Hot Stove Action

[D3soccerwatcher]

I am not confusing strong leadership with ego....I have read the book and it was interesting but all I am telling you is that word is around his peers / coaches is he has a massive EGO (which is fine) and is a total CONTROL FREAK. I know he is a great coach but you seem to present Brandt as a total coaching GOD and no ther D3 coach comes close..There are many coaches past and present who are / were just as capable as Brandt. In fact Brandt really started playing futbol at Messiah after seeing SLU play in the Final 4 in 1999. After watching SLU that year he started to study the dutch philosophy and "total futbol". He is a great coach but went as far as he could at Navy  and realized it would be impossible, even with his coaching acumen to take Navy beyond the 1st / 2nd round of the NCAA's no matter what HE DID. So he got itchy and could not handle losing or .500 seasons and left. My guess is he will continue to struggle in the "pro's" unless he has an owner willing to support him with $$$$ for better players, etc...1-7-1 is NOT GOOD no matter what he inherited. Time will tell

MrRight,
Someone recently asked me what I think of your posts.  I said that I believe that sometimes your posts are "more fluff than stuff".  While I'm certainly open to hearing your explanation of your post quoted above, let me explain why I think this is pure "FLUFF".

You adamantly claim that Dave Brandt started to study Dutch soccer after seeing SLU play in the 1999 NCAA tournament.  Well let me show why I think this is made up "fluff".

Here's a quote from the book about Messiah soccer... " As Brandt tells it, in March of '97, soon after he was tapped to be head coach, Messiah was playing in an indoor tournament at Penn State.  'Driving out of the campus when it was over,' he recalls, 'the Dutch 4-3-3 flashed in front of me – positions, the little dots, all of it.  I had seen it somewhere before in the last few months, but it just came to me in that moment.  I said to myself, when I get home I'm going to start researching it.

He poured himself into the task, beginning with benchmarking.  As far as Brandt was concerned, Ajax, the Dutch professional club managed through the 1990's by the renowned coach Louis Van Gaal, was the model.  Van Gaal had led the club to national and European titles through a distinctive system of play.

'At the time,' remembers Brandt, 'Ajax was in the Champions League and ESPN, so I taped a couple of games and broke them apart.'

Dissected may be a better way of thinking about it, or autopsied.  At the atomic level.

Brandt studied everything the team did – every passing option they exercised, every run they made, every decision of every player – and began the process of creating a Messiah version.  'It was possible,' he says, because 'the Dutch system was fairly mathematical.  It would have been harder to do this with the Brazilian or Italian or Spanish game.  They're more free flowing.'

Then Brandt studied some more, devouring books on the Dutch system, analyzing more video, even boarding a plane to see for himself.

'The first trip we took as a team,' says then Assistant Coach Jason Spodnick, citing the summer of 1998, 'was to Holland to dive into the culture and learn as much as we could."

So obviously SLU had NOTHING to do with Brandt's pursuit of the Dutch system for his club.

Further, I personally traveled to the Messiah vs SLU game in the 1999 tournament.  The 1999 SLU team was made up largely of Caribbean players, several in their mid-twenties (including fullback Nick Hillary, 24 years old and a former tank gunner in the post-Gulf War).  SLU's star and NCAA D3 POY was Dan Annan from Ghana.  I clearly recall coming away from that game saying that was a "men against boys" match.  SLU was bigger, faster and simply more physically mature.  Their style, while effective, was free flow and very individualistic.  I can assure you that their style of play had virtually no influence on Dave Brandt's disciplined style of play.  He already knew where he was going with his team and he was years into the development of his system prior to 1999.

So I'm calling "FLUFF" on your assertion that the 1999 SLU team was some kind of turning point in pushing Brandt to pursue the Dutch system.

I look forward to your response.

I am going to do what you normally do and pick some minor detail apart and ignore the point of your response. It seems like you are DISCOUNTING what SLU did in 1999 in their undefeated season because they used "Caribbean players" and several in their mid-twenties...WHICH IS ABSOLUTELY FALSE....SLU fans feel free to jump in...

I'm not discounting anything.  I've been crystal clear on these boards that I think that championships matter.  They reveal the grit and tenacity of a team/program.  That's why the list of teams who have won a D3 national soccer championship is so elite.  And the list of those programs who have done it multiple times is even more elite.

IT DOESN'T MATTER that the 1999 championship SLU team had 5 Carribean players on their roster (Hillary, Beckford, Ballantyne, Maragh, Webster), and the D3 NPOY from Ghana (Annan), and one player from California (Schmitt), and one player from Colorado (Carrath), or that one of their premier backs was 24 years old (I think I have most of those names right – that was a long time ago).  The reason IT DOESN'T MATTER is because everything they did was done legally, fair-and-square, and it was all totally legit.  They won the championship and they have the rings to prove it...and that is what MATTERS.  And if some of you have followed the players from that championship team you know that many of them have had successful professional careers both in soccer and in other professions.  That's a really positive reflection on the mentorship of the coaching staff and SLU as an institution.  And quite frankly I think we can all agree that real-world success like that from former players is an accomplishment of an even higher order.

