Three Ideas for Better High School Soccer in Maine

1. Reconfigure game schedules to establish "Soccer Saturday."

For as long as I can remember, most high school teams in Maine have played their games on two weeknights separated by only one day of rest between each game (e.g., Monday/Wednesday, Tuesday/Thursday, Wednesday/Friday). However, we should reconfigure the game schedules to create "Soccer Saturday" to bolster high school soccer's brand in the state and to develop better and safer soccer players.

To establish Soccer Saturday, we should designate Tuesday and Wednesday as the two weekday game nights throughout the state, and we should schedule girl/boy doubleheaders on Saturdays. Each team still plays two games per week, but Soccer Saturday would give the Maine high school soccer its own version of the gridiron's "Friday Night Lights." Instead of playing before sparse crowds on a weekday evening, a Saturday night doubleheader between two schools' girls and boys' teams would attract larger crowds and create more exciting atmospheres. The benefits of Soccer Saturday go beyond a boost in fandom, though. Adopting a Tuesday/Saturday and a Wednesday/Saturday schedule pattern also helps the two most important stakeholders in high school soccer: The game's coaches and its players.

During my brief tenure as the coach at Westbook High School, our program was relatively undeveloped and inexperienced. We had very few players participating in club soccer during the winter and the spring, so we had to take full advantage of our summer program and the first couple weeks of pre-season to focus almost exclusively on the technical and tactical development of our players. That's because once early September hit, the Tuesday/Thursday game pattern forced us into a rhythm that emphasized game recovery and game preparation above player development. With two, 80-minute games being played within 72 hours (or three games in five days during the few weeks we had to pick up a third game on Saturday), our weekly schedule throughout the season roughly consisted of this:

Monday- Game prep. for Tuesday's opponent
Tuesday- Game
Wednesday- Recovery from Tuesday's game, game prep. for Thursday's opponent
Thursday- Game
Friday- Recovery from Thursday's game, technical development
Saturday- Technical development or a game

Rinse and repeat for the rest of the season.

By adopting a Soccer Saturday, teams who play their weekday game on Wednesdays have two clusters of back-to-back training sessions, instead of only one under the current schedule format. And teams that play their weekday game on Tuesdays have a three-day stretch of training sessions, with Sundays acting as a game recovery day that doesn't show up on a team's session calendar.

This elongated training schedule also helps players, because it allows coaches to step off the game-to-game treadmill that runs throughout the season. And coaches who don't have to prepare training sessions with one eye on last night's game and the other eye on tomorrow night's game can then organize sessions that focus on the long-term development of the program's players.

Players also benefit from a weekday/Saturday format, because that schedule gives them at least two days to physically recover from each game. As noted above, the current scheduling format forces players to play two games in three days (or three games in five days), which allows for a recovery rate that falls way short of U.S. Youth Soccer's recommendation of 36-92 hours of rest between competitive games. (The Soccer Saturday schedule also doesn't meet that recommendation, but it guarantees at least 48 hours of rest between each competitive game.)

The reconfiguration of a Soccer Saturday schedule boosts the high school soccer brand in Maine, allows coaches to focus on the long-term development of their programs during the season, and is a safer alternative for the state's players. Who can argue against that? (Just kidding, I recognize there are possible counter-arguments--especially related to logistics.)

2. Establish a Maine Soccer Hall of Fame.

To build a brighter future, soccer in Maine in general (and high school soccer in particular) needs to shine a spotlight on its history. What better way to do that than to establish a Maine Soccer Hall of Fame?

This endeavor doesn't necessarily require a lot of capital. A well-designed Web site, with an annual induction ceremony should be enough to ensure the Maine's soccer history is given the attention it's due. Couple that induction ceremony with a pre-season tournament that consists of the finalists from the previous year's state finals, and you've got a weekend that kicks off the high school season with a little extra oomph.

And though our state is only one of about a dozen states without a men's Division I soccer program, we could rotate the hosting responsibilities of the annual Hall of Fame induction and tournament among the state's eleven Division III men's and women's programs.

3. Use #mesoccer.

And finally, an idea that is much simpler and more immediate than the previous two: Use #mesoccer when discussing soccer in Maine. The common hashtag of course ensures all Twitter conversations about the beautiful game in our beautiful state are deposited into a common stream of observations, score updates, etc.

