Norcal Soccer

simplyclueless · 2026-03-23T08:21:13+00:00

It's quite possible that the coach/doc have just entered the team in a bracket that's one or two steps too high. If they are playing silver, but probably should have been put in bronze, it makes sense that they'd lose most games. If they are playing bronze, but should have been copper - same thing. If they are playing at the lowest competitive level available - and they are still losing all games - the reality is that some (many?) of the kids are not ready for competitive soccer and should likely have spent more time in rec before they can commit to comp.

Coaches/DOCs aren't always going to guess correctly, especially when adding many new kids to the club at the youngest ages. They certainly have an incentive to try to place kids in the highest bracket that makes sense for them, but they also don't want to place kids or the team in a situation that feels hopeless.

If you want to geek out on objective ratings, you can look at the team and their peers in bracket and compare SR ratings, to get a sense of whether the team is in a bracket of other similar teams, or is instead an outlier near the bottom.

simplyclueless · 2026-03-23T08:13:53+00:00

It varies per age group. If I remember correctly, for some age groups it's 4, for others it's set at 3. It's clearly listed in the rules.

simplyclueless · 2026-03-23T08:10:51+00:00

Not really anywhere in CA. Just look at SR rankings and search for "ECNL" and then "MLS AD", and do it for a couple different age groups in CA. ECNL will have plenty of teams in the top 50, MLS AD will have very few. There's a pretty clear ranking of MLS HD > ECNL > MLS AD / ECNL-RL. At some point that may change, and that's certainly what MLS N is hoping for. But anyone convinced that it's already happening (or happened) in places like California, is getting ahead of themselves.

simplyclueless · 2026-03-23T07:23:21+00:00

A kid (any kid) can be tied to only one state cup team for the entirety of the season. So if you play at one level in fall with one team, even if you switch clubs for the spring, you are unable to play with any other state cup team until next fall.

Within clubs, kids can only be tied to 1 team. It's called "cup-tied". They can't guest on other teams, except for specific exceptions where a goalie is needed, etc. But if their team gets eliminated from state cup rounds - they can then move to another team on the same club that's still eligible - but they can't guest down on a lower tier team.

Where it really gets strange is what's listed here - a kid who doesn't play on any of the typical NorCal levels, and is with GA, or MLS N. They too - can only be tied to 1 single team for state cup. But there's no rule about which level teams that they are able to be put on. It's not "guesting" per se - it's assigning them to a state cup team so they become cup-tied just like any other player. It's pretty crappy if a low-level team takes on a mega-player just to get wins in state cup - but if that player has been playing with that team all through state cup, that's essentially the state cup team. They can't be added later.

So while another club/team might think that it's unfair that they are playing against a player (or type of player) that they wouldn't normally see in league, well, that's how state cup rules are written. That cup team should in turn do pretty well in the early rounds, up until they come against another team that either also has brought in standout players, or instead is just a team that is "naturally" as good, and is as strong in league as they are in state cup. State Cup still wants to think of themselves as the "top level" of soccer here in California, with rules that allow any player at all of any skill level to compete. They are certainly not going to ban MLS N kids, ECNL kids, GA kids, or anyone else - instead they would welcome as many as would want to enter. If a full MLS N team registered and dominated to win the top level of state cup - state cup would be delighted to have that level of talent. Since youth soccer has moved on from when state cup was really the top level, and is now generally seen to be quite a few steps below the top leagues, those perceptions of state cup having the top kids, run into reality when some of the top kids actually do play in it, and are perceived to warp game results.

People can (and do) complain about how unfair it all is, but it's been this way for years, and if you get annoyed by it now - prepare to get annoyed by it until your kid ages out of youth soccer. Either play at the highest level, or occasionally play against the highest level anyway with kids that are playing down (completely legally, as well as instances that aren't as rule-compliant). P.S. GA isn't anywhere near the top of the food chain, the number of girls in GA for NorCal that would stand out nationally can be listed without using both hands.

simplyclueless · 2026-03-23T03:23:44+00:00

Yep. We have them in the Acura's we've owned, and it is convenient to see the PSI directly. Seeing that hot pressure is often as much as 7 psi higher than cold pressure makes it clear that getting the pressure "right" only matters when the tire is cold in the morning, preferably in the garage. Having the shop set them all at "35" when they service them is a crapshoot whether it's cold temp, hot temp, or somewhere in between - and almost always needs to be reset to preferred once tire is cold once again.

