The Z Machine
Footballguy
Thankfully someone understands me here.Hi, I speak Z Machine.Dammit I am dumb.... I am all.... who they heck is beisbol? I don't even know that screen name let alone seen a post.
yer a moron.
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Collectively, A Thread To Celebrate Our Kids Athletic Accomplishments (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter Anarchy99
- Start date
Another intasquad last Friday and another solid showing going 2 for 3 with 2 RBI's and another flawless defensive outing on top of it.
The team is doing a "Fall World Series" this week where they are making three separate teams to play against each other in a round robin with the two better teams after the round robin playing in a best of three "world series". There was a pitcher and catcher assigned as captains of each of the three teams. Gally Jr went 9 overall in the draft. It's not as good as it sounds as they started with infielders only so he was drafted in the middle of all infielders but not bad for a freshman. Seems like the players are at least taking notice that he is performing well.
The team is doing a "Fall World Series" this week where they are making three separate teams to play against each other in a round robin with the two better teams after the round robin playing in a best of three "world series". There was a pitcher and catcher assigned as captains of each of the three teams. Gally Jr went 9 overall in the draft. It's not as good as it sounds as they started with infielders only so he was drafted in the middle of all infielders but not bad for a freshman. Seems like the players are at least taking notice that he is performing well.
Chadstroma
Footballguy
From the game on Sat...
2 tackles for a loss, 5 tackles, 1 assist and 1 QB pressure. (I am not counting tackles for loss and assists in the 5 tackles).
He made weight so he will spend time on offense at RB and apparently moved to TE in at least one play so should have some offensive stats to report after their playoff game this Sat.
2 tackles for a loss, 5 tackles, 1 assist and 1 QB pressure. (I am not counting tackles for loss and assists in the 5 tackles).
He made weight so he will spend time on offense at RB and apparently moved to TE in at least one play so should have some offensive stats to report after their playoff game this Sat.
So Gally Jr had his first "Fall World Series" intrasquad game yesterday. He started at 2B and hit 8th for his team. Here were his AB's:
His team then put up 9 runs to put the game out of reach. He finished off the top of the last inning. Gave up a weak ground ball hit but got another strikeout and a couple routine fly balls.
His team now plays in a best of three finals against the third team. One game today and two tomorrow (if necessary). They are playing 5 inning games.
He is now 7 for 16 with a couple doubles for the fall. Has played a flawless 2B and only given up runs in one of his six outings on the mound. So far so good.
- 1st AB: Swung at first pitch on a running fast ball that got in on him and he flew out to CF. He said if he started a bit earlier and got around it he could have barrelled it up to LF and with the wind blowing out might of had a chance at a HR.
- 2nd AB: Bottom 3rd. Down 4-3. Bases Loaded. Crushed a hanging breaking ball to left center for a 2 RBI double to take the lead.
- 3rd AB: Runner on 2B. Ground ball in the 3-4 hole for another base hit and went to second on the throw to draw a throw and allow runner to score. Was safe at 2B.
His team then put up 9 runs to put the game out of reach. He finished off the top of the last inning. Gave up a weak ground ball hit but got another strikeout and a couple routine fly balls.
His team now plays in a best of three finals against the third team. One game today and two tomorrow (if necessary). They are playing 5 inning games.
He is now 7 for 16 with a couple doubles for the fall. Has played a flawless 2B and only given up runs in one of his six outings on the mound. So far so good.
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Todem
Footballguy
He is crushing it!
Todem
Footballguy
Game 5 last night he started and played CF all 8 innings they got in. He batted 9th tonight after either hitting leadoff (most of the time) and hitting 2nd. He made the last put out and it was his only flyball he saw the entire game. He hosed a guy at 2nd and hosed a guy at 3rd on singles to CF (one of them they tried to stretch to a double as it was in the gap and he fired a laser to 2B that got a big reaction from the team).
At the plate:
PA 4
AB 2
H
2 BB
Ground out
Thru 5 games:
17 - PA
9 - AB
2- 2B
H
HR
3 RBI
8 R
8 BB
5 SB
K
So hitting .444 and hitting the ball very hard. Yesterdays single was a backside line drive into RF on an 0-2 count on a hanging curveball. He simply (simply is putting it lightly as it is not easy to hit a baseball) kept his hands back and drove it the other way. His head coach told him after practice..."great swing, great approach".
