Quote:
Originally Posted by browna
After community soccer, played up until 12, I played in a simpler time of club soccer. You lived in an area of the city, you played for that club. 2 transfers per team were allowed, from another quadrant.
SE - Celtics SW - Foothills NE- Eastside NW - Blizzards -South Central - Chinooks.
Club soccer was fun. Little politics because players lived in the area played on the team, so there was continuity and friendships. We went and played out a lot on our own because we wanted to.
Now, there are no geographical restrictions. Teams can cut players and those players can go to another club and bump someone else off potentially. This leads to politics and favoritism amongst players, coaches, and parents, and each is doing all they can to stay ahead of their teammates.
Maybe I was lucky, don't know....but taking the regional restrictions off of club soccer just means continuous games of one-upsmanship and pissing contests between clubs to see who can brag about the best players and the best programs (and all the problems that sort of popularity contest brings), all while collecting money from parents who have no choice but to fork over $$.
I know probably 3/4 of the original PDL Storm team back when; there was no issue with that because it was outside of the umbrella that Foothills in this case is trying to keep to itself. AMSL and PDL lived together, and while not ideal, there wasn't infighting amongst clubs to stop players from playing, because the clubs didn't have the power (or desire) to stop player from playing at a higher level.
My 2c.
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A lot of good points in there. The no geographic restrictions is definitely a problem. It was the same for myself in youth - only 2 imports/team. My team just happened to have the best import in the city. (CJ Pesneker if anyone remembers him). I think the restrictions were dropped because Edmonton never had them, which gave them an unfair advantage. I remember playing them in provincials (inter mainly), they would basically put all-star teams together, yet we would still
usually come out on top. While I think having the best players compete against/with the best players is a good thing, maybe they should restrict it to 4 players per team or something. No restrictions just doesn't work, as you've stated.
With the last part I bolded - "playing at a higher level", the funny thing is that these PDL teams are not at a higher level than the AMSL. Playing Villains Major a couple years back, we tied and beat Edmonton FC reserves in our two games, and probably should have faired better in the tie. This is the exact reason Foothills is going around playing MRU/U of C, because they know they will lose to the local major teams (Dinos/Villains/Callies).
The AMSL is the higher level! Nothing wrong with trying to get a local PDL team together, but don't do it at the expense of the AMSL. Great exposure for these kids to play exhibition games against MEN in the AMSL. Where else are they going to get quality exhibition games without having the Whitecaps come in or going out there? Foothills/FC Edmonton don't have money to just throw around, but having the AMSL in their own province is perfect for them!