Is it because there is Everything to Lose..Nothing to gain?

Time after time in tournaments hosted by ECNL golden ticket teams Sparta FC Elite has been overlooked, passed over, or purposely placed in lower level brackets. In almost every tournament Sparta has entered they have been placed in divisions lower than the ECNL teams OR never get scheduled against ECNL teams IF they are placed in their bracket. Why is that? You would think the best would want to play the best but instead ECNL hosting teams continue to pull teams that Sparta FC has continued to beat up on in the higher bracket. If they were to play Sparta and lose or tie (which is the norm) then they lose status. If they are the ELITE... Then why not accept the challenge? Too much to lose?

DDteach15 wrote:Time after time in tournaments hosted by ECNL golden ticket teams Sparta FC Elite has been overlooked, passed over, or purposely placed in lower level brackets. In almost every tournament Sparta has entered they have been placed in divisions lower than the ECNL teams OR never get scheduled against ECNL teams IF they are placed in their bracket. Why is that? You would think the best would want to play the best but instead ECNL hosting teams continue to pull teams that Sparta FC has continued to beat up on in the higher bracket. If they were to play Sparta and lose or tie (which is the norm) then they lose status. If they are the ELITE... Then why not accept the challenge? Too much to lose?

Are you saying, double D, that the ECNL hosts tourneys other than the Showcase events?  If so, please enlighten us.  

That ^, and a few otra preguntas para tu ...

What is Sparta FC Elite and why should they be involved in ECNL events?

What is a "golden ticket" team?

What makes Sparta FC Elite the best (i.e. have they beaten any ECNL teams of late)?

Just curious 

Big Ern, I think you need a reading comprehension lesson...I don’t think the original poster said ECNL hosted event, I think they said hosted by ECNL golden ticket teams (ie tournament hosted by a club that has an ECNL team)

Can’t speak to golden ticket (although I think you can probably infer) or about record recently

Checkthesource wrote:Big Ern,  I think you need a reading comprehension lesson...I don’t think the original poster said ECNL hosted event,  I think they said hosted by ECNL golden ticket teams (ie tournament hosted by a club that has an ECNL team)

Can’t speak to golden ticket (although I think you can probably infer) or about record recently

Seems as if you're doin' quite a bit a "think"ing there sourcey to declare a lack of acuity, doesn't it?  Regardless, as Chuck Burgundy so eloquently put it, it doesn't make much sense either way.  

And no ... Given "golden ticket"s usage here, I cannot infer.  Hoping he or she can clarify for us, and perhaps ... Simply answer the questions?

I think I can help...I speak BigErn jive. What he’s trying to say lil buddy, is of course the clubs don’t want Sparta playing against their mojo moneymakers. If they let that happen and Sparta wins...the gig is up on overpriced mediocre A teams that are sold as “all that” and create aspirations for the paying public to flock to aforementioned clubs. This could slow down the cash flow for usys, usclub, usda, J.P. Morgan, skills r us and soccer post. Okie dokie?^^^^^^because they were afraid of something like this happening DA was created to keep kids and parents insulated from reality and ach payments moving. The problem is the sheen is off DA in other parts of the country and fdl/jdl needs a new letter to put in front of DL.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Get a load of this.

This just in. All games tournament or league will count toward fdl league games. Trying to get the profit per game up and this should help.

I think it's ironic that FC Dallas is fleecing its own teams.

U15 FDL team pays club dues to play FDL league games.

THEN collects $825 in team dues for the FCD Showcase - and schedules games against FDL teams to count as league games.  

Is FC Dallas hosing their U16 and U17 FDL teams the same way?

Interestingly, FC Dallas has previously scheduled games against Solar the same day.

SickofStupidity wrote:I think it's ironic that FC Dallas is fleecing its own teams.

U15 FDL team pays club dues to play FDL league games.

THEN collects $825 in team dues for the FCD Showcase - and schedules games against FDL teams to count as league games.  

Is FC Dallas hosing their U16 and U17 FDL teams the same way?

Interestingly, FC Dallas has previously scheduled games against Solar the same day.

If this ^ is true ... Holy Moly is that ever bulsh!  But ... "ironic"?  

