On The Touchlines
with Ken Gamble


April 1st, 2005 - April 28th, 2005
 
Thursday, April 28, 2005

Alabama High School Playoffs
Below is a list of the First Round Playoff Match-ups
Click on links to see actual brackets for playoffs.


Boys 4A-1A Brackets & Scores

LAMP at Houston Academy at 6:00pm at Westgate Park on May 3rd
UMS-Wright at Trinity Presbyterian at 5:00pm on Tuesday, May 3rd
Altamont at Holy Spirit at 7:00pm on Tuesday, May 3rd
Brewbaker Tech at Indian Springs at 7:00pm on Tuesday, May 3rd
Collinsville at Mars Hill at 4:30pm on Tuesday, May 3rd
Priceville at Jacksonville at 6:00pm on Tuesday, May 3rd
Catholic Huntsville at Madison Academy at 7:00pm on May 3rd
West Limestone at Randolph at 7:00pm on Tuesday, May 3rd


Girls 4A-1A Brackets & Scores

Catholic Montgomery at Bayside Academy at 6:00pm on May 3rd
Houston Academy at Montgomery Academy - 6pm, Monday, May 2nd
Indian Springs at Holy Spirit at 7:00pm on Monday, May 2nd
Demopolis at Altamont at 4:30pm at Comer Field on Tuesday, May 3rd
Sacred Heart at Mars Hill Bible at 4:00pm on Monday, May 2nd
Priceville at Jacksonville at 4:00pm on Tuesday, May 3rd
Catholic Huntsville at Madison Academy at 5pm on Tuesday, May 3rd
East Limestone at Randolph at 5:00pm on Tuesday, May 3rd


Boys 5A Brackets & Scores

Carroll (Ozark) at Saint Paul's Episcopal at 7:00pm on May 3rd
Citronelle at Eufaula at 5:00pm at Tiger Stadium on May 3rd
Homewood at Benjamin Russell at 7:00pm on Tuesday, May 3rd
Sylacauga at Briarwood Christian at 7:00pm on Tuesday, May 3rd
Fort Payne at Northridge at 7:00pm on Tuesday, May 3rd
Gardendale at Albertville at 6:00pm on Monday, May 2nd
Hartselle at Huntsville at 6pm at John Hunt Park on May 3rd
Lee of Huntsville at Cullman at 7:30pm on Tuesday, May 3rd


Girls 5A Brackets & Scores

Sylacauga at St. Paul's Episcopal at 5:00pm on Tuesday, May 3rd
Citronelle at Benjamin Russell - 5pm, Alex City Sportsplex on May 3rd
Briarwood at Northridge at 4:30pm on Tuesday, May 3rd
Pleasant Grove at Homewood - 6:30pm, Waldrop Stadium on May 3rd
Butler at Fort Payne at 6:00pm on Tuesday, May 3rd
Gadsden at Arab at 6:30pm on Tuesday, May 3rd
Athens at Huntsville at 8pm at John Hunt Park on Tuesday, May 3rd
Lee of Huntsville at Cullman at 5:00pm on Tuesday, May 3rd


Boys 6A Brackets & Scores

Fairhope at McGill-Toolen Catholic at 7:30pm on Tuesday, May 3rd
Davidson at Daphne - TBA
Prattville at Enterprise at 7:00pm on Tuesday, May 3rd
Northview at Auburn at 6:00pm on Monday, May 2nd
Thompson at Oak Mountain at 7:00pm on Tuesday, May 3rd
Vestavia Hills at John Carroll Catholic at 7pm on Tuesday, May 3rd
Bob Jones at Shades Valley at 6:00pm on Tuesday, May 3rd
Mountain Brook at Grissom at 6:00pm on Monday, May 2nd


Girls 6A Brackets & Scores

Daphne at McGill-Toolen Catholic at 5:30pm on Tuesday, May 3rd
Baker at Fairhope at 6:00pm on Tuesday, May 3rd
Prattville at Enterprise at 5:00pm on Tuesday, May 3rd
Dothan at Auburn at 6:00pm on Tuesday, May 3rd
Thompson at Vestavia Hills at 5:00pm on Tuesday, May 3rd
Hoover at John Carroll Catholic at 5:00pm on Tuesday, May 3rd
Bob Jones at Mountain Brook at 6pm on Football Field on May 3rd
Shades Valley at Grissom at 6:00pm on Tuesday, May 3rd.

Ken Gamble

It's not about beating the other guy, it's about having fun. But nothing is more fun than beating the other guy. Marc Crawford

 
Friday, April 22, 2005  

Boys Metro Soccer Tournament
Link to Metro Tournament Website

Saturday April 23

At Liberty Park
10:00 am - Chelsea vs Pleasant Grove on Field 11
12:00 pm - Clay-Chalkville vs Minor on Field 11
12:00 pm - Vestavia vs Indian Springs on Field 13

At John Carroll Catholic High School
10:00 am - Oak Mountain vs Homewood
12:00 pm - Briarwood vs John Carroll

At Spain Park High School Soccer Stadium
12:00 pm - Pinson Valley vs Shades Mountain Christian
2:00 pm - Hewitt-Trussville vs Gardendale
4:00 pm - Shades Valley vs Spain Park


Monday April 25

At Liberty Park
5:00 pm - Altamont vs Oak Mountain Field. 11
5:00 pm - Chelsea vs Shades Mtn. Christian Field. 13
7:00 pm - Mtn. Brook vs Vestavia Field. 13

At John Carroll
5:00 pm - Minor vs Gardendale
7:00 pm - Pelham vs Shades Valley

At Spain Park High School
5:00 pm - Thompson vs Briarwood Soccer Field.
7:00 pm - Hewitt-Trussville vs Clay-Chalkville Football Field.
7:00 pm - Pinson Valley vs Pleasant Grove Soccer Field


Tuesday April 26

At Liberty Park
5:00 pm - Gardendale vs Clay-Chalkville on Field. 13
7:00 pm - Pinson Valley vs Chelsea on Field. 11
7:00 pm - Indian Springs vs Mountain Brook on Field. 13

At John Carroll
5:00 pm - Minor vs Hewitt-Trussville
7:00 pm - John Carroll vs Thompson

At Spain Park High School
5:00 pm - Homewood vs Altamont on the Soccer Field.
7:00 pm - Pleasant Grove vs Shades Mtn. Christian on the Football Field.
7:00 pm - Spain Park vs Pelham on the Soccer Field.


Wednesday April 27

At Liberty Park
Game 1 - 1st place from A vs 1st place from D at 7:00 pm at LP Field 13
Game 3 - 2nd place from A vs 2nd place from D at 7:00 pm at LP Field 11
Game 5 - 3rd place from A vs 3rd place from D at 5:00 pm at LP Field 13

At Spain Park
Game 2 - 1st place from B vs 1st place from C at 7:00 pm at SP Soccer
Game 4 - 2nd place from B vs 2nd place from C at 7:00 pm at SP Football
Game 6 - 3rd place from B vs 3rd place from C at 5:00 pm at SP Soccer


Thursday April 28

Championship Games

Winner Game 1 vs Winner Game 2 - A Division at 6 p.m. at LP Field #11

Winner Game 1 vs Winner Game 2 - B Division at 6 p.m. at LP Field #13


NOTE: All Metro Player Awards, Ray Woodard Coach of the Year, Team Sportsmanship, All-Tournament Award winners, League and Tournament Trophies will be presented after the Championship games Thursday April 28 at Liberty Park Field 13.


 
Thursday, April 21, 2005  

Links to Good Soccer Articles
Links to Good Soccer Articles

Listed below are excerpts and links to some good recent articles about soccer.
View the complete articles by clicking on the links.

