The new season

hi everyone,
The tournament season has begun, teams have officially switched to 9v9 and the competition looks much better this year.....so far. Also, CDA Cruz and legends west are no more, there will be casualties in U10 soccer. Kidding ;)

It has been extremely quiet in the 2008 forum so I’ll kick it off, here are some thoughts on the top teams this year so far, I am going down the list from youthsoccerranking.us.

Blues - won legends and lost man city cup in the finals ok PKs, no one stays on top forever

Slammers - where are you? (I did hear they are doing SuperCopa so that might explain it, can anyone confirm that?)

Legends - have they won a final? Ever? I know they lost in the finals a lot to slammers in finals last year and have lost in legends classic and memorial tournament in....you guessed it, the final. But they are a Good team they will figure it out.

South Valley Thunder and Empire - they seem decent but I don’t think they have played the top teams enough to see if they are really good side or just have one good player. Will be interesting to see what tournaments they take part in this year.

La galaxy SD - they have a good goalie but can’t seem to beat the better teams, this could be the year they change that.

Eagles - They did want no one could do last year in a tournament, beat the blues, kudos to you guys.

CDA Macias - don’t know much about this team, I’m guessing they are newly formed, but they beat legends so they look like possible contenders.

LAGSB - they always seem to upset a top team throughout the season but wil they become more consistent and really challenge teams on the regular?

FRAM - they seem to be decent but they need to play more of the top teams to really know how good they are.

Ok well there is my attempt at getting some conversation going, leave your comments, likes, dislikes, etc. Happy to see a much more challenging age group this year, it will make all the girls better as they approach academy/ECNL in a few years.
Best of luck to everyone.
 
hi everyone,
The tournament season has begun, teams have officially switched to 9v9 and the competition looks much better this year.....so far. Also, CDA Cruz and legends west are no more, there will be casualties in U10 soccer. Kidding ;)

It has been extremely quiet in the 2008 forum so I’ll kick it off, here are some thoughts on the top teams this year so far, I am going down the list from youthsoccerranking.us.

Blues - won legends and lost man city cup in the finals ok PKs, no one stays on top forever

Slammers - where are you? (I did hear they are doing SuperCopa so that might explain it, can anyone confirm that?)

Legends - have they won a final? Ever? I know they lost in the finals a lot to slammers in finals last year and have lost in legends classic and memorial tournament in....you guessed it, the final. But they are a Good team they will figure it out.

South Valley Thunder and Empire - they seem decent but I don’t think they have played the top teams enough to see if they are really good side or just have one good player. Will be interesting to see what tournaments they take part in this year.

La galaxy SD - they have a good goalie but can’t seem to beat the better teams, this could be the year they change that.

Eagles - They did want no one could do last year in a tournament, beat the blues, kudos to you guys.

CDA Macias - don’t know much about this team, I’m guessing they are newly formed, but they beat legends so they look like possible contenders.

LAGSB - they always seem to upset a top team throughout the season but wil they become more consistent and really challenge teams on the regular?

FRAM - they seem to be decent but they need to play more of the top teams to really know how good they are.

Ok well there is my attempt at getting some conversation going, leave your comments, likes, dislikes, etc. Happy to see a much more challenging age group this year, it will make all the girls better as they approach academy/ECNL in a few years.
Best of luck to everyone.
hi everyone,
The tournament season has begun, teams have officially switched to 9v9 and the competition looks much better this year.....so far. Also, CDA Cruz and legends west are no more, there will be casualties in U10 soccer. Kidding ;)

It has been extremely quiet in the 2008 forum so I’ll kick it off, here are some thoughts on the top teams this year so far, I am going down the list from youthsoccerranking.us.

Blues - won legends and lost man city cup in the finals ok PKs, no one stays on top forever

Slammers - where are you? (I did hear they are doing SuperCopa so that might explain it, can anyone confirm that?)

Legends - have they won a final? Ever? I know they lost in the finals a lot to slammers in finals last year and have lost in legends classic and memorial tournament in....you guessed it, the final. But they are a Good team they will figure it out.

