10/20/2010 - Power Point Presentation
Okay, class. Listen up. It is time to start our presentation: Soccer Power Points 101.
You don’t need a degree in math to figure out the Power Ranking system devised by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, but it doesn’t hurt.
First a little background. The power point system for seeding the boys and girls soccer state tournament was put into place right before the start of the season after years of coaches asking for a change in seeding by winning percentage the state had followed for decades.
Coaches from soccer hotbeds complained that their schools received lower seeds come tourney time because they were playing tougher competition than other areas in the state, which boasted schools with higher winning percentages.
The feeling was that the state should keep the .500 winning percentage for automatic qualification, but use a power point system to fill out a 16-team bracket and then seed the teams based on power points.
The power points are based on the team’s first 12 games.
For example, 12 teams may have over. 500 records in a section, so to fill out the 16-team bracket the next four schools would qualify based on their power point totals. Then all 16 teams would be seeded based on power points not records.
So conceivably, a team with a tough schedule and a 5-7 record could receive a better seed than a team with a 9-3 mark. Are you still with me?
Now the cutoff for the state tourney for soccer is Friday, Oct. 22. So all teams with a .500 or better record are automatically in but their power points will only include the first 12 games even if the team had played 15 games up until the cutoff.
According to Jack DuBois, an assistant director at the NJSIAA, the cutoff is needed so teams still have a chance to reach .500 for an automatic berth.
DuBois said coaches from many different sports had asked to go to a power point system, but the state choose soccer because so many of the member schools have boys and girls soccer teams.
He added that it is a one-year pilot program which will be reviewed after the tourney concludes this year.
I’m all for a power point system. I have seen too many times teams with inflated records get bumped off early in the tourney in what on paper is deemed an “upset” but anyone who follows the sport knows it wasn’t because the lower seeded team played a very tough schedule.
My only beef is that one of the tie-breaker formulas is goal differential like in lacrosse. The maximum is five goals per game so a 5-0 win is the same as an 8-0 win. But if a team is up 5-0 who is to say the other team might sneak in a goal to make it 5-1.
With that being the case, you can’t blame coaches for tacking on more goals in a game that has already been decided. That is why you have seen a lot of 6-0 wins this season when you check nj.com for scores.
Plus ties really don’t have much weight in the equation which is strange because soccer is the one sport that ties are rampant. If the state can review those two criteria and tweak it, I think the system is good for the sport.
Right now, the coaches I have spoken to have some reservations, but are taking a wait-and-see approach until the points and seeds are officially announced.
Right now in boys soccer, Sparta (North 1, Group 3), Pope John (North Non-Public A) as well as Newton and Hopatcong in North 1, Group 2 are guaranteed spots in the “Big Dance” with .500 or better records.
Vernon (North 1, Group 4), High Point (North 1, Group 3), Kittatinny (North 1, Group 2) and Wallkill Valley (North 1, Group 2) are all on the bubble depending on their power points. North Warren (8-8) can gain an automatic bid with a win or a tie against Gil St. Bernards before the cutoff.
Sussex Tech which won its first-ever state game last year in North 1, Group 1 is also on the bubble.
As for the girls, Vernon (North 1, Group 4), High Point (North 1, Group 3), Kittatinny (North 1, Group 2), Pope John (North Non-Public A), Newton (North 1, Group 2), Sussex Tech (North 1, Group 1) and North Warren (North 1, Group 2) are all in.
Wallkill Valley and Hopatcong in Group 2 are bubble teams and they will have to wait for the power points to be released. Sparta is in the same boat in Group 3.
Below is the official seeding procedure from the NJSIAA website. Enter at your own risk.
That’s it for now, see you on the sidelines.
Seeding Procedure
The Power Ranking system will be the sum total of the first twelve (12) games played up to and including the cut-off day (Oct. 22).
1. The qualifying schools in each group and each section for the public schools and in each group and section for the non-public schools will be seeded according to the power rankings based on the calculations of the power point system.
2. The power ranking will be determined by multiplying a school’s Quality Points for each game won or tied (two points for a win, one point for a tie) x the opponent’s Group Classification, [4, 3, 2, 1] plus the Opponent’s Record of wins and ties at the cutoff (one point for a win, ½ point for a tie if the school has defeated that school; and ½ that total for ties.) In addition, any loss to a school larger or smaller will result in plus (+) or minus (-) power point(s) based on the Group Size Differential. The power ranking will be the sum total of the first twelve (12) games played up to and including the cutoff date (Oct. 22). No ½ point residual will be awarded for a tie against your team. Note: Non-Public member schools are assigned an equivalent Public Group Classification which is attached to these regulations.
3. The Goal differential total will be used to break power point ties. (No more than 5 plus or minus goal differential points will be awarded per game.) The team with the higher total goal differential will receive the higher seed in the event of a power point tie.
4. Non-member schools pupil enrollment (including out-of-state schools) must be verified in writing by the school to NJSIAA prior to the cut-off date. Such documentation must be forwarded to the NJSIAA and must clearly note the exact number of students enrolled in each of the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades. It is the responsibility of the entering school to secure this verification, which must be signed by the entering school’s principal and forwarded to NJSIAA.
Example of Soccer Power Ranking System for a Group 2 School:
|
Game
|
W/L
|
Score
|
G.D.
|
O.G.
|
Opp. Record
|
QPxOG= TQP
|
+ RP
|
+/- GSD
|
=PP
|
|
1
|
Won
|
3-2
|
+1
|
4
|
8-4
|
2 x 4 = 8
|
+ 8 =
|
n/a
|
=16
|
|
2
|
Lost
|
1-2
|
-1
|
3
|
9-3
|
0
|
0
|
+1
|
= 1
|
|
3
|
Won
|
4-0
|
+4
|
1
|
5-7
|
2 x 1 = 2
|
+ 5
|
n/a
|
= 7
|
|
4
|
Won
|
2-1
|
+1
|
4
|
7-5
|
2 x 4 = 8
|
+ 7
|
n/a
|
=15
|
|
5
|
Tied
|
2-2
|
0
|
4
|
10-0-1
|
1 x 4 = 4
|
+ 5
|
n/a
|
= 9
|
|
6
|
Lost
|
2-3
|
-1
|
1
|
12-0
|
0
|
0
|
-1
|
=-1
|
|
7
|
Won
|
3-2
|
+1
|
3
|
6-6
|
2 x 3 = 6
|
+ 6
|
n/a
|
=12
|
|
8
|
Won
|
4-1
|
+3
|
2
|
2-10
|
2 x 2 = 4
|
+ 2
|
n/a
|
= 6
|
|
9
|
Won
|
5-0
|
+5
|
3
|
8-3-1
|
2 x 3 = 6
|
+ 8.5
|
n/a
|
=14.5
|
|
10
|
Tied
|
5-5
|
0
|
4
|
8-2-2
|
1 x 4 = 4
|
+ 4.25
|
n/a
|
= 8.25
|
|
11
|
Won
|
7-1
|
+5
|
1
|
1-11
|
2 x 1 = 2
|
+ 1
|
n/a
|
= 3
|
|
12
|
Won
|
6-1
|
+5
|
2
|
5-6
|
2 x 2 = 4
|
+ 5
|
n/a
|
= 9
|
|
TOTAL
|
23
|
Total
|
99.75
|
G.D. = Goal Differential O.G. = Opponent’s Group QPxOG=TQP – Quality Points times Opponent’s Group=Total Quality Points
R.P = Residual Points GSD= Group Size Differential PP= Power Points
|