Positive Coaching
Phil Jackson, 9-time NBA champion, speaks out about what current coaching techniques may be doing to our kids. Sent in by Herndon Elliott.

New Frequently Asked Questions Page added to Referee Section of USsoccer.com website.
CHICAGO (February 10, 2005)
New referees can now find answers to their questions more easily than ever by logging on to the Frequently Asked Questions for New Referees page in the Referee section of ussoccer.com.
The FAQs for New Referees section is designed for new and inexperienced referees who have basic questions about specific game situations. It also allows new officials to browse through different questions and learn about other game situations before they encounter them.

Replaying 'The Game of Their Lives'
By Christian Swezey (The Washington Post)
The Washington premiere of "The Game of Their Lives," a movie about the United States' 1-0 victory over heavily favored England in the 1950 World Cup, gave four players a chance to relive the game.
Harry Keough recalled a play where a pass sent an American player through for a shot that nearly resulted in a second goal. "But I don't remember who made the pass," he said. "I did," said John Sousa, sitting a few feet away.
Their memories will be shared with moviegoers when "The Game of Their Lives" opens tomorrow.

Setanta Sports debuts on DIRECTV
on Tuesday, April 26 at 6:00 a.m. E.T. and will be available to residential subscribers for $11.99 a month and commercial subscribers for $100 a month. It will air seven days a week, 18 hours a day through August and then expand to a full, 24-hour channel.
The channel is dedicated to distinctly European football (soccer) from enormously popular football countries such as England, Ireland, and Scotland and also carries an increasing number of European and world-class rugby events. Setanta Sports programming will feature top-quality LIVE sports productions from renowned European broadcasters.

Soccer Players' Injury Rates Tracked in British Study
By Patricia Reaney LONDON (Reuters) - Soccer players are more likely to suffer injuries in their sport than gymnasts, tennis players and swimmers, researchers said on Thursday.
A study of 203 elite young athletes who were initially questioned when they were aged 8-16 and followed up 10 years later showed that about 63 percent of soccer players had been injured compared to 28 percent of swimmers.

Balboa, Ramos, Harkes ticketed for Soccer Hall of Fame
ONEONTA, N.Y. (SportsTicker) — Former World Cup teammates and Major League Soccer pioneers Marcelo Balboa, Tab Ramos and John Harkes were named Monday to the National Soccer Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility.

Soccer Plays on the Big Screen
By Jack Bell - The New York Times
Whether it is in Italy, England, Germany or nearly anywhere else in the world, hooliganism is the disfigured face of soccer, the beautiful game.
The film, which won the jury award and the audience award for best narrative feature last month at the South by Southwest Film Festival, is one of several new soccer movies. "The Game of Their Lives," the story of the United States team's monumental upset of England at the 1950 World Cup (not to be confused with the British movie of the same name about North Korea's team in the 1966 World Cup), opens Friday.
Next month comes "Kicking and Screaming," starring Will Ferrell as a youth soccer coach. And Spike Lee is the executive producer of "The Goal," about a Brazilian star in the United States.
"I think what's changing is that Hollywood used to cater only to the American audience, but worldwide sales have really changed that attitude toward soccer movies," Alexander said in a telephone interview.
"Fever Pitch," the No. 3 movie in the United States last week, was adapted from Nick Hornby's book about the Arsenal soccer team and turned into a movie about the Boston Red Sox.

Monson: We didn't need to know soccer to enjoy it
By Gordon Monson - Tribune Columnist
We could pretend to be all sophisticated and experienced about what we saw Saturday when Real Salt Lake took to the soccer pitch at Rice-Eccles Stadium for the first time, but . . . c'mon, it's better to be open and honest.
Most of us didn't have a clue.
Major League Soccer is a new deal around here, and we were sizing up the whole thing on the run. We saw our 7-year-olds play bunch ball in the morning, and we took in the country's best pros in the afternoon.

Latest U.S. Soccer Team Has Roots in Mexico
by Carrie Kahn
Day to Day, April 14, 2005 · Major League Soccer's newest team, Chivas USA, was created in the image of its mother club, Chivas of Guadalajara, one of Mexico's most popular soccer teams. The club's owner hopes Chivas will bring new fans and new energy to U.S. soccer.
Listen to the audio at NPR

Riverhounds feel like they're home
(article about minor league soccer in the US)
By Chico Harlan, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
They celebrated wins, in previous years, by driving home -- unshowered -- from a dark high school stadium. For players on the Riverhounds, the schedule was a four-month ego bruise. They were members of a professional soccer team. Some joked that professional was a misnomer.

Top Upcoming High School Games

Briarwood girls vs Huntsville on Friday 4/22 at 5:00pm at Briarwood

Bob Jones boys vs Grissom on Monday 4/25 at 7:00pm at Grissom

Briarwood girls vs Altamont on Wednesday 4/27 at 7:00pm at Briarwood

 
Thursday, April 14, 2005  

Soccer - This weekend
If you’re interesting in watching some good soccer this weekend check out the games below. Please e-mail me any games you feel should be added to this list - dsports@hiwaay.net

#7 John Carroll Boys at #2 Shades Valley Friday night at 5:15 PM

#1 Oak Mountain Boys at #4 Vestavia Friday night at Vestavia at 7:00 PM

6A #9 Fairhope Girls host 1A-4A #1 Indian Springs at 10:00 AM Saturday at Majors Field at Fairhope Municipal Stadium.

Cullman Soccer Round Robin Boys Games
Three-team "round-robin" between #11 Bob Jones, #5 Benjamin Russell and #4 Cullman.
Friday, April 15th at 7:00 P.M. - Benjamin Russell vs Cullman.
Saturday, April 16th at 9:00 A.M. - Bob Jones vs Benjamin Russell
Saturday, April 16th at 2:30 P.M. - Cullman vs Bob Jones

Sparkman Shootout – JV Tournament
http://www.senatorsoccer.com

Oak Mountain - Sixth Annual OMHS JV Invitational Tournament
April 15 & 16, 2005 at Oak Mountain High School in Birmingham, Alabama - The teams committed are: Oak Mountain, Thompson, Huntsville, Pleasant Grove, Grissom, Mountain Brook, Bob Jones, Homewood, Fort Payne, and Vestavia.

"Kick A Goal for CCFA 2005" Soccer Exhibition
http://www.decatursports.com/events/CCFA2005.doc
Saturday, April 16, 2005, The Orthopedic Center - Crestwood Hospital - and Knology present "Kick a Goal for CCFA 2005." This will held in conjunction with the Huntsville Spring Classic at John Hunt Soccer Complex in Huntsville, AL. Participants include the University of Alabama, Auburn University, Samford & Birmingham Southern College womens’ soccer teams. For additional information about this event, tickets and or if you would like to volunteer to help, please contact Anneta Simmons @ asim0908@knology.net , 256-509-6521.

HSC Spring Classic Tournament
April 16th and 17th, 2005
http://www.huntsvillesoccerclub.org/tournament/

UAB Alumni Game
April 16th - West Campus - no details available

Thunder Road Classic Soccer Tournament
April 16 & 17, 2005 at the Auburn Soccer Complex in Auburn, Alabama
http://www.auburnalabama.org/soccer/

NSCAA Rankings for Region II – April 12th, 2005
http://www.nscaa.com/rankings/hs/index_E.html

Boys:

1 Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.)
2 Oak Mountain (Birmingham, Ala.)
3 Lassiter (Marietta, Ga.)
4 Briarwood (Birmingham, Ala.)
5 Walton (Marietta, Ga.)
6 Dalton (Ga.)
7 Shades Valley (Birmingham, Ala.)
8 Virgil I. Grissom (Huntsville, Ala.)
9 Johnson (Gainesville, Ga.)
10 Savannah (Ga.) Christian

Girls:

1 McIntosh (Peachtree City, Ga.)
2 Starr's Mill (Fayetteville, Ga.)
3 Huntsville (Ala.)
4 Fort Mill (S.C.)
5 Vestavia Hills (Ala.)
6 Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.)
7 Shiloh (Snellville, Ga.)
8 Stratford Academy (Macon, Ga.)
9 Mauldin (S.C.)
10 Brookland Cayce (Cayce, S.C.)

ken gamble

Lagniappe:

Soccer Skills
(Adapted from material compiled by Performance Conditioning for Soccer newsletter in U.S. Soccer Sports Medicine.)