OBP is .647 which is fantastic.
Tonight he is starting at SS and playing all 9 (they get their lineups in the AM from Coach and have a sub list as well...he has no sub for his position tonight) and batting 5th. They are really taking a look at where they want him in the hitting order. He told me he has sown them a lot of pop so that is probably why they are considering him in the middle of the order tonight. Personally? I think my son is a gap to gap line drive hitter with sneaky power, but his speed and base running and the fact he is such a tough out and he is walking a lot more now.....I like him in the 2 hole. But the coaches make the decisions and one thing is...in College ball the lineup is dynamic based on hot or cold streaks. The season is 50 some odd games max including conference tourney play. So they typically need to go with the hot bats.
Next week is the Fall World Series and he is looking forward to that.
The wife and I are flying up this afternoon and will catch the back half of his intrasquad scrimmage.....and it is chilly in Cary NC tonight.....brrrrrrrrrr.
Spending a nice weekend with him and meeting his girlfriend for the first time tomorrow night. She plays on the softball team. He is really into her too (and tells me "Dad...she is freaking hot" lol)......I am glad she plays a spring sport as well. They will both be quite busy and focused. I already saw pictures....she is very good looking but more importantly he told me she is a silly soul and loves horror movies......I said..."good catch, have fun".
I feel strongly the kid is going to be an everyday player this season (Sophomore year) and play multiple positions , but primarily be at SS/CF. He also told me is has not taken a single rep at 2B this Fall....he was there all last fall. That is a huge message I told him. 100% of his reps have been at SS and in games he has started 4 at SS and two in CF.
Hard work is paying off in spades......and 3 A's and a B this semester. Keep it up son.
At the plate:
PA 4
AB 2
H
2 BB
Ground out
Thru 5 games:
17 - PA
9 - AB
2- 2B
H
HR
3 RBI
8 R
8 BB
5 SB
K
So hitting .444 and hitting the ball very hard. Yesterdays single was a backside line drive into RF on an 0-2 count on a hanging curveball. He simply (simply is putting it lightly as it is not easy to hit a baseball) kept his hands back and drove it the other way. His head coach told him after practice..."great swing, great approach".
OBP is .647 which is fantastic.
Tonight he is starting at SS and playing all 9 (they get their lineups in the AM from Coach and have a sub list as well...he has no sub for his position tonight) and batting 5th. They are really taking a look at where they want him in the hitting order. He told me he has sown them a lot of pop so that is probably why they are considering him in the middle of the order tonight. Personally? I think my son is a gap to gap line drive hitter with sneaky power, but his speed and base running and the fact he is such a tough out and he is walking a lot more now.....I like him in the 2 hole. But the coaches make the decisions and one thing is...in College ball the lineup is dynamic based on hot or cold streaks. The season is 50 some odd games max including conference tourney play. So they typically need to go with the hot bats.
Next week is the Fall World Series and he is looking forward to that.
The wife and I are flying up this afternoon and will catch the back half of his intrasquad scrimmage.....and it is chilly in Cary NC tonight.....brrrrrrrrrr.
Spending a nice weekend with him and meeting his girlfriend for the first time tomorrow night. She plays on the softball team. He is really into her too (and tells me "Dad...she is freaking hot" lol)......I am glad she plays a spring sport as well. They will both be quite busy and focused. I already saw pictures....she is very good looking but more importantly he told me she is a silly soul and loves horror movies......I said..."good catch, have fun".
I feel strongly the kid is going to be an everyday player this season (Sophomore year) and play multiple positions , but primarily be at SS/CF. He also told me is has not taken a single rep at 2B this Fall....he was there all last fall. That is a huge message I told him. 100% of his reps have been at SS and in games he has started 4 at SS and two in CF.
Hard work is paying off in spades......and 3 A's and a B this semester. Keep it up son.
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Take it to the non-athletic accomplishments thread............hahahahaha
First game of the best of three intrasquad world series championship. Started at 3B (been playing 2B all fall when not pitching). Batting 7th.
They ended up winning by a blow out and sets up the chance for them to take the series with a win today. So now on the season he is 9 for 17 with 2 doubles and a HR. So happy for him. It's great to come in hot to a new program where the first impression is typically pretty lasting. Exciting times.
