Jump to content

Question for St. Louis (area) Soccer Buffs


Recommended Posts

Been away from the soccer scene for years since I have lived in WV for more than the past 20 years.  When I was in school at SLU the team won three National Titles if my memory is correct, during the 1970 to 1974 or 1975..  That was the time of Clarke, Leahy, Counce, etc

At that time St. Louis was feeding soccer players nation-wide but the best usually stayed home and went to SLU.  Here is the question.  Is the talent level in the St. Louis Metropolitan area such that if most of the best players stayed home and went to SLU as they did back in "the day", could SLU win a National Title with that local talent?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

35 minutes ago, WVBilliken said:

Been away from the soccer scene for years since I have lived in WV for more than the past 20 years.  When I was in school at SLU the team won three National Titles if my memory is correct, during the 1970 to 1974 or 1975..  That was the time of Clarke, Leahy, Counce, etc

At that time St. Louis was feeding soccer players nation-wide but the best usually stayed home and went to SLU.  Here is the question.  Is the talent level in the St. Louis Metropolitan area such that if most of the best players stayed home and went to SLU as they did back in "the day", could SLU win a National Title with that local talent?

Could St. John's, Fordham, Manhattan or Columbia U. win the NCAA Tournament in basketball with only local talent in New York City? The answer is no. The reason: parity. The same reason SLU couldn't win the College Cup with just local talent.

St. Louis may have been the geographical center of the prep soccer universe in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, but the youth soccer movement in the Lou has given way to hot spots in places like Loudoun County, Virginia, the Research Triangle of North Carolina, the DFW Metroplex, the I-4/95 corridor between Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville, Chicagoland, etc. There's great talent blooming across the United States to compete with St. Louis kids over the last 30 years.

With that being said, could the local Bills get hot, get on a run and bring the College Cup back to its rightful home? Sure, of course. It's the "Any Given Sunday" idiom. But that has to play out over 90 minutes on the pitch. Your era was a Golden Age of SLU Soccer...lucky to have witnessed such a monopoly on the game ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 minutes ago, WVBilliken said:

Been away from the soccer scene for years since I have lived in WV for more than the past 20 years.  When I was in school at SLU the team won three National Titles if my memory is correct, during the 1970 to 1974 or 1975..  That was the time of Clarke, Leahy, Counce, etc

At that time St. Louis was feeding soccer players nation-wide but the best usually stayed home and went to SLU.  Here is the question.  Is the talent level in the St. Louis Metropolitan area such that if most of the best players stayed home and went to SLU as they did back in "the day", could SLU win a National Title with that local talent?

No. Texas and SoCal are the hot beds of youth soccer these days. Most of the rest of the country has caught up to STL or passed us by entirely. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

42 minutes ago, WVBilliken said:

Been away from the soccer scene for years since I have lived in WV for more than the past 20 years.  When I was in school at SLU the team won three National Titles if my memory is correct, during the 1970 to 1974 or 1975..  That was the time of Clarke, Leahy, Counce, etc

At that time St. Louis was feeding soccer players nation-wide but the best usually stayed home and went to SLU.  Here is the question.  Is the talent level in the St. Louis Metropolitan area such that if most of the best players stayed home and went to SLU as they did back in "the day", could SLU win a National Title with that local talent?

I legitimately can't stand you...just a simply Google search or two could lead you to an answer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This list doesn't break it down by city, but as a state MO still produces the most MLS players relative to it's population.  

http://www.soccerwire.com/news/clubs/youth-boys/the-best-state-at-producing-mls-players-doesnt-even-have-a-team-yet/

This other one ranks MO second

http://the18.com/news/what-us-states-most-effectively-develop-professional-soccer-players

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, billikenfan05 said:

I legitimately can't stand you...just a simply Google search or two could lead you to an answer.

Good for you buddy.  For the others who have posted on this topic, I appreciate your opinions and insight.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, billikenfan05 said:

I legitimately can't stand you...just a simply Google search or two could lead you to an answer.

I think you're being a overly harsh here.  He asked a question that doesn't have an objective answer.  Further, developing a good argument to answer his question subjectively one way or the other would require some level of research (especially for someone who by his own admission hasn't followed soccer for 20 years).  Therefore, it is far easier to pose the question here and seek someone's opinion who has more knowledge about soccer.

Is this a silly question to begin with?  Yes, probably.  Has it been asked in some form or debated before?  Probably.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, RUBillsFan said:

I think you're being a overly harsh here.  He asked a question that doesn't have an objective answer.  Further, developing a good argument to answer his question subjectively one way or the other would require some level of research (especially for someone who by his own admission hasn't followed soccer for 20 years).  Therefore, it is far easier to pose the question here and seek someone's opinion who has more knowledge about soccer.

Is this a silly question to begin with?  Yes, probably.  Has it been asked in some form or debated before?  Probably.

