Claudio Named U.S. Youth Technical Director

Former national team captain Claudio Reyna has been hired as the U.S. Soccer Federation’s youth technical director and will be formally introduced Wednesday, April 7.

His appointment to the newly created position was announced Tuesday by the United State Soccer Federation.

The former midfielder had eight goals in 112 international appearances from 1994-2006 and played at the 1998, 2002 and 2006 World Cups. He was also named to the 1994 team, but suffered an injury just before the start of the tournament and did not get in a game.

Winner of the 1993 Hermann Trophy at Virginia, He played most of his professional career in Europe.

Reyna retired as a player two years ago following stints with Bayer Leverkusen (1994-97), Wolfsburg (1997-99), Glasgow Rangers (1999-01), Sunderland (2001-03), Manchester City (2003-07) and the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer (2007-08).

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Stringfield Honored By US Youth Soccer

FORT WORTH, Texas (Feb. 26, 2010) – The US Youth Soccer honored Virgil Stringfield II, of Orlando, Fla., as the recipient for the Dr. Thomas Fleck Award for Excellence in Youth Coaching Education at the US Youth Soccer Awards Gala held in conjunction with the 2010 USA Youth Soccer adidas Workshop in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Excellence in Youth Coaching Education award is also known as the Dr. Thomas Fleck award. It is designed to honor a lifetime of dedication where one has led with integrity, honor, humor and humility and has made extensive and far reaching contributions to the process by which youth soccer coaches are educated in America.

Stringfield is a co-author of The Official US Youth Soccer Coaching Manual. Three of his co-authors are fellow award winners: Thomas Fleck, Ph.D., Ronald Quinn, Ph.D., and David Carr, Ph.D.

Stringfield holds his USSF "A" License and National Youth License for coaching. He also received a national diploma from the NSCAA. He has over 30 years of experience coaching club teams and over 20 years of experience coaching and administering soccer camps.

Within US Youth Soccer, Stringfield has been a national instructor since 2003. From 1995-1997, he was a committee member for US Youth Soccer Region IV. In 1992, he coached US Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program Girls Region III.

At the State Association level, he was on Florida Youth Soccer Association's coaching staff since 1983 with the exception of when he was director of coaching for Arkansas State Soccer Association from 1998-1999 and for Arizona Youth Soccer Association from 1995-1997. From 1993-1994, Stringfield was a state staff coach for Louisiana Soccer Association. Currently, he is the director of coaching education for Florida Youth Soccer.

Stringfield has been part of the USSF national coaching staff instructing National Youth License and USSF "C" License courses since 1996. He helped design the curriculum for the National Youth License.

He holds a master of education, physical education, from William Carey College. Stringfield was an adjunct instructor at William Carey College from 1988-1989 then at Seminole Community College from 1990-1993. Stringfield also taught math in secondary schools for 11 years.

He was William Carey's assistant men's coach from 1987-1989 and the women's head coach from 1988-1989. He was Florida Southern College's assistant men's coach from 1985-1987.

Future recipients of the "The Dr. Thomas Fleck Award" will be awarded based on merit as determined by the US Youth Soccer state technical directors and US Youth Soccer coaching department when deemed appropriate, but not necessarily on an annual basis.

Past winners:
2009 David Carr – Barboursville, W.Va.
2008 James "Jay" Hoffman – Virginia Beach, Va.
2007 Dr. Ron Quinn – Cincinnati, Ohio
2006 Dean Conway - Jamaica Plain, Mass.
2005 Dr. Thomas Fleck - Philadelphia, Penn., Inaugural Recipient

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Preki, Dooley Named To HOF

Preki Radosavljevic, Major League Soccer’s only two-time MVP, and Thomas Dooley, the 1993 U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year, have been elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame Class of 2010 on the Player ballot.

Dooley, eligible on the Player ballot for the last time, was named on 71 percent of the ballots, while Radosavljevic was named on 68 percent of the ballots. A Player must be named on 66.7 percent of the selection committee’s ballots to earn election.

The two players were both members of the 1998 U.S. FIFA World Cup team, and the European-born duo started back-to-back MLS All-Star games together in 1998-1999.

“What a great pleasure to announce two extraordinary players and individuals as the newest Hall of Famers – Thomas Dooley and Preki,” said National Soccer Hall of Fame President Jonathan Ullman. “These two players have made historic contributions to soccer in the United States, changing the character of the American game by bringing their international experience to our domestic players. Both individuals have been close to election previously, and it is wonderful to see this well-deserved honor finally come to pass.”

Dooley and Radosavljevic were the top two vote-getters not elected in the 2009 balloting, when Jeff Agoos and Joy Fawcett were elected. In 2008, when no player appeared on the required 75-percent of ballots, Radosavljevic and Dooley finished first and fourth in the voting. Dooley had been named on at least 50 percent of the ballots in each of his previous six years of eligibility, but never earned the call.

The selection committee for the player election includes all current and former coaches of the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Team, active MLS coaches with a minimum of four years tenure, select soccer administrators, designated members of the media and all Hall of Famers. The committee members name up to 10 Players from the list of eligible candidates on their annual ballot.

To be eligible for the Hall of Fame as a Player, an individual must have been retired for at least three full calendar years but no more than 10 years, and either 1) Played at least 20 full international games for the United States or 2) Played at least five seasons in an American first-division professional league and was selected as a league All-Star at least once. Any player named on less than five percent of the ballots is dropped from eligibility on the Player ballot.

2010 Player Ballot Elections Results
Players Votes Percentage
Thomas Dooley 83 70.94%
Preki Radosavljevic 80 68.38%

Earnie Stewart 68 58.12%
Shannon MacMillan 64 54.70%
Joe-Max Moore 61 52.14%
Marco Etcheverry 59 50.43%
Carlos Valderrama 55 47.01%
Cindy Parlow 45 38.46%
Peter Vermes 44 37.61%
Chris Henderson 37 31.62%

THOMAS DOOLEY
One of just five players that started every game in consecutive FIFA World Cups for the U.S. (1994, 1998) in the modern era, Dooley captained the U.S. team in France 1998 and closed his eight-year U.S. career with 81 caps and seven goals.

Dooley was used in the back line or as a midfielder, and almost all of his goals were of significance including four in 17 games in 1993 as he was named U.S. Soccer Male Athlete of the Year. Two years later, he played each of the first five games of the U.S. team’s run to the semifinals of the 1995 Copa America.

He opened his U.S. scoring account with a goal in the U.S. team’s famous 2-0 win against England in the 1993 U.S. Cup, and then in the next game of the tournament scored twice against his homeland, Germany, just more than a year after his U.S. debut. His other goals include the second score for the U.S. in the 4-0 win against Mexico in 1995, a 90th minute game-tying goal against Mexico in the 1996 U.S. Cup, and the game-winner in a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Trinidad & Tobago in 1996.

In 1997, he joined the Columbus Crew after winning the UEFA Cup that year with Schalke 04 and went to be named part of the MLS Best XI despite playing just 15 games. He followed up his debut season with a second Best XI selection as well as an All-Star appearance in 1998 along with his national team commitments. In 1999, he made a second All-Star appearance with the Crew. He retired at the age of 39 after playing the 2000 season with the MetroStars.

The son of an American father and German mother, Dooley had a long professional career in his home country beginning with FC Homburg in 1984. A long-time star at FC Kaiserslautern when he was recruited to the U.S. National Team and obtained his U.S. passport in 1992, he also played for Bayer Leverkusen before moving to Schalke 04.

PREKI RADOSAVLJEVIC
Radosavljevic’s professional career boasts an unparalleled combination of success both indoor and out, with a total of four MVP awards and 16 all-star selections from three different leagues across three decades.

