Recruiting Practices

[fcwfan]

or maybe...

She is just a really good keeper coach, so that when kids she has coached for club tryout for ODP, they have the skills that set them apart?

[fcwfan]

I might add

That one of those keepers she coaches from her club that also plays ODP was selected for the National Team...

[Unregistered]

We all have our stories of ODP garbage. I know the gal you speak of. She is an amazing keeper coach. I am sure there are always two sides of the story?
The kid picked for National team is very talented. She was picked by many people, not just the gal keeper.

[FCKeepermom]

If you are referring to , truer words were never spoken. She coaches GKs at LO and when picking her goalies for ODP... big surprise! I think half of them come from LO club. It's club favoratism at its best. What a joke!

It is my understanding that there are a panel of evaluators that independently score the ODP tryouts, then scores are tabulated with additional input if there are players very similar in skill levels.

It sounds as if LOSC has a very strong keeper program in place, so it stands to reason that more keepers would be chosen to represent Oregon ODP from there than the average. Several of these players are listed as regional camp holdovers and one is on the national team.. I'd assume the keeper coach from LO doesn't have such pull as to get them on those teams too "just because"..

Doesn't sound like favoritism at the ODP level there, but, rather, a keen eye to select those players that have the potential to play at a higher level.

[Unregistered]

The keeper you are all talking about was actually "discovered" at regionals by a (California) coach who happens to be on the National coaching staff. Her selection had nothing to do with unfair imput by the LO keeper coach.

[fcwfan]

My points

exactly.... She is a great keeper coach so it stands to reason that she would develop great players.

[KPRDAD]

Club Level Recruiting

I went to a local High School varsity soccer game the other night and ran into a good friend of mine. We started talking and it turns out his daughter plays keeper for one of the teams. I told him I didn't think he lived in the area and he said, "I don't, the coach recruited his daughter after he saw her play at the club level."

Now, that got me thinking, so I went back and read some of the earlier posts by some folks and noticed that there were some who questioned the recruiting practices at the club level.

Example: Our team needed a keeper. We played a team that was not a gold team but their keeper was exceptional. We approached her (and her coach and her parents, it was completely out in the open) and now she is our keeper.

So I want to throw this out to whomever is left reading this forum; do you think it's OK for a coach (or a parent) of a club to approach a player from another club in an effort to see if there is any interested in joining? Do you see anything wrong with that? Is it OK at the High School or College level and not at the club level? What if a player is unhappy with their current situation? Is it OK then to approach them? If your son/daughter was approached by another club would you talk to them?

If you agree, why? If you disagree, why?

Thanks and I look forward to he feedback.

Cheers! :)

Being the Keeper Parent in the above Quote, I can comment first hand. First, it was a thrill to my daughter to be sought after for what she has worked so hard to become. She was requested for a year to be a guest player at a couple of big tournaments but her coach would not give out her contact information. Finally, she was contacted by her teacher and fellow student to attend their daughter's and her fellow student's next week's practices after The State Cup. My daughter immediately felt part of the team and got along great with all the players. What I liked most of all was that this was a team of soccer players with one thing in mind "Play Soccer"
As competitive soccer players, they should always strive to be the on the starting squad or being the best team in the league or tournament. Being recruited is a way of being recognized for their efforts on and off the field.
I do feel that their should not be "perks" in the equation to convince a player to change teams or clubs, it should be the quality of the club, coaches and the players that does it. It did in our case. We were not offered perks, we were told of a need and that my daughter was the right player to fill the need and the club, coaches and players did the rest.

Sorry for the first time rambles....KPRDAD:)

[Tieyourshoes]

I agree with you, that recruiting for clubs is how to get players of the same mindset to be able to work on the same team, but I still don't think that recruiting for public high schools seems equitable. As I said before, you pay to play for clubs and should be able to take your money where you want. How can a kid play for a public high school who doesn't live in that area? Do people not tell the truth about their addresses? Just wondering...

[fcwfan]

district/school exchanges

Most districts have policies whereby they allow students to transfer on a 1 for 1 basis between districts. Other districts with multiple high schools may have a "choice" process where attendance isn't based on where you live as long as it is within the district boundaries. Most districts also have tuition policies where parents can pay to have their child attend school in a district where they don't reside.

Lying about where you live in order to attend another district, particularly for the purpose of participating in sports, is a very bad idea. Many districts have policies that allow them to collect tuition to reimburse the state for having falsely claimed a non-resident as their district's student. There also are major repurcussions in terms of teams having to forfeit seasons, etc., if OSAA finds that a student has participated in athletics and has violated residency policies.