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2013 Girls D1 HS Soccer

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    #31
    Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
    I don't know what the policy is today. My daughter is in college and was on the top Stars team in her age group through high school. I can tell you they were not fond of high school soccer as they felt it led to bad habits (which it does). But they gave up trying to fight it and tried to make the best of it by offering outside training once or twice a week in the fall in hopes of getting players to attend in order to remind the players what they should be doing. They were not required to attend and players were discouraged from coming if they'd had a game or practice the same day. When available, my daughter always went as she enjoyed the Stars practices socially (she got to see a few of her teammates) and technically.

    On the top teams they also discouraged multiple sports, this was because of the commitment required to practice tactics on the high school aged teams. You could always move to another team in the age group if you really wanted to play high school lacrosse or whatever. You cannot practice tactics if half the team or half the midfielders or whatever are missing. Frankly it is not fair to those players (like my daughter) who were committed to the team and didn't miss practices. My daughter did play other sports recreationally because she enjoyed them. She never missed a Stars practice for anything other than school though. She did miss school dances and never did plays or anything like that because of the soccer commitment. She sometimes missed a day or two of school for tournaments but never missed for senior skip days, prom preparation or the like.

    Attack away but this was our experience. It was our/her choice which was right for her and our family. We would not presume to tell someone else that this is the only way but I am expecting attacks here since some people feel their way is the only way.
    Cyberman again. The above jobs my memory that the discouragement I recall was more about not playing other sports as opposed to not playing HS soccer. And in general I agree with that, although it is a tough issue at the younger age groups where I think kids benefit from exposure to multiple sports, enjoy some clear social and being-part-of-a-team perhaps in a different rile (i.e. not the star of the team), and have yet to figure out what sport they will be best at. There are of course rare individual cases of kids who are such great athletes and enjoy sports equally who may be a 2-sport or 3-sport athlete at the D3 level, but my comments here are in general. It is extremely discouraging even as a town coach to have half the team or more skipping out for baseball or lacrosse or whatever. By 14 or 15, I think most elite soccer players know if they are at the level of a Stars or other top club A team, and I think at that point some pretty strong expectations in terms of commitment are in order. Again, of course there can be exceptions, but the really good but not gifted player can find a good playing experience with a more flexible team if he or she wants to continue with some other high-demand activities.

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      #32
      ^^^^ jogs my memory...

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        #33
        There is always a tremendous amount of noise and posturing about wanting to have real meaningful discussions that aren't simply someone's idea of a repetitive marketing ploy. Then when that happens, nothing....Speaks volumes.

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          #34
          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
          There is always a tremendous amount of noise and posturing about wanting to have real meaningful discussions that aren't simply someone's idea of a repetitive marketing ploy. Then when that happens, nothing....Speaks volumes.
          Yep: some of us figured that out a couple years ago. Somebody get the word to "SuzieSoccer," "Pathfinder," "Messi," et al.--though they almost certainly already know.

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            #35
            Wachusett girls will be real good this year. Nashoba will reload. Algonguin always strong. Holy name and shrewsbury will be very competeive. Should be interesting.

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              #36
              Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
              4 or 5 Seniors that played would be significant. Were the Seniors impact players?
              Not that I am aware of

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                #37
                Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                There's so much absurdity to that generalization I don't know where to begin.

                Are there some awful programs and awful coaches out there? Of course. Just like there are some excellent coaches from all of the club ranks, etc. who aren't wreaking havoc on player development.

                So bad habits for whom and by who? An upper echelon player (like your kid for example) who is playing for some incompetent buffoon doing more than rolling the ball onto the pitch, who's actually trying to teach all the wrong things? What are you saying, your kid (again, not being personal, just an example) wasn't smart, savvy and experienced enough at that point to know better and/or to make something positive with her time on the ball? Otherwise, are we talking about the end of the bench with no real developed skill to begin with picking up all of these bad habits?

                Some high school programs (the better ones) are predominantly club players and the school is paying attention and hires an appropriately qualified coach. Other schools might not be that fortunate. The exceptional player stuck at a crappy program with no one around (player or coach) to raise their game is more exception than rule.
                It is not necessarily about the coach but about the level of play. Very little competition in practice; and in games positioning and shape are bad. This can cause players to develop some bad habits. Too much time, too much space, no pressure on the ball. My kid loves HS soccer but it is about the social aspect not the soccer aspect.

