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The Four Tops once sang, "Now it's the same old song."
After receiving 114 emails and talking to a number of school officials, coaches and parents on Monday in regards to the IHSA's latest soccer debacle with the placing of Providence in the Class 3A Edwardsville Sectional, I finally hit the stop button on Beth Sauser's same old song tenure as soccer administrator for the IHSA.
This is the latest blunder under Sauser's leadership, and enough is enough.
It's time for Sauser to be reassigned.
For years, I've pointed out the state's so-called main association doesn't have anyone in its leadership group with a soccer background. While you don't need someone with a soccer background to avoid this latest screw up, it just shows how mismanaged this sport has been under Sauser's tenure.
From her game officials not knowing the rules to the fact she has lost all credibility within the soccer community, the time has come for Sauser to either step down or be reassigned to a different sport.
I don't dislike Sauser as person. She means well, but the state needs to have someone in the position that is respected, understands the game and the issues it faces.
Each year, Sauser hosts a roundtable for coaches at the IHSA finals. And each year, fewer coaches attend because they're tired of hearing the same old song from Sauser.
High school soccer needs to be revived in Illinois, and one place that can start is at the IHSA. There needs to be a leader in place that will get out and see the issues first hand, so then that leader can go back and help educate the rest of the state with what's best for the sport.
Sauser has failed in this role, trying to place it back on the coaches to educate their administrators. She doesn't know the sport, and I have yet to hear from one coach saying that she is right for the role. Many high school administrators have lost confidence in Sauser after dealing with her.
As I pointed out in one of Monday's blogs, the IHSA placed Providence in the Class 3A Edwardsville Sectional. In what Sauser has called a geographic tournament, the New Lenox-based school was going to have to travel 245 miles one way on school night - a mere four hours.
Now keep in mind New Lenox-based Lincoln-Way Central is in the Homewood-Flossmoor Sectional, which is located 16 miles from the town.
Someone, anyone with a clue please tell me how in the heck two programs from the same town - a couple miles apart - went 16 miles one way and 245 miles another way?
On Monday afternoon, the IHSA moved the Providence-Normal game from Tuesday to Wednesday. Late Monday, they moved the game from Edwardsville to Illinois State University. It will now start at 3:45 p.m. - not 7 p.m.
This basically gives Normal a home game thanks to the Bloomington-Normal-based IHSA.
Do you think Sauser looked to move the game anywhere in the middle, so both teams have to really travel?
Maybe.
But even if she did, it's still time for Sauser to be reassigned.
- Joe Trost
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Wow........truly dumb IHSA Hall of Infamy type decision.
I nominate Joe Trost for the position!
Providence was trying to get a fan bus of kids to travel to Normal for the game. For all the right eduational reasons, Providence Administration will not allow the kids (fans) to leave school early to support the soccer team. Obviously rescheduling the game to Normal is a bad call to begin with, but at least having the game at 6 or 7pm would have allowed Providence to get fans to the game. Many varsity parents, my better half included, are not in positions to leave their jobs midday to get to an afternoon game. Just seems so crazy and an obviuos biased decision.
I want to thank you for your support in this matter. Apparently though, we are falling on deaf ears as many Providence parents have tried to plead our case with no response from the IHSA. If the IHSA has valid reasoning for their decision to move the location, date, and place, we would gladly listen. Regardless, the Providence Catholic soccer team has a game to play at 3:45...and play they will!
IIRC, the Providence principal a few years back supported class expansion because it was "sound educational policy." Wonder if he/she still feels that way. You wanted more classes, you got 'em.
Normal Community H.s. went to the Quad -cities twice last week which is 2.5 hours from here. I don't think the IHSA has done them any favours. Last week they went to Joliet when there was a regional across town.
Deaf ears is a good way to put it. Every year concerns are brought up, and every year the only rule changes we see, are making sure the tape on the socks or the sliding shorts are uniform in color. Oh wait I forgot the big change this year....having a coaches box marked off with cones. Laughable.
I understand the concept of geographic representation, and this has been thrown in our faces every year why they do NOT split up the Sectional from Hell with Nequa, Naperville North, Nap Central, Benet, Aurora East/West, Wabonsie Valley, Downers North and South, all the Plainfields to just name some, their response to our complaints on the insane concentration of quality teams was throwing Wheaton Warrenville South and Lockport in there too. Sure they took out Hinsdale Central and South, which they were overjoyed to hear I am sure, as HC just beat Morton to go to the Sectional finals, where in the old sectional they would not have made it out of a regional. 3 classes have made the regions a nightmare to divide in many ways I am sure as well.
I know the South is always under represented, ask teams in the 90's how that went as Collinsville, Edwardsville and Granite City would come up to state and beat all the Nationally ranked power houses from the burbs. Those days are not the same though, with the internet and the ease(well easier at least) of media coverage these days those teams are represented better than ever in the regional and national polls. Ask O'Fallon, this years sleeper.
And my last point is teams up here can't just drive 15 miles across the river to play St.Louis Schools. We can sometimes get a good Indiana match up, but most of the Indianapolis area powers like Noblesville, Carmel, Columbus/Bloomington Zionsville have travel restrictions as per IHSAA rules and cannot come to Chicago for tournaments by mile restrictions(unless they changed it since I coached there), so we have to play the northwest teams like Lake Central(darn good by the way), Portage, or maybe if lucky a South Bend school. But Indiana has game restrictions making them playing out of state much harder. They play less games than we do in Illinois, so getting bonus matches are pretty tough northern Illinois teams do play Wisconsin teams, but Naperville is too far south to make that feasible unless in a tournament setting. I am sure if money and taking kids out of school to travel to Edwardsville was feasible Nequa would love to do it. Reitz, by the way is EVANSVILLE Reitz, from Evansville Indiana and it is so far from Naperville it would be insane (6 hour drive on a good day). They'd have to fly to that game.
