Thursday, February 21, 2008
Look out high school soccer, here I come
Just before the Christmas holiday, I made the decision to get involved in coaching high school soccer - if I could find the right opportunity. It didn't take long, and it couldn't have come any closer to my home, or with a local school with a better pedigree. Although I've known for a while, I can now proudly announce that I am the new Head JV Coach for Potomac Falls Girls Soccer. Tryouts start Monday morning, then two weeks of practice, spring break, and then I'll be coming to a high school near you (if you're in Loudoun County that is, although we do play Chantilly late in the season).
If you come to a game, please say hello. I'll be the guy who thinks he's in charge, but deep down knows that teenage girls in large groups pretty much call all the shots!
We'll see how much time I have, and what the rules are about coaches blogging about high school games (there are A LOT of rules in Loudoun County), but if possible, I'll try to share my experiences here.
The most interesting thing for me, will not only be balancing my time between coaching in club and for high school, but how that experience will hopefully give me an inside line on the relations between the two. I know a lot of club coaches that think high school wears out their players, and a lot of high school coaches who say the same thing about club. Obviously, they're both right as most club team play right through the high school season.
My hope is the experience I gain help bridge some of those disconnects through future writings here.
Wish me luck!
PS. "Potomac Soccer Wire" has nothing at all to do with "Potomac Falls High School". It is a COMPLETE coincidence that I ended up coaching at a school that shares a name with the publication and web site I've been operating since 2006. Labels: Potomac Falls High School
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Youth soccer IQ training
You may or may not know that I am an active youth (and very shortly high school) coach based in Northern Virginia. Currently I coach a U13 girls team in WAGS, and as the girls' skills and maturity have reached a point to where game tactics can have a lot to do with results, we've begun really focusing on improving their "Soccer IQ". I've written about this before, but in short, Soccer IQ refers to the things about the game beyond specific skills and athleticism. Players with good Soccer IQ can tell you why they made a decision on the field, not just what that decision was. Understanding the "why" in their heads, leads to a dramatic improvement in their decision making and the efficiency of the learning.
While I've always encouraged our players - and their parents - to watch as much soccer live and on TV as possible, this winter we made it mandatory. Before our indoor games a Dulles, we all get together at someone's house and watch a game using a DVR so we can pause it and discuss the "why" behind what they're seeing the pros do. We also have assignments to watch at home, and then the players send me 100+ word emails describing what they watched. It is working really well, and has the whole team really thinking about what they're doing on the field and in our training sessions. In training, they're making connections between what I'm teaching and what they remember seeing on TV. When that connection - or should I say "recognition" - takes place, I feel like what I'm teaching is absorbed 300% more than trying to teach in the vacuum of "because Coach said so".
If you coach youth soccer, I hope you're focusing on Soccer IQ too. Your players are never too young to start learning the why behind the what in your teachings. Of course, if you've never played the game a decently high level yourself, odds are you'll have almost as much Soccer IQ learning to do as your players. Let's face it, there just wasn't that much opportunity to watch pro soccer live or on TV when most of today's coaches were growing up. No matter what your own Soccer IQ is today, watching, reading, and playing more yourself - with an analytical antenna hoisted - will do wonders for the effectiveness of your training sessions. Personally, I've become a far better player tactically and emotionally since I started coaching and studying the game. I only wish my youth coaches in the 80's had worked on my Soccer IQ as much as they did screaming "run faster, kick harder".
I'll leave you with one of the first 100-word reports I received last week from two of the players on our U13 girls team after watching Chelsea v Hudderesfield in FA Cup action last week. Needless to say both these players started in our first full-sided pre-season scrimmage yesterday! This is the kind of passion for the game that drives players to work hard on their own, away from formal training. That is the key to becoming a great player!
Enjoy, and remember, they're just 13, so have a very unique view of some things (and little idea what the FA Cup is).
