Flame Fest: Guest Players? Predictions?

July 1 is fast approaching, and there are lots of very good players out there looking for a home. It appears Flame Fest has some very good teams participating this year, and should provide an excellent opportunity to showcase new players.

3 Questions:

1. Who are the favorites to win?
2. Which teams need guest players?
3. Which teams don't need guest players?

Note: the Pink Rabbits' roster is now set; we are no longer accepting new try-outs. However, there are spots available on the practice squad.

Oh maaaaaannnn Pack and there you promised me that you were going to give me a pre-contract, contract with the Pink Rabbits.

As to Flamefest, I agree that it will provide a good idea on where some of the teams are at the moment. I know several of the teams will have guest players at the tournament. I won't say that the guest players are being tried out (since we have all been schooled on that scenario in another conversation).

The brackets are an interesting mix so it should be a good one to watch.

I'll say it, "Guest players are trying out".  So you better bring your A game this week.  Unfortunately, you can't tell anything at practice because you can't get to see their speed of play or their soccer IQ.  This give a coach an excellent opportunity to see what he's getting for the year.  

Good luck to all the girls looking for new teams.  Just, "Do You!!!!!"

InaB, I agree with all the above, but you have artfully dodged the 3 questions!

1. Who are the top contenders in Flame Fest?

2. Which teams have some spots for guest players?

Since the Pink Rabbit roster has closed, Coach PR has had to send away several very good players. Although coaches of the same caliber as PR are few and far between, it would seem foolish (for even an mediocre  NTX coach) to go to a tournament with open roster spots!

It's Me is right, most players don't show well in practice with 20-30 kids out, but are ballers at game time. Every year, I see several "discovered talents" who come back and kicks a coach's butt during the season, bc he missed them at tryouts. I know for a fact, that there are kids out there under the radar who can play for any of these D1, D2 teams.

InaB, as far as your player, she's been signed for a month... Why hasn't her cotton tail not been at practice? You've already mailed your check, right?! Wait, this just in... the Pink Rabbits may just have an opening...

Here are the teams in each bracket...it will be the bracket winners and the top 2nd place team to advance to the semis...
These are pulled according to seeding per the grids on the Flamefest site...Or is it that the finals will produce the team that gets to challenge the Pink Bunnies for the title...

Bracket A
LUBBOCK ARSENAL FC LAFC 00
SOLAR CHELSEA 00G GOLD
FEVER UNITED 00G
LEGACY UNITED FC 00G

Bracket B
ANDROMEDA FC 00G
DALLAS TEXANS 00 NORTH
STING WEST 00 (WEST)
FRISCO FUSION 00G

Bracket C
FC DALLAS 00G BLUE
TEXAS SPIRIT NORTH 01'
MEJA UNITED 00G (PREVGALAXY 00G )
SOLAR SILVER 00G

IMO these are all pretty tough brackets and some quality teams will miss the advanced rounds of this tourney. I don't know why the Lubbock team is the #1 seed, but we will get to find out...could be some advanced development??
Also, the Spirit team is the #4...

IMO, the top contenders in A are: the top three...
In B, the top three...
In C, the top two and #4 unless Meja is borrowing some players...then all 4.

Clearly the favorites are at the top, but if you use this tournament for what is can produce for you, then maybe sacrificing some Ws for some good looks at prospects is a good route.

Fever's recent resume is impressive-Ws over Missimo in state cup...1 goal game with Pulp...the Lubbock team is a WC in this scenario for sure...their resume shows them in tight games with Bussey, FCDE, SWW, Sting CM within the last year...they will be game fighting for a top spot...SG is a known quantity...if they can get some of Pulp's players, they might be able to reproduce DIGC (lol-not angry)...and beat Garrett and won Carey recently...

In B, Andro should win. SWW and DTN should battle for the #2...and maybe advancement...

In C, FCDB should battle Spirit for the top spot. Silver will get to see what it is to play with some solid quality before QT...should use this to tinker and invest in some new players. I keep hearing that Meja is needs some players, so either they play with prospective players or they field a team with some Meja N players...or both.

I see SG, Fever, Andro, FCDB advancing...Pink Bunnies take the title!

Darn Pack, you should've notified me sooner. I figured we had lost out on her top roster spot with the Pink Bunnies. We shall see who does what when in the brackets. Should be an interesting weekend.

As I always say, you can never count any team in or out on any given day or tournament.  

Just a thought, who amongst you are willing to put your team on the spot and say whether you have guest players for this weekend?   

I would think all of the teams will have guests. That is what this tourney is for no?