It does have an objective answer. The field of competition was much smaller in the era of SLU soccer dominance. Also Donigan tried that model during his tenure at SLU and succeeded to a mild degree but couldn't put together a championship. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The 2015 NSCAA High School Player of the Year was AJ Palazzolo from CBC.  So yeah, there is still a high level of soccer played in STL.  AJ elected to continue his career at IU.  You have been around long enough to know that kids just don't want to stay at home like they used to.  Nothing wrong with that. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

59 minutes ago, Bobby Metzinger said:

Could St. John's, Fordham, Manhattan or Columbia U. win the NCAA Tournament in basketball with only local talent in New York City? The answer is no. The reason: parity. The same reason SLU couldn't win the College Cup with just local talent.

St. Louis may have been the geographical center of the prep soccer universe in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, but the youth soccer movement in the Lou has given way to hot spots in places like Loudoun County, Virginia, the Research Triangle of North Carolina, the DFW Metroplex, the I-4/95 corridor between Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville, Chicagoland, etc. There's great talent blooming across the United States to compete with St. Louis kids over the last 30 years.

With that being said, could the local Bills get hot, get on a run and bring the College Cup back to its rightful home? Sure, of course. It's the "Any Given Sunday" idiom. But that has to play out over 90 minutes on the pitch. Your era was a Golden Age of SLU Soccer...lucky to have witnessed such a monopoly on the game ;)

This might be your best post ever on billikens.com.  Really thoughtful and quality answer. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, brianstl said:

This list doesn't break it down by city, but as a state MO still produces the most MLS players relative to it's population.  

http://www.soccerwire.com/news/clubs/youth-boys/the-best-state-at-producing-mls-players-doesnt-even-have-a-team-yet/

This other one ranks MO second

http://the18.com/news/what-us-states-most-effectively-develop-professional-soccer-players

I agree with this ... at a per capita rate St. Louis still produces a lot of talent. However there are just so many area's that have so much more population and are just as strong soccer wise as StL.  I grew up in DFW from grades 2-8, then Simi Valley (So Cal) grades 9-11, then back to DFW for 12th, graduated in 79 so this was the 70's. ... I was well aware that St. Louis was a dominant soccer region as were most of my friends who played. If you asked youth players from DFW or So Cal today about St. Louis soccer the reputation wouldn't be the same.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The reason I posed the question is because of my surprise at seeing the makeup of SLU's roster.  I was not expecting to see the large number of foreigners and the lack of St. Louis area players.  In my day the roster was pretty much 100% local players.

So, either local kids don't want to go to SLU, the local talent level is down or some other reason.  But to build a team with imports given SLU likely has a limited recruiting budget does not seem like the road to success to me.   No wonder the team is not in the rankings.

Typically see a game a year.  Will be at Chapel Hill while in NC for other reasons......cheering for the Bills.

Again thanks for comments opinions.o

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, WVBilliken said:

The reason I posed the question is because of my surprise at seeing the makeup of SLU's roster.  I was not expecting to see the large number of foreigners and the lack of St. Louis area players.  In my day the roster was pretty much 100% local players.

So, either local kids don't want to go to SLU, the local talent level is down or some other reason.  But to build a team with imports given SLU likely has a limited recruiting budget does not seem like the road to success to me.   No wonder the team is not in the rankings.

Typically see a game a year.  Will be at Chapel Hill while in NC for other reasons......cheering for the Bills.

Again thanks for comments opinions.o

Sounds familiar 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 hours ago, billikenfan05 said:

I legitimately can't stand you...just a simply Google search or two could lead you to an answer.

Love the IGNORE feature on this Billiken Board.  Just put you down as my first IGNORE.  Now I will not see any of your insensitive, childish posts......they are blocked for me.  So long buddy, get a live.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, WVBilliken said:

Love the IGNORE feature on this Billiken Board.  Just put you down as my first IGNORE.  Now I will not see any of your insensitive, childish posts......they are blocked for me.  So long buddy, get a live.

Sick bro, I'm truly honored. Sorry I hurt your feelings little baby.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 hours ago, billikenfan05 said:

Sick bro, I'm truly honored. Sorry I hurt your feelings little baby.

If you have personal beefs let them play out on Facebook/Twitter/Snapchat like other infantile "brahs". 

Beyond that, lighten the F up Francis.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On August 24, 2016 at 6:15 PM, WVBilliken said:

The reason I posed the question is because of my surprise at seeing the makeup of SLU's roster.  I was not expecting to see the large number of foreigners and the lack of St. Louis area players.  In my day the roster was pretty much 100% local players.

So, either local kids don't want to go to SLU, the local talent level is down or some other reason.  But to build a team with imports given SLU likely has a limited recruiting budget does not seem like the road to success to me.   No wonder the team is not in the rankings.

Typically see a game a year.  Will be at Chapel Hill while in NC for other reasons......cheering for the Bills.

Again thanks for comments opinions.o

SLU fans are a little "touchy" about the fall of the soccer program.

Someone said SLU could get hot and win the tournament - they need to get in the tournament first.

McGinty has only been to the tournament twice in six years. He needs to go.

IU has won eight NCAA tournaments since SLU won their last.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...