Coach Chris,
C---- and I watched the Chelsea vs. Huddersfield Town game. The game was for the FA cup round 5, Chelsea was blue and Huddersfield Town was black. They played in Stamford Bridge London, England. Chelsea played in a 4-3-2-1 formation, in Chelsea’s formation, number 17 Sinclair played my position and number 20 Ferreira played C----’s position. Huddersfield Town played in a 3-4-1-2 formation, in Huddersfield Town formation, number 7 Brandon played my position and number 6 Clark played C----’s position. Huddersfield Town had the first shot and the first foul of the game. We noticed many small things that they did during the game, for example, they didn’t have any pressure when they were passing in defense, they did many drop passes, and used the whole field. Also they kept the ball under control almost the whole time, they headed the ball whenever they could, and they attacked all the balls and did a lot of slide tackling. During the game they took a lot of corners but not many throw ins goal kicks. The first goal scored was by Chelsea’s Frank Lampard number 8, Sinclair number 17 crossed it in from out wide and Lampard finished. Next goal was by Huddersfield Town’s Collins number 4 he controlled the ball out of the air and scored. Following that goal Chelsea scored again, Lampard 8 shot but the goalie got it and he followed his shot and scored. Another goal scored by Chelsea was by Pazzio, he dribbled through all the defenders and number 13 scored but it was called off sides. The last goal was scored by Chelsea, again, number 21 Kalou cut the ball past the defenders and megged the goalie. Chelsea dominated the game in possession and the ending score was 3-1 Chelsea.
RANDOM FACTS:
Birds flew on the field!
Owner of Chelsea is a fat Billionaire!
Avrum Grant, the coach of Chelsea, looks like a troll!
Side ref looks like a giraffe!
Williams blocked a goal like lessh did!
They had balloons!
NUMBER 29, PAGE AKA BALDY!!!
love your favorite players,
Friday, February 8, 2008
Real Maryland in World Cup qualifying
World Cup qualifying in CONCACAF had a busy weekend. Former D.C. United players Ronald Cerritos and Eliseo Quintanilla both scored in El Salvador’s 12-0 embarrassment Anguilla. Cerritos scored a hat-trick while Quintanilla scored once.
With Cerritos planning to continue his professional career in our area with upstart Real Maryland of United Soccer Leagues, his scoring efforts are a positive sign, and plenty to get the sizable local Salvadoran population excited.
However, the completely lopsided score couldn’t have made organizers of the next leg at RFK Stadium happy, as it’s hard to imagine many people will pay to watch another drubbing. Will Anguilla even send a team?
Wouldn't it be great if the El Salvadoran team gave some local DC talent the dream chance at earning a cap? If they spent the right amount of time here scouting area men's leagues, no doubt they could field a full team easily capable of not giving up 12 goals in what is supposed to be a home game for Anguilla at RFK stadium on March 26th.
Why is a game at RFK a home game for Anguilla? Apparently, they could not offer a suitable facility to host an international match, but couldn't have been happy that CONCACAF approved RFK. The Washington D.C. region boasts the 2nd largest concentration of Salvadorans in the world.
Speaking of Real Maryland, Daryl Ferguson was not called in by Barbados for their World Cup qualifing draw against Dominca. The new USL pro team making their home at the Maryland Soccerplex kicks off pre-season training this Sunday at 9 am on field 20. The public is welcome.Labels: Anguilla, Barbados, daryl ferguson, Dominica, El Salvador, Eliseo Quintanilla, Maryland Soccerplex, real maryland, RFK, Ronald Cerritos, World Cup
Thursday, February 7, 2008
U.S. Men's teams quotes following Mexico match
Writing from the hotel in Houston before headed to I-Hop (to fill my tank), the gas station (to fill the car's tank), and to the airport (hopefully to a plane with a full tank).
Attending a U.S. Men's away game is always a whirlwind of great memories, fueled just as much by the people you meet as by the game itself. Alex (my friend and photographer who accompanied me to Houston) and I even met two guys that flew in from Alaska just for game. How cool is that!
