I’m by no means a “turf guy” but I assume the hybrid used by these soccer complexes are more hardy. They certainly don’t see to have the issues with their fields as you commonly see on golf course greens. In fact, I can’t recall ever seeing any of those complex having turf issues. Of course the grass on the soccer fields isn’t cut near as short as a putting green.
Youth soccer club
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Well bentgrass performs better at taller heights for durability. But, I thought you were referring to hybrid grass. If you are referring to hybrid turf,(grass+turf) or reinforced natural grass, then there is the sisgrass or xtragrass.(another brand of hybrid turf) But that only lasts so long, and then it has to be redone with a new installation. So that can get expensive. I don't know for positive, but I think the most you can get out of sisgrass is 10 years.
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I was referring to the grass found at TU and at the better soccer complexes in Dallas. Seems to be fairly easy to maintain as tbose complexes fields always look nice.
I don't know what they use there, but it might be one of the zoysia grass hybrids.(Zoysia Matrella or Zoysia Empire) One of those would be my best guess.
Like bla, bla, bla does many times he never mentions that BA sucks many, many times. I don't understand the obsession.
Maybe I can come down and watch blitz get run off the fields in ECNL-RL while they tell us they are the most emerging club in America (wait didn't they start in the 1990s). I live 4 mins from the fields.
Actually, the most hilarious will be NEOFC led by the basketball player from the NAIA.
Maybe I can come down and watch blitz get run off the fields in ECNL-RL while they tell us they are the most emerging club in America (wait didn't they start in the 1990s). I live 4 mins from the fields.
Actually, the most hilarious will be NEOFC led by the basketball player from the NAIA.
Yeah, my son got to play on them during the Plano Labor Day tournament, which is huge and uses no less than 6 different complexes in the northern part of the Metroplex.
I thought FC Tulsa was trying to do "premium" grass fields at Titan Main. I know they redid one of the grass fields to have a grass training surface so they weren't stuck on the turf all the time. I saw pictures of a training session the other day. Looks like they were able to get grass grown on it but I'm not sure they laid the $ out for the premium hybrid bermuda surface, which they probably should have because it's the same surface on OneOK. But whoever is making one of these fields, they need to follow the same formula. The irrigation system is retractable and you basically can't see the sprinkler heads when they're not in use where some places with sprinklers like that, you get a big depression in the field if they're not installed properly. You'll sometimes see fields with dots of spraypaint noticeable to players/officials or, even worse, a flat disc cone marking a sprinkler head that's a hazard.
I don't know if Jenks SC/Scheel's is planning on or has started the process of installing permanent irrigation. To me this would have been step 1 in the revitalization of that complex along with a hefty layer of top soil suitable for grass growth. I do believe they've done some significant drainage improvements out there between the fields. And the next thing for me would be the goals...those custom made heavy steel goals are not ideal for a few reasons. You can't move them without a team of people...so not ideal for training scenarios. Personally, I think they are dangerous if they are not staked down. I know the last tournament they had them staked down with U-shaped rebar. Which is good...but again, not ideal if you're also using the complex for training sessions and a coach wants to move a goal for a drill or some small sided games. I know it's a pricey investment, but the Kwik Goal aluminum goals with the wheels are pretty perfect for a complex that is being used for both training and games. A full size goal is about $2400 the last time I looked. I'm hoping the influx of $ from Scheel's helps to move some of these along. The other thing that having Scheel's on board as the complex name sponsor, is the possibility of now going into the community and getting individual field sponsors. The Advanced Orthopedics field, the Tulsa Bone and Joint field, the Ascension Health Care field. Bring in enough money from individual field sponsors to do the work on the individual fields. Of course there likely needs to be additional buildings to support operations for game days and large tournaments. A bathroom facility at the extreme southern end of the complex instead of just port-a-johns...we all know parents, especially soccer moms, judge a facility based on the availability of 1) parking and 2) clean