04 Season Ending Thoughts

If these tournaments showed anything, it's that outside of RASE, things are fairly wide open. It also showed that TGPL is the league to play in for the best 04 competition considering TGPL teams won three tournaments this weekend: AFC (DTS), Xara (Dalglish), and Xara U10 Gold (RASE).

The big questions are:
Who will or should play TGPL Gold in the Spring?
Will they limit Gold to 10 teams?
Will TGPL play 11v11 already?
What teams have the best chance at mounting a challenge to RASE?

Still TONS of player movement in most teams... Spring will be interesting for sure.

Congrats to all of the 04s for great seasons in all leagues and I hope everyone has a safe futsal/indoor/basketball/whatever else winter.

Ok, I'll start the controversy - TGPL teams that should drop out are Juve black who have suffered from talent loss and Deleon who I'm not sure is really a team (appears to be a group of guest players). Teams that should move in are DTN Manchester who showed some good stuff this weekend (albeit with the help of some guest players) and maybe Odyssey or LP Barnes possibly DT Scott. Since Solar Kenn seems to be dodging the competition I'm not sure where they fall but unless they have fallen apart should be able to compete in TGPL. Plus I'm all for 11v11 next season in 04 TGPL.

deepblack wrote:Ok, I'll start the controversy - TGPL teams that should drop out are Juve black who have suffered from talent loss and Deleon who I'm not sure is really a team (appears to be a group of guest players). Teams that should move in are DTN Manchester who showed some good stuff this weekend (albeit with the help of some guest players) and maybe Odyssey or LP Barnes possibly DT Scott. Since Solar Kenn seems to be dodging the competition I'm not sure where they fall but unless they have fallen apart should be able to compete in TGPL. Plus I'm all for 11v11 next season in 04 TGPL.

If I had to pick teams for Spring TGPL with all of the top 20 playing and assuming 10 teams per division it would look like this:

Note, I know this will not happen as many of these teams have coach conflicts that make this tough. Also, there are teams in silver that you could easily argue for Gold but it's getting tougher to crack that top 10.

(Not listed in any order)

Gold
RASE
Dalglish
DT South
Lady Aztecs
LP Keegan
DT Scott
Fever Red
Tx Spirit
Sting Piper
Sting Goodman

Silver
Solar Kennington
DT Manchester North
DT Deleon
LP Barnes
TX Spirit North
Odyssey
GSSC Thunder
Sting Searls
LP Owen
Sting Scarfone

deepblack wrote:Ok, I'll start the controversy - TGPL teams that should drop out are Juve black who have suffered from talent loss and Deleon who I'm not sure is really a team (appears to be a group of guest players). Teams that should move in are DTN Manchester who showed some good stuff this weekend (albeit with the help of some guest players) and maybe Odyssey or LP Barnes possibly DT Scott. Since Solar Kenn seems to be dodging the competition I'm not sure where they fall but unless they have fallen apart should be able to compete in TGPL. Plus I'm all for 11v11 next season in 04 TGPL.

More like a rumor-starter than controversy. Actually, Solar K is doing quite well and has not "fallen apart". Dodging competition? Solar K has played in the same SDL league for last few seasons and not league-hopped. A year or so ago, majority of the top 10 or 15 teams played in SDL. Last spring, Rase was formed and decided to play in EAL and other teams became followers. Then teams moved to TGPL in the fall and others followed. Coaches knew where Solar K and most of the DTN teams were playing prior. So, who is avoiding competition?

FieldofDreams wrote:

deepblack wrote:Ok, I'll start the controversy - TGPL teams that should drop out are Juve black who have suffered from talent loss and Deleon who I'm not sure is really a team (appears to be a group of guest players). Teams that should move in are DTN Manchester who showed some good stuff this weekend (albeit with the help of some guest players) and maybe Odyssey or LP Barnes possibly DT Scott. Since Solar Kenn seems to be dodging the competition I'm not sure where they fall but unless they have fallen apart should be able to compete in TGPL. Plus I'm all for 11v11 next season in 04 TGPL.

