Comments on: East Bay Girls Soccer Rankings (Through Feb. 1)

By: Nitro

Nitro — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 18:55:11 +0000

@ Top of the Box – “mate” am I speaking to a Brit? Great thread… I sense you and I are out for the kids! These are such incredibly important years for these athletes relative to their player development and also for their “difficult parents” who also have to be “developed”. How many soccer players do you know who have quit because of bad experiences with coaches. A week or so ago we were at a game where a couple of my past club players were on our opponents High School team and one was ready to quit because of her coach. I was privileged to have attended Anson Dorrance’s Coaching Champions program and if you have read anything about coaching girls you will know Anson is considered a National expert on the subject in-large part due to his success at UNC. I can only hope the AD’s are committed to all players being treated with respect and decency which is not mutually exclusive with coaching in a very competitive environment. The high school experience is one that shouldn’t include avoidable negative experiences by coaches who are ONLY, let me repeat ONLY concerned about winning or NCS Championships. Coaches and AD’s that are not up for the challenges that we face regardless need to step aside for people who FIRST are committed to the athletes. If I have learned one thing in life it is that the most important things in our life are often the most difficult and if you agree with that then coaching is going to be difficult…

By: Trick1496

Trick1496 — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 04:01:21 +0000

@dmach5 i was just wondering why you see #3 berekeley losing to #14 cvchs?

By: DMach5

DMach5 — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 03:51:48 +0000

@David
Berkeley is a solid team but they have not faced a keeper like the one the CVC Eagles have in Elms. She’s not only solid in shot-stopping but she organizes her defense really well – this team will go as far MVP Elms can take them. Meanwhile CVC set plays have become their go-to as they struggle in the run-of-play in the attacking third.

Agree on the Logan vs Cal game – that old carpet is hard to play on. Which is why Logan gets the edge in that game – their home field has its advantages for them. This game will be the nail biter of them all.

By: Top Of The Box

Top Of The Box — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 03:14:22 +0000

@ Nitro. Cheers to you mate..and I applaud you for coaching as well. I was not aware the situation at CHS dated back as far as you say…of course, because I, like many folks, go by what we hear and not by what we see in these situations. I hope the situation at CHS sorts itself out because, as you say, the kids deserve it.

By: David

David — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 02:12:02 +0000

@dmach5
Very brave of you! You’ve stepped into dangerous territory by making these predictions but I think they are solid. The Berkeley vs CV game is one that puzzles me. I haven’t seen either team but I’ve heard Betkeley is an impressive bunch whom I doubt could be shut out in the run of play: again this is all here say.
The Logan Vs Cal game I feel could also go either way, not because of Logan’s superiority but because of the “carpet” they play on. EBAL teams may not be able to adjust, however, in the end the team with the most talent should win!
Thanks for the insight!

By: Nitro

Nitro — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 02:06:36 +0000

@ Top of the box; from one coach to another, one of the greatest privileges I feel I have had in my adult life is that of a coach. With that said if you have been coaching for any length of time you know it is for the most part thankless. If any coach does it for that they are simply setting themselves up for disappointment. Most of us (and I believe you as well) do it for the kids. When I form teams I always look around the room and I know there will always be unhappy kids and unhappy parents – again part of the process. When coaches hear other coaches under attack I know we all react because most of us have experienced the same thing. Like anything in life there are good coaches and bad coaches. Our kids often learn as much from the bad coaches and they do the good coaches. As a parent and as a coach when I see kids being treated unfairly to the point of being hurt for some narcissistic cause I am going to stand-up, especially when it happens at an institution that stands for the complete opposite. If what went on at CHS was simply bad coaching that would be one thing, however what went on this year goes WAY beyond bad coaching. I applaud you for coaching for 20-years and I hope you are one of the coaches that realizes the responsibility you have because of the impact you have on these athletes. As for parents; well they are part of the sauce and must be managed accordingly, just sitting around and complaining about it makes no sense. If you have coached top performing athletes than you know the higher you go, the higher the expectations. Again managing expectations is part of the responsibility of good coaches. Fact is when team win you seldom hear a word from the majority of the parents. I can’t think of too many places I would rather be is on the grass with talented, competitive athletes even when their parents are at times difficult to manage. The problem at CHS is this has been going on for years and the talent of the soccer players in my opinion has masked coaches who simply do not care about the athletes, the program, soccer or the school. I hope this is the year the AD wakes up even if it takes some influence from parents and the administration. CHS has a tradition of fielding great teams in-part BECAUSE of the support of some high maintenance parents who have made an investment in the sport, family sacrifices and who just expect their daughters to be treated with respect and allowed to compete. What did someone say; nuff said!

