GSA 00 Phoenix Boys Academy Announcements

Rosters for Pre-Season Tourneys

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:57:08 GMT

Hope everyone had a restful break. Below I've listed the rosters for the three upcoming tournaments. Please let me know if you are unavailable for your assigned event.

Also, Vulcan Cup (March 3rd-4th) is actually in Birmingham, AL. That tournament will carry the additional cost of travel, food, hotel, etc. We will need to begin the accommodation process very soon, so please let me know if you'd rather pass on this event.

Looking ahead, we will take another team to the FC Alliance Tournament in TN the weekend of April 21st-22nd. We have not decided if this will be an 11v11 team or an 8v8 team. We will likely include many of the players that either did not go to the Vulcan Cup or did not get to attend the Brentwood tournament last Fall. More on that tournament as the date draws nearer. I just wanted to give you a heads up as early as possible.

Finally, we will be adding a 3rd optional night of training on Thursdays once we resume training at the main complex. It will likely be around the normal practice time, but only one hour. Next week we will still be at Crossroads.

Let me know if you have any questions.

	Feb 11-12th - Alpharetta Academy Cup
		Lazio
		Jared Causey
		Spencer Decuir
		Pete Fedyk
		Mitchell Greene
		Dominic Herbert
		Jacob Kammer
		Marcus Lennen
		Michael Lennen
		James Moore
		Jack Moynihan
		Fady Yanni

	Feb 25-26th - Concorde Challenge Cup
	Juventus		Roma
1	John Michael Bandy		Mathew Desmelik
2	Max Carlson (GK)		Daniel Donaldson
3	Spencer Decuir		Daniel Fuentes
4	Drew Donehoo		Mitchell Greene
5	Reed Heard		Jacob Kammer
6	Dominic Herbert		Sean Mathew
7	Cesar Mendoza		Carter Shafe
8	Jack Moynihan		Adrian Suarez
9	Oladapo Orelesi		Carter Swain
10	Josh Patino (GK)		Trey Thompson
11	Payton Rawson		Jacob Wright
12	Kareve Richards
13	Brandon Small
14	Bradley Stevens
15	Kurt Suhr


	March 3rd-4th - Vulcan Cup in Birmingham, AL
	Juventus
1	John Michael Bandy
2	Max Carlson (GK)
3	Spencer Decuir
4	Drew Donehoo
5	Reed Heard
6	Dominic Herbert
7	Cesar Mendoza
8	Jack Moynihan
9	Oladapo Orelesi
10	Josh Patino (GK)
11	Payton Rawson
12	Kareve Richards
13	Brandon Small
14	Bradley Stevens
15	Kurt Suhr

Drew Prentice

GSA Boys Academy Director

drew.prentice@gsasoccer.com

(706) 781-7332

Hat Tricks, Part Deux

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:31:57 GMT

I put new material on our World of Soccer blog about two amazing players with amazing hat tricks this weekend:

Clint Dempsey, the Fulham midfielder from Nacodoches Texas became the first US player ever to score a hat trick in an EPL league match (a 5-2 beat-down on Newcastle United). Earlier this season, Clint became the first US player to score a hat trick in an FA Cup match. Too bad NFL playoffs are getting all the media right now, because Clint is (in my humble opinion) becoming the best U.S. outfield player ever, and he deserves some props.

King Leo of Barcelona also had a hat trick that started with a header that could be put on a "how-to" video, and ended with a third goal from a solo run from midfield. I posted a video on our page (click on link below) - ya just gotta see it- and then watch it again - each time I watched it I saw some other little thing he did that amazed me.

http://www.gsa00boysacademy.com/HomeModule.aspx?id=469

Enjoy!

Brian Herbert

Welcome Back!

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 23:10:09 GMT

Parents,

I hope everyone has enjoyed a little time off, and are ready to get cranked back up for an exciting Spring season! I wanted to update everyone on the schedule for the upcoming months. Your coach will follow up with you over the next week or two to give you specifics on tournament rosters.

Please take a few moments over the next couple of days and be sure to register your son for the Spring season. This must be taken care of ASAP, so that we can put together our tournament rosters in enough time to register for the pre-season tournaments. Please do not procrastinate with this; it will save all the managers a few headaches if we can all get this done soon.

Thanks for all you do for your children and GSA!

1. First, a reminder that training will move to a Monday/Wednesday rhythm this Spring. Same times as the Fall.

2. Below I have listed the general schedule for the months of February through May. More details will follow but please put these dates on your calendar to avoid as many possible conflicts as possible.

January 30th: PRACTICE RESUMES (likely at Crossroads for the first week)

February 11/12th: Tournament

February 25/26th: Tournament

March 3rd: @ AFU

March 10th: @ NASA UQP

March 17th: @ Cobb YMCA

March 24th: @ UFA

March 25th: vs DSC

March 31st: Spring Break

April 7th: Spring Break

April 14th: vs. WGFC

April 15th: vs. TYSA

April 21st: vs. NASA MNP

April 28th: vs. AFC

May 5/6th: Tournament or Concorde

May 12/13th: Tournament or @ Cobb FC

May 19/20th: Tournament

May 26th: Tournament

**Academy Tryouts for 2012-2013 will be the week of May 29th**

Drew Prentice

GSA Boys Academy Director

drew.prentice@gsasoccer.com

(706) 781-7332

ESPN Article on Utility Players in the EPL

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 10:28:12 GMT

Hey Soccer Fans,

I posted an article from ESPN to our World of Soccer page. It's an interesting look at how utility players (those who can play more than one position effectively) have been game changers this year, for Man City, Barcelona, and several Italian Teams to name a few.

The article mentions that the increase over the years in the number of bench players allowed for a match has reduced the value placed on utility players in the EPL in England (increasing from 3 to 7 available on bench through rule changes over last 15 years).

But several successful club managers are going against that trend and finding a winning formula with utility players on their match day squad.

Stay versatile, my friends. Posted by Brian Herbert

here's the link to the article on our team site: http://www.gsa00boysacademy.com/HomeModule.aspx?id=469

Additional Winter Training Opportunity

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 12:15:03 GMT

Parents,

I wanted to let you know about the opportunity to receive some additional training in the month of January prior to the official start of the Spring season. Coach Bruno will lead these sessions along with 1-2 other coaches. If you are interested in this training opportunity, please contact Bruno ASAP by email or phone. Below is the breakdown for the weekly training. All this training will begin the week of January 2nd. This is an excellent way to knock off the winter rust, and be ready for the start of the Spring season.

Group Training (8 or more players): Interested Academy Players will train on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:00-7:30. Interested Select Players will train on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:00-7:30. The cost of the training is $75 per player for the whole month of January (8 sessions) if you an get a group of 8 players. The U9s and U10s will train together, and the U11s and U12s will train together. The select age groups will mix age groups as appropriate based on the number of players signed up. The first 3 weeks the focus will be solely on technical training: dribbling, weak foot dribbling and ball striking, finishing, passing, and futsal games nightly. The final week Bruno will add soccer specific speed, agility, and quickness training with and without the ball to prepare them for the start of the Spring season.

Small Group Training: If you would like training in a smaller group of 3-5 players, the cost is $25 per 1.5 hours and you can select the day and time.

Individual Training: For individual training, the cost is $50 per day and you may request the specific type of training you desire. This training will be on Fridays and Saturdays and last 1.5 hours.

Fun Fridays: On Fridays, Bruno is going to organize street soccer and juggling competitions where players will have "free play" during the street soccer portion and will learn juggling techniques and "tricks" during the juggling competitions. The cost for this Friday session is $25 and will be from 6:00-7:00.

For further questions or to sign up for this extra training, please contact Bruno Kalonji at:

bruno.kalonji@gsasoccer.com
678-789-2961

UNC win's men's title: pics & recap

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:35:56 GMT

Congrats to the UNC TarHeels in winning the Division I men's college soccer championship yesterday. They defeated UNC-Charlotte by 1-0.

I posted pictures and a match recap on the GSA 00 Boys' World of Soccer page on our site. Just click on this link: http://www.gsa00boysacademy.com/HomeModule.aspx?id=469

Brian H

Location for Evals - oops

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 07:07:56 GMT

Rather than sit/stand in the cold at GSA, we will meet at the Starbucks on the corner of HWY 124 and Webb Ginn Road. The address is below. I apologize for omitting this in the email on Saturday. I tried to send a second email once I realized the ommission but apparently that email didn't make out to you guys for some reason (it bounced back to my email).

Starbucks

1249 Hwy 124

Lawrenceville, GA

30045

Location for Evaluation - oops

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 06:58:34 GMT

Starbucks

1249 Hwy 124

Lawrenceville, GA

30045

Schedule for Evaluations Next Week

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 07:00:15 GMT

Parents,

Below is the schedule for evaluations last week. If you are unable to meet during your scheduled time, please contact another family to see if you can switch times with them. As soon as you find a better time or are unable to find a suitable "switch" please let me know, so I can update my schedule. Thanks, and I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season.

Location: Starbucks on the corner of HWY 124 and Webb Ginn House Road

Address:

1249 Hwy 124
Lawrenceville, GA
30045

Monday, December 12th		Wednesday, December 14th		Thursday, December 15th
Bandy, John Michael	5:30	Decuir, Spencer	5:30	Patino, Josh	5:30
	5:40		5:40	Small, Brandon	5:40
Causey, Jared	5:50	Moynihan, Jack	5:50	Stevens, Bradley	5:50
Kammer, Jacob	6:00	Matthew, Sean	6:00	Suarez, Adrian	6:00
Desmelik, Mathew	6:10	Mendoza, Cesar	6:10	Carlson, Max	6:10
Donaldson, Daniel	6:20	Moore, James	6:20	Swain, Carter	6:20
Donehoo, Drew	6:30	Lennen, Marcus	6:30	Thompson, Trey	6:30
Fedyk, Pete	6:40	Lennen, Michael	6:40	Wright, Jacob	6:40
Fuentes, Daniel	6:50	Shafe, Carter	6:50	Yanni, Fady	6:50
Greene, Mitchell	7:00	Rawson, Payton	7:00	Richards, Kareve Orelesi, Dapo	7:00 7:10
Heard, Reed	7:10	Suhr, Kurt	7:10
Herbert, Dominic	7:20

Evaluations, Spring Schedule, and MORE!

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 13:01:37 GMT

Parents,

I just wanted to thank all of you for your support over the course of the season. It says a lot about a group of parents that are willing to commit to a comprehensive Academy program like we have at GSA for the sake of their kids. Thank you, among many, many other things, for all those nights of waiting patiently as we trained your children longer than we anticipated and for those nights where mother nature inconveniently intervened with our plans at 4:45 in the afternoon. There will always be things that we can and will try to improve upon, but speaking from someone who has seen a lot of other clubs' atmospheres, GSA truly has a very special culture.

I had the opportunity to be at LOADS of games at both the TYSA tournament and our GSA Invitational and can say that from top to bottom there was definite, marked improvement in all the boys since the beginning of the season. It's always exciting to see players grow so much over such a short period of time.

Also, a HUGE thanks to all the parents and siblings that volunteered their time at the GSA Invitational. Without you, that tournament would not be possible. Congratulations to the following teams that made it to the finals:

GSA 02 Barelona - Finalists
GSA 02 Real Madrid - Finalists
GSA 01 Benfica - Champions *Played most of weekend with zero subs
GSA 01 Sporting - Champions
GSA 01 Porto - Champions

Updates - PLEASE READ CAREFULLY

Evaluations: Your age group coaching staff should be contacting you soon in regards to your player's Fall Evaluation. Each age group may be doing things slightly different, but essentially, we would like to steal 5-10 minutes of your time over the next two weeks and sit down with you and your player to have a chat about your child's development. This is a very important part of each player's development so please make every attempt to attend your individual evaluation. Please note that this time is set aside to congratulate your player on his success and also to let him know what he can do to improve his individual "game"; it's not the time to debate decisions, philosophies, etc. We want this experience to be positive for ALL involved.

Calendar Updates: I also wanted to get you some updates regarding this Spring. Below I have listed potential dates for tournaments and the start of the Spring season. Please mark these on your calendars now, so we can avoid as many conflicts as possible. In addition, we will be moving training to Monday and Wednesday nights. Training will take place at the same times as they did this Fall.

Monday, January 30th - Practice begins (likely at Crossroads Field)

February 11/12th - Tournament
February 18/19th - Tournament
February 25/26th - Tournament

March 3rd - Spring Season Begins (schedule to be sent out once finalized in January)

May 26/27th - Likely the last weekend of soccer

Finally, it is extremely important that the boys continue to practice on their own at home over the next couple months. Great soccer players are made at home on the streets, not in JUST 3 hours of practice in one week at GSA. Encourage them to touch a ball every day. All players should be working on their juggling and dribbling daily as much as possible. It's said that you truly don't master a skill until you have practiced it for 10,000 hours. I'd like to challenge all players to log the number of hours they practice on their own in a notebook, paper attached to the refrigerator, etc. Perhaps, this will be a little extra motivation for them to see how many hours they can log between now and February.

Encourage them to wrangle up some other kids that live nearby or in the same neighborhood to play pick up games in driveways or backyards as much as possible. For those playing indoor and/or coaching indoor, we ask that you let the boys have fun and don't let it be too structured. Let them be creative and try new things without the fear of reprimand or being pulled out of the game because they made a mistake. Basically, help us enhance the culture that we try to build in our Academy.

Finally, on behalf of GSA and the coaching staff, I'd like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and happy, safe holidays! It's been a true pleasure to get to know each and every player; I feel very blessed to have been given the opportunity to work with so many incredible young players and families. Thank you for making my job not seem like a job!

P.S. My ability to answer emails and phone calls over the break will be significantly hindered by the enormous "honey-do-list" that is crushing me at the moment.. just an FYI.

P.P.S. For those who do not know.. my wife and I just found out we are expecting a baby girl this April!

Drew Prentice

GSA Boys Academy Director

drew.prentice@gsasoccer.com

(706) 781-7332

We're in the parking lot again...

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:42:35 GMT

The fields are closed, but we will have practice at the normal time of 6:30-8:00. This is not an optional practice. Make sure your player has flats and a ball. I will not have my balls with me tonight; the players should bring their own.

Make sure you find Mrs. Fedyk to sign any paperwork she may need you to sign for the tournament this weekend.

Thanks!

Optional Training in the Parking Lot Tonight

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 14:21:42 GMT

Parents,

The fields are closed again. There will be optional training in the parking lot tonight from 6:00-7:00.

Rosters for the GSA Tournament THIS Weekend

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:50:44 GMT

Parents,

Sorry for getting this out so late, but I had to adjust a few things due to some conflicts. I have only heard from two people about having conflicts for this tournament, so we are expecting everyone else to be in attendance. If for some reason you can't be there, I need to know TODAY. As you can see, the rosters are extremely slim for this weekend. The good news is that all the boys will get plenty of playing time. :)

We'll send out a link to the schedule later on this week, as I'm sure there will still be a time change or two.

We are in search of a guest player or two, but at the moment, this is all we've got to work with.

Thanks for the understanding.

GSA Tournament - December 3rd/4th
Juventus	Lazio	Roma
Max Carlson	Jared Causey	Mathew Desmelik
Drew Donehoo	Spencer Decuir	Daniel Donaldson
Reed Heard	Pete Fedyk	Daniel Fuentes
Dominic Herbert	Josh Patino	Mitchell Greene
Michael Lennen	Bradley Stevens	Sean Mathew
Cesar Mendoza	Kurt Suhr	Carter Shafe
Jack Moynihan	Fady Yanni	Adrian Suarez
Oladapo Orelesi	Jacob Kammer	Jacob Wright
Payton Rawson	Trey Thompson	Carter Swain
Kareve Richards
Brandon Small
Marcus Lennen
James Moore

Optional Training cancelled tonight

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 16:33:10 GMT

With the threat of incoming inlcement weather, we are cancelling the optional session for the 11s and 12s which was going to be from 6:00-7:30. Teams practicing at 5:00 (9s and 10s) are still good to go.

Optional Session Tonight - 6:00-7:30

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 09:01:07 GMT

If the fields are open, we will hold an optional session for anyone still in town. The practice will be from 6:00-7:30.

Fields Closed Tonight - Street Soccer Cancelled

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 10:16:08 GMT

Parents,

Last night at about 10:30, GSA made the decision to keep the fields closed today. With all the rain we have had the past couple days coupled with the fact that GSA is a venue for the TYSA tournament, the field conditions are just too poor to have the 3v3 Street Soccer Tournament. I apologize for the short notice. We will try to reschedule this for sometime after the Thanksgiving Break, or we may even push it back until sometime in January.

On a side note, this weekend we have 11 Boys Academy teams playing in the TYSA Triumph Cup. On Saturday, there is LITERALLY a team playing every hour of the day from 7:45 a.m. until 8:30 p.m.

One of the coolest things about taking so many teams to the same tournament is that other age groups and teams can support each other during their "down time". It means a lot to the players to see their GSA family on the sidelines cheering them on.

Let's take the Triumph Cup by storm this weekend!! Can't wait to see everyone tomorrow!!!

Drew Prentice

GSA Boys Academy Director

drew.prentice@gsasoccer.com

(706) 781-7332

Signatures for tournament tonight...

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 12:42:40 GMT

Sorry, it will be Nick's better half, Jocelyn, who will be getting signatures from parents tonight. Look for her in the Parkview parking lot.

Thanks!

Practice in the parking lot tonight!!

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 12:10:53 GMT

Parents,

We WILL practice in the parking lot tonight at the regular time. Please park across the street at Parkview High School, and have the players CAREFULLY cross the street to the GSA parking lot.

Players need to wear "flats" not cleats, and should bring a ball that they don't mind getting a little scuffed up. EVERY PLAYER NEEDS THEIR OWN BALL TONIGHT!

Also, Nick still needs signatures for all players playing in the TYSA tournament this weekend. Please make sure you are at practice so Nick can get the necessary signatures.

Thanks and see everyone tonight!

P.S. Don't forget about the street soccer tournament tomorrow. I need to know by tonight if you are participating tomorrow!

Street Soccer Tournament THIS Friday!!

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:11:58 GMT

Parents,

Just wanted to remind you about the Street Soccer Tournament this Friday night (November 18th) from 5:30-6:30. Please shoot me an email if you intend on including your player. I have listed the players who have already committed below. If you have already RSVP'd and your name is not on the list, please let me know. I'd really like to get this number to at least 30 players for the best possible experience. See everyone tonight!

Alex Drazic	U11
Avery Laraki	U11
Dylan Schefske	U11
Kendall Edwards	U11
Michael Hopf	U11
Natneal McDonald	U11
Carter Swain	U12
Daniel Donaldson	U12
Dominic Herbert	U12
Jack Moynihan	U12
Jacob Wright	U12
Jared Causey	U12
John Michael Bandy	U12
Josh Patino	U12
Marcus Lennen	U12
Michael Lennen	U12
Pete Fedyk	U12
Sean Mathew	U12
Spencer Decuir	U12
Trey Thompson	U12

Drew Prentice

GSA Boys Academy Director

drew.prentice@gsasoccer.com

(706) 781-7332

Updated Rosters for TYSA - PLEASE READ

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 08:08:42 GMT

Parents,

We had a few players unavailable for the TYSA tournament, so I had to adjust both rosters accordingly. Please take a look at the updated rosters below. Schedules are up but not finalized. Lazio will be playing solely at the Henderson venue, and Roma will play at a combination of Henderson and Granite.

Lazio	Roma
Jared Causey	Mathew Desmelik
Spencer Decuir	Daniel Donaldson
Pete Fedyk	Daniel Fuentes
Reed Heard	Mitchell Greene
Jacob Kammer	Josh Patino
Marcus Lennen	Carter Shafe
Michael Lennen	Adrian Suarez
Cesar Mendoza	Carter Swain
Jack Moynihan	Trey Thompson
Brandon Small	Jacob Wright
Kurt Suhr	Fady Yanni

Finishing Friday - November 18th

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 12:28:28 GMT

I'm changing things up a bit for the Finishing Friday session scheduled for NEXT Friday, November 18th. Instead, we'll hold a street soccer tournament. I'm also inviting the U11s to participate. The top points earners will win a prize.

To do this "right", I need to have a pretty accurate count of the players that are planning to participate, so please respond via EMAIL if your player plans on attending. The time frame will remain the same: 5:30-6:30.

Drew Prentice

GSA Boys Academy Director

drew.prentice@gsasoccer.com

(706) 781-7332

Rosters for Saturday, November 12th

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 08:27:16 GMT

Sorry for the delay this week. Here are the rosters for this weekend. Let me know ASAP if you are unavailable, thanks!

November 12th - GSA @ Concorde North/Central
Juventus 3:45	Lazio - 10:40	Roma - 12:00
John Michael Bandy	Jared Causey	Mathew Desmelik
Max Carlson	Spencer Decuir	Daniel Donaldson
Drew Donehoo	Pete Fedyk	Daniel Fuentes
Reed Heard	Dominic Herbert	Mitchell Greene
Dominic Herbert	Marcus Lennen	Jacob Kammer
Michael Lennen	James Moore	Sean Mathew
Cesar Mendoza	Jack Moynihan	Carter Shafe
Oladapo Orelesi	Josh Patino	Adrian Suarez
Payton Rawson	Payton Rawson	Trey Thompson
Kareve Richards	Bradley Stevens	Jacob Wright
Brandon Small	Kurt Suhr	Fady Yanni

All games are going to played at Ocee Elementary. Address is on the website in the schedule/calendar section.

Rosters for Saturday, November 5th @ AFC

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 08:34:25 GMT

Parents,

Here are the rosters for this weekend's matches AT AFC. Please let us know ASAP if you are unavailable, so we can make adjustments. All important information can be found on the website's schedule. Thanks!

**Also, I have only heard from one person that is unavailable for the TYSA Tournament on November 19-20th. Please let me know by the end of the day today, if you WILL NOT be available that weekend. Thanks for the help!

November 5th - GSA @ AFC
Juventus 9:00	Lazio - 10:30	Roma - 12:00
John Michael Bandy	Jared Causey	Mathew Desmelik
Max Carlson	Spencer Decuir	Daniel Donaldson
Drew Donehoo	Pete Fedyk	Daniel Fuentes
Reed Heard	Michael Lennen	Mitchell Greene
Dominic Herbert	James Moore	Jacob Kammer
Marcus Lennen	Jack Moynihan	Sean Mathew
Cesar Mendoza	Josh Patino	Carter Shafe
Oladapo Orelesi	Brandon Small	Adrian Suarez
Payton Rawson	Bradley Stevens	Carter Swain
Kareve Richards	Kurt Suhr	Trey Thompson
Brandon Small	Fady Yanni	Jacob Wright

Tournament on November 19-20th (TYSA Triumph Cup)

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 14:10:46 GMT

Parents,

I wanted to update you on the tournament for Lazio and Roma on the weekend of November 19th-20th. We have registered both teams for the TYSA Triumph Cup. It's a nice local tournament that usually draws a good number of teams from in and out of state. It will be a good fit for our program. Below, I have listed the rosters for the two teams. Basically, if you didn't play in the Atlanta Cup, then you are rostered for this tournament.

I need to know ASAP if you are NOT available for this tournament. We need to make adjustments NOW for those that are not available to play. Thanks for your help!

Lazio	Roma
Jared Causey	Mathew Desmelik
Spencer Decuir	Daniel Donaldson
Pete Fedyk	Daniel Fuentes
Jacob Kammer	Mitchell Greene
Cesar Mendoza	Sean Mathew
Josh Patino	Carter Shafe
Payton Rawson	Adrian Suarez
Brandon Small	Carter Swain
Bradley Stevens	Jacob Wright
Kurt Suhr	Trey Thompson
	Fady Yanni

Drew Prentice

GSA Boys Academy Director

drew.prentice@gsasoccer.com

(706) 781-7332

Finishing Friday THIS Friday!

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 09:11:52 GMT

Parents,

Just a friendly reminder that Finishing Friday is this Friday from 5:30-6:30. It's an optional session, but with all the rainouts we've been having; I'd love to see as many players out there as possible! Session will run from 5:30-6:30.

Fields Closed - Tuesday, October 18th

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:56:58 GMT

No training tonight. All fields at GSA are CLOSED.

Drew Prentice

GSA Boys Academy Director

drew.prentice@gsasoccer.com

(706) 781-7332

Friday Night Under the Lights!

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 12:58:21 GMT

The U11 and U12 coaching staff have been planning to have some friendly scrimmages between the two age groups for some time now. We've reserved space this Friday night since we don't have any matches this weekend, and we've advertised this weekend as an "off" weekend. I have listed the rosters below; please let us know if your son is NOT available by tomorrow so that we can adjust accordingly.

This should be a lot of fun, but should not be viewed as a typical "game". There will likely be very little coaching; we'll be more or less just facillitating and managing the substitutions. We aren't concerned with whether we win or lose (as usual); our only concern is that this will give us some nice competition before an other wise "soccer free" weekend.

Again, please let us know if you are NOT available ASAP. Should be a lot of fun; we've gotten approval to use the lights. In my experience, the boys really love playing a match underneath the lights. Thanks!

	Juventus - 6:30-7:45	Lazio - 6:30-7:45	Roma - 8:00-9:15
1	Bandy, John Michael	Causey, Jared	Desmelik, Mathew
2	Carlson, Max	Decuir, Spencer	Donaldson, Daniel
3	Donehoo, Drew	Fedyk, Pete	Fuentes, Daniel
4	Heard, Reed	Kammer, Jacob	Greene, Mitchell
5	Herbert, Dominic	Moore, James	Matthew, Sean
6	Lennen, Marcus	Moynihan, Jack	Patino, Josh
7	Lennen, Michael	Patino, Josh	Shafe, Carter
8	Mendoza, Cesar	Small, Brandon	Suarez, Adrian
9	Orelesi, Dapo	Stevens, Bradley	Swain, Carter
10	Rawson, Payton	Suhr, Kurt	Thompson, Trey
11	Richards, Kareve	Yanni, Fady	Wright, Jacob

Drew Prentice

GSA Boys Academy Director

drew.prentice@gsasoccer.com

(706) 781-7332

Brentwood Itinerary

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 12:22:27 GMT

Parents,

I've attached the itinerary for the tournament in Brentwood this weekend. If you are not travelling to Brentwood, feel free to delete. Players that are guesting with the U13s; if you'd like to be a part of any of the events, just let me know.

A couple of notes about the itinerary:

1) I adjusted the meeting for tomorrow night to 9:00 p.m. Hopefully, everyone will be up there by then. This will get the boys in bed a little earlier; their bodies will still be on GA time tomorrow night, so that would really be like a 10:00 meeting as far as their bodies are concerned. If you are going to be late, just give me a call and we'll wait on you to get there before we start.

2) Saturday's game schedule is actually, in my opinion, an ideal schedule for an out of town tournament that we are staying in a hotel for. As you can see, there will be significant down time between games on Saturday. It will be EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that the players REST during this down time; absolutely, no running around, horse play, or pool time during this break. Let them REST! Again, this is the primary reason for travelling to this tournament; the boys need to learn what a professional atmosphere is really like. I will more than likely hold small group meetings in the middle of the afternoon with players grouped by "position". I will let the players know about this at the meeting Friday night and finalize the groups and times after the game on Saturday morning. It will be similar to a "chalk talk"; where we can discuss certain tactical-functional aspects of the 11-a-side game.

3) I forgot to ask this on Tuesday.. I alway forget something, sorry! I'd really like to get a couple volunteers who would be willing to do a load of laundry for the boys kits Saturday night. Since we will be wearing both sets of uniforms on Saturday; it would be great if we could get those washed before Sunday. I know it seems like a small thing, but it really does help the whole process if the guys can put a CLEAN kit on for Sunday morning and hopefully afternoon. I figured if two parents would be willing to do this, then that would be plenty. Please let me know if you'd be willing to help with this. I'll bring the detergent and pay for the cost of using the laundry machine; there is one washer and one dryer at the hotel that cost $1.00 each per load. If we can manage this, then we'll need to make sure each of you do the following: Tonight, with a BLACK SHARPIE or PERMANENT marker, write the number of your players uniform on the BOTTOM or TOP of each sock.. that way when we wash them, we know whose socks are whose. Also, for any part of the uniform that does not a have a number on it (like the shorts or the training top) write your players number on the tag inside the shorts with a SHARPIE or permanent marker. We use to do this in college when our managers washed our stuff... worked great for us! Open to other suggestions as well though.

4) In addition to the itinerary, page two of the attachment has a checklist for the boys to use to make sure THEY packed what they need (soccer items). There is also a list of expectations that THEY need to keep in mind. I'll speak with the boys tonight about this.

5) Nick is planning to hand out the 2nd training top tonight, so be on the lookout for that.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Keep in mind that this itinerary is subject to change.

