All-State Selection Process & Post Season Awards
Coaches that are in good standing with the association and have registered their teams are eligible to attend the All-District Meeting. The Coach must have registered their players for consideration for post season awards along with their players stats prior to the All-District Meeting. If the Head Coach is unable to attend, another staff coach can register with the association and attend the meeting in their place.
Player Selection Criteria:
Players should be selected based on, but not limited to, the following criteria:
Season stats
- Team Success
- Strength of schedule
- Post season success
- Previous Awards
- Head to Head competitions
- Competition against similar opponents
Other things to all consider:
- College commitments or interests
- Club affiliations and accomplishments
- Number of games played during the season (A player must play in a majority of the team’s games to be considered for Dream Team. A player that plays in 5 games or less prior to the MHSAA tournament should not be considered for All-District recognition.)
All-District Team Selection Process: (28 players & 1 coach)
The registered coaches from each district will select 3 GKs, 3 Defenders, 12 additional field players, followed by 10 at-large players of any position and District Coach of the Year. For the entire All-State process “additional field players” refers to any player regardless of position with the exception of the GKs.
- Top 3 GKs, 3 Defenders, and next 12 additional field players are eligible to move on for All-Region consideration along with the District Coach of the Year
- Coaches in the District meeting will need to establish where the top 3 defenders rank amidst the rest of the field players (i.e. – They need to have a list for the regional meeting that ranks the field players from 1-15). These rankings are set and can not change after this meeting is finished.
- There are no requirements to represent every team in this process.
The four Coaches serving as District Chairs will bring their All-District lists of 15 field players ranked 1-15 plus 3 GK ranked 1-3 to meet and determine the All-Region Team. These lists should be shared with the other district reps and regional chair prior to the regional meeting.
All-Region Team Selection Process: (30 players & 1 coach)
The 4 District Chairs will meet to select the All Region team which will be made up of players from the four All-District Teams that make up that region.(3 GKs, 3 Defenders, 24 additional field players, and 1 Region Coach of the Year)
- Similar to the District meeting, coaches at the regional meeting need to establish where the top 3 defenders rank amidst the rest of the field players (i.e. – They need to have a list for the state meeting that ranks the field players from 1-27). These rankings are set and can not change after the meeting is finished.
The four Coaches serving as Region Chairs will bring their All-Region lists of 27 field players ranked 1-27, plus 3 GKs ranked 1-3 to meet and determine 1st Team All-State, 2nd Team All-State, 3rd Team All-State, as well as All-State Honorable Mention players. These lists should be shared with the other Regional reps and All-State Chair prior to the All-State meeting.
All-State Teams Selection Process:
From the four All-Region Teams that make up a Division:
- 1st team All-State – 18 players & 1 coach (2 GKs, 3 Defenders, and 13 additional field players and Division 1st Team Coach of the Year)
- State Chairs will need to integrate the 3 Defenders into the rankings of the rest of the field players for the purposes of potential Mr. / Mrs. Soccer and/or Dream Team awards.
- 2nd team All-State – 18 & 1 coach (2 GKs, 3 Defenders, 13 additional field players and Division 2nd Team Coach of the Year)
- 3rd team All-State – 18 & 1 coach (2 GKs, 3 Defenders, 13 additional field players and Division 3rd Team Coach of the Year)
- 66 remaining players will qualify for Honorable Mention All-State
Each Division Selects:
Defensive Player of the Year
Offensive Player of the Year
Dream Team
Two representatives from each Division (I, II, III, & IV) and the seven Board Members vote and rank the top GK and 10 field players regardless of Division to create the 11 player MIHSSCA Dream Team.
United Soccer Coaches All-Great Lakes Region Honors
Players ranked #1-7 on the Dream Team list will qualify for USC All-Great Lakes Region Honors
Players ranked #1 (MIHSSCA Mr/Ms Soccer) and #2 in the Dream Team list will qualify for USC All-American Honors. They will be invited to attend the USC All American Breakfast at their yearly convention.
These numbers are dependent on how many High School coaches in Michigan are registered with United Soccer Coaches. Therefore, these number may increase or decrease. It is a year to year process.
Players will only qualify for these honors if their coach is a member of the United Soccer Coaches. Coaches can register any time allowing their player to be eligible for this honor.
The Dream Team Committee Also Selects:
Private School COY
Large School COY
Small School COY
** The clarification between Large and Small School only requires that the enrollment of the Small school be less than that of the Large school.
Other Awards Players May Qualify For:
Team Academic All-State Award (register entire roster and list each player’s GPA)
Teams with GPA above 3.3 earn the Team Academic All-State Award
** If you have freshmen on your team that do not have a GPA yet, you may leave them off the roster or wait till the end of the first semester/trimester and then add them.
Individual Academic All-State Award
Players must be a Senior with a GPA of 3.5 or higher to earn the Individual Academic All-State Award
Larry Kuzinar Scholarship (2)
Seniors may submit entries with their academic and athletic accomplishments. Link to this scholarship is on the website. Entries are due each year by May 15th. Winners will be presented award at the Spring All State Banquet
