Re: Fever 04 Penn Team Disbanded

by giacamo 25/05/17, 05:59 pm

poobaby_02 wrote:
giacamo wrote:Looking for some advice as this is my first go around in LHGCL and would appreciate any feedback on what our options are.

My daughter played on the Fever 04 Penn team in LHGCL D2. We finished in tenth place and played the top teams well, beating or tying most of the top 5 teams. We finished in 10th, but were only 11 points out of 1st place. So we secured the bye for next year.

This past weekend, the team won a tournament, posed with the trophy and all seemed good. As a mom on this team, I saw nothing but great parents committed to their kids' success. So everything was going great. We thought.

On Tuesday, the coach sent out a letter which said he was disbanding the team because he did not trust the parents intentions. Sure, a couple girls asked for releases because they thought they were too good for D2, but far from a mutiny.Heck, we had guest players out that were apparently offered positions on the team this weekend. Overall a great group that intended to stay together.

We found out yesterday that Fever had been actively negotiating with other teams to bring their entire roster over to take our D2 spot. We were all told that we could play for the NPL Fever Team, but apparently, we have to find another LHGCL team.

So my questions are:

1) Can they do this and does LHGCL condone this?

2) Do we as parents have any recourse? Some have suggested keeping the core together, hiring a new coach and going independent. Is that an option?

Questions for you giacamo, how many of your "team mates" were consistently coming to practice before the team was disbanded? Did you still have a team or had your "friends" already taken their DD out shopping for other teams and left the rest of you holding the bag?? Maybe just 1 or 3...no, more like 5-6.... Did they not invite you to go to practice hopping? Would you rather this happened on June 30th or early enough to give you a chance to find a team? I've had it happen in late June...NOT FUN AT ALL. I am sure they will all say "I was planning to stay until Coach Penn sent the letter". I call BS!! The writing was on the wall, it was just not fun to read it out loud.

Well you quickly demonstrated two things:

1) You are a fool! If I was "practice hopping" why would I come on here looking for advice on how to keep a team together that got blind sided by their coach/club? I had actually refused offers for my daughter to guest play on other teams out of loyalty and respect for this guy.

2) You have some inside information that I do not. You must be very close to the coach when he tells you who is asking for releases.

Yes, some girls were chronically absent from practice and some of them were never penalized, played the entire game and the coach never addressed it, his fault. We could live with it.

Yes, only 7-8 came to practice on Monday. Remember we played 5 or 6 games Sat and Sunday. The girls were exhausted. Most coaches reward them with a day off. This guy acted like a child and makes excuses for why they ditched the team.

Do you think he owed us at least one parent meeting to tell us about the problems he was having? You saw the "writing on the wall" we did not. We also would have liked a face to face meeting and not a disbanding via e mail.

by Guest 25/05/17, 06:09 pm

Sounds like Option 1 is off the table... affraid

by giacamo 25/05/17, 06:11 pm

bwgophers wrote:Sounds like Option 1 is off the table...

You are probably correct. What was Option 2 again?

by ProDallas 25/05/17, 06:25 pm

It's really disconcerting to learn about things like this. It makes me appreciate individual sports more because then, even though you train with a team, you ultimately control your own destiny. The individual is in full control of how much they invest into themselves and the individual reaps the rewards for their work. The politics and maneuvering in club soccer is shocking. My dd is early in her development and I'd love nothing more for soccer to be her sport. But...this crap...it's depressing...

by giacamo 25/05/17, 06:32 pm

ProDallas wrote:It's really disconcerting to learn about things like this. It makes me appreciate individual sports more because then, even though you train with a team, you ultimately control your own destiny. The individual is in full control of how much they invest into themselves and the individual reaps the rewards for their work. The politics and maneuvering in club soccer is shocking. My dd is early in her development and I'd love nothing more for soccer to be her sport. But...this crap...it's depressing...

A lot of truth to this statement. If I had it all to do over again, I would seriously put my kid into tennis or golf. We would have been better off staying in a Rec League in Roanoke.

by soccerjack 25/05/17, 07:33 pm

giacamo wrote:
ProDallas wrote:It's really disconcerting to learn about things like this. It makes me appreciate individual sports more because then, even though you train with a team, you ultimately control your own destiny. The individual is in full control of how much they invest into themselves and the individual reaps the rewards for their work. The politics and maneuvering in club soccer is shocking. My dd is early in her development and I'd love nothing more for soccer to be her sport. But...this crap...it's depressing...

