And then went on to beat them. I was only aware of 2 that left and one doesn't get much playing time at Express. If there is a third who left I can't imagine he gets much playing time either.
Icon didn't take a hit from their departure at all.
Who is saying icon is not as good as they were? Most teams loose kids then the kids are replaced. No one is saying the top teams are getting worse. The argument is that some of the teams people say are numbers 5 or 6 got much better by player upgrades and returning kids finally hitting puberty. These second tier teams will improve just by catching up in physical development alone over the next year. The top 4 teams have more kids that have already hit puberty and may be almost done in physical development compared to the next set of ranked teams. That will even out soon enough. Will it be enough to change rankings? Maybe. Time will tell.
"If you haven't heard of ICON, then you have no clue of who the best teams are at this age group. They used to be one of the top three, but lost some key players. They are Garden City and Rockville Centre kids, well coached, and played together since they were in 1st or 2nd grade. They took a huge step back last year. I think some of the kids went to Express because of the Catholic School connection."
Response re: Icon was to all the comments about them losing players to Express, not just the one quoted. This person clearly states : "They took a huge step back"... You are right time will tell, but Icon doesn't have many huge kids, there is one big talented defender, otherwise they are on the small side, just very athletic.
