Relative Parity in the 96 Age Group?

Interested in the thoughts from the peanut gallery...

D1 and top of D2 can be argued to be in a separate category but it seems like we have an "any given Saturday" dynamic with the rest of Classic plus the top of Plano.

Thoughts? Basing comments to an extent on Austin Gold Bracket (FC Black was finalist - realize it was a bit watered down there given Premier League), Plano Labor Day Silver Bracket (mix of teams from different leagues with a non-Classic team winning it), and am sure there are other examples. I do know that often the ranking plays true but this is the most recent set of data and we have no soccer this weekend, so thought I'd throw it out there for fun.

I'm not sure the teams represented in tournaments is totally reflective of the teams in league play. My DD knows a few girls from the DFW Torn team that beat FC Dallas Blue in bracket play 2-0. FCD Blue brought in somer new players once they made the play-offs and beat DFW Torn 2-0 when they met in the semi's. I guess that's the advantage of a big club. When you need players for tournaments you can pull from many places (especially when the team makes it to the playoff).

futboldad wrote:I'm not sure the teams represented in tournaments is totally reflective of the teams in league play. My DD knows a few girls from the DFW Torn team that beat FC Dallas Blue in bracket play 2-0. FCD Blue brought in somer new players once they made the play-offs and beat DFW Torn 2-0 when they met in the semi's. I guess that's the advantage of a big club. When you need players for tournaments you can pull from many places (especially when the team makes it to the playoff).

They have to be on the roster before the tournament started. So I wouldn't call that pulling in players after they made the play offs.

futboldad wrote:I'm not sure the teams represented in tournaments is totally reflective of the teams in league play. My DD knows a few girls from the DFW Torn team that beat FC Dallas Blue in bracket play 2-0. FCD Blue brought in somer new players once they made the play-offs and beat DFW Torn 2-0 when they met in the semi's. I guess that's the advantage of a big club. When you need players for tournaments you can pull from many places (especially when the team makes it to the playoff).

That statement is completely untrue. FCD Blue has 18 players on the roster. All 18 players were present for the bracket play game against DFW Tornados. In the semi final game, FCD Blue only had 17 players as 1 player came down with the flu and was not there. FCD Blue had a horrible game against DFW Tornados in bracket play....they are 13 years old after all!!! FCD Blue had NO guest players for this tournament and did NOT pull any players once they advanced. I am sure if a team thought FCD Blue were playing illegal players, they would have protested and that is just not the case.

[quote="turftoe9"]

futboldad wrote:I'm not sure the teams represented in tournaments is totally reflective of the teams in league play. My DD knows a few girls from the DFW Torn team that beat FC Dallas Blue in bracket play 2-0. FCD Blue brought in somer new players once they made the play-offs and beat DFW Torn 2-0 when they met in the semi's. I guess that's the advantage of a big club. When you need players for tournaments you can pull from many places (especially when the team makes it to the playoff).

They have to be on the roster before the tournament started. So I wouldn't call that pulling in players after they made the play offs.[/quote

Check "gotsport" for the PLD tourney. They do not have a roster listed!!!!!!!!!!!!

FCD Blue was the last team to qualify for the play-offs (#2 wildcard) yet they come back to win the whole thing.

Amazing turn around.

[quote="futboldad"]

turftoe9 wrote:

futboldad wrote:I'm not sure the teams represented in tournaments is totally reflective of the teams in league play. My DD knows a few girls from the DFW Torn team that beat FC Dallas Blue in bracket play 2-0. FCD Blue brought in somer new players once they made the play-offs and beat DFW Torn 2-0 when they met in the semi's. I guess that's the advantage of a big club. When you need players for tournaments you can pull from many places (especially when the team makes it to the playoff).

They have to be on the roster before the tournament started. So I wouldn't call that pulling in players after they made the play offs.[/quote

Check "gotsport" for the PLD tourney. They do not have a roster listed!!!!!!!!!!!!

FCD Blue was the last team to qualify for the play-offs (#2 wildcard) yet they come back to win the whole thing.

Amazing turn around.

Again, After the tournament roster is set you can't add players later. Maybe they had a poor game in bracket play?

[quote="turftoe9"]

futboldad wrote:

turftoe9 wrote:

futboldad wrote:I'm not sure the teams represented in tournaments is totally reflective of the teams in league play. My DD knows a few girls from the DFW Torn team that beat FC Dallas Blue in bracket play 2-0. FCD Blue brought in somer new players once they made the play-offs and beat DFW Torn 2-0 when they met in the semi's. I guess that's the advantage of a big club. When you need players for tournaments you can pull from many places (especially when the team makes it to the playoff).