South Valley Thunder and Empire - they seem decent but I don’t think they have played the top teams enough to see if they are really good side or just have one good player. Will be interesting to see what tournaments they take part in this year.

La galaxy SD - they have a good goalie but can’t seem to beat the better teams, this could be the year they change that.

Eagles - They did want no one could do last year in a tournament, beat the blues, kudos to you guys.

CDA Macias - don’t know much about this team, I’m guessing they are newly formed, but they beat legends so they look like possible contenders.

LAGSB - they always seem to upset a top team throughout the season but wil they become more consistent and really challenge teams on the regular?

FRAM - they seem to be decent but they need to play more of the top teams to really know how good they are.

Ok well there is my attempt at getting some conversation going, leave your comments, likes, dislikes, etc. Happy to see a much more challenging age group this year, it will make all the girls better as they approach academy/ECNL in a few years.
Best of luck to everyone.
hi everyone,
The tournament season has begun, teams have officially switched to 9v9 and the competition looks much better this year.....so far. Also, CDA Cruz and legends west are no more, there will be casualties in U10 soccer. Kidding ;)

It has been extremely quiet in the 2008 forum so I’ll kick it off, here are some thoughts on the top teams this year so far, I am going down the list from youthsoccerranking.us.

Blues - won legends and lost man city cup in the finals ok PKs, no one stays on top forever

Slammers - where are you? (I did hear they are doing SuperCopa so that might explain it, can anyone confirm that?)

Legends - have they won a final? Ever? I know they lost in the finals a lot to slammers in finals last year and have lost in legends classic and memorial tournament in....you guessed it, the final. But they are a Good team they will figure it out.

South Valley Thunder and Empire - they seem decent but I don’t think they have played the top teams enough to see if they are really good side or just have one good player. Will be interesting to see what tournaments they take part in this year.

La galaxy SD - they have a good goalie but can’t seem to beat the better teams, this could be the year they change that.

Eagles - They did want no one could do last year in a tournament, beat the blues, kudos to you guys.

CDA Macias - don’t know much about this team, I’m guessing they are newly formed, but they beat legends so they look like possible contenders.

LAGSB - they always seem to upset a top team throughout the season but wil they become more consistent and really challenge teams on the regular?

FRAM - they seem to be decent but they need to play more of the top teams to really know how good they are.

Ok well there is my attempt at getting some conversation going, leave your comments, likes, dislikes, etc. Happy to see a much more challenging age group this year, it will make all the girls better as they approach academy/ECNL in a few years.
Best of luck to everyone.

Thanks for breaking the ice SOTP after state cup and the first couple tourneys I'd say in no particular order..

Blues- Great team that added a couple good players from both slammers. Won in Pk's against Legends in the classic and lost in PK's to eagles in Man city but still seems like the team to beat this season.

Slammers PA- Where are you guys?? Will be interesting to see if they do go to supercopa and even more interesting if they go without any guest players.. I don't think this team won a tourney last year without the Eagle guest and that might have contributed to the early exit from state cup, have a great core squad that play good soccer.

Legends- Great team that needs to find a way to get over the hump. Seems like they have trouble finding the back of the net in the big game but overall play a good brand of soccer.

Empire- Looked to be competitive at Man City but only time will tell if they could hang around with all the top squads.

LA Galaxy SB- Great team that plays good soccer, I think they will definitely be in the mix with all the top teams this season.

SD Surf- Need time to see how this team plays with them combining both squads from last season. I think they should be good but hard to tell with the first performance out at Man City.

Eagles- Great job beating Blues and getting out of the bracket of death in state cup last year. Will definitely be a factor against all the top squads this year.

My .02 but have to agree with SOTP definitely looks like this season will have great competition from all the top squads. Good Luck to all
 
Time for an update now that surf cup is over!

Blues - what is going on? They had an absolute cupcake group at surf cup and lost to the slammers in the finals in penalty kicks so that makes two major tournament losses but they did win Albion cup, also in Penalty kicks. This team is still very good but seem weak compared to last year.

Slammers - Congrats on the surf cup win over the blues! They also got revenge on legends who knocked them out of summer cup on PKs. They had the hardest route to the final and won it all. This team is on the rise currently. Can they keep it going though?