Soccer requires every conceivable physical skill. Here’s a breakdown of a typical game for a teenage player:

The distance covered during a game is between 5 and 6.5 miles (2.5 miles for a goalkeeper)-constantly walking, jogging, running, sprinting-in all directions.
Rest pauses are only about 3 seconds every 2 minutes.
Less that 2% of the total distance, or only about 200 yards, is with possession of the ball. So, the majority of the time is comprised of movement off the ball.
There are about 1,000 activity changes in a game, which means a change in speed or direction every 6 seconds.
Games are typically played at 75% of a player’s physical limits.

"You can never be fit enough for this game." Anson Dorrance in "The Vision of a Champion"

Two Beautiful Goals
http://www.mlsnet.com/MLS/sights/
Check out the video of two beautiful goals in Landon Donovan's home debut with the LA Galaxy.
The first one includes a terrific fake and pinpoint shooting. The second video should be seen by every defender and serve as a lesson to never clear a ball with your legs that you can clear with your head.

Here are some more of my favorite quotes from Anson Dorrance's Book "The Vision of a Champion"

"One of the most unfortunate things I see when identifying youth players in the girl who is told over the years how great she is. By the time she's a high school freshman, she starts to believe it. By her senior year, she's fizzled out. Then there's her counterpart": a girl waiting in the wings, who quietly and with determination decides she's going to make something of herself. Invariably, this humble, hardworking girls is the one who becomes the real player." Anson Dorrance in "The Vision of a Champion"

"Usually a championship team is built on a strong defense. That's something you can bring to every game. A great attack is always going to be inconsistent - at least on the scoreboard - that's the nature of the game." Anson Dorrance in "The Vision of a Champion"


Have a Great Weekend!

 
Saturday, April 09, 2005  

US Women's National Team Has New Head Coach
Saturday, April 9th, 2005

The US Women's National Soccer Team has a New Head Coach

GREG RYAN NAMED HEAD COACH OF U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM

Assistant on 2004 Olympic Team Will Lead U.S. Women Towards China 2007, Becomes Fifth Head Coach in U.S. History

Greg Ryan has been named the new Head Coach and Technical Director of U.S. Soccer's Women's National Team. Terms of the deal were not released. Ryan, 48, was previously named the interim head coach after the resignation of April Heinrichs on Feb. 15, and he led the USA to the championship at the 2005 Algarve Cup in early March. In Portugal, the team was undefeated and did not allow a goal over four matches, including a 1-0 victory over Germany in the title game.
http://www.ussoccer.com


Concerns about Ryan?

On the Women's Soccer E-mail List there was a lot of concern about how close in style Coach Ryan might be to April Heinrichs. April has never gotten a lot of love from the members of the Women's Soccer List. Most consider her an physical embodiment of the Peter Principle - the idea that people are promoted one level above their ability.

To alleviate those concerns a list member, Art Bowman, provided this insight into Coach Ryan's coaching style.

In an interview printed in the Los Angeles Times, Greg Ryan, named coach of the U.S. women's national soccer team Friday, said: "I think the best advice April (Heinrichs) gave me was just to be myself and coach the way I want to coach.

"April has said, and I agree, that she and I are as different as night and day, and that's partly why we worked well together; we balanced each other.

"In terms of coaching style, I will take a very aggressive approach on the field, in terms of aggressive attacking and aggressive defending. That was the approach that we implemented in the Algarve Cup. I felt like in Portugal, I had a great rapport with the players."

Perhaps that will answer early concerns about his ties to Heinrichs and whether he will follow her lead or create his own coaching style.

Ken Gamble

Lagniappe:

"Champions do not become champions when they win the event, but in the hours, weeks, months and years that they spend preparing for it. The victorious performance is merely the demonstration of their championship character." - T. Alan Armstrong

"DO or DO NOT. There is no TRY" - Jedi Master Yoda (Star Wars)


 
Friday, April 08, 2005  

High School Tidbits
Friday, April 8th, 2005

High School Tidbits

Can anyone beat the Oak Mountain Boys?

Answer: Yes - Anything can happen - a rough field, strong wind, rain, injuries, penalty kicks, etc. Most importantly it will require an opponent with a strong back line and great goalkeeper - a team that can hold Oak Mountain to 1 or 0 goals while giving themselves a chance to get a goal or two. There are several teams that fit that bill.

Is there any high school with better boys and girls soccer teams with a worst combined record (8-18-2) than Spain Park?
(Boys 5-10-1 and Girls 3-8-1) - Every single loss is to a Top Ten Team!

What do these teams: Oak Mountain Boys, Briarwood Boys and the Huntsville Girls have in common?

Answer: All three have been #1 in every Coaches Poll of the 2005 high school season. If history is any indicator one of these schools will NOT win a 2005 state championship.


Soccer Events This Weekend

Morgan County High School Soccer Tournament at Point Mallard Soccer Complex in Decatur - April 7th, 8th and 9th, 2005
http://www.decatursports.com/events/morgan.htm

Men’s College Soccer Exhibitions - Birmingham, AL - featuring University of Alabama-Birmingham, University of Memphis, and Furman University at the Sports First Soccer Complex located in Shelby County, AL, this weekend, Saturday April, 9th.

Saturday’s night’s feature games will include UAB vs. Furman at 10:00am, Memphis vs. Furman at 2:00pm, and UAB vs. Memphis at 7:00pm.

In addition, at the Sports First Soccer Complex located in Shelby County, AL this weekend, Saturday April 9th, the Kohl’s US Youth Soccer American Cup, the largest recreational youth soccer festival in the United States will be coming to Alabama.

Admission to the Kohl’s U.S. Youth Soccer American Cup is free. Admission to the Men’s College Exhibitions will cost $5.

Alabama ODP April Event - Birmingham
http://www.alabamayouthsoccer.org/

Soccer Joke:
The Blues no 8 was taken from behind by the Reds no 6. The referee blew instantly but, before he could intervene, the furious no 8 had taken a swing at his aggressor.
The referee had no hesitation, showed him the red card and sent him off, before turning to the foul tackler to show him the yellow card. The no 6 started to protest but was silenced by the referee - who suddenly fell to the ground, out cold.
When the referee came round and had been helped to his feet, he tried to recall what had happened. He caught sight of the no 6 and said: “I remember. I’d cautioned you and you tried to protest. What was that all about?”
"I was just trying to tell you that the no.8 hadn't gone off and was about to flatten you!"

Soccer Joke #2:
A match between two non-League teams took place last winter in the North of England. It had been raining heavily all week and the ground resembled a swamp.
However, the referee ruled that play was possible and tossed the coin to determine ends.
The visiting captain won the toss and, after a moment's thought, said, 'OK - we'll take the shallow end!'


Stranger than fiction
The 1878 Cup Final between Wanderers and Royal Engineers was refereed by a Mr. S.R. Bastard.

http://www.kenaston.org/LAWS/LAW-JOKES.htm


adidas - All Day I Dream About Soccer

Two German brothers Adolph (Adi) and Rudolph Dassler started with a dream to make the best sports gear imaginable. The two Dassler brothers began producing footwear in 1924. Today it's something we take for granted, but in 1920, at the young age of 20, Adolph (Adi) Dassler invented spiked shoes for track and field. Four years later Adi and his brother Rudolph (Rudi) founded the German sports
shoe company Gebrüder Dassler OHG – later known as adidas (pron. AH-dee-DAHS, not ah-DEE-duhs). The brothers' father was a cobbler in Herzogenaurauch, Germany, where they were born.