More later on the game itself. For now, enjoy my first set of PSW-exclusive post-game quotes from U.S. players.
Oguchi Onyewu (Man of the Match)
On the physicality of the game.
"I didn't think it was very physical. Maybe they did, but you know. For me it was alright. If they wanted to get physical, that was fine. It's like my playground. It was OK. A couple of nasty words were exchanged here and there, but that's part of the game."
On how special would it be for you to play a world cup qualifier at RFK stadium in front of friends and family?
"I think it's about time. I don't remember the last time we played in DC. It's really interesting for the U.S. National team not to play in our nations capitol for so long. I'm hoping that sooner or later we're going to have a friendly or a qualifer over there. It would be great to play in front of my home fans and family."
Freddy Adu
On how special would it be to play a World Cup qualifier in DC?
"Obviously it would be great. That's where I started. To go back to play in front of those fans would be a dream come true. It would be amazing."
On how many tickets he would need for friends and family?
"It would be like 300 [laughs]. It would be awesome."
On if he expected to play forward tonight.
"I didn't know if I was play at all or not. I was just happy I got in. Wherever the coach puts you, you've got to go in and help the team. My instructions were to go in and maintain possession and get some fouls. Obviously it [his impact] could have been better, but I was able to help the team out in that regard."
On getting the chance to play with Jozy Altidore again after the U-20 World Cup.
"It was great. It's been a long time and to get a chance to play with him again was great."
Tim Howard On the 2nd half altercation away from the ball and if any real blows were landed.
"No, he slid in and.. it was really nothing. He thought it was clean, and I thought it was a foul. We wound up on top of each other and it's a typical US, Mexico game. Two players wind up on top of each other, we're not getting off easy so.. It was a little bit of a scuffle and push, that's all."
Labels: Freddy Adu, Mexico, Oguchi Onyewu, Tim Howard, U.S. Men
Friday, February 1, 2008
Mouth guards for High School soccer - are you kidding?
From the “You have got to be kidding me” department, this is just shocking. Will the ignorance to our game by sports administrators ever come to an end? The Virginia Beach schools Superintendent thinks all soccer players should wear mouth guards.
If you don’t want there to be precedent for this, I hope you’ll join the fight against it and voice your opinion to the school ASAP – there’s even a petition.
The need to clearly communicate to teammates on the field at all times is essential to playing the game properly. So much so, that not being able to yell “Man On” is probably more dangerous to players than any risk of mouth injury. If you’ve ever been tackled from behind unexpectedly, then you know what I’m talking about. I’d rather get a bloody lip than a broken ankle!
To me, this requirement is the equivalent of asking football players not to tackle, or telling basketball players they’re not allowed to jump – communicating on a soccer field is that important.
In 30 years of playing 2-3 times per week, I’ve NEVER had a mouth injury, or seen anyone on either team with one. I’ve broken a leg, sprained ankles, suffered hip flexors, pulled muscles, and had stitches on eyebrows four times as the result of head collisions. I rarely play an outdoor game without bleeding from the knee from sliding, or on the shins or ankles from being kicked.
In my book, introducing mouth guards for safety would have get in line behind having to wear full head gear, hip pads, knee pads, and never allowing anyone to slide tackle. It’s that silly of an idea when weighed against how it would inhibit the fundamentals of how the game is played.
If government officials really cared about safety, they’d take better care of fields and not expect us to play with rocks and 3-inch grass clumps. They’d also force home teams caught without anchored goals to forfeit. I hope you’ll get on the web, phone, and snail male and let this guy know you feel the same.Labels: high school, injuries, mouth guards
If you come to a game, please say hello. I'll be the guy who thinks he's in charge, but deep down knows that teenage girls in large groups pretty much call all the shots!
We'll see how much time I have, and what the rules are about coaches blogging about high school games (there are A LOT of rules in Loudoun County), but if possible, I'll try to share my experiences here.