Legends - Another finals loss (summer cup) and then they have a pretty bad surf cup. This team can’t seem to win a final or show up when it matters. Not looking good for this team, they have some work to do.

Empire - Barely missed advancing from surf cup group and seems to be getting better. This team is on the rise and could become a threat in the near future.

La galaxy SD - tied the slammers at surf cup but don’t seem to be consistent enough to be considered a real challenge.

Eagles - lost their own tournament which did not have many challenging teams and had a very bad surf cup. Starting to look like the man city win was just luck.

CDA Macias - seems like a good tough team but very inconsistent. Took blues to PKs at Albion cup final but then lose to a bad SD surf team at surf cup, badly. If they can be more consistent they will contend.

LAGSB - lost to Slammers in semifinal but won summer cup. 3rd best team in the age group and play great soccer. They will challenge for the top spot at some point this season.

SD surf - how can a program known for having good teams and players be this bad? They were rolled by a Colorado team at surf and have not looked good so far this season. However, they did beat CDA Macias, luck or something to build on?

Major tournament winners:
Man City Cup: Eagles
Albion Cup: Blues
Summer Cup: LAGSB
Surf Cup: Slammers

As you can see this year is much more balanced and teams are getting better and more challenging. There won’t be one team winning everything this year. Slammers and blues are still the best of the age group but many teams are close behind.
 
I have to agree. Blues and CDA slammers Macias are the teams to beat this year. Empire is looking stronger and could be a top contender. LAGSD and Albion look pretty equal and probably the two best teams in SD. SD Surf is not looking too good..they actually looks worse than when they had the two teams last year. Still a lot of inconsistencies in this group. Blues cup should be another good tournament to watch.

I think you meant Newport Beach slammers. But I agree with everything you said and it is really strange that two surf teams combined and are not performing better. I’ll add another update after blues cup since I’m sure many of these teams will be there.
 
Surf Cup, Slammers vs LAGSB semi game should have been won by LAGSB or gone to PKs. LAGSB controlled the midfield and the majority of the game but just could not get the ball past the Slammers keeper. Slammers would pack the defense in the penalty area when LAGSB attacked. LAGSB had more speed up top and kept the Slammers defense on the run the majority of the time. There were a good number of fouls in the game with most committed by the Slammers outside mids and defenders trying to slow down the LAGSB defenders. The only goal was due to a mistake by the LAGSB defense. I also saw about 10 minutes of the Colorado vs Surf game. Surf looked horrible and like they should have been in a lower bracket.
 
Surf Cup, Slammers vs LAGSB semi game should have been won by LAGSB or gone to PKs. LAGSB controlled the midfield and the majority of the game but just could not get the ball past the Slammers keeper. Slammers would pack the defense in the penalty area when LAGSB attacked. LAGSB had more speed up top and kept the Slammers defense on the run the majority of the time. There were a good number of fouls in the game with most committed by the Slammers outside mids and defenders trying to slow down the LAGSB defenders. The only goal was due to a mistake by the LAGSB defense. I also saw about 10 minutes of the Colorado vs Surf game. Surf looked horrible and like they should have been in a lower bracket.

Slammers team coached to play long ball and foul, say it isn't so...

Time for an update now that surf cup is over!

Eagles - lost their own tournament which did not have many challenging teams and had a very bad surf cup. Starting to look like the man city win was just luck.
.

To be fair, Eagles 08 played up year at their own tourney and still made the final. Exciting young team imo
 
That is exactly how they played. They won and that is all that matters in a tournament like Surf Cup.

Don't worry I was just messing around :) Every year that club does the same thing. What you say is sad but very true, especially so when it's at the U11 level.
 
Don't worry I was just messing around :) Every year that club does the same thing. What you say is sad but very true, especially so when it's at the U11 level.

Actually Newport Slammers doesnt play over the top, in fact exactly the opposite. They won because their defense and goal keeping was the best this weekend. Simple is that. They dont have an elite scorer because she went to blues, but as a core they are still good enough to contend with anyone.
 
Time for an update now that surf cup is over!

