Plano League 2013-2014

After looking at 01 forums, it appears they are changing the structure of the Plano league. Below is a link.

http://www.pysa.org/UserFiles/files/Competitive/PPL/PPL%20F13S14%20Playing%20Format_2013.pdf

Biggest change is that instead of D1 being 19 teams it will be now be 10 teams and D2 will be 10 teams, and D3 & D4(if necessary) will also be 10 teams.

While not 100% clear, it would appear to me they are assigning teams to d1(won't be need to participate in qualifying), 4 teams will be given byes into d2 and the qualifying tournament will be for the remaining spots in D2 and D3/D4.

D1 is based off of last year's Plano standings. If all teams came back(which won't happen) the top 10 from last year will be in D1 this year(assuming the teams have 50% of the players back + 1 from last year).

Where it will be interesting is who they will assign to D1 for teams not returning. Based on last year results

1. Solar Stark(now Rush Stark) - Lake Highlands
2. Liverpool Keegan
3. Odyssey White(I don't think they are still around)
4. FCD White
5. Sing Cuevas
6. TFC Blue(now Rush)
7. Mutiny FC
8. Divas
9. Solar Chelsea Gold
10. Liverpool Alonso(don't know if they are still around).


So they will have to probably fill in at least 3 teams into D1. Who will it be?

1) They referenced to giving preference to LH teams from last year, however I don't think either DT Red or FCD Black fulfill N+1 requirement. Are they even playing Plano?
2) LP Hansen? Do they meet N+1 requirements
3) Where is Beiber Fever Black playing this year? They had strong showing in LH Qualifying Do they have to start in D2 if they play in Plano.
4) For additional teams(if needed) do they promote up the next group of teams from plano last year?
11. Texas Thunder
12 Texas Lonestars(not sure if they are around)
13 Adromeda Blue

The D1 should be more competitive this year with only playing the the "top 10" teams.

Another interesting thing is that they will relegate/promote 2 teams from D1/2 at the end of the fall. I like this concept. Why wait a whole year to move up quality teams from d2?

I'm sure they will have some hiccups during this transition year, but I think overall it is a better format.

Great questions, who makes the fink decisions on the n+1, and where does it leave those teams, Plano d3?.

So why is there even a PPL placement tourney then if it is all decided? Are the teams participating in the placement tourney playing for placement in D2, D3, and D4 since D1 is already made up?

What I thought the process was... those that have a D1 bye can use it and not go through placement. Those that had D2 bye can use it or go through the placement tourney. I am sure N+1 rules apply... After all byes are used (or not), the placement tourney is there to fill in spots. Am I wrong or confused and need another beer?

I would think that Beiber Fever and FCD Black would be given byes into D1 based on their performance in LH qualifying.  Not sure about Hansen or Texans.  I also think Thunder is a good, competitive team and would fit well into D1.  Wonder if they will hold to the N+1 because both Beiber Fever and FCD Black are essentially new teams.

Sting Cuevas presents an interesting question around the N+1 rule. Many of their original girls moved up to the 01 LHGCL D3 team to maintain that team's automatic bye. So does this team keep their D1 bye with all of the roster changes they have had? From what I have heard here & there, FCD Black & Texans will be playing in Plano.

If you read the guidelines carefully--easy to get lost-- it says:
1. PPL has given byes to the top 10 finishers from D1 last year.
2. IF any of those teams qualify for LH their bye spots will open for n+1 LH teams.
3. It says absolutely nothing about teams that played well in the tournament. They are supposed to still have to qualify. Any additional spots not already filled with bye teams (that includes the 4 byes already given in D2) in D1 , D2 and D3 or D4 will be open for challenge in the PPL tournament.
5. This is not to say they will do what they want anyway..LOl

There are teams in D1 that are not n+1 but no mention how those spots will be filled. Guessing top finishers in qualifying but...
I believe its going to be a very competitive tournament with some really good teams competing. PPL is going to be very competitive this year.

AND what a great idea to promote good play for the spring season!!!!

Have you seen?

http://www.planoyouthsoccer.org/PDF/Comp%20Forms/Byes_2014.pdf

I have. It is #1 and 2 from my post. Top 10 finishers in PPL 1 received byes. However, Stark is now LH 3 and Odyssey has folded--2 openings. A couple of other teams are questionable n+1. It does not say in the PDF how additional openings from non n+1 teams will be filled.

do you know

Assuming Sting Cuevas doesn't pass the N+1 test, should be 3 openings. If Beiber Fever doesn't go to ppl, and FCD black & Texans don't pass N+1 test, I would assume Thunder, Lonestars & Andromeda all get pulled into D1. Anyone hear different?

interesting thoughts.....the PDF guidelines don't address that probably so they determine at the time. they may want everyone to go through the tournament and get the strongest teams in PPL 1.

Can't see how Sting Cuevas 02 team will b able 2 meet the N+1 test. I know of 5 players who didn't re-sign w/his 02s and I'm sure there are more. Add that to the # players he moved to his 01 team and the #'s don't add up even w/a fuzzy math formula. Can't imagine how his remaining 02 parents r gonna react when he has to tell them that their DDs hard wk 2 place 5th in Plano last yr is gonna b a wash because he sacrificed their team to salvage his 01's LHs bye...

does anyone know who has signed up for the ppl tournament or how many teams?

Someone posted tournament link in separate thread. List of D1 teams is now out as follows:

Andromeda 02G Blue
Dallas Rush 02G Azul
FC Dallas 02G White
FC Divas 02G
HPSA Scots 02G
Liverpool 02G Alonso
McKinney Eclipse 02G
Mutiny 02G
Solar Chelsea 02G Gold
Texas Thunder 02G

I assume this means LP Keegan is playing APL this season?