The most interesting thing for me, will not only be balancing my time between coaching in club and for high school, but how that experience will hopefully give me an inside line on the relations between the two. I know a lot of club coaches that think high school wears out their players, and a lot of high school coaches who say the same thing about club. Obviously, they're both right as most club team play right through the high school season.
My hope is the experience I gain help bridge some of those disconnects through future writings here.
Wish me luck!
PS. "Potomac Soccer Wire" has nothing at all to do with "Potomac Falls High School". It is a COMPLETE coincidence that I ended up coaching at a school that shares a name with the publication and web site I've been operating since 2006.
Labels: Potomac Falls High School
You may or may not know that I am an active youth (and very shortly high school) coach based in Northern Virginia. Currently I coach a U13 girls team in WAGS, and as the girls' skills and maturity have reached a point to where game tactics can have a lot to do with results, we've begun really focusing on improving their "Soccer IQ". I've written about this before, but in short, Soccer IQ refers to the things about the game beyond specific skills and athleticism. Players with good Soccer IQ can tell you why they made a decision on the field, not just what that decision was. Understanding the "why" in their heads, leads to a dramatic improvement in their decision making and the efficiency of the learning.
While I've always encouraged our players - and their parents - to watch as much soccer live and on TV as possible, this winter we made it mandatory. Before our indoor games a Dulles, we all get together at someone's house and watch a game using a DVR so we can pause it and discuss the "why" behind what they're seeing the pros do. We also have assignments to watch at home, and then the players send me 100+ word emails describing what they watched. It is working really well, and has the whole team really thinking about what they're doing on the field and in our training sessions. In training, they're making connections between what I'm teaching and what they remember seeing on TV. When that connection - or should I say "recognition" - takes place, I feel like what I'm teaching is absorbed 300% more than trying to teach in the vacuum of "because Coach said so".
If you coach youth soccer, I hope you're focusing on Soccer IQ too. Your players are never too young to start learning the why behind the what in your teachings. Of course, if you've never played the game a decently high level yourself, odds are you'll have almost as much Soccer IQ learning to do as your players. Let's face it, there just wasn't that much opportunity to watch pro soccer live or on TV when most of today's coaches were growing up. No matter what your own Soccer IQ is today, watching, reading, and playing more yourself - with an analytical antenna hoisted - will do wonders for the effectiveness of your training sessions. Personally, I've become a far better player tactically and emotionally since I started coaching and studying the game. I only wish my youth coaches in the 80's had worked on my Soccer IQ as much as they did screaming "run faster, kick harder".
I'll leave you with one of the first 100-word reports I received last week from two of the players on our U13 girls team after watching Chelsea v Hudderesfield in FA Cup action last week. Needless to say both these players started in our first full-sided pre-season scrimmage yesterday! This is the kind of passion for the game that drives players to work hard on their own, away from formal training. That is the key to becoming a great player!
Enjoy, and remember, they're just 13, so have a very unique view of some things (and little idea what the FA Cup is).
While I've always encouraged our players - and their parents - to watch as much soccer live and on TV as possible, this winter we made it mandatory. Before our indoor games a Dulles, we all get together at someone's house and watch a game using a DVR so we can pause it and discuss the "why" behind what they're seeing the pros do. We also have assignments to watch at home, and then the players send me 100+ word emails describing what they watched. It is working really well, and has the whole team really thinking about what they're doing on the field and in our training sessions. In training, they're making connections between what I'm teaching and what they remember seeing on TV. When that connection - or should I say "recognition" - takes place, I feel like what I'm teaching is absorbed 300% more than trying to teach in the vacuum of "because Coach said so".
If you coach youth soccer, I hope you're focusing on Soccer IQ too. Your players are never too young to start learning the why behind the what in your teachings. Of course, if you've never played the game a decently high level yourself, odds are you'll have almost as much Soccer IQ learning to do as your players. Let's face it, there just wasn't that much opportunity to watch pro soccer live or on TV when most of today's coaches were growing up. No matter what your own Soccer IQ is today, watching, reading, and playing more yourself - with an analytical antenna hoisted - will do wonders for the effectiveness of your training sessions. Personally, I've become a far better player tactically and emotionally since I started coaching and studying the game. I only wish my youth coaches in the 80's had worked on my Soccer IQ as much as they did screaming "run faster, kick harder".
