Got this off my chest about HS soccer in El Paso. The hiring of Murillo, along with Oatsvall's leadership, might help a little as the Patriots sync up with college programs a lot more, but the real problem is something completely different.

That Will Do

It is the goal of the Patriots to provide development opportunities to ALL players regardless of club affiliation or High School. I agree as well on the time of year that high schools run their program being one of the toughest hurdles in giving players the chance to play at a higher level. Each year more funding goes into scholarship programs across the US and it time for our kids to get a piece of it. With our relationships and contacts into the collegiate world and the recent expansion of our youth academy we can get the coaches here to see our players, but it would make it better if the high schools ran their season in the fall. Along the lines of opportunities, the Patriots have posted their try-outs for the Premier Development team. You can get all the details at www.elpaso-patriots.com

Nice write up Vox. Last years graduating class signed to schools all over the country NCAA Division 1,2,3 and NAIA. This year you mentioned two players that go to Belair, those players played for Indios USA. How many players from Belair signed with last years class? 0..., it is sporatic and individualized and not about the high school soccer coach. I bet there will be more kids signing to other schools this year but we will not hear about them. Why not, because they belong to schools all over the city and are individual players...Kids the media is not really interested in writing about. Would it not be smarter for the Pats to pick up players that are already playing collegiate ball, much like Dynamo and Rapids do? They are probably playing at an already higher level than El Paso High School. In reality, El Paso High School soccer is about individual talent...We are never really able to play against the hotbeds of soccer in Dallas nor Houston. In your article, you mentioned Coronado, they were a club team the Cobras coached b y Loni Wilson who played all over the region in tournaments. Then Del Valle, 14A is not equivalent to 15A. How many of those players signed collegiate letters? 0....High school soccer here on the border is about the individual and not the team itself. Hotbeds in Central Texas like those mentioned have players who play for clubs like Texans, Tornadoes, Solar, Houstonians, Lonestars and Capitals to name a few whose coaches are paid well. Some of those players are in the national pools. What does El Paso have? Parent run teams and a few paid coaches here and there. Again it is about the individual player.. Dallas and Houston area level of soccer is closer to collegiate ball than El Paso is. Coach Murillo and the Patriots have the right idea about raising their own talent rather than relying on the low level that high school soccer offers. True El Paso does have talent, but again the talent is individual so the level is not as high as it could be. I vote that the Pats bring in the individual talent that is already out playing collegiate ball, number #1, they should be in good physical shape, #2 they should be disciplined and committed to improve, then the Pats decide which players fit the Patriots organization, in doing so capture the resources and contacts that those players have with their schools and move El Paso soccer forward. I saw the Manchester team play and have played with most of those guys and the others who played in the semi finals. They are acquaintances I know from playing in the Sunday leagues over the years, they are individual players from all over the city who come together and are a force to be dealt with. Hence they can win games. Imagine what a better prepared team of Patriots could do?? This is only the opinion of a soccer fanatic looking forward to another season at the Patriot stadium.

EPSSR I agree, the rest of the country plays in the fall.

Well said, Fanatic, and you're right. It is sporadic. I guess my point is that everyone hears about the Omar Tenas and Mario Alvarezes out there -- I only brought them up as two examples -- but how many more kids, the kids who aren't the obvious picks, would benefit from a fall season?

I think the Bel Air coach has done a good job helping Tena and Alvarez make connections, Indios or no.

Hopefully, the Patriots can be that "connected" club even more with Murillo.

Glad you're around, Fanatic, because you know soccer in this city.

Hello everyone, i am new to all this. I agree with what has been said aout high school soccer,it is all about talent. The reason most people dont get recruited is because colleges dont recruit out of high school. They recruit from club teams. Most of the top players for the Texans, Hustonians, Challenge dont even play high school. Most of the college showcases ae during the fall season. You really think the Texans coach is going to let their players play high school soccer which is garbage? About the two kids from Bel Air. They played there club soccer with Javier McDonald and he is the one that made them the players they are today. He even took both of them to Club America in Mexico to tryout. Javier deserves more credit for developing a lot of the talented players in El Paso!!!!!!!

Hi el10, you are right Javier is a well known, probably the best youth coach in the city. I have heard he has the most state cup and tournament wins. The real way to see if a coach is good, is if his players win tournaments when they are older. When teams are young below 13 it really does not count. State cups do not advance until above 14 years old. As for high school you are right too. Kids give up playing club during high school for what? To say that they beat someone from another high school yet they never advance past sweet-sixteen. Coaches from high school are self serving, they coach for their stipend and as a hobby, sometimes they discourage the true soccer player because the level is so low. Even the city champs like Hanks, Belair or Coronado play horrible soccer. They cannot get past 5 possession passes consistently. I think this thing with the Patriots is a good move. It is usually mismanagement of teams that makes them split. Under one philosophy or motive, teams are likely to do well against most competitors in El Paso. All clubs in the US usually have a dominant team in certain age groups. This is expected with the Patriots as well they will have some weak and some strong teams. Another problem El Paso is faced with is that parents do not want to pay for soccer. It is real strange, they will pay for karate or ballet but not for soccer. I think you are right, coaches like Javier deserve credit, so do Mr Cervantes and his family, they have dedicated a large effort to keeping the sport alive in El Paso. It is a lot of fun on a summer afternoon to go watch a game have a cold drink and a burger. With so little things to do here, the city should understand that the Patriots provide a community service that not too many other organizations offer. The city should get behind the Patriots organization like they did with the Diablos and Cohen stadium.

A question: It sounds like most of the good ones are with clubs, but aren't there those families that can't afford club soccer?

I wouldn't disagree when it comes to the top-to-bottom quality of HS soccer, but it seems to me Patriots like Wilson, Mora, Griego, Ariel Chavez and others all played soccer for their high schools.

Yeah not one of them went to college. Kirk went to Drake not a power house to say and griego went to unlv for a year. If they would have gone to the big tournamenst in the fall i guarantee they woud have played somewhere good. Omar Mora could have played at any D1 he wanted to if he would have had exposure. Just get rid of high school soccer, hahahahah

I get what you are saying Vox. Unfortuneately many high school players do not go far when it comes to grades. Look at those players you mentioned. How many even to SATs?. Where will they be after soccer? Club soccer demands academic success, look on any clubs website, they usually have GPAs on players profiles. As for Ariel, I heard he played in Las Cruces. To be quite frank, I think players like Tony Barrera and Fabian are 10 times better than players like Ariel. Tony I think played Club with Scorpions and also played collegiate ball. As for players who do not have funds, club teams usually foot the bill. I do not disagree that there are good HS soccer players, but they grew up playing league and club soccer. The coaches simply play set up the line, just like parents.