More like a rumor-starter than controversy. Actually, Solar K is doing quite well and has not "fallen apart". Dodging competition? Solar K has played in the same SDL league for last few seasons and not league-hopped. A year or so ago, majority of the top 10 or 15 teams played in SDL. Last spring, Rase was formed and decided to play in EAL and other teams became followers. Then teams moved to TGPL in the fall and others followed. Coaches knew where Solar K and most of the DTN teams were playing prior. So, who is avoiding competition?

TGPL has been the standard for 02s and 03s up to QT. Of course there is no rule saying you have to play there but clearly the best competition in the age groups gather here prior to going select.

I don't think Kennington is dodging anying and as I understnad was more of a coaching clonfict this season. Question is, if they continue to beat up on SDL teams, they will miss out playing the toughest 04s come next season and beyond.

Shelby427 wrote:

deepblack wrote:Ok, I'll start the controversy - TGPL teams that should drop out are Juve black who have suffered from talent loss and Deleon who I'm not sure is really a team (appears to be a group of guest players). Teams that should move in are DTN Manchester who showed some good stuff this weekend (albeit with the help of some guest players) and maybe Odyssey or LP Barnes possibly DT Scott. Since Solar Kenn seems to be dodging the competition I'm not sure where they fall but unless they have fallen apart should be able to compete in TGPL. Plus I'm all for 11v11 next season in 04 TGPL.

If I had to pick teams for Spring TGPL with all of the top 20 playing and assuming 10 teams per division it would look like this:

Note, I know this will not happen as many of these teams have coach conflicts that make this tough. Also, there are teams in silver that you could easily argue for Gold but it's getting tougher to crack that top 10.

(Not listed in any order)

Gold
RASE
Dalglish
DT South
Lady Aztecs
LP Keegan
DT Scott
Fever Red
Tx Spirit
Sting Piper
Sting Goodman

Silver
Solar Kennington
DT Manchester North
DT Deleon
LP Barnes
TX Spirit North
Odyssey
GSSC Thunder
Sting Searls
LP Owen
Sting Scarfone

If you’re going to have LP Owen and TX Spirit North on your Silver list you should add Sting Cuevas given they are second in EAL (two point behind TX Spirit North) and won over Owen twice this weekend.

Shelby427 wrote:

FieldofDreams wrote:

deepblack wrote:Ok, I'll start the controversy - TGPL teams that should drop out are Juve black who have suffered from talent loss and Deleon who I'm not sure is really a team (appears to be a group of guest players). Teams that should move in are DTN Manchester who showed some good stuff this weekend (albeit with the help of some guest players) and maybe Odyssey or LP Barnes possibly DT Scott. Since Solar Kenn seems to be dodging the competition I'm not sure where they fall but unless they have fallen apart should be able to compete in TGPL. Plus I'm all for 11v11 next season in 04 TGPL.

More like a rumor-starter than controversy. Actually, Solar K is doing quite well and has not "fallen apart". Dodging competition? Solar K has played in the same SDL league for last few seasons and not league-hopped. A year or so ago, majority of the top 10 or 15 teams played in SDL. Last spring, Rase was formed and decided to play in EAL and other teams became followers. Then teams moved to TGPL in the fall and others followed. Coaches knew where Solar K and most of the DTN teams were playing prior. So, who is avoiding competition?

TGPL has been the standard for 02s and 03s up to QT. Of course there is no rule saying you have to play there but clearly the best competition in the age groups gather here prior to going select.

I don't think Kennington is dodging anying and as I understnad was more of a coaching clonfict this season. Question is, if they continue to beat up on SDL teams, they will miss out playing the toughest 04s come next season and beyond.