Foxysoccermom wrote:I think I can help...I speak BigErn jive. What he’s trying to say lil buddy, is of course the clubs don’t want Sparta playing against their mojo moneymakers. If they let that happen and Sparta wins...the gig is up on overpriced mediocre A teams that are sold as “all that” and create aspirations for the paying public to flock to aforementioned clubs. This could slow down the cash flow for usys, usclub, usda, J.P. Morgan, skills r us and soccer post. Okie dokie?^^^^^^because they were afraid of something like this happening DA was created to keep kids and parents insulated from reality and ach payments moving. The problem is the sheen is off DA in other parts of the country and fdl/jdl needs a new letter to put in front of DL.

At least it's ^ entertaining.

1)  There aren't likely any '02 ECNL clubs/teams/coaches in DFW afraid of Sparta '02.
2)  If Sparta were able to defeat an ECNL team in their own age group, there wouldn't be any 'gigs' up, nor would there be any affect on any "cash flow".  The more likely 'flow' in that case would be the star player at Sparta 'flow'ing to the ECNL team she just faced.  
3)  Given the content of your spew regarding almost anything involving youth soccer (especially the ECNL or GDA), you couldn't make it any more clear that you have close to zero knowledge of 'why', or what's to come.

To give you (and I'm sure a few others out there) a touch of perspective ... Sparta '02 Elite are at the top of LH D1 and have been for some time I believe.  The last I saw them play was Flamefest in the Summer of 2017, when they were coming off a 1st or 2nd (can't remember if it was them of the Solar Nazier squad, but irrelevant as the point is that they are likely close to the same team now).  They played the '04 FCD JDL Red squad that were using that tourney as a tryout for the GDA team the upcoming year.  Even playing a team two years younger and being at the top of LH, they couldn't muster a single shot on target ... I'm not sure if they even possessed the ball with more than two passes in their attacking half.  The '04s were literally experimenting and still (in the immortal words of Trent) were "just gently battin' the bunny around".  Same went for the '02 Solar Nazier side.  

Bottom line is that it wasn't close then, and certainly wouldn't be today with GDA ... Too much disparity in speed of play, touch and IQ.  Sincere apologies to any that might offend (or just don't know) but just speaking the truth.  And, in my opinion, given that gap with the GDA, I doubt they'd compete much with any of the ECNL squads in their own age group here in DFW either.

Big Ern wrote:

SickofStupidity wrote:I think it's ironic that FC Dallas is fleecing its own teams.

U15 FDL team pays club dues to play FDL league games.

THEN collects $825 in team dues for the FCD Showcase - and schedules games against FDL teams to count as league games.  

Is FC Dallas hosing their U16 and U17 FDL teams the same way?

Interestingly, FC Dallas has previously scheduled games against Solar the same day.

If this ^ is true ... Holy Moly is that ever bulsh!  But ... "ironic"?  

Sorry, meant "moronic"

Big Ern wrote:

Foxysoccermom wrote:I think I can help...I speak BigErn jive. What he’s trying to say lil buddy, is of course the clubs don’t want Sparta playing against their mojo moneymakers. If they let that happen and Sparta wins...the gig is up on overpriced mediocre A teams that are sold as “all that” and create aspirations for the paying public to flock to aforementioned clubs. This could slow down the cash flow for usys, usclub, usda, J.P. Morgan, skills r us and soccer post. Okie dokie?^^^^^^because they were afraid of something like this happening DA was created to keep kids and parents insulated from reality and ach payments moving. The problem is the sheen is off DA in other parts of the country and fdl/jdl needs a new letter to put in front of DL.

At least it's ^ entertaining.

1)  There aren't likely any '02 ECNL clubs/teams/coaches in DFW afraid of Sparta '02.
2)  If Sparta were able to defeat an ECNL team in their own age group, there wouldn't be any 'gigs' up, nor would there be any affect on any "cash flow".  The more likely 'flow' in that case would be the star player at Sparta 'flow'ing to the ECNL team she just faced.  
3)  Given the content of your spew regarding almost anything involving youth soccer (especially the ECNL or GDA), you couldn't make it any more clear that you have close to zero knowledge of 'why', or what's to come.