permanent bathrooms. This is why Mohawk gets dinged, especially if your kid is always playing on the lower fields...only port-a-johns and the traffic pattern in there is worse than Indian Springs. Indian Springs usually gets praised because the bathroom facilities are generally clean and easy to access. And the parking issue there is usually not terrible but the volume when trying to leave is a nightmare (which is why I always go through the neighborhood/golf community). Gillis-Rother in Norman had been making some nice improvements to the fields there but, and it has been a while since my son has played there, the bathrooms were just awful and the parking was terrible unless you were in the 1st set of games. I think I've parked in the cow pasture west of the complex more than in an actual lot. The one that is going to be interesting once they've got the new buildings finished is Edmond Soccer Complex. They've got the multiple permanent bathroom buildings, one they are building new which will house restrooms, improved and expanded concessions, an admin office and a referee lockerroom/meeting room. If they could improve the grass on some of those middle fields, it's a decent complex. Parking is an issue there. As a ref and the number of complexes I've done games at, I start to judge based on available facilities for referees. Again, Indian Springs has a nice locker room and they usually do a good job of creating a nice ref space on the west side of the complex in one of the gazebos. Mohawk, has the one lockerroom, albeit tiny, on the upper fields, and you're in a gazebo on the lower fields. For NPL this weekend, Mohawk is supposed to have a referee space on one of the lower fields not being used this weekend. Hopefully they bring in a mister because it's supposed to be hot and I'm sure we'll be taking hydration breaks.
Anyway, a ref building at the Jenks complex would be fantastic. I left there in April after doing games during the TSC tournament covered from head to tow in Oklahoma red dirt. Black repurposed suitcase that i use for my gear was turned brown, my black shoes looked like they were red, etc. It was so windy that weekend I was watching GKs punt the ball and seeing the ball move backwards. Anyway, these open tents in the middle of the complexes invite problems. Coaches feel it's appropriate to voice their displeasure in an area full of referees because a call didn't go their way...all the while the other referees are sitting there going "This guy better hope I'm not doing one of his later games".
Hopefully in good time.
It's not Zoysia. It's a hybrid bermuda...the same one they use on the fairways at Southern Hills. I remember the fundraising campaign and they specifically mentioned it was the same as the fairways at Southern Hills. There is basically a square yard of turf that has my son's name "on it". We also did one of the fat head's they put in the stands in Fall 2020 after COVID.
Bentgrass/fescue in OK is a problem in the summer. This is why many of the golf courses here are exploring or have switched to having bermuda greens and the golf courses are better for it. And almost all the golf courses in OK have bermuda fairways. Some use zoysia which does fairly well in the heat but has a longer dormancy period and has a much slower growth/spread rate.
Now TU does overseed their soccer field with cool weather rye grass in October which is why they can maintain the field looking green while every other field/lawn with bermuda goes into dormancy.
Take pictures. I should go check it out since I live right by it. They were only doing the one field I think.I’ll be at the FC Tulsa complex this afternoon. Will check out the turf on the new field
I am going to be a big supporter of scheel's since they have come in supporting the complex. Not hard to go pickup my son's soccer socks there or other basic stuff. It just says a lot about them being committed. These places get huge TIF deals but then don't do Jack otherwise. It is kind of sad.
I am telling you all the fields at JSC are really nice right now. There are a couple of patches here and there but overall, they are great. They stay off of them when it rains. What a concept!
The last time I was at Mohawk in November the fields were incredible.
BTW, blah, blah, blah I hope you know making fun you is all in good fun. Your perspective is great as I begin my soccer journey with my younglings.
He is a 2018 playing with the '17s. He has started training at Technico too. The age academy starts at is so nuts. Back in the day, competitive started in fifth grade or age 10 or so. Now, they start separating the wheat from chaff as young as kindergarten and put them in futsal and indoor. The kids are watching YouTube clips to do moves and games on TV. It's wild. I didn't even know what futsal was or saw a game until well after college in 2006.
