Happy with OK soccer?

Both new and established leagues have now formed (OPC, OCL, Red River NPL, SRPL, OPL, , etc) ....most have had a weekend or 2 of games.  Obviously it's still very early and there is much left to play out , but I'm interested in early impressions....are you happy with how the year looks to be shaping up?  Do you see your kids benefiting from the recent changes?

As a team manager, I have noticed that it has been a quick (same day) and simple (one email) process to get OPC league games rescheduled and changed on GotSoccer.  

I had to take a one hour 1st Aid course before being allowed to request my background check. Learned a few things...

Talked to several 05 parents from Celtic, Cosmos and TSC last weekend and they were verry happy with NPL so far. They said the competition was strong in their age group and the league put quite a bit of thought into scheduling to minimize travel and late away games. One parent said he especially liked the id2 player identification. His daughter was identified by another coach during the first game and he thought this method was more fair and less political. If a player is a standout player they will be identified, regardless of the team or club.

Although the TX teams haven't started playing yet in this age group, they should give the OK and AR teams pretty tough games. One AR team, the Mighty Bluebirds, is 3-0 and could be the surprise team this season but anything can happen with so many quality teams. My money is on Celtic, Fever or Liverpool but the Bluebirds or NTX Celtic could easily upset. This is going to be a fun league to watch this season.

OSA still being OSA. Never making schedule deadlines. Scheduling games for a coach that has two teams at the same time. Forgetting to schedule a team for one of the OPL weekends.

Something that irks me about the OPL festival weekends we now have: You play two games on either Saturday or Sunday. My daughter's team plays two games on Sunday for three weekends. This means no recovery time for HS soccer on Monday. Not real happy with all these Sunday games.

It's really weird to see TSC & Blitz/OFC not play each other. I guess I just don't see the point. That aspect of the split is what's not good for Oklahoma soccer, from my perspective. You'd think it'd be a good thing for local teams to play each other in local tournaments. We did some scrimmages with NPL/OPC teams, but still....

As for my daughter, leaving TSC was a great decision for her, personally. Every situation is different, so I don't have any hard feelings for any particular club. We'll play in plenty of showcases, and she likes the girls and the coach. She's thriving on a better team, and most importantly, she's excited about soccer again.

If I've learned anything, it's that it's good for a kid to have options. Tulsa area soccer NEEDS at least two strong, central clubs. TSC killing off Blitz would be a terrible thing for local soccer (not saying that's happening). For many, NEOFC and WSA are just too far away. I hope the Tulsa soccer scene can progress without devolving into a free-for-all. A little balance gives us, the parents and the kids, more choices.

For those who believe it hurts our state when top clubs don't play each other, isn't the solution as easy as Energy joining OPC/NPL?

I think the real question is, how much stock does Energy as an organization, and its decision makers, have in OSA? People that have jobs within OSA would certainly have a real interest in Energy sticking around, else OSA becomes a very small player in Oklahoma soccer.

918soccer wrote:For those who believe it hurts our state when top clubs don't play each other, isn't the solution as easy as Energy joining OPC/NPL?

Yes it's that simple.

But would take a physician to detach the siamese twins that are OSA and OFC.