Correct, about coaching conflicts. And, do agree on the last point.

deepblack wrote:Ok, I'll start the controversy - TGPL teams that should drop out are Juve black who have suffered from talent loss and Deleon who I'm not sure is really a team (appears to be a group of guest players). Teams that should move in are DTN Manchester who showed some good stuff this weekend (albeit with the help of some guest players) and maybe Odyssey or LP Barnes possibly DT Scott. Since Solar Kenn seems to be dodging the competition I'm not sure where they fall but unless they have fallen apart should be able to compete in TGPL. Plus I'm all for 11v11 next season in 04 TGPL.

While yes we did have a few guest players this weekend. That was due to us having several of our regular team member not available this past weekend due to prior commitments. While they are good players they didn't play a bunch on the field. Our coach tried to keep only DTN players in but with multiple games we needed some help to give players breaks.

This isn't unheard of in tournaments. All goals scored this weekend were done by DTN Manchester players. I know Sting Piper was using Chacon players. I saw a Fever player that plays for another club. No issues by us and all games were great.

Shelby427 wrote:

deepblack wrote:Ok, I'll start the controversy - TGPL teams that should drop out are Juve black who have suffered from talent loss and Deleon who I'm not sure is really a team (appears to be a group of guest players). Teams that should move in are DTN Manchester who showed some good stuff this weekend (albeit with the help of some guest players) and maybe Odyssey or LP Barnes possibly DT Scott. Since Solar Kenn seems to be dodging the competition I'm not sure where they fall but unless they have fallen apart should be able to compete in TGPL. Plus I'm all for 11v11 next season in 04 TGPL.

If I had to pick teams for Spring TGPL with all of the top 20 playing and assuming 10 teams per division it would look like this:

Note, I know this will not happen as many of these teams have coach conflicts that make this tough. Also, there are teams in silver that you could easily argue for Gold but it's getting tougher to crack that top 10.

(Not listed in any order)

Gold
RASE
Dalglish
DT South
Lady Aztecs
LP Keegan
DT Scott
Fever Red
Tx Spirit
Sting Piper
Sting Goodman

Silver
Solar Kennington
DT Manchester North
DT Deleon
LP Barnes
TX Spirit North
Odyssey
GSSC Thunder
Sting Searls
LP Owen
Sting Scarfone

I am going to disagree with your 2 teams in each bracket. Solar Kenn & DTN Manchester are top 10 teams and have proven that in the past. DTN proved this weekend they are still a strong top 10 team. They dominated the entire game against Fever. Fever got a lucky call in the box very late in 2nd half that gave them a PK to tie the game. DTN beat Sting Piper. We tied Keegan and it was a very evenly matched teams. DTN beat Sting Goodman (3 or 4-0) just 2-3wks ago in SDL. So I think DTN has proven to be a TPGL Gold team. Now will our coach put us in this league? That is to be determined based on being able to work team conflicts.

As for Solar they are a very strong team that has always done well against the top teams.

Jen_nah I actually agree that these two teams could be top 10. I hope that they do play TGPL next season as I think the decision not to had an adverse affect on both their rosters this past season.

Shelby427 wrote:

FieldofDreams wrote:

deepblack wrote:Ok, I'll start the controversy - TGPL teams that should drop out are Juve black who have suffered from talent loss and Deleon who I'm not sure is really a team (appears to be a group of guest players). Teams that should move in are DTN Manchester who showed some good stuff this weekend (albeit with the help of some guest players) and maybe Odyssey or LP Barnes possibly DT Scott. Since Solar Kenn seems to be dodging the competition I'm not sure where they fall but unless they have fallen apart should be able to compete in TGPL. Plus I'm all for 11v11 next season in 04 TGPL.

More like a rumor-starter than controversy. Actually, Solar K is doing quite well and has not "fallen apart". Dodging competition? Solar K has played in the same SDL league for last few seasons and not league-hopped. A year or so ago, majority of the top 10 or 15 teams played in SDL. Last spring, Rase was formed and decided to play in EAL and other teams became followers. Then teams moved to TGPL in the fall and others followed. Coaches knew where Solar K and most of the DTN teams were playing prior. So, who is avoiding competition?