Blues - what is going on? They had an absolute cupcake group at surf cup and lost to the slammers in the finals in penalty kicks so that makes two major tournament losses but they did win Albion cup, also in Penalty kicks. This team is still very good but seem weak compared to last year.

Slammers - Congrats on the surf cup win over the blues! They also got revenge on legends who knocked them out of summer cup on PKs. They had the hardest route to the final and won it all. This team is on the rise currently. Can they keep it going though?

Legends - Another finals loss (summer cup) and then they have a pretty bad surf cup. This team can’t seem to win a final or show up when it matters. Not looking good for this team, they have some work to do.

Empire - Barely missed advancing from surf cup group and seems to be getting better. This team is on the rise and could become a threat in the near future.

La galaxy SD - tied the slammers at surf cup but don’t seem to be consistent enough to be considered a real challenge.

Eagles - lost their own tournament which did not have many challenging teams and had a very bad surf cup. Starting to look like the man city win was just luck.

CDA Macias - seems like a good tough team but very inconsistent. Took blues to PKs at Albion cup final but then lose to a bad SD surf team at surf cup, badly. If they can be more consistent they will contend.

LAGSB - lost to Slammers in semifinal but won summer cup. 3rd best team in the age group and play great soccer. They will challenge for the top spot at some point this season.

SD surf - how can a program known for having good teams and players be this bad? They were rolled by a Colorado team at surf and have not looked good so far this season. However, they did beat CDA Macias, luck or something to build on?

Major tournament winners:
Man City Cup: Eagles
Albion Cup: Blues
Summer Cup: LAGSB
Surf Cup: Slammers

As you can see this year is much more balanced and teams are getting better and more challenging. There won’t be one team winning everything this year. Slammers and blues are still the best of the age group but many teams are close behind.

Thanks SOTP for getting some chatter going, it has been very quite on here until your post. I don't like when people on these forums bash players, coaches, clubs, etc., but some good, healthy soccer conversation is fun! Here's my 2 cents on the top teams after a few summer tournaments including the big one this past weekend...

Blues - I think they're still the team to beat. While I agree it appears they're weaker because they've lost 2 tourneys already this year, while losing none last year, they're still super talented. Maybe the new additions just need some time to get acclimated? Curious to see how they respond at Blues Cup.

Slammers - Big win for them this weekend. Beating the Blues in the finals gives them some momentum heading towards Blues Cup. It appeared they had a new goalie this weekend...one of their normal field players I think. Not sure what the situation is there, but she played great in the championship game and then saved 4 out of 5 PKs...wow!

LA Galaxy South Bay - Totally agree with you, they're the 3rd best team in this age group. Play beautiful soccer, great ball movement, and played Slammers to a 1-goal game in the semis. I expect them to challenge the top 2 in Blues Cup & State Cup.

In my option those are the top 3 teams right now in the age group. I think the next group includes Eagles, LA Galaxy San Diego, CDA Macias, Legends, & Empire. They can all beat each other on any given day, and can challenge & upset the top 3 if they're on their game.

After the top 8 mentioned above, I think there's a drop off to the next tier of SD Surf, Albion, FRAM, etc. South Valley Thunder is a wild card...they're ranked high, but who do they play, where do they play, will they be at Blues Cup?

Would love to hear other's thoughts & comments...but clearly the playing field is leveling this year as you pointed out with your major tourney winners SOTP. I'm guessing Blues Cup is the next time all of these top teams will be in the same tournament...should be fun!
 
Actually Newport Slammers doesnt play over the top, in fact exactly the opposite. They won because their defense and goal keeping was the best this weekend. Simple is that. They dont have an elite scorer because she went to blues, but as a core they are still good enough to contend with anyone.

I personally watched the second half of that game and yes that girl went to the blues but didn’t do much of anything in the game, credit slammers defense because she is a very good player. However, Slammers did pick up a new player, number 9. She played up top and was covered by 2-3 defenders at all times and still was getting open. She tied the game at the end and scored the first PK. Will be fun to watch her and the blues girl go at it throughout the year.
 