Drew Prentice

GSA Boys Academy Director

drew.prentice@gsasoccer.com

(706) 781-7332

Parent Meeting Tomorrow Night and In-house Games

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 08:26:23 GMT

For those parents who have players playing in the Brentwood Tournament this weekend, I'd like to have a brief meeting after practice tomorrow (Tuesday) night. This also goes for the few players that will be guest playing with the U13 Blue team. Other parents who are not travelling to Brentwood are certainly welcome to stick around, but I'll only be discussing the Brentwood tournament. Feel free to leave after practice and get some extra sleep.

I just want to reiterate the focus for this tournament, give you an itinerary, and answer any questions you may have.

As always thanks for the continued support!

Drew Prentice

GSA Boys Academy Director

drew.prentice@gsasoccer.com

(706) 781-7332

Fields Closed - No training tonight

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 17:58:56 GMT

Due to inclement weather, GSA fields are closed. There will be no training tonight. Enjoy the night off.

College Soccer on TV TONIGHT!

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 16:37:27 GMT

Parents,

Akron University takes on University of New Mexico tonight. The game will be aired on Fox Soccer Channel at 7:00 p.m. GSA Alumni, Dominic Bonilla, attends Akron University on a soccer scholarship. At the moment, he is sidelined because of an injury, but I'm sure he'd appreciate our support!

Good luck at the games tomorrow!

Drew Prentice

GSA Boys Academy Director

drew.prentice@gsasoccer.com

(706) 781-7332

Rosters for Sept. 17th AND Sept. 24th

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 14:40:02 GMT

Parents, Here are the rosters for the next TWO weekends. Please look over the rosters and schedule and let us know ASAP if you have some kind of conflict. The players who are helping out with more than one game are in bold. Goalkeepers: If it says "GK 1/2 ONLY" then you will only play GK for a half of that game and most likely will NOT play in the field the other half. I'm trying to make sure that all of our GKs get some time on the field as well as significant minutes in the goal unless they have expressed the desire to me directly in only playing GK. I also just wanted to reiterate that we are a "pool" of players, so rosters tend to change frequently. At times, we may only move a player or two, sometimes we might leave the rosters alone, and other times we may really mix it up. On behalf of the staff, thank you for the great sportsmanship shown last weekend during the matches, and thank you for the support in general of our Academy philosophy! NASA UQP Sept. 17th at GSA
Juventus 9:00	Lazio - 10:30	Roma - 12:00
John Michael Bandy	Jared Causey	Mathew Desmelik
Max Carlson	Spencer Decuir	Daniel Donaldson
Drew Donehoo	Pete Fedyk	Daniel Fuentes
DominicHerbert	Mitchell Greene (GK 1/2 ONLY)	Sean Mathew
Michael Lennen	Reed Heard	Josh Patino
Cesar Mendoza	Jacob Kammer	Carter Shafe
James Moore	Marcus Lennen	Adrian Suarez
Oladapo Orelesi	Jack Moynihan	Carter Swain
Payton Rawson	Bradley Stevens	Trey Thompson
Kareve Richards	Kurt Suhr	Fady Yanni
Brandon Small	Josh Patino (GK 1/2 ONLY)	Mitchell Greene

Alianza/Cobb YMCA Sept. 24th at GSA
Juventus 9:00	Lazio - 10:30	Roma - 12:00
John Michael Bandy	Max Carlson (GK 1/2 ONLY)	Mathew Desmelik
Max Carlson	Jared Causey	Daniel Donaldson
Drew Donehoo	Spencer Decuir	Jacob Wright
Dominic Herbert	Pete Fedyk	Mitchell Greene
Marcus Lennen	Payton Rawson	Jacob Kammer (GK Only)
Jack Moynihan	Jacob Kammer	Sean Mathew
Oladapo Orelesi	Michael Lennen	Carter Shafe
Reed Heard	Cesar Mendoza	Adrian Suarez
Kareve Richards	James Moore	Carter Swain
Bradley Stevens	Josh Patino	Trey Thompson
Kurt Suhr	Brandon Small	Fady Yanni

Good Luck & Reminders

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 08:15:25 GMT

Parents and Players,

The directors would like to wish everyone good luck in their matches this weekend as we kick off what is looking to be a great season for the GSA Boys Academy teams!

It is our hope that every player has a great experience, and that all matches are competitive and are a learning experience for each player.

Some reminders:

Guess what? The referees aren't perfect; they are, with 100% certainty, going to miss some calls. There should be zero communication between parents and the referee during the game. Some of the behavior exhibited at YOUTH soccer games towards referees is absolutely ridiculous. This is not a request; all parents WILL respect the referee regardless of the good or bad calls they make. When parents and even coaches begin to argue with the referee it sets a terrible example for our young players. Please support us in our philosophy that we will always respect each other, the referee, and the game. I can't tell you what a difference it would make for the young and still developing referees if a few parents would go shake their hands and tell them what a good job they did; even if you thought they did a lousy job. They really aren't getting paid that much, and for the most part they do a pretty good job.

Guess what else? You're PAYING the coaches to coach. Would you "help" a builder build your house that you are paying HIM to build, would you "help" a roofer put shingles on your house, are you going to walk down to your child's college professor and "help" him teach his class, do you go into the kitchen at a restaurant and "help" the chef prepare your meal? For the most part, that answer is probably "of course not, I hired THEM to do that". At this point in the year, most of the coaches would probably admit that they are OVER coaching as it is. The players really don't need MORE information from BOTH sidelines. Even if you are yelling the same information we are trying to get to the players, please refrain from giving any information Part of the process of developing youth soccer players is teaching THEM to solve THEIR OWN problems. Let's face it; half the time by the time you (and coaches) try to yell out that "oh so critical piece of information" it's too late anyways. Part of the beautiful game is that each player gets to make his own decision in real time; the only way they will learn to do this is if you let them practice it without interference. If the coaching staff is quiet, consider the fact that they are letting the PLAYERS make some decisions for a change. Let the other team's parents yell, scream, and make a fool of themselves.. don't help them out, they'll do just fine on their own.

BE ON TIME. If your coach asks you to be there 45 minutes before the game, BE THERE 45 MINUTES BEFORE THE GAME. Each team needs to be properly warmed up both physically and mentally, so that they can perform at the highest level. Part of committing to the program means you are committing to the expectations that go along with the program; please respect the coaches' wishes and have your player on time for every event.

While it's ok to approach the coaching staff, shake their hand, and thank them, please refrain from approaching them after games to question them about anything regarding the game. Wait until a later time and try to set something up on a different date if you need to ask him some questions. Energy levels are high, and noone is thinking with a clear head immediately following an intense game.

Below I've copy and pasted a crazy video clip of a YOUTH, indoor soccer game. Watch the first minute and then skip ahead to the 3rd minute.. thought you might get a laugh out of it (I didn't recognize any of our GSA family in the video so I think I'm safe to say that these guys are nuts!): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26Ju8-AzH6I

Sincerely,

"The Directors": Drew, Nuno, and Bruno

Practice Today Sept. 6th

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 13:07:12 GMT

Parents,

In the event the fields are closed, we will attempt to still hold a skills session in the parking lot. Unless you hear otherwise, we will definitely hold some kind of training tonight. If the fields are open, then we'll be on the fields. If they are closed, and the parking lot is reasonably dry, then we'll practice there.

Please make sure all players come prepared for either scenario. For the parking lot session, players need to bring "flats" (indoor shoes or running shoes; no cleats!) and a ball that they don't mind getting a little scuffed up.

If the parking lot is unplayable, we will contact you via email ASAP.

Nick posted rosters on the website. Please be sure to look at all 3 rosters as some players will play in two games this weekend. Thanks and pray for sunshine!

Atlanta Cup Reminders

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 19:14:21 GMT

JUVENTUS WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE ATLANTA CUP

Tournament Website: http://www.soccerincollege.com/TTSchedules.aspx?tid=ATLANTA&year=2011&stid=ATLANTA&syear=2011&div=U12M02

SEPT 3-5 AT GSA!!

Kit: WHITE/ RED / WHITE

PLEASE BRING ALTERNATIVE KIT, JUST IN CASE.

As always please arrive 45 minutes prior to kick-off for warm-up. Also, all squad members should arrive wearing their Red Practice Jersey.

Atlanta Cup Roster:

John Michael Bandy

Max Carlson

Drew Donehoo

Reed Heard

DominicHerbert

Marcus Lennen

Michael Lennen

James Moore

Jack Moynihan

Olapado Orelesi

Kareve Richards

Note: We are playing 8v8 in this tournament, so we have to keep the roster size smaller. If you are unavailable to play, I need to know immediately, so I can plan accordingly.

Schedule:

Saturday, September 3rd

9:30 a.m. GSA vs. Brentwood (TN) on GSA Holman Field

2:00 p.m. GSA vs. First Coast Academy on GSA Holman Field

Sunday, September 4th

8:00 a.m. GSA vs. Alianza on GSA Holman Field

3:00 p.m. Semi-Final on Field TBD

Monday, September 5th

10:30 a.m. Final on GSA Holman Field

All games are at GSA!

Street Soccer Leaderboard as of 8/23/11

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 15:59:27 GMT

Below is the current leader board for the season-long street soccer tournament amongst the U12 boys. Please note, this is for FUN, and is not meant to be anything more than motivation and FUN for the boys.

Leader Board	Pts
Jack	43
Kareve	39
Michael	37
John Michael	34
Marcus	33
Max	30
Drew	29
Sean	28
Bradley	26
Brandon	25

Scoring	Pts
Win	3
Tie	1
Goal scored	1
Assists	1
Shutout	1

Brentwood Invitational Update

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 12:13:02 GMT

Parents,

Unfortunately, we did not have the support I was anticipating after the initial feedback for the Brentwood Tournament. As such, we will only be taking one team, Juventus, to this tournament.

Perhaps, we can try a similar experience in the Spring to a venue that is a little closer.

Below, is the roster for Juventus at the Brentwood Invitational on October 1st and 2nd. You will be contacted soon for the fee associated with this tournament. More information on hotels, travel, etc. will be discussed soon.

Thank you for everyone that responded, and sorry we couldn't make it work for everyone who was interested in participating. Like I said, perhaps, we can try again in the Spring.

John Michael Bandy

Max Carlson

Drew Donehoo

Reed Heard

DominicHerbert

Marcus Lennen

Michael Lennen

Cesar Mendoza

James Moore

Jack Moynihan

Oladapo Orelesi

Payton Rawson

Kareve Richards

Bradley Stevens

Kurt Suhr

Clarification on Fall Tournament Schedule

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 17:52:51 GMT

Parents,

Recently, I've fielded a few questions regarding the number of tournaments that will be played this Fall. I thought I had mentioned the weekend of November 19/20th as another tournament weekend, but clearly I did not. I apologize for this oversight.

At this point, if your child has not already played in two tournaments as of next weekend (Labor Day); he will DEFINITELY be asked to participate in either the AFC or TYSA tournament the weekend of November 19/20th. Including this weekend, and our GSA tournament in December, that should ensure that every player plays in at least three tournaments NOT INCLUDING Brentwood.

Due to the nature of the Brentwood Invitational, this will cost each family an additional fee regardless of the number of tournaments you have already played in. If you decide not to commit to Brentwood, that is perfectly fine and understood. Rest assured, we will still have 3 tournaments for your son this Fall.

Again, I apologize for the oversight in earlier weeks.. been a lot going on. I hope this helps clear up any confusion there may be regarding the number of tournaments we are planning on offering each player.

Thanks and sorry for the additional email; just thought it might help!

Drew

Brentwood Update

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 12:37:10 GMT

Based on the positive feedback I have been receiving so far. The staff would like to extend an invitation to ALL U-12 players. We would hope to bring one 11v11 team and 2 8v8 teams. Please shoot me an email ASAP letting me know whether you would like to attend this event or not.

If you have not already received an invitation to play on the 11v11 squad, then consider yourselves invited to play for one of the 8v8 squads.

Again, please remember that this tournament would incur costs IN ADDITION to the regular monthly fees.

Please respond ASAP. Furthermore, as I stated in the previouis email, please do not feel obligated to commit if financial reasons or another obligation would keep you from attending. We just need to know one way or the other, thanks!!

Drew Prentice

GSA Boys Academy Director

drew.prentice@gsasoccer.com

(706) 781-7332

Atlanta Cup Information

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 06:59:09 GMT

The Atlanta Cup tournament is September 3rd-5th.

Atlanta Cup Roster:

John Michael Bandy

Max Carlson

Drew Donehoo

Reed Heard

DominicHerbert

Marcus Lennen

Michael Lennen

James Moore

Jack Moynihan

Olapado Orelesi

Kareve Richards

Note: We are playing 8v8 in this tournament, so we have to keep the roster size smaller. If you are unavailable to play, I need to know immediately, so I can plan accordingly.

Schedule:

Saturday, September 3rd

9:30 a.m. GSA vs. Brentwood (TN)

2:00 p.m. GSA vs. First Coast Academy ()

Sunday, September 4th

8:00 a.m. GSA vs. Alianza

3:00 p.m. Semi-Final

Monday, September 5th

10:30 a.m. Final

All games are at GSA!

Drew Prentice

GSA Boys Academy Director

drew.prentice@gsasoccer.com

(706) 781-7332

8v8 and 11v11 Format Information plus Brentwood

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 15:04:46 GMT

Parents,

I just wanted to take a moment and give you a thought or two about some of the decisions we've made regarding playing 11-a-side vs. 8-a-side so far this Fall. At GSA we truly believe that it's more important to teach players, starting from a very young age, the ability to play in and out of tight spaces. I don't think that many coaches, players, or parents would disagree with the fact that this is one of the core fundamentals that every player should be exposed to and familiar with by the time they "graduate" from the Academy ages. The vast majority of the training enviornment that we attempt to create for the boys each week at practice revolves around the idea that players must be equipped physically, technically, tactically, and mentally to a level which will efficiently enable them to be successful in tight areas and under pressure.

This Fall ALL U12 Boys teams will be competing in the 8v8 format throughout the regular season; the 8v8 format will be our primary focus this Fall and through the Sping for most of the players. We will at times expose some of the players to the 11v11 format; this exposure will generally only come in a tournament format during the Fall season, and only to those players we evaluate as ready physically, mentally, technically, and tactically. The reason we will not play any regular season games in the 11v11 format is because we don't want to spend significant time with functional (position specific) training in weekly training. We are still trying to avoid, as much as possible, pigeonholing players into a certain position. We do realize that, obviously, most players by now, have found a position that they are comfortable in and excel at, but we will try to take them out of their comfort zone at times so they can experience new problems to solve. By limiting the 11v11 exposure to tournaments, the staff will not feel pressured to switch focus from technical to pure tactical-functional training. With that said, leading up to tournaments where a team will play 11v11 this Fall, we may choose to adjust our focus slightly to revisit some concepts that are necessary for the "full-sided" game. I believe there is a place for some functional training in Academy ages as long as it is geared more towards the technical implications of the position(s) rather than the tactical.

Now, the Spring for U12s will be a different story. The Academy "feel" will begin to change. Most notably, the staff will be constantly evaluating anywhere from 15-18 players in the Spring to compete in the 11v11 format on a more regular basis. The goal is to give this group of players, who are ready for the increased demands, more of a "select" feel at training and in fixtures on the weekends. This group of players will likely practice less with the pool of players and more as a separate group. No matter the age, level, or coach, at GSA, the stress is and always will be on playing possessive, attacking-minded soccer be it in an 8v8 or 11v11 format. As you may or may not have already noticed, "holding on to 8v8" throughout the Fall season is certainly not a popular philosophy in metro Atlanta, but if you look at GSA's results in the older age groups at State Cups, regular season matches, and other noteworthy tournaments, I think the success speaks for itself.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to announce that we are in the process of selecting 15 players to invite to the Brentwood Invitational on October 1st and 2nd to play in the 11v11 format in the U13 age group (probably the second or third division). This tournament would carry an additional tournament fee as well as travel and lodging expenses (Brentwood is about a 4 hour drive to Tennessee) as it will be considered a tournament in addition to the 3 tournaments scheduled. In addition, IF we have enough interest, we would also like to take an additional team to play 8v8 at the U12 age group. This would also carry the same additional fees described above. Individuals will be contacted and the roster will be announced as soon as we gauge interest. This particular weekend marks the middle of the season for our group and currently we have this weekend scheduled as an "in-house" weekend.

Please do not feel, in any way, that this is a mandatory committment if you are contacted. Like I said, it will carry expenses in addition to the monthly fees, so if you would rather "pass" just let me know once you are contacted; I completely understand. At the same time, we think this is a good opportunity for the boys and would value your support.

Drew Prentice

GSA Boys Academy Director

drew.prentice@gsasoccer.com

(706) 781-7332

LAZIO ROSTER FOR THIS WEEKEND

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 08:58:48 GMT

Parents,

If your son's name is listed on the LAZIO roster please see me at practice on Thursday.

I need you to sign the NASA CLASSIC TOURNAMENT Waiver. If I do not have your signature

the tournament director will not let your son compete in the tournament. Thank you in

advance!

Nick

This Weekend's CESA Friendlies

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 18:25:15 GMT

Parents,

Thank you for your patience in the entire scheduling process for our event at CESA this Sunday. With over 22 games to schedule with several different clubs, it was definitely a challenge. You should be getting or have already received the field name changes from your manager/coaching staff. Please take the time to familiarize yourself with the schedule and field layout.

I just wanted to reiterate a few things about the philosophy behind this weekend. Please take the time to read through this email; we want to make sure everyone is on the same page. Also, please relay any applicable information to your child; it's a longer than normal commute for us, so perhaps review this with them in the car ride up to Greenville.
We are traveling out of state and will competing with 3-4 clubs this weekend. In addition, the rest of the complex will be at times used by Premier League teams from other states and associations. We must be sure to represent GSA in the best manner possible. This means remaining relatively quiet on the sidelines. There should be no coaching from the parents side; let the coaches do their job. Please also respect the referees; for the majority of the games there will probably only be one referee.. they are going to miss some calls. Remember this is a FRIENDLY, so be FRIENDLY to all.
All clubs competing in this event have agreed that NO GAME SHOULD HAVE A DIFFERENCE IN SCORE GREATER THAN FIVE. Our staff will manage the game so that we do NOT beat another team by more than 5 goals in whatever manner they see fit. This could include: limiting the players touches, playing players out of position, tieing the GKs shoes together... only kidding, but you get the point. We will be given the same courtesy should the role be reversed. With so many games, teams, and other variables we are bound to have gotten some match ups wrong, so please keep an open mind. With all this said, all players will be asked to enter each match with the utmost intensity and mindset to play the best soccer they are capable of.

Weather: Right now temperatures will be in the 90s with 30% chance of rain. Plan accordingly. I was glad to see that each team had some type of tent at the Cobb Tournament. Let's try to make sure we have those for the boys again this weekend. Again, if there are extras then that just means that the parents can kick back in the shade as well! Consider bringing the stakes that usually accompany the tents, so that we don't take out any players, coaches, or fans that might be near the tent in the event that a gust of wind sends the tent flying.
Please be proactive about getting your player a ride if you are unable to attend. Everyone has training tonight, so if you KNOW that you will NOT be making the trip on Sunday and your player still needs a ride then speak to some of the other parents and see if you can get some help. In my experience, everyone needs a ride at some point, so lend a helping hand if you have an extra seat. I can remember my playing days.. seems like we were always carpooling everywhere!

Feedback a day or two after the event would be appreciated. We are considering making this an annual event for our Boys Academy, and would like to know what you thought. CESA also has some quality tournaments that we may look into for the future, so hopefully this will be a good gauge as to whether "it's worth it".
I can't wait to see everyone on Sunday. Travel safe!!

Drew Prentice
GSA Boys Academy Director

CESA Friendlies Rosters

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 08:53:46 GMT

Parents,

The rosters are pasted below; I've also attached the same information as an Excel Spreadsheet (the second sheet has all the matchups for all teams attending CESA Friendlies, in case you are interested).

Please take a few minutes and be sure to look CAREFULLY over ALL rosters and games. We are moving players around all day, so it's important you know where you're supposed to be and when. Some players will be playing 3 games to ensure that we have adequate subs. The players who are playing 3 games may be used sparingly in one of those 3 games.

We would like all players to show up to CESA 1 hour before their first game. This extra time will allow us to be sure that the boys have time to use the restroom, walk around/loosen up the legs, and are ulitmately prepared to compete at the highest level after the long ride. Do NOT let/make them put their shinguards and cleats on in the car. They can show up to the field in flip flops or tennis shoes, and can finish "dressing" when they get to the fields. PLAN FOR TRAFFIC; BE EARLY.

We are hoping to have at least one of the training tops delivered to GSA before this weekend; if we get the tops in before this weekend, then we'd like everyone showing up in that red top. If we don't have them in, then we can just use the same grey t-shirts we have been wearing. If you are new to the club and don't have the "old" grey practice shirt, then just wear a grey top. Again, we are hoping to have the tops in by the end of the week, so hopefully this is a moot point.

We would also appreciate all boys double checking their bags BEFORE you leave Sunday morning to ensure that everyone has BOTH sets of uniforms, shinguards, and cleats.

ALL TEAMS plan to wear RED from head to toe for the 10:00, 11:15, and 12:00 matches.

ALL TEAMS plan to wear WHITE from head to toe for the 1:30 and 2:45 matches.

At some point in the day, we would like to get a picture of ALL the boys together in their red kits.. probably sometime before the 12:00 game (before Lazio and Roma players head to lunch).

Keep in mind that with as much going on up at CESA this weekend, there is a chance that field numbers could change (especially for Juventus); if this happens, we will post/announce through this website immediately.

Please make sure you have programmed my cell number in your phone in case you need anything. Nick will follow up before the end of the week with more information on the field layout and directions to CESA's MeSA Soccer Complex.

FINALLY, THIS EVENT IS 4 DAYS AWAY; NOONE HAS SAID THEY ARE UNAVAILABLE, SO THE COACHING STAFF IS EXPECTING EVERYONE TO BE IN ATTENDANCE. IF YOUR PLAYER NEEDS A RIDE, PLEASE FIND ONE BEFORE SUNDAY. IF YOU HAVE EXTRA SEATS IN YOUR CAR/VAN, PLEASE HELP THOSE THAT MIGHT NEED SOME HELP WITH TRANSPORTATION.

10:00 - Lazio	11:15 - Roma	12:00 - Juventus	1:30 - Lazio	2:45 - Juventus	2:45 - Roma
Field: Marriott 1	Field: Marriott 1	Field: Carter	Field: Marriott 1	Field: Bi-Lo 1	Field: Marriott 1
Patino, Josh (GK)	Swain, Carter	Bandy, John M.	Kammer, Jacob (GK + F)	Bandy, John M.	Swain, Carter
Mendoza, Cesar	Shafe, Carter	Carlson, Max (GK)	Patino, Josh (GK + F)	Carlson, Max (GK)	Shafe, Carter
Fedyk, Pete	Mathew, Sean	Donehoo, Drew	Fedyk, Pete	Donehoo, Drew	Mathew, Sean
Moore, James	Desmelik, Matthew	Moore, James	Decuir, Spencer	Heard, Reed	Desmelik, Matthew
Stevens, Bradley	Donaldson, Daniel	Herbert, Dominic	Mendoza, Cesar	Herbert, Dominic	Donaldson, Daniel
Small, Brandon	Fuentes, Daniel	Orelesi, Oladapo	Causey, Jared	Orelesi, Oladapo	Fuentes, Daniel
Lennen, Marcus	Yanni, Fadi	Richards, Kareve	Yanni, Fadi	Richards, Kareve	Yanni, Fadi
Lennen, Michael	Thompson, Trey	Small, Brandon	Suhr, Kurt	Lennen, Marcus	Greene, Mitchell (GK + F)
Rawson, Payton	Greene, Mitchell (GK + F)	Suhr, Kurt	Stevens, Bradley	Lennen, Michael	Thompson, Trey
Decuir, Spencer	Kammer, Jacob (GK + F)	Moynihan, Jack	Small, Brandon	Moynihan, Jack	Kammer, Jacob (GK + F)
Suhr, Kurt	Causey, Jared	Lennen, Marcus	Rawson, Payton	Decuir, Spencer	Patino, Josh
		Lennen, Michael
		Rawson, Payton
		Heard, Reed
		Stevens, Bradley

Drew Prentice

GSA Boys Academy Director

drew.prentice@gsasoccer.com

(706) 781-7332

Cobb Tournament - Update/Information

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 17:05:14 GMT

Parents:

Just a couple friendly reminders/updates for the tournament this weekend.

If you have a canopy/tent, please consider packing it in your car for the tournament this weekend. It's likely to be another scorcher, and it's important that we try to keep the boys out of the sun as much as possible. Don't rely on someone else to bring a canopy/tent. If we have extras, then I'm sure you guys will appreciate the shade yourselves!!

Also, please make sure the boys hydrate tonight; this is very important!! If they don't start hydrating until tomorrow, it will be MUCH less effective. No McDonalds/fast food for breakfast in the morning. Make sure they get a decent breakfast; if you can manage it, try to get some food in their stomach 2.5-3.0 hours before game time. Did I mention they should be hydrating STARTING tonight up until game time tomorrow?

While most games aren't TOO early, please get the players to bed at a "normal" time, so they receive adequate rest. Remember, the boys should be there AT LEAST 45 minutes before the scheduled start time!! Sorry if I already mentioned this, but the boys need to make sure they start hydrating tonight.

Players/Parents on Juventus: You are playing at Marathon Park all weekend; this is a different venue than Roma who is playing at Mudcreek. It's practically a brand new park, and is kind of tricky to get to if you've never been there before. Below I've copy and pasted a note that Cobb FC has on their website about the location of the park. You can't really see the fields from the road, so please give yourselves extra time tomorrow morning in case you have trouble finding the fields. Since, Coach Sean will be coaching Juventus for this tournament, I will have my cell phone on me, so feel free to give me a ring if you have trouble finding the place!

Marathon Park Note: Please note that Marathon Park is a brand new complex located on a newly-constructed road. As such, it is only visible on the 'Satellite' view on Google Maps, not on the traditional 'Map' view. Also, the directions given will take you to the intersection of the East-West Connector and Marathon Circle (the newly-constructed road). Once you arrive at the intersection, follow Marathon Circle for approximately 300 yards and the entrance to Marathon Park will be on your right, just before the medical building.

If you have any questions, feel free to email or call me. Remember that all the pertinent information regarding schedules, kits, etc. are all on the website: http://www.gsa00boysacademy.com/

Drew Prentice

GSA Boys Academy Director

drew.prentice@gsasoccer.com

(706) 781-7332

U.S. Men vs. Mexico tomorrow night!!!

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 14:39:37 GMT

Our men's national team takes on Mexico at 9:00 p.m. Game to be aired on ESPN2, ESPN3.com, and Univision. First game with the new head coach, Jurgen Klinsmann, at the helm.

US Women vs. Brazil SUNDAY 11am- defend or go home

Sat, 09 Jul 2011 19:37:39 GMT

The commercial being shown on ESPN of the USA Women's National Team (WNT) has star U.S. Keeper Hope Solo saying basically that they thrive on having pressure put on them, and having U.S. fans just expect them to win big matches.

In a strange twist that I doubt was envisioned when they taped that commercial, that wish has come true. Due to a 2-1 loss to Sweden in the last match of the group stage, the WNT must now face the offensive firepower of Brazil in the quarterfinals. That match will be shown live on ESPN starting at 11am tomorrow (Sunday). Don't miss this one...well, unless you are at church, if so set the DVR tonight!

Brazil's goalscoring strength from Marta, Christiane, and Rosana (they EACH have two goals in this tournament) will be a big test for the WNT - since the USA allowed both Swedish goals on set pieces (one was a PK) that came about due to some poor defending by the USA back line.

Many commentators assume that the USA would have preferred delaying this match which they could have done had they beaten Sweden. But if they must beat Brazil, why not do it now? At least we can Hope (excuse the pun) that is what our USA Women are thinking!

Rarely does someone correctly predict what the final score will be in World Cup matches, or for that matter any soccer match at a highly competitive level. So, what is that mysterious equation that determines the final score? It's not a mathematical formula based on team rankings, it's not last week's performance, and (as the Miami Heat found out in basketball) it not the number of "star" players on a team.

It's just my observation, but I rarely see a side lose when every player puts their full heart and intensity into every minute of a match. My evidence? Japan seemed to have every player leaving every ounce of energy they had today on the pitch, and they beat World No.1 Germany 1-nil in a double-overtime thriller. And this World Cup is being played in Germany- they lost at home! Example number two: France beat favored England today in a PK shootout, and advanced to the Women's World Cup semis for the first time ever. Congrats to Japan, what a great gift to a country that deserves a piece of national pride after the catastrophes they have endured. Some of the Japanese players left the field in tears, and you just felt how much it meant to them to represent their country in such a way.

Who knew they had it in them? Only the players.

Yeah, sometimes if you are playing multiple games in a day or weekend you are just gassed and, like Engineer Scotty used to say to Captain Kirk in Star Trek (dating myself there) your body says to your brain "I can't give 'ya any more power, captain". But for you young players, when you watch a match in person or on TV, try to see if you can detect that extra determination that players and teams bring to a match, like Japan did today. Who wants it more? Can you see it within the first few minutes of a match? Can you see it in the 120th minute, like in today's match when you could tell the Japanese players were about to collapse from exhaustion but were still defending their 1-0 lead?