- First AB: Walked. Said he should have gone after a down and in changeup as he thinks he could have driven it to left and with the wind might have a shot at an HR even if he didn't hit it well. They had a string of freshman in the lineup hitting 7th, 8th, 9th. They all walked to load the bases. That brought up his roommate (catcher from Hawaii - also a freshman) who proceeded to crush one to left for a grand slam. Gally Jr said it was awesome as all players standing at home plate were all freshman welcoming in the freshman who hit the HR. This is a fast becoming a tight knit freshman group that get along great.
- Second AB: Walked again. Ended up on second somehow and then stole 3B.
- Third AB: Singled
- 4th AB: First pitch change down and in and he crushed it for a HR to left. Learned from his first plate appearance and took advantage when he saw it again.
They ended up winning by a blow out and sets up the chance for them to take the series with a win today. So now on the season he is 9 for 17 with 2 doubles and a HR. So happy for him. It's great to come in hot to a new program where the first impression is typically pretty lasting. Exciting times.
Todem
Footballguy
Todem
Footballguy
Oh excuse me….he also got an A in Intro to Sports Management but that ended last week. Lol. So 5 classes.Only 4 classes?
My kid has like 7 hahahaha
Chadstroma
Footballguy
I guess we will allow that here since it has "sports" in the name.Oh excuse me….he also got an A in Intro to Sports Management but that ended last week. Lol. So 5 classes.Only 4 classes?
My kid has like 7 hahahaha
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Kanil
Footballguy
Take it to the non-athletic accomplishments thread...
Game 2 of the three game "Fall World Series" intrasquad. I didn't get the play by play as usual but I did get that he went 1 for 3 with a single and on base by error in his other two AB's. He is pulling everything which is not normal as his natural swing is to drive the ball the right center. But he says the ****"book" on him is to pound him inside because of how well he goes to the right side. He has adjusted and since he is hitting .500 (10 for 20) with a bit of pop (2 doubles and a HR - all to the left side) it's a good sign he is adjusting.
One of his on base by error was a 2 run error on a fly ball to left field (not sure how tough a play or if the wind/sun played a part) but at the time they were down two runs so that tied it up. His roommate then came up and knocked in the go ahead run to put them up 10-9.
Gally Jr then got called on to close the game out for the last inning and set them down in order with a pop out, strike out and ground out to SS. The team captains are the ones that set the lineups and made pitching decisions so it's interesting that they called on a freshman for the two save chances they had this week and since Gally Jr succeeded in both outings I would say that is a good start and impression for his teammates and hopefully the coaches are taking notice as well.
**** He told me that is what he heard his teammates on the other intrasquad teams saying to the pitchers for when he was coming up. He said the word on the team was to pound him inside. I found that funny after only a month or so of practice that things like this are happening in these competitive situations. It's great.
One of his on base by error was a 2 run error on a fly ball to left field (not sure how tough a play or if the wind/sun played a part) but at the time they were down two runs so that tied it up. His roommate then came up and knocked in the go ahead run to put them up 10-9.
Gally Jr then got called on to close the game out for the last inning and set them down in order with a pop out, strike out and ground out to SS. The team captains are the ones that set the lineups and made pitching decisions so it's interesting that they called on a freshman for the two save chances they had this week and since Gally Jr succeeded in both outings I would say that is a good start and impression for his teammates and hopefully the coaches are taking notice as well.
**** He told me that is what he heard his teammates on the other intrasquad teams saying to the pitchers for when he was coming up. He said the word on the team was to pound him inside. I found that funny after only a month or so of practice that things like this are happening in these competitive situations. It's great.
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Kanil
Footballguy
I love these updates. Congrats to Gally Jr. Sounds like life is good right now.
Todem
Footballguy
Ok real quick…..got to see my son play live Thursday night.
Went 1-3 with a beautiful RBI single in his first AB on an 0-0 breaking ball that he stayed back on and laced to RC for a line drive.
He made two outstanding 6-4-3 turns (he was at SS) and 3 routine grounders and one absolute missile ground ball that looked triple digits off the bat and indeed I got confirmation that it was (everything is radar measured in college).
We talked about his first AB and I asked him how did you sit on that breaking pitch 0-0?
He simply said this particular pitcher (a senior) last Fall when he was Freshman started him 0-0 with his breaking ball in both AB’s he had against him.
I was like…..atta babe son.
He absolutely roped it.
