All quiet on the 99 front

The bye is not extended if 75% of the players on the roster as of April 1 leave a team to join another club. Not the club has to keep 14 right?

ShandyTx wrote:The bye is not extended if 75% of the players on the roster as of April 1 leave a team to join another club.  Not the club has to keep 14 right?

If 75% of the team goes elsewhere, they take the bye with them. Any percentage less than that and the club retains the bye.

75% of 14 players = 10.5 = 11 players
75% of 15 players = 11.25 = 12 players
75% of 16 players = 12 players
75% of 17 players = 12.75 = 13 players
75% of 18 players = 13.5 = 14 players

soccersounder wrote:The next step in this one is will the Texas Spirit team have the 75% needed to keep the D1 bye vacated by the Mustangs. I heard last night they need 14 and are close right now. If not, the Texans will get the D1 bye. Would that go to the Texans Red South team that just dropped to D3 or the Texans Red team that just promoted to D2???? Looks like one of them will be D1 and one will be D2....

Also, it seems like Sting 99 would fill in the PL spot if the Mustangs don't hold it..

Past history suggests this would not be the case. There have been teams eligible for PL that have opted out and were not replaced as LHGCL does to fill each division. My guess is that it will not be filled. That however is just speculation.

With regard to TX Spirit (prev Texans 99 North), you are correct. Since it appears they changed clubs after Feb 1, they need to retain 75% of their Apr 1 roster players to retain the bye. If they do not, they the bye would revert back to the original club (Dallas Texans). The team they choose to take the bye may be evaluated by the league BOD per the rules.

"Note: If a dispute arises over who has the right to a Bye, the LHGCL Executive Board will determine whether a Bye exists in that particular situation and which team/club will receive the Bye.
There is no further appeal allowed on this decision."

I have not really been following the '99's too much, so my question might have been answered somewhere else... but what did Mustangs do that would warrant a 1 year suspension from LHGCL?

In a nutshell: too many altercations with Referees and "arguments" with the opposing parents...

I'll support Bussey as much as anyone, but it is tough to argue with LHGCL on this one, maybe argue the severity.... For example a major penalty may have been dropping them to D2, intead of scattering 18 of your customers to the wind.... But it is done now.. I give the appeal very little chance...

sportsnerd wrote:I have not really been following the '99's too much, so my question might have been answered somewhere else... but what did Mustangs do that would warrant a 1 year suspension from LHGCL?

Lifetime Achievement Award type thing?

fatherofoneplayer wrote:Well I certainly had not heard anything about the Mustang thing until it was posted. I hope this is not true. Type-1? Geno? Please say it aint so.

Both DTS teams have some shake up but nothing major. I was really thinking we might lose 2-3 teams this year causing some change but it appears almost all the teams are staying strong.  Happy off season/silly season everyone.

  

We are not associated with the Mustangs but I will say that I think it's terribly disappointing that the LHGCL have chosen to punish those girls the way they have.  At this level I know the girls are working very hard, have played for years and probably many have aspirations for college.  To be sent into turmoil as a Sophomore.  Just awful.   I mean if the parents are that out of control have them removed from the field and banned from attendance.  My experience tells me it's a few that are the problem anyway.  And really what are the expectations for a coach during play?  Is he supposed to stop coaching to run across the field to break up the spectators?  Sad.

I would tend to agree with Shandy if this were an isolated event. But that sideline has been out of control for quite sometime. At some point, the club and/or the coach needed to step in and take control. If LH and everyone else could see that there was a problem, surely there was someone in the organization that saw it as well. But I do agree that it sucks for the players on that team. The punishment may be a bit harsh, but seems like it could have been avoided.