To give you (and I'm sure a few others out there) a touch of perspective ... Sparta '02 Elite are at the top of LH D1 and have been for some time I believe.  The last I saw them play was Flamefest in the Summer of 2017, when they were coming off a 1st or 2nd (can't remember if it was them of the Solar Nazier squad, but irrelevant as the point is that they are likely close to the same team now).  They played the '04 FCD JDL Red squad that were using that tourney as a tryout for the GDA team the upcoming year.  Even playing a team two years younger and being at the top of LH, they couldn't muster a single shot on target ... I'm not sure if they even possessed the ball with more than two passes in their attacking half.  The '04s were literally experimenting and still (in the immortal words of Trent) were "just gently battin' the bunny around".  Same went for the '02 Solar Nazier side.  

Bottom line is that it wasn't close then, and certainly wouldn't be today with GDA ... Too much disparity in speed of play, touch and IQ.  Sincere apologies to any that might offend (or just don't know) but just speaking the truth.  And, in my opinion, given that gap with the GDA, I doubt they'd compete much with any of the ECNL squads in their own age group here in DFW either.

You might not like the presentation but as the youngsters say these days...
“...and that’s facts!!”

That phrase translates to I agree and everything you said was or is true.

SickofStupidity wrote:

Big Ern wrote:

SickofStupidity wrote:I think it's ironic that FC Dallas is fleecing its own teams.

U15 FDL team pays club dues to play FDL league games.

THEN collects $825 in team dues for the FCD Showcase - and schedules games against FDL teams to count as league games.  

Is FC Dallas hosing their U16 and U17 FDL teams the same way?

Interestingly, FC Dallas has previously scheduled games against Solar the same day.

If this ^ is true ... Holy Moly is that ever bulsh!  But ... "ironic"?  

Sorry, meant "moronic"

Better ...

And if true -- agreed!

Big Ern wrote:

Foxysoccermom wrote:I think I can help...I speak BigErn jive. What he’s trying to say lil buddy, is of course the clubs don’t want Sparta playing against their mojo moneymakers. If they let that happen and Sparta wins...the gig is up on overpriced mediocre A teams that are sold as “all that” and create aspirations for the paying public to flock to aforementioned clubs. This could slow down the cash flow for usys, usclub, usda, J.P. Morgan, skills r us and soccer post. Okie dokie?^^^^^^because they were afraid of something like this happening DA was created to keep kids and parents insulated from reality and ach payments moving. The problem is the sheen is off DA in other parts of the country and fdl/jdl needs a new letter to put in front of DL.

At least it's ^ entertaining.

1)  There aren't likely any '02 ECNL clubs/teams/coaches in DFW afraid of Sparta '02.
2)  If Sparta were able to defeat an ECNL team in their own age group, there wouldn't be any 'gigs' up, nor would there be any affect on any "cash flow".  The more likely 'flow' in that case would be the star player at Sparta 'flow'ing to the ECNL team she just faced.  
3)  Given the content of your spew regarding almost anything involving youth soccer (especially the ECNL or GDA), you couldn't make it any more clear that you have close to zero knowledge of 'why', or what's to come.

To give you (and I'm sure a few others out there) a touch of perspective ... Sparta '02 Elite are at the top of LH D1 and have been for some time I believe.  The last I saw them play was Flamefest in the Summer of 2017, when they were coming off a 1st or 2nd (can't remember if it was them of the Solar Nazier squad, but irrelevant as the point is that they are likely close to the same team now).  They played the '04 FCD JDL Red squad that were using that tourney as a tryout for the GDA team the upcoming year.  Even playing a team two years younger and being at the top of LH, they couldn't muster a single shot on target ... I'm not sure if they even possessed the ball with more than two passes in their attacking half.  The '04s were literally experimenting and still (in the immortal words of Trent) were "just gently battin' the bunny around".  Same went for the '02 Solar Nazier side.  

