We have #9 Arlington, #30 MVLA, and #49 Nationals. We played MVLA in a showcase and was winning at half and we changed goalies for the second half and lost 2-3. I think we have the best goalie in Texas conference and probably one of the top in the country and this was the only weekend we had another goalie on our roster.
Youth soccer club
- Thread starter BasPlayr
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I am refereeing the NPL regional up at Mohawk this weekend. Let’s just say the field conditions are less than ideal for soccer. Nearly had my cleat pulled off while I was trying to run the sideline as AR. 1st game was delayed 2 hrs to start, then we had a 1 hr delay after playing 26 minutes, then we played 6 more minutes followed by another 30 min delay (for lightning). 9am game, started at 11, finished at 2:25. Second game, no delays. I was the center, 5 yellow cards, and my son who was an AR with me, told me I probably should have thrown a red for DOGSO. So hard to referee matches where the ball stops in a mud puddle, kids are slipping, etc. My son ended up doing 4 games yesterday picking up a couple of extra ones. I probably could have but anyone who has ever run in sand for an extended period of time for the leg workout benefit, well that’s what my legs felt like after doing this center. I told my crew it felt like I was Scooby Doo, moving my legs pretty fast and not going anywhere. My cleats are caked in mud.
The soccer has been so so and it’s hard to tell if it’s the field conditions or the talent level. I saw some really good players out there.
The soccer has been so so and it’s hard to tell if it’s the field conditions or the talent level. I saw some really good players out there.
Today is a big day for high school athletes as it’s the first day colleges can contact 2027 grad year players. Not sure is we have any lurkers with 2027 kids but if we do the best of luck. Hopefully your child had a good day.
My kid is a 2028. Have 365 days to go before that stress. She has 2027 friends whose phones are ringing
We were told both OU and OSU will share NIL with women’s soccer. Assume those amounts will be fairly small. Still view it as a positive
It was a mess, we played out there this weekend, I was surprised more injuries didn't happen
It looked rough. I know there were out of state teams in town but I can’t imagine there would have been many complexes who would have let their fields be torn up like that. Felt bad for the kids as well. Can you really determine who the best teams are playing under those conditions ?
I didn't need to see pictures...I refereed in that mess. They should not have been playing. It was unsafe for players and it was unsafe for the officials. When you're more focused on not falling on your head or wrecking your knee from awkward steps and slipping, rather than playing the game or doing your job, that's when games shouldn't be played. At one point I was worried my cleat was going to be pulled off by the suction effect of the mud wrapping it up. I laced them a little tighter on Sunday and wrapped the laces around the bottom of the boot. Sunday's games were an absolute nightmare...delayed 2 hours to let the fields dry out but they had 2.5-3 inches of rain overnight into Sunday so that was a bust.
BUT part of that was US Club (or US Youth) took the decisions to play out of the referees hands. I know I did a game with a team from El Paso and then on Sunday had a team from Houston, so there were teams that travelled a good distance. I don't know why they didn't contact Scheels, Indian Springs, and some of the local HS with good facilities (Union, BA, Jenks each have 2 fields) to get Sunday's games moved to those complexes if available. Heck they moved all the Monday finals to Ascension St. John's complex.
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2011G BA Express Premier. We had 1 game Friday, 1 Saturday, and 1 Sunday.
What are your thoughts on BA Express? My daughter has a couple of ex teammates playing for the 09s and 10s. I know they have taken steps to increase the level of their teams the past few years. What platform are they now playing under?
We've been there ever since they began, so we've seen the evolution over time. I'd also say of our 16 girls, 8-10 of them have been together for 3 plus years, and 9 of them will all be at BA together. Our team is a very close knit group, parents and players, so we have really enjoyed our time there.
As a club overall, they have some positives and negatives. They have some good Coaches out there, who really care about the kids development, and obviously the facilities are a huge positive. Being with little old BA Express, or as we liked to joke, the Wal Mart club.....we would compete with the other local big clubs year in and year out, always seemed to be right there with all of the other RL teams, win one, lose one, tie one, back and forth always.
We tried to get the club leadership to apply for RL at the minimum to offer us more competitive opportunities, but that didn't go the route we had hoped. We started out in OPL, and OPC, and then played in the Frontier Conference in North and South Texas with teams like Alphaforms, and HTX, and then just recently played in NPL where we got to advance and will be competing in Denver in July in the NPL Finals.
We unfortunately outgrew the platforms they offered at BA Express, so beginning this Fall, our team, a 2008G team, and a 2009G team will be joining NEOFC to play in their RL slots to offer our girls a more competitive environment. I'll always be a positive voice for BA Express though.
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I think I was on a field adjacent to one you all were playing on. Didn't hear much directed towards the referees so it must have been OK
Our Sunday game backed up to a game between a Solar team, and Arkansas Rising.....that game got pretty animated at times, with one lady being thrown out of the game due to pushing one of the tournament volunteers/employees.
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WSA O9 RL girls beat Solar RL this am 1-0 and will be advancing to the ECRL quarterfinals in Virginia.
