US Soccer

One of the reasons USA soccer is moving so high in the ranks of world competition.

Political Correctness is stupidity at its worst

In the tradition of world renowned German soccer, the recently moved San Jose Earthquakes of the MLS renamed their team Houston 1836. This is to show honor for the city in which the team now resides and the city's founding year. Many teams in Germany's professional soccer leagues use the same method of naming their teams. However, mexicans in Texas felt offended by the obvious white power of Texas and their reminder that Mexico lost control of Texas that same year. So sorry that history is history. I believe that all paperwork stating the founding year of Houston, should be changed to a random year from the 19th century; thus, saving the mexican population of Texas from the tyranical humilation.

STOP BEING BABIES and GET OVER IT!

Here's the Yahoo!Sports article regarding the name change...oh by the way, check out the new and great name they came up with...

HOUSTON (Ticker) - The Houston 1836 weren't the Houston 1836 very long.

The former San Jose Earthquakes were renamed the Houston Dynamo on Monday, barely a month after the relocated franchise was named the 1836.

On January 25, the team was unveiled as the 1836, the year Houston was founded. But it also was the year Texas fought for and gained independence from Mexico, offending some in the city's Mexican-American population.

"Dynamo is a word to describe someone who never fatigues, never gives up," team president Oliver Luck said. "The new name is symbolic of Houston as an energetic, hard-working, risk-taking kind of town.

"To me, Dynamo has a blue-collar feel to it, as well as an association with the energy business, which is one of the things Houston is known for. We think this is a great name that Greater Houston can rally around."

The Earthquakes relocated to Texas in the offseason because of financial problems.

Houston should be competitive from the outset as it inherits a San Jose roster that compiled the best regular-season mark in the league (64 points) in 2005 and was the first team in MLS history to go unbeaten at home.

High School Soccer at its best

Visit our website... I have spent quite a bit of time getting it organized and set up, any suggestion feel free to email me.

www.leaguelineup.com/lmmatadores

Dennis

Devastation of the Gulf

I am extremely saddened by the total devastation in New Orleans and the surrounding coastal cities in Louisiana and Mississippi. What are we to feel? How are we to feel? My wife was baking cookies and then watched the disaster coverage on local and national new casts, and began feeling guilty and heavyhearted. “Here I am baking cookies and watching T.V., going shopping...”

I am feeling blessed but somber about the plight of others in the Gulf region. I wish I could go and pull families off their roofs, yet I cannot. I have no ties at all to the region...my closest relative is in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and they have their power back already. I want to provide diapers and baby food to those in need; especially because I have a 2 year old and another on the way in less than two months. The Red Cross says that money is the only needed commodity- the physical items are too costly to transport and distribute. So I can open my pocket book, but it feels like I am giving less.

God, please bless those in need. Take you beautiful and omnipotent hands and push back the waters in a miraculous example of your grace.

To all in the area or those with loved ones in the region, we are praying for you. The United States will swarm to your side and rebuild, rejuvenate and renew the beauty of the Gulf cities.

NCAA Power Trip

The following is an article from AP Sportswire. I cannot believe that the NCAA has actually done this. They are starting down a path of frustrting major universities and their supporters, and this may eventually create a new athletics association that will be less monopoly oriented. The push their agenda, instead of providing a fair safe place for college athletics.

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Florida State to Challenge Ban on Mascots
By MICHAEL MAROT, AP Sports Writer Fri Aug 5, 7:39 PM ET

INDIANAPOLIS - Fed up with what it considers "hostile" and "abusive" American Indian nicknames, the NCAA announced Friday it would shut those words and images out of postseason tournaments, a move that left some school officials angry and threatening legal action.

Starting in February, any school with a nickname or logo considered racially or ethnically "hostile" or "abusive" by the NCAA would be prohibited from using them in postseason events. Mascots will not be allowed to perform at tournament games, and band members and cheerleaders will also be barred from using American Indians on their uniforms beginning in 2008...

Affected schools were quick to complain, and Florida State — home of the Seminoles — threatened legal action.

"That the NCAA would now label our close bond with the Seminole people as culturally 'hostile and abusive' is both outrageous and insulting," Florida State president T.K. Wetherell said in a statement.

"I intend to pursue all legal avenues to ensure that this unacceptable decision is overturned, and that this university will forever be associated with the 'unconquered' spirit of the Seminole Tribe of Florida," he added.