I'll leave you with one of the first 100-word reports I received last week from two of the players on our U13 girls team after watching Chelsea v Hudderesfield in FA Cup action last week. Needless to say both these players started in our first full-sided pre-season scrimmage yesterday! This is the kind of passion for the game that drives players to work hard on their own, away from formal training. That is the key to becoming a great player!
Enjoy, and remember, they're just 13, so have a very unique view of some things (and little idea what the FA Cup is).
Coach Chris,
C---- and I watched the Chelsea vs. Huddersfield Town game. The game was for the FA cup round 5, Chelsea was blue and Huddersfield Town was black. They played in Stamford Bridge London, England. Chelsea played in a 4-3-2-1 formation, in Chelsea’s formation, number 17 Sinclair played my position and number 20 Ferreira played C----’s position. Huddersfield Town played in a 3-4-1-2 formation, in Huddersfield Town formation, number 7 Brandon played my position and number 6 Clark played C----’s position. Huddersfield Town had the first shot and the first foul of the game. We noticed many small things that they did during the game, for example, they didn’t have any pressure when they were passing in defense, they did many drop passes, and used the whole field. Also they kept the ball under control almost the whole time, they headed the ball whenever they could, and they attacked all the balls and did a lot of slide tackling. During the game they took a lot of corners but not many throw ins goal kicks. The first goal scored was by Chelsea’s Frank Lampard number 8, Sinclair number 17 crossed it in from out wide and Lampard finished. Next goal was by Huddersfield Town’s Collins number 4 he controlled the ball out of the air and scored. Following that goal Chelsea scored again, Lampard 8 shot but the goalie got it and he followed his shot and scored. Another goal scored by Chelsea was by Pazzio, he dribbled through all the defenders and number 13 scored but it was called off sides. The last goal was scored by Chelsea, again, number 21 Kalou cut the ball past the defenders and megged the goalie. Chelsea dominated the game in possession and the ending score was 3-1 Chelsea.
RANDOM FACTS:
Birds flew on the field!
Owner of Chelsea is a fat Billionaire!
Avrum Grant, the coach of Chelsea, looks like a troll!
Side ref looks like a giraffe!
Williams blocked a goal like lessh did!
They had balloons!
NUMBER 29, PAGE AKA BALDY!!!
love your favorite players,
Friday, February 8, 2008
Real Maryland in World Cup qualifying
World Cup qualifying in CONCACAF had a busy weekend. Former D.C. United players Ronald Cerritos and Eliseo Quintanilla both scored in El Salvador’s 12-0 embarrassment Anguilla. Cerritos scored a hat-trick while Quintanilla scored once.
With Cerritos planning to continue his professional career in our area with upstart Real Maryland of United Soccer Leagues, his scoring efforts are a positive sign, and plenty to get the sizable local Salvadoran population excited.
However, the completely lopsided score couldn’t have made organizers of the next leg at RFK Stadium happy, as it’s hard to imagine many people will pay to watch another drubbing. Will Anguilla even send a team?
Wouldn't it be great if the El Salvadoran team gave some local DC talent the dream chance at earning a cap? If they spent the right amount of time here scouting area men's leagues, no doubt they could field a full team easily capable of not giving up 12 goals in what is supposed to be a home game for Anguilla at RFK stadium on March 26th.
Why is a game at RFK a home game for Anguilla? Apparently, they could not offer a suitable facility to host an international match, but couldn't have been happy that CONCACAF approved RFK. The Washington D.C. region boasts the 2nd largest concentration of Salvadorans in the world.
