Bw rays or bayside

[Unregistered]

This is a joke

I find it interesting in reading these posts that there is no mention of the NE Wave. The Wave just completed its 2nd year and is founded by the dean of NCAA women's soccer coachhes, Brown's Phil Pincince. MY daughter has been playing for the Wave for 2 years and I can tell you the coaching has been phenomenal.

And an fyi regarding the debate over RI State Cups - the RI State Cup has been devalued tremendously by the brain-dead, "support-the-mediocre" members of Soccer-RI when in March they passed rules limiting releases to non-SRI clubs AND blocking non-SRI clubs from participating in RI State Cup play even when such clubs have more than 50% of its players from RI.

From now on, call it the RI Fake Cup.

The Wave is a poor excuse for a soccer club. It is a last resort for players in RI. Phil Pincince, the dean of NCAA women's soccer hasn't done anything in the Ivy league in over 10 years. The Wave was setup so he could make money. No toher reason. he doesn't recruit RI players so why have a club in RI? Waste of money

[Unregistered]

The Wave is a poor excuse for a soccer club. It is a last resort for players in RI. Phil Pincince, the dean of NCAA women's soccer hasn't done anything in the Ivy league in over 10 years. The Wave was setup so he could make money. No toher reason. he doesn't recruit RI players so why have a club in RI? Waste of money

Why aren't then a SRI club?

[Unregistered]

Why aren't then a SRI club?

Why aren't THEY a SRI club?

[Unregistered]

Good question. I don't know the entire story, but there was some bad blood that existed several years ago between the 2 parties. Don't know all the details and really don't care to.

But like many other RI-based premier clubs, the Wave simply chose to register with Mass Youth Soccer. Mass Youth Soccer is a much more user-friendly organization that doesn't bog itself down with rules regarding club acceptance, league sanctioning, coach licensing, etc. You simply register your club, register your players, join a league and play. They encourage new clubs to be formed.

In short, Mass Youth Soccer is a much easier organization for a new club to work with. SRI just has way too many rules, period. The SRI crew is a very insulated group who is more about protecting its member clubs and associations than about opening up opportunities for kids to play more soccer.

[Unregistered]

Good question. I don't know the entire story, but there was some bad blood that existed several years ago between the 2 parties. Don't know all the details and really don't care to.

But like many other RI-based premier clubs, the Wave simply chose to register with Mass Youth Soccer. Mass Youth Soccer is a much more user-friendly organization that doesn't bog itself down with rules regarding club acceptance, league sanctioning, coach licensing, etc. You simply register your club, register your players, join a league and play. They encourage new clubs to be formed.

In short, Mass Youth Soccer is a much easier organization for a new club to work with. SRI just has way too many rules, period. The SRI crew is a very insulated group who is more about protecting its member clubs and associations than about opening up opportunities for kids to play more soccer.

Probably a tough balance. Without clubs and associations kids don't get to play either. If a team wants to compete in the state cup then being a member of SRI can't be that difficult.

[Unregistered]

Unfortunately, becoming a member of SRI is and has been historically very, very difficult.

The process of becoming a member of SRI is arduous. First, you apply. Then, the SRI Board must give pre-approval - which is not easy since Board members are usually affiliated with existing clubs and town associations. If an applicant gets pre-approval from the Board, the next step is a vote of the entire existing membership. Typically, the existing membership (current SRI clubs and town associations) does not want to lose kids to a new club, so they vote against the applicant. It's happened over and over again.

For years, clubs like Lusitana tried to get into SRI but were refused. So, they simply registered with Mass Youth Soccer and played in Massachusetts leagues.
Being a member of SRI isn't necessary for RI kids to play soccer. In fact, SRI's past-president Larry Fish wrote a wonderfully enlightened farewell letter in last year's "Center Circle" newsletter espousing the virtues of "open soccer" registration, just like Mass Youth Soccer offers. The new prez campaigned on the ideas of lessening SRI restrictions, but ultimately has fallen into the "old boy" network of protecting the mediocity of existing SRI clubs and associations, ignoring the notoin that competition breeds performance.

The latest rule adopted by SRI in March now limits the number of releases SRI will grant a non-SRI team to 5 releases - which contradicts its own by-laws which read that no SRI club or association can refuse a release request (SRI has so many rules it can't even keep track of them!). Starting in 2011, SRI will not allow a team to play for the RI State Cup unless it is an SRI member even if more than 50% of its members are RI residents, which will decrease the level of competition down to nothing, especially on the girls side.