They have to be on the roster before the tournament started. So I wouldn't call that pulling in players after they made the play offs.[/quote

Check "gotsport" for the PLD tourney. They do not have a roster listed!!!!!!!!!!!!

FCD Blue was the last team to qualify for the play-offs (#2 wildcard) yet they come back to win the whole thing.

Amazing turn around.

Again, After the tournament roster is set you can't add players later. Maybe they had a poor game in bracket play?

From what I understood it was a poor game in bracket play from postings here and from discussions with Solar Gold parents who saw some of it. Taking nothing away from the DFW team, which has improved quite a bit.

On another note regarding rosters and players added/not added: any team has to have had a roster submitted when they checked into the tournament officials or they would not have been allowed to play at all. This roster cannot change, it is not a fluid thing. And, they weren't dipping into the other FCD teams, even if that was legal which it is not, as all of the other 96 FCD teams were either in PLD already or in out-of-town tournaments in Austin or Houston.

Conspiracy theory? I think not.

This just supports my original thought that on "any given Saturday" any one team can beat the other. FCD Blue had the better end of it this time in PLD.

futboldad wrote:Check "gotsport" for the PLD tourney. They do not have a roster listed!!!!!!!!!!!!

FCD Blue was the last team to qualify for the play-offs (#2 wildcard) yet they come back to win the whole thing.

Amazing turn around.

Why such sour grapes against FCD Blue? They had a very poor game in bracket play...they felt very fortunate to get the last wildcard spot...they brought their game and played their hearts out until the final whistle. Until that bracket play game, DFW Tornados had never beaten FCD Blue.....

I promise you the SET FCD Blue roster was turned in at check-in just like every other team in the tournament. Go to the FCD website and look at the picture taken right after winning....All 17 of those players are rostered members of the team (1 player is missing from the flu).

To bring this thread back around to its original question I think he/she is correct. Somewhere on this board (I have looked around for it and can't find it) is a great post by one the top D1 team parents. They say simply, that there are several "zones", "tiers", "groups" however you want to view it and within those groups the competition is very even.. to leap from one group to the next takes some doing, but that's the gist of it... They had them hashed out somewhere along the following: ( by the way I know I'm going to find this post and be wrong on the details, but here's how I recall it..)

Group 1 = top 5 D1 teams
Group 2 = bottom 4 D1-top 5 D2
Group 3 = bottom 4 D2 - majority of D3 and top 2 or 3 Plano/Arlington

So simply put within those groups anything can happen. Between those groups it is not typical for the lower to beat the upper.... not saying it can't happen.. just not typical. There are no doubt top Plano/Arlington teams that can compete with LH teams.. the qualifiers can be a cruel mistress.. and there are no doubt teams from Group 3 that can make the leap to Groups 2 etc...

I'm gonna go find that post now and report back...

Slakemoth wrote:To bring this thread back around to its original question I think he/she is correct. Somewhere on this board (I have looked around for it and can't find it) is a great post by one the top D1 team parents. They say simply, that there are several "zones", "tiers", "groups" however you want to view it and within those groups the competition is very even.. to leap from one group to the next takes some doing, but that's the gist of it... They had them hashed out somewhere along the following: ( by the way I know I'm going to find this post and be wrong on the details, but here's how I recall it..)

Group 1 = top 5 D1 teams
Group 2 = bottom 4 D1-top 5 D2
Group 3 = bottom 4 D2 - majority of D3 and top 2 or 3 Plano/Arlington

So simply put within those groups anything can happen. Between those groups it is not typical for the lower to beat the upper.... not saying it can't happen.. just not typical. There are no doubt top Plano/Arlington teams that can compete with LH teams.. the qualifiers can be a cruel mistress.. and there are no doubt teams from Group 3 that can make the leap to Groups 2 etc...

I'm gonna go find that post now and report back...

Excellent! Thanks, I thought I had seen something about this prior and you just confirmed it. Would be great to see it.

There were several threads that were deleted from the site due to some of the setttngs/parameters in place when the site was initiated. ADMIN addressed the why's/what-for's in another post.

I'm pretty sure the post you're referencing was in one of the threads that was deleted. So I don't think you'll be able to find it.