Thanks SOTP for getting some chatter going, it has been very quite on here until your post. I don't like when people on these forums bash players, coaches, clubs, etc., but some good, healthy soccer conversation is fun! Here's my 2 cents on the top teams after a few summer tournaments including the big one this past weekend...

Blues - I think they're still the team to beat. While I agree it appears they're weaker because they've lost 2 tourneys already this year, while losing none last year, they're still super talented. Maybe the new additions just need some time to get acclimated? Curious to see how they respond at Blues Cup.

Slammers - Big win for them this weekend. Beating the Blues in the finals gives them some momentum heading towards Blues Cup. It appeared they had a new goalie this weekend...one of their normal field players I think. Not sure what the situation is there, but she played great in the championship game and then saved 4 out of 5 PKs...wow!

LA Galaxy South Bay - Totally agree with you, they're the 3rd best team in this age group. Play beautiful soccer, great ball movement, and played Slammers to a 1-goal game in the semis. I expect them to challenge the top 2 in Blues Cup & State Cup.

In my option those are the top 3 teams right now in the age group. I think the next group includes Eagles, LA Galaxy San Diego, CDA Macias, Legends, & Empire. They can all beat each other on any given day, and can challenge & upset the top 3 if they're on their game.

After the top 8 mentioned above, I think there's a drop off to the next tier of SD Surf, Albion, FRAM, etc. South Valley Thunder is a wild card...they're ranked high, but who do they play, where do they play, will they be at Blues Cup?

Would love to hear other's thoughts & comments...but clearly the playing field is leveling this year as you pointed out with your major tourney winners SOTP. I'm guessing Blues Cup is the next time all of these top teams will be in the same tournament...should be fun!

Thanks for the reply SoCal81, yes it’s always A bummer when people come on here bashing teams or players. Great input on the teams, I don’t think we will see blowouts when it comes to any of the teams mentioned. I think majority of games this year will be very close with upsets happening more than last year. I do agree that blues are still team to beat but I went back and looked at their group for surf cup and they played all out of state teams who were much weaker than them so it will be interesting to see if they get a challenger in their group for their own tournament. Let’s see how all these teams respond, will legends and eagles come back from their poor display? We’re slammers lucky or is this the changing of the guard from the past two years? Will Blues come out and show they are still the best at their own tournament? Will LAGSB make the next step and knock off slammers or blues? League starts right after blues so should be a fun season. Please leave comments, respectful ones, and please add to the discussion.
 
I personally watched the second half of that game and yes that girl went to the blues but didn’t do much of anything in the game, credit slammers defense because she is a very good player. However, Slammers did pick up a new player, number 9. She played up top and was covered by 2-3 defenders at all times and still was getting open. She tied the game at the end and scored the first PK. Will be fun to watch her and the blues girl go at it throughout the year.

I was able to stick around and watch the entire game after my DD finished hers and in my opinion Blues had majority of the possession the entire game. The score does not really tell the whole story. Blues scored in the first quarter of the game while Slammers goal was keeper error.Blues had many shots on goal but Slammers had an outstanding keeper. I heard Slammers had guest players, was the keeper one of them? . I know Slammers is still struggling not having a solid forward (left to blues). Hope they find one soon, it would be nice to see Slammers play with no guests. Kudos to Blues for stealing the amazing Slammer forwards, these girls play beautiful soccer. Not sure what you meant by saying these girls didn't do anything I saw them get by the defense easily. But hey, that was my view.

Well that was my two cents for the night. I usually don't post but let's give credit where its due. @Summers on the pitch, lets remember these are 10-year-old girls!
 
I was able to stick around and watch the entire game after my DD finished hers and in my opinion Blues had majority of the possession the entire game. The score does not really tell the whole story. Blues scored in the first quarter of the game while Slammers goal was keeper error.Blues had many shots on goal but Slammers had an outstanding keeper. I heard Slammers had guest players, was the keeper one of them? . I know Slammers is still struggling not having a solid forward (left to blues). Hope they find one soon, it would be nice to see Slammers play with no guests. Kudos to Blues for stealing the amazing Slammer forwards, these girls play beautiful soccer. Not sure what you meant by saying these girls didn't do anything I saw them get by the defense easily. But hey, that was my view.