It comes down to this, the IHSA just doesn't care, and don't want to be told by anyone how to do things.
Agree with everything. As for O'Fallon, I wouldn't say they are a sleeper. They have come up to the Pepsi Showdown for the past four years, along with Gibault. There is a reason why they do. Jason Turkington expected his team to be good, and they have been good.
Speaking of Coaches meetings at the state tournament. Guess how many single A coaches showed up tonight at the coaches round table? Just 2 and one of them is no longer an Illinois coach. Former Peotone Coach Randell was here visiting and watching the A semi games with me and decided to come to the meeting with me. It was the just the two of us, with Beth. Who actually forgot and didn't come to the meeting room. So I went to the press box and the 3 of us chatted for about 15 minutes. I stated my normal concerns that I state every season at these meetings. Seeding that makes sense. Making teams accountable that don't participate in the seeding process and getting rid of the ridicules PK rules we use.
While I may or may not agree with Joe over Beth's ability to be in charge, what I really think about this situation is how tired I am of hearing my coaching counterparts complain over and over about the IHSA soccer issues. I've been to every meeting at the single A level (fall and spring) for the past 6 years and the most coaches we've ever had attend one of the these meetings is 5. This tells me two things, most coaches really don't care about the state of the sport and they don't support the sport as they should. If we actually had a sizable group of coaches attend, bringing the same issues to the table, we might actually get changes made. Well, maybe! I can dream, can't I?
This is something I say to every coach when they complain to me. And the response I hear back, why waste my time? It falls on deaf ears. As for the second soccer weekend, it's the same 10-15 coaches who show up, but it's less and less every year.
As much as I agree with the complaint of having to go 245 miles one way, please don't forget that Quincy get's the screws put to them annualy as well. This year our first game was in Granite City and our second in Edwardsville, where we got to play Edwardsville High. The IHSA says they want to cut down on travel, yet they send the Quincy football team to Morgan Park. Now that makes sence. The sad part of all of this is that with the southern 3A teams, they grouped into 4 team regionals instead of 1 large sectional. Thus, teams like Quincy, Edwardsville, Collinsville, and O'Fallon all end up knocking each other out, while some other teams advance that really don't belong.
Why not host a 16 team sectional in Springfield and let all the teams have to travel and there would be no home field advantage because there is no 3A schools there. The kids get screwed at winning regionals because the IHSA doesn't look at how they group teams together. In class 2A, they put Springfield High, Springfield SHG, and Chatham all in the same regional. In another regional the only average team was Springfield Southeast. Springfield High ended up beating them 5-0 in the first round of the seectional.
Isn't the purpose of the playoffs to ensure that the best teams advance?
For another note, I think Peoria Notre Dame, the defending class 2 state champion should be considered the favorite to win class 2.
Couple responses:
1. I have no problem with travel, as long as everyone might travel. As for your football example, that's one week and they have tried to make football into a true seeding format.
2. As for the state favorite for Class 2A, no doubt PND is. But for local Chicago area rankings, St. Viator is the favorite. And at the end of the day, St. Viator and PND would be a great match up again.
PND vs Viator will be a good game. I think they went PK's in Peoria last month.
You would have to explain your version of travel, as far as putting a mileage on it. Quincy for example the last 2 years has had to go to the back yard of the other teams. This is why I think they should take the 16 teams south of I80 and seed them 1-16 and have a neutral place like a Springfield.
Another question I propose to you is this.
Should teams with turf fields host regionals, sectionals, etc? Is there a competitive advantage for those schools who are financially sound and have put in those fields. In our case, our regional was at Granite City, but when rain forced the game to be moved to SIU-E that has a turf field, did Edwardsville gain an advantage because they train on it every day?
That being said, we lost 1-0, but we played just fine on it and that in my opinion was not a hinderance to us. But did Edwardsville play better because of it? I am not making an excuse here, just feeling out your opinion on this. Seems to be a gray area. If Edwardsville had to come to Quincy and play on our field, where the grass is longer than most fields, I think we would have had a decided advantage.
Teams that play on turf regularly have a HUGE advantage when playing teams on that turf that do not play on it regularly. The speed of play is much faster than a grass field, and it takes time to develop a touch for the surface and a feel for how the ball plays off the surface, how to put proper pace and spin on the ball when passing, especially deep into corners. Keepers have to make totally different saves and shots skim the ground faster most times on the turf. Yeah grass fields are unpredictable, an advantage of the flat turf surface have over them. There is no mud, and moisture works differently etc..
Sure grass fields vary in sizes (usually too small) but many turf fields or even large grass fields even provide advantages from that size. Oswego has a wonderful field out there(real grass too by the way), but when we go out there to play, the sheer scale of the field effects our play via spacing, conditioning, how we play in virtually every facet. It is a huge advantage for them every time we go there as they are accustomed to the field, they play on it very well and know how to use it to their advantage from the many additional hours they get on it training. I don;t even have a space to practice that is as big as their whole field. Dead balls are farther, everything is just very different than what we'd usually see.
On a side note, I watched several balls go out of bounds tonight at Benedictine that would have stayed in on grass. There is a difference on the synthetic and it is more than minimal, anyone who says differently has not played on it, or has no clue. Sure there is and always will be some home court advantage, but this is more than just knowing where the dead spot on the court is from lose boards.
The one thing we never talk about is the amount of injuries turf may be causing and the long term damage on knees and joints playing on a harder surface can create.