Sorry, there were some pretty good things that were lost.

ok... I think I found it....

This is from the 95 girl's group, (so ignore the specific team names) where they were discussing their predictions for the D1 teams... the lovable Grundle posts the following:

Grundle sees two obvious and very distinct groups in DI.

Contenders: Sting, Texans, D'Feeters, Solar
This group will produce your LH Champion, Premier League pool and the teams that should be representing North Texas on the national scene. This group is a clear cut above the others and the legitimate competition for these four will come from playing each other and the better teams from around the country. This group should consider leaving LH and limiting play to Premier League, ECNL and selective tournaments. Texan parents can defend their choice to stay with National League until the cows come home. It was a bad decision and they will regret it.

Pretenders: Sting West, Solar Red, Revolution, N Texas United
No hope of winning the division, little-to-no hope of cracking the top four. This group will have competitive games against each other but can only look for divine intervention when facing the top four. I'm confident there will be an occasional surprise but the objective for these teams will be to outplay their fellow "pretenders" and avoid relegation. There is much truth to the argument that there is parity between the bottom teams of DI and the top few teams in DII. All of these teams would be better served if they were in a division together. Send the Contenders away and form your own division.

Concerning N Texas United - For 4 years, we've heard from a "Spirited" Loco that they belong in DI. They've had an impressive run in DIII and DII. Initially, they'll be excited about making the "big dance." But before long, their kids will realize it's just not that fun when they don't have a chance to win every week. The games will become far less fun for the parents, too. The better players will be harvested by the top teams and before long they'll be asking themselves "what the hell is so great about DI?" It will suddenly be clear that they were already on the greener side of the fence. At some point, the proof is in the puddin'….theirs just got stuck in the oven. Could Grundle be wrong? Not this time.

socrocks wrote:There were several threads that were deleted from the site due to some of the setttngs/parameters in place when the site was initiated. ADMIN addressed the why's/what-for's in another post.

I'm pretty sure the post you're referencing was in one of the threads that was deleted. So I don't think you'll be able to find it.

Sorry, there were some pretty good things that were lost.

You could be right, because I remember it being a bit more "subtle".. but probably I just made Grundle's post "nicer" over time.

soccer rules wrote:

futboldad wrote:I'm not sure the teams represented in tournaments is totally reflective of the teams in league play. My DD knows a few girls from the DFW Torn team that beat FC Dallas Blue in bracket play 2-0. FCD Blue brought in somer new players once they made the play-offs and beat DFW Torn 2-0 when they met in the semi's. I guess that's the advantage of a big club. When you need players for tournaments you can pull from many places (especially when the team makes it to the playoff).

That statement is completely untrue. FCD Blue has 18 players on the roster. All 18 players were present for the bracket play game against DFW Tornados. In the semi final game, FCD Blue only had 17 players as 1 player came down with the flu and was not there. FCD Blue had a horrible game against DFW Tornados in bracket play....they are 13 years old after all!!! FCD Blue had NO guest players for this tournament and did NOT pull any players once they advanced. I am sure if a team thought FCD Blue were playing illegal players, they would have protested and that is just not the case.

Actually a team can add club player's who have not played for another club team in the same tournament by providing an updated Roster prior to game. These players do not/did not have to be on initial roster provided by team prior to or at registration or check-in. As long as said team gets a tournament official to sign off just prior to match time and that "new" roster is turned into Referee with correct player numbers, etc. It IS allowed according to Plano LD Tournament officials. So what futboldad suggested is not impossible nor is it illegal so long as FCD Blue disclosed this info to Tournament officials prior to game time.

Illegal = no ..... sporting = you decide

JDot40 wrote:

soccer rules wrote:

futboldad wrote:I'm not sure the teams represented in tournaments is totally reflective of the teams in league play. My DD knows a few girls from the DFW Torn team that beat FC Dallas Blue in bracket play 2-0. FCD Blue brought in somer new players once they made the play-offs and beat DFW Torn 2-0 when they met in the semi's. I guess that's the advantage of a big club. When you need players for tournaments you can pull from many places (especially when the team makes it to the playoff).

That statement is completely untrue. FCD Blue has 18 players on the roster. All 18 players were present for the bracket play game against DFW Tornados. In the semi final game, FCD Blue only had 17 players as 1 player came down with the flu and was not there. FCD Blue had a horrible game against DFW Tornados in bracket play....they are 13 years old after all!!! FCD Blue had NO guest players for this tournament and did NOT pull any players once they advanced. I am sure if a team thought FCD Blue were playing illegal players, they would have protested and that is just not the case.