Think about times when you pushed yourself that little extra bit to win that ball or make that run up or back, or find the space to fire that shot, when you could have said "I can't give 'ya any more power, captain", but you didn't say it.

Team USA needs some of that special stuff tomorrow. But while Brazil has potent scorers, they should not be over-respected by the USA, as their defending has weaknesses that good USA attacking can get past. The USA outshot Sweden 20-9 in their loss, and hit the woodwork twice, so the chances have been there for the USA and with USA Coach Pia Sunhage they have been playing a possession-oriented style and are often doing well moving the ball upfield and into attacking positions. finishing on goal has been a problem, but they have players who can definitely strike hard and accurately - one of my current favorite USA players is Megan Rapinoe, she had an amazing blast for a goal against Colombia and has hit the crossbar a couple of times in this tournament.

Also, midfielder Heather O'Reilly is coming back into the starting lineup for the match with Brazil, and she is one of the best playmakers on the WNT. Forward Abby Wambach has sought to prove that her achilles heel injury would not reduce her productivity. Her fitness and lack of scoring had been questioned by the media, but she is a longtime Team USA player and a leader on the team. Her goal versus Sweden seemed to fire up her teammates, and her personal strength playing through a nagging injury could serve to be a powerful team motivator versus Brazil.

Also tomorrow: U-17 World Cup Final

The Boys'/Men's U-17 World Cup Final and Consolation Match are being shown live on TV tomorrow (Sunday, final on ESPNU and ESPN3.com at 6:30pm). The Mexican and Uruguayan squads have both had some amazing matches and deserve to be in the finals - you guys should check it out to see what skills you will need to have in 5 years!

And finally, this just in from a sport other than soccer...

While I've got you here reading "World of Soccer", let me congratulate Derek Jeter of the NY Yankees on getting his 3,000 career hit today (a home run, no less). He actually went 5 for 5 today and drove in the winning run of the game with his fifth hit. Why mention it here? I just think this guy defines what being a team player is all about and is a class act- good traits for young players to understand regardless of the sport they compete in. Congrats, Derek!

TV listings for Sunday, July 10:

ESPN
FIFA Women’s World Cup SWEDEN-AUSTRALIA, Quarterfinal (live) 7 am.
FIFA Women’s World Cup USA-BRAZIL, Quarterfinal (live) 11:30 am.

ESPNU
FIFA U-17 World Cup GERMANY-BRAZIL, 3rd Place (live) 3:45 pm.
FIFA U-17 World Cup MEXICO-URUGUAY, Final (live) 6:30 pm.

GALAVISION
FIFA U-17 World Cup MEXICO-URUGUAY, Final (live) 6:30 pm.

ESPN3.com
FIFA Women’s World Cup SWEDEN-AUSTRALIA, Quarterfinal (live) 7 am.
FIFA Women’s World Cup USA-BRAZIL, Quarterfinal (live) 11:30 am.
FIFA U-17 World Cup GERMANY-BRAZIL, 3rd Place (live) 3:45 pm.
FIFA U-17 World Cup MEXICO-URUGUAY, Final (live) 6:30 pm.

I'm slacking: USA v. Panama, RIGHT NOW, Cup semis!

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 19:06:08 GMT

Good evening GSA Academy families:

Tonight the USA plays Panama in the CONCACAF Gold Cup Semi-final. It starts at 7pm on Fox Soccer Channel. Jozy Altidore, striker for the USA with 2 goals already in this tournament, has been listed as injured and out for this match. Clint Dempsey, however, came back from some harsh criticism and scored the second goal in a 2-0 quarterfinal victory over Jamaica. Other young, talented USA players have been getting more time up top, so hopefully the USA will not miss Altidore's finishing talents.

After the match, the other semi-final will be played (at 10pm). That match will feature Mexico versus Honduras. Chicharito (Javier Hernandez) has been putting on a goal-scoring clinic at this Gold Cup, and leads all players with 6 goals in the tourney. I'm excited to see if the Man U. star can put a few more in the net tonight.

The Gold Cup final will take place this Saturday night, also on Fox Soccer Channel.

Enjoy the matches, and take the opportunity to watch how and where players move when they don't have posession - it's pretty cool to see how the big guys do it. It was fun to watch how the USA played the posession game late in the match with Jamaica and sitting on a 2-nil lead.

Overachiever of the month: Blake Brettschneider

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 17:38:47 GMT

If you watched the DC United - LA Galaxy match from last weekend, you had to notice Blake Brettschneider. He started and played for 60-some minutes prior to having Charlie Davies sub for him. His quick, creative attacks and superb ball control and passing were a pleasure to watch, and he was mentioned several times for his solid performance by the TV Announcers.

I got an e-mail from another academy Dad this Sunday, "did you see Josh Wolf and Blake Brettschneider (both former GSA players) in that match?!" I responded, "yes, I did, I watched the replay that came on after the US got blown off the field by Spain. Seeing Brettschneider returned my confidence in where USA soccer can go!"

The following is a Washington Post Article that was published BEFORE the DC United-LA Galaxy match, so I wonder what they will be saying this week about Blake?

Maybe they'll be saying, "I wonder where he learned the game so well, where did he play his youth soccer....!!!" It's hot, but keep practicing boys!

-------------------------------------------------

D.C. United’s Blake Brettschneider has gone from supplemental pick to essential component -

Washinton Post article by Steven Goss

When D.C. United assembled a fresh front line during the offseason, Blake Brettschneider was on the periphery of the club’s plans....

[to read the rest of the Article - follow this link to our team's "World of Soccer" page]

Big US National Team Matches this Weekend!

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 10:45:40 GMT

FYI, this just in from U.S. Soccer:

See the U.S. Men Take On Spain at Gillette Stadium on Saturday; Cheer On the U.S. Women in World Cup Send-Off Match in New Jersey on Sunday

A record-breaking 58,500 fans have already purchased their tickets for the U.S. Men's National Team's match against 2010 FIFA World Cup Champion Spain on Saturday at 4:30 pm ET making it the most-attended match ever staged in New England.

Great seats are still available, but you must act quickly in order to be part of this historic event. Spain doesn't come to the U.S. often so don't miss your chance to see World Cup Champions Andres Iniesta, David Villa and Fernando Torres take on a strong U.S. roster.

Buy your tickets and be part of U.S. Soccer history!

Friday (June 3): U.S. MNT and Spain Training Sessions
The U.S. MNT and Spain have also opened their Friday pre-match training sessions to the public. Take advantage of this rare opportunity to see both teams train by buying your tickets today. This is a must-see event for fans and coaches alike.

Sunday (June 5): U.S. WNT vs. Mexico
On Sunday at 2:00 pm ET, the U.S. Women's National Team will take on Mexico in its Women's World Cup Send-Off Match at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. Don't miss your chance to see the rematch after Mexico defeated the U.S. in their last meeting in World Cup qualifying, almost keeping the U.S. from earning a ticket to Germany.

Tickets starting at $22 are on sale now. Purchase your ticket today and cheer on the U.S. Women in their final match before the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup.

If you can't see the game in person, tune into the ESPN on Saturday or ESPN2 on Sunday. Univision will also broadcast both games live. Go to ussoccer.com for more information on the broadcasts.

We look forward to seeing you this weekend.

Soccer America MD: hydrate those young players!!!

Sat, 21 May 2011 17:46:26 GMT

If you don't want to read the whole article, here is a summary:

Youth athletes at our boys' age should drink 12 ounces of WATER at least half an hour before they start warmups for a match, then continue to SIP water during breaks, and drink 12 or more ounces OF WATER after the match to replenish. In the second game the boys definitely rallied and big props to them for that, but some of the pain in the effort may have been due to not replacing fluids between the first and second matches, or even starting the day without good hydration. Here's the article:

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Water seems to have gotten a bad rap lately. It used to be perfectly acceptable to drink water during sports events, but nowadays it seems that there is a big push toward flavored waters and so-called "sports drinks."

Human bodies are about 60% water. Drinking water is critical for all human beings to stay healthy, and water overall is probably more important than food for survival. In average conditions an adult human being can go without water for about 3 to 5 days but can survive without food for much longer. The need for water consumption goes up with exercise and also increases with hot or cold climates. Every part of the human body is dependent on water for proper function.

Sports drinks and juices do provide hydration, but water is still generally the healthiest option for exercise lasting less than 60 to 90 minutes because it lacks the calories and additives of the other drinks. Sports drinks* may be more effective for longer duration exercise because they contain electrolytes that are lost with intense sweating.

Research shows that adolescents and teenagers get less water than any other age group. A good portion of an adolescent’s "diet" consists of soda and foods containing a large amount of processed sugars, fat or salt, which have little if any nutritional value. Drinking water before a meal can curb the desire to overeat, and by substituting water for empty-calorie soda will literally save hundreds of useless calories in the overweight child or adolescent's diet.

Young athletes face the risk of dehydration and heat related illness if they do not replace the water that is lost through sweat. Many pediatricians recommend that every child should drink half of their total body weight in ounces of water each day. For instance, the average 6-year-old weighing 46 pounds should drink about 3 cups of water or 23 ounces in the course of the day. Sports participation increases the body’s need to consume water.

For athletes, one of the keys is to begin hydrating well before your planned exercise or game session. There is yet another formula for hydrating before exercise. The general recommendation is for young athletes to begin hydrating themselves about two hours before exercise by having 1 ounce of water for every 10 pounds of their body weight. This can all get very confusing.

So here are some practical tips about drinking water that should be a bit easier to remember.

* The young athlete should have 12-16 ounces of fluid up until about 30 minutes before a game or practice (remember that most water and sports drinks come in 20-ounce bottles).

* Keep sipping water during the practice or match.

* Start re-hydrating within 20 minutes of the conclusion of the practice or game. Research shows that the first 20 minutes are the most efficient time to start refueling. Try to take in 20 ounces within this window of time.

There are also many excellent sports drinks available that will provide hydration. Some advantages of sports drinks are better taste, and also the ability to replace electrolytes that are lost during sweat. But for most shorter duration sports events water will do just fine. Water is cheaper than a sports drink, and it has proved effective literally for millions of years.

* FURTHER READING: For Dr. Mishra's detailed look at sports and energy drinks, click HERE.

(Dev K. Mishra is the creator of the SidelineSportsDoc.com injury management program for coaches. He is an orthopedic surgeon in private practice in Burlingame, Calif. He is a member of the team physician pool with the U.S. Soccer Federation and has served as team physician at the University of California, Berkeley. This article first appeared on SidelineSportsDoc.com.)

Coach's Corner: Why Soccer Players Succeed in Life

Sat, 23 Apr 2011 08:17:08 GMT

Good Morning GSA Families:

Coach Sean wrote a good, thought-provoking article about how what soccer players learn can provide them with a foundation for success in business later in life.

I put his article up on our Coach's corner section of the team web site, just follow this link (might as well do it now, it is your homework for this weekend!).

Brian

Two Goliaths end in a draw at the Bernebau!

Sun, 17 Apr 2011 08:39:25 GMT

Man, I hope the Champion's League semi-final matches between Barcelona and Real Madrid are this edgy and close. Yesterday, the two met up in a Spanish La Liga match at Real Madrid's home stadium: The Bernebau.

The match ended 1-1, but there were plenty of opportunities for each team, sometimes just barely missing a goal because of a bounce off a post or a last defender's quick action.

In the end, how was the match decided? By the world's two greatest players, of course! A PK in the 52nd minute by Leo Messi was countered by a PK by Cristiano Ronaldo in the 82nd minute. At the time of Ronaldo's goal, Real was also playing man-down due to a red card a few minutes prior.

I put a great write up that I found on ESPN soccer net on our web site, check it out at the GSA00Boys WorldofSoccer Page

Amazing midfield volley GOLAZO! by Stankovic,Inter

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 17:00:29 GMT

Thanks John Bandy for sending me the link for this. check out our World of Soccer page for the video of an incredible goal from yesterday's EUFA Champion's League action.

Notice that the ball never touches the ground from before the goalie's header until after it crosses the goal line for the score!

Don't forget:USMNT vs. Argentina TONIGHT 7PM ESPN2

Sat, 26 Mar 2011 11:28:24 GMT

This is better than a whole week of NCAA basketball. Leo Messi and the boys in baby blue come to the Meadowlands to square off against Donovan, Dempsey and the rest of the US Men's National Team.

With our rainout today, this is a great way to get your soccer fix for Saturday. ESPN2 at 7pm.

NFL lockout: time for Ochocinco to play soccer!

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 17:03:37 GMT

I admit, I get tired of the showboating of some NFL stars, but I'm making an exception this time with Chad Ochocinco, the colorful wide receiver for the Cincinnatti Bengals. With the NFL in turmoil and owners currently locking out the players, number 85 has decided to return to a sport he loved as a kid and played through the 10th grade (he's just like me, I guess, you can't get soccer out of your blood once it gets in there!).

Here is an article from ESPN about Ocho, who will play for Sporting Kansas City's MLS reserve team on Monday:

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Chad Ochocinco's soccer career has been extended at least two days. Sporting Kansas City has asked Ochocinco, a six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver with the Cincinnati Bengals, to play in their reserve team's game Monday against a local squad.

Ochocinco says he actually preferred soccer to football as a youngster. He began a four-day trial with the MLS team Wednesday as a way to stay fit and keep busy during the NFL lockout. He admitted he was rusty because he hadn't played since the 10th grade. He also seemed nervous and a bit out of shape on his first day.

A Sporting KC spokesman said Ochocinco appeared much more comfortable the next day and will play Monday against the Kansas City Brass, a minor league team.

"This is not unusual," team spokesman Dave Borchardt said. "They like for trialists to have a chance to play in at least one game, a chance to be evaluated even further. It's the same opportunity that is given most trialists."

Never one to avoid the spotlight, Ochocinco said this week that once football owners and players work out their differences, he'll be back running pass patterns for the Bengals. But he also insisted he is sincere in wanting to play soccer.

"There's a lot of people who question how serious I am about it. But for those who know me, who know my background, soccer is where it all started," he said.

He also said he would play for free.

map with field 3A for South Forsyth Soccer Complex

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 21:31:52 GMT

Here is a map I found of the SFSC fields where we play on Saturday, March 26th. All three matches will be played on field 3A.

http://www.unitedfa.org/imgs/facilities/FFSC_South_Fields.jpg

Spring Break 3v3 Challenge and Camp

Mon, 21 Mar 2011 13:39:08 GMT

Spring Break 3v3 Challenge and Camp!

Gwinnett County Schools are out on Friday, April 8th and players are invited to joint us for the GSA 3v3 Challenge. The 3v3 Tournament will run from 9:00am until 3:00pm and is open to all players age 8 through 14, both Recreational and Select. Players can form their own teams or show up as an individual and we'll find you a team. Each team may have up to 5 players on their team.

Registration begins at 8:45am and the cost is $20 per player and players should bring their lunch. To pre-register or for more information, please contact Campbell Chapman or Mike Farnham.

Spring Break Camp

April 4, 5, 6 & 7

U5-U6 and U8 / 9am -11am

The camp is designed to teach younger players the fundamentals of the game. Emphasis will be on playing games, game-like competitions and challenging skill building activities. Cost is $60 for the 4 day camp.

U9 thru U14 / 9am – Noon

The camp will focus on the following:

Dribbling: Focus on ways to maintain possession of the ball as well as learn different moves used by professionals to create space and evade defenders.

Heading: Learn the different methods to head the ball, specific to different game situations, while stressing the skills needed to improve directional heading.

Passing & Control: Improve both long- and short-range passing accuracy, and learn to play away from pressure with your first touch--giving you more time to make decisions.

Shooting: Work on striking the ball cleanly and accurately, so that you put a higher percentage of shots in the back of the net.

Agility: Improve footwork while increasing your balance and speed, thereby giving you that extra step to pass your opponent.

Cost $90 for all 4 days or $25 per day.

To register for the camp email Campbell Champman or Mike Farnham.

USA versus Argentina! ESPN2 Saturday 7pm

Mon, 21 Mar 2011 08:59:23 GMT

Set a reminder for yourself: this coming Saturday night at 7pm ESPN2 and Univision will broadcast a live international friendly from the New Meadowlands Arena in New Jersey:

USA Men's National Team versus Argentina!

Clint Dempsey raises bar for USplayers with record

Sun, 20 Mar 2011 23:52:44 GMT

Dempsey raises the bar for US Players in the EPL.

Clint Dempsey, the Nacodoches, Texas star midfielder (sometimes forward) for the US Men's National Team as well as Fulham FC in the English Premier League, has set a noteworthy record.

I have updated our World of Soccer page with the news and video. Click on the link to go there now!

Dempsey bettered the previous record, set twice by Brian McBride, also while McBride played for the same EPL club, Fulham.

They must like Yanks over there in West London, at least they do this year with the performance and gritty determination of Mr. Dempsey.

Photo Albums added: Roma and Lazio at Concorde Cup

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:05:31 GMT

Hello U11 Academy Families:

I have created two photo albums in the PHOTO ALBUM section of our U11 Team Web Site. One with Roma tournament pics and one with Lazio tournament and medal ceremony pics. You can click on these links to go there now (sorry, I had a few more Lazio than Roma pics).

If you have more photos from the weekend that you would like to add, please remember that any of you can add photos to our team site photo albums. Here's the scoop:

First, download the photos from your phone or camera to your home computer or laptop the way you normally do.
Most cameras take pictures with a higher resolution than we need for viewing on the web, making the files quite large for uploading and storing on our site. So it's important to use a photo editing program like Photoshop or Picasa (or whatever came with your camera) and just open the picture with a photo editor then "save as" a jpeg file with a compression of about 80.
"Cropping" images to remove less-than-interesting backgrounds (like parking lots, trees, or parents texting on their blackberrys) makes files much smaller and helps to focus on the players and the action in the picture. Cropping is not necessary but if you are comfortable using your editor to do it, it helps. If cropping is outside of your geek comfort zone, just save the image as JPEG setting 80 and you are good to go.
Go to the photos section of our GSA U11 Team site and click on the appropriate album, then click on "Add Photos".
On the "Add Photos" screen, simply click on the button that allows you to browse your photos, and SELECT THE COMPRESSED JPEG pictues from your computer that you would like to share with the rest of our academy families.

Thanks, since some of you have some righteous imaging gear that makes my little Canon pea-shooter look like a very ameteur piece of equipment, help us out and share your awesome pictures!!!

And hopefully Marcus will find this funny - I had to include this pic that I had on my camera featuring his hair in full mohawk mode (here's a direct link). Maybe I'm just jealous about the hair thing.

Congratulations to the Roma and Lazio players on playing hard until the final whistle on Sunday. The Roma boys may have been bummed about their tie in that first match, but I have never seen a team dominate posession of the ball in the opponent's half for as much as Roma did in that first game - awesome! And Lazio members, I hope you guys realize that in four games Lazio's opponents scored ZERO goals - wow!

Spring Regular Season on one page

Sun, 27 Feb 2011 10:19:18 GMT

We have posted the full regular season game schedule for the Spring on a single page to make it easy to plan ahead.

Follow this link for the U11 Boys Spring Season Page available on our team web site.

I'm a romantic, says Xavi, heartbeat of Barcelona

Fri, 11 Feb 2011 12:51:02 GMT

I found this article on the Guardian UK website. I wanted to share it with the Boys. But before I put it on our website I thought I should ask Coach Nuno and Sean. This was Coach Nuno's response to me.

"Absolutely, its everything that we are trying to be, heck this should be on front of our main website."

With that said, I'd check it out at your leisure.

Many have described Barcelona's 5-0 win over Real Madrid last November as the greatest performance ever. Even Wayne Rooney admits that he stood up in his living room and started applauding.

[Xavi's face lights up]. Yeah? Really? Rooney? That makes me proud. Rooney, wow! Rooney is extraordinary, he could play for Barcelona. And before people imagine headlines like "Xavi says Rooney to join Barcelona" – although, I'd love him to! – what I mean is that he's our kind of player. That game was wonderful, the best I've played. The feeling of superiority was incredible – and against Real Madrid! They didn't touch the ball. Madre mía, what a match! In the dressing room, we gave ourselves a standing ovation.

You mention Barcelona's dominance of possession. It's tempting to conclude that we've never seen a team with an identity – for better or worse – as clear as the current Barcelona and Spain teams. It's all about possession. And that's your identity – one that seems to have become dominant.

It's good that the reference point for world football right now is Barcelona, that it's Spain. Not because it's ours but because of what it is. Because it's an attacking football, it's not speculative, we don't wait. You pressure, you want possession, you want to attack. Some teams can't or don't pass the ball. What are you playing for? What's the point? That's not football. Combine, pass, play. That's football – for me, at least. For coaches, like, I don't know, [Javier] Clemente or [Fabio] Capello, there's another type of football. But it's good that Barcelona's style is now a model, not that.

But some claimed Spain were boring at the World Cup. You kept winning 1-0.

That's upside down. It's not that we were boring, it is the other team that was. What did Holland look for? Penalties. Or [Arjen] Robben on the break. Bam, bam, bam. Of course we were boring – the opposition made it that way. Paraguay? What did they do? Built a spectacularly good defensive system and waited for chances – from dead balls. Up it goes, rebound, loose ball. It's harder than people realise when you've got a guy behind you who's two metres tall and right on top of you.

So, what's the solution?

Think quickly, look for spaces. That's what I do: look for spaces. All day. I'm always looking. All day, all day. [Xavi starts gesturing as if he is looking around, swinging his head]. Here? No. There? No. People who haven't played don't always realise how hard that is. Space, space, space. It's like being on the PlayStation. I think shit, the defender's here, play it there. I see the space and pass. That's what I do.

That's at the heart of the Barcelona model and runs all the way through the club, doesn't it? When you beat Madrid, eight of the starting XI were youth-team products and all three finalists in this year's Ballon d'Or were too – Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta and you.

Some youth academies worry about winning, we worry about education. You see a kid who lifts his head up, who plays the pass first time, pum, and you think, 'Yep, he'll do.' Bring him in, coach him. Our model was imposed by [Johan] Cruyff; it's an Ajax model. It's all about rondos [piggy in the middle]. Rondo, rondo, rondo. Every. Single. Day. It's the best exercise there is. You learn responsibility and not to lose the ball. If you lose the ball, you go in the middle. Pum-pum-pum-pum, always one touch. If you go in the middle, it's humiliating, the rest applaud and laugh at you.

Your Barcelona team-mate Dani Alves said that you don't play to the run, you make the run by obliging team-mates to move into certain areas. "Xavi," he said, "plays in the future."

They make it easy. My football is passing but, wow, if I have Dani, Iniesta, Pedro, [David] Villa … there are so many options. Sometimes, I even think to myself: man, so-and-so is going to get annoyed because I've played three passes and haven't given him the ball yet. I'd better give the next one to Dani because he's gone up the wing three times. When Leo [Messi] doesn't get involved, it's like he gets annoyed … and the next pass is for him.

You're talking about style over success but not only can they go together, they have to go together, don't they? Arsenal play great football, Arsène Wenger is a hugely respected coach, but they've not won anything for years. Could that happen at Barcelona?

Almost impossible. If you go two years without winning, everything has to change. But you change names, not identity. The philosophy can't be lost. Our fans wouldn't understand a team that sat back and played on the break. Sadly, people only look at teams through success. Now, success has validated our approach. I'm happy because, from a selfish point of view, six years ago I was extinct; footballers like me were in danger of dying out. It was all: two metres tall, powerful, in the middle, knockdowns, second balls, rebounds … but now I see Arsenal and Villarreal and they play like us.

Do you see yourself as a defender of the faith? An ideologue?

It was that or die. I'm a romantic. I like the fact that talent, technical ability, is valued above physical condition now. I'm glad that's the priority; if it wasn't, there wouldn't be the same spectacle. Football is played to win but our satisfaction is double. Other teams win and they're happy, but it's not the same. The identity is lacking. The result is an impostor in football. You can do things really, really well – last year we were better than Inter Milan – but did not win. There's something greater than the result, more lasting. A legacy. Inter won the Champions League but no one talks about them. People discovered me since Euro 2008, but I've been playing the same way for years. It is true, though, that I have grown in confidence and tranquillity. And that comes with success.

Has English football suffered because it embraces a different footballing culture?

It has changed; the style's a bit more technical. But before it was direct, it was about the second ball, the typical No9 was a Crouch or a Heskey and there was no football. Carragher, boom, up top; Terry, boom, up top. I think it's changing: Barry, Lampard, Gerrard, Carrick … they are players who treat the ball well. You see them now and think, Christ, they are trying to play.

Is Paul Scholes the English Xavi?

[Xavi interrupts, almost bursting with enthusiasm] Paul Scholes! A role model. For me – and I really mean this – he's the best central midfielder I've seen in the last 15, 20 years. I've spoken to Xabi Alonso about him. He's spectacular, he has it all: the last pass, goals, he's strong, he doesn't lose the ball, vision. If he'd been Spanish he might have been rated more highly. Players love him.

England seems to mistrust technical players.

It's a pity. Talent has to be the priority. Technical ability. Always, always. Sure, you can win without it but it's talent that makes the difference. Look at the teams: Juventus, who makes the difference? Krasic. Del Piero. Liverpool? Gerrard, or Torres before. Talento. Talento. When you look at players and ask yourself who's the best: talento. Cesc, Nasri, Ryan Giggs – that guy is a joy, incredible. Looking back, I loved John Barnes and Chris Waddle was buenísimo. [Open-mouthed, eyes gleaming] Le Tissier! Although their style was different I liked Roy Keane and Paul Ince together, too. That United team was great – my English team. If I'd gone anywhere, it would have been there.

In England do we overrate physical players? You mention Carragher, Terry …

Whoa! Wait! Be careful. They're fundamental. We've got Puyol. Technically he might not be the best but it's incredible the way he defends. Carragher and Terry are necessary, brilliant, but they have to adapt to technical football [not the other way round]. For me, that comes naturally – or for Messi, Iniesta or Rooney. Others have to work at it. For them it's harder to lift their head up and play a pass – but they have to.

But when a player is offered to a club, the first question is: "how tall is he?"

Have you seen [the Villarreal winger] Santi Cazorla? You think I'm small, he's up to here on me [Xavi signals his chest]. And yet he's brilliant. Messi is the same and he's the best player in the world. Maybe it's the culture, I don't know, but in England you're warriors. You watch Liverpool and Carragher wins the ball and boots it into the stands and the fans applaud. There's a roar! They'd never applaud that here.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/feb/11/xavi-barcelona-spain-interview Link to the full article

Practice Canceled Today (2/1/10)

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 14:36:14 GMT

Practice is Canceled for today (February 1, Tuesday) due to the weather. Hope to get out there on Thursday.

Inspiration for Juggling - check out this video!!!

Sat, 29 Jan 2011 00:13:21 GMT

Academy players:

I know, you didn't need any extra motivation to get out and juggle over the winter, but just in case, check out this sick juggling video.

Thanks to Tom Donlan for passing this video (awhile ago, my bad) to me, which we have now brought you via our International Satellite Feed exclusively at the GSA 00 Boys World of Soccer News Desk.

There is no cost to you for this service, but YOU MUST GO TO THE TEAM WEB SITE to watch the vid. Don't be a stranger, we have put lots of other stuff up there, such as highlights from the brace Clint Dempsey scored in Fulham's win last weekend.

Here is the link to the World of Soccer page on our team web site.

Kareve, is that your brother Kyle up there juggling from the top of the lamp post? Just starting rumors here!

Cheers.

Player Development Article...for the players!

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 15:30:28 GMT

By Mike Woitalla

The world's three greatest players have a few things in common.

Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi all stand barely 5-foot-7 tall. They're teammates at Barcelona and they all came out of the club's youth program.

The trio finished tops in voting for the 2010 FIFA Ballon d’Or, the world player of the year award won by Messi.

2010 World Cup champs Iniesta (age 26) and Xavi (31) joined Barcelona at age 11 and 12, respectively. Messi (23) arrived from Argentina at age 13.

One person who had a close eye on all three of them during their youth days is Albert Benaiges, the coordinator of Barcelona's youth teams, which spawned seven players who played for Spain in its World Cup final win.

After the Ballon d’Or honors, Benaiges recalled his impressions of the trio in their early years.

“No one back then knew they would be world-class players,” he told Germany’s Kicker Magazine. “For sure, Messi’s great talent was already apparent. Also in Iniesta and Xavi one saw early on that they offered something special -- or else we wouldn’t have brought them in.

“But anyone who says that when he saw those three players at age 11, 12 and 13 he knew they were future superstars is a liar.”

Benaiges says that it’s at age 16 when they can predict if a boy might mature into a very good player.

“Before that age it’s nearly impossible,” he said.

Benaiges does recall that Messi was incredibly fast with the ball. That even at 11, Xavi almost never lost the ball. And that Iniesta was a sensitive, considerate boy – shy but always willing to help others.

