DA Is Killing SUSC

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04s are sophomores in high school? I don’t believe that is accurate.

Most 03s are sophomores and some 02s. Most 04s are freshmen.

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Many warned GDA would put a strain on the club. Running good teams in multiple leagues requires a deep player pool and decently sized population base. DA rules allow for clubs to roster part time players from their B teams. If B team players want to help the A team that's great, but it should never come at the expense of their B team commitment. It's up to the club and coach to make sure there will be enough players for games. If rosters are shallow it doesn't take too many injuries or sibling college graduations to come up short.

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Many warned GDA would put a strain on the club. Running good teams in multiple leagues requires a deep player pool and decently sized population base. DA rules allow for clubs to roster part time players from their B teams. If B team players want to help the A team that's great, but it should never come at the expense of their B team commitment. It's up to the club and coach to make sure there will be enough players for games. If rosters are shallow it doesn't take too many injuries or sibling college graduations to come up short.

I think everyone can agree that is the goal

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04s are sophomores in high school? I don’t believe that is accurate.

04 girls some are sophomores and some are freshmen.... 2019 - 4 = 15 years.

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04 girls some are sophomores and some are freshmen.... 2019 - 4 = 15 years.

Right now most Jan - Aug 04s are freshmen and will be sophomores next fall. Most Sept-dec 04s are currently in 8th grade and will be freshmen next year.

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They just don’t have the numbers and were/are hoping to attract more players with the new top league. It’s pretty obvious and it is a good outlook and a solid plan.Trying to pool all the good players in southern and central NH and southern MA and north shore MA is a good idea. Problem is that it’s Seacoast and they don’t have the best program and the best coaches. Facility is good but the outdoor turf is in bad shape. Will they be able to build? Not looking great since DA doesn’t allow high school. If they can get a few really good girls to go through and get high D1 commitments then they will have something to promote to younger girls’ families. Give them a few more years to see if they are successful. DA could allow high school play and that would definitely help.

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They just don’t have the numbers and were/are hoping to attract more players with the new top league. It’s pretty obvious and it is a good outlook and a solid plan.Trying to pool all the good players in southern and central NH and southern MA and north shore MA is a good idea. Problem is that it’s Seacoast and they don’t have the best program and the best coaches. Facility is good but the outdoor turf is in bad shape. Will they be able to build? Not looking great since DA doesn’t allow high school. If they can get a few really good girls to go through and get high D1 commitments then they will have something to promote to younger girls’ families. Give them a few more years to see if they are successful. DA could allow high school play and that would definitely help.

Don't disagree with most of that.

I will say that there are players who have joined DA from outside SUSC so far and wasn't all just NPL moving to GDA. Only a few, but also not even in this a year yet.

The girls program I think highly of vs. the others in NH. Not even close. Coaching is a mixed bag. Two I can think of, CS and IS (who really run the GDA program) are as good as any coaches I've come across. There's a few more good as well. But, to your point, there's some warts in there too so the good needs to be expanded.

On the fence about HS, personally. I get the merits and all that, but it's (to me) an unnecessary distraction that doesn't do anything to help a player develop. To be away that long it's only viewed as a negative from a pure soccer perspective. I can tell you that if they had their way, they'd rule HS out even if GDA said yes (my opinion)...even knowing they have some good HS coaches on their staff.

So, yes, they absolutely need to expand beyond the seacoast area of NH. It's started, but slowly. If their plan of becoming the destination north of I93 continues, it will work. Check back in 2-3 more years and see I suppose. More hope at the younger ages than older I would guess.

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Don't disagree with most of that.

I will say that there are players who have joined DA from outside SUSC so far and wasn't all just NPL moving to GDA. Only a few, but also not even in this a year yet.

The girls program I think highly of vs. the others in NH. Not even close. Coaching is a mixed bag. Two I can think of, CS and IS (who really run the GDA program) are as good as any coaches I've come across. There's a few more good as well. But, to your point, there's some warts in there too so the good needs to be expanded.

On the fence about HS, personally. I get the merits and all that, but it's (to me) an unnecessary distraction that doesn't do anything to help a player develop. To be away that long it's only viewed as a negative from a pure soccer perspective. I can tell you that if they had their way, they'd rule HS out even if GDA said yes (my opinion)...even knowing they have some good HS coaches on their staff.

So, yes, they absolutely need to expand beyond the seacoast area of NH. It's started, but slowly. If their plan of becoming the destination north of I93 continues, it will work. Check back in 2-3 more years and see I suppose. More hope at the younger ages than older I would guess.