[Unregistered]

So can one then draw the conclusion that the member of the SRI board that is from Tidal Wave does not like the fact that the NE Wave is in his backyard competing for the same kids?

[Unregistered]

Hey, whatever conclusions you can draw - feel free to draw them!

Bottom line - if SRI keeps protecting its existing members from new competition, where's the incentive for existing clubs and associations to improve?

My own observation over the past few years is that SRI is completely out of touch with what RI parents want for their kids' soccer experience. SRI shouldn't have to keep constructing obstacles to keep RI kids within SRI clubs and associations. If SRI clubs and associations were doing what RI parents wanted them to do, so many RI parents wouldn't be taking their kids to Mass Youth Soccer clubs.

Parents want choices, i.e. how much does the club cost? who is the club's coach? what league does the club play in? etc. SRI limits choices.

[Unregistered]

Ok, I was at that same U12 pool game you talk about. When you know you have no chance of playing with a team, you play 9 back in the box and pray for a counter-attack goal. It almost worked, even though the Rays dominated and outplayed Wave on both sides of the ball. When they met again at finals, the Wave tried the same 9 players in the box strategy, except that time it didn't quite work as well (4-0 I believe the score was). Once they gave up the first goal they were forced to play and the Rays picked them apart, dominated possession and outclassed them. I will say that Wave played a better game than BW. We played them with our defenders up top and our forwards on defense and picked them apart way too easily for a team "competing" for state cup.

One more thing, after the SC Final, that wonderful coach for Wave you talk about thought it was a classy idea to tell the team that just beat him 4-0 that they need to finish their opportunities and score when they get the chance (as he was looking directly at the Rays Coaches). I think a simple applause and "job well done" would have been more appropriate. Great turnout at try-outs btw this week and last, not sure about the rest of the club all that much, but next year's U-13 Rays team will be tough for any other RI team to deal with, as usual.

I am not a big Rays fan, but I must admit that the u12 group mentioned above is an outstanding team, they have a ton of talent. Their challenge will be to try and keep the team together as they rise through the age groups

[Unregistered]

Totally agree-the Rays are the best U12 girls team in the state. Excellent goalkeeper, btw.

They will win the newly watered-down state cup for years to come. The only RI-based team to give them a challenge this spring has been banned from competing in further state cups.

[Unregistered]

Totally agree-the Rays are the best U12 girls team in the state. Excellent goalkeeper, btw.

They will win the newly watered-down state cup for years to come. The only RI-based team to give them a challenge this spring has been banned from competing in further state cups.

Why were they baned?

[Unregistered]

Not for doing anything wrong...just because the Wave is registered with Mass Youth Soccer, not Soccer-RI. The new SRI rules dictate that in order to play in the RI State Cup tournament, the team must be part of a SRI member club, which the NE Wave is not, regardless what the % of RI residents are on that team's roster.

It's ridiculous because 100% of the Wave's U12 team are RI residents (in fact, all but 1 player is from Cumberland). SRI won't accept the Wave as a member club, so,l starting next year, they can't play in the state cup.

SRI thinks its doing its member clubs a favor by creating these rules. But, in fact, they're just encouraging SRI clubs to remain mediocre at best.

[Unregistered]

Not for doing anything wrong...just because the Wave is registered with Mass Youth Soccer, not Soccer-RI. The new SRI rules dictate that in order to play in the RI State Cup tournament, the team must be part of a SRI member club, which the NE Wave is not, regardless what the % of RI residents are on that team's roster.

It's ridiculous because 100% of the Wave's U12 team are RI residents (in fact, all but 1 player is from Cumberland). SRI won't accept the Wave as a member club, so,l starting next year, they can't play in the state cup.

SRI thinks its doing its member clubs a favor by creating these rules. But, in fact, they're just encouraging SRI clubs to remain mediocre at best.

Better off in Mass anyway

[Unregistered]

At this point, who cares about the state cup any more. If SRI wants to water down US Youth Soccer's NCS, whattya gonna do?

What will be more interesting is to see if SRI will be able to enforce its new "5 release limit per non-SRI team" policy this fall. It's this new rule that smacks of restraint of trade. My guess is that all it would take is one letter from a lawyer for SRI to realize how assinine their approach is.

[Unregistered]

Please explain