We leave for home tomorrow evening. Was a nice visit.
Went 1-3 with a beautiful RBI single in his first AB on an 0-0 breaking ball that he stayed back on and laced to RC for a line drive.
He made two outstanding 6-4-3 turns (he was at SS) and 3 routine grounders and one absolute missile ground ball that looked triple digits off the bat and indeed I got confirmation that it was (everything is radar measured in college).
We talked about his first AB and I asked him how did you sit on that breaking pitch 0-0?
He simply said this particular pitcher (a senior) last Fall when he was Freshman started him 0-0 with his breaking ball in both AB’s he had against him.
I was like…..atta babe son.
He absolutely roped it.
We leave for home tomorrow evening. Was a nice visit.
Chadstroma
Footballguy
Playoff win tonight.
My son had another very good game....
6 Tackles, 1 Tackle for a Loss, 2 Assists, 1 Punt Block
17 yards on 6 carries, 1 TD (also 1 fumble that he recovered)
The punt block was really the game winning play in the 4th after us trailing the whole game. He then got the carry to break it in for his first ever TD. We defeated our very much disliked rival and sent them home 8-6 final score. ( The difference was they missed their extra point kick, and we made ours, which is 2 points at this level)
My son had another very good game....
6 Tackles, 1 Tackle for a Loss, 2 Assists, 1 Punt Block
17 yards on 6 carries, 1 TD (also 1 fumble that he recovered)
The punt block was really the game winning play in the 4th after us trailing the whole game. He then got the carry to break it in for his first ever TD. We defeated our very much disliked rival and sent them home 8-6 final score. ( The difference was they missed their extra point kick, and we made ours, which is 2 points at this level)
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Gally Jr had one on one meetings with the coaching staff over the weekend. Well, it was one on coaching staff meeting but they are doing that will each player to give them a status on where they stand and how they evaluated the fall thus far (they have mid terms this week so it's seems like a mid term report so to speak).
He said the coach asked him how he thought it went and of course he said "It went alright" and the coach came back with well "it went a lot better than just alright". He was extremely impressed with his approach and purpose in everything he did. Whether it was his approach during BP or any individual drill there was always a purpose to what he was doing that he rarely sees with freshmen. He told him he was also impressed with his presence on the mound and that he could tell he knows "how to pitch" rather than just throw and that he doesn't see that much from 18 yr olds.
Gally Jr was recruited by the pitching coach and the head coach didn't really know a lot about him. He saw the videos we sent but you can't tell a ton from those and the coach admitted as much. When I talked to the head coach at the time my son committed he mentioned that he didn't know a lot about my son and was trusting his pitching coach. It even went so far that on move in day when the coach had players there to help with the move he didn't even know my kid's name. It was quite comical and worrisome all at the same time.
All that to say, the coach decided to give my son some scholarship money after seeing him play over the last two months. Pretty awesome. What a first impression. He went on to say that he wasn't in the bottom third of players and is likely nearing the top third (they have 45 players so I think the coach looks at it in groups of 15). Not bad for a freshman that the head coach didn't even know who he was when he got there.
So proud of this kid for coming in from day 1 and making a great first impression and earning his place. So excited to see how things shake out as the season gets closer.
He said the coach asked him how he thought it went and of course he said "It went alright" and the coach came back with well "it went a lot better than just alright". He was extremely impressed with his approach and purpose in everything he did. Whether it was his approach during BP or any individual drill there was always a purpose to what he was doing that he rarely sees with freshmen. He told him he was also impressed with his presence on the mound and that he could tell he knows "how to pitch" rather than just throw and that he doesn't see that much from 18 yr olds.
Gally Jr was recruited by the pitching coach and the head coach didn't really know a lot about him. He saw the videos we sent but you can't tell a ton from those and the coach admitted as much. When I talked to the head coach at the time my son committed he mentioned that he didn't know a lot about my son and was trusting his pitching coach. It even went so far that on move in day when the coach had players there to help with the move he didn't even know my kid's name. It was quite comical and worrisome all at the same time.
All that to say, the coach decided to give my son some scholarship money after seeing him play over the last two months. Pretty awesome. What a first impression. He went on to say that he wasn't in the bottom third of players and is likely nearing the top third (they have 45 players so I think the coach looks at it in groups of 15). Not bad for a freshman that the head coach didn't even know who he was when he got there.