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                  #38
                  Plus for some players, one learns not to rely on teammates and try to do it all oneself. That is how you get these incredible scoring records in weaker leagues (and big heads sometimes).

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                    #39
                    Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                    It is not necessarily about the coach but about the level of play. Very little competition in practice; and in games positioning and shape are bad. This can cause players to develop some bad habits. Too much time, too much space, no pressure on the ball. My kid loves HS soccer but it is about the social aspect not the soccer aspect.
                    I imagine that an extremely discouraging situation for a quality club player would be having to accept inferior tactical decisions from a school coach knowing that those decisions are wrong.
                    To whit: playing a never ending high defensive line when an opposing player is running amok behind your line. (Ex: SH v Oxford).
                    The frustration of not being able to address the problem despite having the knowledge and ability to do so must stink.
                    I am surprised there aren't more mutinies.

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                      #40
                      The premise I challenged was the generalization that HS is universally weak, creates bad habits, etc. - not some, but all. I suggested that the quality and experience actually has great range - I guess you could say a haves and have nots situation.

                      The last two posts gave examples highlighting where a talented player can perform as an individual/improvise because of this disparity between players (their own team and their opponent). The persistent trap by SH is a good point (and I agree about the mutiny comment), but even so, I wonder if Oxford's ED would suggest her HS experience was anything less than great or at its worst noting that she was a lot better than some of her teammates and opponents but neither was a bad thing for her in the end.

                      Reading in the other post that a player might not be able to rely on their teammates for support resulting in individual work being a bad thing (for the star, not the lesser teammates) struck me as funny. I'm not sure how common that is among the haves and have nots, but where does that really fit into the equation of the HS game? If you use teams that don't make districts and teams that do and advance as the dividing line, you're certainly talking about teams with a lower proportion of club players and some teams with a very large proportion. Was anyone watching those games ending with the Nashoba versus Algonquin overtime final saying the quality was lacking?

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                        #41
                        Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                        Wachusett girls will be real good this year. Nashoba will reload. Algonguin always strong. Holy name and shrewsbury will be very competeive. Should be interesting.
                        This really made me laugh "Wachusett girls will be real good this year." No, they won't unless you have some great Freshmans coming into the school.

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                          #42
                          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                          This really made me laugh "Wachusett girls will be real good this year." No, they won't unless you have some great Freshmans coming into the school.
                          And so it begins...

                          Not a Wachusett parent (normal or "enthusiastic"). They have some very good younger players. Something to be more optimistic than pessimistic IMHO. I'll be interested to see how they progress as a group.

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                            #43
                            Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                            And so it begins...

                            Not a Wachusett parent (normal or "enthusiastic"). They have some very good younger players. Something to be more optimistic than pessimistic IMHO. I'll be interested to see how they progress as a group.
                            Agree with this post. The younger grades have more talent than the older grades. Future looks good. They'll be better than last year. Won't be competing for title or anything, but better than last year. Optimistic is a good way to describe Wachusett. Won't cry once the nutty parents of the older girls are gone that give Wachusetts a bad name. Obviously I'm a Wachusett parent......just no one of the insane ones.

                            Good luck to all this fall. Should be some good soccer.

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                              #44
                              Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                              Agree with this post. The younger grades have more talent than the older grades. Future looks good. They'll be better than last year. Won't be competing for title or anything, but better than last year. Optimistic is a good way to describe Wachusett. Won't cry once the nutty parents of the older girls are gone that give Wachusetts a bad name. Obviously I'm a Wachusett parent......just no one of the insane ones.

                              Good luck to all this fall. Should be some good soccer.
                              Central Catholic is the team this year!!!!

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                                #45
                                Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                                Agree with this post. The younger grades have more talent than the older grades. Future looks good. They'll be better than last year. Won't be competing for title or anything, but better than last year. Optimistic is a good way to describe Wachusett. Won't cry once the nutty parents of the older girls are gone that give Wachusetts a bad name. Obviously I'm a Wachusett parent......just no one of the insane ones.

                                Good luck to all this fall. Should be some good soccer.

                                Oh Ithink they will compete for districts. They have a solid goalie, all thre defenders returning, stron midfielders, and two good strikers. What they lost were a few good players but not the core of the team. Also the nutty parents are gone minus a couple. Should be a good season. Coach is strong and got rid of the most resistive person to his plans. Looking forward to see how they play. Future looks bright

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