By 1925 the Dasslers were making leather Fußballschuhe (Adi was an avid soccer player) with nailed studs and track shoes with hand-forged spikes. Beginning with the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, Adi's uniquely designed shoes began to gain a worldwide reputation. Jesse Owens was wearing a pair of Dassler's track shoes when he won gold for the USA at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

In 1948, after an argument, they decided to go their separate ways and set up their own companies. Rudi founded Puma (one of adidas' biggest competitors in Europe) and Adi renamed his firm by combining elements of his name. These are two of the best brands of soccer apparel made today.

The name Adidas, formed from the first and last name of its founder, has come to mean so much more. Is it merely a coincidence that the letters of the Adidas name have come to stand for the acronym All Day I Dream About Soccer, among many other things.


Taken from the following websites:
http://www.geocities.com/wnlrunr/March2001Communique.html
http://www.daculasoccer.com/tidbits.htm


U.S. U-17 Roster State Breakdown

Provided to the Soccer-Coach-L e-mail list by Pete Gratton

United States under-17 national team coach John Hackworth announced the 18-player roster for the CONCACAF Group A qualifying tournament April 12-16 in Heredia, Costa Rica. Missing from the team is Los Angeles Galaxy draft pick Quavas Kirk, who broke his foot Sunday in a match against Haiti. The following is the state-by-state breakdown of the roster with each player's youth club in parentheses.
Ten of the 18 slots were taken by players from California & Florida. Once again the good weather, high population states come through.


Finding Gracie

After the last "ON The Touchlines" about the top soccer movies, Harding Leach provided this information about a new movie about Gracie Bowen called "Finding Gracie". Sixteen-year-old Gracie Bowen is a gutsy teenage girl who rocks at soccer and stands up to boys.

Gracie’s story takes place in the late 1970s. Moved by a personal tragedy, Gracie struggles to show her community that girls can compete with boys. Although the adults in her life make things difficult at times, Gracie relies on her closest relationships to find success in a way that she never expected.

The movie script is inspired by events in the life of Elisabeth Shue. Growing up in the late 1970s before girls’ soccer became popular, Lisa played hard against boys to prove herself. Her determination as a teenager helped her become the successful actress she is today.
http://www.findinggracie.com/

Ken Gamble


Lagniappe:

Former U.S. international goalkeeper Brad Friedel made several standout saves Saturday to help Blackburn hold Manchester United to a 0-0 tie in the English Premier League.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/world/2005-04-02-euro-roundup_x.htm?csp=34

Grandpa's Soccer Song CD by Keith Bilderbeck
http://www.babayaga.com/soccerlyrics.htm
Check out these lyrics of soccer songs. Some of them are really funny.





 
Wednesday, April 06, 2005  

World Cup or World Series?
Top Soccer Movies of All Time:

Did you ever wish there were better movies featuring soccer?

It appears that soon after America created the moving picture show with Birth of A Nation that the country must have also passed a law that only "American-born" sports (baseball, basketball and football) could be featured in films. There's Hoosiers, Brian's Song, Field of Dreams and Bull Durham.

Soccer has a few good movies and a few that deserve to be "sent-off"! Below is my "Starting 11" of soccer movies.

I can't wait to see the upcoming "Game of Their Lives" about the USA's 1950 World Cup victory over England. I'm hoping it's good. Frankly, it has to be better than the majority of the movies on this list. The future looks good for soccer movies - mainly because the past is so bad.

Writing this piece was a better idea than reality. I'm a big soccer fan and I was stretched very thin trying to find 11 soccer movies I could stand. (Aside - I wrote an article on my Top Ten baseball movies about eight years ago and it took me a month to whittle my list down to ten.) This list took about 30 minutes.

GOAL! These movies scored!

1. Fever Pitch - Colin Firth has to choose between his love for the Arsenal soccer team and his girlfriend - This is actually a pretty good movie. It's my pick for #1. That says more for soccer movies (or the lack thereof) than it does about the overall quality of the film.

2. The Boys in Company C - This is one of my favorite movies about Vietnam. Just serving in Vietnam means that their chances of making it home are not good. But if they can beat a Vietnamese soccer team they will be rewarded by no longer serving in action. Instead they will get to go on a tour of soccer friendlies far away from the military action. The soccer action is secondary but the movie is good enough to be included by any means. Rough language. Not a movie for kids.

3. Bend It Like Beckham - Indian girl plays soccer against her mother's wishes for her to become a traditional Indian wife. Very funny movie and fit for all ages. The soccer footage isn't great but it also doesn't make you sick.

4. Victory - Stallone and Nazis and Pele - Prisoners of war become cogs in the Nazi Propaganda machine when they agree to play a soccer match against a team of Nazi all-stars. Their motive is to use the match as a means to escape the prisoner of war camp. Not a bad flick. It's directed by John Huston and loaded with stars. Sounds like "The Boys in Company C", but it's not as good.

5. Gregory's Girl - Scottish teens, love and soccer - good movie

YELLOW CARD - Still undecided.


6. A Shot at Glory - Michael Keaton and Robert Duvall in a movie you will probably never see. I found and ordered this one on ebay. I'll let you know if it stays or goes.

7. Mean Machine - Think of The Longest Yard with soccer instead of football.

RED CARDS - Bye, bye - The beautiful game is better off without these movies. In fact, I blame these movies for the reputation of soccer in the US.

8. Ladybugs - Rodney Dangerfield as the soccer coach who enlists a boy in a wig to play on his girls team so he can win a promotion from his boss - It's hard to believe it could be as bad as it sounds - but it is. This one appeals to young kids but has some of the worst soccer footage and film-cutting ever. For example, the screen shows a star girl from the waist up dribbling down the field. Then the screen view switches to her footwork showing from the legs down. The bodies don't even match.


9. The Big Green - Disney's Mighty Ducks with soccer instead of hockey.

10. Soccer Dog: The Movie - a dog of a movie!

11. Switching Goals - a Mary-Kate and Ashley movie - This movie deserves a red card.

If you have any additions send them to me at dsports@hiwaay.net

I got several recommendations including: La Fiesta de Todo el Mundo and Hot Shot.

World Cup or World Series?

(Jonathan Wills provided this information and link to the Women's Soccer e-mail list.)

The authors of National Pastime: "How Americans Play Baseball and the Rest of the World Plays Soccer", Stefan Szymanski and Andrew Zimbalist, visited "Talk of the Nation" on National Public Radio yesterday.

From the webpage listed below:

"Why is America's pastime different from the rest of the world's?"

Two economists examine this question in National Pastime: How Americans Play Baseball and the Rest of the World Plays Soccer. Culture and history have a role to play, the authors argue, but some of the most important explanations for how these sports have evolved are economic.

"Guests: Stefan Szymanksi and Andrew Zimbalist, the two authors of National Pastime. Szymanksi is a professor of economics and strategy at Tanaka Business School at Imperial College London. Zimbalist is the Robert A. Woods professor of economics at Smith College."

It’s 30 minute audio program that examines the question of why Americans play baseball while the rest of the world plays soccer. The authors look at the open market promotion and relegation system of soccer and compare it to the monopoly system of Major League Baseball.

If you stay with the audio program to the end, you will find that the two economists who wrote the book are very optimistic about the future of professional soccer in the United States. They seem to believe that soccer is laying the groundwork for success. There is a PDF excerpt from the book by the authors.

