So....2021?

[rc1963]

Last night - 6 mercy rule games! ouch.

I didn't figure WB would have any trouble with Tipton, but I didn't think it would go 10-0. WB looks like they have their foot on the gas for tournament time. And it's a rematch in Substate first game. I think we can pretty safely pencil in Solon over CV Christian and WB over Tipton. So, think WB can pull off the upset over Solon?

Looked like Western Christian has their foot on the gas as well.

Postville couldn't really keep it close against WSR - I think they get past Marquette Catholic and that NFV gets past Anamosa with ease - So, does the slumping Postville get past NFV? or the Trending hotter NFV make it to meet Beckman for the final?

 

[Menace Sockeyes]

If West Branch doesn't at least stay within a goal of Mid-Prairie, I'll be on here to humble myself and bow down to your knowledge on this. If my eye test fooled me, its only because West Branch is still under-rated OR West Liberty is over-rated.

2-1 West Branch 😉

 

[rc1963]

2-1 West Branch 😉

Nice win. I hope they swap places with mid Prairie in the rankings and beat Solon.

 

[Pinehawk]

That’s a good win. Puts them on par with Williamsburg, who beat MP by the same score.

 

[Your.Shadow]

Anyone willing to bet a young regina doesn't make state? They seem pretty average in an otherwise average year. Bndm would be a pedestrian in a decent year

 

[Pinehawk]

Hard to say. They should be favored in those matches. But, they will be real battles.
I think BND is a very good team though. As good or better as teams in past years.

 

[rc1963]

Anyone willing to bet a young regina doesn't make state? They seem pretty average in an otherwise average year. Bndm would be a pedestrian in a decent year

I agree with the premise, that they are young an susceptible. But when you look at the substate, who's going to knock them off? Williamsburg looks to be the stronger team over PoP in the opener. So, assuming Williamsburg is Regina's first test, you're looking at a team that escaped Mid-Prairie 2-1 and lost to Solon. So, I give a strong edge to Regina in the second round game. Of course, anything can happen in a win or go home match. I'll go out on a limb and project a 6-1 win there.

Solon and WB will win their first round matches. no contest. They'll win big. So, Solon vs. WB? Solon has the advantage on paper, but I think this could be WB's big break. A statement game for the young program. While I truly think think this is a toss-up with a slight edge to Solon, I'll make the bold prediction that WB wins 5-3 by sheer force and determination.

So, that makes a Regina /WB final - I'll give full props to Miller and Fiderlein,but, even young, I think Regina will possess much better and wins this one by 3, let's call it 5-2.

If I'm wrong about Solon / WB, then I say Solon comes out hard against the Regals and only losses 7-3 this time.

So, then to state? Anything can happen there. One misstep and it's the end in Des Moines.

 

[Your.Shadow]

I agree with the premise, that they are young an susceptible. But when you look at the substate, who's going to knock them off? Williamsburg looks to be the stronger team over PoP in the opener. So, assuming Williamsburg is Regina's first test, you're looking at a team that escaped Mid-Prairie 2-1 and lost to Solon. So, I give a strong edge to Regina in the second round game. Of course, anything can happen in a win or go home match. I'll go out on a limb and project a 6-1 win there.

Solon and WB will win their first round matches. no contest. They'll win big. So, Solon vs. WB? Solon has the advantage on paper, but I think this could be WB's big break. A statement game for the young program. While I truly think think this is a toss-up with a slight edge to Solon, I'll make the bold prediction that WB wins 5-3 by sheer force and determination.

So, that makes a Regina /WB final - I'll give full props to Miller and Fiderlein,but, even young, I think Regina will possess much better and wins this one by 3, let's call it 5-2.

If I'm wrong about Solon / WB, then I say Solon comes out hard against the Regals and only losses 7-3 this time.

So, then to state? Anything can happen there. One misstep and it's the end in Des Moines.

I need to work on my pot stirring skills.

Should be a fun substate to watch. I may skip the regina game and watch solon/wb next week.

 

[Menace Sockeyes]

I agree with the premise, that they are young an susceptible. But when you look at the substate, who's going to knock them off? Williamsburg looks to be the stronger team over PoP in the opener. So, assuming Williamsburg is Regina's first test, you're looking at a team that escaped Mid-Prairie 2-1 and lost to Solon. So, I give a strong edge to Regina in the second round game. Of course, anything can happen in a win or go home match. I'll go out on a limb and project a 6-1 win there.

Solon and WB will win their first round matches. no contest. They'll win big. So, Solon vs. WB? Solon has the advantage on paper, but I think this could be WB's big break. A statement game for the young program. While I truly think think this is a toss-up with a slight edge to Solon, I'll make the bold prediction that WB wins 5-3 by sheer force and determination.