An MLS original, Radosavljevic is the league’s only two-time MVP winner and was also the league’s Budweiser Scoring Champion in his 1997 and 2003 MVP seasons. With the Kansas City Wizards, he won the 2000 MLS Cup and the 2004 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. He played with the Wizards for all but one of his 10 MLS Seasons, a one-year stint with the Miami Fusion in 2001. He finished his career with 79 goals and 112 assists.

The only player to start the first eight MLS All-Star games, he is one of only three players be named to the game each year during that stretch. In 2005, MLS honored Radosavljevic by naming him to the All-Time Best XI. He was four-time member of the annual Best XI, fewer than only three other players. After the 2005 season, he retired as the all-time MLS points leader and the only player with five 10 goal, 10 assist seasons (although Jaime Moreno has broken and tied those records, respectively).

Prior to making his name as one of the best players in MLS history, Radosavljevic’s dangerous left-foot was well known among indoor soccer loyalists and opponents alike. Radosavljevic was a seven-time All-Star in the Major Indoor Soccer League/Major Soccer League and one-time All-Star in the Continental Indoor Soccer League after two years in the Premier League in England with Everton (four goals in 46 appearances) and one year with Portsmouth in the first division (seven goals). He won the MISL MVP Award in 1989 and the CISL MVP in 1995. With the Tacoma Stars (MISL, 1985-1990), St. Louis Storm (MSL, 1990-1992) and San Jose Grizzlies (CISL, 1994-1995) he amassed 399 goals and 384 assists in 370 games.

Radosavljevic became an American citizen in 1996 and was a member of the 1998 FIFA World Cup team, making two appearances including one against his native Yugoslavia. That year in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, he scored one of the biggest goals ever for the U.S. in a 1-0 victory against No. 1-ranked Brazil in the semifinals – the first and only victory for the U.S. against the world power. He scored four times in 28 appearances for the U.S.

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Huckel Leaves HOF. No Resolution In Sight!

Jack Huckel, the Director of Museum & Archives at the National Soccer Hall of Fame, in Oneonta, NY, has left the organization. In an email sent out to friends and colleagues, Huckel broke the news.

“It is with a heavy heart I write to note that Friday, December 18 will be my final day at the National Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum. For the past almost ten years I have worked with you in some capacity to celebrate the history, honor the heroes, inspire the youth, and preserve the legacy of soccer in the United States.

“With the severe financial recession in the tourism industry and our inability to fill the rapidly emptying treasury with donated funds, the Board of Directors has made a decision to change from the operations as they currently exist. With this decision came an inevitable end to my work.”

When it was announced that the Hall of Fame was closing its doors to the public, it was reported that the board of directors were aiming to have a decision on the Hall’s future by Thanksgiving. The holiday has come and gone and according to Huckel, “discussions continue and, sadly, a resolution seems as far away today as it did (when the announcement was made in September).”

Huckel will remain involved in the game of soccer as he will move on to work with the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).

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National Soccer HOF To Close

ONEONTA,NY --The museum at the National Soccer Hall of Fame will be closed to the public after Labor Day, except for dates when matches are on the field, its President and Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Ullman said.

He spoke during a media conference at the facility about the Soccer Hall's financial difficulties and also confirmed there will be a reduction in staff as it works on "a new sustainable operating model." He did not discuss details of the cuts, saying, "We have some wonderful people that have worked extremely hard and have been dedicated to this organization."

Sources previously said that of the eight full-time employees, only Ullman; director of museum and archives Jack Huckel, who was also at the discussion; and the financial manager will remain by the end of the month.
The Soccer Hall said it will honor its commitments to various events, including the High School Hall of Fame Cup set for later this month and the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Boys Soccer Championship in November.

No decision has been made by the board of directors about whether to keep the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, Ullman said. Discussions are ongoing between board members, but no formal meeting has been scheduled.

The operating budget of the Soccer Hall is about $1 million per year, he said. There is enough money to continue until a decision is reached, which Ullman said he expects this fall.

"We cannot continue in a state of flux for a long time," he said.
The U.S. Soccer Federation, which recognized the Hall in 1983, has been supportive of the effort to turn things around, Ullman said.

Museum attendance is about 17,000 a year, Ullman said, with admission of $12.50 for adults, $9.50 for students, discounts for youth and seniors and children younger than five get in for free. About 55,000 people will come to the campus this year, including the four playing fields, he said. About 80 percent of the people come from spring through the fall.

There is no question there will continue to be a national Hall of Fame, Ullman said. Ballots will go out and there will be an induction in 2010. It was too early to say whether that institution would be in Oneonta, he said.

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Rennie Named To US Club Soccer Post

US Club Soccer has announced that longtime Board of Directors member John Rennie has been named the organization’s Director of Youth Development (U-6 to U-12).

In this newly-created position, Rennie will work with US Club Soccer’s member clubs to help improve the skills of their young players. The organization feels it is important for players of younger ages to be exposed to quality coaching, improve skill development and obtain a passion for the game.

“Nothing is more important to the future of our game than improving the skills of our young players, especially those 6 to 12 years old,” Rennie said. “Nothing is more gratifying than to see the rapid improvement that results from proper training. There is almost unanimous agreement that most of our players in this country are not good enough at the highest levels. It is the goal of US Club Soccer to help our players, coaches and clubs change that.

“If we work hard with players, educate coaches and encourage clubs to put more emphasis on recreational players and their youngest top-quality players, we can have an impact,” he added.

Rennie will help implement policy decisions made by the Board of Directors by utilizing the knowledge and experience acquired from his 35-year NCAA Division I head coaching career and visits to some of the top clubs in the world. Rennie will blend the best of these programs into one that will succeed for US Club Soccer’s member clubs.

“We have always appreciated John’s involvement with the Board of Directors, and we are gratified to take advantage of his experience with player development in an expanded capacity,” said US Club Soccer Executive Director Bill Sage.

The former head coach of Duke University’s men’s soccer team for 29 years, Rennie boasts outstanding accomplishments at the highest levels of the game. The USSF ‘A’ licensed coach is the all-time leader in wins in the Atlantic Coast Conference, has advanced his squads to five NCAA Final Fours and was the first chairman of the NCAA Division I Soccer Coaches Committee.

On the youth scene, Rennie is a former USSF National Coaching Staff member and co-founded the Triangle Futbol Club (N.C.), with whom he previously served as president.

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Unanchored Soccer Goals Could Be Deadly
by Ray Alley
Publisher, Southern Soccer Scene

Do you know what Zachary Tran, Gabriel Mendoza and Hayden Ellias have in common?

Sadly each was killed in a tragic accident on a soccer field when an unanchored soccer goals fell on them.

Tran was a six-year old first grader from Vernon Hills, IL, who died in 2003, when a goal fell on him.

Ellias died during a soccer scrimmage at Milbrook HS in Frederick County, Virginia, in May, 2007. A year later, Mendoza, an eight-year old from South Mountain, Arizona, was hanging from the crossbar of a soccer goal moments before it came crashing down upon him.

Tragically, a common conributing factor to each accident was that the goals were not properly anchored.

For the last 20 years, Southern Soccer Scene has written annually about deaths and injuries from unsecured soccer goals. The confirmed two of accidents approachs 100, but that is likely to be grossly understated, as minor accident have often gone unreported.

Within the past year two young boys, including eight-year old Mendoza, were killed in Arizona when unsecured goals fell on them. The other was 10-year old Leonardo Herrera.

Public Awareness Improved

That said, the danger is always there, especially with the case of unsecured goals. Numerous very serious injuries have been also been recorded for accidents that have occured when young unsupervised children, climb on the nets behind the goal and fall.

In fact, more injuries have occured outside of game-situations.

Soccer leagues and associations have tightened restrictions and guidelines about the need to anchor goals. In most, a rule exists that makes it mandatory for goals to be properly anchored in order for the game to begin. Referees are required to check each goal before play begins.