To listen to the piece:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4577211

Click on the Listen button just under the heading. It's about 30 minutes long. The page also has posted a PDF excerpt from the book.

Lagniappe:

* "1 goal, 10 assists." Adidas commercial on USA Women's World Cup Soccer Team

* "The rules of soccer are simple. If it moves, kick it. If it doesn't move, kick it until it does." Peter Woosnam

* Attack of the Soccer Robots - When will androids beat us at sports?
http://www.slate.com/id/2116163/

Ken Gamble

 
Monday, April 04, 2005  

More Cowbell!
Tuesday, April 5th, 2005

More Cowbell!

As Christopher Walken (as legendary record producer Bruce Dickenson) would say, "I Got a fever and the only cure is more cowbell, baby!"

Well, it's close to playoff time and even Christopher Walken would be welcome in soccer stadiums around the state. Official word from Greg Brewer at AHSAA is that artificial noisemakers (Cow Bells) are legal for spectators at outdoor sporting events.  Air powered noise makers such as Air Horns are not permissible.  Drums fall in the same category as cow bells, in that they are man-powered and therefore allowed.

Alabama Player Called up to National Training Camp

Merritt Mathias, a 1990 Alabama ODP player, was invited to compete with the Regional ODP team at the Huntsville event which included ten 1989 players and only six 1990 players. The Regional ODP team played games against Vanderbilt, Auburn, and the University of Memphis finishing with 2 wins and 1 tie. Merritt performed brilliantly as a forward for the region finishing with 2 goals and 1 assist over the course of the 3 games.
Based on Merritt performance at the Regional ODP level, she has been invited to the Under 16 USA National training camp, April 16th – 23rd in Chula Vista, CA. Congratulations goes out to Merritt as we wish her the best on her efforts at the National Team level!

“Merritt has not only made a real commitment to improve her game at the higher level, she has also been making tough decisions to put herself in the best environments to develop.” comments Scott Spencer, AYSA Director of Coaching. “That can be difficult, so it is exciting to see her hard work has given her a great accomplishment and opportunity. She has a very bright future in this game!”

Some Things never change

This funny post was spotted on the Alabama Live Sports Forum in June of 1999: (It's nice to know some things never change.)

FanAnon, a self-help program for the control-challenged, can now help fans of high school and youth sports, its founder announced yesterday.

"For the past decade we've been able to bring relief to thousands of professional hockey and college football enthusiasts," reports psychiatrist Dr. Kilda Umpp, FanAnon founder. "We hope now to do the same for those who attend children's athletic contests. We see this as a vital, expanding market."

FanAnon combines three elements in its unique approach:

1. The traditional 12-step program. "The hardest part of the program is getting the fan to admit that there is a power higher than himself," says Dr. Umpp. "We have to work to convince him that the guy with the whistle has the authority to make decisions that might affect the outcome of the game." Recovering fans, who serve as buddies for those who suffer ref distress, often accompany new members to games.

2. Anger-management techniques. "We've heard moving stories from fans who berated coaches, screamed at children on the field, insulted parents of opposing teams, and even intimidated officials. We call this 'game rage,'" explains Dr. Umpp. "To combat this we use behavior modeling. Fortunately, we have only to look as far as the young athletes themselves for good examples. Remarkably, they manage to endure defeat, express their disappointment in appropriate ways, and then go on to resume normal social and academic lives quite quickly. We try to give their parents the same resilience. Children have an advantage, however: they tend to look upon athletic games as play, a concept long lost on adults."

3. Hormone therapy. Sometimes, the fan is merely hormonally-challenged, reports Dr. Umpp. "When a fan suffers from testosterone poisoning," says Dr. Umpp, "it's relatively simple to provide a wife with a kit -- similar to that used for bee stings -- with an estrogen antidote. During the game she can give hubby a quick injection and he usually calms right down." For major events, like state high school soccer championships and Little League All-Star games, FanAnon recommends an estrogen patch.

FanAnon is now opening chapters in most cities. Players may refer their parents, although the program is most effective with those who recognize that they need help. Schools and athletic clubs may refer their entire fan base and enjoy group rates. For more information, call 1-800-NOBOOS


Now this Borders on Child Abuse

A Glasgow Rangers fan told how he had named his newborn son after 11 members of his favorite soccer team. Clark Kearney said could not choose which Rangers star to name his son after so he decided to use the first names of 11 of the current first team squad. Now he is hoping six-week-old Cairo Lionel Sergio Lorenzo Colin Giovanni Barry Ian Jorge Gabriel Stephane Rod Mason Kearney will grow up to play for the Scottish Premier League team. The mother who was not told until after her husband had listed the names on the birth certificate was not happy at all but has grown to accept it.

We might think he's crazy until you think about how many Pauls, Bryants and Bears were born in the state of Alabama in the 1970s and 1980s.


Lagniappe:

Good links to soccer (and other appropriate) articles:

Refs' taped comments stir outrage http://www.adn.com/sports/high_school/story/6308530p-6184818c.html

Girls basketball coach files complaint against officials.
A post-game, locker-room conversation between referees, caught on tape without their knowledge, has sent East High basketball fans into a rage, put referees on the defensive and prompted a discrimination claim from one of the city's most successful coaches.

Alabama Public Radio Feature Story on USA Men's game in Birmingham
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wual/arts.artsmain?action=viewArticle&sid=15&id=756266&pid=217

Soccer Radio Diary feature by Bobby Puppione for Alabama Public Radio. You can click on the link, go to the page, and then click the "MP3" button to listen.

 
Sunday, April 03, 2005  

Soccer Hodgepodge
A Little Parent Cooperation

At one point during a game, the coach said to one of his young players, "Do you understand what cooperation is? What a team is?" The little boy nodded in the affirmative.

"Do you understand that what matters is how we play together as a team?" The little boy nodded yes.

"So," the coach continued, "when offside is called, or a handball is not called, you don't argue or curse or attack the referee. Do you understand all that?"

Again the little boy nodded.

"Good," said the coach. "Now go over there and explain it to your mother."

(Submitted by Otto Mueller to the Alabama Ref e-mail list)


SOCCER STUPIDITY

Stupid Things Said In The World Of Soccer:

Well, it's Liverpool two, Ipswich nil, and if the score stays this way, I've got to fancy Liverpool for the win...

He had an eternity to play that ball, but took too long.

Well, it's a fabulous kaleidoscope of color: almost all the Brazilians are wearing yellow shirts.

Their manager, Howard Wilkinson, isn't here today, which strongly suggests that he may be elsewhere.

I am a firm believer that if one team scores a goal, the other need to score two to win.

If a team scores early on, it often takes an early lead.

You cannot possibly have counted the number of passes made, but there were eight.

And so they have not been able to improve on their 100% record.

With the last *kick* of the game, he scored with a *header*.

These were provide to a soccer referee's e-mail list by Greg Dunlap.


Soccer Trivia: (Answers below)

1. What is the US Men National Team's highest finish in a World Cup?
2. Which Alabama high school player holds the state record for most goals in a career?
3. Which Alabama high school holds the record for state soccer championships with 8?
4. What was Pele's real name?

Great Soccer Story From December of 2000

In Saturday's game between Everton and West Ham there was an interesting display of sportsmanship by the Hammers' Di Caprio, the player who flattened a referee just a couple of years back. The commentator was clearly very impressed by his action and remarked on the previous incident where Di Caprio had pushed an EPL referee who had stumbled backwards and then fell over, saying that this new action showed an unexpected side of the Italian.