As for system of play, everyone knows that there are numerous ways to play a 4-3-3.  Perhaps some of the SLU insiders can elaborate on exactly how SLU implemented their 4-3-3 back in the day in 1999.

All that to get back to my point.  That 1999 SLU championship was spectacular and having seen that team play personally, I can tell you that the SLU faithful who traveled with them greatly appreciated the efforts and outstanding accomplishments of that team.  But MrRight is incorrect in asserting that the 1999 SLU team had some kind of immediate and lasting impact on the system of play that Brandt/Messiah played and still plays.  As I have detailed in a prior post, Brandt and his team were already years into the development of what I have heard several from the Mid-Atlantic region refer to as the "Messiah 4-3-3".  I'm not implying that one 4-3-3 is better than another, I'm just saying that there are many different ways to implement the 4-3-3 and Brandt fashioned his after the Ajax/Dutch system starting in earnest in 1997, years before the memorable SLU run.  That's my primary point.

[rudy]

Concerning newcomers, has anyone actually seen Shay Quintin play? He was All-State in Massachusetts for what was apparently a dynamite team at Milton Academy--not the type of school from which Messiah gets a lot of players. His profile seems more suited to the NESCAC, and I'm guessing that Mr Right or someone else from up that way has seen him.

I'm inclined to think that the incoming CB combination of Joey Cianciatta (Copa FC) and Cooper Robbins (regional AA) is really going to help the Falcons. I doubt both will start right away, but Robbins probably will and might actually be the best defender as a freshman. Time will tell.
[/quote

Shay has video on hudl if you search. Other first year players as well on hudl

[Ommadawn]

Concerning newcomers, has anyone actually seen Shay Quintin play? He was All-State in Massachusetts for what was apparently a dynamite team at Milton Academy--not the type of school from which Messiah gets a lot of players. His profile seems more suited to the NESCAC, and I'm guessing that Mr Right or someone else from up that way has seen him.

I'm inclined to think that the incoming CB combination of Joey Cianciatta (Copa FC) and Cooper Robbins (regional AA) is really going to help the Falcons. I doubt both will start right away, but Robbins probably will and might actually be the best defender as a freshman. Time will tell.
[/quote

Shay has video on hudl if you search. Other first year players as well on hudl

His video and those of a pair of his new teammates (and incoming players at many other schools) can be viewed at the following page:

http://www.d3soccer.com/notables/commitments/men/2016-mens-recruiting-classes?preview=true

[rudy]

Concerning newcomers, has anyone actually seen Shay Quintin play? He was All-State in Massachusetts for what was apparently a dynamite team at Milton Academy--not the type of school from which Messiah gets a lot of players. His profile seems more suited to the NESCAC, and I'm guessing that Mr Right or someone else from up that way has seen him.

I'm inclined to think that the incoming CB co opmbination of Joey Cianciatta (Copa FC) and Cooper Robbins (regional AA) is really going to help the Falcons. I doubt both will start right away, but Robbins probably will and might actually be the best defender as a freshman. Time will tell.
[/quote

Shay has video on hudl if you search. Other first year players as well on hudl

His video and those of a pair of his new teammates (and incoming players at many other schools) can be viewed at the following page:

http://www.d3soccer.com/notables/commitments/men/2016-mens-recruiting-classes?preview=true

Nice. Very complete website

[Christan Shirk]

Finally got this posted to D3soccer.com: 

What's new for the 2016 season?

Hopefully it contains some new info and tid-bits even for the diehards.

[Mr.Right]

Finally got this posted to D3soccer.com: 

What's new for the 2016 season?

Hopefully it contains some new info and tid-bits even for the diehards.

This was a very well done piece. I am a bit confused about the "new" opening weekend for the 2 bye teams. Has the mid-week "play-in" game been elimanted and now they are sending those 2 teams to the selected Bye teams for the week-end? Id so why would they add more travel if not needed


Also, if they are going back to publishing the final rankings why not publish it on the Sunday before the Pool C's are selected? So we can all get a look see

Interesting that the D2 defending champs Pfeiffer University is going to D3. They were a nasty team with alot of Spanish players and being coached by former Rutgers legend Bob Reasso. D2 and possibly  NAIA as we know it are dissolving before our eyes.

Also,

Looking forward to 2016 Rule changes piece. Hopefully, that comes out before Thursday. Any major changes that we all should be aware of

[Golden_Fan]

Also,

Looking forward to 2016 Rule changes piece. Hopefully, that comes out before Thursday. Any major changes that we all should be aware of

If the NCAA is following USSF and NFHS then the offside rule will be updated. Not sure if they will change their DOGSO and fouls off the field like USSF

[Christan Shirk]

I am a bit confused about the "new" opening weekend for the 2 bye teams. Has the mid-week "play-in" game been elimanted and now they are sending those 2 teams to the selected Bye teams for the week-end? Id so why would they add more travel if not needed

Yes, as I understand it, the mid-week "play-in" games have been eliminated and moved to the weekend for a 3-team pod.  Here's the language from the Division III Championships Committee's meeting minutes back in February.