The committee also recommended that schools follow the examples of Wisconsin and Iowa by refusing to schedule contests against schools that use American Indian nicknames.

While NCAA officials admit they still can't force schools to change nicknames or logos, they are making a statement they believe is long overdue. Eighteen mascots, including Florida State's Seminole and Illinois' Illini, were on the list of offenders.

Those schools will not be permitted to host future NCAA tournament games, and if events have already been awarded to those sites, the school must cover any logos or nicknames that appear.

"Certainly some things remain to be answered from today, and one of those things is the definition of what is 'hostile or abusive,'" said Tom Hardy, a spokesman at Illinois.

The NCAA did not give a clear answer on that.

President Myles Brand noted that some schools using the Warrior nickname will not face sanctions because they do not use Indian symbols. One school, North Carolina-Pembroke — which uses the nickname Braves — will also be exempted because Brand said the school has historically had a high percentage of students, more than 20 percent, who are American Indians.

"We believe hostile or abusive nicknames are troubling to us and it can't continue," committee chairman Walter Harrison said. "We're trying to send a message, very strongly, saying that these mascots are not appropriate for NCAA championships."

The decision, however, quickly evoked passions and complaints from both sides.

At Florida State, Wetherell said the NCAA was trying to embarrass the school for using its nickname, even though the Seminole Tribe of Florida has given the university permission to continue using it.

"Other Seminole tribes are not supportive," said Charlotte Westerhaus, the NCAA vice president for diversity and inclusion.
Supporters also were unhappy.

Vernon Bellecourt, president of the National Coalition on Racism in Sports and Media and a member of the Anishinabe-Ojibwe Nation in Minnesota, approved of the ban but had hoped the NCAA would take even stronger action.

"We're not so happy about the fact that they didn't make the decision to ban the use of Indian team names and mascots," he said.

Harrison, president at the University of Hartford, said the executive committee does not have the authority to do that, and schools can still appeal their inclusion on the list. Brand and Harrison said they hoped school officials would pursue policy changes through the NCAA first, before going to court.
"I suspect that some of those would like to having a ruling on that," Brand said. "But unless there is a change before Feb. 1, they will have to abide by it."

Two years ago, the NCAA recommended schools determine for themselves whether Indian depictions were offensive.

Among the schools to change nicknames in recent years were St. John's (from Redmen to Red Storm) and Marquette (from Warriors to Golden Eagles).

But that hasn't changed opinions on either side.

"They're not willing to give up this money," Bellecourt said, referring to merchandising revenue. "We would hope that it (the decision) was the handwriting on the wall that would urge them to drop these team names and mascots."

Child's Play

I just returned from a conference/clinic in Palm Springs. The 100+ degrees in daytime, the pools, air-conditioning, the breeze at night and comfortable 90 degrees in the evening make Palm Springs an excellent place to visit and vacation, even while on business. But I am not posting a travel review, so I best move on with my thoughts.

This clinic was for youth, club, high school and college coaches from all around Southern California, who coach track and field, volleyball and soccer. From my last post, one could tell that I might be a coach of soccer. I coach high school. This conference draws, at least for soccer, some very successful Division 1 and 2 NCAA, NAIA, Junior/Community college and club coaches, for its presenters. This years ten person collection has combined for over 250 or more years of total coaching experience. They are in the highest levels of competitive soccer, other than professional, and they have all been champions nationally or otherwise. But with their desire to win and their competitive spirit, every single coach said they believe that the youth levels (under 13 and younger) are too focused and driven by winning. They believe that true tests for coaches and teams is not in championships, but in increased skills.

"I tell the parents of my lower age groups, that if they want to judge my performance then 'judge me on whether or not your child has increased in their technical and tactical skills and not on what our winning percentage was.' " From a coach of a California State University coach in Southern Cal.

This should be the true standard that parents around the country, of athletes in all the various youth sports need to follow. If their son or daughter is an athlete, the parents concern should not be on which club name their child is attached or whether or not the coach played that sport professionally but whether or not their child has increased in their technical skills. In fact a number of the coaches said that they have found that often times, players who come from some of the more famous and winning club programs often cannot compete at the collegiant level. The reason they stated is that once a player gets to college and they and the rest of the competing players have chosen a single sport to focus on, technical skills are more important than pure athleticism. The ability to compete at this refined level must use the abilities and skills for the specific sport, not a generalized athletic ability. The previously mentioned club players who struggle in college, did not receive the individual technical skills attention; they received a broad team-play version of those skills and were winners with a team talent but not individual talent.