What happened was the Everton keeper had made a last ditch save near the side of the penalty area and had slid on the wet grass. The ball rolled free towards the side line and he got up and started to run after the ball but fell to the ground in obvious pain, presumably having pulled a muscle. With the keeper down on the ground outside the box a West Ham player raced to the ball, took it to the by-line and then crossed it back into the penalty area. In the 92nd minute of a tied game, Di Caprio had the chance to head the ball towards a goal defended only by a fullback and so there was an excellent opportunity to score or force the defender to handle the ball, get a red card, and concede a penalty. Di Caprio simply caught the ball in his hands and pointed to the keeper writhing on the ground. 

He got a round of applause, the keeper was stretchered off and substituted for, the new keeper kicked the free kick into touch for a West Ham possession and the game ended after the throw in, still tied. All in all, an impressive example of how sportsmanship can still occur in a very competitive situation.
Contributed to the Soccer-Ref list by Mike Moore.

An added reply to this story came from Spence Ford

The player's name is Paolo di Canio and I watched the game on Saturday afternoon and was very moved by his gesture. It's interesting because he could have also put the ball into the goal if he was just interested in getting treatment for the keeper. He doesn't say it but it appears that he just didn't want the goal that way. The team's manager said after the game that Paolo couldn't come out to be interviewed because his teammates were beating him up in the locker room. 


More on Soccer Courtesy - February 1999:

There is an unwritten rule in soccer taught to teams when they reach their teenage years. If your team is in possession of the ball and not in a position to immediately score a goal, and a teammate or an opponent goes down with an injury you are to kick the ball out of bounds to allow the official to bring on medical help. When play resumes the team who is awarded a throw-in since the other team had kicked the ball out of bounds. Instead of throwing the ball to their own team (in effect gaining possession by the injury) they return the favor by throwing the ball to their opponent.

There is no requirement that they give up possession but its a nice bit of sportsmanship. Often the throw-in is a long throw-in to the opponent's goalkeeper so as not to give the opponent an obvious goal scoring opportunity.

This unspoken act of kindness has caused an English Football Association game between Sheffield and Arsenal of London to be replayed. Arsenal did not accept a 2-1 victory over Sheffield United because the winning goal was tainted by an apparently innocent breach of ethics. In the game at Arsenal's field, a Sheffield player went down, and the Sheffield goalkeeper kicked the ball out of bounds, a normal tactic. After the injured player was replaced, Arsenal put the ball in bounds with an overhead throw.

Normally, the ball would have been allowed to bounce directly to a Sheffield player, but this time it was intercepted by Nwankwo Kanu, a young Nigerian substitute just acquired by Arsenal. Not grasping the significance of the soft inbounds toss, Kanu kicked a crisp pass to Marc Overmars, a seasoned Dutch teammate, who instinctively banged the ball in the net. The Sheffield team went nuts, and many of the Arsenal players were openly unhappy, but the referee did not nullify the goal because there is no rule governing it. He counted the goal, and the game ended at 2-1.

Immediately afterward, the coach of Arsenal, the Frenchman Arsène Wenger, announced that he was declining the victory. "I offered the replay because it wasn't right to win that way - it wasn't Arsenal," Wenger said, adding, "The best we can do is offer to replay the game here against Sheffield United." The game will be replayed on Tuesday, at Arsenal's field, with ticket prices cut in half to avoid any suggestion of chicanery to set up an extra payday.

Answers to Soccer Trivia:

1. If you said the quarterfinals in Korea in 2002 you would be wrong. In 1930 the US make the semi-finals in Uruguay where they lost to Argentina 6-1. They had beaten Belgium and Paraguay 3-0 in their first two games.
2. National team player, Catherine Reddick, scored 211 goals for Briarwood Christian from 1997 to 2000.
3. The Fort Payne Girls won 8. One in 2003 and 2001 and a record six championships in a row from 1991 to 1996.
4. Pele was born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, into a very poor family. He was later nicknamed Pele, the meaning of which has never been explained.

From January 2001

U.S. Soccer has turned down Birmingham's bid to host a 2001 World Cup qualifying game in favor of lending a helping hand to Major League Soccer. "The game was given to Boston as a doubleheader with an MLS game," said Emilo Pozzi, director of events for the U.S. Soccer Federation. "There were two finalists and Birmingham was one of the finalists." 
"We'll have a variety of friendly games to prepare for World Cup qualifiers and we're working on a game later in the year," Pozzi said.


From a column March of 2001:
A colleague of mine says he picked up a copy of an American newspaper in which the soccer correspondent complained that the World Cup competition had been unfair to the US. The American team, he reported, had had to play Trinidad and Tobago on the same day, whereas no other team had to play more than one match a day. (anonymous)

Ken Gamble

Lagniappe:

Good links to soccer articles:

Not a wealth of glory but plenty of guts for McKee - Good article on Mountain Brook soccer player and 2005 Gatorade Alabama Player of the Year, Austin McKee http://www.postherald.com/pr031105.shtml

Brand Beckham? - Forbes Magazine - Plenty of soccer stars endorse products, of course, just like the stars of most sports. But few are recognizable names in the U.S., although there are plenty of Europeans and South Americans famous enough in their native or adopted countries to pull down multimillion dollar endorsements. But Beckham--with his groomed model good looks, and carefully managed star power -- has the potential to become as famous in the U.S. as he already is in the rest of the world. http://www.forbes.com/2005/04/01/cx_pm_0401beckham.html

One on one with ... Decatur High's Meg Adams
http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/sports/050331/adams.shtml

 
Friday, April 01, 2005

Club versus High School Soccer
Friday, April 1st, 2005

Club versus High School Soccer

I often read on the al.com soccer forum that Alabama soccer has it worse than other states because of restrictions that High School soccer or rather AHSAA puts on its players.

Check out the recent discussion between coaches on the Soccer-Coach-L e-mail discussion list. This is a list of about 600 coaches with a good mixture of club, school and college coaches from all over the country (and world) - many of whom coach both club and school teams.

You will find from the discussion that most state athletic associations put some sort of restrictions on players and coaches. Even more interesting are the comments from high school coaches in states where there are no restrictions on playing soccer for both club and high school teams at the same time. Where possible, I have highlighted the state (that the coach making each comment is from).

As long as there are abuses (or the appearance of abuses) by club sports you can expect state high school athletic associations to continue to push for tighter and tighter restrictions against outside sports. We only have to look at the recent Mississippi High School Athletic proposals and Dan Washburn's recent comments to see what they would prefer the future to look like.

Below are some of the coaches' comments (Each paragraph is from a different coach). I have abbreviated most of the comments while leaving the intent of the message as close to the original as possible. I have made no editorial comments. I'll leave those up to you. The main point is this is a complicated issue with two valid and not necessarily opposed viewpoints. Most of us want what is best for our children/players.

Keep in mind that many of these coaches are involved as both club and school coaches. The links to the full comments are at:
http://lists.mun.ca/cgi-bin/wa?A1=ind0503e&L=soccer-coach-l

Comments from coaches:

Some HS coaches - or perhaps its school policy - don't permit a player to play both HS soccer and club soccer. I can imagine the reasons... concerns regarding injury, burnout, perhaps even coaching and loyalty.

I know here in Illinois, kids are not allowed to play with their club teams during high school soccer season. It is against IHSA rules. The kids may organize a Sunday practice on their own but no coach can be present to train them. I am both a club coach and a high school coach. I would love to hear if this is legal where you live.

Here in New Hampshire, there is no rule preventing players from playing clubs and HS at the same time. However, such dual-activity is probably *not* in the best interest of the player, academically or physically, IMHO... Something will suffer.

I don't encourage or discourage girls on my hs team to do both, but I have two that did. Both outstanding players who will play small college ball. They mostly only played on week-end games for the association teams. We had the rule when post season play comes about they chose one team. I feel the demands are then too high and injury may occur. Washington

In Florida no rule prohibits players from both teams but there are prohibitions on high school coaches coaching any club team "out of season" where the roster is made up of greater than 50% of the high school team. In our area, most of the older club coaches are affiliated one way or another with a high school team so there is cooperation.