For men's soccer, the recommendation to increase to 62 teams also brings stand-alone first-round
games to the same site as second-round play where one team, typically the host team, has a bye.

So it will function the same as all the other 1st/2nd Round pods except it's missing one team meaning just one game the first day.

As to it potentially increasing travel, it could also potentially reduce travel, couldn't it?  Well, thinking that through, maybe not.  It could help reduce missed class time and the potential for back-to-back long trips for the same team if the visitors win the mid-week game.  Think about a Redlands/Colorado midweek game to advance to play Trinity (Tx) who got a bye.

And remember in 2007 when Trinity (Tx) had earned a bye, but their pod also included Principia and Texas-Tyler.  The committee made Trinity play Texas-Tyler in the first round and gave Principia the bye as a way to remove the risk of either having Principia travel round-trip from Illinois to Texas twice or putting them up in a hotel for an extra couple days in the event they won the first round match at Tyler.  Eliminating the the mid-week game, removes that quandary.

But wouldn't the best thing be to allow both arrangements to be used based on the tournament participants and how the bracket shapes up.  Why not keep both on the table.  Sometimes it would be advantageous to have the midweek game (think Redlands/Claremont and Trinity with the bye) while the 3-team weekend pod makes sense for the two other scenarios I used above.

Finally, why this change triggered by going from a 61-team tournament field to a 62-team field (changing the number of byes and stand-alone 1st round games from 3 to 2), I have no idea.  Maybe that wasn't the trigger, but the language in the meeting minutes gives that impression.

[Flying Weasel]

Heck, why not keep the two options on the table for traditional 4-team pods as well?  Whitworth, Chapman, Redlands and Trinity with Trinity or Whitworth as the highest ranked team.  Why not let Redlands and Chapman play midweek, and then do a 3-team pod at Trinity or Whitworth on the weekend?  OK, there's the whole attempt to not have conference foes meet in the first round unless geography doesn't cooperate. But let's say it was UC-Santa Cruz instead of one of the SCIAC schools.  If reducing expenditures and missed class time is important, why not allow for this kind of flexibility when dealing with teams outside the dense Northeast and Great Lakes regions?

[Mid-Atlantic Fan]

Also,

Looking forward to 2016 Rule changes piece. Hopefully, that comes out before Thursday. Any major changes that we all should be aware of

If the NCAA is following USSF and NFHS then the offside rule will be updated. Not sure if they will change their DOGSO and fouls off the field like USSF

What would be the update to the offside rule?

[Golden_Fan]

What would be the update to the offside rule?

This explains it fairly well for the high schools and it is the same for USSF https://www.nfhs.org/articles/offside-rule-revised-in-high-school-soccer/

Previously, an attacking player who was in an offside position at the time that the ball was played by a teammate, could be penalized and ruled offside when the ball was deflected by or rebounded from a defender to the attacking player even though the defender tried to play the ball.

The new rule changes this situation as the attacking player in an offside position when the ball was kicked by a teammate who gets a rebounded or deflected ball after it was deliberately played by the opponent (except from a deliberate save), is no longer offside and  is not considered to have gained an advantage.

[Mid-Atlantic Fan]

What would be the update to the offside rule?

This explains it fairly well for the high schools and it is the same for USSF https://www.nfhs.org/articles/offside-rule-revised-in-high-school-soccer/

Previously, an attacking player who was in an offside position at the time that the ball was played by a teammate, could be penalized and ruled offside when the ball was deflected by or rebounded from a defender to the attacking player even though the defender tried to play the ball.

The new rule changes this situation as the attacking player in an offside position when the ball was kicked by a teammate who gets a rebounded or deflected ball after it was deliberately played by the opponent (except from a deliberate save), is no longer offside and  is not considered to have gained an advantage.

Thanks GoldenFan! Do we know if this or when this will be implemented to D3 soccer?

[Golden_Fan]

Thanks GoldenFan! Do we know if this or when this will be implemented to D3 soccer?

Looks to be this year for NCAA, not sure if this covers all divisions or not. See rule 11

http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/2016MWSOC_Soccer_Rules_Changes_20160503.pdf

[lastguyoffthebench]

Interesting that teams are now allowed to have their logo on the nets... and that multi-color nets are allowed.   In addition to the youth soccer changing the size of the nets across ALL ages.


Kwik Goal is really cleaning up...

[lastguyoffthebench]

Thanks GoldenFan! Do we know if this or when this will be implemented to D3 soccer?

Looks to be this year for NCAA, not sure if this covers all divisions or not. See rule 11

http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/2016MWSOC_Soccer_Rules_Changes_20160503.pdf

The rules should cover all divisions.    I don't think we will see many video reviews at the D3 level...