At the high school level, we need to focus on turning our players into successful citizens. I have coached for four years and only had four players go on to compete at the D1 level, three who have moved on to NAIA level and a small number (seven to eight) that have played at the JC level. This leaves about 70 other players who have ended their playing careers in the high school realm. All the winning we did only gave the players memories, not the ability to succeed at the next level. Unfortunately, they come to me from AYSO All-star teams and winning club teams but they do not know basic dribbling skills or intermediate shooting skills. Their knowledge and technical completeness is suspect at best.

We, as parents and family members, need to do what is truly best for our children. Teach them that winning (especially at all costs) is not what makes us successful in sports or life. But being students, connoisseurs of the sport and consistently attempting to better ourselves is the only method of achieving success. As with all things in this world regarding children, the responsibility falls to the parents. Stop pressuring your kids to win, let them be kids and have fun, let them play on teams with caring and responsible coaches, when they get into your car after games/practices, do not lecture on what they did wrong or could have been done better; simply ask them what they learned and what they thought of the game/practice. You will be surprised at how much more they will get out of their sports time and you will increase their possibilities of future success.

Agora X P

Agora X P
Soccer, Football, Futbol

Whatever name it is called, it is said more often, everyday and in more places around the world, than any other sport. It is one of the three most difficult athletic and sporting tasks to do.

1) Hitting a professionally pitched fastball is the most difficult
2) Driving/pitching a golf ball with accuracy, would be next
3) Dribbling a soccerball while running and avoiding defenders, would be third

I know there are people out there that will want to add, or perhaps replace, with other sport related tasks; so here are a few of the "honorable mentions"

- shooting a basketball, without touching rim or board
- defending a slapshot in the upper or lower corner post
- returning a 100+ mph serve from professional tennis players
- holding a turn at 200+ mph in a stock car (not necessarily a sport, but that is for another blog: don't comment on this)
- slalom racing on skis at an Olympic level

Okay, now that all of the nonsense is out of the way, here is why soccer is in the top 3. Most of society's tasks require that the hands do most of the work. For any of the aforementioned tasks, an athlete or driver is doing the hardest part of the task with their hands, while the feet provide the assistance (I know except the skiing, but I believe that it is understood that the whole body works together on that one). Soccer skills require that at least three major components: ball-control, touch, or one's movement/running, must be accurately performed at a high rate of speed and all done with the same body part.

Control of the ball is difficult. One must choose which "surface" of the foot to use in each unique situation, to control the ball and either; continue with the control, pass it to a team mate or shoot towards the goal accurately enough to cause the goalkeeper to miss the save opportunity. This can be done with any part of the foot: under the cleats, on top of the "laces", the outside or the inside/instep, the heel, or the toe [thought not to be the optimal choice].

When the surface is chosen, the amount of pressure to apply must be calculated. How far should the touch move? Should the ball be played on the ground or in the air? Is the ball already at the player's feet or is it moving towards the player? If moving towards: how hard- on the ground or air- bouncing or rolling, etc. All of one's team and opponents' positioning must be known to appropriately maneuver the ball for control as stated above.

The movement/running component is what gives the above components their extreme degree of difficulty. All of the above must be done accurately while running at high rate of speeds. Then while running at this extreme rate and controlling the ball, one must avoid defenders/opponents. The well-trained athletes are seeking the object you are controlling but do not have to control themselves; they only need, at the minimum, to disposes the ball and clear it away from the attacker.

Doing all this with just one's feet is beyond argument as being difficult. Using your hands (the most skilled tools of the human body) to accomplish the first two components might be as difficult as using the feet, however the hands do not have to propel the body while manipulating its movement. Realizing that most close-minded American sports viewers will not agree with this thesis, I challenge them to provide me with facts to persuade me that this argument is wrong. Note that I contend that until this argument is proven to be over-exaggerated or perhaps even false. I am an American, who is very proud of our history and our sports that we have created, unfortunately soccer is a beautiful, physically and mentally challenging sport that can not be dismissed by prejudices and ignorance. Try it, you may end up agreeing with me- whether or not you ever admit it.