Wherever you live, you’ve probably been bludgeoned by the overused phrase that “Everything’s bigger in Texas.” It’s an archaic phrase that’s been pounded into the American consciousness like gold filigree into an illuminated manuscript, but there’s some truth to it. Texas high schools in 2014-15 are proof.

The UIL, the governing body for Texas’ panoply of public schools, expanded to include a big-school 6A division beginning in the fall. Volleyball and football were the first to test out the new designation, and this month soccer dives into its winter season in Texas. The state’s locus of power resides firmly over the DFW Metroplex, where the majority of the state’s soccer talent resides (how Houston has fared so poorly in state tournaments is still something of a mystery).

The 6A designation is earmarked for the state’s biggest schools, which the UIL deemed too big to operate at the 5A level. Many of them eclipse 3,000 students. Previously, Texas only had 4A and 5A classifications for soccer, forcing 3A schools to play up in 4A if they wanted competitive soccer and all but shutting down the smallest 1A and 2A programs. A sign of a state where football is king and soccer hardly registers by comparison.

Naturally, nearly all of the state’s 6A programs are located in major population centers. The most densely clustered is in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. At least in girls soccer, which kicked off in tandem with the boys on Jan. 8, schedule-makers didn’t do the region any favors. Hebron, Plano West and McKinney Boyd combined to win each of the last four girls 5A state titles. Incredibly, the new realignment put all three in the same soccer district, 6-6A. All three will undoubtedly make the playoffs, but arguably the best three-seed in state history will emerge from this district and wreck shop in the postseason.

As for defending champs, 2015 should be interesting for Texas soccer, the last of the seven winter states to swing into its season. On the girls side, 4A Austin Vandegrift became the first Austin school to win a state title in the 32-year history of the UIL. With the new alignment pushing 3A to 4A, 4A to 5A and 5A to 6A, Vandegrift is now a 5A program on the hunt for two straight. Last year’s 5A girls title went to Lewisville Hebron, which shocked two-time defending champ Plano West in penalties.  In an mouthwatering twist, they’ll face each other as 6A district foes this year.

The boys side is a bit more fragmented, in that not every 5A final four team made the jump to 6A. Last year’s 5A final was won by Northwest Nelson, which is now a 6A program in a tough Dallas-area district with the Denton and Keller schools, which always produce talent. Frisco Wakeland, the team Nelson dropped in the final, avoided the big classification and stayed in 5A, which was a massive boost to their chances of getting back and winning the whole thing this time. Also, keep an eye on south Texas school Pharr Valley View. That program is 48-5 over the last two seasons and is the only 4A boys team to make back-to-back appearances in the 4A state tournament. As a 5A program this year, can they break through and win state?

Last year’s boys 5A champ was Fort Bend Clements, the only Houston area school to win a soccer state title in 2014. A shocking 3-0 demolition of Dallas power Coppell finished an outstanding season for a program with high hopes in 2015. The District 23-6A favorite got a favorable league grouping and should be tipped to make it into the regional playoffs at the very least. As always, keep an eye peeled for Coppell, consistently the best program in the state. Thankfully alignment czars kept chief rival Southlake Carroll in their district, meaning Coppell will have to fight just to nab a top seed for the playoffs.

Perhaps the best news about the addition of a 6A classification is that it opened the door for a number of smaller schools that didn’t previously have soccer programs. According to the UIL, 35 schools are starting soccer programs this year. The vast majority are smaller 3A or 4A schools that can now join the 4A soccer classification without worrying about much larger schools hogging the playoff spots.

It’s no secret Texas is a vast, untapped resource for soccer. Football’s stranglehold on the state’s high school imagination trickles up to the club level, which would benefit from more across-the-board participation. Now, hundreds of players who didn’t have access to the game competitively before have avenues to play. All good things.

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