A lot of truth to this statement. If I had it all to do over again, I would seriously put my kid into tennis or golf. We would have been better off staying in a Rec League in Roanoke.

Hang in there...the best has yet to come! If there were just more leagues it would be great.

by upper95 25/05/17, 08:28 pm

there is a way to keep the team and the bye. with at least 75% (rounded up) of players on roster as of April 1, either form a new team or take the players as a group to another club to claim the bye. of course, this takes total cooperation of the 75% with no defections. It is a perilous game of chicken - drop 1 player below the 75% on July 1 signing and you're disbanded or on to the Plano qualifying tournament.

by giacamo 25/05/17, 09:15 pm

upper95 wrote:there is a way to keep the team and the bye. with at least 75% (rounded up) of players on roster as of April 1, either form a new team or take the players as a group to another club to claim the bye. of course, this takes total cooperation of the 75% with no defections. It is a perilous game of chicken - drop 1 player below the 75% on July 1 signing and you're disbanded or on to the Plano qualifying tournament.

I have learned a lot today and appreciate the community feedback. It would have been nice if the coach had at least told us his feelings/intentions on disbanding the team. Unfortunately, Fever knows the game and made sure that the money train does not stop. Secure an entire 16-18 man roster for a bunch of scrubs that will pay for a D2 spot that they did not have the talent to earn themselves.

Meanwhile, our girls are faced with trying out on new teams, losing friends and thinking twice about the whole select soccer experience.

Congratulations to Coach Kenneth Penn and Fever Owner Constance Smith. The money train rolls on!

by Guest 25/05/17, 10:55 pm

There are a few things that concern me about your posting in general but most importantly the "scrubs" comment.

Did you feel the same way about the team your 00 DD plays on when they got a LHGCL D1 'bye' from the Fever 00 girls team? The girls on the Sting West 00 team didn't earn that 'BYE'. Also you are concerned about the Fever 04 girls team but your DD was the youngest on the team, in fact she was an 05. So are you more upset in the fact that your DD can't play on both teams? Oh FYI if your DD would have been rostered on the 04 team this coming '17-'18 season, KP wouldn't be able to CPP her to the 05 team she came from. The writing on the wall had been there for a couple of weeks but parents that don't see it are the same parents that have others drop their kids off at practice.

You aren't new to this LHGCL thing as you have claimed. In fact you are very familiar with it so stop looking for sympathy from people. Bashing a coach and the owner because you weren't made aware of meetings or possible plans is quite unfair and I have lost all respect for you Brian M. This is recruiting season so of course a coach wouldn't give a team off if he knows recruits are coming out and he is aware that other players are shopping around. Your DD in fact is playing with LP Elite 05 in a tourney this weekend I hear which she's a good little player so I'm sure she'll get a roster spot.

Nothing is ever set in stone until July 1 when contracts are signed yet again.

by giacamo 25/05/17, 11:06 pm

MommaBear4 wrote:There are a few things that concern me about your posting in general but most importantly the "scrubs" comment.

Did you feel the same way about the team your 00 DD plays on when they got a LHGCL D1 'bye' from the Fever 00 girls team? The girls on the Sting West 00 team didn't earn that 'BYE'. Also you are concerned about the Fever 04 girls team but your DD was the youngest on the team, in fact she was an 05. So are you more upset in the fact that your DD can't play on both teams? Oh FYI if your DD would have been rostered on the 04 team this coming '17-'18 season, KP wouldn't be able to CPP her to the 05 team she came from. The writing on the wall had been there for a couple of weeks but parents that don't see it are the same parents that have others drop their kids off at practice.

You aren't new to this LHGCL thing as you have claimed. In fact you are very familiar with it so stop looking for sympathy from people. Bashing a coach and the owner because you weren't made aware of meetings or possible plans is quite unfair and I have lost all respect for you Brian M. This is recruiting season so of course a coach wouldn't give a team off if he knows recruits are coming out and he is aware that other players are shopping around. Your DD in fact is playing with LP Elite 05 in a tourney this weekend I hear which she's a good little player so I'm sure she'll get a roster spot.

