With the Redhawks Boys soccer team finishing tied for 9th place in District, many may dismiss the team’s season as a failure without the full story.

When the latest Maxpreps rankings of 5A teams were taken on March 15, Frisco ISD boasted five teams in the top 11.

The problem: only four teams receive playoff berths, leaving one of the elite district teams home, leaving the Redhawks program to finish with a discouraging point total.

“Prior to getting into district play we had four wins against teams that got into the playoffs, so it’s a ridiculously tough district,” head soccer coach Fred Kaiser said. “It’s just how it is here in Frisco, if we were in another district we’d be top two or three.”

The team that came up short this year, Centennial, missed out on playoffs despite totaling 38 points in district, and being ranked 8th in the state.

“There’s a lot of statistics that could show we should’ve been in the playoffs, but we’re not,” Centennial head coach Bryan Thompson said. “Is it disappointing, absolutely, but that just comes with how things work in this district in Frisco.”

The perennial powerhouse of the district, Wakeland, has made the state championship the last four years, including championships in both 2017 and 2018.

Although the district season for a state championship contender can be an easy road, that wasn’t the case for the Wolverines.

Last year, Wakeland got fourth place in district, barely earning a playoff berth in what would be a state championship season.

“Wakeland actually lost the last game against Independence last year,” head soccer coach Fred Kaiser said. “Independence had one win in district and it was that game. They actually needed the win it wasn’t like they were sitting out players. If that would’ve gone differently, Frisco would have been the fourth seed. That’s what our district is. Our fourth place team is good enough to win a title. Our fifth place team is good enough to win a title. It is what it is.”

The fourth place team this year, lone star, drew District 10-5A champion Wylie East in the first round, and fell 3-2.

As their head soccer coach at Lone Star Clinton Hollingworth says, it’s often a grind to keep his players healthy.

“Our goal was to make the playoffs so we could have a shot at state,” Hollingworth said. “Wakeland making state with the fourth seed last year is a perfect example. So, it’s not necessarily the competition, it’s more about being healthy. Going into our playoff game we were missing five or six starters. So it’s just such a hard season to go through.”

The variables involved with the competitive district raise the question of whether or not the competition in the district is an advantage for Frisco teams.

“There is a plus and a minus,” Thompson said. “If you look at it from a district competition standpoint, that’s the plus, if you look at it from the grueling side. By the time we get to the playoffs everyone is kind of exhausted, then that’s a minus. But I have been here when the district was weaker and there’s problems associated with that as well.”

One common solution that the coaches seem to agree on: a split, where half of the Frisco ISD schools will be competing for the four playoff spots, not 10.

“It be nice to be split,” Kaiser said. “The district next door has six teams and we have ten. That’d be a little easier to stomach, but if you wanna be a state contender you gotta go through these teams. If you wanna have a couple games like other district teams have where you just hammer them and gain confidence. But it’s not, every game is a dogfight, or you’ll get punished. It be nice to have a break but it is what it is.”