Bottom line is that it wasn't close then, and certainly wouldn't be today with GDA ... Too much disparity in speed of play, touch and IQ.  Sincere apologies to any that might offend (or just don't know) but just speaking the truth.  And, in my opinion, given that gap with the GDA, I doubt they'd compete much with any of the ECNL squads in their own age group here in DFW either.

Mmm yeah...bige always sounds so smart when I’m ovulating.

Foxysoccermom wrote:

Big Ern wrote:

Foxysoccermom wrote:I think I can help...I speak BigErn jive. What he’s trying to say lil buddy, is of course the clubs don’t want Sparta playing against their mojo moneymakers. If they let that happen and Sparta wins...the gig is up on overpriced mediocre A teams that are sold as “all that” and create aspirations for the paying public to flock to aforementioned clubs. This could slow down the cash flow for usys, usclub, usda, J.P. Morgan, skills r us and soccer post. Okie dokie?^^^^^^because they were afraid of something like this happening DA was created to keep kids and parents insulated from reality and ach payments moving. The problem is the sheen is off DA in other parts of the country and fdl/jdl needs a new letter to put in front of DL.

At least it's ^ entertaining.

1)  There aren't likely any '02 ECNL clubs/teams/coaches in DFW afraid of Sparta '02.
2)  If Sparta were able to defeat an ECNL team in their own age group, there wouldn't be any 'gigs' up, nor would there be any affect on any "cash flow".  The more likely 'flow' in that case would be the star player at Sparta 'flow'ing to the ECNL team she just faced.  
3)  Given the content of your spew regarding almost anything involving youth soccer (especially the ECNL or GDA), you couldn't make it any more clear that you have close to zero knowledge of 'why', or what's to come.

To give you (and I'm sure a few others out there) a touch of perspective ... Sparta '02 Elite are at the top of LH D1 and have been for some time I believe.  The last I saw them play was Flamefest in the Summer of 2017, when they were coming off a 1st or 2nd (can't remember if it was them of the Solar Nazier squad, but irrelevant as the point is that they are likely close to the same team now).  They played the '04 FCD JDL Red squad that were using that tourney as a tryout for the GDA team the upcoming year.  Even playing a team two years younger and being at the top of LH, they couldn't muster a single shot on target ... I'm not sure if they even possessed the ball with more than two passes in their attacking half.  The '04s were literally experimenting and still (in the immortal words of Trent) were "just gently battin' the bunny around".  Same went for the '02 Solar Nazier side.  

Bottom line is that it wasn't close then, and certainly wouldn't be today with GDA ... Too much disparity in speed of play, touch and IQ.  Sincere apologies to any that might offend (or just don't know) but just speaking the truth.  And, in my opinion, given that gap with the GDA, I doubt they'd compete much with any of the ECNL squads in their own age group here in DFW either.

Mmm yeah...bige always sounds so smart when I’m ovulating.

I threw up in my mouth....

You’re ‘DeadPool’ lady.

AngelinaGoalee wrote:

Foxysoccermom wrote:

Big Ern wrote:

Foxysoccermom wrote:I think I can help...I speak BigErn jive. What he’s trying to say lil buddy, is of course the clubs don’t want Sparta playing against their mojo moneymakers. If they let that happen and Sparta wins...the gig is up on overpriced mediocre A teams that are sold as “all that” and create aspirations for the paying public to flock to aforementioned clubs. This could slow down the cash flow for usys, usclub, usda, J.P. Morgan, skills r us and soccer post. Okie dokie?^^^^^^because they were afraid of something like this happening DA was created to keep kids and parents insulated from reality and ach payments moving. The problem is the sheen is off DA in other parts of the country and fdl/jdl needs a new letter to put in front of DL.

At least it's ^ entertaining.

1)  There aren't likely any '02 ECNL clubs/teams/coaches in DFW afraid of Sparta '02.
2)  If Sparta were able to defeat an ECNL team in their own age group, there wouldn't be any 'gigs' up, nor would there be any affect on any "cash flow".  The more likely 'flow' in that case would be the star player at Sparta 'flow'ing to the ECNL team she just faced.  
3)  Given the content of your spew regarding almost anything involving youth soccer (especially the ECNL or GDA), you couldn't make it any more clear that you have close to zero knowledge of 'why', or what's to come.

