SFA

2 local southeast texas soccer players will be playing at some of the highest levels of club youth soccer. SP (Lumberton) and his U-17 Dallas Texans - Houston Division Red team will be playing in the USYS National league. He will be playing competition from GA, CA, OH and NY. [Hidden Content] NS (Kelly) will be with the Texas Soccer Club USSA U-18 Development Academy Team. Their schedule includes MLS youth teams Crew, Rapids and FC Dallas. They will also play teams from NY, CO, MO, and IL. [Hidden Content] I have to believe this as high as you can go in youth club competative soccer. Congratulations and good luck. Both these players started in our own local youth leagues, moved up through Spindletop and on to their current teams.

Looking at the EDDOA rankings, I was wondering were our local players will be playing club ball this fall. If folks didn't change teams this is what I think I know: Two of our best have moved on to college. MK (Kelly) to Univ. Denver BW (Lumberton) to UT-Tyler NS (Kelly) TSC Texans Elite 91, EDDOA Classic Div. (EDDOA rank #6) SP (Lumberton) Texans FC 92 Red, EDDOA Classic Div. (EDDOA rank #4) RB (Nederland) Texans FC 92 Black, EDD)A Classic Div. (EDDOA rank #7) ZC (Kelly) TSC Texans 92, EDDOA Classic Div. (EDDOA rank #8) We have a GC Scorpions Red 91 in the silver bracked of Supper II (EDDOA rank #19) No other Spindletop, Gulf Coast or Beaumont team show in the EDDOA rankings. BYSC has a u-18 Division II team made up of Kelly, WB and some south county kids As far as the girls go, I know there is a WB senior that is playing for one of the Challenge teams. Gulf Coast looks to have a U-19 team "TC Clash" in the bronze bracket of Super II (EDDOA rank #20), they also have listed a U-17 team "United 92" also in the bronze bracket of Super II (EDDOA rank #26) At the U-16 level we have the GC TC Fireball in the bronze bracket of Super II (EDDOA rank #25) and Spindletop has the STYSA Presidents cup champions in the Classic Bracket of Div 1 (EDDOA rank #7) At U-14, Spindletop Select Red have a team in Div I, Competative bracket (EDDOA rank #14) At U-13 we have a Gulf coast TC Crossfire in the Silver bracket of Super II (EDDOA rank #14) and Spindletop Select Red in the Div 1 Competative bracket (EDDOA rank #8) Please add what you know to the list so we can follow and support our local players.

Did the the young man from south county make to President's Cup regionals playing for the U-16 Texans FC Black?

Not sure how you can pick Poland to advance. Are they not one of the few European teams that can't beat the U.S. on their home soil?

Congratulations Spindletop girls! Last year we had just one player move on to win state and region in the presidents cup (with TSC 91 u-16 boys). This year a whole team from the area have that chance. I also believe that 3 local U-16 boys playing with Texans FC Black are in the EDDOA Presidents cup finals to be played this weekend. If they win this weekend then they follow the girls to Austin. Good luck!

I don't know who picks this team but they left out the areas best defender Matt Horning and the best goalie Nathan Stokie. However, the selections are better this year than last.

Congrats to Brent. Glad to see his hard work pay off. Hopefully he and Matt are the start of a regular flow of SE Texas soccer players into the college ranks.

Shark: Have these players been with FC all along, or have they just transfer under recently? Either way, good luck to them. Nederland should really see the benefits of this many players competing at this high a level.