Messi, during one year, played for teams at five different levels within the club – and never complained whether it was with the A team or C team – always giving his best.

Regarding the type of training Barcelona youth players receive:

“Technical skills we can improve up till the age of 13,” Benaiges says. “But every pro was born a soccer player. Instinct and game intelligence we can’t create. Both of those come within.”

Asked what is trained, Benaiges responded: “Only technique and tactics, not fitness, which they can catch up on later.”

The ball is the focus:

"The most important aspect of our program is always ball work. In all the exercises they do, whether it's physical preparation or any other kind of training, the ball is always there."

Message: A majority of the Development of Technique and Tactics (Decision Making) is the responsibility of the player. The more you practice and watch the game the more you grow as a player.

MLS rising: 1st round salaries now and then

Mon, 24 Jan 2011 16:57:35 GMT

Just a few years back, you could get drafted in the first round of the MLS draft, and in your first season still find yourself living in your parent's house and driving to your home games in a rusty Dodge Dart with the muffler dragging on the tarmac. It's a tricky chicken and egg system: teams need more money from fans and sponsors to get better players, fans and sponsors want to see better players, something closer to what they can see on Fox Soccer Channel before they shell out money for tickets and jerseys.

So, the rising salaries reported in this article that I saw from Paul Kennedy at Soccer America is a great sign (or sign-ing if you'll excuse the pun). Lowest first round 2010 signing was $42,500 with the top draft pick at $206,500, not bad for doing what you love!

-------------------------------------------

Contracts offered to rookies entering the MLS SuperDraft are hardly the lucrative deals offered to players entering drafts in other American sports, but salaries for first-round picks are steadily increasing in MLS. As recently as four years ago, two first-round picks made only $17,700 in guaranteed compensation in their first year.

Only one first-round pick (Maurice Edu) made more than $100,000 in 2007, only two first-rounders (Chance Myers and Patrick Nyarko) earned in six figures in 2008.

But MLS is doing more to keep top young college prospects from going abroad like Charlie Davies, Alejandro Bedoya and Marcus Tracy did.

In each of the last two years, eight first-round picks -- all signed to Generation adidas contracts -- earned more than $100,000 in their first season.

And the minimum salaries have increased -- and will again increase -- as a new collective bargaining agreement takes effect.

*Generation adidas selections

2010 First Round
1 Philadelphia -- *Danny Mwanga ($206,250)
2 New York -- *Tony Tchani ($179,000)
3 San Jose -- *Ike Opara ($165,900)
4 Kansas City -- *Teal Bunbury ($163,000)
5 FC Dallas -- Zach Loyd ($57,125)
6 Philadelphia -- *Amobi Okugo ($158,000)
7 Philadelphia -- *Jack McInerney ($116,417)
8 Columbus -- *Dilly Duka ($213,000)
9 New England -- Zack Schilawski ($42,500)
10 Chivas USA -- *Blair Gavin ($69,000)
11 Seattle -- David Estrada ($40,000)
12 Columbus -- Bright Dike (not in league)
13 Chicago -- *Corben Bone ($136,200)
14 New York -- Austin da Luz ($52,125)
15 Real Salt Lake -- Collen Warner ($43,750)
16 Los Angeles -- Michael Stephens ($42,500)

Spring 2011

Sun, 23 Jan 2011 17:08:52 GMT

To U11 Boys Academy,

Happy New Year to all and we hope that you enjoyed the Holidays as well as the snowfall. It will be time to kick-off the Spring Season very soon so just a few items to discuss.

1) Registration - please make sure that you register by today, Sunday January 23 because after today you will be charged a late fee of $25.

2) Practice Sessions will remain the same, Tuesday & Thursday from 5-6:30pm and we begin on January 31.

3) Pre-Season Tournaments - One team will do the Cobb FC Tournament on February 12-13; one team will do the GFC Tournament on February 19-20; and, one team will do the Concorde Tournament on February 26-27. Please let Coach Sean know which dates you are available so that we can make the Tournament Rosters accordingly.

4) Game Schedule - At the moment, the Game Schedule is set-up for us to play every Saturday starting on March 5 and ending on May 14. No games scheduled for April 9-10 but there are games on Saturday April 2.

5) End of Season Tournaments - One team will do the AFU Tournament on May 7-8, and, two other teams will do the UFA Tournament on May 21-22.

A HUGE Thank You to Nick Fedyk, our Team Manager. Nick is the glue that keeps us all together and the fuel that keeps us moving forward.

Lastly, thank you to all of the Players and Parents. YOU are what makes GSA such a wonderful experience and we look forward to many more seasons of soccer with all of you.

With Respect,
Nuno, Sean, Leonard

Dempsey scores 2 in 2-nil win, Spector scores also

Sat, 22 Jan 2011 17:17:41 GMT

Update: I put the video of Dempsey's goals on our World of Soccer page, you can link to it HERE.

American midfielder Clint Dempsey had two goals for Fulham in its 2-0 win against Stoke in the English Premier League and U.S. teammate Jonathan Spector scored for West Ham on Saturday.

Dempsey took his tally for the season to nine goals, including eight in the league, by opening the scoring in the 33rd minute with a close-range finish and adding a second from the penalty spot in the 56th.

The penalty was awarded after Dempsey was fouled by Stoke defender Ryan Shawcross, who was shown a red card for denying the U.S. player a goalscoring opportunity.

[+] Enlarge

Clive Rose/Getty ImagesClint Dempsey scores the first of his two goals for Fulham against Stoke on Saturday. Dempsey now has eight league goals this season.

The result lifted Fulham four points clear of the relegation zone. Spector's West Ham team remained at the bottom of the standings despite its 2-2 draw at Everton.

Spector scored his first goal in England's top division to give West Ham the lead but Everton equalized twice -- the second coming through Marouane Fellaini in second-half stoppage time -- to rescue a point.

Spector, who is currently playing out of position in midfield for West Ham, has scored twice in the league cup and once in the FA Cup.

EPL fans vote Holden top player so far this season

Tue, 28 Dec 2010 19:26:58 GMT

I saw this in the Guardian, a newspaper from England that I often check due to their extensive soccer coverage. I recently had posted video of one of Stu Holden's goals in our World of Soccer web page. Holden was injured as the result of a fairly reckless foul by a Dutch player in a USA-Netherlands friendly prior to the World Cup. He has now regained his fitness and is fun to watch if you get a chance to see a Bolton game on TV. Here's the Guardian's coverage of their fan poll:

Guardian.co.uk readers' Premier League team of the season so far

Analysis of your player ratings for every league game so far this sason ranks Bolton's Stuart Holden, also a player on the USA's National Team, as the No1

Photograph: John Walton/Empics

To the accolades that have been allocated to Owen Coyle this season we may add that he, apparently, has been responsible for the signing of the year. Because analysis of all the match ratings awarded by our readers after each Premier League game this season suggests that the best player so far this term has been Stuart Holden, the midfielder whom Bolton picked up from Houston Dynamo for nothing last January.

Dynamism, indeed, has been one of the features of Bolton this season as, for all the praise Coyle has received for introducing a more cerebral playing style, Bolton also work exceptionally hard without the ball, having attempted more tackles than any other team in the league. No player embodies this alluring blending of industry and invention better than Holden, who, as a bonus, over the last month has also added goals to his game. His average mark for the campaign so far, according to readers, has been 7.4. Holden's Bolton team-mate Johan Elmander also scored highly, his average grade of 7.2 making him the pick of the division's strikers along with Newcastle's Andy Carroll (7.0).

Blackpool's swashbucklers have thrilled so far this season, orchestrated elegantly by Charlie Adam, so it is perhaps slightly surprising that it is their Ghanaian goalkeeper, Richard Kingson, who has been voted their best player of the campaign so far. Then again, he has performed heroics and kept two clean sheets in the five matches he has played since taking over from Matt Gilks. His average rating of 7.2 makes him the best goalkeeper in the league so far and, therefore, one of several Ian Holloway recruits who might be considered as rivals for Holden in the signing of the season stakes.

Four other goalkeepers were considered their club's best players of the season so far: Birmingham's Ben Foster (6.5), Blackburn's Paul Robinson (6.7), Stoke's Asmir Begovic (6.7) and Liverpool's Pepé Reina (6.7).

Readers made Nemanja Vidic (6.9) the best Manchester United player of the campaign so far and the Serb is partnered in central defence by Rio Ferdinand (6.5). Readers seem to judge defenders more harshly than players in other positions as their average ratings are lower across the board. Bacary Sagna's improved crossing this term is perhaps one of the reasons why he is currently rated as the best right-back (6.6), while effectiveness going forward is certainly a factor in Leighton Baines (6.8) being voted the best left-back so far.

Holden, meanwhile, is in good company in midfield, being surrounded by the north London trio of Samir Nasri (7.0), Luka Modric (7.0) and Rafael van der Vaart (7.0) – at least that's the flair-lovers' choice of line-up: others may wish to replace one of those with Newcastle's Cheikh Tioté, who also averages 7.0.

Unsurprisingly, the team with the lowest-scoring best player are the bottom club West Ham – and equally unsurprising is the fact that that player is Scott Parker (5.8).

Readers' ratings team of the season so far (4-4-2) ...

Richard Kingson (Blackpool); Bacary Sagna (Arsenal), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United), Leighton Baines (Everton); Samir Nasri (Arsenal), Stuart Holden (Bolton), Luka Modric (Tottenham), Rafael van der Vaart (Tottenham); Johan Elmander (Bolton), Andy Carroll (Newcastle).

gift a ball, charity sends 2nd one to needy child!

Sun, 19 Dec 2010 00:44:38 GMT

Want to give a holiday soccer gift, but you want it to really mean something? This charity's (http://www.oneworldfutbol.com) mission, in their own words:

"In January 2010, one of the most destructive earthquakes ever recorded struck Haiti. When supplies arrived, children gathered, and one of their most common requests was for . . . soccer balls.Darfur or Haiti, ball pumps with needles were non-existent. But in the post-earthquake destruction balls would be punctured within a couple of days. Also, in many places like

Inventor, Music Producer and Charity volunteer Tim Jahnigen was watching a video of Darfur refugee villages, and asking himself how a ball could be constructed so that it wouldn't tear apart or deflate, yet would play like the real thing, as opposed to the "balls" kids on the video had made out of plastic bags, trash, and twine. Tim thought a ball could be made using the same material that his shoes were made of - he was wearing his Crocs.

Tim's idea remained just that until a conversation with the entertainer Sting, with whom Tim produces a bi-annual concert. Once Tim shared his vision of an indestructible soccer ball, Sting offered to donate money for R&D, and the first "One World Futbol" was born. In recognition of his crucial early support, the name of the ball and of the project were based on the song "One World," written by Sting."

So Consider giving a gift that shows soccer's power to unite the world. If the gift is for a youth player, you don't have to worry about the ball deflating when it flies into the hedges, nor worry about the panels being shredded from playing in a street or parking lot.

Happy Holidays, Academy Families

Where are they now? The Chilean Miners...

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 22:37:10 GMT

In an earlier article, I mentioned that Manchester United Director (and a legendary coach and player as well) Sir Bobby Charlton offered the 33 miners trapped underground that when they got out he would pay for a trip to fly to England and attend a Man U. Game. He told them this about 30 days into their 69-day ordeal.

Here is the story on how Sir Bobby made good on his word:

(Article written by Mark Ogden appeared in the British newspaper The Telegraph)

Sir Bobby Charlton on Monday night played host to 23 Chilean miners during Manchester United’s clash with Arsenal after inviting the group to Old Trafford in the midst of their two-month ordeal trapped underground in the San José mine.

Charlton, raised in the Northumberland, England mining village of Ashington, issued the invitation to the 33 trapped miners in an effort to raise spirits during their 69-day incarceration following a rock-fall in August. And 23 of those miners were VIP guests in the directors’ box at Old Trafford on Monday night after flying to England for a two-day visit to Manchester.

Omar Reygadas, a 56-year-old bulldozer operator, said: “It’s an honour to be at Old Trafford. It’s the ‘Theatre of Dreams’ and we have only seen it on television. We are very glad and excited to watch the match against Arsenal. We have got enough footballers to make a team and maybe play Manchester United!”

Having arrived in Manchester on Sunday, the group met for a photo-call at the ground before dining with Charlton in front of a Chilean folk group at Old Trafford’s Stretford Suite in the evening.

The group were also presented with United shirts with their names on the back, plus the number reflecting when they were lifted out of the mine during the rescue in October.

Four of the miners were given a guided tour of Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu Stadium by Jose Mourinho shortly after their rescue, but Charlton and United were keen to broaden out their trip to Manchester by offering the group a tour of the city before meeting Sir Alex Ferguson and his players on Monday.

While Ferguson and his first-team squad trained ahead of the clash with Arsenal, the miners took part in a football school in the academy building at United’s Carrington training ground before being taken for lunch in a restaurant.

Ironically, the miners’ visit to United stole the thunder of Ole-Gunnar Solskjaer, whose farewell to the club following his acceptance of the manager’s job at Norwegian club Molde was overshadowed by the South Americans’ presence at Old Trafford.

United manager Ferguson said: “When you look at how the miners have persevered and survived, well they are survivors. There are examples in life that you should always take. The life of a miner, having to work in the bowels of the earth, where you can’t see anything. That’s a great sacrifice for somebody to have to earn their corn. I’m sure they will enjoy themselves while they are here.”

Men's College Cup Final Today at 4pm, ESPN2

Sun, 12 Dec 2010 14:55:56 GMT

Hello Academy Families:

Friday night's semifinals were exciting with late goals in both games sending Louisville through by defeating North Carolina, and sending Akron through by defeating Michigan.

So today at 4pm on ESPN2 we have the NCAA Division 1 Mens's Championship: Akron (Ohio) versus Louisville (Kentucky).

Enjoy.

Great soccer on TV: today, sat, and monday!

Fri, 10 Dec 2010 14:10:11 GMT

If I had been on the ball, I could have told you to tape this morning's 11am FIFA Professional Club World Cup Quarterfinal match featuring Pachuca (Mexico). I want to see these guys play because they have two U.S. National team players in the starting 11: Herculez Gomez and Jose Torres.

Anyway, still some great matches ahead of us the next few days, took a while to list 'em all and I almost forgot about Juventus v. Lazio on Sunday at 2:30pm (not our U11 teams, but the pro guys in Italy!)

FRIDAY:

we'll kick it off with the semi-finals of the NCAA Division I Men's College Cup:

Tonight we have Louisville Cardinals v. North Carolina Tar Heels at 8:30 on ESPNU.

For the late,late show tonight, we have perennial college soccer power Akron v. University of Michigan at 11:00pm on ESPN2. Hello DVR on that one.

On the subject of college soccer, big congratulations to the University of Notre Dame Women on bringing home their first NCAA title last Sunday. GO IRISH!

SATURDAY:

Saturday at 10am on ESPN2 we've got one of our faves, Carlos Tevez and his Man City side facing off against a barely breathing West Ham United squad. I'm thinking City might get a few in the net in that one.

Saturday at 12:30pm on Fox Soccer Channel, we can see if Liverpool's impressive climb up the EPL table continues as they face off against Newcastle.

Saturday, 10am, Fox Soccer Plus: U.S. National Team midfielder/forward Clint Dempsey will be with his Fulham mates facing off against a Sunderland side that often is found in the relegation zone but this year is way up in 7th place in the 20 team table. Mr. Dempsey (who I think is such a valuable player I would have put a poster of him on the wall if I was in high school, ok, now my daughter is saying "awkward" at me) has scored five goals in EPL play this season and had the assist in a late game-tying goal last weekend. Unfortunately, Fulham overall is struggling and comes into the match with just it's nose above the water-line for relegation - they need to fight hard for some wins.

SUNDAY:

Simulcast on Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Deportes we have:

Tottenham v. Chelsea at 11am. I don't think I'll be able to watch those guys in blue and the rich punks from West London who cheer for them, but since some of you like them, I won't trash talk them (what? what'd I say?). On the Spurs side of things, Tottenham has been dropping points in their away matches, but lucky for them this match is on their home turf at White Hart Lane, where they have notched the third best home record in the league, behind only Manchester United and Chelsea.

MONDAY:

OK, definitely saved the best for last.

ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN3.com at 3pm on Monday: Arsenal v. Manchester United!!!

The Gunners from Arsenal, currently in 1st place, travel to Old Trafford to face the Red Devils of Manchester United, who is currently in second place, one point behind the Gunners. Already a big rivalry, and now with the top spot on the EPL table hanging in the balance, this should be some bloody-good English football, old chap.

Enjoy, and remember to get off the couch every once in a while and go outside and juggle for a bit, Spring season starts in late January!

Congratulations to GSA player Walker Zimmerman...

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 18:32:18 GMT

The U.S. under-18 boys national team coach Mike Matkovic named 20 players who will travel to Tel Aviv Dec. 10-18 for a three-game tournament that will also feature host Israel, Germany and France.

There are 15 players who participated in Matkovic’s 36-player training camp at The Home Depot Center in November.

U.S. Roster:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Jonathan Kempin (Sporting Kansas City; Leawood, Kan.), Andrew Wolverton (Concorde Fire; Snellville, Ga.)
DEFENDERS (6): Michael Ambrose (FC Dallas Academy; Frisco, Texas), Jonathan Campbell (North Carolina Fusion; Greensboro, S.C.), Bryan Gallego (NY Red Bulls Academy; Kinnelon, N.J.), Juan Pablo Ocegueda (UANL Tigres; Riverside, Calif.), Boyd Okwuonu (FC Dallas Academy; Edmund, Okla.), Walker Zimmerman (GSA Phoenix; Lawrenceville, Ga.)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Connor Hallisey (CDA; Granite Bay, Calif.), Jordan McCrary (Concorde Fire; Marietta, Ga.), Daniel Metzger (NY Red Bulls Academy; Holmdel, N.J.), Victor Pineda (Chicago Fire; Bolingbrook, Ill.), Marcus Salandy-Defour (DC United Academy; Kensington, Md.), Will Trapp (Columbus Crew Academy; Gahanna, Ohio), Cooper Vandermaas-Peeler (CASL Chelsea; Cary, N.C.)
FORWARDS (5): Villyan Bijev (Cal Odyssey; Fresno, Calif.), Sean Okoli (Seattle Sounders Academy; Federal Way, Wash.), Luis Rendon (FC Richmond Magic; Chesterfield, Va.), Khiry Shelton (Lonestar SC Academy; Leander, Texas), Jonathan Top (FC Dallas Academy; Forth Worth, Texas)

The other team scored, now what? by Tim Mulqueen

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 17:09:08 GMT

I enjoyed this short article on a goalkeeper's reaction, as well as the rest of the team, to an opponent's goal.

I think we parents can do our part by allowing mistakes to be learning opportunities rather than an occassion to be embarrassed by us in front of their teammates. Then our kids are much more likely to lift each other up after a setback rather than trying to find someone to blame.

I read this article with last night's rout of the Jets by the Patriots still fresh in my mind (yep, time for Dom to pull his Teddy Bruschi jersey out of the closet!). After the game, Tom Brady, although he could have gloated, instead put it all in great perspective:

"We follow our coach's approach: we speak out little when we are winning, and even less when we are losing." Danny Woodhead, a 5 foot 7 inch all-purpose back from a division II college who was cut from the Jets earlier this year was one of the stars for the Patriots. Surely, he would talk some trash, right? Nope, after the game about all he said was, "I can't wait to get back to work preparing for the game against da Bears." How can you beat a team when they all sing from the same hymn like that?!

*** Now here's the article (by Tim Mulqueen):

Goalkeepers react in various ways after they get scored on. Some keepers whack the ball in anger. some fall to their knees, head in hands. Some scream at their teammates.

Whether the keepers realize it or not, these emotional responses are more than personal reactions. These actions speak loudly to teammates as well as to opponents.

So what’s the best way to react? Keep your composure. Your teammates don’t want to see that you’ve lost all confidence. They certainly don’t want to be blamed. If they were at fault, they most likely already know it. If they weren’t, they’ll resent being called out by anyone but the coach. If an adjustment needs to be discussed, it should be done quietly and without drama.

What should you do with the ball in the net?

- Don’t embark on a long sprint, carrying the ball to midfield to speed up the kickoff. That creates panic.

- Don’t boot the ball like a madman. Simply toss or pass it upfield to a teammate.

Stand up straight and ready to resume play -- slouching and slumping your shoulders sends a message to opponents that they've got you where they want you - don't give them that satisfaction. That's not just advice for the keeper but for the entire team.

The best keepers have a poker face after allowing a goal -- and they must put it out of their mind, whether or not the goal was scored because of their own error. However, the keeper should not become silent - keep communicating with teammates to help them organize the defense, they need your guidance.

Focusing on the restart of play will help the keeper put the goal out of his mind. Opponents often let up a bit after scoring, so get your team ready to counter attack. Nothing silences the memory of a goal allowed like a quick strike on the opponent's goal!

Bouncing Back

During a game, the goalkeeper coach can play an important role in helping the keeper bounce back from a setback. One approach is to point out the positive: “You let that goal through, but you did save two point-blank shots.”

Another approach is to remind the keeper that errors are a part of the game at every level. Struggling keepers need to think about what they can do to help their team in the rest of the match.

Afterward, the keeper coach will have a chance to address the errors and the good plays with the keeper. Keepers need to learn from their mistakes, and they can build confidence from recalling what they did well. When a keeper has just had a tough outing, I often tell the keeper to look at the overall performance:

“You didn’t play your best game, but you gave your team a chance to win when you stopped that breakaway and kept the score within reach.”

Sometimes I don’t even bring up the mistakes. If the keeper made errors but we’ve recently had some really good training, I leave it alone. There’s no sense in bringing up errors if the keeper is training well. I may just touch on it and say, “Hey look, you know what? That mess is behind you. Look how good you’ve been at training.”

Goalkeepers have to develop a short and selective memory, and the keeper coach can help them do that. The time and place to examine and correct errors and to rebuild confidence is in training.

(Excerpted from “The Complete Soccer Goalkeeper” by Tim Mulqueen with Mike Woitalla courtesy of Human Kinetics.)

U.S. Soccer Federation coach and instructor Tim Mulqueen has been goalkeeper coach for U.S. national teams at the U-17 World Cup, U-20 World Cup and at the 2008 Olympic Games. He’s been a goalkeeper coach in MLS, for the MetroStars, and the Kansas City Wizards when they lifted the 2000 league title.

The monster under the bed, & other distractions...

Sat, 04 Dec 2010 20:52:51 GMT

How long do you wait to talk straight with your child after a match? If you are like me, the praise for a well-played game flows freely, but I get this guilt about speaking the truth after a poor outing, probably a good thing, because emotions need to settle first. However, our boys will soon be young men, so to me it’s phony to just ignore the uncomfortable yet important life lessons in every game.

Let me be clear, the older our kids get, the more we need to delegate the skills issues to the coaches, they are watching our kids, and they know where they are or are not hitting their potential, believe me. So it’s not about moves or striking the ball or tackles to me, and it’s DEFINITELY not about who played what position or who subbed in or out when. Nope, it’s about conquering fears and tuning out distractions.

Let me explain. In my son’s second game today, I saw a distracted and maybe even a bit fearful boy, definitely not the guy I’ve seen play the game so well so many times and put in hat-trick performances this season. It made me rewind the tape in my head to my days playing youth sports and my own fears and distractions and bad games. I remembered why what we do out here is so important. You see, although I have loved this sport since I was 7 or 8, it’s really not about soccer. It’s really about how our kids learn to conquer the monster under the bed.

I have a confession, growing up I played soccer and a lot of other sports, but until high school I had never played football. I wanted to test myself. I mean, I had friends who played, and I loved playing football in the street, but never on a team. So, I joined the freshman football team in high school, and after pre-season and all, I made it to starting tailback for the first two games, scoring the first touchdown of the season in our home opener on a right-end sweep, play 2-4-8 in the playbook. Then I got the flu, and was out of school and out of practice for over a week. I had too much time to doubt myself, too much time to think, and when I returned to school, I told the coach that I quit. He tried to change my mind, but the monster under the bed got the best of me: “you were lucky, you’re not really a running back”, “what do you know about football”, “you are not fast/strong/big enough”, “those guys will kill you”. I turned in my pads, and still hate the thought of that day 30 years later. So now, I’m on a mission to tell kids, “don’t listen to the monster under the bed, just turn on the lights, go down there and kick his ass.”

I know we GSA parents are all the number one fan of our children, we have seen those times when they are just brilliant, and we call grandma about it. They have fantastic coaching at GSA, and they feed off of each other and have a natural instinct to keep raising the bar. By helping our kids focus, shut out distractions, kick the monster under the bed in the teeth, that’s where we parents can help by relating our own experiences in dealing with that stuff when we were young.

I sat with my son tonight, and told him the story above, about how I regret to this day that I did not conquer my own fears in that football thing. I told him that whether it's soccer or anything else, what he's learning is to silence his doubts and fears. Finally, I told him I hoped he could learn from my mistakes. He sat, listened, and then we hugged.

"A system of play we consider non-negotiable" 5-0!

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 10:03:33 GMT

The last time Barcelona beat Real Madrid 5-nil was 1994, when Johan Cruyff, the brilliant Dutch player, was Barca's coach. My son is a big C. Ronaldo fan, and a big Real fan, so I enjoy cheering them on with him. I also have a great deal of respect for Real's coach, Jose Mourinho, who has won titles with teams from three different countries: Portugal (Porto), England (Chelsea), and Italy (Inter-Milan). But there is no doubt, yeasterday's 5-0 match was indeed a major shellacking!

Before the 1994 Barca win, they also beat Real 5-nil in 1974, when Cruyff was a star player for Barca. Cruyff is now a top executive with Barcelona, still casting his spell over the twice-a-year "El Clasico" match.

Why the history lesson? Because the legacy and tradition set down by Cruyff and others is huge in understanding who Barca is today. I'll let the professional journalists explain, here is a blurb from the British newspaper The Guardian today:

It is as if there is a checklist of things this Barcelona side have to do to emulate their predecessors, to prove their worth. And beat Madrid 5-0 is one of them. The parallel was not lost on anyone. Pep Guardiola [Barcelona's Coach] appeared in the pressroom and dedicated the win to Charly Rexach and Johan Cruyff, "the men who started us like this; laying down the approach we consider non-negotiable". Xavi talks about this Barcelona team as being "sons of the system" – in Sergio Busquet's case, literally.

It was not just that Barcelona beat Madrid last night, or even that they hammered them. It was not just that they defeated Mourinho – although they loved that – and a starting XI that cost €292m. Not that they defeated a team that had been unbeaten. It wasn't even that Guardiola completed a manita of his own – he's now won all five clásicos as coach, with a barely plausible aggregate score of 17-2. It was not just that, it was that they did it their way.

I read that piece and thought, what a fantastic line, "laying down the approach we consider non-negotiable!" And that's just it - Barcelona's success is sustainable in a way that you can't do just by bringing in star players and building around them. In a nutshell, "It's the system, stupid!"

Check this out: here are a few stats from yesterday's match.

Iker Casillas, Real's keeper, came into the match with the best stastics in the league in almost every category, particularly goals allowed per game
In this 5-0 win, Leo Messi didn't even score, and two young substitutes, Bojan and Jeffren, did score (again, it's the system!)
Leading up to their first goal, Barca held posession for 90 seconds, and in that period completed 30 passes leading up to the goal
Leading up to the second goal: 50 seconds of posession and 21 passes. What's just as important: only one of those passes was in the air - the rest were all on the ground to teammates' feet.
None of Barcelona's FIVE goals were scored from "dump and run" long balls or even from what you would call a true crossing ball.

Hey, I'm not the expert in this, but in watching and studying the top clubs of Europe, 3 of them stand out in my opinion for the depth of their commitment to player development and a system of play: Manchester United, Ajax (Netherlands), and Barcelona.

That is important, beause as a player Johan Cruyff scored 190 goals at Ajax, he was a product of the "total football" dutch system pioneered at Ajax. In the World Cup final, with his home country facing off against many Spanish players he had helped to develop, he must have had mixed feelings. But afterwards, Cruyff was critical of the fouls and intimidation committed by the Dutch side, that they had lost focus on the fundamentals of their game. But no worries, with Cruyff's help, Spain has become the new Dutch.

Would you risk your life to play? These women do..

Mon, 29 Nov 2010 14:27:10 GMT

This is from a CBS News online article, I think it captures how important soccer is in some parts of the world, a way for the disadvantaged or persecuted to bond together:

And it reminds us of our own opportunities and liberties:

(CBS) Just by kicking the ball these Afghanistan women are taking on their fiercest opponent - the Taliban, reports CBS News correspondent Mandy Clark.

When the Taliban was in power, no woman was allowed to play sports and female prisoners were publicly executed at Kabul's soccer stadium.

So having women take to the field is seen as a direct challenge to the militants. They practice every other day, but rarely play matches in Afghanistan.

There is no Afghan soccer league here. The women often play each other for fun, but the game can come with danger because some of the players face death threats.

Khatol Shahzad Amarkhel quit for three months because of the Taliban.