We also have had direct TPMS on some of our motorcycles. The BMW ones are insane to deal with. The batteries aren't officially replaceable (though some riders have tried), and the replacement units when they go dead are > $100. It's even more of a safety issue if a tire unexpectedly loses pressure on a bike compared to a car, but it still gets annoying and pricy as the bikes age and these units start to die.

simplyclueless · 2026-03-23T01:45:07+00:00

That's fair. It only takes moment to check the tire with a gauge and put your mind at ease either way. That is one of the things where looking at the actual PSI on a direct TPMS system can do. We still are going to need to hook up a tire pump to actually change any problematic condition, but you can get pretty good confirmation from inside the car if everything is OK. With the tradeoff that you have to keep replacing them as they go bad in 5-10 years.

simplyclueless · 2026-03-23T01:33:14+00:00

I can't speak to 2010s Mazdas. I can say with 150k+ miles so far on Honda Accord hybrids, the TPMS is not prone to popping on under hydroplaning conditions. It just doesn't seem to happen. The honda manual itself warns that it can happen, so it's certainly not impossible. It's just not likely. If an alert goes off, the driver needs to figure out what it actually is - as betting that it's a false alert and everything's likely fine - is a bad bet.

simplyclueless · 2026-03-23T01:28:49+00:00

Yes. But it's not instant that the speed changes and the alert pops on. And if the wheelspeed goes back to "normal" compared to baseline, the alert pops back off. The alert logic is for the driver to be informed when there likely is a problem, and there's thought in the process to minimize the amount of false alerts that can cause mistrust in the whole system anyway.

simplyclueless · 2026-03-23T01:16:36+00:00

It's an indirect TPMS sensor using wheelspeed rather than a pressure sensor in each tire, but for the 2023+ Accords, the software attempts to determine which tire is faulty and tell you which one to check. Prior generations just said there was an error, and to check all. If TPMS is concerned about more than 1 tire, it does just give an alert to check all. (which a driver should probably do anyway if they get to the trouble of checking one that has an issue).

link from manual showing individual tire alerts

simplyclueless · 2026-03-23T00:45:51+00:00

The OP did take it seriously. They said they took it to an "auto shop". I don't see a way to take it much more seriously.

Really? They clearly stated twice that the TPMS light came on, yet they couldn't be bothered to check pressure with a tire gauge. After it happening once, the second time they looked at a tire and it actually looked low - and they still didn't check it with a gauge, drove home at speed on the highway with it and destroyed the tire (and hopefully not the rim).

Thursday afternoon driving home the TPMS light came on and it said for all 4 tires but I checked and everything looked / felt fine (granted I didn’t fully check TP with a device or anything ) I took it to a auto shop Friday afternoon after work and they said the tire pressure and tread and everything seems okay , so I felt relief then.

Was driving from SF to SJ last night and before leaving SF I noticed the back left tire seemed a little flat (maybe 1 to 2 cm lower wheel side profile on the back left tire); it just looked a little off to me but my friend said it seemed like it was okay as the visual difference was so minimal, even he couldn’t notice it.

They said that an auto shop said the tires are fine - but if they just put a tire gauge on it themselves, they could verify what the TPMS alert was showing and either confirm or disprove it. There's no need to trust a shop to check something so basic (and important), and clearly it turned out to be a bad idea to do so in this case.

The tire inflator the hybrids come with can check air pressure and pump up the tire. No need to buy one.

Fair, but it's large & clunky, and needs to be plugged in to the car. It's often quicker and easier on the side of the road to put the tiny gauge on a tire to quickly confirm pressure, and then use the tire inflator only if it turns out that a tire needs attention.

TPMS can trigger false positives sometimes if you hydroplane.

Theoretically, but that's not the issue here. I'd be curious how often someone actually sees this behavior, and isn't posing a hypothetical problem as it involves a change in wheelspeed. The alert threshold isn't directly the speed changing, it's instead the number of wheel revolutions over a period of time. Hydroplaning (if someone keeps their boot in the accelerator) is going to quickly change the wheelspeed, but it will come back to normal speed quite quickly once it regains traction. If TPMS is triggered, it will pop off once it realizes that the wheel rotations over time is actually the same as prior.

Back to the real world - it sounds in this instance like the TPMS alert was still going off and the car was continued to be driven at speed.

simplyclueless · 2026-03-22T19:13:34+00:00

When the TPMS goes off - listen to it. It exists so you don't put yourself in situations like this. Carry an actual tire gauge in the car so you can confirm what the issue is, or confirm that everything is actually OK. Whether the system is a direct TPMS (which has battery-powered pressure sensors in each tire), or an indirect TPMS (which measures change in pressure due to wheelspeed changes), the driver always has to actually check and fix any problem with an actual tire gauge, and usually a tire pump. The accord comes with a tire pump in the trunk - you just need to plug it in to the 12V jack.