To give you (and I'm sure a few others out there) a touch of perspective ... Sparta '02 Elite are at the top of LH D1 and have been for some time I believe.  The last I saw them play was Flamefest in the Summer of 2017, when they were coming off a 1st or 2nd (can't remember if it was them of the Solar Nazier squad, but irrelevant as the point is that they are likely close to the same team now).  They played the '04 FCD JDL Red squad that were using that tourney as a tryout for the GDA team the upcoming year.  Even playing a team two years younger and being at the top of LH, they couldn't muster a single shot on target ... I'm not sure if they even possessed the ball with more than two passes in their attacking half.  The '04s were literally experimenting and still (in the immortal words of Trent) were "just gently battin' the bunny around".  Same went for the '02 Solar Nazier side.  

Bottom line is that it wasn't close then, and certainly wouldn't be today with GDA ... Too much disparity in speed of play, touch and IQ.  Sincere apologies to any that might offend (or just don't know) but just speaking the truth.  And, in my opinion, given that gap with the GDA, I doubt they'd compete much with any of the ECNL squads in their own age group here in DFW either.

Mmm yeah...bige always sounds so smart when I’m ovulating.

I threw up in my mouth....

You’re  ‘DeadPool’ lady.

Cmon girl. You know what I’m talkin bout. Kind of like when the boys at the bar have on beer goggles and think you look good. Then they sober up. Kinda what I’m saying about E.

Big Ern wrote:

DDteach15 wrote:Time after time in tournaments hosted by ECNL golden ticket teams Sparta FC Elite has been overlooked, passed over, or purposely placed in lower level brackets. In almost every tournament Sparta has entered they have been placed in divisions lower than the ECNL teams OR never get scheduled against ECNL teams IF they are placed in their bracket. Why is that? You would think the best would want to play the best but instead ECNL hosting teams continue to pull teams that Sparta FC has continued to beat up on in the higher bracket. If they were to play Sparta and lose or tie (which is the norm) then they lose status. If they are the ELITE... Then why not accept the challenge? Too much to lose?

Are you saying, double D, that the ECNL hosts tourneys other than the Showcase events?  If so, please enlighten us.  

That ^, and a few otra preguntas para tu ...

What is Sparta FC Elite and why should they be involved in ECNL events?

What is a "golden ticket" team?

What makes Sparta FC Elite the best (i.e. have they beaten any ECNL teams of late)?

Just curious 

Hey there big ERN, sorry for the confusion. No beef with the talent of DA, JDL, or ECNL, many of which who have recruited and offered spots to girls on our roster. I am honestly just  at a loss how teams that Sparta has beaten or tied or rarely lose against , get placed in to compete against the higher ranked ECNL teams. I see you like proof so example one will be the FCD Showcase... Why doe they place South Texas Rise who Sparta is 1win and 2 ties against record wise, but dominated on the field are somehow place in the higher RED 1 bracket and Sparta in the RED 2 bracket against team that we have beaten time and time again? There is definitely nothing special about Rise to place them over Sparta. Then they place FCD Premier in a higher bracket who Sparta has beaten again and again outside of one game and who couldn't even advance out of their bracket in SRPL Championship tournament in the RED 1 bracket. Why not place the team who has won more and is more competitive in the higher bracket? Riddle me this? It absolutely makes no sense.... I know as being a part of a team who wants to play the best, I would not avoid playing them. We want to play the best but are rarely given the opportunity to.
To give you more proof when rarely given the opportunity we recently beat Challenge ECNL 02, barely lost 1-0 to D'feeters ECNL, Tied Challenge ECNL 02 and beat D’Feeters ECNL 03. We have beat many of the ECRL teams as well as the FDL teams who only switched names from when they were Lake Highland D1 teams. Now I am not saying that our record kills ECNL teams but we stand toe to toe with them when given the chance and I do not think ECNL Clubs like it so they purposely play lower placed teams than Sparta to keep their wins. Why not play the better team? I know we would rather do that than play the teams the have a lower record? I hope I cleared it up for you... There are many other tournaments to reference where this has happened if you do your research.