On my club team, I am only allowed to coach 5 players from my high school team. Players are not allowed to play club and high school at the same time. Some opt out of playing high school to stay with their club teams through spring but they are NOT allowed to play both. Players moving from high school to high school has been a problem before and coaches still try to recruit as well. I know it happened to me when I played but now there are coaches who have strong reputations for getting kids to move to their district and leave their current HS team.

Many state athletic associations have rules which cover outside activity. Strictly speaking they don't regulate what the student can do in his "Own Time". But the courts have agreed that what a student does in his own time can affect what the school (or athletic association) allows him to do in his school time - such as playing on a team or being involved in a school activity. Alabama

This is disturbing. 'Discourage', 'advise against', are fine. 'Not allow' seems to be losing perspective. This is school and coaching, teaching kids about teamwork, responsibility to others and making choices. The player's duty to the team is to attend practices and games and do their best by the team. The only requirement that the HS should be able to make is that if selected, the player will give that team priority if there is a conflict. I ponder whether terminology like 'not allow' has more to do with the adult egos involved than anything else. Canada

I guess burnout is probably part of the problem. When you watch these girls play club all year round and then come to high school season, they are pretty spent when they get there. Some of them are even starting to flip flop between wanting to play and not wanting to play. I have seen 3 All-Americans quit soccer all together in the past year and a half due to burnout. They could have played at Division 1 schools but chose to live life instead. Their club teams emphasized specialization in one sport and playing year round. It just didn't work for these 3 kids. It's a shame but it happens all too often anymore and this may be the reason why.

California has the same rule. If a player plays club during the HS season, he or she cannot play HS soccer. And if the player does so his HS team may be in jeopardy. I think it works out here and most club coaches respect it and schedule around it. Upper level coaches here are with their teams almost 9 months of the year even with this rule. It is good for the players. They learn from another coach, play with some other players in a different system, learning different patterns of play. They may get a chance to play different positions. And playing for your school still means something, even to ODP players.

Same applies here in Illinois and I agree. I think it is way too much to do both at the same time. This is coming from someone who played nationally and also spent the majority of their life playing soccer, 3 practices a day, along with weight training and running. It can cause career-ending injuries, just like it did to me.

Here in Ohio players are not allowed to participate for their club teams during the high school season. This is an Ohio High School Athletic Association rule. The coaches /schools / clubs have no say.

I'm a club and hs coach in Florida. I've had A LOT of problems with my club players coaches discouraging his players to play high school ball, claiming that it "ruins" players. I've been coaching for 13 years, and will go back to Europe to get my UEFA 'A' Licence. I've coached at nearly all levels from rec (which I still do) up to semi-pro in the UK. I wouldn't say that playing for me would ruin players, I think that I know what I'm doing :)

I am not going site cases although I believe the OHSAA site does (or did) list certain relevant cases. In general, what you are going to find is that membership in the high school athletic associations is voluntary and therefore if you wish to participate you do so according to their rules and regulations. You do not have to be a member of the high school athletic association and there are in fact schools that are not here in Ohio - not a lot, but they do exist. Because the purpose of the rules is to prevent a competitive advantage being gained by a team, with economic discrimination often being a factor as well, the courts tend to side with the high school associations on this issue.
There have been recent attempts in the largest cities to field club teams in the fall as opposed to playing for your high school but I have yet to hear any great success story associated with this.

Yes, any high school can restrict the players on their team by whatever criteria that they want. If the HS doesn't want players who are also playing REC soccer at the same time, they can do just that. It is then up to the player as to what she wants to do. If she wants to play HS soccer, then she has to quit playing REC soccer. I am not saying that it is smart for the HS to place such a restriction, but they clearly can do so if they desire.

Our state, Colorado, has a rule that you cannot play with the club if you are playing for the high school.

In the late 50s and early 60s in high school sports, coaches were forming clubs made up of their high school players playing in Leagues during the season made up of other teams from other high schools. The QUESTION - WHY? Simple, the High School Sports Association has the authority to limit the amount of time you may practice your "student athletes." In order to get around this, high school "coaches" simply formed other non-school teams and practiced additional times.
A friend of mine was on two Basketball teams [high school & AAU type] and three baseball teams [high school, Little League & American Legion] during one high school year and all 5 teams had the same high school coach. Any question that they practiced more than the hours allowed under the high school sports association rules? Every day but SUNDAY plus games at night and on Saturdays.
Very simply, being on a high school team is a privilege not a right [this has been settled in court] and as such the student is required to meet certain conditions to participate in school sponsored extra curricula activities such as:
Where You Live
What school you attend {in some states you may play for a public school while attending private school if the private school does not have the sport]
What grade you are in school [8th graders can play high school in some states}
How old you are [maximum age 19 they had 20+ before this rule]
Grade Point Average [varies usually at least 2.0]
The high school sports association does not care about a SINGLE school - their mandate is to provide a HEALTHY exposure to SPORT for the high school student making them a "student athlete." The IDEA of banning outside participation in the same sport during the same season is strictly injury prevention AND school work / grades.
One aspect that occurs is a club coach will align themselves with a high school and create the same situation as the high school coach being the coach. I have an acquaintance Tony, who uses the high school soccer coach as his advisor. What does he advise on? Oh, who should play where, what formation to run. Why would this not be OK? Well you see the high school coach has Tony run his formation and try the players where he sees them playing on the high school team. Naturally Tony's team probably would be better served if they played based on the talent that Tony has. Nothing like having no real center mid because the high school coach wants to see that player playing as a forward.
I also say many unsuccessful lawsuits have been filed over high school sports. I say this having coached my first high school team in 1968. It's called being 60 years old and involved a few decades. One parent sued because their son would not be able to get an NBA contract if he didn't play his senior year in high school. Actually the idea was he wouldn't get a college scholarship. His GPA was 1.75 and he never took summer school classes. They lost, he went to junior college and ended up playing Division II back in the 70s.
Many of what would be lawsuits now were appeals to the high school sports association [I sat in on a few as a consultant] in the old days. Usually the kid was cut from the team. In one case, the player was cut after the school was redistricted and 6 members of the previous years State champions were suddenly attending that school. They were juniors and she was a senior who had been a bench warmer the previous two years. Nevada

As usual, I'm not surprised to see such glaring inconsistencies with these policies from around the country and the different opinions on what is right and wrong.
I'm in the camp of let the players play but of course I'm also biased (I guess). I think such restrictions probably are borne from concerns more about player loyalty than anything else, with the concerns about injury and burnout being more window dressing than substantive. I couldn't imagine my daughter, or any kid, practicing more than once a day during the week and attending a club training session or two just to stay connected with the team and then playing some games on the weekend. I also think a player should be able to play in tournaments, etc. even if that does pose a conflict with the HS team - unless it is Varsity. I think freshman and JV soccer should be all about player development and participation, not about do or die commitments to scholastic soccer. Above all of this should be academics. Of course, any such participation should be because the player REALLY loves the sport and not because a parent and/or coach, such as myself, wants them to play.

I think that JP has nailed this down appropriately. school athletics are extra-curricular, voluntary, a privilege. I am fully supportive of the schools' rights to make any rules they choose. we don't have to like them.....and if so, we should lobby them for explanations as to why they would place restrictions on kids' free time, but in the end it becomes the players'/families' choice whether or not to participate. As long as they define the boundaries up front, we can make informed decisions. It's the ones that sneak the penalties in on you after they set no boundaries and then catch you doing something they now decide is unacceptable to them...those are the real pains... Florida

The HS sports associations impose these rules in an effort to make their sports fair. Club leagues have a certain mobility factor built in, so that the teams generally play well-"matched" opponents, and poor-quality opponents drop out at the bottom. HS sports don't have that kind of feature, and thus the HS associations impose rules on how much a team can practice and how far before the season, and restricting recruitment, and so forth. This is where the rules about outside team play come in. As Pete pointed out, it wouldn't do for a rich community to subsidize off-hour practices by a HS team when the poorer schools can't. The point is that these rules are part of a package that assumes that the educational aspect and old-school-ties are the main objectives, not the development of world-class players.