See... this is why this is so confusing... so a team like FC Dallas Black or a team of that caliber is automatically in PPL D2 (assuming they win out in the QT)? So the PPL QT is only to determine D2, D3, and possibly a D4? Weird. My opinion... top 4 of PPL D1 stays D1 everyone else requal or fight for a spot in D1. If those top 4 make it into LHGCL D3 then everyone shifts up to fill those D1 top 4 spots and the bottom 6 are up for grabs as well as D2, D3, D4. Eh... what do I know? Good luck to everyone this weekend.

Not a big fan of what Plano apparently did here. Basis the rules posted it appears they gave 4 teams byes into D1 they weren't required to. These teams are

Texas Thunder
Adromeda Blue
McKinney Eclipse
HPSA Scots

And apparently the follwong are teams the will be playing into D2
FCD Black
Beiber Fever Black
Adromeda West
LP Hansen
Kosmos

I would have just let them play into d1 for these last 4 spots. As it stands now D2 might be more compettitive than D1

You do have to feel bad for FCD Black; 3rd highest point total 2nd weekend of QT but as you pointed out, now stuck in D2. The good news for them is they should easily win D2 in the fall & be in D1 in the spring. Has to have been a crazy couple of weeks for them though. I guess props to PPL for sticking to their guns on the N+1 rule, but imagine with this being the first year of the new format, there might be some tweaks in the coming years.

Actually you are just assuming they will make D2....... There are 20 teams trying to get into D2 and the rest will go into D3. so there is no guarentee for anything. They moved teams finishing 11 and 13 last year into D1 to fill empty spots. Not sure if that made D1 more competitive. i think the spots should have been up for grabs. do they go by total points earned for where you finish in your backet to determine who goes where. And what to the blue and green soccer balls mean???

Just thinking..........if those 5 teams make it to D2 that would make D2 a better/stronger league than D1.  

This is disappointing.  PPL really screwed this one up.  They basically just rewarded the teams that stayed together and played in their league last year.  LP Keegan pulled out and is playing up in Arlington.  Good for them.  The competition will be much better.  I wish my DD's team would've done the same.

Is what it is. As always, win and everything else will be taken care of. My predictions for the fall:

1. Mutiny
2. Rush Azul
3. Divas
4. FC Dallas White
5. Andromeda Blue
6. Thunder
7. Solar Chelsea Gold
8. Liverpool Alonso
9. McKinney Eclipse
10. HPSA Scots

FCD Black & Beiber Fever finish top 2 in D2 & get moved up.

See the PDF that is in the original [first] post...based on that (and the byes posted on PYSA's website) this is what I garner:

PPL D1 Byes:
Dallas Rush (formerly Solar Chelsea Stark)
LP - Keegan
Odyssey
FCD 02G White
Sting 02G Cuevas
Dallas Rush (Formerly TFC Blue)
Mutiny 02G
Divas 02G
Solar Chelsea 02G Gold
LP - Alonso

PPL D2 Byes:
TX Thunder
TX Lonestars
McKinney Eclipse
HPSA Scots

>> Dallas Rush (Stark) is now in LHGCL...so that's one open D1 spot.
>> Sting Cuevas & Odyssey are in the PPL placement tourny which likely means they didn't make N+1, forfeit their bid, and need to re-qualify.  That's two more open D1 spots.
>> LP-Hansen & Texans Red (coming down from LHGCL) should have automatically went to D1, but they are playing this weekend too...so they likely didn't meet N+1 either.  

So, my understanding is that the twenty 02G teams competing this weekend in the PPL Placement Tourny are competing for: 3 slots in D1 and 6 slots in D2.  The rest end up in D3/D4.

Sorry but that has changed. Accorfding to the web site...... The PPl bye teams moved to PPL1. There are 20 teams this weekend and 20 openings in PPL2 and 3. In my opinion by doing what they did they made PPL 1 the weaker division and PPL 2 will probably be the strongest division with PPL 2 right behind them.

Where did you see that? There's a clause in the playing format doc:

http://www.pysa.org/UserFiles/files/Competitive/PPL/PPL%20F13S14%20Playing%20Format_2013.pdf

but nothing that said they did this. In fact, their bye doc still shows
4 teams with byes into Div II:

http://www.planoyouthsoccer.org/PDF/Comp%20Forms/Byes_2014.pdf

If they intended to give the orange colored teams a bye into D1, they would have
recolored that, eh?

I heard at the games yesterday that PPL notified the coaches that they gave byes to PPL teams from the lower half of last season PPL 1 AND then moved 2 teams from PPL 3 --didn't know there was a PPL 3- to a bye in PPL2. This means there are 20 teams in the tournament and 8 spots in PPL 2 and 10 spots in PPL 3 and 2 teams in the cold. how insane is this. winner of each bracket and top 3 point getters in 2nd place go to PPL 2. Next 10 go to PPL3. what happens to the other 2 teams...this is all crazy. And who was PPL3--never even saw anything posted on them.

sideline fan wrote:I heard at the games yesterday that PPL notified the coaches that they gave byes to PPL teams from the lower half of last season  PPL 1 AND then moved 2 teams from PPL 3 --didn't know there was a PPL 3- to a bye in PPL2.   This means there are 20 teams in the tournament and 8 spots in PPL 2 and 10 spots in PPL 3 and 2 teams in the cold.  how insane is this.   winner of each bracket and top 3 point getters in 2nd place  go to PPL 2.   Next 10 go to PPL3.   what happens to the other 2 teams...this is all crazy.   And who was PPL3--never even saw anything posted on them.

The PPL3 you are referring to was called PPL2 last year(eclipse &HP scots).  

If those two teams are going to be in PPl2 this year, that means their is also 2 spots open in PPL1. That would probably be a good thing from a competitiveness perspective.