Missouri State High School Soccer Coaches Association
Region and All-State Team Selection Process

Purpose
MSHSSCA selects Region and All-State Teams in each Class for Boys and Girls soccer to recognize outstanding High School players during the course of each season. The purpose of this document is to outline the process by which MSHSSCA selects these teams. MSHSSCA fully understands that with the quality and depth of talent across the state in high school soccer this is a difficult process. The Association does not take it lightly and is committed to doing the best job possible in the selection of the teams.  Selection of players is modeled after the United Soccer Coaches (formerly NSCAA) process that selects the All American and Regional teams. 

Region Teams
There will be four Region teams selected in each Class. Each Region will consist of the districts that constitute a quarterfinal (Districts 1/2 = Region 1, Districts 3/4 = Region 2, etc.). A Region representative will be selected for each region by MSHSSCA who will contact all coaches within the region and collect nominations for the team via a Google form. Coaches will enter their own players by a set deadline. A coach must be a MSHSSCA member to nominate players. Nominations will be made on the Google form and shared to member coaches with the player’s name and qualifications which can include any relevant statistics and/or a description of player quality that might not be apparent from statistics only. After collecting nominations, the Regional representative and eligible member coaches will select a 20-24 player (or smaller depending on the class) Region team and the individual awards of Player of the Year (POY), Offensive Player of the Year (OPOY), Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY), and Goalkeeper of the Year (GKOY), as well as Private and Public School Coaches of the Year.  
Notes:
1) Selection for the team is based on performance during the high school season. Performance in other areas (i.e., club, ODP, etc.) will not be considered directly in the selection of this team.
2) Player stats will be considered, but will not be the only factor in evaluating players. Strength of schedule and quality of teammates play a large role in individual player stats and will be major considerations in the selection process.  Sportsmanship is also a determining factor.
3) Typically the 20-24 players are selected regardless of position. This tends to result in a variation in number of individuals selected at a given position from year to year. For example a Region may have four defensive players on the team one season and ten defensive players in another season.  
4) The MSHSSCA Region teams are selected independent of teams selected by other groups (All-Conference, All-District, All-Metro, etc.). While it is hoped there will be consistency among these teams this will not always be the case. 
5) Coaches are responsible for being involved with the process. Class Representatives are available for any questions regarding the selection process.

All-State Teams
The Region representatives will form the selection committee for the All-State Teams in each Class. The All-State teams will consist of a 1st and 2nd team of 24 players each and 12-15 honorable mention players (Class 1 and 2 may be smaller depending on the number of teams in the class). State Player of the Year (POY), Offensive POY, Defensive POY, GKOY, and Coach of the Year awards will also be selected in each Class. Only players on the four Region teams within a Class can be considered for the All-State team. When selecting players for the All-State teams the committee will consider the same factors that apply to the Region team selections outlined in Notes 1-4 above.
Notes:
1) While quality and depth of players across regions varies from year to year within each of the classes it is the job of the selection committees to ensure the All-State teams are populated with the best players and represent the state as a whole. MSHSAA (while not necessarily their intent) has organized schools in a manner that comes reasonably close to evenly distributing talent in each of the four Regions within Classes. Given this the All-State committees generally distribute the selections evenly across regions which means six (6) 1st Team, six (6) 2nd Team, and 3-4 Honorable Mention players from each Region on the All-State Teams. This is a starting point that can change slightly following committee deliberations and strengths of the individual region. In other words, sometimes a region may have more players than others because of the region's overall strength.
2) More often than not players that are selected for Regional individual awards make it onto the All-State team in some capacity, but this is not always the case. There are instances where multiple players in the other three regions at a given position (GK for example) are deemed to be better than the Player of the Year at that position in another region.  

All American/All Region - National Awards
Our flagship organization, the United Soccer Coaches, also honors All Region and All American players from Missouri. These players can come from any class and are decided by a similar process as used for All State. Coaches must submit a player nomination form for each player.

​The United Soccer Coaches allows a set number of players for All Central Region and All America that differ from year to year based on our membership numbers with the United Soccer Coaches. These players are from all 4 classes combined and are meant to showcase the "best of the best" from MO. A player must be 1st Team All State in order to be considered for these awards. The nomination link will go out and coaches will have 3-4 days to nominate. A list of those nominated will be sent to the membership for voting, which will end at a specified time. Coaches will be notified of players receiving this honor and will then have one day to do the short nomination on the USC website. Coaches MUST be members of the USC in order to have players recognized All Region and/or All American. We will not be able to release any of the winners until the USC has its official release in late June or early July for girls and early December for boys. We have strict deadlines with these awards, so timeliness with this process is vital.