So proud of this kid for coming in from day 1 and making a great first impression and earning his place. So excited to see how things shake out as the season gets closer.
The Z Machine
Footballguy
Skipdog77
Footballguy
That's awesome..congrats on his first TD!
Skipdog77
Footballguy
That is awesome. Congrats to your son on his hard work and fantastic attitude paying off.
Skipdog77
Footballguy
Cool experience for my daughter’s 19U hockey team on Saturday. They got to play an exhibition game against a D3 women’s hockey team, with the full game-day experience in that team’s barn (which is nicer than a lot of D1 team’s arenas/rinks). We knew it would be tough sledding with mostly 17 year old girls playing some 23/24 year olds, but it was pretty cool.
We went down early 4-0 in the first period, but once they got their feet under them the girls played better in periods 2 & 3 (2-1 for the college team), to lose 6-1. We scored our only goal on the power play, with my daughter making a good play to help keep the puck in at the blue line, making a pass to her center and then hustling to get to her spot in front of the net to put enough of a screen on the goalie to help the shot from the point to get past. Her coach pulled her aside in the lobby after the game, and told her that even though they didn’t credit her with an assist (gave it to another girl), that the goal wouldn’t have happened without the work she put in. She was happy with that. Was a good dress rehearsal for her for the type of work she’ll need to put in playing D3 next year.
Also played two games against “normal” competition on Sunday, and while her team utterly dominated shots and time of possession (57-9 shots for/against in game 1, and 40-2 for/against in game 2), they went into the 3rd period of game 1 tied 0-0. My daughter had one goal waved off in the first after the ref said she lost sight of the puck, but blew the whistle after my daughter put it in the net. It had been sliding along the front of the goalie’s pad in the crease, and the ref was standing back near the corner, so she couldn’t see it. The other ref had a perfect view from the blue line and tried to get the first ref to change her mind, but she said there was nothing she could do about it.
My daughter then went on to score two goals in the 3rd period, tipping a shot in from the blueline to make it 1-0, and battling in front for a rebound to push us to a 3-0 lead, and the team went on to win 4-0. When I told her after the game she really had a hat trick, she told me she actually scored 4 goals. She had tipped our 4th goal in too, but she didn’t want to take it away from her teammate who had shot it from the blue line, so she didn’t say anything. She’s probably cost herself a dozen or so goals over the last few seasons when she does that because she doesn’t want to take them away from her teammates. While it would have been cool for her to have the hatty, I love that she thinks that way.
Game 2 we mixed the lines up a bit, and she was digging playing with some new lineys. Ended up with an assist in that game, also won 4-0. All in all, a good but tiring weekend.
We went down early 4-0 in the first period, but once they got their feet under them the girls played better in periods 2 & 3 (2-1 for the college team), to lose 6-1. We scored our only goal on the power play, with my daughter making a good play to help keep the puck in at the blue line, making a pass to her center and then hustling to get to her spot in front of the net to put enough of a screen on the goalie to help the shot from the point to get past. Her coach pulled her aside in the lobby after the game, and told her that even though they didn’t credit her with an assist (gave it to another girl), that the goal wouldn’t have happened without the work she put in. She was happy with that. Was a good dress rehearsal for her for the type of work she’ll need to put in playing D3 next year.
Also played two games against “normal” competition on Sunday, and while her team utterly dominated shots and time of possession (57-9 shots for/against in game 1, and 40-2 for/against in game 2), they went into the 3rd period of game 1 tied 0-0. My daughter had one goal waved off in the first after the ref said she lost sight of the puck, but blew the whistle after my daughter put it in the net. It had been sliding along the front of the goalie’s pad in the crease, and the ref was standing back near the corner, so she couldn’t see it. The other ref had a perfect view from the blue line and tried to get the first ref to change her mind, but she said there was nothing she could do about it.
My daughter then went on to score two goals in the 3rd period, tipping a shot in from the blueline to make it 1-0, and battling in front for a rebound to push us to a 3-0 lead, and the team went on to win 4-0. When I told her after the game she really had a hat trick, she told me she actually scored 4 goals. She had tipped our 4th goal in too, but she didn’t want to take it away from her teammate who had shot it from the blue line, so she didn’t say anything. She’s probably cost herself a dozen or so goals over the last few seasons when she does that because she doesn’t want to take them away from her teammates. While it would have been cool for her to have the hatty, I love that she thinks that way.