By: DMach5

DMach5 — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 01:00:26 +0000

Time to make some predictions on the D1 Girls bracket:

Liberty @ San Ramon Valley

San Ramon Valley continues to roll. Congrats to Liberty for making it to the dance but they will be busy trying to keep the score decent. A 3-0 win as SRV calls the dogs off early and gives some minutes to the bench.

Deer Valley @ Monte Vista

Monte Vista wins here but its going to be a physical match. DV is not going to roll over – they have lots of fight in them.

Clayton Valley @ Berkeley

Clayton Valley Charter is the dark horse at this dance and could be Cinderella. DVAL Future Fan was spot on CV lacks offensive power. If they only had a center mid who would control & distribute. Meanwhile they are solid in the back specially in the net – Elms is D1 talent & should be DVAL MVP (definitely MVP at CVC. CVC gets a goal on a set piece wins 1-0.

Dougherty Valley @ Castro Valley

Castro Valley rolls to a 2-0 win. Too much firepower on CV roster and tough Defense gets them a well deserved win.

Freedom @ Amador Valley

AV has a tough match here but they will edge out Freedom 2-1. AV is shock full of talent – if they can just put it together, they could make a run deep in this dance.

Heritage @ College Park

College Park explodes and gets a hat trick from DVAL standout and D1 talent Scharff. Scharff has a good supporting cast but make no mistake, she stands tall in this game. CPs weakness in the back does not get exposed. CP wins 4-1.

Washington @ Foothill

Washington’s solid defense will be tested but they edge out Foothill in a mirror match 2-1. Both teams play similar styles but Washington’s attack will edge out Foothill’s defensive efforts.

California @ Logan*

Logan edges Cal 2-1 in a hard fought match that will be decided in the final 10 minutes. Logan’s strong team play will win out.

By: Top Of The Box

Top Of The Box — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 23:26:39 +0000

@ Big Dog…..nice. My point exactly….I am a coach..big deal. That was exactly my point. I don’t coach for notoriety nor do I coach to take flack from people (parents) who know nothing about soccer or competitive sports.

As I said from the beginning, I am not close enough to the CHS program to comment responsibly. The fact that you don’t have kids there anymore…not sure if you are close enough to it to comment responsibly either. So we can agree to disagree. No worries.

As you have said..we are all entitled to our opinions. I may take you up on the Irish Whiskey…that is definitely something I know a little about!

By: BigDog

BigDog — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 23:18:38 +0000

Top of the Box- I am far from ignorant- so you are a coach- big deal. My kids played college and at CHS they had impactful coaches who actually played their sports at successful college level, taught school, were Catholic and followed the school’s mission statement. They were role models and were much appreciated by the parents and respected by the students. Those coaches were thanked numerous times and have been associated with college atheletics since. Since my kids didn’t play soceer my only interest that I have stated is the dysfunction of the present team from the students and parents. There is definately something wrong. This has happened recently at CHS with 2 other sports with bad hire coaches who are now gone. The AD’s job is to hire qualified coaches who match the school’s mission statement.
So keep your panties on son, I am not hiding behind a blog. I am commenting just like you about what I have heard first hand from a lot of parents and students. Furthermore I am not interested in any more comments from you because you are entitled to your opinion, just like me. I coached a lot of football and also played college and semi pro. Not many parents complained back when about the football program. Since you might be a memeber of today’s coaching society, get this, they don’t make ‘em like they used to. When schools reverted to off campus coaching the accountability level fell, not all but some. I never sipped on any star bucks either, but drank a lof of Irish whiskey from a flask. Next time you if you ever had attend a DeLaSalle football game, look me up and we can continue our discussion.

By: CoachS

CoachS — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 21:39:01 +0000

Top of the box… you’re a hero.