Oh almost forgot.
Andro and FCD Blue in the finals. Andro wins

So I don't have to go look, did Lubbock win those tight games vs. Bussey, FCDE, SWW and Sting CM? If not, then why are they the top seed?

Without looking, they were about 500 in the games w LH and PPL contenders. 2-2-2 or so??

Ok:

Sporting 3:0 Lubbock
FCDE 1:1
DTN 2:1
Sting Central M 0-0
Meja N 1:2
SWW 0:2
Bussey 1:0

So, 2W-2D-3L

Not sure how this tournament was seeded. Andro should be the #1 seed and FCD Blue should be #2 seed. As they finished #4 and #5 in D1. And as the brackets sit these 2 should meet in the semis not the finals

soccermom004 wrote:Not sure how this tournament was seeded.  Andro should be the #1 seed and FCD Blue should be #2 seed.  As they finished #4 and #5 in D1.  And as the brackets sit these 2 should meet in the semis not the finals

I agree with your point. They should probably NOT have to play each other in the semis (given both go through...I would just line it up by points).

I actually thought the same thing, but when I reflected on it further, I thought it was pretty fair...here are the factors I see playing a role in seeding.

1) Some of the coaches have other teams, so to make the schedule work, it may have had to be "adjusted" a little to accommodate them.

2) I agree that those are the top 2...(but most tourneys won't play the WC against a team they played in their group, and adjust the semis so you play a different team).

3) Who is the #3...SG, Lubbock, or Spirit? IMO, those have the best argument...As is, SG and Lubbock are together and Spirit is with the #2 seed, so I don't know how much change would make sense.

IMO, whoever wins this tourney will have had to earn it. You are going to get through a pretty tough bracket, then beat a very solid semifinal opponent to just make the finals. It will be a fun one.

If you look how teams finished in Lake Highlands, Solar Gold should be 3rd followed by Texans North.

soccermom004 wrote:If you look how teams finished in Lake Highlands, Solar Gold should be 3rd followed by Texans North.  

The brackets did change after they were originally released. I believe Solar Gold and Texans North swapped brackets. The may have been done to correct a seeding mistake.

I know that those 2 switched and I assume it is because of a seeding mistake. But I haven't seen a tournament where the obvious #1 seed and #2 seed are set up to meet in the semis. #1 seed in bracket B and #2 seed in bracket C. Just think this is kind of strange way of seeding.

soccermom004 wrote:I know that those 2 switched and I assume it is because of a seeding mistake.  But I haven't seen a tournament where the obvious #1 seed and #2 seed are set up to meet in the semis.  #1 seed in bracket B and #2 seed in bracket C.  Just think this is kind of strange way of seeding.

I agree with you that the #1 and #2 aren't typically planned to meet in semis, but in MOST tournaments I have seen, the WC never played the team that won their bracket in the semis. I think that the pre-tournament seeding will probably NOT make that big a difference if both FCDB and Andro take care of their own situation...there is quite a bit of soccer to play before that even needs to be considered IMO...unless someone out of A runs the highest number and the WC comes out of B or C. Then you SHOULD see those two in a semi, and the Top of A should play the WC in the other.

This "adjustment" has happened over and over this spring in tournaments locally. Don't be surprised to see it...and I agree with it since I would rather not play someone in a semi I JUST played in the group.

The playoff brackets should be determined by team by team pts (highest vs a lowest)lowest team pts, surely not predetermined by the winner of a "A" bracket. I've seen it both ways where adjustments are or aren't made if the #1 and WC came out is same bracket...

Bracket A: SG. GOLD, Fever
LUBBOCK ARSENAL FC LAFC 00
SOLAR CHELSEA 00G GOLD
FEVER UNITED 00G
LEGACY UNITED FC 00G

Bracket B
ANDROMEDA FC 00G
DALLAS TEXANS 00 NORTH
STING WEST 00 (WEST)
FRISCO FUSION 00G

Bracket C
FC DALLAS 00G BLUE
TEXAS SPIRIT NORTH 01'
MEJA UNITED 00G (PREVGALAXY 00G )
SOLAR SILVER

Picking is tricky bc for the top teams, this should be a player evaluation tournament, but for the the D3 teams and below, the motive will be beating the "big dogs" in the upper D2 and D1 teams...

My picks, assuming team pts is rationale for semis, teams wanting to win it all and absence of ECNL players from the FC blue roster:

Bracket A: Solar Gold
Bracket B: Andro
Bracket C: FC Blue
WC: Fever

Semis
Andro vs Fever
SG vs FC Blue

Finals:
Andro vs FC Blue: Andro

OK, so we are saying that guest players won't have an impact then.