From the limited amount of information I have, it sounds like the Coach lost control of the parents early on. It may have started with only 1 parent and wasn't addressed. Before you know it, you have a parent frenzy at every game. Should a Coach run across the field during a game to break up an altercation? Absolutely not. But he could send the team manager over there. He could bench the kid for a half or a game until that parent can control themselves. Even if it's 3 or 4 or 5 players. Yes, it sucks to punish the kid for the parents actions, but it's a lot better than getting a whole team kicked out of the league.
So, if you're a Mustang player, do you play a season in PL and then go through qualification for DIII next year? I would suspect there are 18 (or however many) girls looking for homes. Do you take a chance with that kids parent on your sideline? Hopefully some of them learned their lesson. My apologies to any Mustang parent that is being lumped in with this group and was not responsible.

At one of my daughter's games at the end of the season an opponent parent did actually walk on the field during play to address a ref. The coach, and good for him in my book, immediately screamed the parents name across the field and told him in a very firm tone to get off the field and leave which the parent did. Maybe if the refs had seen a reaction like that.

This has been an ongoing issue for well over a year. The club has had more than ample opportunity to address and correct the issues at hand. Because there has been little to no accountability, and because the club failed to intervene, action was taken by the league. My understanding is there was plenty of chances given to correct it and resolve it. At some point the league has to protect itself. Just my opinion.

Hate it for the girls, really do. Hopefully the soccer community here will take notice.

backofthenet wrote:This has been an ongoing issue for well over a year. The club has had more than ample opportunity to address and correct the issues at hand. Because there has been little to no accountability, and because the club failed to intervene, action was taken by the league. My understanding is there was plenty of chances given to correct it and resolve it. At some point the league has to protect itself. Just my opinion.

Hate it for the girls, really do. Hopefully the soccer community here will take notice.

FOOP/DOTS...I wish I could say it wasn't true.

Lefty nailed it earlier. Thanks for that, Lefty. I feel the very same way.

Backofthenet..."plenty of chances" depends on how you define plenty. Ever since the Mustangs were put on probation, the parents had done well and been infraction free until the last 10 days of the season. The team manager and I did everything we could to keep the calm. All had been sufficiently warned about the possible consequences and it didn't appear to us from the inside that much more needed to be done. We are all adults, know how to behave and expected everyone to do the same. It's unfortunate that other things happened in the last 10 days of the season. There's nothing else she and I could have done that we hadn't already done. I suppose most would say Bussey could have done more, but from the inside, I didn't think he needed to do much more than he did.

It's unfortunate that many players have to suffer from something that is out of their control, especially at this time in their lives as colleges come calling. In short, 1 really unfortunate game against FCD Blue South where some parents let their feelings get the best of them for most of the game and then two girls decided to fight on the field, lead to a downhill slide with the LH Board. Then with 4 parent infractions in 3 seasons wrapped around that incident, this is what LH considers a just outcome for everyone else on the team. I understand that the Mustangs have had the sharped-tooth underdog reputation for years, but only 2 players remain from the original team and two player's that joined the second year are still here now. There's no way all should be punished. Several of these girls weren't even here when the big FCD Blue South infraction occurred. And even for the parents that had infractions, let the board punish them rather than their girls. In my own little perfect world, if I was on the board and didn't like someone's behavior, I would simply say to them, you are not allowed to watch your daughter's LHGCL games. If you can't live with that, you can move on. What's so hard about that?

Backofthenet nailed the LH board's outlook on it perfectly. Sounds as if you are echoing their sentiments exactly. And, to their defense, it is really easy to say those things looking at it from the outside or from the board's perspective as they look at the list on the overhead projector during our hearing. Paraphrasing a quote, "It's really simple. You've got some cancers, remove the cancers. I just don't get it. I don't get it. You had your chance. Why didn't you do it? What's so hard about that? Right? It's just that easy." That is what you and the board both seem to be saying. I guess for some, it's just that easy to punish young ladies that you love by showing the parents some tough love...Easy from the outside. After all, it's a business not a family. Right?