"Someone called my home number," she says. "He promised to kill me if I continued to play. I changed my number, but I am still scared."

Sajay Sahar, 19, was told to stop playing by family friends, but she didn't listen either. She's a top scorer for the team, but she really only has one goal in mind.

"It is my only wish to be a famous player in my country - and in the world," said Sahar.

And playing soccer has let the team see more of the world. They have traveled to Germany, Jordan and China for matches.

They also recently played coalition forces in Afghanistan and won 1-0. And they continue to try to push the boundaries.

"They say stop playing, but I cannot stop playing," said Sahar. "I can stop living, but I cannot stop playing football."

Soccer is more than a game for these women. Sahar sees it as a form of protest. By taking on the Taliban head on, she believes, it will help bring about their defeat.

Don't do everything, just do what you do well

Sat, 27 Nov 2010 23:17:03 GMT

Fellas, it can't be emphasized enough, soccer is a TEAM sport, and you're not in rec anymore where you could do it all yourself. You can't score 5 (yes, FIVE) goals in an English Premier League match without great support.

And even if you've got the strong and fast back line, the keeper's booming kick, the through pass, the deep cross, whatever: you need steady nerves and solid striking ability to be able to calm yourself and finish when it's just you and the keeper in front of you. All of a sudden, that big net looks really, really small and that keeper looks really, really big! Well, here's more from Soccer Expert Paul Gardner on Man U's Berbatov's FIVE goals today:

We've seen quite an array of descriptions attached to Dimitar Berbatov of Manchester United. Not easy to pin down, this guy. Positionally, for a start: A forward? A playmaker? A midfielder? A goalscorer? Maybe, at times, A Waste of Space?

The various adjectives with which he’s been labeled underline the bafflement: enigmatic, lethargic, artistic, languid, elegant, stylish, moody, and, yes, brilliant.

With Berbatov, in other words, you never quite know what you’re going to get. It could be an inept performance, it could be dazzling. No wonder the guy can’t hold down a regular place in the Man United lineup.

On Saturday we got the brilliant best of all the various Berbatov incarnations as he scored five times against a Blackburn Rovers defense that simply could not cope with his superb skill. To score five times in an EPL game is already a hell of an achievement, but there was an extra dimension to this quintet that is worth relishing.

Modern soccer is not exactly overflowing with goals, and one often laments at how many scoring opportunities seem to be wasted by poor finishing. Surely, it never used to be that way, did it? Maybe no, maybe yes. More than likely, with the game so much quicker, with defenses so much tighter, shots have to be hurried and inaccuracy is inevitable.

But not on Saturday. Berbatov put on an absolute master class of finishing. Each goal was scored with composure, with authority, with deadly accuracy.

To take the easy one first. This was Berbatov’s second goal, a gift goal if you like. A ghastly back pass by Blackburn defender Pascal Chimbonda went straight to Berbatov, who then closed in on goalkeeper Paul Robinson with what is usually described as “the easiest of tasks” to score. I suppose so -- though one has almost gotten used to seeing these “easy” opportunities blasted wide of the goal, or straight into the goalkeeper. Not this time, one light touch, then a crashing right foot shot into the roof of the net gave Berbatov his second goal.

His first had come only 72 seconds into the game when, with a defender draped all over him, he had side-footed Wayne Rooney’s flicked header into the net from six yards out.

And so to the third goal, just one minute into the second half -- a magnificent masterpiece from Berbatov, who started the move deep in his own half, neatly back-heeled the ball to Patrice Evra, got it back and then, from the halfway line swung a perfect long ball out to Nani on the right. This was wonderful soccer to watch -- as Nani controlled the ball instantly and cut into the Blackburn area, Berbatov was already approaching the 18-yard line. Some ball-trickery from Nani took him past Chimbonda before he pulled the ball back for Berbatov to sweep it into the net with his apparently infallible right foot.

In the 62nd minute, some dazzling inter-passing between Nani and Rafael set up Park Ji-Sung for a shot on goal -- the shot was blocked, the ball fell to Berbatov who, with amazing speed and coolness, took one touch to settle the ball, then smashed it into the net from 4 yards out.

Such was Berbatov’s scoring magic in this game, that his fifth goal arrived when he was clearly trying to pass the ball to Rooney. Anderson’s powerful run through midfield climaxed with a perfect pass to Berbatov who took the ball almost to the goal line before cutting it back for Rooney -- but the pass was blocked by Ryan Nelsen, the ball came back to Berbatov, who calmly netted from a very narrow angle.

In the 89th minute Berbatov nearly made it six -- which would have been an EPL record -- but his header was beaten out by the keeper Robinson.

This was as commanding, as majestic a display of pure goalscoring as I have seen in a long time -- really, I think, since Romario was at his incomparable best. I doubt whether anything like it has been seen in England since the days of Jimmy Greaves back in the 1960s.

I mention Romario and Greaves, because I want to make a more general point about Berbatov’s goal flourish. Neither Romario nor Greaves was massively built (Romario was a mere 5-foot-7). They could never, in a million years, have bullied or outmuscled or terrorized defenders with size and strength. They simply out-thought and outplayed them. Lightning quick instincts and action were at the root of their game ... followed by the devastating certainty of their scoring touch. Their goalscoring records are astonishing: in a 13-year career with Chelsea, AC Milan and Tottenham, Greaves scored 358 goals in 490 games, while Romario claims to have scored 1,000 goals in his career -- which may be an exaggeration, but the stats of 98 goals in 109 games for PSV Eindhoven, 34 in 46 games for Barcelona, and 55 in 70 games for Brazil tell you how good he was.

Berbatov is a bigger man -- some 6-2 -- but he is not in any way a physical player. In fact, one of the many criticisms of him is that he doesn’t “put himself about” enough. On Saturday he was playing against a team, Blackburn Rovers, that would be judged by most observers as rugged, a team with two large, no-nonsense central defenders, 6-1 Ryan Nelsen (formerly of D.C. United) and 6-4 Christopher Samba. They could do little, either singly or jointly, to halt the rampaging Berbatov.

A snapshot of what it takes to fight for a header

Sat, 27 Nov 2010 20:29:42 GMT

Clint Dempsey's 53rd-minute goal rallied Fulham to a 1-1 tie against Birmingham after Sebastian Larsson got the visitors ahead. United States Men's Team and Fulham Starter Dempsey headed home his fifth Premier League goal of the season and sixth overall after Zoltan Gera nodded on a corner kick from Simon Davies.

Dempsey's fellow American, Eddie Johnson, was a second-half sub and and was denied by a leg save from goalkeeper Ben Foster.

Picking up a point with the tie was important for Fulham, who is off to a slow start and is currently only one position above relegation.

Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Note: Field6 for Juventus is on other side of park

Fri, 19 Nov 2010 22:34:22 GMT

Hey Everyone -

I noticed that field 6 is closer to the Chamblee-Tucker side of Henderson Park - quite a distance from the main fields off of Henderson Road.

If you take Chamblee-Tucker north from La-Vista, take a left on Livsey Road, followed by a left on Henderson Park Road.

I've attached a map of the fields at Henderson, if you can't see it on your e-mail, you can go to http://www.tysa.com/images/map-Field.pdf

Fernando Clavijo on youth soccer!

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 20:12:20 GMT

I read this Interview with star USA player/coach Fernando Clavijo, and I just had to share it with y'all. I think Fernando speaks straight-up and with a lot of common sense about where youth soccer is in the USA, and where it needs to go. Check it out, my brief comments follow:

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Hall of Famer Fernando Clavijo played on the USA 1994 World Cup quarterfinal team, but that’s only a small slice of his unique career in American soccer. After coming from Uruguay 1979, he played in the ASL, the NASL and in the pro indoor soccer league. An MLS coach for seven seasons – developing several Colorado Rapids players who are now in the MLS semi-finals – Clavijo is now the Director of Soccer for Miami FC.

SOCCER AMERICA: If you think back to 1994, when you played for the U.S. team that reached the second round of the World Cup, did you imagine the U.S. national team would be farther along than it is now?

FERNANDO CLAVIJO: I expected it to be much farther along. In 1994, we achieved what we did in 2010 without a professional outdoor league. Bora Milutinovic did an outstanding job with the players he had - after all, I was playing indoor soccer at the time! I’m not criticizing Bob Bradley whatsoever. But back then, we imagined that by 2010 we would be winning, not just competing. We shouldn’t be waiting until the 91st minute to beat Algeria.

SA: What troubles you about the state of the national team?

CLAVIJO: We have only one Landon Donovan in a country of 300 million people? That’s not enough. We have a lot of role players, who are incredibly athletic, but missing a little bit here, a little bit there. There’s maybe one other with the special qualities, Clint Dempsey. I think Bob Bradley did a very good job, but we need look really deep at what we’re not doing properly because we have not advanced that much more.

SA: What do we need to look at?

CLAVIJO: Youth soccer is a business in the United States and we make a living out of it. When that’s the case, winning becomes everything, which is not the same as player development.

SA: Why does that impact the success of American soccer?

CLAVIJO: Because you choose players who are going to help you win and instead of focusing on developing players. In the United States, there’s no shortage of players ages 12, 13, 14 who are huge, big and strong, and they might win. But when you go to 21, 22, 23, physical differences are smaller and less influential, so it’s the technical part of the game that’s going to make the difference.

SA: But MLS clubs are now involved in youth development and U.S. Soccer has created the Academy league …

CLAVIJO: Youth soccer has changed in a better way, no question about it. But soccer in America still suffers because it’s mainly a sport for rich kids. U.S. Soccer’s academy league is a step in the right direction and so are MLS’s youth academies. But not all of the academies are fully funded, so it costs the players money, and these difficult economic times make it even worse.

Also, the academy league is U-16 and U-18. We need to concentrate on the crucial U-12 and U-14 ages. The best coaches, former players, are coaching U-16s and U-18s at the academies, so when you talk about U-12s or U-14s, unfortunately they’re often not coached by the most qualified coaches to develop or teach them properly at the most crucial time.

SA: In your current position with Traffic Sports, you scout young American players to send abroad. What’s the demand abroad for American players?

CLAVIJO: There’s much more interest in American players than there ever has been. Everybody realizes that the mentality of the American player is outstanding. The physical part is outstanding. Still, the technical part is just not there just yet. But every single American kid wants to go to Europe. Convincing them other locations such as South America are better is not an easy task.

I was criticized for giving a senior international spot to Omar [Jamaica], but I knew he was an incredible talent. And he benefited by being able to play in the MLS reserve league, which MLS ended because of economics after 2008.

SA: MLS plans to bring back the reserve league. How important is that for American soccer?

CLAVIJO: It’s crucial. When I was coach of the Colorado Rapids, we were reserve league champions twice. Besides Omar Cummings and Kosuke Kimura, we had Bouna Coundol (now with Red Bulls), Colin Clark (Houston), Nick LaBrocca (Toronto), Jordan Harvey (Philadelphia) and Nat Borchers (Real Salt Lake) all playing in the reserve league. All those players -- if there was not a reserve league at the time, most likely they would end up somewhere else and not playing soccer in MLS as they are today. And there must be many other cases around the league.
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If you have had a chat with Coaches Nuno, Mike Farnham, or Sean about rosters, tournaments, or training you have heard their philosophy about the dangers of obsessing about winning, and that individual technical development at the academy ages has to be the number one priority.

The fact that these very experienced coaches coach at the 9-12 academy ages is exactly what Clavijo said in the interview that he wants to see. There's too many coaches in the USA trying to pad their resume with tournament "wins" with the development of players just an afterthought.

Heck, let me also be real, I love seeing my boy win as much as you do yours, I wouldn't ask for a loss thinking that somehow it's "better" for him.

But have you ever had a couple games in a row when you blow out the other team? Look at how the kids tend to play at the end of one of those games - sloppy, maybe a little lazy, even arrogant. Not a lot of technical or character growth going on in that 8-nil shellacking is there? But I've seen what our coaches do in that situation - they move players around to different positions, they tell them to work on keeping possession, they might even have them play under a 2 or 3 touch rule per player.

Ok, now take the game where it's tied or the other team is up by a goal late in the game. Have you seen the focus, the work rate, the teamwork that goes on under those conditions?

So, if that's the environment our boys learn the most from, we've got to be OK if we lose some of them, it's the cost of taking a long-term view for our kids. And that is a little secret that GSA shares with Fernando Clavijo, but it's one secret I hope more clubs find out about.

Guatemaltecos v. Guyana, Wednesday, 11-17 Kennesaw

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 20:47:12 GMT

Hey Everyone,

This is late notice, but we are heading up to Kennesaw State / Atlanta Beat Stadium tomorrow night, Wednesday 11/17, to see Dominic's native countrymen from Guatemala take on Guyana.

Tix are a bit pricey, we got family section seats for $24.00/each, but should be a fun evening, and we couldn't miss this one, you know? Light blue and white, in case you are looking for the right colors!

The match starts at 7:30pm. Drop me a note if you are going and we can try to find each other.

And of course, don't forget the U-20 matches at the same stadium the weekend right after Thanksgiving. USA v. Colombia on Friday the 26th, 3:30pm kickoff. Also, USA v. Mexico on Sunday the 28th, also a 3:30pm start.

Tickets for all these great matches can be found at https://tickets.theatlantabeat.com/Online/default.asp

11/16 Tuesday Practice Cancelled

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 10:22:55 GMT

Due to inclement weather the Tuesday 11/16 Practice has been cancelled.

Winter Indoor Training - Update

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 09:06:05 GMT

Winter Training Program Update: The second session on Monday night is full and closed. Space still available for the first session on Monday and for the first and second sessions on Tuesdays. Sign-up now to reserve your spot!

Parkview High School (Old) Gym reserved for the following dates: 12/14 (Tue), 1/3 (Mon), 1/10 (Mon), 1/11 (Tue), 1/17 (Mon), 1/24 (Mon). However, the gym is not available until 6:30-9:30pm which means the first session will begin at 6:30pm and the second session will begin at 8pm on these above dates. I am still working to reserve additional Indoor space for the other four dates.

Winter Indoor Training Program is available to any Player that is motivated to work on Individual Skill Development during the off-season in December and January. This is an optional training program that is available to any U9-U12 Boys Academy Player. There will be five weeks of training and each Player can choose between two packages.

1) One Day per week for a Total of Five Sessions

2) Two Days per week for a Total of Ten Sessions

Training Dates: 12/13, 12/14, 1/3, 1/4, 1/10, 1/11, 1/17, 1/18, 1/24, 1/25

Training Times: Training times are subject to change based on where we will train. First session 5:30-7pm. Second session 7-8:30pm (unless otherwise noted as in the above updates in Red Font)

Training Cost for 1 Day per Week and 5 Total Sessions: $50

Training Cost for 2 Days per Week and 10 Total Sessions: $90

Choose a schedule that works best for you according to the days, dates and times available.

For questions or to register contact Coach Mike at: mikfarnham@yahoo.com

Chelsea signs 11-year old "forward", my thoughts

Sat, 13 Nov 2010 21:53:31 GMT

Ok, first the news from the British daily newspaper The Guardian, followed by my rambling comments:

"Chelsea FC have signed an 11-year-old boy from a club that occupies the 90th rung on the professional game's 92-club ladder, Northampton Town Academy. For Michael Gyasi, a promising German-born striker who has spent a little over two years at Northampton's academy, it is the stuff of dreams.

Gyasi first crossed Chelsea's radar a year ago, when he travelled south to play for Northampton Under-10s against the Chelsea academy U-10's. After a second appearance against them, Chelsea's recruitment staff asked whether Gyasi could come to train with them. He did so during the summer holidays and impressed to such a degree that the club asked to sign him.

Chelsea must pay compensation to Northampton, including an estimated down-payment of £10,000 ($16,000). The football association prefers clubs to negotiate these terms between themselves. Further payments would be due to Northampton if Gyasi turns professional."

This week, with Auburn playing Georgia in football, news has come out suggesting that Auburn star Cam Newton and his father may have been negotiating with schools for payment in return for Cam's quarterback "services." While it's just rumor right now, if it can be proven, it is a violation of NCAA rules.

Contrasting the Auburn situation with this news about a U11 signing with Chelsea brings up conflicting thoughts for me:

What are the limits on the "business" of sport?
Does growing soccer in the USA require us to imitate the way things are done in Europe or South America?
What are our "goals" for our kids?
What do our kids want?
What's really important?

First, I acknowledge there are some business practices around soccer in many other countries that are proven to work. The top two in my opinion are as follows:

Having at least two pro divisions, with "relegation" of the worst teams from an upper division and "promotion" of the best teams from the lower division, at the end of each season.
Having direct transfer and compensation between individual clubs for player's services.

Unfortunately, right now in the USA, while MLS quality of play is definitely on the up, we still don't meet either of these conditions. Don Garber, the head of the MLS, came from the NFL, and he spent time in Europe with NFL Europe, which gives me confidence that he has a solid business model in mind. He simply doesn't want to push things like free agency and relegation so fast that the whole thing blows up, like the NASL did (for those old enough like me to remember going to NASL games as a kid!).

But if we are headed toward a model more like European transfers, and it starts to involve youth players, how would that impact us? First, although it's our job as parents to be our kids' number one fan, we also have to acknowledge statistics. Going pro is probably like taking 1 out of 100 select players, weeding 1 out of 100 of that group, and that player will have a chance to get a look.

It's not really about who eventually makes it, its how our culture can get warped in the process of searching for that next star. Just like getting too wrapped around the axle about our U-11's winning a game makes us do things we are not proud of, if we also started getting wrapped around the axle on which one of our kids might get a transfer fee, could we go out and enjoy a game? Could we enjoy the company of other families at the field, or would we see them as "competitors?"

When I read the piece from The Guardian, I had to chuckle that they are designating a 10 year old as a "striker." I think there is an interesting "triangulation" at this age between what a coach sees in our kid, what our bias as a parent might be for a particular position, and then what our kid actually enjoys playing. The last of those three, our kid's outlook, is the most flexible - put 'em somewhere and most of the time they're like, "OK, here I am, what do I do?"

The Coach, the parent, and the player - there will always be that triangle, and certainly we parents do better when we let the relationship grow between our kid and the coach. But when a fourth party enters the mix: the hype of others, things get really foobar. Remember Freddy Adu? America's child prodigy in soccer? What happened?

Well, a few years ago, he went to play in Europe for Monaco. The president of that club said this, "Everybody had the same analysis about Freddy. He had incredible talent, yet he was lacking standard tactical knowledge that most players his age had. It was tied to the fact that he became professional at 14 and in some ways stopped learning at 15.”

Well, that says it all, here's to lifelong learning, because I hope the best for this Chelsea U-11 phenom, but simply due to the hype, the deck is stacked against him. I watch our boys at U-11, and they are doing stuff I know I never did. But all of us and our kids are works in progress, the more we remember that the better.

USA Men's U-20 Tournament Nov26-27 @Kennesaw State

Tue, 09 Nov 2010 13:59:48 GMT

These matches would be fun to go see:

The U.S. under-20 men’s national team coach Thomas Rongen has named his roster for the Torneo de las Americas Nov. 26-28 against Mexico and Colombia at the Kennesaw State University Soccer Stadium in Kennesaw, Ga.

The USA U-20 team includes five players with MLS experience and eight who play for clubs outside the US.

USA vs. Colombia Nov. 26

Colombia vs. Mexico Nov. 27

USA vs. Mexico Nov. 28

Little Pea is livin the dream,with Dad and Grandpa

Fri, 05 Nov 2010 00:36:42 GMT

From the New York Times: Barely a few months into his Manchester United career, Javier Hernández is attempting to go where no Mexican has successfully gone before him.

Hernández, known as Chicharito, which in Spanish means Little Pea, has scored six times in a dozen appearances. Some of the appearances have been only for a few minutes as a substitute. Some of the goals have been small classics of cheek, of skill, of instinct.

This, of course, is just the beginning. The young man from Guadalajara is living the dream at one of the world’s most glamorous clubs. He is popping up to score game-changing goals in the English Premier League, in the League Cup and in the Champions League.

Even United’s manager of 24 seasons, Alex Ferguson, admits his pulse races whenever he sends Chicharito out to play. “We tend to build up heroes very quickly at this club,” Sir Alex said, “but this boy is justifying all the praise he’s getting. When he gets a chance you know he’s going to take it. His touch, control of the ball and vision are improving — and that’s because the training is intense. We care about it and make sure the players do improve.”

It isn’t just the words Ferguson uses about his new charge. It is the look of anticipation, the jump out of his seat in the stands, his clenched fists and sheer excitement whenever Hernández is on the ball in the goal area.

But there is something else. Ferguson, now 68, built his own reputation on giving youth a chance. Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, David Beckham, Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, and so many more all were thrown in when other coaches would hesitate. All of them repaid Fergie’s own instinct with the performances he expected.

United sold Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid for £80 million, or $128 million, and paid comparative peanuts to sign replacements. The manager explained that he would rather spend and nurture young players than pay the prices that the Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona are paying through bank loans, or Manchester City through Abu Dhabi oil money, or Chelsea through Russian money from who knows where.

Ferguson is old school in the way he instructs his talent scouts to delve into the background, the character, the future potential of each player he signs.

Hernández isn’t the first Mexican to play in English soccer, and he isn’t alone. Carlos Vela is on the Arsenal squad list, Pablo Barrera plays for West Ham United, Giovani dos Santos came from Barcelona to Tottenham Hotspur, and defender Carlos Salcido is now with Fulham.

The curious thing about Hernández is that, after joining Guadalajara's academy at 9 and signing his first pro contract at 15, he took until the age of 22 to really make a big impression abroad. The World Cup in South Africa was where he came off the bench to strike goals against Argentina and France.

His pace was electrifying, as the FIFA speed gun showed in registering his acceleration as the quickest player in the tournament. Yet he entered games only when the preferred Guillermo Franco petered out in each game.

It was as if even Mexico doubted that the lightweight, 134-pound, Hernández could stand the pace and physicality of the full 90 minutes. How ridiculous, because Mexico’s most famous export, Hugo Sánchez, was no Adonis — and the 164 goals Sánchez scored in 207 games for Real Madrid surely hinted that a Mexican abroad could adapt to the demands and conditions.

Spain, though, is not England. And England, despite introducing the Mexicans to soccer way back in the 20th century, when Cornish miners settled in Mexico, still has these preconceptions about Mexican culture.

But Ferguson’s scouts had been on the trail of Hernández since December 2009. That was even before his goal-a-game burst in the early part of this year, and the manager decided to cut the deal before the World Cup rather than after it.

Javier's father was part of Mexico’s World Cup squad in 1986. His own father, Tomás Balcázar, scored for Mexico at the 1954 World Cup.

So the bloodlines suggested that the little pea has pedigree. What nobody expected was that all three generations of the family would move to Manchester, determined to help Javier II grasp this chance to make history!

Winter Indoor Training Program

Thu, 04 Nov 2010 23:30:41 GMT

1) One Day per Week for a Total of 5 Sessions

2) Two Days per Week for a Total of 10 Sessions

Training Days: Monday and Tuesday

Training Dates: December 13, 14 and January 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25

Training Times: 5:30-7pm, or, 7-8:30pm

Training Site: I am still working to secure and Indoor Training Site and expect it to be somewhere within a few miles of the GSA Complex.

Training Cost for 1 Day per Week and 5 Total Sessions: $50

Training Cost for 2 Days per Week and 10 Total Sessions: $90

Choose a schedule that works best for you according to the days, dates and times available.

For questions or to register contact Coach Mike at: mikfarnham@yahoo.com

Clint Dempsey scores a brace in 2-nil Fulham win

Sat, 30 Oct 2010 15:49:23 GMT

In previous articles I've sung praises for Clint Dempsey, the US Men's National Team midfielder/forward from Nacoghoches, Texas. So I loved seeing the news today from Craven Cottage England that he had another great match for his club Fulham in a 2-0 win over Wigan in a Premier League match. What's interesting is that he scored both goals from a striker position, by scrapping for enough space in the middle for teammates to place crossing balls either to his head (1st goal) or feet (2nd goal). During the World Cup he primarily played in an attacking-midfielder position, but is making his mark up front this season.

Doesn't surprise me, his spirit was captured perfectly with his bloody lip in the World Cup. He reminds me of those Energizer Bunny commercials: "he takes a lickin', but keeps on tickin'."

Fulham moved up the Premier League table and turned things around after two straight losses and Dempsey took his tally for the season to five goals.

Here's ESPN SoccerNet's report of the setup for the two goals:

"Danny Murphy played the ball wide to Salcido who dashed forward before delivering a tremendous cross onto the six-yard box. Dempsey drifted in between Antolin Alcaraz and Caldwell before outjumping Caldwell and heading the ball into the corner to give goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi little chance.

Fulham were on the rampage in Wigan's side of the field, and the second goal arrived a minute before half-time. Chris Baird supplied a wonderful pass that outwitted Wigan Defender Gary Caldwell and Dempsey was there to strike the ball on goal."

Happy Birthday to someone special for all of us

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 12:26:12 GMT

On October 23, 1940 near Três Corações, Brazil, a baby was born named Edison Arantes do Nascimento. There were not millions of people trying to come see him and imitate him, he did not spark energy and passion around the world.

not yet.

Edison's family was poor, but his Dad loved soccer and soon Edison loved it too. The story is, when they couldn't afford to buy a ball he would make his own practice ball by tightly tying together strips of cloth discarded from a clothing factory to make a roughly round shape.

Fast Forward to 1975. In my own home town of Rochester, New York, I was a kid finishing practice with my teammates when our coach told us we were going to go on a team "field trip". our local professional club, the Rochester Lancers, had a home game against the New York Cosmos and we had tickets.

We were bouncing off the walls!!! We would get to go to the game and see HIM!!!

You see, Edison Arantes (oh yeah- I should tell you that his nickname was Pelé) had moved from dirt streets and a soccer ball made out of rags to bringing Brazil their first three World Cup championships (1958, 1962, and 1970). In his first Cup, scoring two goals in the championship match and only 17 years old, he was already on his way to becoming a legend, and the legend grew as he brought home two more World Cups (injuries due to rough fouls in the 1966 cup forced him off the field, if not for that, he might have had one more).

So Happy 70th Birthday to Pelé!

What did he have that was so special? He was a man of average height and build, you wouldn't immediately pick him as a superstar. But when he took the field the magic began. He played with very fast pace, which he could do because he had great ball control. There are stories about him as a youngster always having any ball he could find by his feet and playing with anyone at anytime, dirt street or well-maintained pitch.

He had great balance, allowing him to escape in many tight situations or to keep his feet. This balance extended to skills in the air, as he was a phenomenal header of the ball.

He was accurate and powerful with both feet, whether passing or shooting (or dribbling/making a move). This is a great tip our academy players can get from Pelé, have you lost possession or not taken a shot because you are not confident playing with your off foot? It made him very hard to contain.

Of course he had vision, that ability to go from a sense of teammate and opponent positions and their movements to visualizing what he could do to gain advantage and create opportunities. Because of that, Pelé was the master at assists. In that first year with the Cosmos, end of season stats for the league show Pelé was third in goals but first in assists. Assists are one way he always helped players around him play at a higher level, he didn't just go out there and showboat, he raised his team up, the perfect number 10. So another talent he brought was character.

From Pelé's example, I started to appreciate more than goal-scoring in soccer.

I also remember that we all thought he was cool, I mean he drew the fans like a rock star during his 3 seasons with the Cosmos. League-wide attendance shot up each year, and for games that he was playing in, there might be an attendance of more than 50,000!

Now as a Soccer Dad, I look back and see that we were right, he was cool and still a great role model for kids. Did he bounce from team to team in Europe looking for more and more money, as we see so many stars do today? No, he played for two club teams - Santos in Brazil, and the Cosmos, as well as his country Brazil. If he didn't have a ball, he made one, he had the can-do attitude and the easy smile. And one of the coolest things he said was, "to me the ball was a toy, and the more I played with the toy the more fun the toy was."

He had retired from soccer in 1974 and then a year later he changed his mind and signed with the Cosmos, saying he wanted to build passion for soccer in the USA. I am writing this 35 years after I saw him play, and I can say he did well on his USA mission. Thank you Pelé.

GSA Drawstring Bags!! $12, can't beat it.

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 09:02:29 GMT

Many of our boys played with Grant Bell last season. Well, Grant's not with GSA this season unfortunately, but his older brother Derek is, and their team is selling these really cool drawstring black bags with the GSA Phoenix proudly emblazoned on the side.

So for $12, you can get one for yourself, or for an early Holiday gift for that special someone (like your favorite ex-team manager perhaps?)

And guys, its the 21st Century, so you won't see me snickering if you bring one of these handsome man-purses to the games on Saturday to hold your favorite snack. Oh shoot, probably just killed the marketing with that comment, but really, they're nice and they'll help a GSA select team raise much needed funds. If you're interested, here's who to contact, or you can probably catch Mark, Diane, or one of the other parents selling them at GSA on game days.

email Lizabeth Rivera at Lizbeth_Rivera@gwinnett.k12.ga.us

Europe's Top 10 Teams - from Soccer America

Tue, 19 Oct 2010 10:05:09 GMT

I wanted to pass on an interesting post I saw this morning on Soccer America by columnist Paul Kennedy, and some random comments of my own.

