it's time lake highlands...............it's time............

my daughter isn't in lake highlands this year and i'm pretty bored at work.  couldn't resist giving my opinion as an outsider looking in.  trying to walk in the shoes of teams, parents, players, league officials.  this is what i came up with.  agree, disagree, i don't care.  but i have a feeling this is what a large majority of the people would like to say and don't have the balls to do it and that includes lake highlands.................................

Dear Lake Highlands:

Time to wake up.  June is here and you are 200 games away from completing your season.  Your efforts have been above and beyond what could be asked and are nothing short of noble………………………deserving the highest level of respect.  But enough is enough.
We understand that you want to get the season completed so that promotions and relegations can be represented accurately and everyone can be happy that things were fairly played out.  However, that time has gone.  With games to be scheduled the first 2 weeks in June, you will now be affecting multiple facets of everyone’s lives that take a deserved precedence over soccer games.  You are now screwing with vacations, ID camps, open training sessions, school final exams, and graduations.  There is no way a true team will be put on the field that represents what should have bene their scope of work throughout the year.  Players will be missing for the reasons stated or disgruntled that they feel obligated to stay and play with their old team instead of focusing on moving on to their new team.  At this point, everyone is tired and ready to move on including yourselves I’m sure.  And don’t claim the CPP rule as an option.  not even going to touch that land mine.  
Instead, use the scope of work that has been played out through May 31st.  Take the average points accumulated to that point, and award promotion/relegation based on those hard numbers.  You might piss a few people off that had a fighting chance for promotion, but trust me, the results wouldn’t have been much different if games had gotten played in June.  they would have been even worse for those teams.
So your options are simple.  Piss off and severely inconvenience the majority of people just for the pride of saying we did it!  We got the season in!, or just the few getting relegated that likely would have stayed there anyway?
Move on.  It’s time to move on.  Think of all the time and money you’ve put in to making this season get completed just to have it washed away, many times the next day.  Make June a time to catch your breath after this abnormal spring, and give everyone a well-deserved break, including yourselves.  Accept that Mother Nature gets the 3-0 victory, and learn from this to plan a better contingency in the future.  The idea of things being fair are gone no matter what road you take, so please, WAKE UP and go with the lesser of 2 evils………………….

100% agreed

Fantastic

100% agree

Agree. While not 100% fair, alternatives are worse.

ItsMeAgain wrote:my daughter isn't in lake highlands this year and i'm pretty bored at work.  couldn't resist giving my opinion as an outsider looking in.  trying to walk in the shoes of teams, parents, players, league officials.  this is what i came up with.  agree, disagree, i don't care.  but i have a feeling this is what a large majority of the people would like to say and don't have the balls to do it and that includes lake highlands.................................

Dear Lake Highlands:

Time to wake up.  June is here and you are 200 games away from completing your season.  Your efforts have been above and beyond what could be asked and are nothing short of noble………………………deserving the highest level of respect.  But enough is enough.
We understand that you want to get the season completed so that promotions and relegations can be represented accurately and everyone can be happy that things were fairly played out.  However, that time has gone.  With games to be scheduled the first 2 weeks in June, you will now be affecting multiple facets of everyone’s lives that take a deserved precedence over soccer games.  You are now screwing with vacations, ID camps, open training sessions, school final exams, and graduations.  There is no way a true team will be put on the field that represents what should have bene their scope of work throughout the year.  Players will be missing for the reasons stated or disgruntled that they feel obligated to stay and play with their old team instead of focusing on moving on to their new team.  At this point, everyone is tired and ready to move on including yourselves I’m sure.  And don’t claim the CPP rule as an option.  not even going to touch that land mine.  
Instead, use the scope of work that has been played out through May 31st.  Take the average points accumulated to that point, and award promotion/relegation based on those hard numbers.  You might piss a few people off that had a fighting chance for promotion, but trust me, the results wouldn’t have been much different if games had gotten played in June.  they would have been even worse for those teams.
So your options are simple.  Piss off and severely inconvenience the majority of people just for the pride of saying we did it!  We got the season in!, or just the few getting relegated that likely would have stayed there anyway?
Move on.  It’s time to move on.  Think of all the time and money you’ve put in to making this season get completed just to have it washed away, many times the next day.  Make June a time to catch your breath after this abnormal spring, and give everyone a well-deserved break, including yourselves.  Accept that Mother Nature gets the 3-0 victory, and learn from this to plan a better contingency in the future.  The idea of things being fair are gone no matter what road you take, so please, WAKE UP and go with the lesser of 2 evils………………….

Agree to a point. It's easy for someone whose DD, as stated, is not playing in Lake Highlands. I'm sure this thoughtful sentiment would be much different if said DD was playing on a team with promotion possibilities.

I totally understand what you are saying It'sme and yes you make some very valid points. However, Kicks is right. If there are two games between your team winning a division and coming in second, I think you would probably want to play the games. Even if it was only one game, I think you would want to play it. If you are with a team where your final games won't change circumstances then you are totally right.

The issue really is that if you are a team that has worked its butt off getting close to the division win and didn't make it because of rain outs, then it would suck. Think of how you would feel if you got all the way to the finals in a tournament only to have the game cancelled due to weather. Everyone wants the reward for hard work. Cheers

Unfortunately I am one of those parents with a dd on the verge of relegation. If we win 2 of 4 unplayed games then we have a strong chance of staying. All season, we have had a lot of would of, should of, could of's. I counted 8 points that we left on the field. Bad bounces, bad luck, and inability to finish. As such to predict that we win 2 of the last 4 is a long shot considering how the season has played out. Do I believe we can do it. Hell yeah!! But we have encounter weather related events not seen in close to 100 years. June is here and the season needs to end. We have the talent to be a top team but we did not perform when it was time. So, its time to let June get here and see where chips fall. END THE SEASON!!! It looks like a Lake in the Highlands and it is time to end the season.

