This is not a vent board or any other kind of therapy. Before you hit the POST button, ask yourself if your contribution will add to the level of discussion going on.

Important notes on articles:

• Please do not copy entire articles into your post; rather, provide links to them.. We are now links-only for ALL Internet publications. If only a small portion of the article pertains to your post, Fair Use allows you to copy those one or two paragraphs, provided you cite the author's name and the publication for which he writes. Otherwise, put a link in the HTTP Link box.
• Even if you're copying a reference to an article, provide a link to the page from which the article came. We're trying to cut down on duplicate topics, and the posting process will check the link to your article to see if it's already being discussed on this board. At the very least, you'll save yourself some grief on the boards.
• If your first reaction after reading the article you're going to share is the author is uninformed / stupid / a jerk / all of the above, it's not worth sharing with anyone. Not every article needs to be discussed. The more the hair-pulling articles are discussed (e.g. ESPN Page 2), the more the authors will write hair-pulling articles.

Post being replied to

Well, I don't think anyone can give you a solid ... by Rocksteady74

... answer without knowing the age/gender and opponents. But as a general matter the teams tend to be quite good, although not as good as they were before the Developmental Academies hit the scene.

A weak bench obviously will hurt when you have to play three days in a row just to qualify for the quarters. When I coached in regionals we always rested some starters and gave bench players more time in the easiest game of the three to save legs for later games. The weather tends to be hot and that adds fatigue to the legs and makes recovery tougher. That is true for your opponents as well, but if you have no bench, you'll still be at a disadvantage.

What state are you from, and what states are your opponents from?

As for refereeing, it tends to be much better than your usual tournaments, but still can be variable. Each state in the region sends refs, and they tend to want to include young, developing refs for part of the contingent to give them experience.