05 - 2014 - NTFC Fall Challenge Schedule Predictions

Im not sure if Id call them soft, maybe not prepared? Either way it was a good showing by all teams.

It sounds like "Hardly" your Abbott DD was a little cold this weekend and had a hard time. I think I speak for all the teams that have played Abbott - booting for the sake of wins and keeping in the game will not get your team far in the long run or the NTFC Challenge. Take some time watching real soccer with a team like Diaz. It would be a good education.

See that's the problem, if your blaming the weather you are taking away from feet and Rush. Why is it so hard to give credit where credit is Due.

Unfortunately, SoccerAdvice2Go, you have no clue ...

I understand the game very clearly, and as I don't care much for that style, at this point it's been effective. Great teams like a Diaz, can adjust to this style, and still win convincingly.

Thunderlipz, I'm absolutely saying yes, a 17yr old can handle freezing temps better than a 10yr old. You can't be serious, with that question.

I believe that the weather might have played a major role in SOME of these kids. I speak for my DD, and we def did not prepare to play in those conditions. But we learned, and we will adjust to future games that might be played in those conditions.

Exactly, TxKpr, and can you imagine 7 years from now. How much more experience in those conditions, and, not to mention 100's of other obvious reasons.

Hardly wrote:Thunderlipz, I'm absolutely saying yes, a 17yr old can handle freezing temps better than a 10yr old. You can't be serious, with that question.

Your clearly an Idiot and have never actually played the game. If your DD is having issues now playing in the elements than I can assure you that problem will get worse as she gets older. I know when I was young it was much easier playing in these conditions. We thought it was fun and enjoyed it. As I got older it was much more physically taxing as well as mentally taxing to play in extreme conditions.

By the way Hardly. To my knowledge none of these games except for the Final were played in freezing or below freezing Temps. The temps were in the Mid to low 40's so stop making excuses and just accept that another team was better that day and Time.

^^This guy, lmao^^but, I'm the idiot.

You can't believe that nonsense you just spat out, you must of been a very interesting kid.

Since I'm an idiot, I'll drop down to that level with you. You have to be one ignorant mofo to believe 9 and 10yr old kids, can handle freezing temps better than a 17yr old.

Soccer advice, when did it become not ok to be proud of a top 5-10 team? I don't recall anyone ever coming on here talking noise about Abbott being the best team ever, yet you seem to imply they should be ashamed of where they are. The top 2-3 teams are where they are for a reason.

Hardly wrote:Since I'm an idiot, I'll drop down to that level with you. You have to be one ignorant mofo to believe 9 and 10yr old kids, can handle freezing temps better than a 17yr old.

Maybe you just need Glasses?

truthbetold wrote:

thunderlipz wrote:

Hardly wrote:Thunderlipz, I'm absolutely saying yes, a 17yr old can handle freezing temps better than a 10yr old. You can't be serious, with that question.

If your DD is having issues now playing in the elements than I can assure you that problem will get worse as she gets older.  

How Dare you insult Forrest Whittaker!!!

That's genius, truthbetold  ...

When does Diaz play again, I'd love to watch some real soccer.

Here's how I always looked at these weekends, congrats to whichever teams handled the adversity of the weather best, however the end results don't really matter much in terms of who is the best team, etc. Cold and rain take away some of the advantages that better teams normally have and for some it's harder to adjust to playing a different brand of soccer than what they are used to playing (plus we are talking about 10 year old's). I've seen girls completely slide past a ball they would have normally stopped and controlled and it end up resulting in a break away for the other team. Yes the slip could happen without the wet pitch but the majority of the time it doesn't. Just part of the fun and frustration of those types of games.

As they get older they will adjust to these types of conditions much better, that's why you see older kids playing in near freezing or below freezing in their normal uniform plus a ski cap, whereas the 10 year old is in full under armor, with gloves, a hat, maybe a sweatshirt. I've yet to see one 10 year old be excited about playing in weather like that and anyone who says otherwise is a delusional parent.

There was nothing mid 40's about this weekend. Most of the time the wind chill was about 31 to 37 on Saturday and about 22-28 on Sunday, with both days blanketed in some type of precipitation.

This is fun and all but we should probably separate you 2 for a little while.