One fan's view in the spring of 08 The progress of the local soccer scene over the last year seems to me a mixed bag. We have had some bright spots and some disappointments. I will list them out as I see them. This is not just about high school soccer. It is about this areas ability to produce quality soccer players that have the opportunity to play at the next level. Something we do very well at in football and basketball. Please chime in with your observations. If I get a fact wrong, I apologize and appreciate any corrections. First the good; We had our 1st Division 1 college signee in a while. MK (Kelly) signed with the Univ. of Denver an up and coming D-1 program. This makes for 2 local college players. Young Mr. Smith (West Brook) is at Coker College a D2 program in SC. If there is anyone else, please let us know. We had local players play in some of the most competitive and elite youth soccer tournaments in the United States. MK and SP (Lumberton) played with teams that won the Dallas Cup. This has to be one of the top one or two tournaments in the country. This is an accomplishment that seems lost on most of the local fans. SP and NS (Kelly) both played at the Disney Soccer Showcase. SP as part of Texans FC 92 Red play in a club National league and NS as part of the TSC Texans 91 run to the finals in that tournament. MK and NS also played in the youth tournament associated with the College men’s final 4 in NC this year. MK continued his successful year being named Dynamo Academy player of the year and was selected for the southeast region III ODP team that went to Brazil this spring. These are both awesome accomplishments. SP’s club team, Texans FC Red 92, is having a tremendous year. They took 2nd place in the TX/OK Premier league. This qualified them for a spot in a national club league, in which they tied for 3rd place. These three young men are playing at a very high level and I would very much expect Messer’s SP and NS to join MK in the D1 college ranks. Also to the good, Gulf Coast Soccer U-17 boys won the 1st round of the Super II, Silver bracket. They did struggle in the 2nd round dropping back to the Bronze bracket for round three. However, they did win that competition and should start back in the silver bracket next year. If this team were able to attract some depth with players from north county and Orange they have the quality to make a run at the Division 1, competitive bracket before the end of the next club season. Also the Gulf Coast U-15’s came in 2nd for the last round of the S2 bronze bracket. They should move up to the Silver bracket next year. The success of these two teams should are good indicators for an improving Nederland and P-NG varsity squads in 09. The GC 89 team also finished 2nd in the U-19 bracket. To the bad: Spindletop Select is having absolutely no success in its high school aged boys program. Only two teams represented the club in the EDDOA S2 and D1 level last club season. Both of these teams played in the U-19 bracket. The 89 Red team started out with some promise but seemed to lose steam late in the season. I believe most of these players graduate this year. The 89 White team (made up of mainly under-aged players) was an absolute wreck. They had no business playing at the U-19 S2 level and should have been playing D2. High School: To the good – Congratulations to Lumberton and Kelly for great seasons: Lumberton completed district play without a loss and made it into the 2nd round of the playoff losing to Regional finalist Nacogdoches. Kelly played a tough non-district schedule including 4 5A playoff teams and 2 Louisiana state champions. Kelly made it to the TAPPS semi-finals, losing to eventual state champion SA Central, giving them their closest game of the tournament. Both of these teams had great seniors and will have to contend with significant talent loss for next season. A lot of the high school varsity squads played in pre-season tournaments out of the local area. Hopefully, the experience helped with their season and pushed them to improve the quality of their play. The new smaller UIL districts for 09 should allow for more non-district games and an opportunity for the better teams to challenge themselves out of the local area and improve their chances come playoff time. The bad: WO-S. I feel badly for these kids. Hopefully, these players are or will start playing year around on club teams in an effort to improve, because it isn’t going to happen the way in is currently going. Central: Why do these games more resemble rugby than the beautiful game. Hopefully a change in player leadership will modify their style. There are players on this team with talent, we just don’t get to appreciate it with all the questionable play and flopping. West Brook: What happened to West Brook? They didn’t make a lot of noise this year. They have traditionally been this areas strongest high school program. Although they didn’t play, I feel that Lumberton and Kelly could have beat them head to head and LC-M and Nederland may have gotten the better of them as well. The trouble with WB is that Spindletop doesn’t seem to be developing players at the high school age anymore, couple that with a coach that discourages kids from playing club ball, the future does not look particularly bright. Good luck to SP (Texas FC Red 92) and NS (TSC Texans Elite 91) in the upcoming National Cup play. Good luck as well to MK (TSC Texans 90), BW (Lumberton & Space City 90) and ZC (Kelly & TSC Texans 92) in this springs Presidents cup