But that isn’t good enough. The responsibility for securing the goals also falls on coaches. A team parent, or parents, should also take a look before each game and each practice to see how the goal is secured.

Expensive Lessions Learned

No amount of money can alliviate the pain and sorrow of losing a child to these types of injuries, but lawsuits have been filed, and many have been settled.

Many are settled out of court, and it is difficult for the average person to follow a lawsuit to conclusion.

Zachary Tran’s parents received a $2.25 million settlement from the Greater Libertyville Soccer Association. Five years later they still had suits pending with the Vernon Hills Park District and American Playground Corp, the latter being the manufacturer of the goal.

Ellias’ parents have filed a $10 million lawsuit against nine companies and organizations, charging “negligence, breach of waranty, and product liability.” That includes the Winchester (VA) based Blue Ridge Youth Soccer Association (Old Dominion Soccr League, Inc), the Virginia Youth Soccer Association, US Youth Soccer Association and Porter Athletic Equipment, which manufactured the soccer goal.

Shawn S. Kasserman, the Chicago-based attorney that represented the Tran family, is also one of the attorney’s in the Ellias case.

“Our standpoint, and the Elliases’ standpoint, is that we never want to see this happen again,” said Kasserman in recent report. “No moveable soccer goal is safer outside, and they should be checked each time there is a game.”

Coaches Move Goals

It is common practice for coaches and soccer trainers to move goals around during training sessions. Clubs must emphasis to those coaches that when a goal it moved, it must be reanchored. If it can’t be anchored, don’t move it.

Far too often goals are move, not anchored, and then left unsecured for the next group of players and coaches.

Another area of concern is the possibility that goals will be moved by maintence crews when the grass on the field is cut, and not resecured by the maintence crew.

It is important to post notices on the goalposts stressing the importance of anchoring goals. They are free of charge for the asking. But it takes more than a note or sticker, more than an article in the club newsletter or addressing the liability and concern at staff meetings.

In order to address the danger of unanchored goals, it takes awareness and vi gilance.

Companies Become Pro-Active

In the early days of introducing soccer into new areas across the country, it was common practice for schools and soccer associations to go to local welders and metal shops to have soccer goals made.

That was a cheaper alternative to purchasing goals from a goal manufacturing company. In many instances those goals were donated.

That was a bad practice then, and remains so today.

A lot of engineering goals into the production of soccer goals by reputable goal manufacturers. The angle of supports, center of gravity, weight distribution are all common sense concerns that are addressed by the manufacturer.

But regardless of who the manufacturer is, unless the goal is anchored securely, it has the potential to be turned over. Surprisingly, large soccer goals have been blown over by the wind during games and practice.

Therefore, the anchors are as important to the safety of the product as the product itself. Even moreso.

Most goal manufacturing companies have become pro-active in alerting the soccer community on the need to secure the goals safely, and provide guidelines for accomplishing that.

Coming In July 15 Issue

In our July 15 issue of Southern Soccer Scene we will discuss the proper way to secure goals and the different methods that can be used. Also, how to safely store goals in the offseason.

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Charlie Corbitt is An Information Pioneer
by Ray Alley

Imagine a time when there were no personal computers. A time when there was no internet, and website was a term yet to be coined.

In those days you got sports scores, a day after the event, in the daily newspaper. Soccer scores were seldom listed.

Today you can click on your computer and within hours of the completion of most college soccer games, you can find the scores.

You can find collegiate scores by accessing Scoreboard.NSCAA.com and search for your favorite team. You can find prep rankings and scores on EurosportScoreboard.com.

Give no credit to Microsoft’s Bill Gates. All the credit goes to Alpharetta’s Charlie Corbitt, who, about 15 years ago, saw a need and began to solve the problem with soccerinfo.com.

Corbitt grew up in Cartersville, GA, with a passion for basketball. Upon graduating from the University of Georgia, he would have been happy to become a high school math teacher and basketball coach. However, the thought of going back to college to take education courses was too much.
He had taken a computer course in college, and have become intrigued with its possibilities. He took a job at the National Bank of Georgia in Atlanta as a computer programmer in 1968. He would remain in the industry until he retired in 2002.

“I had acquired an interest in personal computers and taught myself how to write programs on that platform,” said Corbitt. “At my age it was more fun to learn a new technology rather than continue developing on main frame computers.”

When his children were young, he inquired about coaching in a local youth basketball league. He was told that they had enough basketball coaches, but could needed youth soccer coaches.

Once again, Corbitt saw the need and stepped up to coach an Under-10 recreation team. The game he coached was the first he had ever seen.
In time his youngest son, Chip, excelled in soccer and Charlie and wife Laney spent their weekends on the road watching soccer games.

Eventually, Chip would play one season at the University of Alabama Birmingham for Mike Getman.

“In the fall of 1992, Chip played his last college game,” said his dad. “When the next fall college season rolled around there was a void in our lives that needed to be filled.

“I wanted to keep up with college soccer, but living in Georgia made that difficult. The local paper carried no stories and only an occasional score on the local colleges teams.

“I did subscribe to a national soccer publication that carried all the college scores, but by the time I received it, many of the scores were weeks old. I thought there had to be a better way.”

With the help of a friend who had a computer business that he ran out of his home, they began the process of solving the problem.

“That relationship was the beginning of my growth in personal computer technologies.” he said.

By the spring of 1993 he had a database to maintain college and high school game results. But it was a hands on process from start to finish.
First he had to get schedules from all the high schools in Georgia. He and his wife spent hours loading all the schedules into the database, and the next challenge was to get coaches across the state to participate and send their scores to him.

“I promised that if they would call the scores in, I would post them to each game schedule, consolidate them into a weekly report of all games and send them by fax each Monday morning to the school’s fax machine,” he recalled.

“After two or three weeks of sending the consolidated reports by fax, the administrative offices of a number of schools returned the faxes and asked him to stop sending the reports.” Yet another challenge!

Early in the summer of 1993, Corbitt convinced his wife to let him spend the money to send letters to all the colleges, introducing them to the concept and requesting that they participate by returning their games schedules by mail or fax. He also provided a phone number for schools to call and leave the game score on a recording.

“During the summer, my wife and I spent hundreds and hundreds of hours loading the college schedules into the database,” said Corbitt. “During the season, I would spend hours each night listening to the recording, posting the game scores and faxing consolidated reports to hundreds of college teams.

“At this time, all college expenses were coming out of my pocket. I did, however, believe that one day perhaps someone would see the value of this timely information and offer to invest in this service.”

By 1995, a number of colleges were starting to use the internet as a tool to distribute sports information.

“I knew nothing about the internet, but had a friend who encouraged me to look into using it as a tool to distribute soccer reports. He gave me some advice on how to get started and SoccerInfo.com was born. By the fall of 1995, I had learned how to upload the game schedules and reports to the internet, which was a giant leap forward that opened up a new world of report distribution.”

Yet to come was a way to allow coaches to update their schedules and results. But technology was changing quickly and another solution was close at hand.

The first person to step up to help Corbitt fund SoccerInfo.com was Pat Millen, the marketing guru at Davidson College who was instrumental in that school’s three-year run of hosting the NCAA Division I men’s soccer championship, the early predecessor to the NCAA College Cup.

By then Millen had launched collegesoccer.com. With his help, Corbitt was able to provide a way for volunteers to maintain a team’s schedule interactively and control the update by IDs and Passwords.

“With this change, it was not necessary to spend the time listening to recordings each evening and posting game scores manually,” he said. “My life had just made a dramatic change.”

In the summer of 2002, with the help of Penn State men’s coach Barry Gorman, then President of the NSCAA, a deal was struck between the NSCAA and SIS, and the adidas College Soccer Scoreboard (Scoreboard .NSCAA.com) was launched.

