Boys soccer poll: Who was the best from 2000-09
January 6th, 2010, 2:25 pm · · posted by Damian Dottore, OCVarsity
On Friday, I am going to post the All Decade team for boys soccer. Now, I didn’t come up with this list on my own. I asked some of the coaches who have been around for awhile for some help. So the selections are THEIRS, not mine.
But here’s your chance to weigh on on who the No. 1 player of the decade was, and remember, these were players who concentrated on HIGH SCHOOL soccer.
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What about Jon Borstein? Rookie of the year and National team player. If not him, then chris pontius
Don’t worry who you pick, there will always be the complainers and conspiracy theories. But alas Lamont Peay has sworn off from ever mentioning a OC Varsity story. Thanks for all your hard work.
Pontius only has votes because c’ervite can play in the rain.
ummm isnt SERVITE spelt with an “S”?? haha …..thats why your name is buckethead
you should do one for teams in the last 10 years
All these players are very talented players, but Chris Pontius is definitely the best one out of all of them.
Vote for Chris Pontius. He’s the best out of all of them for sure.
Vincent Arias says to vote for Chris Pontius
Chris Pontius is another American Robot prototype player. He is nothing special.
Jeff Clark and Andy Martinez are both just forwards with a ton of pace. They have very limited game.
Kennedy and Sinderhoff I cannot comment on since I have never seen.
Knights,
Define “special”. Kaka, Messi, Ronaldo? Yeah, no one in our country is special then. I guess Pontius is special enough that he is training with the US National team at this moment. Special enough that he was a herman trophy finalist, and an MLS Rookie of the Year Finalist. If he isnt the best OC HS player in the last 10 years then atleast bring up a different name we can vote for that is worthy. I can think of several good players, but I honestly cant think of one that was better.
A little info: Sinderhoff was the best player at SMCHS during the end of their dynasty. He ended up at UCLA. Very good player.
I also think you under rate Clark and Martinez. Yes they had pace, they were also great finishers which isnt easy to find.
Chris Pontius is the sickest player to come out of the Servite Dynasty!
thankss to Servite”s legit coaching staff Chris Pontius has grown into one of the most well rounded players in his decade
“C’ervite” is definitely how to spell “Servite”, but good try.
How ’bout Tim Jepson,Esperanza defender for their CIF and league
championship runs? BJ Pugmeier, forward for the same Aztec team.
during their 4 years @ EHS. Both were selected as all-league “players of the year” for their positions.
Entire team was blessed with talent and commitment …
pontius is the most accomplished player at the mls level on this list, but if we are talking purely at the high school level than sinderhoff should top this list. Personally seen all these players play in high school.
I personally saw both of the guys play as well. Both were great players for their schools. I think Pontius is better. More well rounded. Sinderhoff had a much better supporting cast to help him.
Special is definately Kaka, Messi, iniesta, xavi……You are right, nobody representing our country is special but those players are out there. We have the gems but they are not selected. We instead promote and utilize the “prototype American Robots” who are big, fast, strong and ignore the Messi’s and Iniestas.
I’ll go a bit further if I may. We shall use OC Varsity as an example. Our previous 3 OC Varisty player of the years were:
2009 Jacob Kaiser
2008 Edgar Bran
2007 Greg Francis
None of these 3 players know how to kick a ball, much less have any idea how the game is played. You take any of them oversees and you will be laughed at. So the player selection is all wrong. Nobody knows what true talent is in this country and until soccer brain is selected over size it will remain the same. Mediocre robots who cannot connect more than 5 passes in a row.
The three players you have listed are not even in the same zip code as Pontius. Not only is Pontius great on the ball, he is creative, physical, fast, a superb finisher, strong in the air, and his work rate creates problems for whoever he matches up with. In high school he was a complete player – scored goals and created opportunities for others around him. He was a great leader as well and his run to a CIF title was stolen by a last minute phantom PK call by the AR in the semifinal game vs Santa Margarita. He has continued to improve beyond high school, which is why Bob Bradley has him with the US National Team right now.
If servite had “legit” coaching, where are their CIF rings??? And Jeremy is right, Steve Lenhart has a ring for not only high school, but in college at APU as well as NAIA MVP and last but not least an MLS cup ring with the Columbus crew. And is Robbie Rogers, Jonathon bornstein, and Sacha klejsten(sp?) not “accomplished” enough players for this list??? Haha ridiculous!
I guess David Moyes isnt a good coach either then. Interesting standard of measurement you have.
Timothy Jepson, Nuff said. Also, if we are talking about accomplishments, then Steven Lenhart AKA “bash brother from another mother” should be top of the list. Dudes got a cif ring, niaa ring, and mls cup ring. Hell yeah.
Yes. You do bring up the names of some great players who are representing this country. But when I polled coaches who have been around this county for some time, I told them to just focus on the ones who were completely dedicated to high school soccer alone. And this is just a part of the list that will be revealed very soon. I am still waiting to hear from two more coaches who have probably 40 years experience in the county between them
I have been at the National Camp all week long in Carson and can honestly say Pontius falls into the robot category along with the rest of the 28 guys in camp. Only Benny Feilhaber has a slight clue of how to play the game and has quality.
I have two requests for you.
1. What makes a player a robot – be specific….
2. Give us your list of players to make up your All Decade Team. Base it on their play in high school – not where they are today. Thanks.
Like I said, doesn’t really matter who makes the “all decade team” here since ocvarsity has no credibility. For Christ sake, look at their previous 3 players of the year. Where are they now?
Still waiting for an answer to my previous questions…….or do you not have anything to back it up?