I was surprised about the outcome but not shocked.  The weather played a part in these games but it affected both teams so trying to blame it for a poor performance is pretty silly.  This is soccer in NTX and its the same every year.  We get super hot and super cold and at this level, like it or not, you aren't allowed to take a season off because it's hard.  Rush answered all of those people who said they were falling off and were having internal issues.  And D'Feeters showed that they can challenge the top 5 (Solar Pulp, Diaz, Hyypia, DTS, and Rush) and are pushing for that #6 or #7 spot.  Congrats to both teams!

As to style of play, to ignore it and claim that it is not important is just as silly.  There are teams that play a possession game and get it (Top 5).  And there are those that are working to get it (LA, Feet, Gerrard, Hanlon, Premier).  But those that don't even try will be real far behind when they realize it needs to be a part of their game.  It might be working now but bootball is not the way you want to play.  Trust me.  I used to roll around in the snow when I was 5.

The weather could have been better but all in all that was a great tournament.

truthbetold wrote:

thunderlipz wrote:

Hardly wrote:Thunderlipz, I'm absolutely saying yes, a 17yr old can handle freezing temps better than a 10yr old. You can't be serious, with that question.

If your DD is having issues now playing in the elements than I can assure you that problem will get worse as she gets older.  

This is the best post ive read in years on here... im stealing that pic man!! lol

I don't think anyone is trying to blame it for poor play, as I stated, it affected both teams. The girls who were able to handle it better, good for them.

Grand you make some Valid points. But to suggest that the better teams didn't win because girls are sliding past balls because the Pitch is wet? Come on!!! That's rediculous at best. I've played in these conditions many times and it requires a certain type of physical and mental toughness. As they get older they will dread these types of games and it becomes much harder physically. By no means am I saying it's easy for u10's but I'm am saying it's easier because they are less likely to be so concerned about it mentally and physically they have a lot less ware and tear on their body's. Again Congrates to the teams that won their divisions and for the teams that lost, Quit using the weather as an excuse!

Those of you who have been around longer than I have can correct me, but I'd be shocked to see any of the top 20 teams practice kicking the ball as far as they can to the speedsters who then pick the ball up and Rush the goal. I would assume teams mature at a different pace and all teams are not deliberately playing that way. I'm a soccer novice though so could be way off.

You're exactly correct GrandTXSoccer. It's sad that one has to go into detail to explain the obvious.

Thunderlips, you say Grand has valid points, I believe a few people have already pointed out the obvious, but you chose to disagree, interesting. And, in fact you did say kids can handle those conditions better than a 17yr old. You should go back and read you comments.

I too have played in these conditions.  As a Goalkeeper, I can tell you that you do what you can to stay warm if your not being pressured.  When the D is holding them off for the better part of the game, your body relaxes, your feet start feeling colder, your hands start cramping up, and you loose feeling on your fingertips.   This is when the Mental Toughness comes in. You have to learn how to keep your mind in the game.

It was always harder for me to adjust to the colder weather.  Especially if we played a team with a weaker front.  For the most part, your just standing there.  Its when these weaker teams create breakaways that caused problems.  Your body isnt as loose, your tensed up from the cold weather.

No excuses at all over this weekend, some kids were prepared, and some other ones handled it better than others.  Like I mentioned before, my DD was not prepared but we will adjust and learn from this.

Actually I didn't comment on ANY game this weekend. I have no clue what happened in any of these games this weekend, all I said is that I've seen games where a team that's not near as good as the team they are playing benefited from poor weather. Had nothing to do with their skill or anything, simply slipped on a wet pitch and off to the races it was. My point is still valid that wet, cold weather is a great equalizer. It makes fast teams slower and doesn't effect the slower teams as much. That's really not even an opinion, it's fact. Heck it's not even an excuse, it's just the reality of the situation. Personally I think you use whatever advantage you can get and there's no shame in that whatsoever.

My point is still the same, congratulations to the teams that made it to the finals and the teams that won but weekends like this last one don't matter much in my overall opinion of who is a better team (you are free to have your own opinion, I don't care) and who isn't. At the end of the day in Texas, qualifying is done in the lovely Texas heat so what happens on a cold wet pitch in November matters very little.

Actually they dread the weather no matter what the age, yes as they get older they have a better understanding of what the weather means but they also have a better idea of how to adjust to it. If the weather wasn't such a big deal then why do so many parents sit in cars with their other kids while watching the games. What I've generally found is that the first game is ok in cold weather and then it goes downhill from there no matter what age you are talking about. It's like one of the great minds of our times said, "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." Mike Tyson might have been talking about boxing but it applies to cold weather as well. Everyone has a plan on how to stay warm, until the wind punches you in the face.