On the high school side, the late Barry Redmond of Tennessee and Kyle Heise from South Carolina, helped Corbitt expand from just Georgia to include their states as well.

“This became feasible when I met Brendan Moyland and Durward Williams of Eurosport at the 2004 NSCAA convention,” he said. “They wanted to take the high school scoreboard national, thus the EurosportScoreboard.com was born.

There are currently about 25 states that are participating, and the plan it to eventually include all states on the high school site.

Charlie Corbitt’s story of seeing a soccer need and solving it is compelling, but it is even more so considering that in 1990 he was diagnosed with cancer. Since then he has had 6-8 surgical procedures, and a number of different chemo treatments.

In 1999, his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a surgical procedure as well.

“She has not had a reoccurrence since her surgery and I haven’t had a reoccurrence for about two years,” he said. “The prognoses for both of us is good.”

But there is no time to rest. He still sees needs and seeks to find solutions.
Corbitt says “I believe I’ve been blessed with a need to help others.”
For the past several years he’s been involved in a street ministry that targets the homeless in Atlanta. He did the three-day 60-mile walk to raise money for breast cancer, and has participated in a number of cancer fundraisers.

He has been a weekly volunteer at a local neuro behavior organization for severely brain injured adults, and enjoys taking those clients to local college football and baseball games. He’s a member of the Seminole Spirit Brain Injury Awareness group.

When doing the three-day 60-mile walk, he was disappointed that there were so few men participating. He was also able to see the financial stress some families were under because a family member was in a battle with cancer. Thus another need, and a solution to be found.

Corbitt launched SoccerFor ACure.org at the NSCAA convention in Baltimore. The plan is to reach out to all the people in soccer in some way to become a member of the Soccer For A Cure team by making a modest annual contribution of at least $5.00.

“This doesn’t sound like much, but if we can build a team of 100,000 or 200,000 members or more, a $5.00 donation each year from each member can go a long way to helping families in need in every state.”
The funds will not be used for cancer research, but rather to go directly to families through local agencies to provide help for their basic needs.

Those who know Corbitt have heard the message and have responded. High school coaches have agreed to designate home games with his foundation being a charity partner and recipient of funds raised at the game.

Those who don’t know him personally, now know the man and his family, behind the websites. The websites began with a need and a desire to get results, and once again Charlie Corbitt has seen a need, and is seeking the solution to finding a way to get the results.

It’s all about helping people, but that’s Charlie!

Want to Donate?
Send contributions (payable to Soccer For a Cure) %
12095 N. Hickory Trace, Alpharetta, GA 30004
Website www.SoccerForACure.org

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Sarachan Hired As Academy Scout

United States Soccer has hired former Chicago Fire coach and U.S. MNT Assistant Dave Sarachan as Scouting Manager of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. Also joining the Development Academy brass are Tony Lepore and former Revolution striker Raul Diaz Arce.

Sarachan will manage current U.S. Soccer scouts and oversee the expansion of the scouting network, while Lepore and Diaz Arce have been hired as full-time Development Academy Scouts.

Sarachan served as an assistant for the 2002 World Cup team when it was coached by Bruce Arena. He went on to coach the Fire in the MLS for five years.

Diaz Arce, a seven-year MLS veteran who scored 18 goals for the Revolution in 1998, was an assistant coach for the U.S. Under-17 National Team. The former El Salvador international will join Lepore as a full-time scout.

Lepore, the former Cape Cod Crusader and Director of Coaching for New Hampshire’s Seacoast United, was an assistant coach with the U.S. U-15 National Team.

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Powerchair World Cup

The World Cup final between the United States and France was tied 1-1 through overtime and came down to penalty kicks.

After five shots from each team, Michael Archer nailed his kick for the U.S. France’s Nicolas Guillemot lined up to equalize, but his kick was near enough for the U.S. goalkeeper, JC Russo, to make an easy save. World Champions....USA!

Not a FIFA World Cup Championship, but rather a FIPFA World Cup Championship.

The U.S. team captured the inaugural World Cup of Powerchair Soccer in Japan earlier this fall. Seven countries, the U.S., France, Portugal, Belgium, Denmark and England joined host Japan in the tournament.
Power soccer is played by two four-player teams on a basketball court using an oversized soccer ball and footguards attached to the powerchairs to propel the ball. Participants have some form a physical disability.

The eight-player co-ed U.S. team included brothers Omar (22) and Jairo (18) Solorio, who play for the Hollister (California) Free Wheelers, Elio Navarro (27) of the Tampa Bay (FL) Crossfire, Jerry Book (18) of the San Jose (CA) Steamrollers, Archer of the Indianapolis (IN) Circle City Rollers, Jessica Lehman (30) of the Berkeley (CA) BORP Bay Cruisers, Russo of the Indianapolis Indy Cruisers, and Danny Gorman, the youngest player on the team at age 16, a Tampa, FL, kid who plays for the Tampa Bay Thunder.

The coach is Chris Finn, 36, a former college soccer player from Wisconsin who had dreams about playing for the U.S. Men’s National Team in the World Cup before he broke his neck in a freak accident and was forced to use a powered wheelchair for the rest of his life.

The U.S. rolled, literally, through group play, winning five games by shutouts while scoring 29 goals. The only goal they allowed, was in a 1-1 draw with France in the final group game over the first three days of the tournament. It was a preview of the final.

In the semifinals the U.S. beat Belgium 3-0, while France knocked out Japan, setting the stage for another 1-1 draw in the championship match.
France was on the attack throughout the final, while the U.S. relied on counter attacks. Down 1-0 with five minutes to go in regulation, Archer, arguably the dominant player in the tournament, fired a corner kick that came to Gorman at the top of the penalty box. Gorman moved forward and redirected the ball back across the goal inside the far post for the equalizer.

Before leaving for Japan, Gorman, who has been playing Power Soccer for three years, got a new foot guard for his wheelchair. The man who designed it didn’t ask for much in return. Just that he score the winning goal. His was as good as the game-winner.

“What an amazing feeling to come out on top in the fashion that we did,” said Finn. “Coming out victorious, with all the players responding to adversity, it can’t get any better than that.”

Many of the players had never dreamed of being able to play an active sport, much less win an international championship. While each has physical limitations, they all have found a fierce competitive drive within themselves.

Perhaps Lehman, the only female on the team, summed it up best.
“It was sort of like I needed to believe that we were going to win the World Cup, so I did and I said, ‘Yes, we are going to win,’” she explained. “And once we stared winning, I believed it on another level entirely.”

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Cocoa Expo Still Going Strong
By Adam Minichino

Giles Malone loves soccer. Ever since he was five, Malone wanted to be a professional soccer player.

Malone, a native of Bristol, England, was with Bristol City of the English First (Premier Division) from ages 11-18. He went on to play at NCAA Division I University of Louisiana (formerly Northeastern) before he moved into the coaching ranks.

He went on to win two NCAA D-II men’s national soccer championships as an assistant coach at the Florida Institute of Technology’s. Malone’s playing and coaching career may be over, but he is just as passionate and involved in soccer today as president and general manager of the Cocoa Expo Center.

The Cocoa Expo Sports Center is a 75-acre facility in Cocoa, Florida, which is less than 35 miles from Orlando. It has an on-site dormitory that houses 400 and a cafeteria that can seat 500. It is promoted as Florida’s premier multi-use facility for tournaments, camps, special events, lodging and meals for all types of groups and events.

It offers sports programs for baseball, soccer, swimming, lacrosse,
softball, basketball, volleyball, football, rugby and golf, as well as band and officials.

“Our focus has been to maintain a core management team and attain the highest level of soccer we can attain,” Malone said. “The foundation of our success started at FIT, where we greatly increased the amount of interest in the area. We had games with crowds of 4,000 to 5,000 people when we won the national championship in 1991.