TGPL has been the standard for 02s and 03s up to QT. Of course there is no rule saying you have to play there but clearly the best competition in the age groups gather here prior to going select.

I don't think Kennington is dodging anying and as I understnad was more of a coaching clonfict this season. Question is, if they continue to beat up on SDL teams, they will miss out playing the toughest 04s come next season and beyond.

Actually TPGL has NOT been the standard. TPGL didn't really start until this past spring so to call 1 season going into QT a standard is laughable. The reason many teams moved last spring to TPGL was financial more then anything. They received 3 refs & 1-2 more games for less league costs. Will it become the standard league going forward that still to be seen. SDL does need to make some changes if they want to stay in business that is for sure. They need to have 3 ref (center & 2 AR) plus lower their league fees. TPGL it's $750 for 9v9; SDL (last I heard was $1250). The good side with SDL is this spring they do offer a SDL2 for U9 to play 11v11. Not sure if TPGL will provide that but not playing up in age. At this point U10/'03 teams would rather not have the '04 teams playing up messing with the rankings the season going into select.

Well, personal experience for a few teams that I know of is that TGPL was a disappointment due to the lack of planning and support from Primetime! And, would imagine those teams will not be participating in the Spring TGPL nor any of Primetime tournaments. Certainly not running from the competition, just Primetime unless they begin to back-up their promise to work with coaches/scheduling better than they have in the past - even after they have cashed the checks!

I think our experience with TGPL was a good one. Although field 3 is a little small in my opinion. We played one game on Field 2 and it suited us better. PT guys were easy to work with. (that was out experience)

whattheheck wrote:Well, personal experience for a few teams that I know of is that TGPL was a disappointment due to the lack of planning and support from Primetime! And, would imagine those teams will not be participating in the Spring TGPL nor any of Primetime tournaments. Certainly not running from the competition, just Primetime unless they begin to back-up their promise to work with coaches/scheduling better than they have in the past - even after they have cashed the checks!

If I had to guess, I would say that this is a case of poor communication on the part of the team manager/coach to make PT aware of any and all potential conflicts. I know of numerous coaches that had all positive things to say about PT's efforts to coordinate around their select and other academy schedules, but those coaches and managers made sure they had everything far in advance.

I assure it, our issues were communicated! That is great for all that had no issues. I personally, as a parent was not happy with moving out to Grapevine (middle of the week), which PT might not have had control over but then to show up with one "ref" was extremely frustrating! Anyway, this was my input on the "04 Season Ending Thoughts" and those are mine!

jen_nah wrote:

Shelby427 wrote:

deepblack wrote:Ok, I'll start the controversy - TGPL teams that should drop out are Juve black who have suffered from talent loss and Deleon who I'm not sure is really a team (appears to be a group of guest players). Teams that should move in are DTN Manchester who showed some good stuff this weekend (albeit with the help of some guest players) and maybe Odyssey or LP Barnes possibly DT Scott. Since Solar Kenn seems to be dodging the competition I'm not sure where they fall but unless they have fallen apart should be able to compete in TGPL. Plus I'm all for 11v11 next season in 04 TGPL.

If I had to pick teams for Spring TGPL with all of the top 20 playing and assuming 10 teams per division it would look like this:

Note, I know this will not happen as many of these teams have coach conflicts that make this tough. Also, there are teams in silver that you could easily argue for Gold but it's getting tougher to crack that top 10.

(Not listed in any order)

Gold
RASE
Dalglish
DT South
Lady Aztecs
LP Keegan
DT Scott
Fever Red
Tx Spirit
Sting Piper
Sting Goodman

Silver
Solar Kennington
DT Manchester North
DT Deleon
LP Barnes
TX Spirit North
Odyssey
GSSC Thunder
Sting Searls
LP Owen
Sting Scarfone

I am going to disagree with your 2 teams in each bracket. Solar Kenn & DTN Manchester are top 10 teams and have proven that in the past. DTN proved this weekend they are still a strong top 10 team. They dominated the entire game against Fever. Fever got a lucky call in the box very late in 2nd half that gave them a PK to tie the game. DTN beat Sting Piper. We tied Keegan and it was a very evenly matched teams. DTN beat Sting Goodman (3 or 4-0) just 2-3wks ago in SDL. So I think DTN has proven to be a TPGL Gold team. Now will our coach put us in this league? That is to be determined based on being able to work team conflicts.

