SASA seems to do a lot of tourneys. You guys had multiple teams out by us for Nike Cup and now Grove United. How many tourneys do you do a year?
No, not huge. I'm not sure but I think some of the coaches listed on the website are only sporadically involved (most are academics or college students, who seem to have periods when they can't do much with the club and also giving us fairly high turnover but a pretty big pool to recruit from). I like the staff members I know. My son's coach is one of those academics, but he played college soccer and gets a lot out of the kids.
$229? That's awful. I've heard similar stories about U. of Illinois football weekends -- two-night minimums and artificially high prices. I think our hotel situation has improved a bit, though. Several new ones built in the past few years, including a couple near the campus, where the main tournament complex is. When we moved here in 2007 hotel choices were really limited. My initial objection about to stay-to-play _ and I haven't had to deal with it yet, so this is still based on limited information -- is being told where I can stay. Someone in the club said that at one tourney they wound up 45 minutes from the field complex in an assigned hotel. All that said, thanks for the compliments. The tournaments are fun to host (says the guy who is not a tournament director). And yeah, my son's team was knocked out by a SASA team in the semifinals (white team? whichever one is your A team -- our kids played them the weekend before in the league, too). Good team, moved the ball around really well, moved for each other and did a good job of finding space, smoothly switched the field. It was a good, close game. I believe that SASA team went on to win the U11 title for the top bracket. A bonus was your parents being a good bunch, too _ no barking from the sidelines, ... I think there are a couple of families here who send their teen-aged players to SASA.
There are actually several clubs down here, IFC and then smaller clubs in some of the bedroom communities _ Mahomet, St. Joseph, ... Between them all, we have pretty good numbers. The university community, including the international families, inflate this a bit (my son's team includes families from Nigeria, Bolivia, Mexico/Argentina, Taiwan, the UK and Israel).
That wouldn’t surprise me…our local league (CIYSL) lacks variety and, at times, quality (at least that is a common perception)…last time we play in it was couple years ago, and even playing up a year, didn’t offer us much challenge…I think the general consensus around these parts is that tournaments offer better variety and quality, whether just traveling to say, Champaign or Peoria, or further south or north, to St. Louis or Chicago area respectively… So yeah, I would say most of our teams are generally tournament focused….most of our teams probably play 4-5 tournaments a season, including are own…sounds about right…we have cut back a little since joining the MRL last year (lowest rung, but holding our own), to only 2 a season…I believe we are the only team doing MRL; it’s not normal nor common to do so at our club….and the jury is still out as how much value the parents feel we are getting out if it…
Sorry for the off topic reply but the mention of Illinois football weekends brought back great memories. As a U of I alum living on the east coast, I can attest that they absolutely jack up prices and institute 2 night minimums around football games. Graduation weekend is even worse. I've never tried to go back for homecoming but I can only imagine the rates they charge for that. Not just the places close to campus where you can walk to the stadium, but even the places out by the Buffalo Wild Wings by 74 (Assuming that's still there. It's been a while) that require a car ride.
Very good to hear… Yes, I believe so…we have 2 boys that come over from Champaign, starting last year, that play on my son’s team…good kids…
Yes and no…club leadership is not necessarily pushing MLR; it’s entirely our coach…and whereas I understand the importance and value of the MRL, like I say, the jury is still out on how this “experiment” is going to pan out…it’s a lot of money, a big commitment, lots of travel to play a few games, and a boat load of pressure to win…not that there is anything wrong with any of that per say….but, if all we are able to do is muddle around in the lower division, then I fear it will get old pretty quick (for a lot of parents anyway)…I am just not sure we have the talent/player pool to really climb the ranks… And besides, with the age change next year, who knows how things will shake out….the “evolved” team (U13>u15) could be a lot worse than what we are now…
Well at least the coach has a vision beyond the local leagues. I imagine the pool is not as strong as it is - the closer you get to Chicago, for many reasons. So it's good your getting out or the area - if the players need more competition. It's better than a big club with big money and a lousy coach which is what many people have to deal with by me.
Anyone else have a rough schedule for this event? One of my teams plays at 7:30am and then 4:30pm the same day. I am not a fan of events that start so early. For the 4 games posted for my two teams we are at 3 different complexes. Also the format is a bit odd with all the odd numbered groups. In some brackets there are 11 teams with only the top 3 advancing after 2 games. I do have to say they have done a great job of balancing the team levels. It is nice that an event has a bracket that can be competitive for all the teams. Most tournaments you play a team way better than you, a team much worse and one that is a good matchup
We play at 1:20pm, 11:00am and 8:45am over the course of the tournament, one game each day, with a possible, but unlikely, 4th game (championship) on Monday afternoon. Personally, I like the drawn out schedule, but then I have friends/family in the area, so I am cool with the extended stay and lots of downtime. However, I am sure I am going to hear plenty of complains from other parents, who won’t like two nights/three days on the road just to play 3 games…our competition looks very good/tough…
It’s not just Chicago area teams we have to get past, its St. Louis area teams as well…right now, we are 4th place, 3-2-1, with 10 points, 10 GF, 10 GA, with 1 game to go…respectable and comfortably mid-table in the 3rd tier…but if that’s the best we can hope for??? Well, I am not sure I get the point…the completion we are seeing doesn’t appear much or any different then we see in tournaments... And while called a “league,” we play most of our games as mini-tournaments, anyway, to cut down a travel…1st two games were played as a double header weekend and the next 3 games we played over the course of 36 hours in Rockford a few weekends ago, and these 36 hours pretty much decided our fate for the whole season, going 1-1-1…I thought a big part of playing a league was to spread games out over the course of a season…logistically, that’s doesn’t seem possible… Don’t get me wrong, right now, I am glad we’re in it, I am proud we’re in it…and whereas I haven’t made up my mind either way, I am struggling to fully appreciate its value to us, for the cost and commitment involved… Sorry, if I am going a bit OT....