“I can remember seeing children at the games who were four and five years old tagging along with their parents to games who I now see in high school or graduating and going on to play in college.”

Malone, who also runs three companies, has an impressive soccer resume. He was a member of the United Soccer League’s inaugural 2002 Hall of Fame class. After his playing days in college, he earned his master’s degree (MBA) at FIT, where he volunteered with head coach Richard Stottler Jr.

FIT became a NCAA Division II power en route to winning national titles in 1988 and ‘91.

Coaching soccer eventually gave way to an administrative role in the sport. Stottler purchased the Cocoa Expo Center from the city of Cocoa after the Major League Baseball’s Houston Astros decided to move their spring training headquarters from Cocoa to Kissimmee.

Like Malone, Stottler has an impressive soccer background. The former All-American at the University of Maryland coached soccer at Cocoa Beach High School before moving on to coach the men’s soccer team at Florida Tech and built a soccer program second to none.

Malone, who has been president of the Cocoa Expo since 1986, said he is most proud of Cocoa Expo’s role in creating opportunities for student-athletes, especially soccer players, in the Space Coast region.

He said the Cocoa Expo had its first soccer tournament, the 16-team Cocoa Expo Cup, in 1990. That event grew to 40 teams the next season, to 100 and now attracts more than 170 teams annually.

In the past 20 years, close to 20,000 teams have passed through the facility, Malone said.

He said the facility’s other sport programs, baseball, softball, lacrosse, football and swimming continue to grow. In terms of sheer numbers, he said baseball is the largest program.

Malone said approximately 1,000 teams, including numerous professional franchises, use the facility annually to attend tournaments, camps, clinics or other programs.

He said the facility also services 700 youth players every year for soccer camps. He said that number has increased as the Cocoa Expo and the Brevard Youth Soccer League have built their relationship.

Malone said the BYSL had 400 members back in 1981. Now, he said, the organization has more than 10,000 players thanks to the dedication of numerous volunteer boards.

The facility has more than 15 sponsors, including Coca Cola, Ron Jons Surf Shop, Universal Studios, MajorLeague Soccer, the Brevard Youth Soccer League and GreenPitch, a Web site that chronicles “the life of Metropolitan Soccer.”

The Cocoa Expo features a 5,000-seat lighted baseball stadium, a 2,500-seat lighted soccer stadium, two lighted softball and one additional multi-purpose lighted field.

Malone said the facility has the capability of staging 15 soccer fields. Lights have recently been added to four of the fields, and Malone expects lights to be added to two more in the next month.

Stottler and Malone’s off-the-field partnership started with Cocoa Expo. The two also created the Cocoa Expos men’s soccer team in 1993 and entered it in the U.S.I.S.L League, losing in the final in just their second year.

Today, the Cocoa Expo sponsors a men’s team in the Premier Development League and a women’s team in the W-League.

Malone is president of the PDL’s Cocoa Expos, a member of the USL, which was founded in 1986 and has two men’s pro leagues, a women’s open league, a men’s amateur league (the PDL), a youth league and national summer camps in 40 U.S. states and Canadian provinces.

Malone also serves as president of the W-League team, which kicks off its inaugural season at 7 p.m. May 14 against the Carolina Dynamo at the Cocoa Expo.

The key to making everything work is people. Malone said sports have a way of bringing people together, especially those who share of passion for providing the best service.

Malone said the Cocoa Expo, which is a private company, has eight full-time employees in its athletic department and more than 120 workers. He said that number changes each month as the facility needs additional employees.

A study showed the Cocoa Expo has an annual economic impact of $10 million on the Space Coast area. Malone said the Cocoa Expo works with 32 hotels to provide housing for its guests.

He said Cocoa Expo’s proximity to the beach, which is 10 miles away; tourist attractions, like Universal Studios, and the weather in Florida and the availability of additional facilities through the Brevard County Parks and Recreation Department give the facility many advantages.

Earlier this month, the Brevard County Commissioners recognized the Cocoa Expo and the Brevard Youth Soccer League for its involvement in the community. The BCC proclaimed April 11 to be Brevard County Cocoa Expo Soccer Day in Brevard County. The resolution recognized the contributions of the Cocoa Expo’s PDL and W-League teams and the BYSL for its work in helping more than 10,000 youth players stay involved in the world’s most popular sport.

Malone, who attended the meeting with BYSL Vice Chairman Jay Moon, said the proclamation also recognized the behind-the-scenes work of countless soccer mothers and fathers.

The recognition was just another indication of the growing impact Cocoa Expo continues to have on the state of Florida. Malone said he sees signs of Cocoa Expo’s growth every day, and just recently he said he met a manager of a talent agency in Nashville, Tenn., who participated in a baseball event at the Cocoa Expo when he was in high school.

“It’s amazing the people I come across who say they played baseball or soccer (at the Cocoa Expo) when they were kids,” Malone said. “We have had a lot of people come through the facility in the past 20 years, and that means a lot. When you see how they have been successful, it shows that sports is a part of their life and has had a very positive impact on people.”

Moon is in his fifth year as a member of the BYSL’s board of directors. He has had a son who has played soccer at the Cocoa Expo and he currently has twin 15-year-old daughters who are active in the soccer scene.

Moon said existence of fine public facilities in Port St.Joe and Palm Bay, as well as the expected benefits from facilities in Titusville, Viera and Merritt Island in the near future has benefited the local soccer leagues. He said those public facilities also have helped Cocoa Expo remain competitive.

“They keep adding fields and the quality of their fields has improved over the years,” Moon said. “I think every year they have gotten a certain percentage better. They didn’t have a very good reputation for a long time, but I think the last few years we have seen a marked improvement in the condition of the fields, the grass and the quality of the facility overall.”

Last May, Moon said the Cocoa Expo served as an “excellent” host to the BYSL’s Spring Championship. As

chairman of the tournament, Moon said Cocoa Expo’s staff took care of all of the details, which helped him concentrate on running the event.

Moon said all of the Space Coast area teams don’t play in every tournament at Cocoa Expo, but he said the facility’s ability to attract teams from throughout the United States and international squads gives it a unique advantage. He said his girls team played a team from England last year, and 15 years ago his son’s team played a team from Scotland.

“For the BYSL to have Cocoa Expo here is a plus,” Moon said. We see teams at the Cocoa Expo we wouldn’t see anywhere else.”

Moon said the Cocoa Expo’s drawing power has lifted the quality of soccer in the Space Coast region the past four to five years. He said the men’s PDL team and the addition of the W-League franchise will continue to provide even more opportunities for local soccer players.

These days, the Cocoa Expo has its eyes focused on maintaining that mission. Malone said the Cocoa Expo is examining the possibility of building a 150-room hotel on its land. He said the Cocoa Expo has been considering the idea for a number of years, but he
cautioned that the Cocoa Expo would make sure the timing of its plan contributes to the local economy and the growth of the area.

Malone said people have been the Cocoa Expo’s greatest resource the past 20 years. He said staff members have invested countless hours to create and to develop a facility that prides itself on its versatility and its ability to provide the best camps, clinics, tournaments and programs.

“Our director of athletics, Jeff Biddle, has been with he Cocoa Expo Center for 21 years, and Jeff has done tremendous job in operating and building our athletics program,” Malone said. “Our food and beverage director, Matt Bleuel, who provides 400,000 meals a year to our guests, has been with the Cocoa Expo for eight years. They are the ones who make thefacility what it is.”

But Biddle and Bleuel are only two of the hundreds of people on staff who are willing to do whatever is needed to ensure that Cocoa Expo remains the
destination of choice.