Game 2 we mixed the lines up a bit, and she was digging playing with some new lineys. Ended up with an assist in that game, also won 4-0. All in all, a good but tiring weekend.
Chadstroma
Footballguy
So a 19U team was able to hang with a D3 team? Wow
belljr
Footballguy
Not for nothing. My daughters 18u softball team would have obliterated her D3 softball team.
1) her d3 softball team is average. up and down. finished t-4 for their division out of 8. Optimistic for this season and the future though. New coach is really recruiting
2) her 18u team had D1 - JUCO kids all on the same team. Her other team was mostly D1-D2s on it besides her
All that to say not all d1-d3 are not created equal and not all 18u teams are created equal.
Skipdog77
Footballguy
I'm not sure you'd call it hanging with them, I call it more surviving. They outshot us pretty good, and the end result was never in question. I think this week was their first official week on the ice, and it was their first exhibition game of the year. That D3 team will be fine when it counts.
We also have 5 girls who have committed to D3 schools for hockey next year, one who has committed D1 for lacrosse, and at least 2 more who should have their commits wrapped up in the next month or so, so the top half of our roster is pretty good, talent-wise.
⚡DEADHEAD⚡
Footballguy
A bit of a shakeup is taking place in the soccer-playing community. Looks like US Soccer will shift to grade-based classifications next year instead of year-based.
Chadstroma
Footballguy
Explain this to me like I have no clue about what you are talking about.... you know, for others who don't and stuff.
That seems strange. What would be the reason for that?
It means instead of using ages (U12, U14 U16 etc) to determine the levels of play they will go by grades in school. So you could have a discrepancy of ages in a particular division because it is the 5th and 6th grade division.
Chadstroma
Footballguy
Ha! I was thinking it was like some sort of grading system which is what was really confusing me. I couldn't figure out how that would make sense.
Our school obviously does by grade which my kids are mostly involved in for sport. My daughter plays school volleyball (grade) and then club volleyball (age). My boys swim in age groupings. The discrepancy you can get in the grades can be significant. My older son is right on the line. We had the choice of putting him into school or keeping him in pre-school another year. I didn't want to hold him back so we went forward though I know a lot of parents sport minded actually intentionally hold their kids back in grades so that they will have an advantage in sport. In all the sports my son plays, he is basically the youngest kid playing and one of the best kids playing... if we did hold him back... it would be ridiculous how much he would dominate in all the sports. A year difference is HUGE at these ages. For schools, you have to go by grade. It wouldn't make sense otherwise but for sport outside of school, I don't see the benefit of going to grades.
I never thought about it going that way but now that you say that I may be completely off base. I guess I could see some leagues/teams etc doing an evaluation and creating teams based on talent level. Seems really difficult to do consistently as the evaluators will vary by so much. Seems like that would be terrible for younger ages as you could have a 5 year old playing with 12 year olds.
I am guessing my interpretation was correct but I guess I could be way off. hahahaa
⚡DEADHEAD⚡
Footballguy
You're correct Gally. This is about assigning kids to teams based on the grade they are in, not based on the year they are born. We changed the system in 2017 to the year to align with how the rest of the world does youth soccer. I'm light on facts, but it seems that works just fine in other countries because they also assign kids to grades based on birth year, not based on a window (e.g., Sept. 1 to Aug. 31).
Now we are going back to the old system because it seems parents have been unhappy seeing teams formed that don't take account who the peers are. Note this is for competitive soccer, not rec. Rec can do whatever they like, and they seem to largely do grade based.
Kids who excel will still have opportunities to play at higher age levels, so it'll be fine for the very talented kids. Playing up is fine. And then there are/will be the parents that hold their kids back a year so they can be the smartest and strongest...
Now we are going back to the old system because it seems parents have been unhappy seeing teams formed that don't take account who the peers are. Note this is for competitive soccer, not rec. Rec can do whatever they like, and they seem to largely do grade based.
Kids who excel will still have opportunities to play at higher age levels, so it'll be fine for the very talented kids. Playing up is fine. And then there are/will be the parents that hold their kids back a year so they can be the smartest and strongest...