Agreed. Problem with being optimistic is that their boys program has been around for a while and still not very good with southern NH boys still seeking out MA programs instead.

It’s very easy for 40+ year olds to say playing high school soccer is a distraction and unnecessary and terrible soccer, etc but to a 16 year old it’s fun and a chance to play a game they love with peers and to be a hometown hero. Sounds silly to us when sights are on a division 1 college program, but to them it’s not silly. And ironic that the goal is to play college soccer and experience the whole “school” experience while playing a varsity sport and yet high school soccer is so frowned upon.

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Agreed. Problem with being optimistic is that their boys program has been around for a while and still not very good with southern NH boys still seeking out MA programs instead.

It’s very easy for 40+ year olds to say playing high school soccer is a distraction and unnecessary and terrible soccer, etc but to a 16 year old it’s fun and a chance to play a game they love with peers and to be a hometown hero. Sounds silly to us when sights are on a division 1 college program, but to them it’s not silly. And ironic that the goal is to play college soccer and experience the whole “school” experience while playing a varsity sport and yet high school soccer is so frowned upon.

What's funny is I, personally, wouldn't mind if my D wants to play HS. She's the one who doesn't want to. It's totally flipped!

Weird, I know....

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So as a SUSC parent - I can say we are moving on from the club next season because they have dismantled what was a viable and highly competitive, competent club. I am the father of a 02 NPL player (current sophomore - will be junior next season) and I have never been so disappointed with the club as I have been in the last 4 weeks.

Lets' be clear - this is not a playing time issue - my daughter plays almost every minute of every game. This is an integrity issue and an issue about killing what was a great club in the past. Our daughter has played for SUSC since their grass roots program (9 years now) and we can't do it anymore.

DA killed the other programs and they over extended themselves. We have to regularly call up not 1 or 2 players, but 5 or 6 to play NPL games and lose in the process. We just found out they will call up 6 players again for their next tournament.

U16/17DA is 6-19-1 with a goal differential of -27....
U15 is 6-19-2 with a goal differential of -28...

The players are just not there - SUSC cant compete and the watering down of the talent has lead us and other parents to seek some better opportunities next year with other clubs.

I think the title of this thread should really be "DA Is Killing SUSC for my Daughter". I'm probably not adding anything that hasn't already been said, but you, and rightly so, are solely concerned with how the addition of this program is affecting your daughter this year and into next year. And, I agree, that for an '02 NPL player, the addition of DA really affected the quality of your daughter's experience.

However, the club, as much as it tries to do what's best for every current player, has to think of future players, as well. Even this year, the addition of the DA wasn't a disaster for every player. Obviously, some are enjoying the program, others were happy to be taking their places on higher level teams (yes, even though some may have been placed over their heads). And I'm almost certain there are many families with kids in the '06-'09 age groups that are happy to see the addition, hoping everything is smoothed out by the time their players reach DA eligibility.

NPL teams suffered this year, but it looks like the club realizes this and has made the adjustment next year to move the teams down to MA, hoping to add to the quality and get them back up to the appropriate level of competitiveness. Again, this move may inconvenience some NH players, who now have to travel further for NPL play, but for the overall club, this may be the right decision. Adding a new program like this is always going to cause some upheaval, but the club is hoping it will be a benefit to future players.

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I think the title of this thread should really be "DA Is Killing SUSC for my Daughter". I'm probably not adding anything that hasn't already been said, but you, and rightly so, are solely concerned with how the addition of this program is affecting your daughter this year and into next year. And, I agree, that for an '02 NPL player, the addition of DA really affected the quality of your daughter's experience.

However, the club, as much as it tries to do what's best for every current player, has to think of future players, as well. Even this year, the addition of the DA wasn't a disaster for every player. Obviously, some are enjoying the program, others were happy to be taking their places on higher level teams (yes, even though some may have been placed over their heads). And I'm almost certain there are many families with kids in the '06-'09 age groups that are happy to see the addition, hoping everything is smoothed out by the time their players reach DA eligibility.

NPL teams suffered this year, but it looks like the club realizes this and has made the adjustment next year to move the teams down to MA, hoping to add to the quality and get them back up to the appropriate level of competitiveness. Again, this move may inconvenience some NH players, who now have to travel further for NPL play, but for the overall club, this may be the right decision. Adding a new program like this is always going to cause some upheaval, but the club is hoping it will be a benefit to future players.

I tend to agree. While I feel we are in a very good place I do understand not everyone is. The older you are, the more likely you aren't happy. Long term, SUSC is doing what they think is best and I don't disagree with the approach. My hope is it's already hit bottom before it starts going up.