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It's supposed to be 60 degrees and sunny today, but who knows if it actually will be as I write this on Wednesday night. We all know the weather forecast is about as reliable as common sense coming out of the Bloomington Ivy Tower.
But then again, even if it rained or snowed, I'd still be smiling today. The Pepsi Showdown girls kicks off its second tournament this afternoon, an event that is finally off the ground and is three years away from being the main tournament in Illinois.
As I was emailing with a parent on Wednesday night, he said he wished his daughter's team was in the tournament. And why shouldn't he?
Call me bias all you want, but it represents everything high school soccer needs. Just ask the Hersey players (left) jumping in the air at the 2008 Pepsi Showdown.
One thing college coaches love about club soccer is being able to attend major showcases and see hundreds of players from all over at one site. It's common sense for them. Each year when I attend the Disney Soccer Showcase in December, I sit and talk with coaches all weekend. They tell me high school soccer needs more events like the Pepsi Showdown to help them.
You have a handful of very good girls soccer tournaments, but in most cases you are forced to go all over the place to see a number of teams. That's why the two Saturdays of the Pepsi Showdown - www.pepsishowdown.us - are so unique, because you're able to see countless teams at one site in one day.
The tournament partners realize that, too. For example, B96 (96.3 FM) is coming out on its own to broadcast live from Oak Park-River Forest High School on April 4 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. When was the last time you heard a major radio station coming out to broadcast live from a prep soccer event? You hear them live every Friday during the football season, but soccer?
The folks at Lyons in the fall and Oak Park in the spring have helped this tournament grow. There is a ton of work that goes on behind the scenes. Once the games kick off, they run themselves. But it's the small things, the personal touches that make this tournament like no other.
Some will argue the Pepsi Showdown doesn't have the best teams, but this tournament is open to anyone who is ready for a challenge of a true seeded bracket. This tournament has grown and improved every year, while making sure it offers opportunities to every part of the state and not just a select "country club" few.
I've always said the Pepsi Showdown offers the mid-level teams a shot, while offering the premier squads big-time exposure and the chance to play at Toyota Park. How many people really thought about York (above) going into last season? The Dukes advanced to the semifinals a year ago, and it caught the attention of everyone.
The tournament has avoided scheduling head-to-head with the Naperville Invite in the spring and other tournaments in the fall. This isn't a competition - it's an opportunity to promote and expose the sport, the players and the teams as much as possible. But as teams move tournaments, as one team is living the Naperville Invite to join the Pepsi Showdown next spring, and the Pepsi Showdown expands to 64 teams, it will become even larger.
But no matter how big it becomes, it will always maintain the focus it had from the start - the sport, the players and the teams.
- Joe Trost
joetrost@hotmail.com
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Joe:
I'm very much in favor of the Pepsi Tournament. I love watching games between good teams. However, the one problem I see is that with game on Saturday, more than a few teams will be practicing or playing 6 days a week. A lot of the kids also on club teams have been playing and practicing with their club indoors 4-5 days a week since last November. You know, they are not yet collegate or professional athletes and I think some of them will get kind of "burnt out" by the middle of the season. And kids that get burnt out probably get injured more frequently. And ,amazing at it may seem, some of them actually have to study and go to school too.
Nothing is worse for womens soccer then to have the captain wear the armband on their leg. Have you every seen Messi, Lampard, or Kaka do that? If it is too big then either pump some more iron or sew it up. Now that is AYSO. Have some pride. What is going on at York?
But that's where you need to know the facts. Pepsi is spread out over a three-week period with the boys in the past and two weeks next year. No back-to-back games. Teams like the tournament because of that. They aren't forced to play three games in five days or two games in one day. Coaches have worked their schedule to take advantage of Pepsi, because they know they are going to be able to pick who they want to play and have the flex of a new schedule each year.
Hi Joe,
Any consideration to moving event to later next spring to avoid conflicts with Spring Break's at schools.
I know every school has different "breaks" and every school handles scheduling during this "family time" differently, but ...
This was a debate before the start of the tournament and even after last year. It's a challenge, because out of respect for other tournaments, I have a few select dates before the IHSA's tournament. We have sent out a three-year schedule to coaches before the start of this tournament, as we are going later in April beginning next year. Spring Breaks are different everywhere now. Last year, the Pepsi Showdown was the first two weeks in April. But out of respect for Good Friday and Easter weekend, we pushed back this year. It's a tough challenge. I want teams at full strength and teams want that, too. It's like with the ACT, that's next Saturday. Kids have options to not take it next Saturday, and coaches have the opportunity to communicate that a year in advance because I communicate the schedule to them. Next year, Geneva, Wheaton South, Lincoln-Way East, Stagg, Libertyville and Mundelein are joining the Pepsi Showdown girls.