⚡DEADHEAD⚡
Footballguy
There are many rumors, including the upcoming World Cup. US Soccer wants to seize on the national-level interest/mania to emphasize youth soccer enrollment (maybe parents were putting kids in rec instead of comp?). I do think soccer wants to take advantage of vulnerabilities it sees in enrollment in our other sports, particularly baseball and football. Smart thing to do actually.
How does changing how they divide up divisions increase enrollment? I have never based my kids enrollment in a sport on whether or not the divisions were based on age or grade. Maybe I am missing the point of your statements?
ETA: I just saw your previous post. Maybe I am different than other parents as how an organization arranged their divisions really had no impact for me.
⚡DEADHEAD⚡
Footballguy
Yeah parents are often unhappy when their kids cannot play together in comp soccer because one was born at the end of the year and the friend was born at the beginning of the next. Does this really affect enrollment? Perhaps if parents are turning to rec soccer instead. Still feels like a bit of a red herring.
Skipdog77
Footballguy
If that's what the parents are worried about, they should probably be playing rec soccer anyway.
Chadstroma
Footballguy
I can't imagine that that reason drives any real difference in numbers. I mean pretty much every other 'club' sport is by age.... I don't know of any that are not. If the rest of the world does it that way then it has to be the US trying to align itself with that.
I am very doubtful that other countries have as many parents holding their kids back in grade in order to perform better in sport. That seems very much like an American thing to do that would baffle other countries.
Seems like a very odd decision to me.
⚡DEADHEAD⚡
Footballguy
A theory that seems to make more sense is that ECNL wants to be a better path for kids to play D1 soccer (and this suggests that US Soccer is giving up on Club soccer being organized in a way that supports the national team's development, though I'm not sure they ever said that overtly).
Club soccer doesn't align with high school soccer, and one or the other suffers for it. With club soccer being based on grade, college recruiting will be easier and ECNL can play into that process more efficiently (teams will be made up of kids entirely eligible for D1 schools the following year, for example, as opposed to being of mixed eligibility).
This also eliminates the problem of kids being orphaned on a team, where the youngest kids on a team are also a grade lower and are watching their teammates graduate high school and their Club team falling apart. These kids can't play down. They're too old and that's against the rules. There's also probably $ loss as a result of this orphaning too that USSF would like to recover somehow.
ETA: Now I'm also reading it might be a date cutoff, not a grade cutoff. So it may be incorrect to say this is a grade cutoff, though the effort seems designed to align Club soccer with academic years to support transition to college. Changing the cutoff date would also de-incentivize parents to hold kids back, although they may do so for other sports.
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This sucks and has been an issue for years. Around my area it is the high school that suffers as any kid that has talent plays for their club and it really dilutes the competition for the high schools. I think softball is nearing this type of thing too but not quite to the same level.
All of these travel, club, etc type teams really eventually becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy as talent is pulled from rec/town/local/high school because you "gotta play travel" if you want to get better/scene. So rather than it being for the elite of the elite (which is what it used to be) it becomes so diluted that it can lose it's purpose. If kids just stayed with their local leagues the competition would be higher and it would elevate everyone at much less cost and travel. But as "talent" leaves the local it leads to the next step down of talent leaving to be challenged and then it trickles down and you end up with nothing at the local level. This is now becoming more prevalent with high schools and you are seeing it with soccer/softball/volleyball where the high school season isn't being recruited for college so the better players are playing other league instead of high school. It's sad as it really loses community involvement and pride in your school. Kind of sucks.
Chadstroma
Footballguy
HS sports are only important to top talent in as much as that is how they get recruited. If HS isn't the primary way recruitment happens like in the past and recruitment if focused on club organizations, the top talent will go there. Some will play both but I have heard more and more where club teams discourage or flat out ban playing for their organization AND HS. Football has a great advantage over other sports because there really isn't anything to compete with HS football for the talent and that is how you get recruited. Other sports, to varying degrees, seems to have moved away from HS sport.
From my own observance while learning swim.... it seems like swimmers do both club and HS but then actually don't really do club. I think it has something to do with practice time. Our club only sees the HS swimmers at the conference championship meet and that is it. I see some HS swimmers from other clubs here and there but for the most part, HS swimmers aren't at the ISI meets.
From my own observance while learning swim.... it seems like swimmers do both club and HS but then actually don't really do club. I think it has something to do with practice time. Our club only sees the HS swimmers at the conference championship meet and that is it. I see some HS swimmers from other clubs here and there but for the most part, HS swimmers aren't at the ISI meets.