Nothing is ever set in stone until July 1 when contracts are signed yet again.

by ForReal 25/05/17, 11:14 pm

Fever 05s, take note. It will happen to you, too. Sucks, but NPL won't be a big enough draw for your better players. If there are options now, I'd consider a move. But to where? What's happening with Sting West? Disbanding as well? If not, who will coach them?

by giacamo 25/05/17, 11:28 pm

giacamo wrote:
MommaBear4 wrote:There are a few things that concern me about your posting in general but most importantly the "scrubs" comment.

Did you feel the same way about the team your 00 DD plays on when they got a LHGCL D1 'bye' from the Fever 00 girls team? The girls on the Sting West 00 team didn't earn that 'BYE'. Also you are concerned about the Fever 04 girls team but your DD was the youngest on the team, in fact she was an 05. So are you more upset in the fact that your DD can't play on both teams? Oh FYI if your DD would have been rostered on the 04 team this coming '17-'18 season, KP wouldn't be able to CPP her to the 05 team she came from. The writing on the wall had been there for a couple of weeks but parents that don't see it are the same parents that have others drop their kids off at practice.

You aren't new to this LHGCL thing as you have claimed. In fact you are very familiar with it so stop looking for sympathy from people. Bashing a coach and the owner
because you weren't made aware of meetings or possible plans is quite unfair and I have lost all respect for you Brian M. This is recruiting season so of course a coach wouldn't give a team off if he knows recruits are coming out and he is aware that other players are shopping around. Your DD in fact is playing with LP Elite 05 in a tourney this weekend I hear which she's a good little player so I'm sure she'll get a roster spot.

Nothing is ever set in stone until July 1 when contracts are signed yet again.

Well, Tasha, you again are a fool. My 00 daughter signed up for a Fever Team that had a D1 spot under Kenneth Penn. Unfortunately, a majority of the players decided that they did not want to play with Penn; after signing. So Constance sold the spot to Sting and that led to a freaking disastrous season for my 00 daughter.

Yes, Theresa is guest playing with a LP Team this weekend. The team that has been asking her to guest play for for the past year. Her coach disbanded her team without notice.

What is your next question?

by Big Ern 26/05/17, 12:25 am

Fever. LP. NPL. D2 Byes. KP. Straight up name dropping -

Hope this thread isn't prematurely cut short ...

Major entartainment!

by KeeperCommander 26/05/17, 07:01 am

What's next? Pictures and addresses listed? Kids are not to be named on here. Clue up blockheads.

by bandito974 26/05/17, 07:45 am

So what 'Scrub" teams are in contention for the D2 bye now that there is name dropping going on I'm curious to see what teams are lined up to jump in this fire.

by Guest 26/05/17, 08:30 am

bandito974 wrote:So what 'Scrub" teams are in contention for the D2 bye now that there is name dropping going on I'm curious to see what teams are lined up to jump in this fire.

Your DD's team. Didn't you get the e-mail about it last night???

by bandito974 26/05/17, 08:59 am

bwgophers wrote:
bandito974 wrote:So what 'Scrub" teams are in contention for the D2 bye now that there is name dropping going on I'm curious to see what teams are lined up to jump in this fire.

Your DD's team. Didn't you get the e-mail about it last night???

Nope

by WeAreSoccer 26/05/17, 08:59 am

Facts still remain facts, yes a couple of girls wanted to leave the team, there were still 10-11 committed to KP. Instead of trying to keep the team he jumped the gun and let it go. Then the next day decides he is willing to regroup the team and find the extra players needed. All in all things didn't add up. There is a reason Fever has a bad name and why they are such a small club and this is a prime example. It's easy to point fingers, they go both ways. As a coach KP should have been a little more honest and up front with the girls left, there are always going to be a few parents shopping teams that didn't mean it was the other 10 girls. I wish luck to all the DD's that were dropped at a moments notice in finding a team and I wish even more luck to the poor team thinking about moving to Fever just to have a D2 bye that they will probably end up losing anyhow. We were once Fever proud and boy how that burned us.

by go99 26/05/17, 09:29 am

Wait whats Fever? scratch

Seems like a lot of drama for the new D4

by soccerjack 26/05/17, 09:33 am

It goes without saying but obviously...some people have the fever and there still ain't no cure....

by poobaby_02 26/05/17, 09:44 am

giacamo wrote:
poobaby_02 wrote:
giacamo wrote:Looking for some advice as this is my first go around in LHGCL and would appreciate any feedback on what our options are.

