Kudos to the Naperville Central girls soccer program for winning a share of its 12th conference title under head coach Ed Watson.

For years, many people wondered if Hinsdale Central girls coach Skip Begley would ever win a IHSA tournament title. The longtime coach finally did last spring.

Now, the same is being said about Watson.

- Joe Trost

The Chicago area is full of talented girls soccer players this spring, as is the case most seasons. And if I was starting a team, my No. 1 pick would be Glenbrook South's Jannelle Flaws.

Hands down, no doubt about it.

I've watched her play a number of times over the past two seasons, and a number of college coaches and I spoke about her recently during the Pepsi Showdown. They all raved, too.

Flaws' size, aggressive play, speed and just pure confidence on the field sets her apart from the rest. Now, does that mean she is the best all-around player this spring? No. But I do think she has the athletic skills to play in the midfield or lead a defensive backline, too, which is why she would be my No. 1 pick.

- Joe Trost

I know, I know - Trost come on. It's been an extremely busy, fun and interesting two-month stretch. From the Pepsi Showdown (116 games in 11 days) to traveling all over, I'm ready for life to slow down a little bit.

OK, enough about that, but just wanted you to know. Let's get back to this:

Kudos to former co-worker Phil Brozynski, who covers volleyball for the Sun-Times. His latest blog talks about how boys volleyball coaches are fed up with the IHSA tournament.

Here's a piece of Brozynski's latest blog: Last year, Waubonsie Valley boys volleyball coach Al Lagger asked outgoing IHSA assistant executive director Sue Henrichsen about possible changes to the state tournament to provide balance to what is clearly an imbalanced system. "She said they (the IHSA) were not interested in crowning a state champion," Lagger said. "They were interested in geographic representation. So I told her that maybe they should call it a 'geographically representative' tournament, because it certainly is not a state tournament." The annual IHSA "geographically representative" boys volleyball tournament gets under way on Monday, May 24 with regional quarterfinals, and one does not have to look far to find some early pairings that make you go "huh?" If a "state tournament" is what you want...try Wisconsin.

It's a point I've been hammering on for years, and until soccer coaches get together as one to change this, the system will continue to be a joke. The IHSA says it's run by its membership, and the time has come for its membership to grow a pair (as a whole) and do something.

More blogs to come later today and this week. 

- Joe Trost