So, depending on your bias, you can say Real Madrid's #1 status either proves that Los Merengues are simply La Liga's version of the NY Yankees, or that Jose Mourinho is indeed "the special one." I'll just say, CR7 and Higuain are once again putting on a show of offensive firepower, and the team's defending is outstanding: Madrid's Iker Casillas leads La Liga with a 0.43 goals allowed per game average (GAA), the next closest keepers who have played all 7 games in La Liga have at least double his GAA! But Real cannot take its foot off the gas: Barcelona is just one point back, and Valencia, despite having lost David Villa and David Silva to transfers, is tied with Barca in second.

Also in world football news, Carlos Tevez said this week that he is feeling a bit burned out on his career (it hasn't shown in his form!) due to missing his family and never getting to spend Christmas at home in Argentina. How about this, with the MLS spring-to-fall season, he can come play here and have the holidays free, win-win! Que buena idea, no?

Of course, if Mr. Kennedy listed the worst performers in Europe's top divisions, Liverpool would certainly make the list. Sad for a team that is tied for the most EPL league championships ever (18, along with Man U.) to now find themselves in the relegation zone. But I digress, here's the SA top 10 list:

1. REAL MADRID. It might not be playing the spectacular soccer its fans demand out of its high-priced lineup, but Real Madrid is unbeaten in nine games this season since Jose Mourinho took over as coach. The Merengues played one of their best games of the season Saturday when they crushed Malaga, 4-1, thanks to two goals each from Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain, and got good games from summer signings Mesut Ozil and Angel di Maria. UEFA Champions League: Tuesday's match against AC Milan is Real Madrid's most difficult test of the season so far.

2. CHELSEA. The Blues remained in first place in the English Premier League despite their 0-0 tie at Aston Villa, where they've won just once in their last 12 games. Chelsea was without injured Frank Lampard (groin injury) and Didier Drogba is now sidelined with a virus. UEFA Champions League: Concerns about the artificial surface at Luzhniki Stadium make Carlo AncelottiAshley Cole (ankle) and Michael Essien (knee) Tuesday when Chelsea faces Spartak Moscow.
reluctant to use
3. BARCELONA. Barcelona has been hardly dominating, but it's only one point behind Real Madrid after its 2-1 win over Valencia. UEFA Champions League: Xavi (nursing an injured Achilles' tendon) returned to action and set up both goals against Valencia, but Coach Pep Guardiola must decide whether to risk him for the visit of FC Copenhagen on Wednesday

4. MANCHESTER CITY. Argentine Carlos Tevez scored twice in the 3-2 win at Blackpool that moved the Citizens to within two points of Chelsea. Europa League: Manager Roberto Mancini is taking Tevez's talk of retiring early seriously and plans to rest him as much as possible. Tevez will probably not play Thursday when City hosts Poland's Lech Poznan.

5. ARSENAL. The Gunners beat Birmingham City, 2-1, over the weekend to end a three-game winless streak. They got a boost on Monday when star Cesc Fabregas returned to training after missing the losses to West Brom and Chelsea with a hamstring injury. UEFA Champions League: Tuesday's game against Shakhtar Donetsk marks the return of Eduardo.

6. VALENCIA. Valencia lost for the first time in seven games in La Liga when it fell to Barcelona, 2-1, on Saturday, but few would have expected it would be tied for second, only one point off the pace, after seven games. UEFA Champions League: Valencia faces faces a critical test in Europe on Wednesday when it travels to Scottish champion Rangers.

7. MAN. UNITED. United's 2-2 tie with West Brom was its fifth to go along with three wins in eight EPL games. Everyone is pointing to Wayne Rooney's falling out with Alex Ferguson as the root of the problem, but United has problems from the frontline to the back, where goalie Edwin van der Sar gifted West Brom the equalizer. UEFA Champions League: Will Ferguson start Rooney against Bursaspor on Wednesday? Ferguson has said Rooney has ankle problems, but if he doesn't something is seriously wrong between the English striker and his Scottish manager.

8. BORUSSIA DORTMUND. Dortmund beat FC Cologne, 2-1, on Friday to take over the Bundesliga for the first time since it won the German title in 2002. It leads the league in scoring with 20 goals in eight games. Its star is Turkish playmaker Nuri Sahin with four goals and five assists in all competitions. Europa League: Thursday at Paris SG.

9. VILLARREAL. The Yellow Submarine could have overtaken Real Madrid for La Liga lead with a win at Heracles on Monday night, but a 2-2 tie wasn't bad. Once again, Jozy Altidore was on the bench but didn't play. Europa League: Thursday against Greek club PAOK at home.

10. LAZIO. The Rome club is unbeaten since an opening day loss at Sampdoria and now leads Serie A. Its 2-0 win at Bari on Sunday was its third straight at home. The Lazio key: Brazilian signing Hernanes.

ESPN "Outside the Lines" article on Chile Miners

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 20:12:56 GMT

I tried to capture the Chilean soccer-miner connection in my post yesterday, but I found an article that does it much more eloquently.

Follow this link to an "ESPN Outside the Lines" article by Wright Thompson. When I read it, I realized just how much soccer has played a part in this little mining town in Chile, and how much of an inspiration their soccer stars past and present are to them.

Soccer lifts spirits in Chile,2,300 ft underground

Thu, 14 Oct 2010 12:20:39 GMT

Imagine being trapped in a mine, almost half a mile below ground, and not having any contact with the world for the first 17 days, wondering if this subterranean cavern that you shared with 32 of your fellow miners was soon to become your tomb.

Last night, after being trapped underground for 68 days, all 33 miners were successfully brought up from a mine in the Chilean desert, one by one, via a metal capsule pulled up through a shaft that had been drilled through half a mile of rock. The miners had to rely on many things to keep their hope alive during this ordeal, and it turns out that besides faith and family, soccer figured prominently in keeping their spirits up.

Before bringing anyone up, a rescuer had to take the capsule down to the mine to coordinate the rescue work. That rescuer, Manuel González, was a professional soccer player in the 1980's in Chile, something he had in common with one of the inspirational leaders in the group of miners.

That miner is Franklin ‘El Mortero Mágico’ Lobos. The 53-year-old former midfielder graced the Chilean professional game from 1982 to 1995. Known for his thumping free-kicks, Lobos turned out for Deportes La Serena, Santiago Wanderers, Regional Atacama, and Cobresal.

He shared a dressing room at Cobresal with the legendary Ivan Zamorano in the late 1980s, when the future Inter Milan and Real Madrid striker was just starting out. Lobos also enjoyed international recognition, at one time he represented La Roja in qualifying for the Men’s Olympic Football Team.

Zamorano said: “I reckon that when he was trapped down there he would have gone back to the way he was in his playing days. He’s a very fiery man, who used to drag his team-mates up by their bootstraps. I’m sure he was key to helping them stay alive down there. Back then he was the star of the team. I remember he used to strike free-kicks with his ankle, which put a special spin on the ball that I’ve never seen a player repeat since.”

Soccer has been a recurring theme in the rescue efforts. The fifth miner to emerge, Jimmy Sanchéz, was holding a "Universidad de Chile" flag (well known for its soccer team) when he came out of the capsule. And trapped miner Omar Reygada received a Colo-Colo (Chile's most popular soccer team) flag from his son, which he showed off and kissed with great pride when he emerged from the capsule. In fact, when it became known that 20 of the 33 Chilean miners were big Colo-Colo fans, the team and its managers sent signed jerseys down to the miners.

And Colo-Colo was not the only set of players or teams to respond to the call for support for the miners. David Villa, star of World Cup Champions Spain and player for Barcelona, grew up in a family of miners from Asturias, Spain. He felt a special bond with the miners and sent well wishes and jerseys to them (see attached image). Pelé sent a signed Brazil shirt with the message, "Dear Friends, I am praying for you."

The Chilean National Team's Coach, Marcelo Bielsa, who is from Argentina, sent Franklin Lobos a jersey signed by him and members of the team. Another well known Argentinian, Diego Maradona, sent the miners a message saying, "today there a no different flags, we are all rescuers and relatives."

And now that the miners are out of the mine and safe, they may be able to start planning to use some of the exceptional gifts that have been offered to them by the soccer world. Among these gifts, Real Madrid and Manchester United's management have both pledged to provide all expenses paid trips for the miners to come see a home match at The Bernebau and Old Trafford stadiums, respectively.

While I would love to go see a match at Old Trafford, I don't think I'd be willing to get trapped in a mine for 68 days for it!

We can be proud of the way the soccer community responded to try to keep the spirits up of these miners while they waited for rescue. A great example of how our sport can bring people together in times of need.

The schedule for this weekend.

Wed, 13 Oct 2010 11:15:51 GMT

Juventus is the only team playing on Saturday at GSA. Lazio and Roma will play on Sunday. Please check Sunday's schedule for times and directions to Dacula Soccer Club.

BIG night for soccer on TV(is your homework done?)

Tue, 12 Oct 2010 17:36:55 GMT

Headlining a big night for soccer on TV tonight is the USA versus Colombia match (Patino family, I understand if you root for Los Cafeteros!) at 8pm on ESPN2.

Some of the other games depend on your access to special sports channels, but here is the line-up, lots of Euro 2012 qualifiers:

ESPN2
International Friendly USA-COLOMBIA (live) 8 pm.

ESPN DEPORTES
Euro 2012 Qualifier GERMANY-KAZAKHSTAN (live) 1 pm.
Euro 2012 Qualifier SPAIN-SCOTLAND (live) 3 pm.
Euro 2012 Qualifier SWEDEN-NETHERLANDS (delay) 5 pm.
Euro 2012 Qualifier PORTUGAL-ICELAND (delay) 7 pm.

FOX SOCCER PLUS
Euro 2012 Qualifier ENGLAND-MONTENEGRO (live) 3 pm.

FOX DEPORTES
Copa Sudamericana UNION S. FELIPE-LDU QUITO (live) 7 pm.
Copa Sudamericana D. TOLIMA-BANFIELD (live) 9 pm.

GOLTV
International Friendly CHINA-URUGUAY (delay) 5 pm.

GALAVISION
International Friendly USA-COLOMBIA (live) 8 pm.

UNIVISION
International Friendly MEXICO-VENEZUELA (live) 9:30 pm.

TELEFUTURA
International Club Friendly SEATTLE-GUADALAJARA (live) 10 pm.

MLS DIRECT KICK
MLS CHICAGO-KANSAS CITY (live) 8:30 pm.

ESPN3.com
Euro 2012 Qualifier GERMANY-KAZAKHSTAN (live) 1 pm.
Euro 2012 Qualifier CYPRUS-DENMARK (live) 2:15 pm.
Euro 2012 Qualifier IRELAND-SLOVAKIA (live) 2:30 pm.
Euro 2012 Qualifier SWEDEN-NETHERLANDS (live) 2:30 pm.
Euro 2012 Qualifier SPAIN-SCOTLAND (live) 3 pm.
Euro 2012 Qualifier LUXEMBOURG-FRANCE (live) 3 pm.
Euro 2012 Qualifier PORTUGAL-ICELAND (live) 3:45 pm.
Euro 2012 Qualifier PORTUGAL-ICELAND (live) 3:45 pm.

Top coach explains winning can be bad for your son

Sat, 09 Oct 2010 22:29:17 GMT

If we've been paying attention, at each stage of our kids' soccer playing "career" we have seen how winning games is very different from developing skills. Kids enjoy winning games so yes, let's not forget that some success on the weekends makes the game fun, but when parents and coaches get carried away with winning at this age, we harm our kid's progress.

Who hasn't watched teams play the "dump and run" - simply kicking the ball deep over defenders and then winning the foot race to the ball and a score? Shooting from the kickoff? Not subbing or rotating player positions even when in the lead? You quickly realize, those situations aren't teaching them the skills that are necessary for playing the game at the next level. And that's why rec ball became a dead-end and we moved to academy, right?

But, don't take my word for it, here are the words of Albertin Montoya, Coach of Women's Pro Soccer champions Gold Pride, in an interview by Mike Woitalla:

On a sunny September Sunday, Coach Albertin Montoya watched his Gold Pride players, including the magnificent Brazilian Marta and U.S. world champion Tiffeny Milbrett, celebrate the WPS championship after a 4-0 win over Philadelphia.

The dominating final performance followed a regular season in which the Gold Pride averaged nearly two goals per game and played such entertaining and effective soccer that longtime reporter on the women’s game, Scott French, declared it the best women’s club team ever.

As Montoya, out of the corner of his eye, watched his players bask in the glory, I asked him why the USA isn't producing Martas. After all, this country has more girls playing and more resources dedicated to female soccer than any other nation. Shouldn't we be seeing many more highly skillful, exciting players?

“We’ll need to talk about youth soccer,” said Montoya.

Montoya is also a longtime Northern California youth coach for girls and boys. He and his wife, Erin, a former collegiate star and pro player, run the Montoya Soccer Academy and coach at Mountain View Los Altos SC, for which Albertin also serves as technical director for under-8 through under-14 boys teams.

“The biggest problem at the youth level is the emphasis on winning,” he says. “I don’t know if it’s in our genes or what, but there’s so much desire to win at the ages when player development should be the emphasis.

“The first thing I tell parents is, ‘if you want to win at U-8, U-9, U-10, U-11, U-12 -- you’re at the wrong club."

“We’re here to develop players to where, hopefully, by the time they’re U-14, U-15s, they’re playing at a high level, where winning will be a byproduct and we’ll compete for state championships.”

At the U-14/15 level – when the college showcases begin – MVLA teams do get results and win championships. And it sent 14 players to the girls youth national team program in the last seven years.

The challenge is to convince parents that at the early ages the focus should be on individual technical development – not scorelines. Montoya even advocates against playing league ball at early ages.

“We have enough players in our backyard. I like to have them play 3v3, 4v4. But the parents want to play other teams. So I said, 'OK. We’ll play league in the fall, but in the spring we’re not going to play other clubs. That way, they get more touches on the ball.”

Like most close observers, Montoya sees that the USA has depended too much on athleticism.

“When you watch the U-17 and U-20 World Cups you see the technical ability of the Japanese, the Koreans, the Germans, the Brazilians – you ask, ‘Why can’t our players do that?’ We have the athletes and I think it does go down to the early youth level where there’s so much emphasis on winning.”

When Montoya coaches his pros, he wants them to play like Barcelona or Spain. To rely on skill, creativity and possession.

With his youngsters, it’s all about developing the individual skills that will enable them to play a possession game later. That, he says, is a bigger challenge for American youth coaches, whose players don’t watch as much soccer as, for example, Brazilian children. So coaches need to demonstrate more and do more skill work – and encourage dribbling during games even it if means the risk of losing the ball and giving up goals.

“So we've got 9-year-olds who are doing spin turns like Marta does. They’re doing step-overs. And I want that. I encourage that at every single position. And every game, I start them at a different position.”

“Teams may look well organized when they keep their players in the same positions – the positions they’re strongest at. But what separates players at the highest level is doing magic with the ball. So dribbling needs to be encouraged early on. The organized tactical stuff should come later.”

But Montoya sees that parents are starting to understand why the scorelines shouldn’t be considered so important.

“It’s all about educating the parents,” he says. “And fortunately there is a generation of coaches coming up now who have played the game at a high level. But we need to make sure those coaches are working at the younger age groups and that they have developing players as a priority and not winning games.”

New articles and video on our team website!

Fri, 08 Oct 2010 14:08:12 GMT

I know, you're thinking "more spam from Brian, where's that delete key." But wait, this is some fun stuff.

I updated the World of Soccer page on our web site. There's an interview with Jozy Altidore about his hard work to try to break into the lineup at Spanish Club Villareal. He's got a great attitude about it, and what he says about training in Spain is good advice for our own boys.

And, you have to get your sons to check out the video I posted of a goal from a Division III college game. Well, maybe the keeper wasn't the best I've seen, but still a nice strike.

Check it all out by clicking the link to World of Soccer.

Hot GSA news off of the Business Wire

Fri, 08 Oct 2010 12:08:02 GMT

This was a great idea and great execution by Coach Sean. Perhaps you are in a business that could partner/sponsor with GSA?...

ATLANTA, Oct 01, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Sean Moynihan, Managing Director at Newmark Knight Frank (www.seanmoynihan-newmarkkf.com), has always had a passion for soccer. After playing collegiate soccer at Monmouth University and professionally in New Jersey, Sean has always maintained an interest in finding ways to give back to his soccer roots. In 2010, Newmark Knight Frank Atlanta's office made a commitment to finding ways to give back to the community. Sean approached Bert Sanders, Managing Principal of the Atlanta office, with any opportunity to support soccer players in Gwinnett County. Bert and the Atlanta office agreed to sponsor the warm-up/practice Adidias T-shirts for the entire boys select program at GSA. Through Newmark's donation, the funds that were allocated to the shirts can now be directed to helping defray costs for players at GSA (www.gsasoccer.com).

Sean has been with Newmark Knight Frank for eight years. During his tenure, Sean has never seen such an effort from the Atlanta office to utilize their services to help the community prosper. Being an ex-player and soccer coach, Sean understands the necessary fundamentals needed to create success. "In order to achieve success, you have to serve other people. Newmark allows me to do that as a coach at GSA and now through the firm's financial means." "When Sean approached GSA about a potential sponsorship, we were thrilled to be able to generate funds that can go to helping our players," stated Nuno Piteira, the Boys Director at GSA. "It is an honor for us to have him and Newmark Knight Frank on our team." In Sean's spare time he enjoys spending time with his family and staying involved with soccer. He coaches both his sons at GSA and his daughter is waiting in the wings. "GSA is a fantastic organization. I am excited to be able offer the support of Newmark Knight Frank. Our goal is to help these children continue to grow, I hope we can help make a difference," stated Moynihan.

Interesting read on Liverpool - Red Sox connection

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 16:34:54 GMT

I saw this in the BBC's football coverage, it's a great article about how two historic clubs on opposite sides of the Atlantic will now have a common owner...

When baseball meets football

By Mark Mitchener

Liverpool fans may have mixed feelings about exchanging one set of American owners for another after it emerged the Premier League club was about to be sold to the New England Sports Ventures (NESV), owners of baseball's Boston Red Sox.

But supporters on both sides of the Atlantic may be interested in a potential link-up between two clubs that are steeped in the history of their respective sports.

Like Anfield, Boston's Fenway Park is one of the best-known sports venues in the world, while both cities have a strong expatriate affinity with Ireland.

Liverpool's hopes of building a new stadium stalled during the ownership of George Gillett and Tom Hicks, but despite a brief flirtation with a "new Fenway", the Red Sox happily remain at their historic home ballpark - even while many other Major League Baseball teams have moved.

LIVERPOOL FACT FILE

Nickname: Reds

Stadium: Anfield (opened 1884, capacity 45,362)

Popular stadium song: "You'll Never Walk Alone" (Rodgers & Hammerstein)

League titles: 18 (most recent 1990)

Rivals: Manchester United, Everton

Opened in 1912, Fenway is the oldest MLB stadium in use. And while a young Liverpool player's ambition may be scoring in front of the Kop, a prospective young slugger making it through Boston's minor league system will probably have dreamt of hitting a home run over the "Green Monster" - the famous 37ft high left-field wall at Fenway.

Liverpool have not won the English league title since 1990 but Boston ended a much longer title drought when they won the World Series in 2004, two years after NESV's takeover.

For decades, the so-called "Curse of the Bambino" haunted Red Sox Nation and was immortalised in Boston Globe writer Dan Shaughnessy's book of the same name.

The "Bambino" in question was baseball legend Babe Ruth - sold by the Red Sox owners to their bitter rivals, the New York Yankees, in 1920.

Having won five World Series titles between 1903 and 1918, the Sox then went 86 years before winning it again, gaining a reputation as loveable losers or nearly men - depending on your point of view.

Boston's march to the 2004 title arguably matches Liverpool's "Miracle of Istanbul" Champions League success of 2005 for the manner in which they overcame adversity.

Before the season started, legendary horror author Stephen King and fellow novelist Stewart O'Nan decided to chronicle their season in book form but could not have imagined what was to transpire.

Finishing second behind the Yankees in the American League East, the Red Sox met them again in the seven-game American League Championship Series.

Villas Second XI

New York won the first three games, threatening a 4-0 sweep, but Boston hit back to win Games 4 and 5 in extra innings, before winning Games 6 and 7 at Yankee Stadium to secure a remarkable comeback triumph.

The Red Sox went on to sweep St Louis Cardinals 4-0 in the World Series.

King and O'Nan's subsequent book "Faithful" was not alone in marking the end of "the Curse" - as it was also the subject of a film whose title may ring a few unwelcome bells in the heads of Liverpool fans.

When Liverpool were pipped to the First Division title by Arsenal in 1989, it was the springboard for Gunners fan Nick Hornby's seminal book "Fever Pitch", which was made into a film in 1997.

Several years later, an American remake, also entitled "Fever Pitch", was on the cards, switching baseball for football and the Red Sox title drought for Arsenal's 18-year wait for a league title.

It was filmed in 2004, including several scenes shot at Fenway - and Boston's unexpected success reportedly forced the film-makers to rework the ending.

BOSTON FACT FILE

Nickname: Red Sox

Stadium: Fenway Park (opened 1912, capacity 37,402)

Popular stadium song: "Sweet Caroline" (Neil Diamond)

World Series titles: Seven (most recent 2007)

Rivals: New York Yankees

It is not uncommon in the United States for individuals or groups to own a range of professional teams across different sports, so it is no surprise that some owners' portfolios stretch across both sides of the Atlantic.

Outgoing Reds co-owner Hicks owned the Texas Rangers baseball team from 1998 (succeeding a certain George W Bush) until earlier this year but the UK/US connection is kept up by the likes of the Glazer family (Manchester United and Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and Randy Lerner (Aston Villa and Cleveland Browns), who both possess a Premier League football club and an NFL American football franchise.

Meanwhile, notable Arsenal shareholder Stan Kroenke owns the St Louis Rams (NFL), Colorado Avalanche (NHL ice hockey), Denver Nuggets (NBA basketball) and Colorado Rapids (Major League Soccer) - so needs a baseball team to complete a "full set".

However, Liverpool fans may be encouraged to note that

listed Boston's proprietors as the best owners of the 30 MLB clubs - while Hicks' stewardship of the Rangers was ranked as the second worst.

How closely Liverpool and Boston may be linked remains to be seen but the common ownership may cause certain rivalries to become even more entrenched.

In 2001, the Yankees - Boston's arch rivals - announced a marketing deal with Manchester United. And make no mistake, the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry is as intense as that at any derby game at Anfield or Old Trafford.

The Babe Ruth trade may be a distant memory but players rarely move directly between the Red Sox and Yankees - and likewise with United and Liverpool, with Phil Chisnall the last player to do so in 1964.

Ace pitcher Roger Clemens starred for Boston for 13 seasons, before being allowed to leave in 1996 as Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette notoriously commented that "The Rocket" was "in the twilight of his career".

Clemens moved to Toronto but played in the majors for another 11 years and went on to win more pitching awards and two World Series titles with the Yankees in 1999 and 2000.

This led him to be vilified by the unforgiving majority of Red Sox fans, while the fire was further stoked by Boston president Larry Lucchino, who dubbed the Yankees as "the evil empire" in 2002.

But like Liverpool, Boston can boast supporters far and wide across the globe, although fans of other Premier League teams will find familiar cause with those followers of other MLB teams who roll their eyes as the Red Sox and Yankees invariably garner more media attention and live television coverage than any other sides.

This week, the Red Sox owners

apologising for the team's failure to reach the play-offs. Could that really happen in Liverpool?

After recent humiliating defeats by Northampton and Blackpool, Liverpool's editors may be waiting by their phones.

No Games on 10/9 & 10/10

Sun, 03 Oct 2010 10:34:19 GMT

Due to the Fall Break for Gwinnett Schools we will NOT have any games on the weekend of 10/9 and 10/10.

We had planned on playing in the AFU Tournament but their format has changed so instead we will participate in November Tournaments.

We will practice this week as usual. Cya on the Pitch!

US Women v China tomorrow/Sat. 6pm, kennesaw st.

Fri, 01 Oct 2010 13:11:11 GMT

US Soccer Federation U.S. Women's Soccer Team vs China 2010-10-02 6:00 PM

The US women's soccer team plays China this weekend. The game is at 6pm at Kennesaw State University. It should be an exciting game. There are plenty of seats remaining on their website. Ticket prices start at $18.

https://tickets.theatlantabeat.com/Online/mapSelect.asp

Benny Feilhaber rocks the Danish Cup - hat trick!

Sun, 26 Sep 2010 17:05:19 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- Benny Feilhaber scored a rare hat trick for an American in a European club match, helping AGF Aarhus defeat Skive 6-3 in overtime Wednesday in the fourth round of the Danish Cup.

Feilhaber converted a penalty kick in the 16th minute, scored from a run in the 92nd, then converted another penalty kick in the 101st minute.

A member of this year's U.S. World Cup team, the 25-year-old midfielder has two goals in 36 national team appearances. Benny was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and moved to the U.S. with his family when he was 6 years old. Benny played two seasons for the UCLA Bruins in college before signing a professional contract in Germany with Hamburg. After two seasons with Hamburg and one with Derby County, England he joined his current club in Denmark in 2008.

FIFA.COM Nutrition for Football (Soccer)

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 14:23:57 GMT

Hey Guys! Coach Nuno has some info on the importance of nurtrition and a guide for eating and drinking for health and performance. I have included a booklet in a pdf format (ask your parents before you download it) and a link to the FIFA website for further reading on nutrition.

http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/developing/medical/newsid=513876.html#nutrition+football

They're Back!!! US Men face Brazil 8pm tonight

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 16:18:51 GMT

If you are like me, once you get hooked on watching National teams compete, as I did during qualifying and the World Cup, you don't want to see the competition end. Well good news soccer fools, it hasn't ended!

Tonight, on ESPN2 at 8pm, The USA Men's National Team will face Brazil. Yes, Brazil, B-R-A-Z-I-L, those guys in the yellow kit with the fancy skills on the ball.

After the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, the Men's team didn't play a single match the rest of the year, so I like to see that our 2010 team are lacing up their boots, stretching those sore muscles and getting right back out there! With more time playing together and more time on the field against opponents like Brazil, we can only get better.

Brazil hired a new head coach after they were knocked out of the World Cup round of 16, and new Brazil Coach Mano Menezes has decided that trying out some new players was needed to get the spark back in Brazilian football. In fact, only four players from the World Cup team are returning tonight (Robinho, Daniel Alves, Ramires and Thiago Silva). Make sure you watch for Neymar, one of the new players - an 18-year old from Brazilian pro club Santos (4 of the new players are from Santos, which was Pele's pro club when he played). I have been watching this kid for about 6 months and was hoping he'd play in the World Cup, but wasn't selected. Some of the Brazilian reporters are calling him the next Pele, but they like to say that about someone every few years!

The USA will be without Clint Dempsey tonight, as he wants to focus on getting healthy and fit for the new season at Fulham. One of the exciting new additions for the U.S. squad is a defender from the L.A. Galaxy, Omar Gonzalez. This guy is young, big, strong and talented - he may be our leading defender by the time the next World Cup comes in 2014.

Will Bob Bradley still be coaching the team in 2014? We don't know, but 65,000 fans in the New Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey tonight will get to cheer Bradley and his team for what they accomplished this year.

Kiko and Chicharito

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 01:37:52 GMT

Hello Academy,

I just had to blog on this after finally getting to watch my dvr recording last night of Manchester United's 5-2 win over the MLS All-Stars. Against any other team I'd have been rooting for MLS, but...

Anyway, whether you are a rabid Man U fan or can't stand the Red Devils, the exciting thing about the game was the way young players delivered the victory. No Rooney, No Vidic, No Rio Ferdinand. The 35-and over crew of Van der Sar (goalkeeper), Paul Scholes, and Ryan Giggs did play and played well, but the game was won by the Under-22 gang. This match pointed out what good club managers like Sir Alex Ferguson and his staff really spend their time doing, they don't sit around and polish trophies, they focus on developing young players all the way down to their U10 academies.

Man U Manager Sir Alex Ferguson (the Sir means that he was made a Knight by the Queen of England, pretty cool deal just for winning football matches, huh?) has had rival fans think his team is now vulnerable. They said Man U was toast after Ronaldo left, but they finished last season within one point of winning the EPL Title. Now people say his gray-haired players are old, what's he going to do now?

OK, kids, here's your history lesson (no, c'mon, its SOCCER HISTORY, so it's totally cool!). The reason why Man U puts a strong team on the field year after year is because they have been committed to developing and scouting youth players for more than 50 years! A lot of what we do now with our academy programs can be traced back to former Man U manager Sir Matt Busby (jeez, add in the other Man U knight Sir Bobby Charlton and we've got like... the Knights of the Roundball, get it, like the Knights of the Roundtable...never mind, back to the story).

