
THAT'S WORTH IT
IF YOUR NOT HAVING FUN
lc
MA will build yet another club at Eastridge, and bring his lacky AK with him. Because you know....where ever MA is, AK is only a half a step behind him. We would probably all agree that AK should grow a set and cut ties with MA, and start thinking, and coaching for himself.
ReplyDeleteWhich in turn will take kids from the MTA club to Eastridge. Curious to see if Eastridge Athletic Association will be just like the MTA in terms of having another car payment each month to play youth soccer.
The community will certainly support it if it's built.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the MYSA minutes, they are planning on handing out more sanctions against MA. He really can't be a factor until all the cards are on the table. He may have to leave the state and start over.
ReplyDeleteThats where the comment comes from him coaching in the Hudson area comes from. He could and im sure will try if Minnesota Sanctions him, he will just move across the river to Hudson and he can have his followers there. His followers will go we can pretty much be assured of that. How many is the question. He already burned bridges in Woodbury now MTA, and next if the sanctions do happen to the state of Wisconsin. He just needs to learn one thing. Play fair. He wouldnt have these issues
ReplyDeleteHudson is currently a member of MYSA, what would change?
ReplyDeleteAlso, sanctions by one USSF member are generally honored by the other members which would include every organized soccer group (USClub, AYSO, etc.) Agree w/9:24, play by the rules and all the problems disappear.
ReplyDeleteYawn...what were we talking about again?
ReplyDeleteThe great one, of course!
ReplyDeleteMinnesota Thunder question - we recently moved to MN (south suburbs) and my daughters are going to tryout for MTA this year (among others including Burnsville Fire, Dakota Rev) this weekend. What is the policy generally for MTA (and others) around player notifications for team placement? Do MN clubs usually wait to notify players, force them to commit or what? Do they typically form fall teams (under 14) and then re-form summer? Thanks for the info
ReplyDeleteLOL, 1:07! I assume you already know, and were hoping to stir the pot.
ReplyDeleteJust in case, though, MTA typically does not announce Blue/White placement at the younger ages until November. Instead, they use what they call a training pool.
The kool aid drinkers see this as a way of having extended tryouts, making sure the best players make the top team.
The haters see this as MTA's way of keeping the white team players in the fold with false hope until after it is too late to take a spot on the top team with another club.
I'm sure MA will do just fine, probably serving in a capacity other than coaching while serving out his sanctions. Like him or not the guy has been able to train and improve kids. I'm sure if he offered his services as a private instructor/trainer, players (and parents) would be lining up. He could even take a job with Shattuck for non-MYSA related activities. This blog might spontaneously explode if that happened.
ReplyDelete1:07 Look for your answers anywhere but this blog.
ReplyDelete136, MA is a great recruiter and a good coach. I would not consider him a great individual trainer.
ReplyDeleteI would not be surprised to see the MTA girls (12 and 13 blue) stay at MTA this year but would think at least a few of them are contemplating the uncertainty of the whole program as a potential reason to look elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteLooking at the issues that are affecting the future of MTA and it is hard to blame anyone for looking.
-Loss of MA (Love him or hate him he built the program)
-Financial troubles well publicized
-High cost for participation
And then add in all of the economic uncertainty of the world. I understand that some families are doing well but on a team of 15 players it is very likely some families are going to be affected. If the player is very good what do you do? Scholorships?, sure but how many can reasonably be supported by the others on the team?
I hope the players remember that they are the real reason for the success of those teams. Good players can find a "quality home" If they look for one. The Bangu/MTA experience has certainly created some winning teams, some really good teams but with the financial issues of the club, the personell issues with the club and the terrible economy I would think keeping the group together may be difficult.
MTA will be better w/o MA.
ReplyDeleteimo i think more of the coaches and trainers will be leaving in the near future at mta
ReplyDeleteDid anyone ever say what the Big announcement Tonka had was??
ReplyDeleteThere were lots of predictions about a big exit from Bangu last year. I know of several players (very good players) who did in fact leave but in general have no idea how much of a loss they took last year. My guess is the MA loss will be significant as he was really a positive marketer for the club. Time will tell.
ReplyDeleteI would certainly agree with the above comments that good players will find a spot to play on an equally good team if they look. Question is... how many will even look?
It's funny after following this blog now for a few years how everyone gets all fired up before tryouts and State Cup but then after State Cup all the bragging and false bravado are gone.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the same will happen again this year.
State Cup and Tryouts are the two big "seasons" for this blog. That's the best time to bash MTA, as the rest of the year they're out winning tournaments.
ReplyDeleteAs for the MTA tryout question, quite a few clubs have learned to keep a few spots open on their top teams for the MTA kids who get strung along and then put on a white team. Why pay that kinda dough for an average experience?
A Casehardened Minty Mount
3:20 - I agree with your comments about all of the "predictions", but once all the dust settles, I really can't think of many top notch kids who left. There will always be the "bench" kids who come and go, but rarely do the true top 1-3 kids on any team ever leave.
ReplyDeleteOur online registration system asks people what club their at now. From what I've see, their will be MTA defections. I bet my club isn't alone. We have lots of good teams.
ReplyDeletelol - must be a newbie, lots of kids try out at multiple clubs. i would bet that at the upcoming mta tryouts there are also tons of current non-mta kids trying out. doesn' really mean squat this time of the year.
ReplyDeleteWhat about Tonka!?
ReplyDeleteREV to be 16s and 12s will benefit the most from this year's tryouts
ReplyDeleteTonkas big annoucement is...theyre still gonna be the little engine that couldnt.
ReplyDelete10:00 - why's that?
ReplyDeleteIs it true MA is no longer part of MTA or Thunder???
ReplyDeleteYou can tell the time of year by the activity on this blog...it's like clockwork.
ReplyDeleteAll the haters try to persuade people to leave MTA at tryout time but rarely do any players but numbers 14-18 on the roster leave the top teams.
Then again we see all the bragging before the haters see their teams lose to MTA at State Cup.
Then after that it's quiet as they lick their wounds and overcome their embarrassment as MTA has again won 7 or 8 State Cup Championships.
Then in a few months we're back at tryouts again as they start their silly "leave MTA dance" once more.
It's quite comical to watch the haters clucking year after year as they do.
By the way does anyone know if it's true that Abboud left MTA?