Tournament Rosters

TatonkaBurger wrote:At first glance, I feel very sorry for the Oklahoma team that came down to get a taste of NTX Soccer. South Lakes Cosmos '05 (OK) had a very difficult time in the Marta bracket. They lost 5-1, 8-1, 8-0 and 4-1. I wonder if they asked to be in it or if it was the TD that made that call. More on that later...

The Marta Division was obviously the gold division. Except for South Lakes Cosmos (OK), it was filled with 4 teams ranked #12 or higher in the FBRs (Lady As #3, LP Rush #6, LP Carragher #11, & LP Heighway #12). It appears to have been a round robin with the team that won being LP Rush with 30 pts., just ahead of Lady As with 27 pts. Those teams tied their match 1-1 so it became a matter of who beat the other teams and by how much in order to win the big trophy.

The Abby Wambach Division definitely had the flavor of a silver division with the exception of one team. Here is where I question if South Lakes Cosmos (OK) requested to play in Gold with the top teams or if it was a decision made by our friends at LP. LP Gerard is a team that jumped up the FBRs during the CFBAL gold season, playing very well, and sniffing the top 8 positions in the rankings. They currently sit at #16 but I believe it has been because of some late losses and maybe not having played in the first few early tournaments. In my mind, they should have been in the Marta division. There have been some rumblings about LP Rush sharing players with LP Gerard throughout CFBAL and although you don't want to throw out names, I now suspect that is where this “curious confusion” comes from. The other teams in the AW Division are ranked #27, #49, #54, and #59. However, I will point out that LP Gerard did have two 1 goal victories over the #27 ranked team (Sting East Gray) and over the #59 ranked team (FWFC White). So LP Gerard did not kick everybody’s tails but it would have been great if they had been in the Marta division.

I am a big believer in a tournament being as competitive as possible – matching up teams that should be matched up against each other. If you are going to have tiered divisions, then make them fit that desired outcome. Gold should consist of the strongest teams that signed up. The silver division should consist of the weaker group of teams. On the other hand, if the goal is to have 2 brackets that will play preliminaries and then crossover for semi-finals and finals then the brackets should be mixed with weak and strong teams. Strong teams have quality opponents in the prelims to determine seedings and the weaker teams have the ability to swing for the fence and knock off a top team and possibly advance.

Again, if the OK team demanded to be in the Marta division then I am off base and none of this is relevant. But if there is sharing of rosters between divisions to try to make sure to win one (or both) divisions, then I think it is pretty sad. Of course, if the rules of the tournament state that it is allowed, then...