| 2008 SPRING LEAGUE – A SCHEDULING UPDATE |
| Thursday, 28 February 2008 | |
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Norcal Spring League is booming – well ahead of last year, and with over ten days left for registering new teams are currently entering at an average of over 15 new teams a day. Historically, as the deadline - March 9th - nears this will increase greatly. With the rapid growth of new Clubs in all areas except the North Bay, we can now guarantee, in most age/gender groups, schedules that will have 5 to 6 local games – followed by a Norcal wide playoff among the top team(s) from each area. Teams lower in the standings will have games against similar teams from the other areas. This scheduling system has been “tested” during 2007 Spring and Fall and was very popular. The only major problem was teams falling behind in the schedule and not being ready to begin the next round. With the recognition of the problem and the addition of a Norcal “Event Coordinator” to keep games on schedule – that problem should be solved. The top ranked teams will continue to play each other in the best “Premier” format that can be designed. Since there are a limited number of these teams those schedules are difficult to predict until the seeding committee has completed their task. There is a noticeable trend that an increasing number of different Clubs (both older and increasingly newer) are developing stronger younger players and teams. This is a welcome trend that should accelerate as Clubs watch and learn from Clubs that are already producing more high-level players - which will in most cases results in more successful teams. Statistically, it is well known and accepted that there is room for huge improvement in Norcal when it comes to the development of players who have “mastered” the ball. The trend for the development of more of those types of exciting players is growing and hopefully will soon begin to spread and grow among all 150 Clubs. As Norcal has suggested since the beginning – in the younger ages focus on developing motivated and highly skilled players who love the game – “footballers” and your teams will win more than their share of the games against Clubs that are not following that “World” practice. When your “footballer” teams play other teams of “footballers”, you will have become – no matter the result of a game, league or event - part of that World movement toward excellence where every player, coach and family is a winner – at helping young players reach for their dreams and enjoy our wonderful sport! That process is at work in every country in the world and the result is the remarkable excitement generated by the “Worlds’ Game” Because of the increasing number of teams entered, Norcal is now often able to organize the local games based on the following areas: 1.Sacramento Area 2.Stockton, Modesto and Valley 3.East Bay 4.San Jose Area and South 5.San Francisco – San Mateo Area 6.North Bay The teams in the Napa/Solano area can be on schedules with either the Sacramento teams or the North Bay – usually the North Bay. If necessary, teams from the Manteca/Tracy area can be grouped with Livermore/Pleasanton area teams. Since the more isolated Fresno area has now wisely developed their own Premier League, except in rare cases of older teams, those teams will no longer participate in Norcal Spring League. They will continue to be welcomed into the Norcal State Cup(s) with full home field privileges based on their seeding. Plans are currently underway to develop a Lake Tahoe/Reno Premier League and during that developmental stage teams from that area will be welcomed into Norcal Spring League -with the Clubs arranging their home games closer to the Sacramento area. Norcal appreciate the teams and Clubs that “for the good of the game” play these teams as they develop a League in their own area. I hope this update will help you understand both the constraints on the Norcal scheduling process and what type of schedules you and your Club teams can expect in a month or so. If you have any suggestions, comments or special requests, please feel free to let me know of them. Thanks, Herb, Norcal Scheduler This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it WHEN SOCCER COACHES AND MANAGERS TALK……. NORCAL LISTENS |
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| Last Updated ( Thursday, 28 February 2008 ) |