Anyway, Sir Matt looked at his aging players in the 1950's and made a commitment to making sure that Man U always had new players coming up who were well trained in the Man U approach to the game. As these players reach U16-U18 and on the Reserves team beyond that, they got them lots of playing time in matches that were appropriate for each individual player to help them keep developing and gaining confidence, until they were ready for the big stage (the big stage would be "Old Trafford" park, with 76,000 screaming fans, TV cameras, etc., can you imagine taking the field there! Better be ready, huh?). They try to find that balance between pushing a player to the limits of what they can do along with allowing opportunities for them to repeat successes to gain confidence and make new skills permanent.

To the kids reading or having this read to them (team parents, you're on it, of course!), it's important for you to know that your own academy coaches try to balance these same things for you each week - if they push too hard or put you in a game you are not ready for you guys might lose confidence in yourself or get "burned out", if they don't give you enough of a challenge then you get bored and don't develop to your potential. Balance is the key word for doing anything right.

Some guys like Federico Macheda ("Kiko"), after joing the Man U academy at age 16, are ready to step up at age 17 and score a game winner that puts the team in first place in the Premier League (yeah, I was so sorry for Chelsea when that happened, really, I was). Macheda, now 19 years old, scored against the MLS All-Stars Wednesday night just 22 seconds after the opening kick-off! Other guys might play reserve games until they are 20 or 21 and then bust out and become stars. Tom Clerverly, age 20 now and a Man U academy player since age 15, got called up from the reserve squad for this game and scored a brilliant goal in the second half.

The Man U approach is that each player develops at a different pace, so they avoid predicting who the winners and losers are at too early an age. That approach has made so much sense to coaches in the USA that it now forms the core of most academy programs here, although we apply the term "academy" to younger ages. Club managers are kinda like farmers in that way: they know that they have to plant in the Spring if they want to eat in the Fall.

The list of players that came up through Man U's academy is amazing, here's a partial list: legendary player and manager Sir Bobby Charlton, George Best (rest in peace) - possibly England's most gifted player ever in my opinion, David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, Darren Fletcher. New Jersey born Guiseppi Rossi left the Garden State to attend Man U Academy and now plays for Villareal. Gerard Pique, star defender for Barcelona FC and the Spain World Cup team left his home in Spain to spend two years at the Academy as a teenager. Oh, by the way, Jonathon Spector of the US National Team also played in the Man U youth program!

OK, I mentioned Kiko, now on to Chicharito. This nickname for 22-year old Javier Hernandez means little green pea. His Dad's nickname when he played was green pea, so Javier is so proud of his nickname he had "Chicharito" lettered on the back of his Man U jersey instead of "Hernandez"! Chicharito was traded by Chivas-Guadelajara to Man U earlier this year, and you probably saw his two-goal performance for the Mexico national team at the World Cup. But its amazing, how did Sir Alex and his coaching staff find this kid from Mexico, halfway across the world, and know he was ready and about to be a world-class star? Watch this guy!!!

What does Sir Alex say about all this? Well, here is what he said in a recent interview: “Bringing young players through to the first team has given me the most satisfaction in my job, and it’s great to see the likes of John O’Shea, Darren Fletcher, Kieran Richardson and Wes Brown who have all since come through the system as well."

Whether its a team that I am a fan of, like Man U, or any other, I guess I am a bit like Sir Alex (ha-ha, I wish!), and like our GSA coaches too: the best, most exciting thing I see in a game is seeing one of you guys have that "winning moment" when you are rewarded for all the training and practicing and aches and pains that you have gone through. You never know exactly when those moments will come, but with work, they do come, just ask Alex!

Last night at the Georgia Dome...

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:22:49 GMT

I attended the Manchester City - Club America match last night at Georgia Dome with my son. I will always enjoy being able to see top players practice their craft, but unfortunately it was no more than practice. This was players in pre-season form, with top players from Man City like YaYa Toure, Wayne Bridge, and Shaun Wright-Phillips being pulled at halftime. Adabayor was given a PK that one of his teammates drew and he scored on it (on Ochoa, great to see him playing keeper for CA, still a strong keeper). Lucky for Adabayor because his slow-pace wandering around the pitch in the first half would not have ever earned him a goal otherwise. Crosses were poor and mostly over-powered (maybe the ball was sailing with the friendly environment of being indoors on turf, but then how about a little range-finding in warm-ups?).

Field awareness was not great - I played a game with my son to challenge him - what could you have done with the ball that the player did not do/see? Also, what could you have done as a supporting player on an attack that they didn't do? It was easy pickings, even for a U11 player, to find lost opportunities.

I want the real thing in Atlanta. This summer, post World-Cup and pre EUFA season, I've tuned into some MLS games to give it another chance, and I've seen some good matches, the level of play really IS improving in OUR league. But more important I have had an epiphany - yes, quality of play matters, but passion and intensity matter the most when it comes to enjoying a game as a spectator. I like to see things sometimes from my son's perspective, and the World Cup had a great example of this. He is a big Cristiano Ronaldo fan, has been for 3 years, but for the first time this summer, I saw him actually critique Ronaldo. And it was not about CR's skills, but about CR's lack of intensity in their match against Spain. We had marked the calendar early on for that one - Spain vs. Portugal - CR playing against some of his Real Madrid teammates. It was a letdown to my son to have his soccer hero seen walking around the field at times in the match, but we talked about it, one thing he said is he likes what he sees in David Villa, "the guy just always plays his hardest out there Dad!".

The best moment in last night's game for me, was when Club America was denied what looked like a foul and a PK when they had driven deep into the Man City box, and on the very next CA possession, a player made a great run and with a tremendous second and third effort slid the ball into the far corner to tie the game. Avenging the no-call on the prior play, and firing the Bimbos into a frenzy.

No, I don't mean Bimbo as an insult! I mean Bimbo as in the huge Latin-American bread company who is the major sponsor of Club America, their logo is on the jersey, and the very visible yellow jerseys were everywhere. That is passion. That is what I want to see with pro soccer in Atlanta. Many of the fans were probably happy just to see their favorite team from Mexico, but quite a few probably would have liked to see a game that meant something more to the players than just a "warm-up." If I have to choose, give me intensity over "big-name" players, but is it too much to ask for both here in Atlanta!

PS - the half-time show featured a "walk of fame" with youth state champion teams - we had both a girls and boys team in their GSA colors out there making us proud! That was an unexpected surprise for us. Go Phoenix!

Don't believe the hype! Argentina and Brazil lose

Sat, 03 Jul 2010 15:23:06 GMT

We like to celebrate sports stars in our country, nothing wrong with that. But this World Cup is an amazing look, at least in the last couple of matches, at how a well trained, organized team who work well with each other can beat a team with big name stars.

The "Golden Boot" award goes to the top goal scorer at the World Cup. Before the matches began, how many would have picked Germany's Thomas Mueller and Miroslav Klose to be two of the players tied for the most goals at this point in the tournament (4 goals, tied among 6 players)? Well, Klose shouldn't be a big surprise, he now has the second most total World Cup Finals goals of all time. But leading up to the Cup, the talk about the German team centered around how their injured "star" and captain Michael Ballack would not be able to play. Jurgen Klinsmann, the former German head coach said, it's actually probably helped Germany to have Ballack out, because when he's there, their game centers around him, without him there is more movement, more distribution of the ball, and we have seen the results.

But goal scoring is also kind of that over-emphasis on "stars", I admit I'm guilty of it, but it misses the point of how teams like the Netherlands and Germany have advanced against favored teams like Brazil and Argentina.

Yesterday, the Netherlands came back in the second half after giving up a Robinho goal 10 minutes into the game. Brazil had NEVER lost a World Cup finals match when they had the lead at halftime, until now. The systematic attacks and possession from the Netherlands unsettled the Brazilians, they committed fouls with one foul leading to a goal on a free kick and another foul leading to a red card. Wesley Sneijder scored both goals, the first on the free kick and the second on a header from a corner.

Sneijder's header proves this point about how a well organized team with players who know their roles can beat the favorites, particularly when those favorites are not organized. So check this out, Sneijder is 5feet 7inches tall, he was the shortest player on the field. Brazil, a team that many picked to win this World Cup, made the elementary mistake of allowing Sneijder, the shortest dude out there, to get a clean header right in front of their goal, and that goal sent them home instead of playing in the semi-finals.

This morning, Germany dominated the match in a 4-0 shutout of Argentina. Leo Messi, although he had some very good play and assisted on teammate goals in other games, ended this World Cup with zero goals. Germany coach Joachim Loew spoke after the match on how they focused on the "transition to the counter-attack." They saw how Argentina often moved lots of players up on the attack, but that their midfielders were sluggish getting back. Loew also saw that they were playing through the middle of the field, and not getting wide.

So, what was Loew's plan against Argentina? Block the middle and transition possession quickly - you could see this in the game when they often had one player containing the Argentina player while the other went to steal the ball away. This "double-team" was amazing if you saw the game. Once possession was gained, the plan was to move fast and to the flanks on their counter-attack.

But Coach Joachim Loew's preparation for this game really began several years ago. He and former German coach Jurgen Klinsmann had teamed up to change the German style away from their traditional slow-paced defensive style and toward a quicker, attack-minded style. One big thing he emphasizes is for players to reduce how long they hold on to the ball prior to making a pass. Quick thinking and a great work rate - knowing where to be to receive a pass, or where your teammate is to deliver a pass - we could see the success of Germany's approach all game long.

Well done Netherlands and Germany. And for Brazil and Argentina, with so many world-class players, they really owe it to their country's fans to get a bit more organized.

In honor of Nicole Murphy and her family

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 00:30:43 GMT

This news caught my eye a few days ago, and I wanted to pass it on to you. It's a sad story about a soccer-crazy family from Lafayette, Louisiana. Through the community of soccer families everywhere, let's put them in our thoughts and prayers.

Nicole, Kelly, Brian, and Danielle Murphy went with their father Danny to see the World Cup in South Africa. The oldest of the 6 Murphy kids, Lucas and Lauren, and their Mom, did not go on the trip.

Nicole, 24 years old, wass attending medical school at LSU after being a captain of her University of Tampa team that won a NCAA Division II women's championship. Brian is at LSU, Kelly is at LSU and is a midfielder for the LSU women's soccer team. Little sister Danielle had just accepted a scholarship to play at LSU, joining her sister Kelly on the team.

But now, Nicole is dead, Brian is in a coma in a hospital in South Africa, the insurance company is refusing to pay for a medical plane to get him home, and their father Danny, who is an ER doctor, is staying by Brian's side as they try to work things out.

Here is what happened: On Tuesday, a suspected drunk driver slammed into Nicole, Kellie and Brian as they walked home from a nearby concert in Cape Town, killing Nicole instantly, injuring Kellie and leaving Brian with a head injury so severe he's in an induced coma in a South African hospital. Kellie, 20, suffered a mild concussion. According to their oldest brother, Lucas, who was not in South Africa, if an emergency medical technician who happened to be walking the same way hadn't applied a tracheal tube to Brian immediately, he also might have died at the scene.

Father Danny and youngest child Danielle had decided to walk home earlier in the evening.

Lucas said the police arrested a 22-year-old driver the next day because his license plate fell off his car before he drove away from the scene of the accident. Lucas told a reporter, "Sometimes, I just break down, but I try not to do it in front of my mom. I'm trying my best to be strong. You can't ask yourself why. You just have to try to move on."

Friends of the family have set up an account to take donations to help the Murphy's with both their burial and ongoing medical expenses. Here is that information:

Home Bank
Account #: 2057873802
Attn: Murphy Family Support Fund
P.O. Box 81459
Lafayette, LA 70598

And finally, a brief memoriam that I found on nola.com for Nicole, who sounds like she was a strong and inspirational person:

Nicole Murphy previously captained the University of Tampa Spartans to an NCAA Division II championship in 2007. Most recently, she played with the Mudbugs in the women's state championship game in April for the Louisiana Soccer Association, scoring the first goal in a 5-0 sweep.

Murphy became well-known in the New Orleans soccer community as a versatile player who could play any position on the field. Since her death, friend and Mudbugs teammate Rachel Riser said it has been strange to show up for soccer practice on Monday and Thursday nights to find her absent. Like many people who knew Nicole, Riser said she was an inspirational athlete.

"She was in med school, and how many people do you know in med school that join adult soccer leagues and run triathlons and marathons?" Riser said. "Most of us spend time studying, but I think Nicole had such a zest for life. She was extremely active."

Murphy was excited about returning to New Orleans to start her third year of medical school and get experience inside a hospital, said Sarah Dowden, a nurse who shared a house on Annunciation Street with Nicole and her two dogs.

"She just had this amazing zest for life. She'd go on little trips all the time, so it kind of feels like she hasn't come back from a trip yet."

Family friend Maggie Leland said a tournament is the best event that could be held in Nicole's honor.

"She was probably the biggest soccer fan in that family," Leland said.

Her Aunt agreed. "We know that Nicole will be smiling on the match from heaven, because we know how much she loves her soccer."

My World Cup Heros: the attack from the back

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 00:19:48 GMT

Spectacular scores and tragic defensive failures get most of the attention when people talk about the games at this year's World Cup, but maybe what happens BEFORE those moments is more important.

There is a breed of wild animal roaming the savannah of South Africa last week that I spotted, it's as impressive as their lions or cheetahs in the way it protects its own until it sees the opportunity to strike, and then it does so with deadly precision.

OK, what on Earth am I talking about? I'm talking about players who are either back line or defensive midfielders, who stay on their marks and defend with intensity, yet have the speed, skill on the ball, and creativity to make things happen and set up goals offensively. They have a much larger impact on the game than we give them credit for, so here's my credit to a few of them!

So Guys, here's a short list of some players who "make it happen" even if they don't always make the you tube highlights. It's important to remember for your own journey playing soccer: a well placed pass or an important tackle can be just as much of a success for the team as scoring a goal. Here's some guys who just plain get it done, wonderful teammates to have, don't you think?

Philipp Lahm - Germany - when the previous Germany captainMichael Ballack was injured, Lahm became the youngest ever team captain for Germany. Looks like it's working out pretty well. Even though Lahm is just 5 foot 7 inches tall, he is thought of as one of the best wing backs in the world. He has great skills at containing opponents, and his pace with the ball and head's up vision of the field makes him a dangerous predator on the counter attack.

Douglas Maicon - Brazil - I have been A HUGE FAN of this dude since I watched InterMilan (Maicon's pro team) move through the Champion's League tournament. Next Brazil game that you watch, check out how quick he can move up from the back and create a scoring opportunity. Strong defender, fast, and a strong foot too - he got the assist on a Brazil goal today on a corner kick.

Benny Feilhaber - USA - OK, really Benny is not a backline guy, he's a midfielder. But he is a guy who takes on a lot of containing and defensive responsibilities and still has the pace, the right touch with passes, and the vision of the field that allowed the USA to counter-attack. When I watched Feilhaber in this Cup I thought, "wow, this is what all our players should be able to do, play like South American or European players." So I did a little research on Benny - turns out he was born in Brazil and lived there for the first 6 years of his life!!! Must be somethin' in the water down there...

From 206 countries, there are now only 16...

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 10:46:19 GMT

The USA, England and Mexico are 3 of only 16 countries left in the World Cup Tournament. The USA had moments in group matches where they looked unstoppable. Unfortunately, Brazil and Argentina have had quite a few of those moments too!

The amazing thing about the Cup is the long, difficult "qualifying" tournament that takes place over a couple of years prior to the World Cup Finals Tournament. 206 different countries attempted to qualify for one of the 32 slots (actually 31 since the host country, South Africa, gets an automatic spot). So, whether the country has star players or no one you know, whether they are a big country, or tiny little Slovenia, they are there because they have earned their spot in qualifying matches. For example, in Slovenia's final qualifier that determined which team would go to South Africa, Slovenia beat mighty Russia! So, NO team at the Cup can be taken lightly, which is why its the greatest sporting event in the World!

Today, it gets even more exciting as we start the ELIMINATION round (win you play on, lose you go home). The USA faces Ghana, the final African country remaining in the tournament. The match is at 2pm on ESPN. Yes, Ghana is without the injured Michael Essien, who plays professionally for Chelsea Football Club, but they still have shown the ability to play well and advance out of their group, which was a group with Germany, Serbia, and Australia. Here is a brief look at who's who on Ghana and what to watch out for:

Asamoah Gyan - striker - will probably be positioned as the lone striker in a 4-3-2-1 formation. He has the distinction of having scored the FASTEST GOAL in World Cup history (68 seconds after kickoff versus Czech Republic in 2006).

Dede Ayew - outside midfielder - probably will line up on either midfield wing spot. He will make quick attacks on goal, and will require good marking by either Dempsey or Donovan

John Mensah - center back - a strong, physical defender and hard tackler, but tends to stay in the central position, so the USA will need to find ways to attack from the sides to catch Mensah in situations where he is not at his best.

When the USA lost to Ghana in the 2006 World Cup, we were pushed off the ball quite a bit. We need to be up for the physical challenge that Ghanan players like Mensah will pose, and realize that getting headers in the box against Ghana is a very difficult thing to do. Also, we will need to get our shots off quickly - Ghana defenders are good at closing down space, so we may have just that little window, that split-second opportunity for Altidore, Findley, Torres, Gomez, Dempsey, Bradley...Donovan to shoot and it's...a...GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!!!

Tim Howard's courage living with Tourette disorder

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 17:09:05 GMT

Think of Tim Howard on the field as starting goalkeeper, either for the US Men's National Team or his pro club Everton FC. A pillar of strength, right? Shouting orders to defenders, charging into the crowd to grab a corner kick out of the air, diving to make a punching one-handed save on a hard shot.

You would not think that this is a guy that lives daily with an incurable disorder, one that he was diagnosed with when he was 10 years old. He used to be teased by other kids for the body twitches, the ticks of the head, or sounds that he would make that are the major symptoms of the condition he has, something known as Tourette Syndrome.

Playing soccer and basketball were Tim's escape from feeling sorry for himself or worrying about trying to hide what he had been born with. On the field, it didn't matter, he learned to focus in the moment of the game.

When talking to a group of kids who also have Tourette's, Howard said, ""Mentally it took a toll. Not just from other kids who didn't know better and would make fun of it. It took a toll trying to hide it, and so I stopped trying to hide it. And when I stopped, I learned I could manage it, especially when I was on the field. It was the place I could go where nothing else mattered, just me and the ball. It was my sanctuary."

At the age of 20, Howard was voted MLS Goalkeeper of the year. 2 years later, Manchester United paid $4 million to get him traded to their club. Even after proving his abilities, adults who should know better still made fun of him. Writers at newspapers in England thought Manchester's Manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, had lost his mind: they wrote articles that called Howard "disabled", "retarded", and even worse things.

Living in a foreign country, being teased in newspapers, how did Howard respond? He focused on his job, and was named Goalkeeper of the Year for the English Premier League in 2003, and became the first American to win the British FA Cup. Those who had been teasing him started to shut up.

While Sir Alex still maintains a friendship with Howard, he needed to trade him to Everton FC in 2006. In the 2008-2009 season, Howard set the club record for the most clean sheets (shutouts) for an entire season. With season after season now of outstanding performances for Everton, Howard is often cited as one of the top keepers now in the Premier League.

Tim Mulqueen, a longtime goalkeeping coach for US national and U-20 teams and a friend of Howard's, sums it up well, "With all his great ability, the best thing about Tim is that he has the heart of a champion. No matter what happens, he'll fight through it."

So guys, here's something to noodle on:

What's the biggest challenge you've had to "fight through"? Is there something, or more than one thing that you've been teased about, something about the way you look or the way you do something?

Do you ever feel relieved when you can just get on the field and play hard, forget about anything like that, or school stuff, or whatever? You ever notice how when you are really focused at practice or in a game, you forget all about any problems you had been thinking about before?

God sent a message to FIFA

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 18:13:25 GMT

It just hit me!!! Today's USA - Slovenia 2-2 tie, where what should have been the winning USA goal was incorrectly disallowed, contained a hidden message from God. It took me a while to translate the message, but when I did, here is what it said:

DEAREST FIFA:

This is God, so listen up, I have a to-do list for you:
1. Thou shalt bring thy game into the 21st century.

2. Thou shalt start using a video review of critical calls (goals disallowed, red cards) if the manager of a side requests it.

3. Thou shalt actually stop the holy here-be-fore never stopped game clock while a supervisory video review referee consults with the field referee over what the correct ruling should be.

4. Thou shalt also show sponsor commercials on the tv during this pause in the action, which will help everyone make money, which is a good thing for the game.

5. Thou will make your fans happy with these pauses in the action, because its unfair to expect fans to wait 45 minutes between bathroom breaks.

If thou shalt refuse my request, I shall continue to strike referees deaf, dumb, and blind during critical matches, as I did today in the USA-Slovenia match. Yours Truly,

GOD

(by the way, if my fictional letter from God offends anyone in any way, I want you to know that no offense is intended, just trying to turn frustration into humor!)

What do you guys think? Should professional and International/FIFA matches have a video review of certain calls? If so how would it work - as in who would ask for a review, what would happen with the game clock, who would make the decision on the call once video is reviewed, would it only be allowed for certain types of situations and which ones?

Viva Mexico...attitude is everything at the Cup

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 18:05:20 GMT

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that attitude and team spirit determined all three World Cup games today.

Have you had those games where everyone seems to be working together, working hard, and having fun? If you get fouled, you get up, shrug it off, and just keep going?

You may have even had that feeling that you can overcome any challenge, and win no matter what? Not a cocky attitude but just a confident attitude about yourself, your team, and your coach.

Three winning teams today showed that, big time. Mexico, Argentina, and Greece just had it going on. Two of the losing teams showed signs of selfishness and poor attitudes, France and Nigeria, and they both lost.

Agentina 4 - South Korea 1

Gonzalo Higuain scored the first hat trick in a World Cup since 2002. Higuain, the leading scorer for Real Madrid when playing pro, received two beautiful assists from Leo Messi, the leading scorer for Real Madrid's rival Barcelona. A well struck set piece by Messi led to the other goal, an own goal by Korea. But all those rivalries from pro teams are put aside when these guys put on the Argentina kit.

This is now a different Argentina team than the one we saw in qualifying, the one that actually struggled to qualify. There was a certain team spirit and attitude from Argentina that you could feel today, and the team seems to feed off of the spirited energy on the sidelines from their coach, Diego Maradona. Whether you like or don't like Diego doesn't matter, because his players seem to believe in him and his energy drives them.

Mexico 2 - France 0

First off, three cheers for El Tri, what a brilliant win! I know we have several academy families who are big Mexico fans, and as our CONCACAF neighbors, it was great to see El Tri play up to their potential.

Javier Hernandez came on as a sub in the second half and scored the first goal on a blazing run past the French defense to gather a through pass and beat the French keeper 1v1.

OK, Hernandez signed a contract with Manchester United in April so I am a little biased about this 22 year-old forward! But his story is really interesting, here are a few things:

- He comes from a family with 3 generations of Chivas (Guadelajara) players

- His grandfather scored for Mexico against France in the 1954 World Cup (at the same age of 22!).

- His dad played on the 1986 Mexico Cup team. His dad also quit his job to be able to go see his son play in the Cup. Maybe looking to buy a flat in Manchester too, papa?!

- His nickname is "Chicharito" (little green pea), from his Dad's nickname as a player "Chicharo" (green pea)!

The other goal was scored by 37 year old Cuauhtemoc Blanco on a PK. Wow, 37, you go Cuahtemoc!

What stood out in this game is the energy that Mexico brought right from the opening whistle. You could feel a sense of confidence in Mexico that they believed they could win. And although the first half was scoreless, Mexico had at least 4 solid strikes, was winning tackles and 50/50 headers, and moved the ball well.

France, on the other hand is a group of skilled players but it would be hard to call them a "team" - the teamwork isn't there and the positive attitude isn't there. Sometimes, it looks like French players just give up, they don't give that extra effort that wins games.

Greece 2 - Nigeria 1

This was the tragic story of how "losing it" on the field can hurt your team and your whole country. Nigeria started out strong, playing well, great goalkeeping, and they scored first. The many Nigerian fans in attendance were cheering wildly, it all looked good.

But after some rough play between two players, a Nigeria midfielder kicked a Greece player in the thigh with his studs up, and this was after play had stopped. A straight red card came out. So, for the remaining 55 minutes of the match, Nigeria had to play with 10 men. Although Nigeria still played hard and missed a wide open chance in the second half, they could not stop Greece from scoring two and winning the match.

After the red came out, the Nigerian player had tears in his eyes, and walked off the field with his jersey pulled over his face. He knew that his action would likely cause his country's team to not advance out of the group. The crowd that had been cheering got very quiet. And once again, it was attitude that determined the winners and losers in today's World Cup games.

So guys, check this out real quick before you go:

When you take the field, or when you feel like you are about to "lose it" on the field, think about what happened in these games. How do you think the Argentina or Mexico players feel tonight, and how do you think the Nigerian player that got the red card feels? Do you think he wished he would have just walked away and kept playing?

Do your math homework, It may help you win a game!

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 11:11:12 GMT

(I could also title this "why Robert Green should not wear green")

This is pretty cool, a math professor from Stanford University was on NPR talking about the "science" of penalty kicks (as you'll see, there is a bit of psychology thrown in there too). Here is the conversation they had on the radio:

In recent years a lot of international games have been decided by penalty kicks.

WEEKEND EDITION's Math Guy, Keith Devlin, joins us from Stanford.

Keith, thanks very much for being with us.

KEITH DEVLIN: Hi, Scott. Good to be here as usual.

SIMON: More international games ending this way?

DEVLIN: It certainly seems to be. And that certainly happened with last World Cup when there was an exciting shootout between France and Italy.

SIMON: So what can the shooter do to improve his odds?

DEVLIN: Well, what got my interest in this as a mathematician was a study that was done recently at Liverpool's John Moores University. They found that the best chance for a kicker is to aim high and toward one side or the other. They found out that the speed should be between 56 and 65 miles and hour. If it's faster than that, then the kicker loses accuracy. If it's slower than 56 miles an hour, then the goalie has more time to react and stop it.

SIMON: Of course, if the goalkeeper knows that the odds favor putting it in one of those corners, the goalkeeper will do his best to be in one of those corners, won't he?

DEVLIN: The goalie has to start somewhere in the middle.

SIMON: Mm-hmm.

DEVLIN: But another interesting study says if the goalie is just between three and five inches off the center point, the kicker tends to aim for the area that's slightly larger. And so if the goalie is three or five inches to one side but then dives towards the other side, his chances of saving it are going to be higher, so...

SIMON: So the goalie can fake him out by - you know how they love to jump around and twitch their hips, right?

(laughter)

DEVLIN: I think youre talking about goalies psyching them out. The color of the jersey that the goalkeeper wears is a big factor. This, by the way, was a study done at the University of Chichester in England. If the keeper wears a red jersey, only 54 percent of PK's on average are successful. It goes up to 69 percent if it's yellow. If the keeper wears a blue jersey, 72 percent will go in. And the worst thing that the keeper could do is wear a green jersey because then 75 percent of penalty kicks will go in.

The theory, by the way, is that red is a dominant color. It signifies danger and anger, and so that would attract the kicker's attention. And if you're looking at something, if your eyes focus on something, you'll probably head in that direction, so the goalie's job is to get the kicker to look at him. Then the chances are going to be higher because he will be able to save the kick.

SIMON: So is there a mathematical answer to why the Brazilians are year in and year out the best soccer players in the world?

(laughter)

DEVLIN: The mathematics in all of these studies can help, they can give you a little bit of an edge. But all of sports really comes down to people who just spend thousands of hours practicing. Brazil is one of those soccer nations.

USA's new determination, and a look ahead

Sun, 13 Jun 2010 15:21:38 GMT

Many of the reviews, particularly by foriegn commentators, on the 1-1 draw between the USA and England have focused on England keeper Robert Green's mishandling of a Clint Dempsey shot. But there was a lot more going on than just a simple goalie error, for one thing, the error wouldn't even have mattered if we had not held England to one early goal. Here are some other ways to look at the game:

The balls used in the World Cup are unlike any we play with. The way they are stitched and grooved makes them incredibly responsive. A bend bends more, a bounce can cause an unpredictable movement, a poorly struck ball looks even worse thant it would with a store-bought ball. Clint Dempsey said after the game, "These balls move so much, you just hit them on goal, you have a chance." Keepers have it particularly tough at the World Cup, and in the last week Howard and others have grumbled about how the balls for this Cup are tough to predict.

Wayne Rooney didn't touch the ball the first 17 minutes and didn't touch it in the box until the 70th minute. I think this should be seen as the big news from this game. Cheers to Bob Bradley's coaching and the US defenders for basically taking one of the top strikers in the world out of the game.
In recent World Cups, when the USA has gone down a goal early, they have kind of fallen apart. England scored in the 4th minute. In the 29th minute, Howard took a cleat in the chest, and was clearly in a lot of pain and might have to come out. How did we respond? We scored in the 40th minute, and increased our pressure, coming close a few times to scoring a go-ahead goal. Cheers to the US team's determination to believe in themselves and play hard the full 90 minutes.