Actually a team can add club player's who have not played for another club team in the same tournament by providing an updated Roster prior to game. These players do not/did not have to be on initial roster provided by team prior to or at registration or check-in. As long as said team gets a tournament official to sign off just prior to match time and that "new" roster is turned into Referee with correct player numbers, etc. It IS allowed according to Plano LD Tournament officials. So what futboldad suggested is not impossible nor is it illegal so long as FCD Blue disclosed this info to Tournament officials prior to game time.

Illegal = no ..... sporting = you decide

Thanks for clarifying the legality of it....but as stated...There were no guest players, no added players, just the 18 rostered FCD Blue players from game number 1 through the finals.

Slakemoth wrote:

Concerning N Texas United - For 4 years, we've heard from a "Spirited" Loco that they belong in DI. They've had an impressive run in DIII and DII. Initially, they'll be excited about making the "big dance." But before long, their kids will realize it's just not that fun when they don't have a chance to win every week. The games will become far less fun for the parents, too. The better players will be harvested by the top teams and before long they'll be asking themselves "what the hell is so great about DI?" It will suddenly be clear that they were already on the greener side of the fence. At some point, the proof is in the puddin'….theirs just got stuck in the oven. Could Grundle be wrong? Not this time.

I know nobody really cares about the out of town teams, but the quoted statement is so true. My dd played for Sting ETX 97. They were a really good team @ U11 (finished 3rd in DII and missed promotion by a single goal) and then lost a lot of depth @ U12 and only won 1 game, finishing last in DII and relegated to DIII. My dd and 6 others left the 97 team because it was a miserable year losing game after game and we have come to the conclusion that it is completely nuts for a team to travel to LHGCL from outlying areas just to play DIII soccer. Sting ETX 97 lost their 1st DIII game 0-5. What is the point of the weekly trip to Dallas to play DIII?

No outlying team is going to be a top tier DI team during the high school years without a unique and unlikely cluster of depth. We just cannot compete with the D1 teams which have the top players gravitate to them each year. These players do not gravitate to the out of town teams and each year the gap between the out of town teams and the top DI teams gets greater. Not because our best players cannot compete with the DI best players, but because our depth thins out each year.

By traveling each week to play LHGCL DIII games, we are sucking the life out of soccer for many of these girls at the middle school ages. The Tyler girls essentially have no weekends because each trip to Dallas eats up a minimum of 6 or 7 hours every Saturday. They usually have to be up and on the road by 8AM on Saturday which eliminates or should eliminate Friday nights sleepovers.

Tyler Azzurri Torino 96 did well in PLD, although we were in the wrong division. But we have a great mix of former Sting ETX players and recreational players. What he have realized is that there are some potentially great soccer players who have chosen NOT to travel each week for various reasons. We are getting these girls to work with us and the chances are that some of them will go on and get a decent chance to play at the college level. But we feel that we are giving up too much to travel to Dallas and play DIII soccer. We can get the same number of games and pick what level we want to play by just doing 5 tournaments a year.

The best players from East Texas will continue to end up playing on DI Dallas teams. But there will always be good players who choose to not make soccer their life at this age.

In a perfect world, the top 4 or 5 DI teams would play each other and the top teams from other nearby states (Premier League). The top 5 DII teams would play the lower DI teams in LHGCL. The lower DII, the DIII and the top teams from Arlington and Plano would play each other in geographically defined groupings. All the teams east of Dallas play each other in Forney, Rockwall, etc. (It is nuts for Sting ETX 98 and Tyler Azzurri 98 travel to UT Dallas to play each other.) Have locations in Ft. Worth, East Dallas, Mid-Cities, North Dallas,where those area teams play each other. Then have a playoff system where the top 2 or 3 teams in each group play each other in a double elimination tournament. THose not making the cut can play friendlies or whatever.

Just silly ramblings from a bored soccer dad on a rainy afternoon.

There is something to be said for the "regional" competition aspect of the whole thing... and I feel for you folks in the outer fringes of the metroplex... craving both good competitive soccer and the desire to actually have a life outside the sport on weekends. We certainly could add places like Wichita Falls and Stephenville into that group too. It is hard for them to stay competitive as other sports and "life in general" starts to grab hold of the girls, especially once they hit Middle School.. I certainly sympathize (or is that empathize).. with your dilemma..

