Player Safety

[Unregistered]

Today I learned those in charge of ECNL are more concerned with playing the game vs. player safety. The only person that was concerned was a referee who was trying to call someone to have game cancelled and he was quickly run off.

Love the league, but today lost a ton of respect for both Directors

[Unregistered]

Today I learned those in charge of ECNL are more concerned with playing the game vs. player safety. The only person that was concerned was a referee who was trying to call someone to have game cancelled and he was quickly run off.

Love the league, but today lost a ton of respect for both Directors

Which game? And what was the safety issue--the weather, or something else?

[Unregistered]

Today I learned those in charge of ECNL are more concerned with playing the game vs. player safety. The only person that was concerned was a referee who was trying to call someone to have game cancelled and he was quickly run off.

Love the league, but today lost a ton of respect for both Directors

Was it too cold for your little Suzy Q? Fields were fine, just wet which is pretty normal for Oregon.

[Unregistered]

Today I learned those in charge of ECNL are more concerned with playing the game vs. player safety. The only person that was concerned was a referee who was trying to call someone to have game cancelled and he was quickly run off.

Love the league, but today lost a ton of respect for both Directors

Oh please. It's winter soccer. Fields will be wet. My DD's team played a game at the THUSC fields a few years ago (OYSA league) with enormous deep puddles of standing water everywhere. The ball would hit a puddle and a wall of water would come up and douse whoever was nearby. We didn't even think about canceling it although it made for some interesting soccer. The only people I feel slightly sorry for are the Bend families who have to brave the pass in this yuck. But they get to live in Bend so I guess that's the tradeoff.

You should consider moving to Southern California. I hear they cancel games if it sprinkles. Or have her take up softball in Oregon.

One more point - this is an unprecedented winter in terms of weather. I'm sure league officials are as stressed and concerned as you are. The Oregon ODP teams were stranded in Phoenix (rough life!), teams pulled out of Far West and forfeited games because they couldn't afford to travel anymore due to increased expenses from weather delays, and games have been cancelled left and right. I'm sure your girls didn't melt today, and bottom line is, you as parent, have every right to pull her if you genuinely feel the conditions were unsafe.

[Unregistered]

Was it too cold for your little Suzy Q? Fields were fine, just wet which is pretty normal for Oregon.

Cold not an issue. Normally wet not an issue, but standing water makes the field unplayable. Under normal circumstances the Rec center would have closed the fields as you are not allowed to play with standing water.

When the head of officials tries to stop the game due to unplayable conditions then the coaches and directors should listen. It is a league game game between both local teams and can and should have been rescheduled

[Unregistered]

Cold not an issue. Normally wet not an issue, but standing water makes the field unplayable. Under normal circumstances the Rec center would have closed the fields as you are not allowed to play with standing water.

When the head of officials tries to stop the game due to unplayable conditions then the coaches and directors should listen. It is a league game game between both local teams and can and should have been rescheduled

See my post above yours. I can tell you for sure the Rec center does not always close turf fields due to standing water. And again, you, as parents, had every right to say you didn't want your child to play if you genuinely felt concerned about safety.

[Unregistered]

Cold not an issue. Normally wet not an issue, but standing water makes the field unplayable. Under normal circumstances the Rec center would have closed the fields as you are not allowed to play with standing water.

When the head of officials tries to stop the game due to unplayable conditions then the coaches and directors should listen. It is a league game game between both local teams and can and should have been rescheduled

Turf or grass? Given the time of year, I strongly suspect the former--I'm aware of no grass fields that are open right now.

A big reason that standing water is considered to make grass fields unplayable is to protect the playing surface from damage--when the dirt turns to mud, playing on it will kill the grass. This is not an issue with turf. That said, I've seen some pretty awesome mudholes in local soccer.

The main safety issues with turf are in hot weather (turf radiates heat far more than grass does), and when it freezes. Playing on a frozen surface (whether natural or artificial) can make falls that are ordinarily safe, dangerous. While it was close to freezing today, it wasn't freezing; and the water in the turf bed was not ice, so the turf was safe to play on.

[Unregistered]

Was it too cold for your little Suzy Q? Fields were fine, just wet which is pretty normal for Oregon.

It's just that the legions of college scouts watching the game (it being an ECNL game, the sideline was stocked ten deep with scouts) got to see his DD fall on her rear-end time and again. If the full ride from UNC doesn't come in, now we know why.

[Unregistered]

If an Official wants to call a game due to field conditions the coaches should support it. Period. ECNL has a schedule they have to follow and it's not as flexible as local leagues. They have made Texas and Florida teams play in blistering heat and humidity that college coaches wouldn't dare.

[Unregistered]

I was there, it actually appeared to be one of the coaching staff asking to call the game, the other side was not consulted and the referee chose to keep the game going. Not sure what you saw, but we saw different things.

[Unregistered]

I was there, it actually appeared to be one of the coaching staff asking to call the game, the other side was not consulted and the referee chose to keep the game going. Not sure what you saw, but we saw different things.

Saw the head of officials calling someone to have the games cancelled. My guess calling someone from THRPD. Both directors for FC and CU said keep playing

[Unregistered]

Turf or grass? Given the time of year, I strongly suspect the former--I'm aware of no grass fields that are open right now.

A big reason that standing water is considered to make grass fields unplayable is to protect the playing surface from damage--when the dirt turns to mud, playing on it will kill the grass. This is not an issue with turf. That said, I've seen some pretty awesome mudholes in local soccer.

The main safety issues with turf are in hot weather (turf radiates heat far more than grass does), and when it freezes. Playing on a frozen surface (whether natural or artificial) can make falls that are ordinarily safe, dangerous. While it was close to freezing today, it wasn't freezing; and the water in the turf bed was not ice, so the turf was safe to play on.

We're not from Portland. We played there a few years ago in torrential rain. I think 53rd street, not sure. Anyways, torrential rain. The fields were actually lifting. Huge bubbles in spots. The girls thought it was hilarious. Not a safety issue, a waste of time. But it did make me wonder about the upkeep of fields in that kind of weather.

[Unregistered]

Saw the head of officials calling someone to have the games cancelled. My guess calling someone from THRPD. Both directors for FC and CU said keep playing

Yes. Game was a tie to boot which felt disappointing as well and felt like competition was a bit watered down. Truth be told there should probably only be one ECNL team from the area.

[Unregistered]

Hilarious!

When ever did you think the Oregon Ecnl coaches actually cared about the players...better not say anything, they've got 15 more mediocre players who already pay money to not do anything.

[Unregistered]

Yes. Game was a tie to boot which felt disappointing as well and felt like competition was a bit watered down. Truth be told there should probably only be one ECNL team from the area.

Ecnl Oregon isn't getting the best players. Their older teams had a good year but based on teams that were already assembled. I don't think anyone trusts the coaches and clubs anymore. Too many stories of smoke and mirrors