Speaking of Real Maryland, Daryl Ferguson was not called in by Barbados for their World Cup qualifing draw against Dominca. The new USL pro team making their home at the Maryland Soccerplex kicks off pre-season training this Sunday at 9 am on field 20. The public is welcome.Labels: Anguilla, Barbados, daryl ferguson, Dominica, El Salvador, Eliseo Quintanilla, Maryland Soccerplex, real maryland, RFK, Ronald Cerritos, World Cup
Thursday, February 7, 2008
U.S. Men's teams quotes following Mexico match
Writing from the hotel in Houston before headed to I-Hop (to fill my tank), the gas station (to fill the car's tank), and to the airport (hopefully to a plane with a full tank).
Attending a U.S. Men's away game is always a whirlwind of great memories, fueled just as much by the people you meet as by the game itself. Alex (my friend and photographer who accompanied me to Houston) and I even met two guys that flew in from Alaska just for game. How cool is that!
More later on the game itself. For now, enjoy my first set of PSW-exclusive post-game quotes from U.S. players.
Oguchi Onyewu (Man of the Match)
On the physicality of the game.
"I didn't think it was very physical. Maybe they did, but you know. For me it was alright. If they wanted to get physical, that was fine. It's like my playground. It was OK. A couple of nasty words were exchanged here and there, but that's part of the game."
On how special would it be for you to play a world cup qualifier at RFK stadium in front of friends and family?
"I think it's about time. I don't remember the last time we played in DC. It's really interesting for the U.S. National team not to play in our nations capitol for so long. I'm hoping that sooner or later we're going to have a friendly or a qualifer over there. It would be great to play in front of my home fans and family."
Freddy Adu
On how special would it be to play a World Cup qualifier in DC?
"Obviously it would be great. That's where I started. To go back to play in front of those fans would be a dream come true. It would be amazing."
On how many tickets he would need for friends and family?
"It would be like 300 [laughs]. It would be awesome."
On if he expected to play forward tonight.
"I didn't know if I was play at all or not. I was just happy I got in. Wherever the coach puts you, you've got to go in and help the team. My instructions were to go in and maintain possession and get some fouls. Obviously it [his impact] could have been better, but I was able to help the team out in that regard."
On getting the chance to play with Jozy Altidore again after the U-20 World Cup.
"It was great. It's been a long time and to get a chance to play with him again was great."
Tim Howard On the 2nd half altercation away from the ball and if any real blows were landed.
"No, he slid in and.. it was really nothing. He thought it was clean, and I thought it was a foul. We wound up on top of each other and it's a typical US, Mexico game. Two players wind up on top of each other, we're not getting off easy so.. It was a little bit of a scuffle and push, that's all."
Labels: Freddy Adu, Mexico, Oguchi Onyewu, Tim Howard, U.S. Men
Friday, February 1, 2008
Mouth guards for High School soccer - are you kidding?
From the “You have got to be kidding me” department, this is just shocking. Will the ignorance to our game by sports administrators ever come to an end? The Virginia Beach schools Superintendent thinks all soccer players should wear mouth guards.
If you don’t want there to be precedent for this, I hope you’ll join the fight against it and voice your opinion to the school ASAP – there’s even a petition.
The need to clearly communicate to teammates on the field at all times is essential to playing the game properly. So much so, that not being able to yell “Man On” is probably more dangerous to players than any risk of mouth injury. If you’ve ever been tackled from behind unexpectedly, then you know what I’m talking about. I’d rather get a bloody lip than a broken ankle!
To me, this requirement is the equivalent of asking football players not to tackle, or telling basketball players they’re not allowed to jump – communicating on a soccer field is that important.
In 30 years of playing 2-3 times per week, I’ve NEVER had a mouth injury, or seen anyone on either team with one. I’ve broken a leg, sprained ankles, suffered hip flexors, pulled muscles, and had stitches on eyebrows four times as the result of head collisions. I rarely play an outdoor game without bleeding from the knee from sliding, or on the shins or ankles from being kicked.