Maybe if you wear disguises and say you are from Antartica you can rig the system. Sounds like to me they have no ballz and they got get paid. It is like the federal government waste.

Pretty sure that DDTeach15's frustration is in response to the upcoming FCD Showcase and DIGC.  For the former, Sparta is scheduled to play LHGCL D1 peers and the latter the team is being wait-listed in favor of other teams that make you scratch your head.  Teams sign up for these tournaments to not only showcase the individual, but also to showcase the team by playing against opponents whose paths you don't normally cross.  When that opportunity doesn't present itself then its easy to be cynical and question if there are ulterior motives.  

This team certainly isn't entitled to play ECNL teams, but there's the desire.  One could say (and rightly so perhaps) that if you want to play ECNL teams then join one.  Fair enough.  But right, wrong or indifferent, these girls don't play ECNL.  For many it is a conscience choice -- many have been recruited to play for local ECNL clubs but have elected to forego that life.  The reasons not to play ECNL are many:  distance from Johnson County to North Dallas, coaching, camaraderie, etc.  To be fully transparent, for several the choice hasn't presented itself.

That said, for the times when Sparta has had the opportunity to play ECNL teams, they have shown well.  If I recall correctly, Sparta's overall record against '02 ECNL is 1-2-2 (W-T-L) with all five games being in doubt until the end.  Granted, the sample size has been small so you could say that it doesn't mean anything, but I guess that's the point ... the sample size has been frustratingly small.

Regarding the game vs FCD '04 JDL a few years back that bigERN mentioned ... not sure that I would disagree with anything bigERN said other than that we did get a few shots off early   .  I would add two things though:
(1) if the ticket for entry to play '02 ECNL teams would be beating that very FCD JDL team then ECNL entity better be glad that they didn't go down that path.  If so then ECNL league wouldn't have but one or two teams qualify as that was one of the better teams that I have seen.  That was two years ago, so I have no idea what became of them (did they become the newly created FCD DA team?  did they stay together?  disperse?).
(2) that game was 2 years ago.  Sparta is a much improved team.  Depth is considerably deeper and the girls are much more consistent game in and game out.  So, I'm not 100% sure that it is fair to characterize the team based upon one outing under very a different time and circumstances.

Ultimately, this team is neither ECNL or DA.  It is, however, a very talented team that punches above its weight.  We're just looking forward to the opportunity to showcase this.

MW

Now that's original

Have never seen this Sparta team play but can think of two reasons ECNL/DA teams may not want to play them.  You probably won't like the answer, but this is a business and all businesses make cost/benefit decisions everyday:

. Nothing to be gained by playing and beating them, and potential major egg on the face if you play them and lose
. Style of play?  Again I've never seen them play.  If they play a rougher physical style vs a more skilled tactical style teams may not want to risk injury for a low value win

Tournament director/schedulers usually do what will get the most teams to participate in their tournament.

DDteach15 wrote:

Big Ern wrote:

DDteach15 wrote:Time after time in tournaments hosted by ECNL golden ticket teams Sparta FC Elite has been overlooked, passed over, or purposely placed in lower level brackets. In almost every tournament Sparta has entered they have been placed in divisions lower than the ECNL teams OR never get scheduled against ECNL teams IF they are placed in their bracket. Why is that? You would think the best would want to play the best but instead ECNL hosting teams continue to pull teams that Sparta FC has continued to beat up on in the higher bracket. If they were to play Sparta and lose or tie (which is the norm) then they lose status. If they are the ELITE... Then why not accept the challenge? Too much to lose?

Are you saying, double D, that the ECNL hosts tourneys other than the Showcase events?  If so, please enlighten us.  

That ^, and a few otra preguntas para tu ...

What is Sparta FC Elite and why should they be involved in ECNL events?

What is a "golden ticket" team?

What makes Sparta FC Elite the best (i.e. have they beaten any ECNL teams of late)?