JDot40 wrote:

soccer rules wrote:

futboldad wrote:I'm not sure the teams represented in tournaments is totally reflective of the teams in league play. My DD knows a few girls from the DFW Torn team that beat FC Dallas Blue in bracket play 2-0. FCD Blue brought in somer new players once they made the play-offs and beat DFW Torn 2-0 when they met in the semi's. I guess that's the advantage of a big club. When you need players for tournaments you can pull from many places (especially when the team makes it to the playoff).

That statement is completely untrue. FCD Blue has 18 players on the roster. All 18 players were present for the bracket play game against DFW Tornados. In the semi final game, FCD Blue only had 17 players as 1 player came down with the flu and was not there. FCD Blue had a horrible game against DFW Tornados in bracket play....they are 13 years old after all!!! FCD Blue had NO guest players for this tournament and did NOT pull any players once they advanced. I am sure if a team thought FCD Blue were playing illegal players, they would have protested and that is just not the case.

Actually a team can add club player's who have not played for another club team in the same tournament by providing an updated Roster prior to game. These players do not/did not have to be on initial roster provided by team prior to or at registration or check-in. As long as said team gets a tournament official to sign off just prior to match time and that "new" roster is turned into Referee with correct player numbers, etc. It IS allowed according to Plano LD Tournament officials. So what futboldad suggested is not impossible nor is it illegal so long as FCD Blue disclosed this info to Tournament officials prior to game time.

Illegal = no ..... sporting = you decide

Interesting, I couldn't find that anywhere in the PLD rules or schedules..probably just didn't go deep enough to find it. Is that more an interpretation from the tournament officials that you spoke to? I have been a manager of a team and I haven't seen this in my past involvement. I just have never thought of adding to the roster after the fact, didn't think that it was something that could even be done.

I am not a fan of it though...don't think it's very sporting. Sounds like FCD Blue didn't go there...and sounds like they could have given the rules. They probably didn't even know they could do it either!

Posttoasties wrote:

JDot40 wrote:

soccer rules wrote:

futboldad wrote:I'm not sure the teams represented in tournaments is totally reflective of the teams in league play. My DD knows a few girls from the DFW Torn team that beat FC Dallas Blue in bracket play 2-0. FCD Blue brought in somer new players once they made the play-offs and beat DFW Torn 2-0 when they met in the semi's. I guess that's the advantage of a big club. When you need players for tournaments you can pull from many places (especially when the team makes it to the playoff).

That statement is completely untrue. FCD Blue has 18 players on the roster. All 18 players were present for the bracket play game against DFW Tornados. In the semi final game, FCD Blue only had 17 players as 1 player came down with the flu and was not there. FCD Blue had a horrible game against DFW Tornados in bracket play....they are 13 years old after all!!! FCD Blue had NO guest players for this tournament and did NOT pull any players once they advanced. I am sure if a team thought FCD Blue were playing illegal players, they would have protested and that is just not the case.

Actually a team can add club player's who have not played for another club team in the same tournament by providing an updated Roster prior to game. These players do not/did not have to be on initial roster provided by team prior to or at registration or check-in. As long as said team gets a tournament official to sign off just prior to match time and that "new" roster is turned into Referee with correct player numbers, etc. It IS allowed according to Plano LD Tournament officials. So what futboldad suggested is not impossible nor is it illegal so long as FCD Blue disclosed this info to Tournament officials prior to game time.

Illegal = no ..... sporting = you decide

Interesting, I couldn't find that anywhere in the PLD rules or schedules..probably just didn't go deep enough to find it. Is that more an interpretation from the tournament officials that you spoke to? I have been a manager of a team and I haven't seen this in my past involvement. I just have never thought of adding to the roster after the fact, didn't think that it was something that could even be done.

I am not a fan of it though...don't think it's very sporting. Sounds like FCD Blue didn't go there...and sounds like they could have given the rules. They probably didn't even know they could do it either!

I don't know of any North Texas sanctioned tournament that would allow this - however, the general default rule is the TD can do whatever the deem fit. For example, a TD could decide a notary stamp isn't needed, or conflicting uniforms are allowed for the game being played... So, if the TD would allow it - in the interest of playing rather than a forfeit and the opposition didn't mind, I'd agree with that allowance. The only way to do this would be via guest releases as I don't see how you could facilitate getting a roster approved via a local registrar during a tournament - so, it would be limited to select teams. The main reason you have a check-in prior to the tournament is to verify all the players are valid (well, that and to pick up your Oriental Trading Company gifts).