In my book, introducing mouth guards for safety would have get in line behind having to wear full head gear, hip pads, knee pads, and never allowing anyone to slide tackle. It’s that silly of an idea when weighed against how it would inhibit the fundamentals of how the game is played.
If government officials really cared about safety, they’d take better care of fields and not expect us to play with rocks and 3-inch grass clumps. They’d also force home teams caught without anchored goals to forfeit. I hope you’ll get on the web, phone, and snail male and let this guy know you feel the same.Labels: high school, injuries, mouth guards
With Cerritos planning to continue his professional career in our area with upstart Real Maryland of United Soccer Leagues, his scoring efforts are a positive sign, and plenty to get the sizable local Salvadoran population excited.
However, the completely lopsided score couldn’t have made organizers of the next leg at RFK Stadium happy, as it’s hard to imagine many people will pay to watch another drubbing. Will Anguilla even send a team?
Wouldn't it be great if the El Salvadoran team gave some local DC talent the dream chance at earning a cap? If they spent the right amount of time here scouting area men's leagues, no doubt they could field a full team easily capable of not giving up 12 goals in what is supposed to be a home game for Anguilla at RFK stadium on March 26th.
Why is a game at RFK a home game for Anguilla? Apparently, they could not offer a suitable facility to host an international match, but couldn't have been happy that CONCACAF approved RFK. The Washington D.C. region boasts the 2nd largest concentration of Salvadorans in the world.
Speaking of Real Maryland, Daryl Ferguson was not called in by Barbados for their World Cup qualifing draw against Dominca. The new USL pro team making their home at the Maryland Soccerplex kicks off pre-season training this Sunday at 9 am on field 20. The public is welcome.
Labels: Anguilla, Barbados, daryl ferguson, Dominica, El Salvador, Eliseo Quintanilla, Maryland Soccerplex, real maryland, RFK, Ronald Cerritos, World Cup
Writing from the hotel in Houston before headed to I-Hop (to fill my tank), the gas station (to fill the car's tank), and to the airport (hopefully to a plane with a full tank).
Attending a U.S. Men's away game is always a whirlwind of great memories, fueled just as much by the people you meet as by the game itself. Alex (my friend and photographer who accompanied me to Houston) and I even met two guys that flew in from Alaska just for game. How cool is that!
More later on the game itself. For now, enjoy my first set of PSW-exclusive post-game quotes from U.S. players.
Oguchi Onyewu (Man of the Match)
On getting the chance to play with Jozy Altidore again after the U-20 World Cup.
"It was great. It's been a long time and to get a chance to play with him again was great."
Tim Howard
Attending a U.S. Men's away game is always a whirlwind of great memories, fueled just as much by the people you meet as by the game itself. Alex (my friend and photographer who accompanied me to Houston) and I even met two guys that flew in from Alaska just for game. How cool is that!
More later on the game itself. For now, enjoy my first set of PSW-exclusive post-game quotes from U.S. players.
Oguchi Onyewu (Man of the Match)
On the physicality of the game.
"I didn't think it was very physical. Maybe they did, but you know. For me it was alright. If they wanted to get physical, that was fine. It's like my playground. It was OK. A couple of nasty words were exchanged here and there, but that's part of the game."
On how special would it be for you to play a world cup qualifier at RFK stadium in front of friends and family?
"I think it's about time. I don't remember the last time we played in DC. It's really interesting for the U.S. National team not to play in our nations capitol for so long. I'm hoping that sooner or later we're going to have a friendly or a qualifer over there. It would be great to play in front of my home fans and family."
Freddy Adu
On how special would it be to play a World Cup qualifier in DC?
"Obviously it would be great. That's where I started. To go back to play in front of those fans would be a dream come true. It would be amazing."
On how many tickets he would need for friends and family?
"It would be like 300 [laughs]. It would be awesome."
On if he expected to play forward tonight.
