05/15/02

Cleaning out the notebook from last weekend's state soccer tournament:

The six-man rule that allows just six players from a single club team to play at the same time for a high school team was a hot topic at John Hunt Park.

A handful of officials and coaches said they were against the rule and were quick to point out that Arkansas was the only other state with the same rule.

The best argument I heard to change the rule was that high school programs in towns that don't have a big population base, and do not have many club soccer teams, suffer because many of the players have to travel (and subsequently don't) to play on a team elsewhere to avoid the six-man rule.

The Alabama High School Athletic Association has similar rules for all sports it governs. The rules are there, obviously, to thwart possible abusive behavior on the part of coaches and their programs.

The lack of club programs probably does make it hard to live with the six-man rule, but I also think the rule is there for a reason. Whether or not it should be changed is still open for debate.

But one thing I'm absolutely certain of is this: I sure felt sorry for Huntsville High senior Christa Sikes, who was a victim of the six-man rule in the girls Class 6A championship game.

The Lady Panthers have seven players from one club team, and one has to sit each game they play. That honor fell to Sikes, who could only watch as Huntsville beat Central-Tuscaloosa to win its second state title in three years.

Sikes joined the celebration, but it was obvious the victory rang somewhat hollow for her.

"It was hard,'' she said. "I would have liked to have played.''

The seven Huntsville players chose to stay together in club season and all knew that one of them would sit if the top-ranked Lady Panthers made it to the championship game.

Randolph overcomes obstacles: Randolph's boys had just two seniors - Ed Wills and Martin Schreeder - and had eight eighth-graders on the roster. But what really had Randolph coach Richard Todd concerned about his team's chances of winning a third straight 1A-4A title was the goalkeeper situation.

Keeper Drew Porter was among the starters who graduated and the player who was going to take over his position, Bo McGuffey, was lost for the season to a knee injury.

The injury forced Todd to move right fullback Brad Sabatini to goalkeeper, a new position for him.

"We didn't have a true goalie,'' Todd said. "He really stepped up. Without Brad Sabatini's contributions, we wouldn't have been back for the championship.''

A smooth operation: Tournament director Ralph Stone is to be applauded not only for running another great event but for tweaking it slightly to make it better.

The games began an hour earlier Friday, and game times were set 2 hours apart as opposed to the two-hour gap used last year. This allowed teams more time to clear out before the next one moved in to the bench area.

It also proved to be a huge move when a two-hour rain delay during the first games Friday threatened to push the schedule deep into the night. The tournament nearly got back on schedule before the 4:30 games and one of the boys 6A games went off as planned at 7 p.m.

Stone is going to try another move for next season. Instead of starting the first championship games at 9 a.m. and the last at 2 p.m. on Saturday, he'd like to get permission from the AHSAA to begin closer to noon or even later.

Come join the club

State's top soccer programs rely on players with club level experience

05/10/02

By MIKE EASTERLING
Times Sports Staff mikee@htimes.com

Ashley Welch couldn't stand it. Nor could she take it sitting down.

Welch, a senior forward for Huntsville's top-ranked girls soccer team, tried to sit in a big, comfortable chair just outside the Lady Panthers locker room last week as they prepared to play Sparkman in a sub-state playoff game.

Welch, in street clothes, was relegated to watching from a distance because of the six-man rule. But she couldn't sit still. She was up and down, yelling at teammates and pleading for a better effort.

And this was during warmups.

The six-man rule states that no more than six teammates on a club soccer team can play at one time for a high school team. It's the Alabama High School Athletic Association's version of the luxury tax. Against Sparkman, Welch was the payment.

Huntsville, which plays rival Grissom today at 4:30 p.m. in the Class 6A State soccer championships, John Hunt Park, admission $6 each day, $3 parking. state semifinals at John Hunt Park, has seven girls who play for the powerful Kicks club, so at least one has to miss each game.

Welch was nursing an injury and was the obvious choice to sit out against Sparkman. Other times, Huntsville coach Henry Mpagi decides who will sit based on practice performance. He said making that decision is "one of the hardest things I deal with.''

It does have its advantages.

"You work harder,'' Welch said, "especially this time of year when you want to play and you know you might be the next one to sit."

While deciding who to sit may be hard on Mpagi, it's a problem he's happy to have. Playing at the club level, after all, has more impact on soccer than any other high school sport.

"And I appreciate (club coach) Chris Crump and the Kicks for keeping the girls together,'' Mpagi said. "I can't thank him enough for keeping that group together. We've got some younger players with the Rampage and the Kicks coming up. It makes our job easier.''

About 60 percent of the players on the 20 rosters in this weekend's state tournament play club soccer. Gadsden's girls and Trinity's boys are the only two teams with less than at least five club players on the roster, and only seven of the 20 teams have less than 50 percent of their roster filled with club players.

"It's crucial,'' Altamont boys coach Sean Gibson said. "It's the most important thing in the development of our program."

"If you're going to reach this level (the state tournament), it's a must to have club players,'' Mars Hill Bible coach Dorian Hill said. "They get their skills done playing club and they mature in the game. Three months (of the high school season) is not enough to develop great skill."

Which makes club season irreplaceable.

"We encourage all of our players to play club,'' Grissom boys coach Brendan O'Halloran said. "We want them in a competitive environment. And I'm not going to say high school coaches develop them. When they come in at 14 or 15, they are already highly developed.

"When they get to this level we work on the tactical aspects."

Tough competition

Hazel Green's Terry Huffman has to field a girls team year after year that is usually barren of club players. The Lady Trojans are in a 6A section that includes Huntsville and Grissom.

The playoffs must seem like a fairy tale at Hazel Green.

"Any time you go into a season and your girls have played 10 games in (American Youth Soccer Organization, a nationwide organization that develops youth soccer programs), and those other (club players) have played 100 games, it doesn't take a genius to figure out you're starting with a foot in the hole,'' Huffman said.

"The more games you have played, the more skilled you are and the better you see the field and the better you understand the concept of passing in soccer. I'm not going to say it's impossible to compete, but you're definitely starting a little bit handicapped."

One hangup with club programs is that there may not be enough. Players in smaller cities like Florence and Cullman join local teams, but some have to come to Huntsville to play. And in some age divisions, there are so many Huntsville players that locals have to travel to join another program.

The North Alabama Soccer League list nine high school-age clubs - Huntsville Soccer Club, Kicks Futbol Club (Huntsville), North Alabama United (Huntsville), Huntsville Invaders, North Alabama Shockers (Madison), Shoals United, Decatur United FC, Florence Phantoms and Florence Soccer Club.

In addition to those nine, there are at least seven more clubs that have teams for players under high school age in the area.

Another club soccer problem is too few coaches. High school coaches can coach club teams, but they can't coach a single player, boys or girls, from their high school.

According to O'Halloran, the rule prevents the club experience from becoming an extension of the high school season. But the AHSAA saw the need to take it further and introduced the six-man rule.

"They took away the coaches,'' he said, "but that wasn't enough."

Experience counts

The six-man rule. The luxury tax. Whatever.

This much is certain: whether it's two, six or 20 on a team, the club players will more than likely carry the heaviest weight on John Hunt's two pristine fields today and Saturday.

Bob Jones boys coach Mo Khodabandeh shudders to think of a clubless program.

"It's absolutely essential,'' he said. "Without it, we would not be competitive."

And the players say that club is not only the path to winning, but also to college.

"Club gives you better opportunities as far as playing on the next level,'' Welch said. "We get more opportunities to play more out of state teams than we do in high school. Club gives you a chance to play some of the toughest competition in the nation."

And, it seems, club prepares the players to become the toughest competition in the state.