VERY difficult if you are the person/team manager/coach pulling the trigger. Being the parent that has been here the longest, I feel like my DD is paying for behavior that was not her or my own. It sucks for all the girls. Nobody cheated, nobody did anything intentional, and nobody deserves this. Shoot, you have coaches out there that intentionally cheat, get caught and the board decision is only against them. It does not severely punish the whole team. The board should have punished the problem causers they felt needed to be dealt with and left everyone else alone. But, they decided that the coach and club should be the ones issuing out that type of punishment and this is where we end up. I think the Mustangs have been under the microscope for a long time and that all the little things the board hears and sees, outside of the actual infractions, also played a part in their decision. I understand. I just don't like it and I don't think it is the proper outcome.

As it stands, the Mustangs have some options which they are exploring which Sounder highlighted a little bit. You could go the TopHat & Jacksonville methods, but PL is not set up here the same way as the George/Florida region since our region is based on placement in the local league the prior year. There's a new NPL to explore. There's PLW but who knows how NTX will decide those bids and it won't be an option the season after next. It seems NTX can do whatever they want with the bids in the end. The Mustangs have filed an appeal with NTX regarding the discipline it received from the LH board. Maybe something will come out of that but most are not optimistic about it. Several players are working on their own plans A, B or C. Some really want to stay and make it work. The bottom line is that we are all in a difficult position and don't know what the future holds yet.

Personally, my DD has worked hard to get herself into a position on the team where she is a team captain, playing 80 minutes a game and loving it. Now, we may need to start over earning the respect and playing time from a new team and coach. We may have decided to do that anyway, but it's no fun being told that's practically your only choice. I'm not asking anyone to feel sorry for me, my DD or the team but to understand that I have watched a lot of sidelines besides ours over the last 6 years and this could have happened to several of those sidelines as well. There's a rumor out there that some other club coach has been before the board 6 times in the recent past but still has his team and his job. I don't know if there's any truth to it but its gotta make me wonder why the hammer was used so forcefully.

Geno

I hear ya Geno. I'm a fan of yours and your DD as well as some others on that team. As unfair as ithis circumstance may seem, in competitive competitive sports it's about team. One or 2 players do not make a team, but they are a part; and the part effects the whole. I hate the cliche of one bad apple....but as teams we live and die as a collective "we". We teach our kids in competitive sports and in life that we make sacrifices for team, and sometimes not everyone follow suit. And sometimes we get burned. We place our trust in team and in group and in family, and those things often fail us. This may not be fair. It is very unfortunate. But this is also a life-learning experience that just because I, or most, do it right, doesn't mean that all do. And sometimes the actions of one or a few can be devastating to those around them.

I am not close to this situation. I do not know all the details involved, but do know quite a bit. I believe some tough decisions could've been made by the club early on that could've possibly prevented this whole thing. Hind sight is.....

Just my two cents. I wish the girls only the best moving forward.

backofthenet wrote:I hear ya Geno. I'm a fan of yours and your DD as well as some others on that team. As unfair as ithis circumstance may seem, in competitive competitive sports it's about team. One or 2 players do not make a team, but they are a part; and the part effects the whole. I hate the cliche of one bad apple....but as teams we live and die as a collective "we". We teach our kids in competitive sports and in life that we make sacrifices for team, and sometimes not everyone follow suit. And sometimes we get burned. We place our trust in team and in group and in family, and those things often fail us. This may not be fair. It is very unfortunate. But this is also a life-learning experience that just because I, or most, do it right, doesn't mean that all do. And sometimes the actions of one or a few can be devastating to those around them.

I am not close to this situation. I do not know all the details involved, but do know quite a bit. I believe some tough decisions could've been made by the club early on that could've possibly prevented this whole thing. Hind sight is.....

Just my two cents. I wish the girls only the best moving forward.

Thanks for the props. Appreciate that and your points are well taken.

While I don't know any of the details regarding the team being placed on probation, once that probation was violated, it really wouldn't have been appropriate to ignore it and deal with the parent(s) individually.

It may be "VERY difficult if you are the person/team manager/coach pulling the trigger" but, as a long time manager, it's those difficult things you HAVE to do for the benefit of the TEAM.  Definitely not fun, but a necessary part of the job.

I think what LHGCL did was as expected, and if there is blame to go around, its on the club/coach/manager and of course the parents that committed the infraction.