So, that makes a Regina /WB final - I'll give full props to Miller and Fiderlein,but, even young, I think Regina will possess much better and wins this one by 3, let's call it 5-2.

If I'm wrong about Solon / WB, then I say Solon comes out hard against the Regals and only losses 7-3 this time.

So, then to state? Anything can happen there. One misstep and it's the end in Des Moines.

Good take. Though I say Solon over WB 2-1, and Regina over Solon 4-2. Would love to see WB come out on top, but I doubt it. Tough group.

 

[Pinehawk]

Last night:

Liberty beat City High in PK's (surprised me, is Liberty coming on strong at the end of the year?)
Clear Creek beats Solon in PK's
West Liberty over Davenport North in PK's
Treynor continues to roll over other teams out west
Burlington ND over Burlington 6-1. Did all the kids who can play soccer just choose BND in that town?
IC West over Xavier 2-1
Cedar Falls over CR Prairie 3-2

 

[rc1963]

Liberty is a mild upset to me.

CF over Prairie is the big upset. I thought CF was up and down and Prairie was the solid number 2

 

[MepoDawg#]

Last night:

Liberty beat City High in PK's (surprised me, is Liberty coming on strong at the end of the year?)
Clear Creek beats Solon in PK's
West Liberty over Davenport North in PK's
Treynor continues to roll over other teams out west
Burlington ND over Burlington 6-1. Did all the kids who can play soccer just choose BND in that town?
IC West over Xavier 2-1
Cedar Falls over CR Prairie 3-2

Burlington has some kids who play club, but BND is almost all club players who have been playing together for a long time especially since SESA (formerly Burlington Area Soccer Club) didn’t have a team in every age group.

Actually surprised it was that close.

 

[rc1963]

Moving the conversation about the future of the sport here. @Pinehawk made some observations about the young programs that achieved well this year, in the 1A State thread.

My wish list has a couple things on it:

1) I hope the teams that used to compete independently and now are part of co-ops, can restart their own programs.

2) I hope that someone (maybe the coaches association) can help the programs that perennially suffer. Being the doormat, not being able to compete, isn't fun for the kids and isn't good for the sport in our state. I don't know why they continue to suffer. It's different from a mid-table program or one that's up and down. Those are kind of normal phenomena.

With those two things going, we can grow participation to the point we can expand to 4 classes and narrow the gap between the largest and smallest within any given class.

 

[hawkeyetillidie]

Tough for smaller schools to field soccer and track teams. A lot of coaches push their athletes to track, some require it. Our smaller towns need the Co-ops to keep teams going. Ideally you want a JV team to grow your players. Even with our school Co-oping we didn't have enough kids to field a JV team.

 

[Pinehawk]

Some smaller schools have kids that will compete in both track and soccer at the same time. But, I agree it can be tough. The school/parents/players need to get kids started playing early where possible, to build the culture needed to grow and be successful.

 

[MepoDawg#]

Some smaller schools have kids that will compete in both track and soccer at the same time. But, I agree it can be tough. The school/parents/players need to get kids started playing early where possible, to build the culture needed to grow and be successful.

We have kids participating in two of track, soccer, golf and trap shooting. Even have a couple participating in three of the sports. Trap shooting is club based not school but still takes up time. We had around 20 out, had around 30 at the meeting and thought maybe we would have a JV team, didn’t happen.

 

[rc1963]

Tough for smaller schools to field soccer and track teams. A lot of coaches push their athletes to track, some require it. Our smaller towns need the Co-ops to keep teams going. Ideally you want a JV team to grow your players. Even with our school Co-oping we didn't have enough kids to field a JV team.

To be clear, I wasn't suggesting abolishing co-op arrangements, just saying I hoped that if a school was forced to co-op because lack of success lead to decreased numbers, that that trend could be reversed.

 

[rc1963]

We have kids participating in two of track, soccer, golf and trap shooting. Even have a couple participating in three of the sports. Trap shooting is club based not school but still takes up time. We had around 20 out, had around 30 at the meeting and thought maybe we would have a JV team, didn’t happen.

I wonder what percent of 1As have this situation? I bet it's close to 50%.

For the schools who can't field a full JV squad, it'd be nice to get some small sided games for the kids who need development, even if they aren't fully sanctioned games

 

[cidhawkeye]

I know some coaches who really discourage doing track and soccer. Unless they need the student to participate in track so they can fulfill a discipline issue and return to soccer quicker.