"I didn't know if I was play at all or not. I was just happy I got in. Wherever the coach puts you, you've got to go in and help the team. My instructions were to go in and maintain possession and get some fouls. Obviously it [his impact] could have been better, but I was able to help the team out in that regard."
On getting the chance to play with Jozy Altidore again after the U-20 World Cup.
"It was great. It's been a long time and to get a chance to play with him again was great."
Tim Howard
On the 2nd half altercation away from the ball and if any real blows were landed.
"No, he slid in and.. it was really nothing. He thought it was clean, and I thought it was a foul. We wound up on top of each other and it's a typical US, Mexico game. Two players wind up on top of each other, we're not getting off easy so.. It was a little bit of a scuffle and push, that's all."
Labels: Freddy Adu, Mexico, Oguchi Onyewu, Tim Howard, U.S. Men
Friday, February 1, 2008
Mouth guards for High School soccer - are you kidding?
From the “You have got to be kidding me” department, this is just shocking. Will the ignorance to our game by sports administrators ever come to an end? The Virginia Beach schools Superintendent thinks all soccer players should wear mouth guards.
If you don’t want there to be precedent for this, I hope you’ll join the fight against it and voice your opinion to the school ASAP – there’s even a petition.
The need to clearly communicate to teammates on the field at all times is essential to playing the game properly. So much so, that not being able to yell “Man On” is probably more dangerous to players than any risk of mouth injury. If you’ve ever been tackled from behind unexpectedly, then you know what I’m talking about. I’d rather get a bloody lip than a broken ankle!
To me, this requirement is the equivalent of asking football players not to tackle, or telling basketball players they’re not allowed to jump – communicating on a soccer field is that important.
In 30 years of playing 2-3 times per week, I’ve NEVER had a mouth injury, or seen anyone on either team with one. I’ve broken a leg, sprained ankles, suffered hip flexors, pulled muscles, and had stitches on eyebrows four times as the result of head collisions. I rarely play an outdoor game without bleeding from the knee from sliding, or on the shins or ankles from being kicked.
In my book, introducing mouth guards for safety would have get in line behind having to wear full head gear, hip pads, knee pads, and never allowing anyone to slide tackle. It’s that silly of an idea when weighed against how it would inhibit the fundamentals of how the game is played.
If government officials really cared about safety, they’d take better care of fields and not expect us to play with rocks and 3-inch grass clumps. They’d also force home teams caught without anchored goals to forfeit. I hope you’ll get on the web, phone, and snail male and let this guy know you feel the same.Labels: high school, injuries, mouth guards
If you don’t want there to be precedent for this, I hope you’ll join the fight against it and voice your opinion to the school ASAP – there’s even a petition.
The need to clearly communicate to teammates on the field at all times is essential to playing the game properly. So much so, that not being able to yell “Man On” is probably more dangerous to players than any risk of mouth injury. If you’ve ever been tackled from behind unexpectedly, then you know what I’m talking about. I’d rather get a bloody lip than a broken ankle!
To me, this requirement is the equivalent of asking football players not to tackle, or telling basketball players they’re not allowed to jump – communicating on a soccer field is that important.
In 30 years of playing 2-3 times per week, I’ve NEVER had a mouth injury, or seen anyone on either team with one. I’ve broken a leg, sprained ankles, suffered hip flexors, pulled muscles, and had stitches on eyebrows four times as the result of head collisions. I rarely play an outdoor game without bleeding from the knee from sliding, or on the shins or ankles from being kicked.
In my book, introducing mouth guards for safety would have get in line behind having to wear full head gear, hip pads, knee pads, and never allowing anyone to slide tackle. It’s that silly of an idea when weighed against how it would inhibit the fundamentals of how the game is played.
If government officials really cared about safety, they’d take better care of fields and not expect us to play with rocks and 3-inch grass clumps. They’d also force home teams caught without anchored goals to forfeit. I hope you’ll get on the web, phone, and snail male and let this guy know you feel the same.
Labels: high school, injuries, mouth guards
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