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Seriously, Cubs, couldn't you have done me a favor and just won one game this past weekend - just one? I know we've won 9 of 12 and 6 of 9 - including two sweeps mixed in - and were missing half our studs because of injuries - but come on.
Thankfully, I have some thoughts on State Cup and Regionals to throw out there to get my mind off of your bad performance this weekend.
So here are the first two of the day, with more to come later:
*Is State Cup and Regionals a big thing anymore? The U-16, U-17 and U-18 Chicago Magic teams all play for the U.S. Developmental Academy, and they were not permitted to participate in State Cup and Regionals. The U-19 Magic team is now the Chicago Fire Juniors, as most of the boys play in the Fire PDL league for the summer.
*Three local Chicago girls from Eclipse Select are at a U-17 Women's National Team camp this week in New Jersey. This is the last camp before the CONCACAF qualifier.
*And when it comes to the Eclipse Select, it's damn if you do - damn if you don't. Last year, they struggled to get teams to Nationals. That had people questioning one of the nation's premier girls soccer clubs. This year, they have a number of teams headed to Nationals, and now critics are saying they should be there with all the talent they have.
But here's the most interesting question I have....
I listen to people say the premier clubs put together all-star teams, stealing talent from other clubs. True in some cases, but not all the time.
I would love to see how many kids from the premier clubs have been there since the age of 12? I think 12 is a fair age to start with. Kids are in seventh or eighth grade, and by then their parents know whether they can be competitive at the next level.
It's not fair for people to nail the premier clubs for not having all their players from the start, because that will never be possible. First, families move. Secondly, some kids are playing more than one sport, trying to figure out what they like the best.
- Joe Trost
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To give you an idea, the Eclipse U19 team who has won 7 straight State Cup titles, 2 Regional and 1 National title has had 10 core players who have been with this team/Club since U13/U14 (seventh/eighth grade).
Granted Eclipse Select can pretty much stack up a team. But, their U18 team has been pretty much home grown I believe. What changed this year to get them to Nationals? They did not even win State Cup but some how pulled it together for Regionals. Was it just a determined effort; team maturity, superior coaching, or, did they finally bring in some "ringers"?
kids start playing together at 4-5 years of age. cannot fathom how a team started with u13/u14s is "home grown". The Eclipse just moved south and pilfered a bunch of our 11 year olds. Real shame since even our remaining players will be more competitive in the short term. it is sad to see all the turmoil this causes among parents, players and coaches. especially the coaches who truly developed these girls then lose them before they can see the the full benefits of all their hard work.