Just curious 

Hey there big ERN, sorry for the confusion. No beef with the talent of DA, JDL, or ECNL, many of which who have recruited and offered spots to girls on our roster. I am honestly just  at a loss how teams that Sparta has beaten or tied or rarely lose against , get placed in to compete against the higher ranked ECNL teams. I see you like proof so example one will be the FCD Showcase... Why doe they place South Texas Rise who Sparta is 1win and 2 ties against record wise, but dominated on the field are somehow place in the higher RED 1 bracket and Sparta in the RED 2 bracket against team that we have beaten time and time again? There is definitely nothing special about Rise to place them over Sparta. Then they place FCD Premier in a higher bracket who Sparta has beaten again and again outside of one game and who couldn't even advance out of their bracket in SRPL Championship tournament in the RED 1 bracket. Why not place the team who has won more and is more competitive in the higher bracket? Riddle me this? It absolutely makes no sense.... I know as being a part of a team who wants to play the best, I would not avoid playing them. We want to play the best but are rarely given the opportunity to.
To give you more proof when rarely given the opportunity we recently beat Challenge ECNL 02, barely lost 1-0 to D'feeters ECNL, Tied Challenge ECNL 02 and beat D’Feeters ECNL 03. We have beat many of the ECRL teams as well as the FDL teams who only switched names from when they were Lake Highland D1 teams. Now I am not saying that our record kills ECNL teams but we stand toe to toe with them when given the chance and I do not think ECNL Clubs like it so they purposely play lower placed teams than Sparta to keep their wins. Why not play the better team? I know we would rather do that than play the teams the have a lower record? I hope I cleared it up for you... There are many other tournaments to reference where this has happened if you do your research.

Thanks double D for getting back --

If what you're saying is true, your frustration is certainly warranted.  That said, if your kid is planning on staying with Sparta, you can expect those frustrations to continue.  It's just the (unfortunate for many) reality of the current, ever-changing youth soccer landscape.  Yours are the kids still hanging out at Prom after 9pm when most of the talent were out the door after the first set.  You say "We want to play the best" but, rather ironically, have made the choice not to, and that's fine and dandy, but you're likely to have to continue to deal with that aforementioned reality

Why didn't Sparta make it out of bracket @ last year DIGC tournament? .They had there opportunity against ECNL and International Teams and didn't even make it out of bracket. Its just laughable to think ECNL are worried about playing NON ECNL teams, when there is usually 4 or 5 ECNL teams in the DIGC every year.

Lol

sccrprntsrcrazy wrote:Why didn't Sparta make it out of bracket @ last year DIGC tournament? .They had there opportunity against ECNL and International Teams and didn't even make it out of bracket. Its just laughable to think ECNL are worried about playing NON ECNL teams, when there is usually 4 or 5 ECNL teams in the DIGC every year.

Sparta was 2-1-0 (W-L-T) in last year's DIGC with the loss to Solar ECNL --> ending 2nd in the group with 6 points (ahead of team from UK) and a GD of +1.  In the Solar game, they netted a PK with ~ 2 minutes remaining for the game's only goal (recall that last year's tournament had rain-condensed games and goals in abbreviated games counted 2x -- thus the official score 2-0).  Since there were 7 groups, only 1 second place team advanced to quarters.  Tied at 6 points, it fell to Goal Diff and our +1 GD wasn't as strong as Rise Elite's +3 ...

Also note that this game was during the middle of HS playoffs and both teams were able to only field 11 players -- half of Sparta's was comprised of their '03 squad.  I have no idea how Solar assembled their squad ... I'm sure that they scrambled too.

Link to 2018 Results

FYI:  ECNL teams in that tournament who, like Sparta, didn't advance to quarters:
* FCD ECNL --> 3 points
* D'Feeters ECNL --> 5 points

I have seen them play. I agree they are good. But, even when you are presented with factual evidence, there is still an excuse as to why they lost / didn't advance? Should TD's take into account the game length, HS players injured, weather, PK's, how long the grass is, when making a determination as to what bracket to put them in? All they have is requests from coaches and evidence from W/ L records, which as mentioned above is not good. (1-2-2) Could they beat some ECNL teams, sure. Could they beat the top ECNL teams, probably not. The solution is simple if you ask me, transfer the team to an ECNL club, make it out of bracket play when ECNL teams are playing, etc. I think it is comical that you guys think its some big conspiracy to keep them from playing one another.