Not sure what options you have in your area though? I know I've said it before but the majority of the clubs by me have zero vision and are doing the same things clubs did in the 1980's.
Our options are: 1) Play in a local league at isn’t viewed as much nor really impresses anyone… 2) Play in a regional league that is supposedly viewed as impressive by college scouts… 3) Play in tournaments and College ID/showcases as they get older… The problem (potential problem) with number 2 is I question how good a fit is for our situation…we are mid-sized club, any many ways, a big fish in a small pond; nothing wrong, it has it’s pros and cons….we are what we are… And as a Club, we already send kids off to college to play(which seems to be goal of club soccer), primarily going with the 3rd option, but admittedly, it’s mostly to very small and/or local colleges…once again, nothing wrong with that and most everyone knows (or should know) the deal going in…anyone with any serious talent usually starts commuting to Scott Gallagher around High School… Participation in the MRL seems like a lot of money and time…and IF it doesn’t really increase these kids long term college prospects, once again, what’s the point? Just to be able to type M-R-L on a players or coaches resume? I know one your pet peeves is parents who overstate their kids’ soccer accomplishments (mostly through ignorance)…I am guilty of undervaluing them? Is struggling to survive in the 3 tier of MRL year after year, if that’s what happens, really all that impressive? Sorry Volk, I don’t expect you necessarily have any answers…obviously a lot this is just my own internal struggle…
We are a rural team that has to travel to every tournament in Phoenix. We have a number of kids that come from homes with more modest means. Many of the SnP tournaments have a minimum room count per team. Sometimes we struggle with hitting this minimum as the more modest families seek out more modest accommodations. Usually I just go out of pocket to get a room to hit the minimum but I usually wait until after the tournament director contacts me and threatens to toss us out. We actively seek out non stay and play and fill in the rest of our calendar with Port of Subs League in the Phoenix area (day trips for games). I have yet to find a benefit for our team to the Stay and Play setup. Part of me wishes that we could pay an extra up-front fee to be exempt.
After starting this topic a while back with concerns about these tourneys, my son's team wound up in two tournaments since early spring that were stay-to-play. And in both cases it worked to our advantage, particularly at one in the Chicago suburbs where our room rate was easily 35 percent less than the standard rate, with the hotel close to the fields. Worked out well. One thing mwulf mentioned a while back in this thread is starting to become a concern for our team and might land us in more tournaments than we play now. We're in the same league he mentioned in Illinois. The competition level isn't terribly high (his club is an exception) at my son's age level and there are only a couple of teams that can challenge my son' team. I'm not eager to add more weekends away from home, but last weekend we watched our kids play at about 50 percent effort and they were never challenged in their two league games. That's becoming the norm. I'd be curious to hear from him and others on whether MRL is worth it. That's a bunch of travel.
We just had our team meeting for next season. My son plays on a top U10 for our club, club is working on getting us into US club league for increased competition, but if that does not pan out he is planning on us playing U11 just in lower bracket in our assocation league. If we were to stay at our U10 level in our league many games would be 8-0 type of blow outs, and we would see the same issues you are seeing Cornfield Soccer, as we end up playing against many smaller clubs that don't have as large a player pool to draw from.
Just a thought for the girls out there. If you have a daughter in this position - good idea to place them in the boys division if possible. Of course around u14/u15 it may not be the best best as the physical demands may equate to injury. Nonetheless playing vs boys at the younger ages is a good way to expedite some core fundamentals.
I still have mixed feeling about the MRL and its worth… First, it’s very expensive (relatively speaking)…as I recall, it’s about $1,000 a season once it’s all said done…about ~$450 in upfront fees, and then $60-$70 in Ref fees every game… In theory, playing in the league, any league, would meaning having your games spread out a bit…play a single game once every week or so, which sounds great…however, in practice, it didn’t really work out that way for us, and you guys might have the same issue. Given all the travel involved, we end up playing a lot of double headers and even played 3 games in 36 hours in Rockford last year, which kinda defeats the concept of a league format…might well just play tournaments if that how it’s going to be…. The competition is generally very good, but then again, I am not sure it’s really any different then what we see at a decent tournament where we are properly seeded… There are 3 tiers/levels in the MRL, and obviously you start at the bottom…which is where we have stayed so far and I am not sure our prospect are all that great for moving up…as a down-state, mid-size club, it’s tough…it always feels like there is a bit a ceiling has to how far you can go, due to player pool, talent, resources, etc…Sure, we have a moments and we can generally hang with and not embarrass ourselves against a lot the “big city clubs”…but rising in a league like that requires a consistence of play that I am just not sure we are capable of… I think this is probably my biggest concern…just not sure being mid-table in the lowest rung is really worth the time, money and effort of it all… With the age change, my son is now ‘03/U14 and the team that actually owns the MRL bid is the ‘02/U15 team…I am pretty sure my son will be asked to play up and be part the MRL roster; he’s been play on both ‘02 and ‘03 squads all Fall season. I am just not sure we are going to accept…both for the reasons above and for the enjoyment and health of my son…he was a bit over-worked this last season and didn’t really enjoy playing on both squads; and if we/he has to choose between his own age or playing up/MRL, I know he’s going to choose his own age group team…but we’ll see how things shake out…