Congrats to those girls
Congrats to those girls
My understanding is BA Express really started to give the rec kids in BA an opportunity to play on a competitive platform without paying the higher fees you see at Blitz, WSA, and TSC. Plus, it was also an alternative to having to drive to Sand Springs or west Tulsa to train and play games and Indian Springs is really an A+ complex, one of the best in the state and certainly the best in the Tulsa area (no offense to the Scheel's guy who is working his ass off to get that complex to that level). I don't know much about the girls' side at Express in terms of coaches, I know Rick Heineman pretty well....on the boys' side, outside of Jason Dobbins, I wouldn't want my kid coached by any of the boy's coaches. I've seen them first hand become absolutely unhinged about a throw in call, I hear what they yell at the refs and their own players, and they seemingly have a chip on their shoulder when they're trying to prove themselves against the bigger clubs in the area...which carries over to the boys. Sometimes that is good, but I've seen where that chip manifests itself into a really chippy and combative style of play...like 7 red cards over the course of 2 weeks, 6 for fighting/violent conduct. That's not on the refs, that's on the coaches for not putting the kibosh on that. And the admins for the Express side of things handing the ref assignor a preferred list of referees (no assignor should ever put up with that as it is a serious breach of integrity for the game when you start/stop assigning referees based on their likability to the coaches).
Anyway, it's weird that they didn't want to explore higher levels of competition for the club as that's how players grow.
I was lucky, our games were mostly mild in nature. Some coaches upset with a call or non-call but nothing completely over the top. I did have a Sporting Springfield coach tell me I didn't know the rules otherwise I wouldn't be asking him for a sub when he was out of subs for the half after an injury. Yeah, I know the rule I just didn't realize he had used all his players at that point. I think he was more pissed at the kid who came out with the knock (after a bad tackle against him which I did call and card, so not sure what more the coach wanted). I did hear a Celtic coach getting pretty animated against the ref behind me. I know the ref and have worked with her too. She lets the players play although Sunday was probably one of those days where field conditions dictated you called every little touch a foul to try and keep players safe (my center did call a bunch of tic tac fouls).
I did get called out by a parent who said "Ref, you need to run and be closer to the play". I was running it just wasn't very fast because there's only sa fast an old guy with bad knees can go in those conditions. I was close enough to the play in question, defender made a good tackle attempt and clear the ball before the attacker stumbled over his outstretched leg....and I even said as much. Also got questioned on a foul and yellow card. Team kept possession so I played advantage and they turned it into a nice attack. I yelled "Advantage, we're coming back to 9 when we stop". Showed yellow 10-15 seconds later after the ball went out for a goal kick. Kid was like "I slipped though". I told him I understand but the challenge was still reckless and dangerous against the opponent and it was still a yellow regardless of the intent or circumstances. Every game's pregame mentioned that safety was going to be paramount and the driving force behind our decisions and that there likely were going to be more fouls called in the effort to keep players safe.
Have y'all seen these? Pretty cool to see another major cleat maker leaning into women / girls specific offerings.
No offense taken. I love Indian Springs it is the nicest complex. I just wonder what we could do in Jenks if it was funded by the tax payers, not paying $56k a year in property tax, with use of the parks department and charged more than we charge…….Where does all the $$ go??
Those do look cool. My kid has worn the Nike Phantom Luna for the past few years. Really likes them
Good point. I know it is not necessarily going to field maintenance. They mow it but BASC board members actually stripe the fields and do emergency repair work. All the city does is mow and they won't do that if it has rained within the week. Occasionally they'll do some weed prevention treatments (and they've screwed that up as instead of just a targeted weed killer one year, they doused the fields in Round Up basically killing everything and the kids played on dirt (or mud when it rained). All of the net placements and anchoring are done by BASC board members and they usually have a volunteer work day where people come out and do all that stuff. I do like the way they anchor the goals so they absolutely cannot be moved without the tool (they use a self drilling anchor post with a tight wire tether in 4 places...the nets aren't going anywhere).
I have the same "suggestion" for all managers of turf fields too BTW. There needs to be a better solution for corner flags. The large round rubber base doesn't really work in OK without adding a ton of weight to them. They blow over frequently...plus the round base also technically interferes with play as part of it is on the field. I have seen where fields will insert the little rubber base under the turf leaving a hole for the corner flag to be inserted into (think the artificial mats and tee posts at driving ranges).
Anyway, I hope you get there. Scheel's has a ton of potential. I know I have been critical but I have seen the work that's gone into it since the time my son last played and trained out there.
I really am just off that synthetic material that Nike uses. My daughter wore the Nike superfly whatever, the second most expensive version, and twice the toe box has been destroyed within a year.
She swapped to Nike premier 3 leather cleats and they’re doing great so far. These are the last leather iteration though
We switched to the Luna because the design of the studs is supposed to help prevent ACL tears in female soccer players. No idea if it does but we figured it doesn’t hurt to try everything possibleI really am just off that synthetic material that Nike uses. My daughter wore the Nike superfly whatever, the second most expensive version, and twice the toe box has been destroyed within a year.