“You have to be able to get out there and shag soccer balls if needed,” Malone said. “A big part of my job now is trying to let people know about the facility and the programs we offer. But we have to do what is most important at that particular moment. We enjoy it, and it is really rewarding to see the growth of the sports in our area.

“The people who work here are really dedicated. That’s what it takes, it takes great people to make it work.”

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‘This Will Be A Truly Spectacular World Cup’
By Ray Alley

Hank Steinbrecher knows a bit about World Cup organization. He was the Secretary General of US Soccer in 1994 when the US. hosted the world’s greatest soccer tournament.

He has always been passionate about soccer, and soccer in the United States in particular. In those days, when the most recent US. World Cup resume was a brief three-and-out performance in 1990, he was the evangelist for the sport in this country.

He was known as “The Preacher” willing to speak to the congregation of the U.S. “Soccer Family” and also very willing to take the message to the unbelievers....those who had no idea what all this World Cup fuss was all about.

Born in Brooklyn, NY, Steinbrecher played collegiate soccer in West Virginia at Davis & Elkins. He coached in North Carolina at Warren Wilson College and Appalachian State, before moving back north to coach Boston University.

Involvement in the 1984 Olympic Games, which played games in Boston, put him in touch with Corporate America and after a five-year marketing career with General Foods, he accepted the head job as CEO with the United States Soccer Federation in Chicago, a position he held for 10 years.

For the past three years Steinbrecher has been working in Europe, splitting his overseas time between Switzerland and Germany. He has headed up as Chief Operating Officer a Swiss company, iSe Hospitality AG (International Sports & Entertainment Hospitality), that won the contract to market ticket packages for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.

It was truly an international business effort: a Swiss company doing business in Germany, owned by the Japanese and French. The chairman of the parent company is Dutch, and the company was created by an Israeli. The company president is French and the company was managed by an American--Steinbrecher.

“We do this while serving the largest monopoly in the world, FIFA, at the worlds biggest event,” said Steinbrecher during the 2004 NSCAA convention in Baltimore.

After spending three weeks in Europe and returning home to Chicago for a week every month for three years, Steinbrecher has stepped down from that position, but still remains as a consultant.
The experience has given him a unique perspective on this summer’s World Cup in a country where soccer is king.

“There is so much excitement in Germany for this World Cup,” said Steinbrecher. “It’s in the news every day. This will be a truly spectacular World Cup.”

While Steinbrecher saw the 1994 up close and personal, his involvement this time is more from the business side of things.
“Those have been quite different roles,” he said. In ‘94 it was my job to prepare the soccer culture to bring the World Cup here to the United States. In Germany, it has been to combine my business experience with contacts made over the years.

International Sports & Entertainment Hospitality controlled 10% of the available World Cup tickets and repackaged those with tour and entertainment packages. Those included just about everything except housing. Revenues are expected to exceed 500 million Euros (over 360 million dollars).

The German population has great expectations for the home national team in this World Cup. Host teams have traditionally done well.

“The federation officials believe that no less than the quarterfinals would be acceptable. The German fans won’t be happy with less than advancement to the final.”

Two of Germany’s key figures in this World Cup have ties with the US. Franz Beckenbauer, who played in the NASL with the New York Cosmos, heads up the German federation and this year’s World Cup, while former German star striker Jurgen Klinsman, the national team coach, is currently living with his American wife in California.

Klinsman’s long-distance commute back to coach the German team has created great controversy and criticism. He is certainly a man under a lot of media pressure.

“Jurgen has taken quite a bit in the German press,” said Steinbrecher. “He is under a lot of pressure to produce results in this World Cup. Germany has a very good team, but it is not as strong as some of the past teams.”

This past summer Steinbrecher was back home and was inducted into the National Soccer Hall Of Fame in Oneonta, NY.

Steinbrecher headed up US Soccer when he hired Bruce Arena as the U.S. coach after the ‘98 World Cup. He feels we have come a long way since 1994, when we hosted, and credits Arena for developing the US. National team program.

“I am very happy with this team,” he said. “I am happy with this organization and the depth we have created.

“Regardless of who makes the final roster, this team will include Hispanic and African-American players. This team will be a composite of our society.

“We have a very tough draw, but I think we will advance (out of group play). We now know that on any given day we can beat any team in the world. Regardless of how we finish in Germany, there is no holding us back (as a top international team).”

For the first time the U.S. approached a World Cup draw ranked Top 10 in the world. Gaining one of the eight seeds would have prevented the U.S. from playing Italy in group play (we also play the Czech Republic and Ghana).

“If we had gotten the seed rather than Mexico, and had gotten their draw, it would have been less difficult, but what really matters in every four-year cycle is those three (group) games.

“We knew that we would play a top European team, regardless, and with Italy and the Czech Republic we play two.”

Because the U.S. did not get a seed, despite being the dominant soccer power in CONCACAF over the last 4-6 years, and holding a superior head-to-head record over Mexico going back before the 2002 World Cup, one might get the impression that U.S. Soccer does not get a full measure of respect from FIFA. Not so says Steinbrecher.

“The U.S. is very much respected by FIFA,” he allows. “Two of FIFA’s highest positions are filled by Americans. Mary Harvey (former U.S. WNT player) heads up development and Jim Brown is the Director of Competitions for the World Cup.”

“There are always upsets in the World Cup,” Steinbrecher points out, “and no one gave us much hope to beat Colombia in ‘94 or Portugal in ‘02, but we did. I think we will advance.”

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You Know You're a Soccer Coach When...
By Ken Gamble