It's a horrible time for these young ladies to be in the situation they are in, no doubt.  But that's all the more reason for those in a position of authority to have been even more cautious, and if that means the manager has to stay parked on the spectator sideline to keep the peace, then that's what you have to do.

I certainly hope they find a way out of the mess with minimal stress and damage.  It's a tough pill to swallow for those that were not involved in the problems.  Good luck to them all!

Yes more should have been done to get the parents in line. Hind sight is 20/20. Just sitting further down the sideline from those parents was not the best solution.
So take a page from our story. That dad that you sit down the sideline from because he yells at the referee throughout the game, don't ignore him because he has the power to take down the whole team.
Talk to the manager, talk to the coach, talk to the other parents because you can not afford to hope that by ignoring them that they will stop.
Now 18 girls that like their team, like their coach have to either stay and figure out what is up with the Mustangs or look for a new team.
So yes life sucks for them.   

Okay, so how did LP Rush(Finger) get into D2? Did a team or two fold or did another LP team fold?

fatherofoneplayer wrote:Okay, so how did LP Rush(Finger) get into D2? Did a team or two fold or did another LP team fold?

Must have been some other club's team that folded.  

Why in the world would a Liverpool team fold when they are on the cusp of being an ECNL team?   

According to the LHGCL website, LP Rush is not in D2...they are still listed in D3. However, I guess if the LP99G team that was relegated from D1 down to D2 folds then the club may get to keep that D2 slot and slide LP Rush into that spot???

http://assets.ngin.com/attachments/document/0056/5539/Spring_2014_League_Standings-052014.pdf

The only change made thus far to that list is the removal of Mustangs. There won't be any other changes made until after the bye fees are paid. All other movement is inconsequential to LH at this point.

The most likely scenario is that LP that dropped from D1 into D2 folded and Finger took that bye.

Backofthenet..."plenty of chances" depends on how you define plenty.  Ever since the Mustangs were put on probation, the parents had done well and been infraction free until the last 10 days of the season.  The team manager and I did everything we could to keep the calm.  All had been sufficiently warned about the possible consequences and it didn't appear to us from the inside that much more needed to be done.  We are all adults, know how to behave and expected everyone to do the same.  It's unfortunate that other things happened in the last 10 days of the season.  There's nothing else she and I could have done that we hadn't already done.  I suppose most would say Bussey could have done more, but from the inside, I didn't think he needed to do much more than he did.

My original post was going to lay out the case of LHGCL v. Mustangs 99’ but, I’ve decided not to stir those ashes.  The quote above is a good summary of why the team was dismissed from LHGCL.  The statements encapsulate clearly why LHGCL felt compelled to step in and take drastic action.  The Mustang parents believe, perhaps correctly, that they had done all they could to deal with the their sideline behavior problems. While I do believe that things improved this year, to characterize the sideline behavior as no longer a serious problem would be inaccurate.  Apparently, the League too was convinced that the Mustangs had done all they could and yet there was still a problem.  The adult members of the team had the responsibility to monitor the situation and the specific knowledge to respond on an individual basis sufficient to eliminate the problems.  By failing to eliminate the problem behaviors the Mustangs placed the League in the position of making decisions about them, running the risk of just what has occurred, a crime, yes this is a CRIME. This was your team and your responsibility.  Thus, the League was left with the responsibility to step in and take action to free the players from the toxic situation and going forward to provide a safe environment for the officials, as well as opponent players and parents.  LHGCL is a league that deals with teams, which is how they have dealt with the Mustangs.

For the team or LHGCL to not take sufficient steps to avoid potential tragic consequences of such sideline behavior is/would be irresponsible

Thanks for beating a dead horse.

geno105 wrote:Thanks for beating a dead horse.

I apologize. I was taken aback at the continued minimizing and lack of responsibility taking and responded without reading further. Stupid of me and again I apologize. It is obviously better that I stay off the blog.

I am hearing rumblings of a D1 team move to a different club. Any confirmation of said rumor?