I think the OP has  done a good job of looking at things both ways, including what kicks & InaB are saying.  What sticks in my head is that saying of "needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" at this point and that there really is no "fair" way to end the season at this point.

Agree it would stink to be so close and only need one or two more points to be safe just to have a bunch of rainouts ruin it, but think of it the same as if a game played more then 1/2 way then got called due to rain/weather . . . the score would stand as a final.  What if the teams were tied and one team just needed that last goal to earn the 3 points jumping them into 1st place or getting them out of the relegation zone?  Why can't they have those last 20 minutes of playing time?  They've worked hard, earned it, and deserve that time in "fairness", right?  Well, not so much - It's not the most "fair" decision, but its the most reasonable based on the circumstances.  

How about this scenario where my DD had a State Cup game that went to overtime and weather stopped it with 8 minutes to go.  Then because of weather, went to straight to PK's 4 hours later - which they lost.  You want to talk about anticlimatic?!  I can't help but wonder what would have happened if we had to last 8 minutes of regulation play.  Momentum and emotions in play, anything could have happened.  But we didn't get those 8 minutes and lost.  That's just how things go.

Think of this season the same way, just on a larger scale.  We've played more then half the games, and weather has basically forced the cancellation of the last part of the season.  As DTDad pointed out, they had plenty of opportunities with 75%+ of their schedule being played and things didn't go their way.  Time is not on our side anymore.  Besides just the player/coach availabilites, what about fields & referee's?  Those options are greatly limited at this point as well.  And how much rain did we get last night????  

DTdad03 has a very reasonable (and accurate) point of view for someone facing relegation with that decision being made.  Sometimes it's just not reasonable to continue and you have to make due with what's been accomplished to that point.  Argee with the OP and majority of people . . . it may not be the MOST fair conclussion with the "what if's", but it's the most reasonable . . .   end the season.

Hi Orange I respect your conclusions as I do the rest. However, I also see the other side too. One one hand, those teams that have not been able to put themselves out of harms way will not (I think) be worried about playing remaining games. At this point if they are in the bottom of Dr for instance one to two games won't do much good. However, if you were tied at the top of a division then it is a different story. In the end, Mother nature may well settle things. I was trying to get home while ago and had to turn around at Frankford and 35 because Frankford was under rushing water. Mama Nature rules the house.

They could drastically reduce the number of games needing to be played if they would take U13-U17 D1 and make it 10 teams again. . No unfair relegations from a lost season and D1 would have the number of games they deserve since they pay the same price. Just play those few games that would decide promotion for D2,D3, and those games to determine the two teams that need to requalify.

Just thinking outside the box here, but what if there was such a thing as an ad hoc "LH Tournament?" What if the teams with remaining games could participate in that type of format?

Again, I haven't thought this through one iota, but just musing.

cancan01 wrote:They could drastically reduce the number of games needing to be played if they would take U13-U17 D1 and make it 10 teams again.  .  No unfair relegations from a lost season and D1 would have the number of games they deserve since they pay the same price.  Just play those few games that would decide promotion for D2,D3, and those games to determine the two teams that need to requalify.

Intresting I kinda like that Idea. Also if you are a D3 team that still has a chance mathematically to not have to requalify then allow them to stay in the league next year. If 2 teams where added to D1 then that would greatly reduce those teams. Just end the season add 2 teams to D1 move everybody up accordingly and not relegate 9th and 10th place D3 teams if they mathematically had a chance to stay up.

Play for an entire year and then change the rules due to the last 3 games? Seems very simple, schedule the games and if someones DD can't show up then the team goes on without them you know like the rest of the season. Want to switch teams and find that more important that your current teammates then shame on you. Show up to the team you made a commitment to last July then worry about next year.

If you want LH to bend the rules then why not extend signing day 2 weeks into July? Seems like a way better idea than altering promotion and relegation.

ElClassico wrote:Play for an entire year and then change the rules due to the last 3 games? Seems very simple, schedule the games and if someones DD can't show up then the team goes on without them you know like the rest of the season. Want to switch teams and find that more important that your current teammates then shame on you. Show up to the team you made a commitment to last July then worry about next year.

If you want LH to bend the rules then why not extend signing day 2 weeks into July? Seems like a way better idea than altering promotion and relegation.

I actually prefer playing out the games, but if they are going to cancel the rest of the games then they could make it more " fair " by doing what was proposed above. You are contracted to a team until the end of June so if games are scheduled then you should show up and play. If you and your DD feel not showing up for any reason (vacaction, camp, Etc ) they you will just need to make a decision. It could be different for each family. If it is because you just want to leave the team move on then so be it.

cancan01 wrote:They could drastically reduce the number of games needing to be played if they would take U13-U17 D1 and make it 10 teams again.  .  No unfair relegations from a lost season and D1 would have the number of games they deserve since they pay the same price.  Just play those few games that would decide promotion for D2,D3, and those games to determine the two teams that need to requalify.

I agree with this solution as it's the least amount of games and the fairest. I never agreed with D1 playing less games for the same price as the other divisions. The boys have 10 teams in D1, the girls should too.

Another option is to take this same theory but go back to a super group for one year to determine who the top 10 ten truly are in each age group. either one of these options would be the most fair for all involved and would allow the season to end with the least amount of disgruntled teams.

They are still deliberating on how to settle this, but just imagine the uproar when they do decide and publish the results.  There's no way to please everyone.

Besides promotion/relegation and winning divisions, there's premier league and some of the non-ECNL clubs really care about that.

Should make for some lively board activity in the next few weeks!

Good luck to all when the chips fall.