• You tell yourself, when your team is losing 5-0 and hasn't had the ball over the midfield line, that you are really more concerned with player development, that the players will learn from this, and that the other coach is just interested in winning anyway.
• You tell yourself, when your team is winning 5-0 and the other team hasn't had the ball over the midfield line, that all that player development is paying off.
• You lose sleep worrying about whether the line-up for tomorrow's game is fair to every kid on the team.
• Don't understand why the referee whistled the foul in basketball, when the opponent had a clear breakaway.
• You organized a call-in campaign to get your cable company to carry ESPN2 (or Telemundo and Fox Sports World or ESPN Desportes)
• You remind yourself before each game to secure the virtual duct tape firmly over your mouth.
• You kick yourself when the duct tape slipped off and you said something you shouldn't have.
• You spend the last hour of work planning today's practice session.
• You read every soccer catalog that comes in the mail cover to cover.
• You wonder why your players can't do most of the things described by other coaches.
• You look at the snow-covered soccer fields every time you drive past them in winter, just in case?
• You wonder just what your friend meant when he asked whether you had considered getting a life.
• Two kids play, and you coach one, but you are tired of doing that, so you thought you'd coach a third team while both kids play for some one else.
• You bought a new house that needs some work, so one of the first things you do is spend too much money turning the RV barn into an indoor soccer complex.
• Dog named Xara, cat named Mikasa and kittens should be called "Inflate to 9 pounds" and "Nylon wound".
• Your husband and kids go out of town for a weekend and you spend the entire "alone weekend" at a soccer tournament.
• The only reason you have cable TV is to watch soccer
• You take the C clinic in Florida instead of your home town because you think you'll have more time to study if you are away from home.
• You can't trade in the old truck because new trucks big enough to fit your goal are too costly.
• If You've ever said I really think 5 is a little young for Heather to be considered a "natural striker", Mrs. Walsh.
• If You've ever said "Because none of the English-language channels have the %#$@ game on, that's why!"
• If You've ever said No, Mr. MacDonald, putting more air into it will not make it a #4 ball.
• If You've ever said Yes, Derek, it really went a long way; but remember how we did the kickoff in practice?
• If You've ever said Those are hockey shin guards, Samatha. I think your brother is playing a trick on you.
• If You've ever said No, Mr. MacDonald, that's a VOLLEYball. There most certainly IS a difference.
• If You've ever said I've got nothing against other sports...in their proper role as cross-training.
• If You've ever said I think I need to explain the word "tackle" again, Derek.
• If You've ever said Here, Mr. MacDonald, I've got an extra ball Dougie can use.
• You have more pairs of sparkling clean soccer shoes than "normal" shoes.
• You purchase soccer gear (for yourself) and end up donating it to the team.
• You purchase soccer-related Christmas gifts for you non-soccer playing loved ones.
• Every girl you know under age 18 is a soccer player.
• When a player on one of your teams asks about a pro player or pro team, you tell them you will pull a tape out of your library (140+).
• You spend hours on the internet trying to figure out how to fly to Europe or Brazil to watch one of your favorite teams play.
• You donate more money to your HS team than the Soccer Boosters do.
• You choose to stay in town over the Christmas holidays and run a free soccer clinic rather than go home and see your parents.
• You decide to purchase a new vehicle "BIG ENOUGH FOR YOUR SOCCER GEAR"!
• All kids within a radius of 4 miles know that you are the only one who owns a Mikasa air pump.
• A whistle is permanently wrapped around your drivers side sun-shade.
• You store goal net anchors at the bottom of your wheel well.
• You wear a tracksuit to church.
• You address the preacher as "ref".
• You leave church at half-time.
• TV soccer schedules are automatically communicated to you by non-believers (i.e. followers of other religions - I mean sports).
• Your personal phonebook/e-mail address list is clogged up with soccer weirdoes.
• At any idle moment you instinctively tune in to soccer-coach-l (a soccer forum)
• You scream "Penalty ref" at precisely 4:34 am.
• You get withdrawal symptoms when the season ends.
• When you have two desks in your office at work, one for your "real job", and one for soccer coaching. (The soccer desk is the largest and most prominent.)
• You have more pictures of your soccer teams on your walls than you do of your family.
• At least 10% of your family budget goes for soccer.
• You are involved in no less than three soccer teams and have no one in your family who plays on them.
• You will drive forty miles one way in a car that you are not sure will last 25 miles to watch two bottom of the league college teams play and stay until after dark watching youth league teams play. (Engine blows three days later on the way to work. Who cares? It wasn't a soccer game I had to miss!)
• You always have to drive alone because all of the car seats are filled with soccer gear and the hatchback is tied down to keep the soccer balls from bouncing out.
• When you ride your bicycle across the state the first thing you pack is a soccer ball and shoes.
• After a hundred mile bike ride you will ride ten more to find a soccer field or at least a good place to play.
• Your life seems empty when you aren't on the field every night, so you take up refereeing on the nights left over.
• Your family goes to the soccer fields first when they want to talk to you and must stand between you and the field to make eye contact.
• All non work clothing has three stripes or an Umbro brand name.
• You think about set pieces during dull meetings.
• Dog's name is Toe-Ball.
• Main factor in buying a car is whether or not the portable goal will fit.
• You lie about how much time you spend on soccer
• Local soccer retail store gives you a team discount for all personal purchases.
• You have all 52 games of each of the last two World Cups on tape
• Thinks that ice is the answer to all injuries.
• Recognizes ex-players by the way they run.
• Doesn't even like to watch that other "football" anymore.
• Talk the game with your wife, who is ignoring you like you weren't there. Good part is you don't even care.
• You become a high school ref, as a means to recruit High School players for your travel team.
• You watch your best friends soccer team play, and think I could have done a better job with them.
• When you are on the phone talking to soccer people, and your children complain they never get the chance to use the phone.
• You call in sick from work, but you could be dying but never miss a game.
• Love to watch games featuring your former players, and tell complete strangers you taught him how to make that perfect cross that player just executed.
• Talk to another coach knocking another coach's best player. Then say to yourself "I wish I had him."
• After your team played their game at home, you stay to see the next 3 games.
• Your will states your ashes should be spread over your home field.
• Whenever you take the family out for a nice meal you pay for it using end-of-the season gift certificates from players and parents.
• Out of habit you tie double knots in your dress shoes.
• Some kid calls you "coach" in every store you go in.
• At least one of your toenails is always black.
• You wouldn't think of seeing a foreign movie but watching a two hour game in a foreign language is a treat.
• When your players see you at work at your real job they are amazed because they thought the only thing you did was coach.
• When someone asks you who should get the best actor's award this year you mention the striker on the team that beat your team and that great performance he gave inside the 18 last week resulting in an undeserved penalty kick.
• Call ACME the minute you get their catalog because you know the best bargains only last a day or so. Unfortunately Eurosport closed their ACME business. ACME was where they sold their close-outs for really really cheap prices. Of course my wife may be purposely throwing away the ACME catalogs before I get to the mail.

These were compiled from lists of Top Ten reasons submitted by various subscribers to the SOCCER-COACH-L mailing list. Thanks to: Tim Kratz, Patty Wilber, George Stanton, Perrone Ford, Chris Mohr, John Foley, Ken Gamble, Paul Lenssen, Carl Hoang, Richard Brown, Timothy Garrity, and others.

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NSCAA To Honor Jon Stewart

Jonathan Stuart Liebowitz used to keep his teammates laughing at the College of William & Mary. Today, he is one of the nation’s top standup comedian with a hit television show, Comedy Central’s The Daily Show.

That former W&M winger is now Jon Stewart, and he will be honored during the 2006 NSCAA Convention with a Honorary All-America Award.

Born Jonathan Stuart Liebowitz, he grew up in Lawrence, NY on Long Island and played three years for the Tribe. He scored 10 goals and helped the team reach the NCAA playoffs in 1983, his senior season.

“Jon’s wit was famous within the team,” said Al Albert, longtime coach at W&M, in an interview for Flat Hat, the school newspaper. “No one would dare even then engage him in verbal combat. None of us imagined he would take things to the level that he has, but he was, even in college, a very funny guy.”

Liebowitz, who later took the name Stewart, graduated with an undergraduate degree in pyschology. He played soccer at W&M from 1981 through 1983, and made his debut as a standup comic at New York’s Bitter End in 1987. The Jon Stewart Show first aired in 1993 on MTV, and six years later he began hosting the Daily Show.

“I came to William and Mary because as a Jewish person I wanted to explore the rich tapestry of Judaica that is Southern Virginia,” he quipped during a recent commencement address. “Imagine my surprise when I realized ‘The Tribe’ was not what I thought it meant.

“Some of the best people I have ever met, I met down here,” recalling his college days. “It was a different place than it is now, as I’ve talked to some of the students, a lot of the students here say it’s fun. When I was here, I don't recall that adjective being tossed around.”

Stewart said the last time he was in a fight was playing soccer against Randolph-Macon and having an opponent call him a “kike.”

According to his college coach, Stewart briefly considered continuing his soccer career after graduation, but he “moved on into the real world,”Albert said.

Each year, William & Mary soccer gives out the “Leibo Award” to the team clown.

Stewart will be presented his Honorary All-America award on Jan. 21, at the NSCAA All-America Luncheon, held in conjunction with the annual NSCAA Convention in Philadelphia.

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A Call for a National Lobbying Effort
by Rick Crow

BALTIMORE, MD (May 25, 2005) USSoccerPlayers - During the early nineties, I became convinced that soccer would soon emerge as the No. 1 sport in the United States. With the United States winning the first Women's World Cup in 1991, the 1994 Men's World Cup just around the corner, and no end in sight to the explosive growth of youth soccer, it seemed inevitable that each success would build on the other and soccer would rise quickly to the top of the national sports scene.

Like any new venture, however, soccer faced a number of difficult barriers to entry in a crowded American sports market, especially in the area of media coverage. Despite impressive successes on the field and at the gate, soccer was almost invisible in the newspapers and on television at the time. Many writers and commentators were largely uninformed about the game; others were downright hostile.