I've never seen this scenario take place although I have heard people wanting to attempt such. A better scenario would be if you could drop some players and replace them mid-tournament (say two tourneys - same weekend, you take players off a team that doesn't advance in the other tournament). Those would be fun conversations by the coach.

clueless wrote:

Posttoasties wrote:

JDot40 wrote:

soccer rules wrote:

futboldad wrote:I'm not sure the teams represented in tournaments is totally reflective of the teams in league play. My DD knows a few girls from the DFW Torn team that beat FC Dallas Blue in bracket play 2-0. FCD Blue brought in somer new players once they made the play-offs and beat DFW Torn 2-0 when they met in the semi's. I guess that's the advantage of a big club. When you need players for tournaments you can pull from many places (especially when the team makes it to the playoff).

That statement is completely untrue. FCD Blue has 18 players on the roster. All 18 players were present for the bracket play game against DFW Tornados. In the semi final game, FCD Blue only had 17 players as 1 player came down with the flu and was not there. FCD Blue had a horrible game against DFW Tornados in bracket play....they are 13 years old after all!!! FCD Blue had NO guest players for this tournament and did NOT pull any players once they advanced. I am sure if a team thought FCD Blue were playing illegal players, they would have protested and that is just not the case.

Actually a team can add club player's who have not played for another club team in the same tournament by providing an updated Roster prior to game. These players do not/did not have to be on initial roster provided by team prior to or at registration or check-in. As long as said team gets a tournament official to sign off just prior to match time and that "new" roster is turned into Referee with correct player numbers, etc. It IS allowed according to Plano LD Tournament officials. So what futboldad suggested is not impossible nor is it illegal so long as FCD Blue disclosed this info to Tournament officials prior to game time.

Illegal = no ..... sporting = you decide

Interesting, I couldn't find that anywhere in the PLD rules or schedules..probably just didn't go deep enough to find it. Is that more an interpretation from the tournament officials that you spoke to? I have been a manager of a team and I haven't seen this in my past involvement. I just have never thought of adding to the roster after the fact, didn't think that it was something that could even be done.

I am not a fan of it though...don't think it's very sporting. Sounds like FCD Blue didn't go there...and sounds like they could have given the rules. They probably didn't even know they could do it either!

I don't know of any North Texas sanctioned tournament that would allow this - however, the general default rule is the TD can do whatever the deem fit. For example, a TD could decide a notary stamp isn't needed, or conflicting uniforms are allowed for the game being played... So, if the TD would allow it - in the interest of playing rather than a forfeit and the opposition didn't mind, I'd agree with that allowance. The only way to do this would be via guest releases as I don't see how you could facilitate getting a roster approved via a local registrar during a tournament - so, it would be limited to select teams. The main reason you have a check-in prior to the tournament is to verify all the players are valid (well, that and to pick up your Oriental Trading Company gifts).

I've never seen this scenario take place although I have heard people wanting to attempt such. A better scenario would be if you could drop some players and replace them mid-tournament (say two tourneys - same weekend, you take players off a team that doesn't advance in the other tournament). Those would be fun conversations by the coach.

The only thing that I have seen that is even remotely similar to this is a time that I was informed of a guest player for our team 30 minutes before the first game. I had already checked in. The tournament officials said that if I could get all the paperwork straight before the whistle of our first game, they would allow it. But, it would not be allowed after play started, under any circumstances. I had to get a notarized health form, and a guest player release. Luckily the player was from our own club, same coach. Release, no problem. But I had to scramble for the medical, and find a notary with their stuff. Luckily many teams have notarys on the sidelines, and I know some of them... :-)

as long as we are discussing the rules ... What does this mean (the part in red). This is from the PLD tourney. I think this refers to clubs outside of the DFW area... but not sure what they are covering here...

All team applications for tournament participation must be completed accurately and received at the PYSA office (221 West Parker Rd, Suite 480; Plano TX 75023) no later than 5:00 PM August 19, 2009 for U10 and August 9, 2009 for U11 – U19. Any teams traveling must stay at a participating tournament hotel. For a multiple team club to be considered for acceptance as a club, they must submit the request in writing prior to the tournament application deadline. All teams from the club must apply in order to be considered as a club, teams within NTSSA must provide a NTSSA roster (with player uniform numbers) signed by the coach of record and their local association registrar.