Some people I watch and wonder why they have their kids there because they are not as agressive, don't listen or don't want to do the work. A number of parents have shown up this year because they thought their kid was above MTSC or BA. just wait you are about to get an education. I hope they don't get too disheartened should they randomly get randomly dropped in a bracket with NOKC's top academy team in tournament.
That said I have seen some kids take off and improve dramatically. Or they aren't there yet but I think they can get there. Those ones are really fun to watch.
Now, It feels like you can fall behind from being on top teams really, really quickly. It's a process and you have to be patient. I think you have to figure out what you want. There are a lot of levels to American soccer now. Different strokes for different folks. Many don't realize this.
We have sort of been doing academy stuff now for 1.5 years. The drama is so annoying already. My wife gets so irritated but also caught up in it. Just wait it only gets worse .
Daughter is only 2. She wants to be on the field so bad. She is the crazy one and will probably be two-footing people at 5.
Does any complex use a combination of Kentucky bluegrass and Northern California sinsemilla?
One field is done and has a black chain link fence around it. The grass sure looks like standard Bermuda but it’s several inches high and as I’ve never seen the hybrid turf at that height I guess it’s possible that’s what they used. Sure doesn’t look like it though. Field doesn’t look ready to play at this point even if the grass was cut. Needs a good top dressing to even out the rolls of sod.
Enjoy the ride. You have such a long time to go. Competitive still technically begins at U13 but I know the clubs really push early development. Part of me hates to see 6-7 year olds put under that type of pressure as soccer needs to remain fun. Lots a pressure will follow when they hit ECNL or MLS Next.
Drama and soccer go hand in hand. There’s always the parent(s) trying to buy their kid’s way on the team. There’s always the coach playing favorites. There’s always the cliques among parents and kids. Just is what it is.
JM (Technico) is truly one of the best trainers in the country. There haven’t been many elite kids in Tulsa over the last several years he hasn’t trained at one point or another. I know he can be controversial and is extremely demanding of his kids at times but he is an exceptional trainer.
Yeah, I forgot about this relatively new variety of hybrid Bermuda that they bred at OSU. It would have been almost brand new when they did the field at TU. They used it on the University of Arkansas' football stadium around the same time. It's called Tahoma 31 Bermuda. That might have been what they used. Out performs Bermuda Tif419 in almost every way. Dense, and doesn't grow much taller than 3". Good for lawns as well.
I was at Mohawk yesterday for National Cup regionals. Fields were in OK shape. First game, I took a shot to the head from about 3 yds. Tried to anticipate where the play was going and anticipated wrong. Stunned me. Finished the game (5-0 win for a WSA team over a not very good FC Dallas side). Went back to the tent, drank some water, changed, got ready for my 2nd game as an AR. About 10 minutes in basically got so dizzy I couldn't finish. Have a mild concussion according to the trainer. Sucks. Been laying in the dark for the better part of 2 days and trying to not be on a screen or watch too much TV.
Concussions are no joke folks!
Concussions are no joke folks!
You can and often do have stroke like symptoms from a concussion. Your short and long term memory may be affected for the next couple of weeks. You can have symptoms of pseudo bulbar affect in which you lose control of your emotions.(Cry at things that aren't that sad, laugh at things that aren't that funny, get angry about things that wouldn't normally bother you.) Just in case you aren't prepared for this.
It's less likely because it is a mild concussion, rather that a medium to serious concussion. I've seen these symptoms up close with an instructor I had at Portfolio School, who had a mild to medium concussion. She asked to meet with me when she was having trouble with her emotions. She wasn't ready for her emotions to be affected, and wanted advice and knowledge of what to expect. I told her there's nothing that can be done for pseudo bulbar except the passage of time.
A lot of heading the ball is about whether your neck muscles are actively engaged and where you hit the head. There is no whiplash effect, and the parts of the head are stronger. I think some might be more susceptible to it as well.
I played soccer for 10 years and never received a concussion. As OSUdroolz pointed out, whiplash is heavily involved. As well something on the other side of the head(for instance pavement) is also involved. The head has to be hit so hard that the head causing the brain to be injured often has to occur through whiplash or a head hitting something on the other side of the initial impact to cause injury from the brain impacting the skull.