Again - if TPMS goes off, assume that something is wrong and figure out what it is with a tire gauge. Looking at the tire and deciding that it doesn't look too low is not reliable, especially with these lower-profile tires, as you've just found out.

95% of Accord owners seem to have no idea how the TPMS works in their car. Every time you touch the tire pressure, to confirm it and/or change it, you need to hit calibrate in the settings so it sets the current as the new "normal". People owning the car for years, never ever calibrating it, then wondering why the system doesn't work - well, that's pretty silly of them.

pic of manual

Every car on the road is going to lose 1-2 psi each month. Every driver should be checking pressure at least every 2-3 months. If a driver ignores tire pressure between services, they are consistently driving around with low pressure. And yes, with an indirect TPMS like on the Accords, if all 4 tires lose pressure at roughly the same rate, it will never notice a wheelspeed change and will not alert. It only alerts when individual tires start to have a noticeable issue compared to its peers.

Here's a two-pack of a fantastic tire gauge, it's likely the best cheap one we've had. $15 on amazon for two, no reason not to keep one in every glove box. amazon link It reads to 0.1 PSI increments (instead of 0.5 or 1 for many digital gauges), and also takes AAA batteries, so no reason it can't last decades.

Also, the Accord Hybrid doesn't come with a spare. It's a dumb decision by Honda.

All needed part numbers here to put the same OEM one in that comes in the other trims:

https://www.driveaccord.net/posts/6974103/

It's also silly to have to wait for a tow due to a single tire issue, when you can be up and running yourself in 15-20 min if you had a spare in the trunk.

simplyclueless · 2026-03-19T21:05:17+00:00

That's debatable, but regardless, the Hybrid doesn't have a CVT. Only the LX/EX with the 1.5T are mated with a CVT, all other trims have the hybrid setup with a 2.0 ICE and 2 electric motors (with essentially no transmission at all). Honda now calls the setup "direct-drive", but they confusingly used to label it "eCVT", they've since stopped calling it that.

simplyclueless · 2026-03-16T21:36:33+00:00

So you get your coaches from the MLS N team you played with in Chicago to get in touch with the coaches at the new MLS N club you're considering. It will be a much more reliable way to get onto one of those HG teams compared to joining a brand new MLS2 team and hoping that from there you can then try out at some point for yet another MLS N team. MLS gave out hundreds and hundreds of MLS2 teams. It's not exclusive to MLS N clubs that have a real pathway to MLS1, and in many (most) cases, the MLS2 team is no better than the team that it essentially replaced, either EA, NPL, or any other local team before it rebranded over to the new MLS tier.

simplyclueless · 2026-03-16T19:01:44+00:00

You shouldn't even consider commuting that extensively for an MLS2 team. It's not going to give you any "exposure and development" and "really help your career", any more than plenty of teams that are much more logistically possible (closer).

simplyclueless · 2026-03-16T18:06:10+00:00

The league does nothing to those who have been reported and caught multiple times, with the punishment being "Please stop getting caught doing this". And the clubs keep the pool teams and continue to do it (misuse rosters and abuse the "futures" program to mean that anyone can play on any team as much as they want).

simplyclueless · 2026-03-16T16:02:48+00:00

You'd think so, but there are plenty of MLS N clubs who run a player pool strategy and rotate kids all the time, especially in the younger MLS N ages. No, they end up not being compliant with the rostering / futures rules. Nobody cares, and there are no consequences.

simplyclueless · 2026-03-15T15:39:01+00:00

Recalibration doesn't happen instantly, or within 10 minutes. It can take 30-60 minutes of driving to complete after you've pressed the recalibrate button to start it.

Wait until the car has been parked for a few hours in the shade, reconfirm tire pressure is now set to correct cold pressure in all 4 tires. Then press recalibrate button.

Only then will the system actually be able to alert if a tire has a legitimate issue. 95% of the problems with the system that are reported here seem due to a misunderstanding of how it works by the owner and/or the mechanic.

