Anonymous wrote:Exactly. I was insane to agree to go.

I do think if your team is really really good it could be worth going. But they need to prepare for the level of competition there. Teams from CA, TX were soo good.

Travel from DC to Dallas in June heat to play in tournament because I think my U9 kid is playing for Leverkusen?

Samba boyz who was ranked 1 in VA, 1 in Regional and 1 in Nation went twice to SuperCopa and was not able to compete. The lost in the gold semi finals. 

Anonymous wrote:Exactly. I was insane to agree to go.

I do think if your team is really really good it could be worth going. But they need to prepare for the level of competition there. Teams from CA, TX were soo good.

Exactly. I was insane to agree to go.

I do think if your team is really really good it could be worth going. But they need to prepare for the level of competition there. Teams from CA, TX were soo good.

People are traveling from the DMV to Texas in June for a tournament with U9's U10's U11's U12's etc

Are people insane

Anonymous wrote:Other than all the negative reviews and the wonderful weather, sounds like an awesome thing to do

I was there last year and it was a well-run tourney and top notch competition. Yes it was crazy hot. That was the worst part. Fields and ref quality were good.

I’m guessing some of the negative reviews are from teams that didn’t do well. Most DMV teams did not last year. We played multiple top 10 teams in the country (according to soccer rankings app) and we did well, exceeding expectations. Our team had a great experience.

Success at SuperCopa isn’t as black and white as typical tournaments. Group play places you in 8-team tiers of knockout brackets (SuperCopa, Gold, Silver, etc.). You can lose all your group games and then you get in the easiest knockout group. That bottom group may only have 4 or 6 or whatever number teams based on how many are left after the higher groupings of 8. One of those will “win” and one will be “runner up” but there’s at least 24 if not 32 or 40 ahead. Still it’s a nice consolation I guess.

On the flip side, you can go undefeated in group play and your reward is the SuperCopa bracket. Those are the best of the best, but half those teams will get knocked out in the round of 8 and be done early. Another two will lose in the semis and not place. So many of the best teams in the country get knocked out early because it works this way.

The Gold bracket is also loaded, generally with teams who came in 2nd of 4 in group although it’s a point system so it’s possible for an exception (ie three from a group make it and only one from another group). It goes down from there. The lowest knockout bracket is generally made up of teams that lost all their games in group play, some by a lot and not scoring any or perhaps a goal.

So no, I don’t think it’s a poor tournament, though I can see why people think that if you go down and don’t win a game. Your experience gets instantly better if you can hang with or knockout some of the best teams in the country from California and Texas, for example, that you wouldn’t typically have the opportunity to compete against.

Sucks when the latitude is different, sun just sets different…lmao!!

It’s altitude champ

I wish they would move it to Maine or Minnesota. Not sure why it has to be in the hottest places in the US.

Other than all the negative reviews and the wonderful weather, sounds like an awesome thing to do

We've been twice and here are my personal thoughts from our experience.

Our first year was in Utah. We got there a day before the tournament. It was hot and the kids were not used to the latitude and dry heat. We should have arrived two days prior so they could get acclimated.
We attended the open ceremony. It was disorganized. Teams were lined up and waited in the hot heat to walk across the stage for 10secs. We only did it the first year.
Competition was fierce and intense.

It is so incredibly hot and games are in middle of day. Competition is way more than we are used to in this area. Bring a lot of subs. Kids need it in heat. Stay in hotel close to field. It's an intense experience for parents and players. Be prepared. If it's too hot skip opening ceremonies. I don't ever plan to go back. Wasn't worth the time and money.

It’s hot AF

Going with my son for first time. Anyone been and have tips on what to expect? I know it will be super competitive but wondering anything else to know in advance.