Unfortunately, concussions in girls soccer is much more prevalent than on the boys side.
www.invw.org
The Concussion Gap: Head injuries in girls soccer are an ‘unpublicized epidemic’ - InvestigateWest
National research has found girls are more likely to suffer a concussion than boys in any sport. And research in 2017 found concussion rates among young female soccer players were nearly as high as concussion rates for boys playing football — and roughly triple the rate of concussions in boys’...
www.invw.org
Males in general have greater neck muscle mass compared to females which leads to greater force production potential. In the present study, males had 17.55% greater neck girth compared to females. Time to peak force was greater in males versus females for both baseline and post-practice.Unfortunately, concussions in girls soccer is much more prevalent than on the boys side.
The Concussion Gap: Head injuries in girls soccer are an ‘unpublicized epidemic’ - InvestigateWest
National research has found girls are more likely to suffer a concussion than boys in any sport. And research in 2017 found concussion rates among young female soccer players were nearly as high as concussion rates for boys playing football — and roughly triple the rate of concussions in boys’...
I honestly don't believe heading the ball with proper technique is as much of an issue with concussions as is getting blasted in the head, unexpectedly, or heads chilling while trying to head the ball. Mine was unexpected and I didn't have much of an opportunity to brace myself. That said, I am 100x better today than yesterday and yesterday I was 50% better than Saturday. No headaches, no more dizziness right now.
I have plenty of girth in all areas including my neck...however the neck musculature isn't going to help if you don't engage it and brace yourself for that impact.
Looking like my son's club soccer career will continue for a bit more. His Blitz team is 2-0 in regionals and likely on to semifinals. If they can win that they'll be invited to nationals. My son has been a field player in these games as Jack Franklin is playing goal. Team they played today was talking a lot of gas as they beat a Dallas team 6-2 yesterday and thought they were going to roll in and put up the same against this Blitz team. Blitz won 3-1 and the 3 goals for were absolutely blistered rockets all from outside the 18.
My son gets in on the left wing and when he's on the ball his teammates better be making runs towards the goal. He nearly had an assist today in a nice cross. He also nearly scored late on a beautiful run and through ball a teammate played and he pushed the ball just over the bar.
My son gets in on the left wing and when he's on the ball his teammates better be making runs towards the goal. He nearly had an assist today in a nice cross. He also nearly scored late on a beautiful run and through ball a teammate played and he pushed the ball just over the bar.
Is he playing in the USYS Southern President’s Cup? I know a number of the Blitz girls teams are playing ?
Speaking of nationals, the pools came out this am for ECNL nationals starting a week from tomorrow in Seattle. The soccer gods did us no favors as we have the top 2 teams in the country (MVLA and SD Surf) in our pool. Just a brutal draw. Looking forward to seeing the best in the country. Not looking forward to likely not advancing to the round of 16.
Yes, the southern regionals. Right now they're 2-0 and already through to the semifinals on Monday.
We went to the St Louis City/FC Dallas game tonight along with 50 other teams between the regional and Super Copa. Didn't realize FC Dallas has 4 players who were once regular parts of the USMNT player pool. Arriola, Ferreira, Lletget, and Omar Gonzalez. Arriola can still freaking play.
Joao Klauss from StL is an absolute freak of nature.
10-1 in todays pool play final and my son's team will go into the semis as the #1 seed. My son got to play goal today. The other team played short handed (a DFW team nonetheless so not having enough players is just ridiculous). Blitz started all their subs and they put up a 3-0 lead before the starters came on. I think the goals were split evenly between starters and subs in this one. The one GA was a great individual effort from a player on the other team. Blitz came out slow in both halves and it almost cost them. And the 2nd half was a lot of individual ball as everyone was trying to score for Blitz. My son was particularly effective in distribution and he had his team playing a little differently and more in control out of the back.
