⚽️⚽️⚽️…Delusional Youth Soccer Parent Thread
- Thread starter lawpoke87
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Bartlesville has a surprisingly good soccer culture (in addition to swim). The number of kids from those communities making the hellacious drive to south Tulsa to play with TSC or Blitz is crazy too.
I actually do.
He was TU’s strength and conditioning coach under Montgomery. Works with a lot of high school and college athletes in the area.
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I've been told by someone that is close-ish to Greenwood that he was def asked to leave.
Seems like this is a recurring theme with JM. Everyone acknowledges what a great soccer talent/trainer he is and yet every few years he is on the move from club to club or position to position and it's not necessarily his choice.
"his choice." I think we know it is his choice not to act like a fool and keep emotions in check.
It is unfortunate because we know what he is capable of.
My son’s team at Tufts beat the other Tufts club team tonight 2-1. This will probably be the toughest team they play before regionals and they exacted a little revenge for the 1-0 loss they took in the El Medfordo Derby last year. He said he has to make several saves, including a tough one off an Olympico attempt. He said he had a few more saves as well vs his regular answer when we ask him if he made any tough saves and he says “not really”. They’ve got another game vs Brandeis on Sunday.
So we’ve done a lot of talking about quality of fields in Tulsa. Yesterday I ref’d a couple of games out at Keas in Bixby as a favor to the assignor. (Some of you may have heard that a long time Tulsa referee died from pancreatic cancer…he had been assigning for Bixby soccer as well and Gabriel picked the job up to help out). There was a GLUT of local games this weekend and a severe shortage of referees available. I received no fewer than 6 emails on Friday from local clubs and assignors desperate to fill gaps in their schedules.
Back to Keas- I am revising my “best natural grass pitches” ranking to have Keas at the top. Oh my gosh. They were truly pristine. Aside from the occasional gopher mound that the field supervisor went around knocking down and smoothing before anyone else arrived, they were level and smooth, the grass seemed to be golf course fairway quality and extremely consistent throughout. They were just nice and I always make a walk around to make sure there are no inconsistencies in the surface that I need to be aware of for my safety as well as players’ safety. Nets were all weighted/anchored, the lines were all 4” and best of all-STRAIGHT (IYKYK).
So a weird thing I saw out there….Dallas Rush was playing a game against a team from Kansas. Not sure if they were from Wichita or KC area but it was definitely a Kansas team. I wonder if they opted to play halfway instead of one side having to drive 8 hours (or if this was maybe part of a larger RL or GA or some other alphabet soup weekend).
Back to Keas- I am revising my “best natural grass pitches” ranking to have Keas at the top. Oh my gosh. They were truly pristine. Aside from the occasional gopher mound that the field supervisor went around knocking down and smoothing before anyone else arrived, they were level and smooth, the grass seemed to be golf course fairway quality and extremely consistent throughout. They were just nice and I always make a walk around to make sure there are no inconsistencies in the surface that I need to be aware of for my safety as well as players’ safety. Nets were all weighted/anchored, the lines were all 4” and best of all-STRAIGHT (IYKYK).
So a weird thing I saw out there….Dallas Rush was playing a game against a team from Kansas. Not sure if they were from Wichita or KC area but it was definitely a Kansas team. I wonder if they opted to play halfway instead of one side having to drive 8 hours (or if this was maybe part of a larger RL or GA or some other alphabet soup weekend).
My son and his Tufts squad beat Brandeis 1-0 yesterday. He said it was hot, almost 90 and they were on turf. Said the score should have been much worse, like 4 or 5 to 0 in favor of Tufts. I think they have 1 more regular season game against Harvard A and if they win, they win their conference.
I know he was pissed because he gave up a goal in a game they lost but I think he only has 3 GA in 8 games so far.
I know he was pissed because he gave up a goal in a game they lost but I think he only has 3 GA in 8 games so far.
Man, I haven't been out there in quite a while.
It seemed like that Sheffield club was making a surge but then petered out. Shame.
