You should not create another post.

I'm fairly certain that the school that hosts an NCS game receives some of the profits of admission fees. You keep saying " as far as I can tell". Maybe you should get the real facts before posting this?

The only money the hosting team gets is from snack bar, and a few paid positions ticket mgr. for ex gets $35

Although I wouldn't have quite worded it the way the original poster did. The NCS is definately expanding playoffs in many sports simply to make money. Any team this year in Football that has either a .500 record in its league or overall automatically qualifies for the playoffs. All they need to do is apply. There are going to be some 1st round playoff games that are going to be very ugly blowouts as a result. They top 4 seeds used to earn a first round bye in a 12 team format, but this year its looks like only the #1 seeded team will get a bye and every other school will play a first round game. The NCS charges $9 for adults and $5 for students this year. It is nice for a team to say "we made the playoffs", but I have to agree, this is the NCS's way to generate additional revenue.

To "You-who",
What is your objection to my post? Kinda empty to say I "should not create another post" without saying why.

As "Facts" said, NCS takes 100% of the gate, with excpetions such as when they rent the Oakland Coliseum for football, when there is an upfront cost. Most coaches and AD's in the smaller sports pull their teams' name out of hosting contention when their team loses, so they are not stuck being a neutral site and having to have the maintenance costs and such while getting nothing to show for it.

So thank you, "HMM", but I have my facts straight. When I use the term "As far as I can tell", it's simply an expression to say that I am not 100% sure, there could be something I don't know, I don't want to be so arrogant as to believe I know everything. I can and will tell you that referees make money and coaches usually (but not always) get a little bit. But both groups work for it. Many NCS events happen with no NCS employees or personel there, yet an administrator is required from both schools. And from this, NCS takes 100% of the gate.

So thank you "You-who" but I will continue posting, and I will post when I have the facts, "HMM", as I do now.

Get the facts has it right. I wonder if HMM or You-Who even have kids in the high school sports. If they did they would realize that many sports and coaches pay have been eliminated this year and to charge for these "Playoffs" so NCS can make money seems like a poor decision to me. Well I guess that is just like NCS poor decisions and poor planning. Having Amador and Foothill drive like that just to play each other when we have a nice facility here in Pleasanton just shows how poor their decision and planning skills really are. Come on NCS just give the money back to the schools this year and hope for a better 2010. HMM and You-Who should keep their posts for something they have the facts on.

You tried to slam NCS by posting stuff that you are admitting you didn't know was 100% true. If you don't like what NCS is doing, that's totally fine! Let us know! All I'm saying is, you lose credibility to your post when you say things that aren't true, especially when it looks like a rant.

And Former NCS Official, I was one of those kids playing in NCS, so was my brother, and I'm still VERY involved in AVHS sports. Don't be rude in a post for absolutely no reason. I was simply telling the original poster to get the facts straight before making accusations. Lighten up buddy.

"I was simply telling the original poster to get the facts straight before making accusations."
All my facts ARE straight. They are not accusations, they are facts.

"All I'm saying is, you lose credibility to your post when you say things that aren't true"
Everything I have said is true, confirmed by two other posters.

"especially when it looks like a rant."
It IS a rant! That's what blogging and posting is, just nice words for ranting and raving! I never said it wasn't a rant, that's what all posts here are.

Op sounds well thought out and I'm sure the NCS needs some tweaking but as a former player I can say that road trips and time on the bus with the team is a lot of the fun and memories. That's it, now continue bashing each other.

Now that DeLaSalle is in the league, each team is promised at least one 40 minute road trip each season. The problem is that budget cuts have taken away buses for most all sports, and so the joy of the road trip (which I agree from the standpoint of both a former player and coach, the roadtrips can be great) is muted when you have a handful up players in each of half-a-dozen cars, give or take depending on the size of your sport. No reason the AV-FHS water polo game couldn't have been done at one of the schools, or at the aquatic center.

I am admittedly water polo ignorant but does the aquatic center have a pool that is correct for water polo? I have no idea what the standard pool is for the sport.

Water polo can be played on any sized pool that is big enough, it's about where the sidelines and end lines (the lane lines) and goals are placed. Also, it needs to be at least deep enough that you cannot stand on the bottom.

The reason why the water polo matches are only at certain sites, like MV, Campolindo, etc, is about seating. NCS has minimum requirements for seat availability due to, you guessed it, potential revenue. AV and FHS don't have many seats, most people bring chairs or stand. The aquatic center doesn't have many either, so there isn't a snowball's chance in Hawaii that the NCS would hold a water polo match there. But wouldn't it have been great if the two schools got together and agreed to do it there, split the revenue (or made it a free event), and told the NCS to deal with it? What would the NCS have done, said "no, it doesn't count" and risk some bad press? I don't think so.

Here's an honest question, how much do you think it would cost to rent out the aquatic center including whatever liabilty innsurance would be needed to cover the players and fans (I assume there has to be innsurance because we know how people are looking to cash in sometimes.) Also how many paying attendies go to water polo games? Would there be a profit?

Good questions, of which I do not know most of the answers. There might not be a profit at the aquatic center, but if the teams flipped a coin and did it at one of the school sites, I'm guessing insurance is a non-factor, and they certain would make some good money.

Doesn't NCS have to book venues months in advance, before it's determined which teams are participating? They'd have to coordinate facility use with school administrators, schedule referees and send out announcements.

If you think of the cost of going to a professional sporting event or even the movies, the entrance fees for an NCS playoff game are a bargain.

I'm wondering: how do teams get selected to participate in NCS?

Any 500 team can enter. That's why Foothill's Varsity football was going to have a chance in NCS even if they lost to Amador. They won but if they'd lost they would have gone 5-5. NCS probably do book venues in advance though.