I’ve been following your tourney since my daughter played with a lot of the girls in the Blitz 2009 and Blitz 2010 team as well as the Blitz coaches. We always cheer for our Blitz friends. We’ve played in Dallas for awhile now and I’ve never heard of that DFW team you played today. Assume they’re a small club down there. All Blitz teams seem to be doing well down there. Is there a reason Blitz chose to play USYS and not US Club which was recently played at Mohawk? Easier road to a national tournament? At least on the girls side.
I don't know why they chose to do this. Last week's tournament was billed as an NPL regional. I think this Blitz team entered the OSA State Cup and since they were the only team to enter, they got a free pass to this regional. Weird how much the OSA State Cup stuff has fallen off. It used to be clubs would enter multiple teams in each age group and now they can't even get 4 teams to do an actual playoff for a winner.
Mickey Eklund's 07s Blitz RL team played in the NPL regional and beat everyone pretty easily from what I can tell so they're headed to nationals in Colorado. This 06 Blitz team is mostly their FCL/OPL team with about 6 RL players to make the squad a full one. That RL team fell apart during the HS season and no one except for 4-5 kids really wanted to play anymore. BTW, Jack Franklin (Jenks GK) was named OK Gatorade Player of the Year the other day. His brother AJ was bribing him with $ for each goal he scored in the game today 🤣 The boys had some fun today but also did it respectfully.
Weird thing is there were 10 teams in this regional. group A had 4 teams and the group winner was through to the semifinals. The other 2 groups had 3 teams each. The other 3 semi finalists were determined as wild cards, so the 3 next best point totals/GDs. 1) Blitz 06. 2) Miami Vipers 06 3) NC Rush Triangle 06 4) BRSC 06 Red (Louisiana). I don't know anything about any of these other teams except they struggled to score goals this weekend. And the other 2 teams came from the same bracket and the 3rd group had no one move on. Just a weird set up. If my son's team wins tomorrow they advance to nationals. (Top 2 teams qualify)
Good luck tomorrow. Looking at the scores I like your chances to advance. The Blitz girls have gotten good results as well. Cheering for all of you guys.
I think ECNL has effectively killed the OPL and State Cup at least on the girls side as a competitive league and tournament. Too many state clubs are now playing on the RL platform. Many of the academy teams in those clubs are now playing in Dallas based leagues to prepare for life in RL. You will still get the rec plus clubs and a few lower level team from RL clubs but the days of high level OPL and State Cup are sadly over imo….on the girls side.
On a positive note, more Oklahoma academy age teams played in Premier Super Copa this past week than I can ever recall. Great to see these young kids get the opportunity to play some of the best teams from around the country. Blitz, TSC, Energy, and Celtic were all represented.
I think ECNL has effectively killed the OPL and State Cup at least on the girls side as a competitive league and tournament. Too many state clubs are now playing on the RL platform. Many of the academy teams in those clubs are now playing in Dallas based leagues to prepare for life in RL. You will still get the rec plus clubs and a few lower level team from RL clubs but the days of high level OPL and State Cup are sadly over imo….on the girls side.
On a positive note, more Oklahoma academy age teams played in Premier Super Copa this past week than I can ever recall. Great to see these young kids get the opportunity to play some of the best teams from around the country. Blitz, TSC, Energy, and Celtic were all represented.
I think I counted 4-5 Blitz teams participating in Super Copa. And FC Dallas partnered with these tournaments to get a good number of the teams participating to go to their game last night. And we had GREAT seats. 2nd row about the top of the north end 18. Got to watch Paul Arriola absolutely abuse the left FB for St Louis. He can still play.
Anyway, I'm back in Tulsa now. Had to leave my son in Dallas with a teammate b/c I have to work tomorrow. Sucks. It's always fun watching these boys compete and this group generally gets along with one another and the parents are all good people too.
We’re going to the FC Dallas game on Weds. They are bringing the girls who are going to NL nationals on the field at halftime and introducing each of them. FCD does a really nice job working with their youth academy from special promotions to providing the kits. It’s been a very positive experience thus far.
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