Well that was my two cents for the night. I usually don't post but let's give credit where its due. @Summers on the pitch, lets remember these are 10-year-old girls!

Well your view was wrong.
The goalie is a field player that was filling
In for the normal goalie, the 2 guest Players played a whopping 8 min each in the first half and didnt touch the field the 2nd half. But hey, what do I know.
 
Why bring guests if they’re only gonna play 8 minutes?
Regular players should probably play more than the guests. But if I’m a parent of a guest player- especially at 9 years old- and I’ve given up my weekend to have my kid play with a different team.... then she better get some decent time on the field.
 
I personally watched the second half of that game and yes that girl went to the blues but didn’t do much of anything in the game, credit slammers defense because she is a very good player. However, Slammers did pick up a new player, number 9. She played up top and was covered by 2-3 defenders at all times and still was getting open. She tied the game at the end and scored the first PK. Will be fun to watch her and the blues girl go at it throughout the year.
Mimber
I personally watched the second half of that game and yes that girl went to the blues but didn’t do much of anything in the game, credit slammers defense because she is a very good player. However, Slammers did pick up a new player, number 9. She played up top and was covered by 2-3 defenders at all times and still was getting open. She tied the game at the end and scored the first PK. Will be fun to watch her and the blues girl go at it throughout the year.
Number 9 is not new.
Was on the team Last year just was number 2
 
Well your view was wrong.
The goalie is a field player that was filling
In for the normal goalie, the 2 guest Players played a whopping 8 min each in the first half and didnt touch the field the 2nd half. But hey, what do I know.

Wow, lol. I must have struck a nerve! Let's play nice @Theplayer. I'm guessing you are a Slammers parent. Relax, you have a good team.

Looking forward to seeing how all the teams do at Blues Cup.
 
Why bring guests if they’re only gonna play 8 minutes?
Regular players should probably play more than the guests. But if I’m a parent of a guest player- especially at 9 years old- and I’ve given up my weekend to have my kid play with a different team.... then she better get some decent time on the field.[/QUOTE
 
Nice to finally see some chatter on the 08 forum, it's been awfully quiet as of late. My DD plays for Slammers so I thought I'd chime in and clarify a few things & offer my opinions...

1) Yes, Slammers had 2 guest players at Surf Cup, but neither played significant minutes in the title game, including zero minutes in the second half. Someone asked why guest if you're not going to play? The 2 girls were in the playing rotation during the group stage & the semifinals, but when it got to the title game, and specifically the 2nd half, the coach went with his regular players who have worked hard to prepare for Surf Cup. I'm pretty sure both sets of guest parents were very happy with how the weekend played out. I'd actually be more upset if I was a parent of the Blues’ girls that are actually on their team and still didn't play a minute in the title game.

2) Neither of the guests played keeper all weekend. The keeper in the semis & finals is a regular field player who just happens to be a legit goalie.

3) #9 is not a new player, she just changed numbers this year.

4) Possession & shots on goal probably favored Slammers in the title game, or if nothing else it was a 50/50 even game. To say the Blues had the "majority of possession the entire game" is definitely not accurate in my opinion. Blues played well the first 20 minutes and got their goal, but Slammers dominated the last 5-10 min of the 1st half and had the advantage most of the 2nd half. Someone mentioned the Blues scored early, while the Slammers’ goal came off a goalie mistake...not sure how either point is relevant. One team scored early, one team scored late, and the end result was they went to PKs. Players make mistakes all the time...to somehow blame the Blues' keeper is completely irresponsible in my opinion.

5) I find it ironic that earlier someone mentioned that Slammers packed it in vs. LAGSB, while Slammers in fact didn't change their formation once in that game. Meanwhile, as soon as the Blues went up 1-0, they packed 5 players on the defensive half of the field, but no mention of that. It's all good, do what you have to do...but don't take anything away from the Slammers for winning this tournament by going thru what surely appears to be the toughest road to get there.

Again, just wanted to throw in my 2 cents...glad to see some activity on here. Blues are a great team, as are LAGSB, and I'm sure all 3, plus other teams will have great battles throughout the year. Looking forward to Blues Cup!
 
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