She swapped to Nike premier 3 leather cleats and they’re doing great so far. These are the last leather iteration though
LOL.... I'm as critical as anyone. We had a rough winter but they are getting close. We use different corner flags for tournaments than league games but the turf does use the round bases with poles that bend to much. We did buy a robot that allows us to mow 8 fields 3.5 times a week (When not flooded) We use a reel mower for the other 4. 6 fertilizations throughout the summer and weed prevention that only works so so. The biggest issue is we have water reels for irrigation instead of sprinklers.. If anyone has an extra $500k laying around I would be more than happy to put a statue or something out front with your picture
My son really liked the Nike Tiempos. He's had a couple pairs of the Elites and they last forever but if they're switching away from the true leather that would suck. I wear Copa Mundials to referee in soft ground grass. They are so freaking comfortable it's ridiculous. Buy a different insole (you should by a new premium insole for any pair of shoes actually. The factory included ones are pure crap).I really am just off that synthetic material that Nike uses. My daughter wore the Nike superfly whatever, the second most expensive version, and twice the toe box has been destroyed within a year.
She swapped to Nike premier 3 leather cleats and they’re doing great so far. These are the last leather iteration though
We avoid the adidas Predators. They simply aren't made to last very long, especially for a GK who puts all sorts of weird pressure and twists and torque on them. The last 2 pairs of Predators both blew out within a month. Dick's refunded our money, and the other pair we just sucked it up.
Not building the proper topsoil base and not including irrigation were the 2 things the original developers didn't do that really prevented that complex from being premium off the bat. Just out of curiosity, what would the cost be to install some additional turf fields...as much as I hate turf for the players, it really does allow for year round play with minimal weather impacts, especially with the Spring we've had.LOL.... I'm as critical as anyone. We had a rough winter but they are getting close. We use different corner flags for tournaments than league games but the turf does use the round bases with poles that bend to much. We did buy a robot that allows us to mow 8 fields 3.5 times a week (When not flooded) We use a reel mower for the other 4. 6 fertilizations throughout the summer and weed prevention that only works so so. The biggest issue is we have water reels for irrigation instead of sprinklers.. If anyone has an extra $500k laying around I would be more than happy to put a statue or something out front with your picture
So I’ve learned a lot since we purchased it 2 years ago. The top soil was/is actually great there because it floods and was a pecan tree farm. What went wrong is the layer of....let's call it sand (More like pea gravel) was spread on top. Then the sod with the netting still on because they were too cheap to have it removed on install. Netting was supposed to bio degrade in 7 years. (That hasn't happened). When we scraped the top soil where the turf fields are now it was incredible dirt (With gravel mixed in
. ). Let's talk turf. For us to add 2 more turf fields we would have to take out 4 grass fields. (size, drainage issue). it's roughly $750k per field. people only want to pay for it when they "Need" it. One of the things TSC does that is good is like today the grass is closed and everyone can go on turf. You may only get 1/8 of a field but you can still train. Everyone wants turf when they need it. What needs to happen is the City of Jenks or Tulsa County buy the complex and let a professional company run it. (Not same that run Mohawk).It’s a shame the burbs (Owasso, Bixby, BA, Jenks) won’t enter “club friendly” contracts with the area clubs to use their turf when the same is open during wet periods. (I’m assuming there have been discussions) Club soccer greatly benefits their high school teams. Seems like a win win. The Dallas area certainly does this. Scheels only has so much space
Amen to that. Mohawk Soccer is run by Tulsa Parks and they simply don't care about it. The crazy thing is it was the President of Green Country Soccer Association who came up with the idea for the Mohawk facility and fought for it to be included in Vision 2020 (or 2025) and was a key component in that bill passing and giving us the BOK Center. People didn't want to pay for just BOK but they were all for it when they put it in a package with a ton of other things they saw beneficial. I worked with the guy from GCSA for quite a while at TU. I saw him recently. He was so pissed at what the city has done to neglect that facility. Originally it was supposed to be all turf but they moved some of the money allocations around to make sure other projects were fully funded and Mohawk development was cut from the original level to a lower level of funding.
It sucks because that complex also has so much freaking potential to absolutely bring in the biggest and best tournaments if they would just commit to maintaining it the way it should be. Add some infrastructure like actual bathrooms and concessions on the lower level of fields. People bitch about parking but they have 2-3 auxiliary lots that are paved just east of the lower fields. You have to walk a little bit but you're not parking in gravel or dry grass (and run the risk of a grass fire destroying your car in a tournament). I think his vision came out of what Indian Springs was for BA and felt Tulsa could benefit from a similar complex.
And that's interesting on the topsoil at Scheels. Why in the world, and who in the world thought it was a good idea, to put that pea gravel on top of the topsoil? And that netting sucks. I don't have enough fingers and toes to count the number of times I've seen a kid run, get his cleat caught in the netting and go down and everyone go like "What was that?". And it's weird how Jenks doesn't want to invest considering the youth baseball and football complex off Main St. just east of Scheel's is great and I hear parents laud its quality.
But then again, this is Jenks where a developer wanted to come in and build a state of the art baseball facility near the river and outlet mall and people bitched about it.
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