Over the years, I've come to believe that HS soccer is generally not much of a contribution to player development, because the coaches with real soccer teaching ability are the exception. To come from a HS program run by a coach who is known as a good teacher can look good on a player's resume, as can winning a district or state championship, but those generally only open the door for the player to get a look from a college coach. And then there's the question, if the kid's interest is to develop as a soccer player or the US soccer community is interested in a great national team, whether collegiate soccer has any particular value either.
The discussion also pushed one of my hot-buttons: kids who make conflicting commitments to two teams or two activities. For a kid to take on more commitments than he/she can meet is to let other people down and to show themselves as unreliable and dishonorable. Ohio

Injuries are real, burn out is real; they are not "window dressing". And a fair number of young athletes are overloaded with multiple concurrent team commitments.

It is best that club coach and HS coach not be the same person and that they arrange to have separate seasons. It is not fair for club coach or HS coach to ask a young player to "choose". These grown up people should arrange that the young players can enjoy the pleasures of both experiences. So club coach should take a vacation from coaching during the HS season and the HS coach should release his players after the HS season ends.

That is one of the most level headed responses to this situation I have ever read. Every time I hear a club coach complain about high school soccer or a high school coach complain about club soccer it only reinforces in my mind that adult egos are interfering with kids trying to have fun playing a game.

Philosophically I think that HS soccer other than varsity should be all about player development and participation. So club soccer is a constructive adjunct, as well as the tournaments, etc. that go along with it.
I think it should be a no-brainer for club soccer coaches to have to - to WANT to - communicate with the HS coach regarding players and conflicts if there were "shared" players. I think that your attitude would suit me very well in my situation! Wish you were in New Jersey.
I also think that playing for your school is a privilege, and an honor, and should take precedence over club soccer with regard to practices, etc. I'd be content to have a (club) player attend one or two training sessions per week and play in games for the club team, while attending all of the HS training and making HS the priority. I do also think that my club team program is very strong, and very beneficial in terms of player development.

I honestly have no problem with my high school girls playing club, as long as the respect from the club coach is shown, during the high school season, for him to call/email and let me know what tourneys he's doing, when he needs the players etc. Getting a 15 year old girl to ask, is to me, well kind of snide.
If this was done before the high school season started, I could get the hs girls together and let them know who would be where and why they are missing practice. High School soccer is a privilege, and nobody owns a spot, so when the club players aren't there, its up to the girls that are there to make it difficult for me to not select them....they control their own destiny!

In Southern California, it is simple math: The top players are very heavily concentrated on gold and premier teams. For boys, there are fewer than 50 such teams from U16 to U18, many of which club teams have been playing together year after year, eight months out of the year. There are a great many more high schools than 50. LA Unified School District alone has about 52 high schools. The talent therefore gets diluted. The high school season is awfully short. Few high school coaches receive the money that the top club coaches earn. The top universities, many of whose assistant coaches are club coaches or club trainers, know this.

Along these same lines, there has been some conflict over which looks better on the college applications: club teams or HS teams. Most kids in my region favor club teams as being more "exclusive" or "prestigious" or better trained (not necessarily true, IMHO :-). Which, of course, eventually leads to scheduling conflicts often hurting the HS team.

I am quite interested in some feedback from the list regarding the issues raised by players playing for two different groups during the same season.
Specifically, how would you deal with the inevitable conflicts? A starting player misses a HS training session due to club commitments. All of your other players are attending. How could you start that player when they are missing sessions and maintain some semblance of institutional control?
The same would apply if you were the club coach and a player was missing training to attend their HS training session.
Given two players of equal talent, one shows up for your training and the other is at their other activity... which one starts? Gets the play time?

I'm not sure what the regulations are in Massachusetts and whether his club coach violated them, but he ran a Sunday practice every 3rd week during the high school season. This additional load did not seem to be an issue for my son (or us) and in no way conflicted with his HS schedule. In fact, his high school team experience was so abysmal, he genuinely looked forward to these Sunday afternoons and it probably had the effect of preventing burn-out (after 15 practices and ~ 6 games of ugly kick and run, he got to play 2 hours of beautiful possession soccer). Personally, while I understand, the admirable goal of preventing burnout, I think that whatever legal activities an individual chooses on his own time are of no concern to our tax-dollar supported public schools.

During the High School season our club team goes to a schedule of just playing tournaments.

I stand corrected. In an earlier post it was indicated to me that some High Schools do restrict players from participating in club activities and do have the right legally. I was wrong. I guess I'm just shocked that as a nation we seemed to have lost our ability to protect one's right to freely participate in ones own interest. What other freedoms are we so willing to give up? Don't get me wrong, I truly believe that to much of a good thing can be detrimental. Playing club ball and High School is really to much. Any normal thinking person would agree. While I can understand the negative impact playing both could have on a player, I believe this should be left to the player and the parents discretion. I cringe when people try to dictate what others can or can't do with their free time. Not everyone feels it's to much. Everyone should have the right to make up his or her mind. Not a school board. For example I see nothing wrong with a club team holding technical training sessions to keep the skill levels up.


Comment from Ken:
As you can see it's not just Alabama's High School Athletic Association that limits participation in outside sports during the high school sport season - most states also have some sort of restrictions. And those states that have no restrictions are not a "Soccer Utopia". Not having restrictions still means having problems - they're just different types of problems.


Ken Gamble

The thing I love about sports is the emotion it brings to a world where true passion is such a scarce commodity. In a society where personal, political and religious beliefs are muzzled for fear of offending, sports remains one of our last legitimate outlets. It allows us to scream and cheer and wear our bias on our sleeves like medals of honor earned in combat. Here we can state our case, argue the obvious and steadfastly defend indefensible positions without fear or remorse. Ken Burger - Charleston South Carolina Post and Courier


Applicable links:

Mississippi wouldn't be the first state to adopt such regulations. Louisiana and Alabama have had rules in place for more than 15 years that prevent students from playing for their school team and an outside team during that sport's season.
"It keeps kids from coming back to your school team hurt and from being coached by a coach who may not be up on techniques," said Dan Washburn, executive director of the Alabama High School Athletic Association. "Our coaches love it because they don't want anybody else coaching their kids."
http://www.network54.com/Forum/message?forumid=171923&messageid=1108082707

Mississippi Faces new Restrictive Proposals

MHSAA Regulating Outside Sports Activities - What is the rational for not allowing a child to participate on an outside team within the same sport during the HS season?

It was proposed yesterday to the executive committee of MHSAA that any athlete participating on select team would not be allowed to play the same sport during the HS season: If the kid plays select soccer, he/she would NOT be allowed to play HS soccer because the seasons are concurrent. The student will have to make a choice.

High School or Select Soccer - Which would you choose?

How do schools decide what you do outside schools?, Answer me this?

Mobile-area schools sponsored the proposal, and it was obvious it was aimed at outside organizations such as AAU and club teams. There had been concern about the influence these organizations and their coaches have had on high school athletes.
"This is putting kids back in the (high school) coaches' hands," UMS-Wright principal Ed Lathan said. "They will be doing what they are trained to do and paid to do. This should also involve more kids, especially younger ones and junior varsity kids."
Said Huntsville City Schools athletic director Wade Lipscomb: "This will put us on equal footing with states around us. It is about schools wanting their coaches to coach their kids."