As for Solar they are a very strong team that has always done well against the top teams.

Jen_nah, please share whatever you're smoking with the rest of us. Hardly a domination against Fever. Lucky PK? When a player is blatantly fouled in the box, it's not luck. I guess one could call your one goal taken from almost midfield that caught the 30mph wind "luck." No, it was a great shot. DTN has a good team and probably should be in TGPL from what I can see. However, Fever United 04 Red team does not currently use guest players. The same core group of girls have been together since the start of the team a few years ago. The one Fever player that guest played with another team this weekend is not on our current roster.

As stated previously, outside of RASE, there are several 04 teams that can beat a higher ranked team on any given day. Bottom line, be ready to play every game because it's probably gonna be a dogfight. BTW, don't sleep on the GSSC Thunder team. They are pretty good as well.

I have to back up KennyPowers on this one.

DTN Manchester likely does belong in TGPL Gold. They are talented. But they certainly did not "dominate the entire game against Fever." Not even close. It was a great 1-1 game that reflected pretty accurately how each team played. In other words, the game was evenly matched. The DTN score was a good play. Likewise, the penalty call was entirely legit, as was the PK score.

Don't throw another team under the bus -- especially with some B.S. claim of total domination that is contradicted both by the score and what actually happened on the field -- just so you can make a claim favoring your own team. Isn't it enough to say that you proved yourself in a 1-1 tie against a good team playing in TGPL Gold, and that for this and other reasons you deserve a shot to compete in that league?

I mean, heck, Fever then "upset" Texans South, a great team, 2-1, in the next game. That (kind off) makes your tie with Fever all the more impressive, if you want to extrapolate that way.

Simply put ... State the facts and argue in favor of your team, but don't unnecessarily bend the truth and exaggerate.

seamusdog wrote:I have to back up KennyPowers on this one.

DTN Manchester likely does belong in TGPL Gold. They are talented. But they certainly did not "dominate the entire game against Fever." Not even close. It was a great 1-1 game that reflected pretty accurately how each team played. In other words, the game was evenly matched. The DTN score was a good play. Likewise, the penalty call was entirely legit, as was the PK score.

Don't throw another team under the bus -- especially with some B.S. claim of total domination that is contradicted both by the score and what actually happened on the field -- just so you can make a claim favoring your own team. Isn't it enough to say that you proved yourself in a 1-1 tie against a good team playing in TGPL Gold, and that for this and other reasons you deserve a shot to compete in that league?

I mean, heck, Fever then "upset" Texans South, a great team, 2-1, in the next game. That (kind off) makes your tie with Fever all the more impressive, if you want to extrapolate that way.

Simply put ... State the facts and argue in favor of your team, but don't unnecessarily bend the truth and exaggerate.

But Jen-nah is so good at that!

I have not seen any league which can provide a good size field, refs and proper competition. Way to many leagues trying to get their piece of the pie. As parents we need to decide what we want and the leagues will confirm.

So the question is what do we want?

LoneStar wrote:I have not seen any league which can provide a good size field, refs and proper competition. Way to many leagues trying to get their piece of the pie. As parents we need to decide what we want and the leagues will confirm.

So the question is what do we want?

For my daughter to have fun! The girls aren't the ones complaining about the size of the field or the amount of refs offered. She has never once said anything about the condition or size of the field. Has she complained about refs... yes. Step back and gain perspective on what is happening!!! Leave to coaching to to coach, that's what he's paid to do and leave to reffing to the ref. If there are issues, quietly file a complaint.