I don't think Highlanders or Sheffield could sustain competitive levels drawing from Bixby alone and unless you have to go out that way, it's not easy to get to for practices. Memorial is a traffic nightmare most days and it's the only way in and out of Bixby unless you're willing to drive 10 miles out of your way to 75 and come in on 151st. Highlanders ended up getting absorbed by Blitz (now FC Tulsa Academy). Sheffield, most of it anyway, became the competitive arm of Broken Arrow Soccer Club and those teams have since been rename BA Express. There was a splinter of Sheffield that remained with a couple of coaches who kept it going. Lots of Coweta kids among others. I haven't seen any of their teams in the past year so who knows...but that Keas complex is $$$. I had heard they were planning to expand it (5-6 more fields on the north side of the chain link fence) and I think those are used but it is not the same grass variety as within the chain link fence. Bixby teams may just use that area for training. I would assume the need to expand it and make all the fields that same premium quality is no longer there since they don't have a competitive club side any longer and the rec side seemed to be pretty modest in size.
Saw a deal that BASC is trying to get the city to add four more turf fields. That is a good idea. Jenks would be wise to invest in more fields. The number of people it brings in virtually every day from outside the city is probably second or third behind the outlet mall or aquarium. People don't like going to the hellhole that is indian springs only.
My good buddy in KC says they have seven complete turf complexes in the area. I was at one of them that was sporting trains. It was incredibly nice. Man, I was jealous. It almost made me want to move, since both my wife and I have somewhat remote jobs. I don't like the sporting lock on everything, though. It is disgusting.
The only problem is the heat in the summer here. Apparently, his son had played on a field recently that had a wood-chip-based surface, which significantly reduced the heat.
My good buddy in KC says they have seven complete turf complexes in the area. I was at one of them that was sporting trains. It was incredibly nice. Man, I was jealous. It almost made me want to move, since both my wife and I have somewhat remote jobs. I don't like the sporting lock on everything, though. It is disgusting.
The only problem is the heat in the summer here. Apparently, his son had played on a field recently that had a wood-chip-based surface, which significantly reduced the heat.
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So the latest I heard on BASC is that fields 28, 29, and 30 are 3 that are being targeted to be converted to turf. These are the ones immediately west of 145th E Ave when you drive into the complex. Those fields hold a ton of water when it rains. I know they are also working on leveling out field 16 (east side of the road, far north part of the complex, runs parallel to the gravel road back there. That field was both terrible with the amount of water it held PLUS it was incredibly uneven. I don't know if that is one being targeted to be turfed...I would doubt it since that field doesn't have any lights. My guess is it would be field 8 which is the far southeastern 11 v 11 field in the loop. I think that field may play host to the most games of any of the 11 v 11 fields in the complex. The only other thing I can think of is perhaps turfing over fields 1-5 which are all 7v7 and 9v9 fields that get a ton of play. They are typically in great shape though.
Mohawk is the complex that should be turfed over. Leave the top 4 fields as high quality grass fields and turf over fields 5-12 on the lower part of the complex (all the 11 v 11 fields north of the road).
That's a wild comment, when I've never seen one of his teams get into a fight or him encouraging his team to fight.
The fight was certainly ugly. Not a good look for a new MLS academy.
As far as JM, he coached those kids involved for years. They were NEVER involved in anything like that when he was on the sidelines. To my knowledge not one of his teams has ever been involved in that type of activity.
Do you plan to stay blessed with this culture after this season?
How have the changes been?
Does everyone think this whole thing is going to fall apart at this point?
I have the video and no I won't share it. I've seen worse. I still question the future of Greenwood even though I really like the owner. No high School, No JM, and Mohawk??? Seems like a stretch to last. I'm not a fan of some of the coaches either. But then again I like the owner and he has a great history with MLS Next. So before one of you MLS Next parents run to complain about me like ECNL Girls parent. I trust him to know if this will work or not......
Typical team fight. “Bad” to me would equate to multiple boys beating down one kid or kids being bloodied. It’s not good but it’s not that. Feel bad for Michael having to deal with MLS Next on the matter. Frustrated kids who aren’t using to losing like they did.
I’ve had my comments screenshotted by parents and sent to coaches/directors. It is what it is.
Near the end of our tenure at TSC, a story I recounted on the old thread was screenshot by a parent and sent to our teamsnap. It turned into a whole big thing, with the parent very mad that I would "talk about their kid". The truth is: I simply recounted our weekend in soccer, the good and bad. I didn't name anyone, didn't post jersey numbers, etc. No real identifying info.