⚡DEADHEAD⚡
Footballguy
Spot on.
MLS Next, the counterpart to ECNL, does not allow their players to play HS soccer.
There's also a giant money train underpinning everything, and there's no interest in ceding any of that to high school sports.
belljr
Footballguy
Softball is a mess. However here 16u and up (even some 14u) don't start summer season until HS season is over. So they will start late May and go 8 weeks to end of July. All while having tryouts in July for the upcoming fall
For many sports, the recruitment doesn't necessarily come from the high school sport. Football is one exception, but even with football the recruitment is largely coming from the various camps players attend to get noticed, then the coaches may see their film (twitter is huge for this process), and then the coaches may attend a game if they can make it part of a sweep of seeing several prospects in one trip.
For other sports like soccer, baseball, softball, volleyball, etc., it is much easier for coaches to watch at the major club tournaments as you have a ton of prospects in one place at the same time.
Basketball is a bit of a hybrid still, with major viewing tournaments for both AAU and high school. I'd venture a guess based on my experience with these that unless you are a top prospect, the major high school viewing tournaments are actually a better place to be seen, especially for the majority of kids that are lower level D1 or D2/D3 level prospects.
The only sport where I've seen first hand the club discouraging/disallowing players from playing high school is soccer at the true highest level of club, outside of that, almost all of the club organizations essentially shut down their high school programs during the high school season of sport (mentioned in a previous post if is a CIF violation for a student to participate in an organized activity of the same sport, during their high school season of sport).
Instinctive
Footballguy
FWIW when I was coaching at a P5 basketball program our recruiting stuff was like 95%+ from EYBL, UA, camp/leagues and then AAU. Some services did HS film for us you can subscribe to, especially for places like the fancy private schools with powerhouse sports teams that compete with each other. Montverde for example.
Chadstroma
Footballguy
I think the camps/combines serve different purposes in football according to your "level".
For the top talent level, like your D1 prospects, it is all about generating your stars.
For the lower talent is more about getting in front of D2/D3 coaches to get recruited by them.
I think that there are "levels" of the camps/combines as well. I am really curious about it.... in a few years, I may be helping my son navigate that whole thing and it seems like I have a ton to learn. I am not even sure how to begin to learn about it though really.
For the top talent level, like your D1 prospects, it is all about generating your stars.
For the lower talent is more about getting in front of D2/D3 coaches to get recruited by them.
I think that there are "levels" of the camps/combines as well. I am really curious about it.... in a few years, I may be helping my son navigate that whole thing and it seems like I have a ton to learn. I am not even sure how to begin to learn about it though really.
Chadstroma
Footballguy
One thing I noticed in swim with the higher level meets, like just below Olympic level.... you have some swimmers swimming for schools and then you have some swimmers swimming for clubs. I don't know how that all works out.
Seems like for swimming it would be very straightforward for recruiting. What's your time? What are your dimensions? Rack and stack. There isn't much subjectivity there. I am sure there are some technique improvement situations but it seems like times would be the most important thing.
Todem
Footballguy
Speaking from experience in terms of college baseball recruiting, unless you are playing at an elite high school program....your best bet is to play summer showcase travel and attend the specific school prospect camps of the schools your son is interested in. My son had both. And I will tell you other than the fact he played at arguably the very best 7A high school baseball team in the country, his coach did absolutely nothing for him in terms of getting recruited. What he did do was prepare him in practice (I will give him all the credit in that fact). It was me and him doing everything......he played on a solid (not spectacular) summer showcase team as I and my other coaches did not recruit all studs (and for good reason) and he was seen at a couple of big tourneys heading into his senior year. Emailing coaches and sending video was the biggest thing in getting recruited (the talent was there and assuming your kid has great grades and character and a AAA work ethic).
And I can tell you as well that Colleges are more and more going to the portal and less and less to high school freshman. It's getting a lot harder for guys who are not blue chip recruits to find a 4 year program out of high school and that is running thru all of college baseball D1,2,3 and NAIA.
And I can tell you as well that Colleges are more and more going to the portal and less and less to high school freshman. It's getting a lot harder for guys who are not blue chip recruits to find a 4 year program out of high school and that is running thru all of college baseball D1,2,3 and NAIA.