Eliza466 wrote:

LoneStar wrote:I have not seen any league which can provide a good size field, refs and proper competition. Way to many leagues trying to get their piece of the pie. As parents we need to decide what we want and the leagues will confirm.

So the question is what do we want?

For my daughter to have fun! The girls aren't the ones complaining about the size of the field or the amount of refs offered. She has never once said anything about the condition or size of the field. Has she complained about refs... yes. Step back and gain perspective on what is happening!!! Leave to coaching to to coach, that's what he's paid to do and leave to reffing to the ref. If there are issues, quietly file a complaint.

I agree, it's about fun for my daughter. Too often we, as adults, decide to talk "soccer" from our perspective while our kids are within earshot. Then we hear them say something we wouldn't expect about a player, a team, a ref or a coach. Otherwise, it's all about playing the game. My little player just wants to be on the field playing the game, regardless of field size, field condition, refs, coaches, parents and even sometimes weather. We want the best competition for our kids so they grow with the game and the players around them, but if we take the fun away, we loose them to the "burn out" monster. The beauty here is, it all lies in the parents hands. If your kiddo is leading you to the field everyday for practice and games, then you have a kiddo that loves to be a player - however, if you're having to drag your kiddo to practice or games - regardless of weather - then your kiddo will be playing a different sport when they get older, no matter how good they are at soccer. It's our job as parents to keep the balance and shield our kids from the parental chatter that goes on around soccer, winning and the logistics of winning. At this age they should never have the ability to peak behind the curtain cause then the magic (and fun) of the game goes away.

TXSoccerDvlsAdvct wrote:

Eliza466 wrote:

LoneStar wrote:I have not seen any league which can provide a good size field, refs and proper competition. Way to many leagues trying to get their piece of the pie. As parents we need to decide what we want and the leagues will confirm.

So the question is what do we want?

For my daughter to have fun! The girls aren't the ones complaining about the size of the field or the amount of refs offered. She has never once said anything about the condition or size of the field. Has she complained about refs... yes. Step back and gain perspective on what is happening!!! Leave to coaching to to coach, that's what he's paid to do and leave to reffing to the ref. If there are issues, quietly file a complaint.

I agree, it's about fun for my daughter. Too often we, as adults, decide to talk "soccer" from our perspective while our kids are within earshot. Then we hear them say something we wouldn't expect about a player, a team, a ref or a coach. Otherwise, it's all about playing the game. My little player just wants to be on the field playing the game, regardless of field size, field condition, refs, coaches, parents and even sometimes weather. We want the best competition for our kids so they grow with the game and the players around them, but if we take the fun away, we loose them to the "burn out" monster. The beauty here is, it all lies in the parents hands. If your kiddo is leading you to the field everyday for practice and games, then you have a kiddo that loves to be a player - however, if you're having to drag your kiddo to practice or games - regardless of weather - then your kiddo will be playing a different sport when they get older, no matter how good they are at soccer. It's our job as parents to keep the balance and shield our kids from the parental chatter that goes on around soccer, winning and the logistics of winning. At this age they should never have the ability to peak behind the curtain cause then the magic (and fun) of the game goes away.

Maybe I should have my coffee before I post.....What the heck, I cant stand reading about how all we want is for our DD to have fun with her friends!!!! I hope we never play on your team!!! My DD doesn't play academy soccer for "fun" and skipping around the soccer field with her friends and kick the ball every once in while! If I'm paying a coach, paying for a league and refs, traveling 20+ miles for games, using my vacation time to leave early to make practices,,,,,,,,,wooosaaahhhhh

Nocrying wrote:

TXSoccerDvlsAdvct wrote:

Eliza466 wrote:

LoneStar wrote:I have not seen any league which can provide a good size field, refs and proper competition. Way to many leagues trying to get their piece of the pie. As parents we need to decide what we want and the leagues will confirm.

So the question is what do we want?

For my daughter to have fun! The girls aren't the ones complaining about the size of the field or the amount of refs offered. She has never once said anything about the condition or size of the field. Has she complained about refs... yes. Step back and gain perspective on what is happening!!! Leave to coaching to to coach, that's what he's paid to do and leave to reffing to the ref. If there are issues, quietly file a complaint.

