Crosby Headed to Summerville

Eddie Crosby, formerly of CESA Columbia has been named Director of Coaching at the Summerville Soccer Club following the meltdown and accompanying decision on the part of the members of SSC to not engage in a long term agreement with Pearse Tormey and Andrew Hyslop of CESA.

Eddie during his tenure as DOC of the Columbia Soccer Club and then CESA Columbia has shown that he has the talent to succeed. We only hope that he can continue have success with a club that is torn regarding what type of club that they aspire to be.

Eddie will be succeeded by Shawn Jacques, a quite affable person and talented coach. It will take more than notion for him to overcome the behemouth that Columbia United has quickly become. Just this past month several of the stronger girls in the area not on Columbia United rosters tried out and received invitations to play with Columbia United.

Don't be surprised if CESA Columbia folds after this year. Also, look for Bridge to make another run at SSC with Eddie Crosby playing prominent role in the discussion.

Bigger is Looking Better Once Again

Try outs are over and the 2007-2008 State Cup Champions are preparing for Regionals and the status quo remains the same. CESA once again has dominated play with Columbia United showing at a distant second. Others have done well, but their results pale in comparison to the big two. As these two behemoths continue to separate themselves from the others it is apparent that in order to consistently compete the smaller, poorer sisters of soccer in this state will have to enlist new strategies.

Pockets of participants have begun the tiny steps towards improving their lot. In the Charlotte/Rock Hill Area the former Tega Cay Club has developed an alliance with one of the Charlotte Clubs. In the Augusta Area the Honolulu Bulls have set up shop and have managed to corral three of the four clubs in the area. The Lowcountry appears to have stumbled over their effort to introduce CESA to the area, but this effort is probably still on life support and may be an opportunity for Bridge to further consolidate the many clubs in the area.

Hopefully, we will once again find parity, which will lead to greater competition.

Summerville Calls Off Wedding to CESA

It appears from the postings at SCSOCCER.com that the apparent joining of forces between the Summerville Soccer Club and CESA has been called off. The vote to formalize the relationship failed by 6 votes.

Statewide, many are cheering. Locally, there has to be a few that are jeering.

It has been reported that the apparent arrogance of Hyslop was the downfall of the day, but more probably it was the parochial feelings of the always mercurial Lowcountry soccer community.

Postings refer to the rich history of the Summerville Soccer Club and the desire to maintain their identity. The truth is that SSC has always been a second tier club and despite their limited success this year in the Academy State Cup they are destined to keep that status. The continued success of CESA in the Select Program, coupled with the sheer numbers of players at Columbia United and their increasingly dominant younger teams spells long term doom for smaller clubs looking to compete consistently across all age groups.

Daniel Island, Bridge, James Island, Charleston United, SSA, Summerville, and Mt. Pleasant each have pockets of talent and very capable coaches, but until they are able to cobble together some sort of cooperative agreement they will continue to undermine each other's efforts to bring some sort of order to Lowcountry soccer.

Maybe this latest faux pas will allow Bridge to reconnect with Summerville and give the community one more chance to put differences aside.

Good Luck

Ramsey Selected to Represent SC Youth Soccer

Alex Ramsey has been invited to the Region III Developmental Camp to be held February 20-26 at Cal Poly Tech University in Pomona, CA in February. Region III Girls' ODP Chairman, Karen Flanagan, reported the good news to Alex.

There have been 36 players from each region in the '92 and '93 age group pools selected for this event. Especially good for Alex and good for South Carolina!

Wayne Quinlan Resigns from Dutch Fork

Dutch Fork soccer coach Wayne Quinlan resigned Thursday, one week after what turned out to be an illegal practice.

Four Dutch Fork students, three of them soccer players, and a Dutch Fork assistant worked out on Jan. 24, four days before the first official day of practice. According to S.C. High School League rules, a coach is allowed to work with a maximum of three players per day out of season.

League rules call for suspension of the players involved for a season, a minimum of one year’s probation, and a fine. Quinlan said he handed in his resignation beforehand in the hopes of a more lenient decision, but commissioner Jerome Singleton applied the rule fully, including a $500 fine.

Upon appeal to the league’s executive committee, the punishment was reduced to the fine only.

Quinlan said he was advised “at the school level” that the executive committee might be more lenient if the school took self-disciplinary action of letting him resign.

Quinlan said the assistant asked him for permission, and he made a mistake in interpreting the league’s rule.

“I said yes, as long as the fourth player was not on our eligibility (list) last year,” Quinlan said. “That was incorrect; me mixing the 75 percent rule with the three-player rule,” which governs coaches coaching club teams which have members of their high school teams on them.

Under his tutelage, the Silver Foxes have a record of 193-105-9. Quinlan is eighth among active SC coaches with 285 career wins.

“I’ve only had two yellow cards as a soccer coach,” he said. “The fact that I self-reported, and don’t have any history (of violations) meant nothing.”