Hey Sputnik,
What makes a player a robot. Just think the opposite of finesse. When you see players with finesse they are completely calm when put under pressure. The vast majority of “american players” are not calm under pressure and do not caress the ball. The robotic players we have also possess no field vision. NONE!!! It’s as if they play with blinders on. An example being they are always focused on the ball wherever it is on the field instead of constantly looking around to see where all the chess pieces are. You see Xavi of Barcelona and he is well aware of his surroundings. Every 2 to 3 seconds he is looking around so that when he receives he has a decision made and moves the ball. Don’t you wonder why we have the fascination for the physical attributes in this country when it comes to socceR? At the youth, college, and pro level the priority is BIG, FAST, STRONG….Does he have pace? WTF is that about? Xavi, Messi, Iniesta would be your busboy at a local restaurant if they were in the US. While Chris Pontius is at National Team Camp. Makes me want to throw up!
On that note, let me clarify that these players I refer to as robots are all talented to our standards here in the US in that they all have something in their game. Whether that something is speed, strength, a good shot, dribbling ability, defending, ect. However, they all lack that distinctive quality in their touch and none are world class. Benny Feilhaber is the only player on the 30 man roster at US National Team camp that isn’t a complete robot. I let him know that the other day and he laughed about it and quietly agreed. Coincidence that Benny is Brazilian born and not an american robot? I think not.
Basing a players ability on their high school play means nothing. High School is almost like a Bronze/Silver level when compared to club soccer. What if a player went to a high school where nobody played the game at a competitive level? Soccer is a team sport where you need competent teammates in order to succeed.
Thanks for the explanation. I don’t happen to share many of your opinions, but I appreciate the follow up.
By your standard these are other robots that have graced the pitch, I guess they arent very good because they arent like Xavi:
Didier Drogba
Emmanuel Adebayor
Jurgen Klinsmen
John Terry
Rio Ferdinand
Wayne Rooney
Ruud Van Nistelrooy
and one of my favorites….Lothar Mattheus.
Not everyone can be a midfield maestro. Dont ever discount the need for great players that are big strong and fast. A player like Pontius has never had the role to be the maestro. Just like your boy Xavi could never defend like Terry or score the amount of goals Ruud has scored. It is a team game and every players role is different. To hear you bash a youngman (barely 23) who is proudly trying make his way on to the nationally team and represent our country is saddening. Obviously those that know more about the game (such as Bob Bradley) than you see something in him. As far as performance for his HS I feel he was the best in the last 10 years in OC.
Fair enough sputnik.
eagles,
It has nothing to do with being a midfield maestro. Wake Up!!! All the players you names off are world class and not American Prototype Robots!
Lets address the defenders first. Terry, Ferdinand, and Lothar are the definition of what a center back needs. THEY READ THE GAME! Terry and MAttheus aren’t exactly speed demons last I checked. THey are complete class since they read the game and do their job. A defenders job is to win the ball and connect a high percentage of passes. Not be a playmaker and turn the ball over. The main fallacy in the defenders here in the US is that they think they should be serving up balls to the forwards and by-passing the midfield. That is what they were/are taught. For Christ sake, Marvel Wynn (1st pick in the MLS draft and current national team player) does not know how to kick a soccer ball but he is BIG, FAST, AND STRONG. Good national team credentials in this country. Embarrassing!
Rooney, Ruud, Drogba, Adebayor. All World Class Strikers. Robots? Please! They can play under pressure. They have finesse when striking a ball. They have a soccer IQ. Our strikers in the US? nowhere near this class. You want to see class? 1st pick in todays draft, Danny Mwanga, 18 years old from Congo. That is class!!! Hopefully he doesn’t ruin his development playing here. I think Peter Novak has a brain unlike most here in the US and will use him properly. He didn’t draft a robot, he drafted world class potential.
Bottom line eagles, agree or not, we produce ROBOTS! the youth coaching is horrific here in the states. Player identification is a nightmare here. THe US has world class players but they all slip through the cracks because we are looking for the wrong things. Soccer IQ destroys athleticism every day of the week world wide. Not here though, BIG, FAST, AND STRONG OR BUST!
But here’s your chance to weigh on on who the No. 1 player of the decade was, and remember, these were players who concentrated on HIGH SCHOOL soccer.
With the exception of Kennedy and Pontius, where are they now?
Add another high school POY that is now nowhere to be found on a roster – SM’s – A. Park.
Kinghts, your standard of creative player is just not attainable for youth players. We can agree on two things though. The youth coaches in this country do a disservice to our young players. They love them, but dont teach them properly. Second, our identification process is crap. Too much politics and money involved. Way too much talent is not properly identified and cultivated. So I share your opinion there, and even with your analysis of Wynne. However, I think it is unfair to say a player such as Sinderhoff was a robot. He was a smart creative player for his age. Not a robot. He had vision, technique, and soccer IQ. Pontius is the same. The kid puts himself in good spots and makes excellent decisions, he just happens to also have good speed. To compare these kids to world class creative players isnt fair or a good analogy. Lastly, Lothar ended his career in the German backline. He was actually a center midfielder for the West German team and captained them to the 1990 World Cup Championship.
I can’t give opinion with regards to Sinderhoff because I have never seen him play. Scroll up and see, I clearly stated that.
“Kennedy and Sinderhoff I cannot comment on since I have never seen.”
You are right about Lothar, he didn’t play in back row until the end. He was a “german robot.” ha ha. Seriously, the germans are mechanical in their style of play as well but have more polished games and soccer IQ’s than the Yanks do.
Pundit,
About time you join the convo ha ha. Was waiting for you to speak up.
Merrry Christmas and happy new year.