I agree, it's about fun for my daughter. Too often we, as adults, decide to talk "soccer" from our perspective while our kids are within earshot. Then we hear them say something we wouldn't expect about a player, a team, a ref or a coach. Otherwise, it's all about playing the game. My little player just wants to be on the field playing the game, regardless of field size, field condition, refs, coaches, parents and even sometimes weather. We want the best competition for our kids so they grow with the game and the players around them, but if we take the fun away, we loose them to the "burn out" monster. The beauty here is, it all lies in the parents hands. If your kiddo is leading you to the field everyday for practice and games, then you have a kiddo that loves to be a player - however, if you're having to drag your kiddo to practice or games - regardless of weather - then your kiddo will be playing a different sport when they get older, no matter how good they are at soccer. It's our job as parents to keep the balance and shield our kids from the parental chatter that goes on around soccer, winning and the logistics of winning. At this age they should never have the ability to peak behind the curtain cause then the magic (and fun) of the game goes away.

Maybe I should have my coffee before I post.....What the heck, I cant stand reading about how all we want is for our DD to have fun with her friends!!!! I hope we never play on your team!!! My DD doesn't play academy soccer for "fun" and skipping around the soccer field with her friends and kick the ball every once in while! If I'm paying a coach, paying for a league and refs, traveling 20+ miles for games, using my vacation time to leave early to make practices,,,,,,,,,wooosaaahhhhh

People like you are incredible and I wouldn't want someone like you on our team so I guess we're both better off. And yes, you shouldn't post garbage like this before you've had your morning coffee.

TXSoccerDvlsAdvct wrote:

Nocrying wrote:

TXSoccerDvlsAdvct wrote:

Eliza466 wrote:

LoneStar wrote:I have not seen any league which can provide a good size field, refs and proper competition. Way to many leagues trying to get their piece of the pie. As parents we need to decide what we want and the leagues will confirm.

So the question is what do we want?

For my daughter to have fun! The girls aren't the ones complaining about the size of the field or the amount of refs offered. She has never once said anything about the condition or size of the field. Has she complained about refs... yes. Step back and gain perspective on what is happening!!! Leave to coaching to to coach, that's what he's paid to do and leave to reffing to the ref. If there are issues, quietly file a complaint.

I agree, it's about fun for my daughter. Too often we, as adults, decide to talk "soccer" from our perspective while our kids are within earshot. Then we hear them say something we wouldn't expect about a player, a team, a ref or a coach. Otherwise, it's all about playing the game. My little player just wants to be on the field playing the game, regardless of field size, field condition, refs, coaches, parents and even sometimes weather. We want the best competition for our kids so they grow with the game and the players around them, but if we take the fun away, we loose them to the "burn out" monster. The beauty here is, it all lies in the parents hands. If your kiddo is leading you to the field everyday for practice and games, then you have a kiddo that loves to be a player - however, if you're having to drag your kiddo to practice or games - regardless of weather - then your kiddo will be playing a different sport when they get older, no matter how good they are at soccer. It's our job as parents to keep the balance and shield our kids from the parental chatter that goes on around soccer, winning and the logistics of winning. At this age they should never have the ability to peak behind the curtain cause then the magic (and fun) of the game goes away.

Maybe I should have my coffee before I post.....What the heck, I cant stand reading about how all we want is for our DD to have fun with her friends!!!! I hope we never play on your team!!! My DD doesn't play academy soccer for "fun" and skipping around the soccer field with her friends and kick the ball every once in while! If I'm paying a coach, paying for a league and refs, traveling 20+ miles for games, using my vacation time to leave early to make practices,,,,,,,,,wooosaaahhhhh

People like you are incredible and I wouldn't want someone like you on our team so I guess we're both better off. And yes, you shouldn't post garbage like this before you've had your morning coffee.

Maybe not incredible