So Rabbit, who are you speaking for when you say "bc for the top teams, this should be a player evaluation tournament, but for the the D3 teams and below, the motive will be beating the "big dogs" in the upper D2 and D1 teams..", or is this just your humble opinion? Are you inferring the "top" teams won't be trying to win because they are evaluating players and the "lower" teams will only be trying to win and not evaluating players? Or is this already laying down an excuse to the very real possibility that "lower" team(s) may actually win vs. their higher ranked opponents?

InaB wrote:OK, so we are saying that guest players won't have an impact then.

I think guest players will have a big impact...but I am not sure a guest or two will push a #3 seed over a #1, but they could. Likewise, guests without gel could affect games negatively too if their wires get crossed on coverage or timing in the last third.

I know that we will have several guests who are good players, but they haven't had time to play that much with our girls, so mistakes are expected, and it may provide some chances for opponents...and some opportunities to see how we deal with adversity. We will see who tracks back...who defends...who sulks and pouts...and who is vocal, creates opportunities, and finishes.

That said, seeing them out is more valuable to our team than the results...however, NOBODY on our team is expecting to lose...that is a self-fulfilling prophesy we don't entertain. Whether or not SG advances, we will know a little more about who can contribute in the future and whether or not a player is a fit for us.

KnKsDad wrote:So Rabbit, who are you speaking for when you say "bc for the top teams, this should be a player evaluation tournament, but for the the D3 teams and below, the motive will be beating the "big dogs" in the upper D2 and D1 teams..", or is this just your humble opinion? Are you inferring the "top" teams won't be trying to win because they are evaluating players and the "lower" teams will only be trying to win and not evaluating players? Or is this already laying down an excuse to the very real possibility that "lower" team(s) may actually win vs. their higher ranked opponents?  

IMO, Fever (DTN, Lubbock, Spirit, etc.) won't surprise anyone by advancing in the tourney...and SG expects a battle. I have seen teams go into THIS tournament with varied purposes...history tells me that some teams bring in top talent in order to beat rival teams TO win and thus recruit...others want to see if a particular guest can fit their system.

Also, there will be spectators there looking for a home, evaluating sideline behavior and watching player/player and player/coach interactions more so than usual to see if it is worth a call next week.

Everyone WE play will get our best with the personnel on hand (guest or current member). We are evaluating several guests and we DO have some players missing, but we want to see who fits with US...not an excuse, just what WE are doing.

Agree with you dad. As it should be. We'll be doing likewise.

InaB wrote:
OK, so we are saying that guest players won't have an impact then.

Noooo, that is not what I'm saying my ex-pink rabbit! I'm saying this weekend should be about evaluating guest players- each one should get plenty of playing time regardless of the match's score. Ideally, every guest player hits the field running on all cylinders and contributes immediately, but most new players need playing time to gain confidence and get rolling. IMO, a guest player that doesn't play much is indicative of the coach's opinion.

KnKsDad wrote: So Rabbit, who are you speaking for when you say "bc for the top teams, this should be a player evaluation tournament, but for the the D3 teams and below, the motive will be beating the "big dogs" in the upper D2 and D1 teams..", or is this just your humble opinion?

KnK- You big dummy, your query is obvious and ridiculous: I speak for the esteemed Pink Rabbits and I don't have humble opinions.

KnKsDad wrote: Are you inferring the "top" teams won't be trying to win because they are evaluating players and the "lower" teams will only be trying to win and not evaluating players? Or is this already laying down an excuse to the very real possibility that "lower" team(s) may actually win vs. their higher ranked opponents?  

Really?!...I implied all of that?! Why do you keep using the term "lower"? Heck, try to at least quote me correctly...

(Sigh)...I think every "team" will be "trying to win"... and doubt any "top team" will use the "excuse" they lost bc they were "evaluating players"... Seriously, do you expect to see Andro, SG or FC to bench potential players if they get behind in a match or is it possible those coaches might want to see how their new players react to adversity? I doubt any of those teams loose a single recruit bc they lost a match to a D3 team.

So YES, it is true that "wins" in these these matches are more important to the teams ranked below the top ranked tournament teams.

Well, I think we're ready.......we've got armadillos in our trousers......and we turned 'em up to eleven.

Pale Rider wrote:Well, I think we're ready.......we've got armadillos in our trousers......and we turned 'em up to eleven.

I hope you find your way easier than the last gig. Bring an extra drummer...ya know. Just in case.

Good call. Gonna bring Saint Hubbins too