- John C.L. Morgan  

SMAA Tops WMC in Annual Maine High School All-Star Games

WCSH:

All-star senior soccer players from Maine put on their cleats for a good cause. The 24th annual All-Star Soccer Tournament to benefit Special Olympics Maine was held Tuesday in Westbrook. For the boys, the Southern Maine Activities Association (SMAA) team topped the Western Maine Conference (WMC) 4-1. On the girls side, SMAA beat WMC 3-1. Organizers estimate that two games raise about $8,000 for Special Olympics Maine.

The Question: Is This the Beginning of the End for High School Soccer in Maine?

The United States Soccer Federation provoked reactions throughout American youth soccer circles late last week, when it announced that clubs participating in its U.S. Soccer Development Academy (USDA) will be transitioning to a 10-month schedule beginning this fall and that players participating in the USDA will no longer be able to play for both their USDA clubs and their high schools.

Amid the various debating points and virtual arguments, though, one thing is clear: High school soccer throughout the United States will look different beginning this fall. The question is, How different will it look here in Maine?

From my perspective, not much different--at least in the short-term.

That's because if a Maine soccer player were to participate in the USDA, he would most likely play for Seacoast United. As of today, though, neither the U-16 nor the U-18 Seacoast United Development Academy teams have a Mainer on their rosters. So--for this fall at least--there don't appear to be any upperclassmen here in Maine who will be forced to choose between playing for club or for city.

In the long run, though, the USDA's new 10-month schedule will no doubt have an effect on high school soccer here in Maine.

Obviously, the conflict will become more apparent when Mainers represent a USDA team at that level. However, a more subtle--but consequential--point: Even though the USSF's new policy applies only to the 78 club teams participating in the Development Academy, I wouldn't be surprised if other competitive premier clubs not affiliated with the USDA adopt a similar policy of exclusivity. And its these ripple effects that could cause the shift of some of the better players in the state playing exclusively for his club side.

So, even though the short-term impact of the new policy seems neglible and pretty small, the long-term impact could be a big one for high school soccer in Maine. The complementary relationship between high school soccer and club soccer has been debated for about the last decade now, and last week's news could very well signal the end of that symbiotic relationship.

- John C.L. Morgan

The Geography of Talent: Historical All-New England and All-American Selections in Maine

Two geographic plots of the state's All-New England (top) and All-America (bottom) selections since 1989, thanks to the indispensable Maine Soccer Coaches Web site. Below are the public high school leaders for these categories:

Top 5 Combined All-American Selections

Falmouth (7)

Waterville (7)

Brunswick (6)

Cape Elizabeth (6)

Mt. Ararat (4)

Top 3 Boys' All-American Selections

Falmouth (7)

Cape Elizabeth (6)

Brunswick (5)

Top 3 Girls' All-American Selections

Waterville (6)

Greely (3)

Mt. Ararat (3)

Top 8 Combined All-New England Selections
Brunswick (14)
Bangor (12)
Cape Elizabeth (12)
Greely (12)
Mt. Ararat (12)
Falmouth (10)
Waterville (10)
Yarmouth (7)

Top 5 Boys' All-New England Selections
Brunswick (14)
Cape Elizabeth (10)
Falmouth (9)
Bangor (8)
Yarmouth (7)

Top 3 Girls' All-New England Selections
Greely (10)
Waterville (9)
Mt. Ararat (8)

- John C.L. Morgan

The Geography of Talent: Historical Maine Public High School Champions

By utilizing the wonderful trove of information available on the Maine Soccer Coaches Web site, I've plotted the annual state champions in each of the classes. The boys' champions--first crowned in 1970--are in the blue, and the girls' champions--first crowned in 1980--are in the pink.

For the curious among us, here are the Top 10 programs:

Top 10 Combined Championships
Falmouth (20)
Richmond (17)
Cape Elizabeth (13)
Gorham (11)
Greely (10)
Scarborough (10)
Yarmouth (10)
Georges Valley (9)
Mt. Ararat (9)
York (9)

Top 10 Boys State Championships (1970-2011)
Falmouth (10)
Richmond (9)
Cape Elizabeth (8)
Georges Valley (8)
Yarmouth (8)
Gorham (7)
Greely (7)
Scarborough (7)
Brunswick (6)
Van Buren (4)
York (4)

Top 10 Girls State Championships (1980-2011)
Falmouth (10)
Richmond (8)
Mt. Ararat (7)
Waterville (6)
Cape Elizabeth (5)
York (5)
Gorham (4)
Schenck (4)
Greely (3)
Scarborough (3)
Van Buren (3)

- John C.L. Morgan