The Dallas Cup is one of the most prestigious youth tournaments in the United States. Youth teams from all over the country and international teams participate annually. 2 local players and their teams participated and did really well. Matt Kirby's Dynamo Academy team won the U-19 bracket and Scott Poole"s FC Texans Red won the U-16 bracket. I have no idea how each of these young men did individually, but they are playing at an incredible high level of competition. Congratulations to both these young men and their respective teams for representing south Texas soccer so well. [Hidden Content]

Lumberton, Central and Kelly are losing some of this areas best players. They will be very difficult for their teams to replace. These are young men (and their parents) have dedicated hours of training and travel time to complete against the best by traveling to Houston to play Division 1 competition. Their love of the game and success on the field has greatly benefited each of their high school teams. I do not think any of those high schools would have had their success without the extra work those boys have done to develop their god given talent. Good luck in the future and we will miss your play next year.

College Soccer News has Denver as a college program on the rise. [Hidden Content] Coaches - Who will be our next local signee?

???Who was the last D1 college signee we have had from SE Texas?

Go early, traffic and parking will be awful.

;D - Thanks for covering a local high school soccer game last night!  Look forward to seeing more.

Wow! A newspaper article about a high school soccer team. I am sure the local rags would never travel down that path. Way to go Baytown Sun. Thank you for spending some ink on the hardwork and accomplishments of some of you local students who are not football or basketball players.

???Who are you playing in the St. Louis Tournament and arn't you going to missing some starters this weekend?

Can only talk to what I am familar with. I try not to speak on players and teams I am not familar with. I don't get to see the Gulf Coast kids play very often. However I have seen the significant difference between local D2, Super 2 and D1 soccer. I also know that some of the kids cannot be really evaluated because they don't play in the established youth leagues. WB, Central and Memorial all have talent that was not developed by the club system.

You don't have to play club ball together, but it can help. Some of the Kelly guys are in mid-season form as far as fitness and chemistry because they have been playing together since August. I bet Central will get a boost if they have 4 or 5 players on that U-19 Spindletop Super 2 team.

Looks like the Dynamo left both of the Senior team goal keepers unprotected. Onstad and Wells.

Thanks for the update WellRead. It does take a little research to keep up with all those guys. I was sorry to read that Deavers left the U-17 Texans FC. That group is playing in the premier league against the best teams in Texas and Oklahoma. I imagine that it would of been some great competition. It looks like Mr. Poole struck it rich with his club team. They are doing well in the premier league and have qualified to play in a national league of club teams. AWESOME! The Kelly boys look like they are reaping the advantage of a good club season with 5 0r 6 of thier starters playing on the same club team. I hope keeping this information out there will encourage and inspire other SE TX soccer players to play year around and develop their skillls. Who knows where it might lead. I think we will start to see a more consistant flow of players from this area to the college ranks. I see at least 1 D1 college signing each of the next 3 years. Based on what I've seen and their current level of play we can expect Kirby in 08, Stockie in 09 and Poole in 10. Not to say there will not be more. Mr. Waltrip, Hanks and Horning could easily be if they get seen by the right folks. Mr. Washburn certainly has the skills and I am sure I am missing some others. Its just hard to get recruited playing at the S2 level or just high school.

So what have the Vidor players been doing this off season to get so much better, even with all thier losses to graduation? ???

>:(He lost his job because he made himself the issue and not the team. Solo didn’t throw Surry under the bus, she just expressed confidence in her abilities. Most great athletes always believe they can make the save or score the goal. Players don’t get great by being timid. He punished her for her confidence. That is certainly what any great coach would do. Yeah, right!

??? How is the club season going? It looks like the Spindletop U-19's are having a great season, having won at least 1 preseason tournament and I believe are currently undefeated in the fall S2 season. What schools besides West Brook, Kelly and Vidor have players on this team? How are you guys playing D1 doing. A few of you are playing at the very highest level in the Premier league, playing Austin, Dallas and Oklahoma teams. The competition has to be great. You must be competing against some outstanding players. Are your teams holding their own?

:)Congrats to Gillis's U-19 boys for a 2nd place finish in the D-II tournament last week-end.