The True Power Players - Coaches and Schedules...

On average, I probably talk to 15 to 20 high school or club coaches a day, a couple players, 5 to 10 college coaches and then random parents who reach out to me. I ask questions, I pick brains, I'm curious.

I've watched a lot of the same scheduling issues go on year after year after year. In a way, it's held the sport back - believe it or not. I'll give you a perfect example. The old SICA used to play a double round-robin, meaning that every team would play every team in its conference twice. You might think that's cool to set rivalries, but when most of the conference games are blowouts - it's useless.

For years, that really hurt programs in the south suburbs. They didn't have many opportunities to branch out to play other teams. So why did it go on for so long?

Easy scheduling for athletic directors.

In soccer, you're allowed the following: 17 games, no tournaments; 16 games, one tournament; or 15 games, two tournaments.

When you have 10 to 12 games already preset, life is good. (Before I go further, let's make this clear - athletic directors have to schedule for 101 sports, all levels. It's not easy. But with that said, there are some lazy athletic directors.)

I've always felt a varsity coach should be in charge of locking down their schedule, turning it into their athletic department and then contracts are sent out. Athletic directors will tell you some coaches aren't smart enough to do that (and I know in some cases that's true) but it would help the sport.

Teams need to play different teams.

Yes, you don't want teams traveling all over the place during school week. I get it.

Yes, you have conference games that you have to play. I get it.

Yes, you have rivalry games you want to play every year. I get it.

Yes, you want to play good competition. I get it.

Yes, some schools feel the need to play teams in their sectional for seeding purposes. I get it.

I'm not saying to not do any of that.

What I'm saying is to get different people on the schedule. Move around, play different areas. Play a team from the south suburbs one year and a team from the west suburbs the next year. Play a team from the north or host a team from the city.

Naperville Central played Oak Park, Young and Plainfield North early this season. Naperville North played Glenbrook South and Barrington. Different teams, different areas.

That's great. What does America love about the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament every year? We need more teams from all over playing different teams.

Why do you think I created the Pepsi Showdown? I didn't create it just to create the largest tournament around. Ask Lincoln-Way East coach Brian Papa or Lemont athletic director John Young. I pitched the idea to them in August 1993 and then called Naperville Central boys coach Jay Konrad.

I said to each one of them if athletic directors, coaches and schools are going to continue to do the same thing year after year after year, I'm going to create something that allows flex scheduling, new match-ups and true seeds. Not seeds based on program name - true seeds.

Do you think the Loyola girls soccer team would've played U-High, Maine South, Oak Park or H-F if it wasn't for the Pepsi Showdown this spring? I'm not going to lie, I thought it was pretty cool to see New Trier play Huntley and Payton play Hinsdale South. Those teams had never played, and Huntley beat New Trier and Payton tied Hinsdale South.

That's not touting a tournament, it's giving examples and asking you this question: Do you really think they would've scheduled one another? If you do, I suggest you don't go to Vegas any time soon.

So what's the point, Trost?

Yesterday, I brought up the point about the haves and have-nots. And here's the issue I have with some coaches, who use this theory when scheduling. A number of coaches at the so-called premier schools are afraid to schedule up-and-coming programs. In a way, it's a lose-lose for them.

If they beat them, they were supposed to. But if they lose to them, it could hurt them in sectional seeding meetings. Why? Well let's see, half the coaches in the room haven't seen half the teams play and vote on reputation. Do you think if Huntley was in any room before the start of the season that anyone outside of Maine South coach JJ Crawford would've said they were good? Crawford saw them in the sectional final last year. He knew they were going to be good.

Most coaches would've ranked them low, because they're not a well-known school. People forget each year is a new year. Hinsdale Central is a great program on both the boys and girls sides, but its girls team last spring wasn't a premier team. Sadly, many still would've voted them high on name and name alone.

I remember when St. Charles traveled to the south suburbs for the first time back in 2000 to play Lincoln-Way. There were still many who felt the Knights weren't a true state contender, because they were from the south suburbs. On that night, they beat St. Charles on an amazing goal by Denise Papke. That was a big deal in the south suburbs. It created soccer excitement around the area. St. Charles beat Lincoln-Way in the IHSA final that spring. The Saints still got what they wanted in the end, but they did help the sport overall by traveling to the south suburbs earlier that spring.

Earlier this week when I was talking to former Lincoln-Way coach Tim Kilrea, he praised former Waubonsie Valley girls coach Judy Keller.

"Judy agreed to play us when she had the team, and we were just an up-and-coming program in the early 1990s," Kilrea said. "She didn't have to play us, but she wanted to help us and the sport grow. When we finally beat them, she was happy for our program and our kids. I'm sure she wasn't happy her team lost, but she saw the bigger picture."

So what's the point, Trost?

How can scheduling be adjusted to help the sport and create new match-ups each year?

It's easy - leave one game open until the end of the season. Over the summer, each coach looks around and picks a new program from a different area to play.

Now I know athletic departments like to have everything done, but we're talking one game that is a year away. It's not hard. It's a little extra effort to let the kids play and travel to a different area in some cases.

How many kids from Naperville do you think have ever traveled to Flossmoor and played at H-F? Don't you think it would've been cool to see that match up this year? How many kids from Barrington have ever traveled and played a city school in the city? Naperville Central traveled to play Young on a weekday this season in city, Barrington, Fremd or someone else can. Maybe not during the week, but there are Saturdays in the schedule.

I'll never forget talking to St. Viator coach Sam Donnelly, who is in his second season this spring. Prior to the first Saturday of the Pepsi Showdown, Donnelly said he didn't know who Stagg was. Donnelly didn't know where they were from before the game, but he praised them after his team battled them to a 1-1 tie.

It's more than a game - it's exposing players to different teams. It's about giving them a chance to see different areas and allowing them to see things first hand. It's also about giving opposing teams a chance to play against the best for once.

Ask a number of suburban players what they think of Chicago Public Schools, and I bet many of them will say they're bad. That's not true. There are a number of great schools in the city, but countless suburban kids have never been exposed to them. They've only seen what's been in the news.

One reason why I make sure Public League teams are involved in the Pepsi Showdown every year is to expose the city players to the suburbs, to show them what is outside the city. Now, I try to make sure I bring suburban teams into the city to help them appreciate what they do have in the suburbs.

Coaches need to put the egos aside and not worry about a win or loss at times. I understand that rankings and seedings create this need to win and all that good stuff, but we're talking one game.

When you play in the same fish bowl each year, you're cheating players and the game. High school soccer needs to help itself grow the sport in all areas and allows players to see so many different cultures and styles.

So what's the point, Trost?

Coaches play a powerful role in deciding whether any of this happens.

That's the (long-winded) point.

- Joe Trost