Back to the US defenders. Steve Cherundolo shut down attacking-midfielder James Milner in the opening 30 minutes and then shut down his sub Shaun Wright-Phillips. Cherundolo also drew several fouls in the first half as he made fast runs forward.

The US starting defenders were, from left to right: Bocanegra, Onyewu, DeMerit, Cherundolo. All had solid games, DeMerit may have had the most costly lapse. The England goal by Steven Gerrard occurred when Gerrard made a run in the box and US midfielder Ricardo Clark lost his mark on him. US defender Jay DeMerit allowed his mark, Emile Heskey, to complete the through pass to set up Gerrard's goal by not getting pressure on him sooner.

Both teams played a 4-4-2 (four defenders, four midfielders, and 2 forwards/strikers). The next US opponent, Slovenia, also played a 4-4-2 in their 1-0 win over Algeria today. Slovenia and Algeria are the other two teams in our group, so Slovenia now leads our group of four teams with 3 points from their win today. The USA will play Slovenia this Friday, June 18 at 10am. Getting a win would hold Slovenia at a total of 3 points, and would give the USA 4 points total (a win plus a draw). It is likely that England will win their Friday match versus Algeria which will give them 4 points. The top two teams of the four in our group advance, so after Friday, we will have one more game each. Best to enter that third and final group game in at least second place and in a position to advance!

DID YOU SEE: When the U.S. had a couple of corner kicks, the ESPN cameras showed the battle to get position in front of the goal between Altidore and Rooney. It was fun to watch. It was also interesting that they brought Rooney back to mark Altidore because of Altidore's strong physical presence.

AN AREA FOR CONCERN: The U.S. passing accuracy was 66.8 percent, its second-lowest total since the stat was first tracked in 1966. Since 1966, only seven teams won a World Cup match with a passing accuracy lower than 67 percent. In the 2nd half, England's passing accuracy was 82 percent and the US passing accuracy was 62 percent.

Link to easy-to-use (and really cool) Cup calendar

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 13:39:12 GMT

Thanks to Tom Donlan, head of our web site software and hosting company, for sending me this. It's a clickable "wheel" with the complete World Cup schedule. You can search by date, team, group, or event location. Easy to use and kind of fun too.

Here is the link:

http://www.marca.com/deporte/futbol/mundial/sudafrica-2010/calendario-english.html

Are you experiencing any of these symptoms?

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 17:53:55 GMT

I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me this morning. My hands were sweaty, my heart was beating fast. I called my doctor and after a brief talk he gave me my diagnosis: I have a case of WORLD CUP FEVER. It's highly contagious, so I apologize if you catch it from me. My Doc told me the only known cure is to spend a lot of time watching ESPN over the next few weeks, screaming like a lunatic, and blowing frequently into some plastic horn called a "vuvuzela"? Hey, if it gets me well, I'll give it a shot.

Here is a quick TV guide and a few "things to watch for" for the first weekend of World Cup matches. The Cup starts tomorrow (Friday) morning with host country South Africa squaring off against our southern neighbors, the "El Tri" squad from Mexico.

FRIDAY, JUNE 11:

South Africa vs. Mexico, 10:00am ESPN

What to watch for: Try to count how many vuvuzelas are in the South African section of the stadium. If you guess right, we'll give a couple of free vuvuzelas to your parents for them to use this summer to wake you up to do your housework. What a deal!

As for the game, keep an eye on Steven Pinnear (pro club: Everton in the EPL), a midfielder for South Africa and wearing the number 10 jersey for the team locals call the Bafana Bafana. Also, Aaron Mokoena, a defensive midfielder known for his tough tackling, both for his Cup squad and for Portsmouth in the EPL.

Mexico has questions at the top and the bottom of the pitch. Will they go with the older, experienced striker Franco, or the young and talented Javier Hernandez? And back at keeper, there is still a question whether Club America keeper Guillermo Ochoa will get the start, or if Mexico Coach Aguirre will go with Oscar Perez. Mexican fans have big hopes to get through the group stage, but South Africa will be a tough first match for the simple reason that host countries for the World Cup almost always play at a higher level than expected due to the strong fan support and country pride.

Uruguay vs. France, 2:30pm ESPN

What to watch for: Watch to see how much France pushes up, and if they favor a shape that focuses more on offense than what they used in qualifying. French fans criticized their team in qualifying for a lack of scoring opportunities. Also, Thierry Henry's fitness will determine a lot for France. If he is not in top form, can Nicolas Inelka step up and generate opportunities? Since making it to the World Cup final match in 2006, France has lost Zidane to retirement, lost in the first round of Euro 2008, and struggled in this year's qualifying. Generating offense has been a problem, Thierry Henry (Barcelona) is not the player he once was and on top of that, French coach Ray Domenech had been playing a defensive formation. Uruguay's scoring ace is Diego Forlan (Atletico Madrid), who was the 5th highest goal scorer in Spain's La Liga this year (before you say "only fifth?!", keep in mind the guys ahead of him were Messi, CR9, Iguain and David Villa, not bad company to keep!). Forlan will be paired up top with Luis Suarez (Ajax), the top scorer this year in the Dutch premier league.

SATURDAY, JUNE 12th

South Korea vs. Greece, 7:30am ESPN

Argentina vs. Nigeria, 10:00am ESPN

What to watch for: Whad'ya mean, what do I watch for, you kiddin me??? OK, how about that little guy, Leo something-or-other? Start by watching him, OK!? Argentina has serious firepower up top with Messi, Iguain, and Tevez, but can they show teamwork and that beautiful Argentina style? Then there is the former little fast guy with the big ego, Coach Maradona. Last week, this soft-spoken, quiet coach (ok, maybe not) said if Argentina wins the Cup, he will run naked down the streets of Argentina's biggest city, Buenos Aires. Maradona was one of the most exciting players ever, and now he is showing he is one of the..uh..most interesting coaches ever. But in all seriousness, Argentina played poorly through most of qualifying, and the team needs to show they can play well together and avoid making costly mistakes. Otherwise Maradona will be stripped all right, but what he will be stripped of is his coaching job.

England vs. USA, 2:30pm ABC

What to watch for: Man, I'm nervous just writing about this match! I can't research and write about every little thing that will be going on in this game, so let me try to pick a few things from my own, humble, "I coached rec and played select in the 1980's so I'm an expert" opinion:

1. Rooney, Crouch, Gerrard and others versus the USA defenders. Much has been made of Rooney's goal scoring threat, but honestly, if England had just that one star weapon, teams could just focus all their attention on stopping him. But England has multiple players who can score: Gerrard has an absolute cannon of a foot, Peter Crouch, at 6'7", can strike well from the head as well as the feet. Veteran, reliable Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole can be counted on to put in a solid performance and has scored 10 International goals, and Jermain Defoe has shown offense as well. For the USA, with the exception of strong performances recently by Bocanegra and Cherundolo, the U.S. defenders have individually looked vulnerable. Can the hustle of midfielders like Donovan, Dempsey, Bradley and Torres take some pressure off of the US back line? Will we do a better job covering back if a defender goes up on a run (better than the goal that we allowed versus Turkey on their counter-attack in that situation)?

2. There is one position where the U.S. is clearly better than England, and that is at goalkeeper. Will it show on the scoreboard? Tim Howard, the USA keep, is seen by many as one of the top goalies in the EPL. David James for England, while he is a very experienced keep and England's best, is still a notch below Howard. But that is when both are playing their best, and a goalie's success also depends tremendously on the line in front of him. So, will Howard have the right factors to have a superior game? England's second in line keep, Joe Hart, is a very talented younger player and is seen as the future England number 1, but probably won't see much time if any at this Cup.

3. Will the confusion and turmoil of the English team continue at the Cup? Off the field, the England squad has been like a soap opera at times this year. John Terry had team captain taken away, and Rio Ferdinand was named captain. Now Ferdinand is injured and out of the Cup. The way Theo Walcott was kept on and then let go from the team at the last moment led to criticism of England coach Fabio Capello. All this is just noise as long as on the field they perform. But on the field, particularly at midfield, they have looked confused at times and have not shown consistency and teamwork. Losing Gareth Barry, a perfect center-midfielder to team with Lampard, has hurt them. Many sports writers in England have criticised the team for looking like Rooney is the only one out there getting it done. Will the USA see chaos in the play of England, and be able to exploit it?

4. Has USA Coach Bob Bradley settled in on his midfield and forward lineups and have they "gelled" into a good understanding of their movement on the field? While some other countries were using the latest friendly matches as more of a tune-up, Bradley was still conducting tryouts and experimenting with lines. He could either look really smart or really dumb for this, depending on how the team performs at the Cup. Buddle, Gomez, Findley, and Torres are newer players who have sparked the goal scoring in the last couple of friendlies. In the win against Turkey, Bradley made some successful changes at halftime: he pulled Clint Dempsey back to center mid alongside his son Michael, got Donovan out on the right mid, Torres came on at left Mid, and Findley and Gomez worked up top. Against Australia, it was Buddle and Gomez combining for 3 goals up top. Findley is one of the fastest players out there and clearly was causing Turkey problems due to his pace, which opened up other players, like Jozy Altidore. Buddle and Gomez are quick, opportunistic goal scorers - in fact, Buddle (LA Galaxy) is the top MLS scorer and Gomez (Puebla) is the top scorer in Mexico's premier league. With Buddle playing in front of Donovan, you have a setup that works well for them on their pro team, the LA Galaxy. Where does Altidore fit into this? Well, one thought I had is that if you want someone who can play physical with English defenders like John Terry, then you want Altidore in the lineup. We'll see, like I said, way more things that Bradley must be thinking about than I can write about, or even know about!

One final humorous story: reportedly the Brazil-based referee crew for the USA-England match has been provided some coaching on common English-language swear words.

So, yo, listen up holmes, word to John Terry - if he thinks he can say whatever he wants as long as he doesn't say it in Portugeuse, he may find himself staring at the business end of one of those little yellow cards. Peace, out.

SUNDAY, JUNE 13th

Sorry, I'm all out of energy for any more summaries, just watch the stinkin' Sunday games, OK?! I mean, it's soccer, it's a simple game: you can't use your hands unless your name is Maradona or Henry, there is no instant replay, there is no seventh inning stretch, and there are no cheerleaders. Finally, if you are a soccer fan from Europe, you have to sing songs the whole time the game is going on, serious, they do! And worse, you'd have to sit there and listen to your parents sing these songs the whole time. God Bless America for not doing that! Enjoy.

Algeria vs. Slovenia, 7:30am ESPN

Serbia vs. Ghana, 10:00am ESPN

Look to see if Ghana can come back from the unfortunate injury to their star, Chelsea player Michael Essien.

Germany vs. Australia, 2:30pm ABC

What does John Wooden have to do with Soccer?

Sat, 05 Jun 2010 21:20:27 GMT

Former UCLA Basketball Coach John Wooden died yesterday at the age of 99. May he Rest in Peace. Wooden won 10 (yes TEN) NCAA National Championships in the 1960's and 1970's. Way before there was Duke, UNC, Kentucky, or Georgetown, there was Wooden and UCLA.

Growing up, I loved both soccer and basketball, and I have often thought that almost everything you learn on a basketball court can be applied to soccer (the give and go, isolation, rebounding, etc.). OK, you can't set a pick in soccer, I'll give you that, but you get my point!

But aside from the similarities in the sports, I wanted to write a brief note about a man whose importance goes way beyond hoops, and applies to the pursuit of excellence in any sport, and to life itself.

Wooden's motto for players was "failing to prepare is preparing to fail". Kind of like the approach in our program, if you work your hardest in practice, if you repeat and repeat until your muscles and your mind know what to do, even when you are tired and grumpy, games just kind of happen. When Wooden was a pro player (before coaching), he once hit 138 straight free throws in pro games. Hmmm...do you think he might have spent some solo time outside of practice working on that skill?

Legendary former Georgetown Coach John Thompson, a big fan of Wooden, taught his players the following saying from Wooden:
"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation because your character is what you really are while your reputation is just what others think you are." Wow.

How does that Wooden-ism apply to you guys playing Academy soccer? It means guys, there is a lot of noise out there that doesn't matter: Games are won or lost, you may miss a shot or let a goal in, you may play on the "A" team or the "B" team. John Wooden would say, if you are stressed about those things, you need to chill out and focus on what you can control: the way you work, the way you relate to your coach and teammates, and the way you take care of yourself and show the pride of an athlete. THAT is character, and character always wins in the long run.

On doing what you love, and keeping things in perspective, there is no greater role model than John Wooden. He frequently mentioned how basketball is nowhere near as important to him as his faith. In this age of multi-million dollar salaries for college coaches, John Wooden's salary in 1975, the year he won his 10th NCAA Championship, was $35,000 for the whole year, probably what some coaches now make for a single game! When asked once how he was able to be so successful, Wooden replied, "I have been blessed with players who focused on 'we' instead of 'me'." Just a plain spoken, humble guy, who happens to be the greatest college basketball coach of all time. We'll miss him.

USA beats Australia in final tune-up, Sat June 5th

Sat, 05 Jun 2010 12:05:58 GMT

Edson Buddle scored his first two international goals and Herculez Gomez added a third, leading the United States over Australia 3-1 Saturday in the Americans' last warm-up for their World Cup opener against England.

Playing just his third game for the national team, Buddle scored in the fourth and 31st minutes. That offset a 19th-minute equalizer by Tim Cahill, who beat Everton teammate Tim Howard for his 20th international goal.

Gomez, like Buddle a surprise pick for the World Cup roster, entered in the 82nd minute and scored from eight yards in injury time off a feed by Landon Donovan. It was the second international goal for Gomez, who also scored against the Czech Republic last week.

Marcus Hahnemann took over in goal for the Americans in the second half. He made a point-blank stop on Mark Bresciano in the 59th minute, and defender Steve Cherundolo stopped Scott Chipperfield's shot at the goal line in the 63rd.

The defense for the 14th-ranked U.S. was shaky against No. 20 Australia, a cause for concern going into the big June 12 World Cup game against England. Oguchi Onyewu, playing his third match since October knee surgery, didn't enter until the 61st minute, with Clarence Goodson starting in central defense with Jay DeMerit.

Jozy Altidore, who sprained his right ankle in training Wednesday, didn't play for the Americans, who paired Buddle at forward with Robbie Findley.

Injuries keep coming for World Cup Players

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 22:07:35 GMT

There have been some unfortunate recent injuries that will take key players out of the World Cup. Many are from top EPL teams, which raises questions such as, is the EPL and UEFA season just too long and grueling? Or, do fouls need to be more strictly enforced, particularly in the EPL? Or is this just the nature of the game?

Since this is the first World Cup held on the continent of Africa, African nations have been looking forward to seeing their best players compete. But last week, Ghana's star player Michael Essien, whose professional club is Chelsea, was taken out due to injury. And just today, another top Chelsea player and leader of the Cote D'Ivoire team, Didier Drogba, had his arm broken in a match against Japan and is now expected to be out of the World Cup. I personally was really looking forward to seeing Drogba, he has fans all over the world. Unfortunate that these African stars will be unable to show the world their talents on their home continent.

Michael Ballack, captain of the Germany squad, and yet another Chelsea player, was injured last week in a match and will also not play in the World Cup. Yesterday, it was also announced that Rio Ferdinand, Captain of England and a defender for Manchester United, was injured in practice and will be unable to play in the World Cup.

And finally, Jozy Altidore, Striker for the USA and professionally for Hull City in the EPL, sprained his ankle in practice yesterday, but is currently expected to play in the Cup.

Let's wish all these players a speedy recovery, it must be tough to be injured so close to a World Cup that they have worked so hard to make it to.

Do we have the Nutrition Edge?!

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 21:35:50 GMT

Just a little blurb I saw about the food that the England World Cup players have requested to be sent to South Africa. So, Rice is an awesome source of complex carbs...but coco pops and red bull? Hope they're hurting from that in the 2nd half on June 12! Then again, I haven't seen the food orders for the U.S. team yet...

In 1966, when England won its only World Cup, its players feasted on typical English English fare, sausages and chips (my note: chips in England are like french fries). Now England's players have more gourmand tastes, requesting such items as sushi on the menu.

The freight sent ahead to England's base at the Royal Bafokeng sports campus, included 10 kilos of Japanese rice and wasabi paste. The English players certainly like their food hot, as evidenced by the 100 bottles and tubes of hot sauce they'll have to choose from.

Their diet won't make a nutritionist entirely happy. England has brought 600 cans of Red Bull and 500 bags of potato chips. And for breakfast there will be Coco Pops, not exactly what Fabio Capello had in mind for a morning meal.

State Cup - GSA Teams in Final Four this Weekend!

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 13:51:25 GMT

GSA Players and Parents,

The Georgia Youth Soccer State Championships take place this weekend in Fayettville at McCurry Park South and North.

We have the following Boys Teams in the Final Four (more than any other club in the State and more than any other club has ever advanced before:

U14/96 Red

U15/95 Red

U16/94 Red

U17/93 Red (going for 4-peat)

U18/92 Red (going for 3-peat)

Below is a schedule of the games already played and the upcoming games for this weekend.

NOTE: The Game Schedule might change so please double check the schedule on Friday. You can go to the the gasoccer.com

website. Click on Tourn./Travel, then click on State Tournaments, then click on State Cup to locate the game schedules.

Hope to cya on the pitch in support of your fellow GSA Teams.

GO GSA...Raise the Phoenix High with Pride!

Nuno

Mike

U14B-96 Red	5/29 Sat.	8am	WF 9	ASA Blue	Alfonso	W 4-0
	5/30 Sun.	9:45am	WF 9	Ambush Red	Alfonso	W 2-0
	5/31 Mon.	11:30am	WF 10	CFC E Gold	Alfonso	T 3-3
	6/5 Sat.	9am/Semi	McPkN 4	TBD	Alfonso
	6/6 Sun.	9am/Final	McPkS 22		Alfonso
U15B-95 Red	5/29 Sat.	5:15pm	WF 8	NSA Gold	Ricardo	W 2-0
	5/30 Sun.	11:30am	WF 1	Augusta Gold	Ricardo	W 2-0
	5/31 Mon.	8am	WF 8	Nasa Elite	Ricardo	W 3-1
	6/5 Sat.	9am/Semi	McPrkN 4	Concorde Elite	Ricardo
	6/6 Sun.	9am/Final	McPrkS 22		Ricardo
U16B-94 Red	5/29 Sat.	11:30am	WF 8	NASA Premier	Mike	T 1-1
	5/30 Sun.	9:45am	WF 1	ConcordeBlk S	Mike	W 1-0
	5/31 Mon.	9:45am	WF 8	Ambush Red	Mike	W 1-0
	6/5 Sat.	1pm/Semi	McPrkS 22	GA Rush	Mike
	6/6 Sun.	1pm/Final	McPrk 25		Mike
U17B-93 Red	5/29 Sat.	9:45am	WF 1	Cowetta	Nuno	W 7-0
	5/30 Sun.	1:30pm	WF 1	NASA Premier	Nuno	W 6-0
	5/31 Mon.	5:15pm	WF 7	CFC Premier	Nuno	W 5-0
	6/5 Semi	3pm/Semi	McPrkS 23	GFC Elite	Nuno
	6/6 Final	1pm/Final	McPrkS 21		Nuno
U18B-92 Red	6/1 Tue	9:30am	McPrkS 23	Augusta Pre	Ricardo	L 1-3
	6/2 Wed	9:30am	McPrkS 23	CFC Gold	Ricardo	W 5-1
	6/3 Thu	9:30am	McPrkS 24	NASA Premier	Ricardo	W 7-1
	6/5 Semi	11am/Semi	McPrkS 24	Fusion Gold	Ricardo
	6/6 Final	1pm/Final	McPrkS 23		Ricardo

Mike Farnham

Director of Player Development

Gwinnett Soccer Association

678-794-1759

Sports Illustrated interview: Jurgen Klinsmann

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 22:04:45 GMT

Hello Academy:

Over the next few weeks I will send out World Cup articles or news that look interesting. If you don't want to receive them, you can remove yourself from the "World of Soccer" mailing list on our team site.

This Sports Illustrated interview that Grant Wahl had with Jurgen Klinsmann is good. Mr. Klinsmann was the coach for Germany in the 2006 Cup, and he had talks with the U.S. about becoming the head coach. He was also coach of Bayern Munich when Landon Donovan first played there on loan.

Klinsmann talks about some countries having a definitive style of play. What did you think about the attacking style we saw from the U.S. in the second half against Turkey? Do our players have the ability to sustain that energy through the Cup? As you watch games over the next few weeks, what do you see from different countries? Are they pushing up, are they spreading the field, loading the box defensively, playing more long balls or short passes? Do they wait for the other team to make a mistake, or do they go on the attack at every opportunity?

The World Cup is a great opportunity to see how players and coaches from different countries approach the game.

TONIGHT! (tuesday) ESPN, 7:30pm! USA Men's Soccer!

Tue, 25 May 2010 16:38:41 GMT

Our season may be over, but you haven't gotten rid of my e-mails yet, because now its officially World Cup Season.

Tonight is a Big Night for the players in the 30-man roster on the U.S. Men's National Team.

Why?

Because tonight's match (I refuse to use the term "friendly") vs. Czech Republic will be the last look that Coach Bob Bradley will get of his players in a real match prior to having to call in 7 players on his squad who have given blood, sweat, and tears for the USA, and tell them they will not be going to South Africa.

FIFA rules say that teams must be down to a roster of 23 players by June 1st, but Bradley won't delay since many of the players that aren't going will have to get back to their MLS teams, and those who are going need to get their travel plans sorted and make sure they have plenty of clean socks and underwear packed.

Bradley will actually announce the 23 man roster tomorrow (Wed.) live on ESPN at 1pm.

Who will raise their play tonight and make the cut? What defenders will show they are ready to face up to strikers like Rooney, and will DeMerit's and Bocanegra's injuries expose a lack of defensive depth? What forwards/strikers will show the creativity necessary to break through world-class defenses?

And for the "slam-dunk" players on the roster, like Donovan, Dempsey, Altidore, and Howard - are they playing at a level that gives us confidence, or concern?

All these, and more, questions will be answered at 7:30 tonight on ESPN.

Try-outs for 2010-2011

Sun, 23 May 2010 23:01:59 GMT

We will be inviting potential new players to join our existing players for practice sessions on Tuesday, June 1st, Wednesday, June 2nd, and Thursday, June 3rd.

Current players are expected to attend these sessions. Player participation is important to help coaches evaluate the skills of new players. There are NO practice the prior week (May 25th and 27th).

I'll post more info. here on the times and fields for tryouts for our soon to be U10's and soon to be U11's.

How to Eat, Drink AND REST like a Champion

Wed, 19 May 2010 16:32:49 GMT

Hello Academy:

It's going to be hot this weekend. On top of that, 3 of our 4 teams will have only 2 substitutes on the roster - and one of those teams is playing 8v8. Great for playing time, but the risk of fatigue and dehydration is the flip-side of that. Coach Sean and I were talking yesterday about the importance of what the boys do BETWEEN games this weekend, so I put together a few notes and ideas here, and also added it to the more lengthy "How to Eat, Drink & Rest Like an Athlete" page on our team site.

Please at least read what is below, share it with your son, and help him make some choices that will give him that extra bit of energy that he'll want when time is running down in the afternoon game (and the players on the opposing team are falling over from eating cheetos and playing tag in between games).

Tournaments, Nutrition, and Fatigue

When we have 3 or 4 games on a tournament weekend, and its a hot day, as a player you need to take care of feeding your body the healthy food it needs to restore energy AND REST BETWEEN GAMES. Tournaments are a fun time to hang out and joke around with your teammates, but try this - pack some stuff in the car Friday Night that you can enjoy with your mates while sitting in the shade between games. Here's some ideas:

Nintendo DS, PSP - handheld games (make sure battery is fully charged!)
Legos (and a blanket so they don't get lost in the grass)
A deck of cards, Chess, Checkers, Battleship, etc.
Personal DVD player, iPod (listen to tunes and watch the other games)
A BOOK (and for extra bonus points with your parents, you could even bring some homework...or not)

We adults have seen it many times - its the second half of the afternoon game, and there are players who look like they are the zombies in "The Dawn of the Dead" movie. They aren't enjoying the game, and they've let their teammates down by not taking care of themselves. So yes, you heard it from an adult - we are telling you to be lazy and play video games - just during the tournament, that is!

Of course, drinking lots of water (bring 1/2 or full gallon jug) is still number one on our list. Also, you might have heard that our bodies have a "window" of about an hour after exercise when they are "primed" to take in carbohydrates to restore the energy lost (glycogen) in the muscles. Eating breads, pasta, rice, etc. (good carbs) as well as fruit (or smoothies), within an hour of finishing a game can do wonders to get your body primed for the next match. And as long as there's a balance, there's lots of foods that can do the trick - fig newtons and oatmeal raisin cookies are two of my faves. It's downright amazing how it works, try it!

See ya soon.

Benfica Info. for GSA Super Cup!'

Wed, 19 May 2010 15:18:48 GMT

Good Luck out there Phoenix Players on this last weekend of the 2009-2010 Season. You've worked hard and deserve to enjoy these last games before Summer! Here's the scoop for the weekend:

Kit:

On Saturday: Red Jersey, Red Shorts, Red Socks

On Sunday: White Jersey, White Shorts, White Socks

Always bring your alternate jersey in your bag in case we need to change due to the color of the visiting team

Roster: Coach Pete Fitton

Bahta Berhe

Drew Fitton

Dylan Gaither

Chad Letts

Michael Mandujano

Nico Nazal

Azha Qari

Daniel Ryu

Match Details:

Sat 8:00am	Alpharetta Red vs. Benfica	Players field
Sat. 2:00pm	Benfica vs. DDYMCA	Players
Sun. 11:00am	Alianza Black vs. Benfica	Players

Juventus Info. for GSA Super Cup!

Wed, 19 May 2010 15:05:38 GMT

Good Luck out there Phoenix Players on this last weekend of the 2009-2010 Season. You've worked hard and deserve to enjoy these last games before Summer! Here's the scoop for the weekend:

Kit: On Saturday, we will wear Red Jersey, White Shorts, and Red Socks.

On Sunday, we will wear White Jersey, Red Shorts, and White Socks

Always bring your alternate jersey in your bag in case we need to change due to the color of the visiting team

Roster: Coach Sean Moynihan

Kareve

John Michael

Max

Reed

Dominic

Jack

Bradley

Marcus

Michael

Spencer

Match Details:

Saturday 8AM	Academy Elite vs Juventus	Wieland
Saturday 12:30pm	KnoxCrush vs Juventus	Wieland
Sun. 11:00am	A #1 vs. B #2 (semi-final)	Holman
Sun. 11:00am	A #2 vs. B #1 (semi-final)	Wieland
Sun. 12:30pm	A #3 vs. B #3 (semi-final)	Holman
Sun. 3:30pm	semi-final winners (chmpship)	Holman

Lazio Info for GSA Super Cup!

Wed, 19 May 2010 15:04:28 GMT

Good Luck out there Phoenix Players on this last weekend of the 2009-2010 Season. You've worked hard and deserve to enjoy these last games before Summer! Here's the scoop for the weekend:

Kit: On Saturday, we will wear Red Jersey, White Shorts, and Red Socks.

On Sunday, we will wear White Jersey, Red Shorts, and White Socks

Always bring your alternate jersey in your bag in case we need to change due to the color of the visiting team

Roster: Coach Sean Moynihan

Jacob

Grant

Joshua

Brandon

Steven

Pete

Christian

Kurt

Match Details:

Time	Home		Away	Field
Sat 9:30am	LSA Sharks	vs.	Lazio	Upper10
Sat 3:30pm	Lazio	vs.	Snellville	Upper10
Sun 12:30pm	Lazio	vs.	Concorde South	Players

Sporting Info. for NASA Friendship Cup, 5/22-5/23

Wed, 19 May 2010 00:37:47 GMT

Good Luck out there Phoenix Players on this last weekend of the 2009-2010 Season. You've worked hard and deserve to enjoy these last games before Summer! Here's the scoop for the weekend:

Kit:

On Saturday: Red Jersey, Red Shorts, Red Socks

On Sunday: White Jersey, White Shorts, White Socks

Always bring your alternate jersey in your bag in case we need to change due to the color of the visiting team

Roster: Coach Victor Delgado
Sage Brown
Jake Cartmill
Chris Chandler
Alec Leake
Andres Rendon-Villegas
Mekhi Royes
Kyle Sanders
Ryan Tay
Jason Triemer

Match Details:

Sat. 10:30AM	H: NASA Roma
	A: GSA 01 Sporting	Noonday Park #03A
Sat. 3:00PM	H: GSA 01 Sporting
	A: Inter Atlanta FC 01 White	Noonday Park #02A
Sun. 10:30 AM	H: Inter Atlanta FC 01 Blue
	A: GSA 01 Sporting	Noonday Park #02B