Recent Posts

I wonder what the real issue is? Why is CF losing coaches and directors en-mass? It can't all be placed on the shoulders of GB or could it? Or is it just bad timing and the normal reset that occurs at any big club? Is this a preview of what could occur with clubs like UFA with multiple locations?

I guess its security issue, since affinity system doesn't require a birth certificate to be entered in the system for each player? In ~ 8 years at our club now, they never have once actually checked a birth certificate. We collect them to be safe and used to keep them in team mangers handbook, but that's all.

Is the suggestion that they are rostering "fake" kids or tweaking birth dates.

Would it really have killed them to post a picture of the 2 guys together vs of a Nike soccer Ball. A few quotes from them would have been nice also. This is a big deal - new directors of a club

Soccerfan: “I’ve had many opportunities to coach DA and ECNL but I choose to coach the blue teams.”

Keepers illegally move off the line all the time. Almost every PK you watch. They usually jump a step forward just before diving.

According to a prior post, CF was supposed to make their announcement(s) today and I bet you that NTH just got tired of waiting on them to pull the trigger. Not only is NTH stealing their thunder on the announcements but they are stealing their coaches and about to steal their players. CF should not have taken so long given the amount of rumors that had surfaced lately. In the corporate world, when changes are about to go down - people naturally run and find a new place of employment. The same is going to happen here all and I can't imagine the top players staying and dealing with this BS. It's about to be a blood bath at tryouts - "may the odds be ever in your favor"

Soccerfan is a coach at NTH. He might have coached against that particular team you're speaking about. As a coach he has watched more games than you and I together.

You started by saying that any of those girls on your kids' team could have any spot on any DA team, that's your opinion. He is also entitled to his own opinion.

Is he right? Are you right? No idea, but I would try to be a little more humble going forward

soccermom - I appreciate that.

Let me expound on my previous post. On the girls side I have seen many of the SSA girls 1st and 2nd teams over the last five plus years and 90% of them play the same style of play, that's not a generalization, that's an informed observation based on what I've seen in person dozens of times. Not much sustained possession, defenders that are athletically gifted but are not adept at building out of the back, typically do not build through the three lines (bypassing the midfield) and play with three forwards who are athletically gifted in a direct manner (I use the term direct but direct implies intent, often times there isn't any intent) play a 50/50 ball and hope they can latch onto it. I see this all the time with most of SSA's 1st and 2nd teams on the girls side. The 05 team may be an exception but they are playing RPL against NTH's second team.

That style of play can be successful at younger age groups but is it sustainable against top teams in the future? I would say no. Hard work, athleticism, togetherness, etc can only carry you so far, ask the USMNT how that's working out for them.

How many National Level teams does SSA have at the U15 and above levels, which I think is a better measure of club/team depth? I don't put a lot of stock into U13 and U14 results because kids mature at different rates. How many players does SSA typically put into Girls National Team camps? Again their style of play while effective isn't sustainable at the highest levels and the quality of their U15 and above teams give credence to that on the national level. Once Abby Wambach retired the USWNT got away from their direct style and changed their philosophy because they had to, the rest of the world was closing the gap.

As for the comment that the entire team could make any DA/ECNL this summer, that's not credible. Let me ask you this- if they were that good why didn't they try out for ECNL teams this summer? Maybe a handful could but the entire team? As a coach let me explain something to you, if someone from outside NTH is coming to tryout for a team they have to be better than what I currently have, even then that's not enough. What are their work habits, whats their psychological makeup (do I have to push them or are they self motivated), surprisingly there are great players that get by on their athletic abilities, can I push them to work hard and get better? How are their parents? A coach will be reluctant to take a good player if their parents are toxic, the soccer community is smaller than you think, word gets out. If players are equal I'm keeping the known entity vs the unknown one.

The 05 team is good but they will be hard pressed to keep that team together, the better players will seek out better opportunities elsewhere in the future.

And to the other poster that said if God created a club it would look like Tophat- We have probably one of the best Technical Directors in the southeast and the Nation, he never played soccer (basketball) and has a C License, while the SSA Coaches have A Licenses and played professionally in England. TC pretty much put Tophat on his back and built a National Program when he came over from GSA and arguably the best girls academy in the state year after year.