My daughter played on the Fever 04 Penn team in LHGCL D2. We finished in tenth place and played the top teams well, beating or tying most of the top 5 teams. We finished in 10th, but were only 11 points out of 1st place. So we secured the bye for next year.

This past weekend, the team won a tournament, posed with the trophy and all seemed good. As a mom on this team, I saw nothing but great parents committed to their kids' success. So everything was going great. We thought.

On Tuesday, the coach sent out a letter which said he was disbanding the team because he did not trust the parents intentions. Sure, a couple girls asked for releases because they thought they were too good for D2, but far from a mutiny.Heck, we had guest players out that were apparently offered positions on the team this weekend. Overall a great group that intended to stay together.

We found out yesterday that Fever had been actively negotiating with other teams to bring their entire roster over to take our D2 spot. We were all told that we could play for the NPL Fever Team, but apparently, we have to find another LHGCL team.

So my questions are:

1) Can they do this and does LHGCL condone this?

2) Do we as parents have any recourse? Some have suggested keeping the core together, hiring a new coach and going independent. Is that an option?

Questions for you giacamo, how many of your "team mates" were consistently coming to practice before the team was disbanded? Did you still have a team or had your "friends" already taken their DD out shopping for other teams and left the rest of you holding the bag?? Maybe just 1 or 3...no, more like 5-6.... Did they not invite you to go to practice hopping? Would you rather this happened on June 30th or early enough to give you a chance to find a team? I've had it happen in late June...NOT FUN AT ALL. I am sure they will all say "I was planning to stay until Coach Penn sent the letter". I call BS!! The writing was on the wall, it was just not fun to read it out loud.

Well you quickly demonstrated two things:

1) You are a fool! If I was "practice hopping" why would I come on here looking for advice on how to keep a team together that got blind sided by their coach/club? I had actually refused offers for my daughter to guest play on other teams out of loyalty and respect for this guy.

2) You have some inside information that I do not. You must be very close to the coach when he tells you who is asking for releases.

Yes, some girls were chronically absent from practice and some of them were never penalized, played the entire game and the coach never addressed it, his fault. We could live with it.

Yes, only 7-8 came to practice on Monday. Remember we played 5 or 6 games Sat and Sunday. The girls were exhausted. Most coaches reward them with a day off. This guy acted like a child and makes excuses for why they ditched the team.

Do you think he owed us at least one parent meeting to tell us about the problems he was having? You saw the "writing on the wall" we did not. We also would have liked a face to face meeting and not a disbanding via e mail.

Next time slow down and read out loud for comprehension before responding.

1/ Where did I say YOU were practice hopping? Maybe a little ticked off that you were not aware that your teammates did not share the same sense of loyalty. Some were public about leaving and others were on their way out. Either way, half or more of your roster was plotting and the rest of you were unaware and thought everything was just fine. You are not the first team to have this happen in May/June...and you won't be the last. So like I said, would you rather it happen the week before signing day or give you some time to make decisions about your DD?

2/ Where did I say anything about players asking for releases??? I didn't.

Now I completely agree, a parent meeting would have been a far better approach than writing a letter. Just like calling North Texas Soccer to discuss the options would have been a far better approach than asking a bunch of parents on a soccer forum. But hey, mission accomplished, the NTX soccer forum is now informed.

by Bodhisattva 26/05/17, 09:54 am

Well you have to hand it to him. He is definitely maintaining Option 2:

"Option 2: Keep this post active letting others know how the club screwed your team."

C'mon Fever Folks. No real names. Keep it classy.

Ronaldhinofan, Lemme hear ya...

by poobaby_02 26/05/17, 09:58 am

KeeperCommander wrote:What's next? Pictures and addresses listed? Kids are not to be named on here. Clue up blockheads.

People forget all protocol when they are in their "feelings". Evil or Very Mad

by Zizou 26/05/17, 10:21 am

Bodhisattva wrote:Well you have to hand it to him. He is definitely maintaining Option 2:

"Option 2: Keep this post active letting others know how the club screwed your team."

C'mon Fever Folks. No real names. Keep it classy.

Ronaldhinofan, Lemme hear ya...

He would be advised not to comment on the current situation. That would definitely keep the fued alive, i mean post.

by Bodhisattva 26/05/17, 10:37 am

"From Unity, Strength"

by soccertard 26/05/17, 11:12 am

Can anyone provide a screenshot of text message between them and Penn or them and Constance? I'll take photoshoped screenshots as well. Sho?

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