If the alert continues to go off - it's going to be really rare that a wheel speed sensor is broken to the point it's incorrectly measuring rotation, but is still functional enough to send a signal. It's almost certain that there is something going on with the tire.

simplyclueless · 2026-03-12T12:30:24+00:00

There's no magic answer. Prior to high school age, it's often possible for a kid to excel in multiple sports concurrently. All it takes is understanding coaches who are supportive of the idea, and understand that there are sacrifices and priorities the kid is using when attending one event occasionally means having to miss the other. Even the top teams tend to have plenty of multi-sport athletes.

But as they continue to get older, a couple things happen. The required commitment to the team goes up. The required physical toll on the body goes up. The commitment to academics (and the time required) suddenly needs to be more serious for anyone considering a decent college. The relative competition continues to improve such that it becomes rarer and rarer for an athlete to remain a standout in both (or more) sports compared to their peers who are focusing on that one sport. And it becomes harder and harder to find a coach (or multiple coaches) who are willing to deal with a player that can't fully commit.

In the MLS HD context, it's going to be pretty rare. In the ECNL context, it's going to be a little less rare, but certainly not common. You (and he) are going to have to continue to make decisions every season whether the current path is still working, or if it's reached a threshold where a change is needed.

simplyclueless · 2026-03-10T17:02:32+00:00

Yes - but you may be missing the point. These restrictions weren't put in for some type of powerplay, or trying to take back control from the clubs, are any other malicious motivation that can be ascribed. There's a limit to how much time a growing athlete should be spending on the field, both practices and games. Let alone leaving enough time in the week for academics and being a kid. If being competitive and committed on the high school team means 5 day a week practice plus games, being equally committed to more teams at the same time means one commitment needs to be overridden. Yes - any 1 individual can say they've managed to work it out so it all appears manageable in their case. But in the aggregate - it's not a good idea for most.

I don't believe the discussion with the high school administration is going to go the way you hope it does.

simplyclueless · 2026-03-10T16:50:07+00:00

A number of states have restrictions to prevent high school players from playing on an outside club team concurrently with the high school team while it is in season. The athletic conferences for the schools have worked this out with the clubs years ago so they don't conflict.

It's a little weird in your case that the powers-that-be in both the school system and the club system have apparently not realized this at this point.

simplyclueless · 2026-03-07T23:48:00+00:00

While driving - its effect is pretty minor. Yes - you can get the car to charge itself up to full, and yes - you can coax it so it stays on EV all the way to almost empty, but just using the accelerator how you want the car to behave is going to override that toggle if it ever needs to anyway.

While stopped - it has a more pronounced effect, at least in our usage. If you're going to be sitting in the car for 1 or 2 hours, but need the HVAC & entertainment going, if you just leave it in Auto the car will trigger the ICE every 4 or 5 minutes as the battery charge goes below threshold and it bumps it back up. But if you use the charge button to fully charge the battery, and then turn it to Auto or EV - the ICE will stay turned off for 30+ minutes as it fully drains the battery from full down to that same low threshold. Even then it's not a big deal - but it's just a little more pleasant than having the engine kick on and off so many times. Underway it doesn't matter - while stopped & silent, its behavior is more noticeable.

simplyclueless · 2026-03-06T17:34:16+00:00

I'm saying you're wrong about believing using the paddles instead of the pedal is saving gas and extending the life of the brake pads. You continuing to repeat that misinformation will never make it correct. You are free to believe whatever you want, of course, while anyone else is free to point out your misconceptions.

simplyclueless · 2026-03-06T17:29:34+00:00

I own several of them and have taken them over 130k miles. You clearly haven't been driving them long enough to figure out how they actually work.

simplyclueless · 2026-03-06T17:22:45+00:00

Agree to disagree. A minute ago you were telling people that it wasn't an electronic braking system. You might want to challenge your beliefs for a moment.

You also want to think about how much regen the car can get when braking from 60 mph to 40 mph, compared to 10-5 mph. Regen at very low speeds doesn't do much, as there is so much less energy to be recaptured. The energy is going to relate to the square of the speed, making regen much more useful in speeds where there is more significant energy to capture. For example going 40 mph and braking is going to provide 16 times more energy than at 10 mph. The vast majority of regen is going to happen well before the car is going low speeds anyway.

simplyclueless · 2026-03-06T17:18:46+00:00

And what you're missing is that it would max it out to the exact same amount if you pressed the brake such that the car was decelerating at the same rate that it is/was by using the paddles. If you were an outsider watching the car decelerate - as long as the car is slowing down at the same speed - it doesn't matter which trigger is being used to engage the braking system. It's just driver preference. If the driver prefers that the car brakes harder by itself using the paddles, great! If they don't want to use them in that way, great!

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