 

[privateer13]

It is difficult to dual sport. Missing practices or important games and meets, makes it very hard to gel as a team and improve on your skills. On top of that you have kids pulled in directions from coaches. Now with teams sharing you can multiply that by the schools and coaches. Younger players who try this tend to break down physically.
That being said there are plenty of examples of kids who have down very well dual sporting but it is difficult.

Another throw in there for smaller rural teams are the lack of club teams and players able play club level soccer. Puts many at a disadvantage to those teams from urban areas who can pull in even a few club players.

 

[Pinehawk]

The 2021 season is in the books. A successful one considering the challenges that were overcome in regards to Covid. I'm not aware of any significant issues that impacted the season, which is great.

2021 Champions:
1A Burlington Notre Dame
2A Xavier
3A Pleasant Valley

1A:
BND turned in a dominant performance, winning 4-1, 4-2 and 4-1. They were as good in the post season as they were all year. The win is the 1st championship for the program. The win stops Regina's quest for 4 straight, which had never been done before.

2A:
Xavier did not allow a single goal in the state tournament in winning their 8th state championship in program history.

3A:
Pleasant Valley defeated the #3, #2 and #1 seeds, all by a score of 1-0 to earn their 1st state championship in program history.

 

[MepoDawg#]

The 2021 season is in the books. A successful one considering the challenges that were overcome in regards to Covid. I'm not aware of any significant issues that impacted the season, which is great.

2021 Champions:
1A Burlington Notre Dame
2A Xavier
3A Pleasant Valley

1A:
BND turned in a dominant performance, winning 4-1, 4-2 and 4-1. They were as good in the post season as they were all year. The win is the 1st championship for the program. The win stops Regina's quest for 4 straight, which had never been done before.

2A:
Xavier did not allow a single goal in the state tournament in winning their 8th state championship in program history.

3A:
Pleasant Valley defeated the #3, #2 and #1 seeds, all by a score of 1-0 to earn their 1st state championship in program history.

I believe it’s the first time even being in the state tournament for BND and Pleasant Valley.

My son knows quite a few of the players and played with some for BND (SESA) and Pleasant Valley (Sporting East). Not sure about Xavier (FC United?), maybe some from ODP days. Good to see kids we know succeeding.

 

[Pinehawk]

Is some of this that new mega sportsplex in Bettendorf, right by Pleasant Valley paying dividends already?
That complex is maybe 2-3 years old? The Sporting East Club siphoned off a lot of the best kids (and coaches) from other eastern Iowa cities and clubs over the past few years.

 

[MepoDawg#]

Is some of this that new mega sportsplex in Bettendorf, right by Pleasant Valley paying dividends already?
That complex is maybe 2-3 years old? The Sporting East Club siphoned off a lot of the best kids (and coaches) from other eastern Iowa cities and clubs over the past few years.

3 years. My son played the first year of the club and complex. His team was almost all Bettendorf Soccer Club team with my son, a kid from CR, and one from Geneseo, maybe a couple from the Illinois side but still knew each other. A lot of them do attend PV.

 

[Menace Sockeyes]

I believe it’s the first time even being in the state tournament for BND and Pleasant Valley.

My son knows quite a few of the players and played with some for BND (SESA) and Pleasant Valley (Sporting East). Not sure about Xavier (FC United?), maybe some from ODP days. Good to see kids we know succeeding.

Xavier is mostly a mix of CRSA and FC United. Did your son play for SESA? If so, did he play in the Monster Match final vs AYSO United of CR when in 7th or 8th grade? We recognized a few kids from West Burlington-ND from that.

 

[MepoDawg#]

Xavier is mostly a mix of CRSA and FC United. Did your son play for SESA? If so, did he play in the Monster Match final vs AYSO United of CR when in 7th or 8th grade? We recognized a few kids from West Burlington-ND from that.

No, he was at SESA at younger age then went to FC United then Sporting East. Now that I think about it, he may have played in that game. I know he filled in for a game before taking off to his own club games.

Too many games, too many weekends. Same thing now except it’s football kicking and starting with college camps, too.

 

[Hwkfn1]

No, he was at SESA at younger age then went to FC United then Sporting East. Now that I think about it, he may have played in that game. I know he filled in for a game before taking off to his own club games.

Too many games, too many weekends. Same thing now except it’s football kicking and starting with college camps, too.

I'm a high school football coach and I remember watching him play for FC and thinking he would be a great kicker. Good luck to him!

 

[MepoDawg#]

I'm a high school football coach and I remember watching him play for FC and thinking he would be a great kicker. Good luck to him!

Thanks. He’s definitely dedicated to it. Got just a couple college camps, too early for kickers right be recruited. Also has three ranking camps. Should set the tone for next year and recruiting.