It turned into a big thing that only served to hasten our exit from TSC.
Of course, there's more to that entire situation, but it doesn't really matter anymore.
So towards the end of my son's time at TSC, a parent of another GK decided to send to the team snap, which TSC paid for and thus monitored, a whole diatribe about how her son was offered a spot on the 2004 Bartlesville NEOFC side because at the time, the coach of the TSC NPL side (2nd team) was bringing my son on as a 2nd keeper for the following year and they would split time. All the players knew it, all the parents knew it and most importantly, those 2 groups were in support of it. My son had "guest played" with that group the entire year....tournaments, league games, NPL playoffs. And then TSC club mgmt got involved. They actually changed the coach of that 2nd team and the coach who was there was moved down to the 3rd team. Not a single player moved between the two because of possible player defections (there were 3-4 kids on the higher team who were about to get dropped to the 3rd team and 2-3 kids were set to move up). That same year, 3-4 kids were getting bumped down from ECNL as well...they ended up on a Rec+ team out in BA together (along with other top players from other clubs...that team ended up being pretty stout).
But yeah, TeamSnap, especially when it is paid for and administered by the club, can be a terrible thing. I'm not sure all the parents knew the club was monitoring things either.
I tell people all the time...people and parents are morons. They are jealous. They don't like reality. They are really, really impatient.
Sometimes you have top teams killing it at a club, but the lower-level teams aren't. It can be seemingly embarrassing to be on the lower-level team. In actuality, your kid is learning. You may have transitioned from rec; they may not be picking it up as fast, but ahead of rec, they may have just started? Do you put them on a top team and not play as much, or play all the time and not win as much? It's a debate. Some kids may rise to the challenge. Others not so much. There is no perfect answer here. Some of it is mental, and that isn't always apparent right at the start of the season, especially for younger children.
Many people don't have a clue about Soccer, and even some who supposedly have experience in the sport are clueless. They played soccer on a state title team at catoosa. BALL..Fing.Er. Even college and professional individuals take some time to enter the coaching ranks and learn. They think they know or will be good, but they just aren't. They lack the ability to lead. There are too many a-holes. They are stuck in their ways, etc....
Many have different ideas about development. You shouldn't be focused on winning. Stick your fattest, biggest kid in goal for 4v4 to try and win and never have him move off the goal line. Kick the ball really hard instead of taking kids on. Passing and tactics vs dribbling, etc...
I would honestly love to appear on some of the YouTube videos and crush some of these people. They have never had children in the sport. They have never coached at the youth level. They have played only in a specific area of the country, but Angola is so awesome. Bolivia is producing so much talent. Uhhhh yeah bro.
Some of this is about goals and where your kid is at a particular age.
Some of the anonymous Facebook local soccer groups are full of incredible idiots. It is amusing.
I am sure people think I am one, but I like to have fun with things a lot. 75% the time, I'm joking around on these boards because aren't message boards just for making people's blood boil?
I don't think that parent would've been that upset if our kids didn't already have "beef".
TSC wanted to suspend me from the club for that post / those screenshots. I was honestly shocked that the club wanted to punish me for something that was so ambiguous lol
I saw a nice video (think it was from a podcast) that had the UMiami (OH) coach as a guest talking about how club soccer, especially ECNL, is ruining the players and the parents because at the club level, everyone expects playing time because parents are paying so much $$$ for that privilege. The college coach was saying it's unrealistic for a FR to come in and think they should be playing or even get some playing time. He said his job as coach is to make sure the players who are putting in the work AND give the team the best chances to win play and many times that's not going to be a FR. The host goes on to mention that in many cases these 17-18 yr old FR are coming in and trying to complete with adult women who have 2-3 years of college strength and conditioning under their builts, understand the work ethic needed. These FR come in having only really ever competed in their own age group so every player is somewhat similar in physical development and somewhat similar in the mental development. He said the disparity is even worse at NAIA because there aren't age limitations at that level so sometimes you've got 23, 24, 25 year olds with families competing against a fresh eyed 18 year old freshman.
Interesting perspective.
Yeah. After being there for like, 6 years...that's where we were lol
If I had named a kid or whatever, fine. I didn't though. It was ambiguous lol