Anonymous wrote:The crying and complaining about the condition of the fields for playing soccer is the exact reason that America will never be competative in soccer on the world stage. Take a look at the field conditions in other countries that their PROs play on. They are literally running through puddles and mud patches.
And here some parents are complaining about their little princes and princesses not having an adequate field to play on. What a joke.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Simple answer: They need to cancel the games at Polo Fields, Muldoons and Summer Hill. Those fields are not currently playable, and tomorrow's weather will only make them worse. If substitute fields cannot be found and booked before tomorrow night (i.e., before people from out of state need to start traveling on Friday), then BSC should cancel the age brackets that are currently scheduled for those fields and refund their money.
Agreed
Anonymous wrote:Simple answer: They need to cancel the games at Polo Fields, Muldoons and Summer Hill. Those fields are not currently playable, and tomorrow's weather will only make them worse. If substitute fields cannot be found and booked before tomorrow night (i.e., before people from out of state need to start traveling on Friday), then BSC should cancel the age brackets that are currently scheduled for those fields and refund their money.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:
Given that this was the second year in a row that the fields at issue have been unplayable for this tournament,
Not sure what you mean by that. I don't recall having any field issues with the tournament last year.
At their best the fields are TERRIBLE. Can we stop defending Bethesda charging $1000 for kids to play on thick grass, poorly drained, poorly drawn, uneven Polo fields?
Lets start there. Muldoons should only serve as the backup, emergency plan fields, not the primary fields.
No one's defending them...just pointing out facts. The fields were not unplayable last year.
As a technical matter, games were played on those fields last year, so I guess you are correct that they were "not unplayable." However, we saw numerous games at Summer Hill last year where portions of the field were nothing but mud, and that was by the third morning game on Saturday. One of the fields that morning was basically all mud from midfield to the penalty area of one side, and nearly the entire width of the field. The ref followed play from the sideline, as he did not want to slip in the mud. Yes, games were still played on these fields, but they were so muddy that they were not safe for the players or the ref, and equating what was played on those fields to "soccer" is like equating one of those sand soccer games at the beach to a soccer game played on grass or turf. (Maybe we found a new way for BSC to market its tournament at Muldoons/Summer Hill: "Premier Mud Soccer Cup").
Nobody is saying the fields last year were as bad as they were this year, but the fields were a mess last year, and games should not have been played at many of them.
Some of the girls teams that played on those fields were McLean's top team and Arlington, and neither McLean's top team nor Arlington were in the Premier Cup this year for those age groups. McLean instead chose to go to the Girls Junior Showcase tournament in NC the week before Premier Cup. Hmmm. I wonder if there is any link between their experience last year and their decision not to attend Premier Cup this year . . . Even BSC's leadership group should be able to figure this one out.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:
Given that this was the second year in a row that the fields at issue have been unplayable for this tournament,
Not sure what you mean by that. I don't recall having any field issues with the tournament last year.
At their best the fields are TERRIBLE. Can we stop defending Bethesda charging $1000 for kids to play on thick grass, poorly drained, poorly drawn, uneven Polo fields?
Lets start there. Muldoons should only serve as the backup, emergency plan fields, not the primary fields.
No one's defending them...just pointing out facts. The fields were not unplayable last year.
Their best condition makes them only playable for picnic, pickup soccer. They are never playable for $1000/team. That is the fact. They are not soccer fields, they are fields.
They Are. Not. Fit. For. Soccer. Ever.
That's ridiculous.
In good conditions, the fields are fine, at least when they're mowed low. My kids have played hundreds of games there over the years, and while I hate going all the way out there, and I hate how quickly they degrade in the rain, it's decent most of the time.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:
Given that this was the second year in a row that the fields at issue have been unplayable for this tournament,
Not sure what you mean by that. I don't recall having any field issues with the tournament last year.
At their best the fields are TERRIBLE. Can we stop defending Bethesda charging $1000 for kids to play on thick grass, poorly drained, poorly drawn, uneven Polo fields?
Lets start there. Muldoons should only serve as the backup, emergency plan fields, not the primary fields.
No one's defending them...just pointing out facts. The fields were not unplayable last year.
Their best condition makes them only playable for picnic, pickup soccer. They are never playable for $1000/team. That is the fact. They are not soccer fields, they are fields.
They Are. Not. Fit. For. Soccer. Ever.
This sounds like a post from Brad Roos, the BSC tournament director. Hi, Brad. What are you guys doing about the boys tournament in a couple days? Full slate of games still scheduled for U14 and below?![]()
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That's ridiculous.
In good conditions, the fields are fine, at least when they're mowed low. My kids have played hundreds of games there over the years, and while I hate going all the way out there, and I hate how quickly they degrade in the rain, it's decent most of the time.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:
Given that this was the second year in a row that the fields at issue have been unplayable for this tournament,
Not sure what you mean by that. I don't recall having any field issues with the tournament last year.
At their best the fields are TERRIBLE. Can we stop defending Bethesda charging $1000 for kids to play on thick grass, poorly drained, poorly drawn, uneven Polo fields?
Lets start there. Muldoons should only serve as the backup, emergency plan fields, not the primary fields.
No one's defending them...just pointing out facts. The fields were not unplayable last year.
Their best condition makes them only playable for picnic, pickup soccer. They are never playable for $1000/team. That is the fact. They are not soccer fields, they are fields.
They Are. Not. Fit. For. Soccer. Ever.
That's ridiculous.
In good conditions, the fields are fine, at least when they're bailed. My kids have played hundreds of games there over the years, and while I hate going all the way out there, and I hate how quickly they degrade in the rain, it's decent most of the time.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:
Given that this was the second year in a row that the fields at issue have been unplayable for this tournament,
Not sure what you mean by that. I don't recall having any field issues with the tournament last year.
At their best the fields are TERRIBLE. Can we stop defending Bethesda charging $1000 for kids to play on thick grass, poorly drained, poorly drawn, uneven Polo fields?
Lets start there. Muldoons should only serve as the backup, emergency plan fields, not the primary fields.
No one's defending them...just pointing out facts. The fields were not unplayable last year.
Their best condition makes them only playable for picnic, pickup soccer. They are never playable for $1000/team. That is the fact. They are not soccer fields, they are fields.
They Are. Not. Fit. For. Soccer. Ever.
That's ridiculous.
In good conditions, the fields are fine, at least when they're mowed low. My kids have played hundreds of games there over the years, and while I hate going all the way out there, and I hate how quickly they degrade in the rain, it's decent most of the time.