To counter this image problem and help educate influential members of the media, it seemed logical that the national soccer community would soon organize players and fans into a powerful lobbying force that could not be ignored. United by the millions, I imagined, soccer supporters would flood the newspapers, networks and other media outlets with letters, petitions and phone calls demanding more coverage of the world's greatest sport.

In fact, the soccer community did not have to wait long to participate in an unbelievably successful lobbying campaign. Shortly after the United States defeated Norway in the 1991 Women's World Cup final, soccer supporters in the United States and around the world started asking FIFA and the IOC to include women's soccer in the 1996 Olympics. Citing lack of preparation time, lack of resources and a number of other concerns, both the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the IOC initially cautioned that it would not be possible to include women's soccer in the Atlanta Games.

Soccer communities in the United States and around the world responded with a massive lobbying effort that convinced Olympic organizers to include women's soccer as a medal sport as soon as possible. By the time the United States defeated China 2-1 in the 1996 gold medal game, everyone knew that women's soccer was in the Olympics to stay.

The amazing thing about the campaign for women's Olympic soccer was that there was almost no coordination between the governing bodies of soccer and grassroots supporters. A polished and persuasive diplomatic effort led by FIFA and U.S. Soccer gave women's soccer the credibility it needed for a fast-track into the Olympics. However, no one can say exactly who or what was responsible for the avalanche of letters, petitions and emails from grassroots supporters that overwhelmed the IOC, the USOC, and almost every other organization that had influence in the inner circles of the Olympics. Without a national grassroots leader to rally around though, an apparently united soccer community quickly evaporated, and no lobbying campaign of this scale has been attempted since.

Soccer at the Crossroads

Almost 10 years after the 1996 Olympics, there is still an urgent need for soccer leaders and soccer supporters to come together and give their sport another huge push forward. While soccer has made a few inroads into the mainstream media, coverage in newspapers, magazines, radio and television is far too sparse to keep the American public informed about the U.S. National Teams and Major League Soccer, much less men's and women's collegiate soccer.

In fact, American soccer coverage in the sixth year of the 21st century is downright embarrassing for a sport that boasts millions of active participants and a recent history of impressive successes on the international level. Fans were unable to watch the June 8 USA-Panama World Cup qualifier live; none of the 2005 Gold Cup matches are scheduled on English-language television; only a tiny national audience will be able to watch the Sept. 4 USA-Mexico World Cup qualifier on ESPN Classic. Sadly, a soccer story in huge media outlets such as Sports Illustrated and ESPN Sports Center is still a rare treat.

Of the nearly 20 million people who play soccer in the United States, I was beginning to think that I was the only one who is fed up enough to start a national effort to make soccer more visible in mainstream America. Fortunately the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) is now forming a national advocacy group for the sport of soccer. Called the Soccer Ambassadors Program, the group will strive to develop an American soccer culture and grow the sport in our country. According to an article found on Pages 45-46 of the May-June issue of Soccer Journal, the Ambassadors Program will start to take shape in January 2006 when an informational session is held at the NSCAA Convention in Philadelphia.

In the meantime, I call on supporters from across the country to help form an ad-hoc group to lobby the media for more soccer coverage before the Soccer Ambassadors get rolling. With a full slate of college football games scheduled, letters and petitions requesting more MLS games on ESPN-2 in the fall might not help this season, but this kind of feedback could pay huge dividends in the future. Of course, all soccer fans need to express their displeasure with ESPN for relegating the Sept. 4 USA-Mexico showdown to ESPN Classic.

While a bias against soccer still exists, soccer supporters can't blame all of our troubles on the media. If a large and wealthy demographic group makes no effort to organize itself and use its influence to demand more coverage for soccer, we'll have to settle for the meager scraps that the big television networks and print media toss our way. It's always sound advice to dig your well before you get thirsty. Unfortunately we are dying of thirst and construction on the well hasn't even begun.

If you are tired of the way that soccer is treated in the media, you need to contact me at rcrow77534@aol.com to find out what you can do. You don't have to be a soccer leader with some fancy title, just a devoted fan who will work relentlessly to help build the network we need to promote our sport. Together we'll form a media committee that will mobilize supporters from all over the country to lobby for better coverage of soccer.

Rick Crow is former editor of Maryland Soccer News and former director of ticket sales for the Maryland State Youth Soccer Association.

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Player Dies In Confederations Cup

Paris, 26 June 2003 -Cameroon player Marc-Vivien Foé died after losing consciousness during the semi-final match in the FIFA Confederations Cup France 2003 between Cameroon and Colombia on Thursday 26 June in Lyon.

The 28-year-old Cameroon and Manchester City midfielder collapsed to the ground in the second half, around the 72nd minute, for no apparent reason.

The player was still alive when he was taken to the medical centre in Gerland stadium in Lyon, where he died. Doctors performed cardiac resuscitation for 45 minutes without success. "It is too early to determine the exact causes of his death," announced FIFA delegation doctor Alfred Müller.

"FIFA and the whole football family are shattered by this unbelievable tragedy," declared President Joseph S. Blatter, who heard the news at the same time as the France and Turkey teams and fans at the Stade de France. "On their behalf, I wish to convey our sincerest condolences to his family and loved ones, to Cameroon football and his club, and express all our support at this painful time. Football has lost a remarkable player and a remarkable man."

President of the Organising Committee for the FIFA Confederations Cup Chuck Blazer declared he is "in a state of shock". "I am stunned by the news of his death. Marc-Vivien Foé was one of the leading lights in the Cameroon side which has played brilliantly since the start of the competition. This evening my thoughts are with his family and loved ones."

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U.S. Soccer Participation Dips

After reaching a peak in 2001, soccer participation slipped in the United States last year.

According to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers of America International 2003 Superstudy of Sports Participation, 17.641 million Americans played soccer at least once in 2002, a 7.4 percent decrease from the 19.042 million in 2001. Still, the number of players in 2002 represented a 14.6 percent increase from the 1987 benchmark of 15.388 million.

"In the grand scheme of things, it's not significant," SGMA director of communications Mike May said. "If it was a double-digit drop, I might be worried. Long-term growth has been strong and steady. We really don't give too much credence to year-to-year (changes)."

The study showed a steeper decrease among "avid" soccer players, those who play the sports a minimum of 25 times per year. The report showed 7.783 million avid participants in 2002, down 14.6 percent from the 9,117 million of 2001. Regardless, by that measure, that makes soccer the second most popular U.S. team sport behind basketball (19.982 million) and ahead of softball (5.438 million) in 2002.

"Like movie box office numbers, they can't always be going forward, so any time there's a leveling off or a slight dip, it's not indicative of the sport's popularity, based on how far we've come the last 15 years" said U.S. Soccer Federation director of communications Jim Moorhouse. "At some point, you're going to see a dip along those lines and these are such large numbers to begin with and pretty broad-based. The important thing to remember is where the sport is now and where we were, literally 15 years ago, 10 years ago, five years ago, not just in participation, but success on the field at the international level. Having Division I leagues for men and women. Having soccer-specific stadiums being built."

Soccer also was tied for 21st with target shooting (with pistols and rifles) among participation activities done at least once in the U.S. in 2002, a category led by bowling (53.2 million), treadmill exercise (43.4), freshwater fishing (42.6), tent camping (40.3) and billiards (39.5), stretching (38.4), fitness walking (38.0), day hiking (36.8), basketball (36.6), running\jogging (35.9), stationary cycling (29.1), dumbbells (28.9), hand weights (28.5), weight reseistance machines (27.8), golf (27.8), calisthenics (26.9). barbells (24.8), inline skating (21.6), darts (19.7) and RV camping (18.7).

May said that list might be somewhat misleading regarding soccer's popularity since those playing it would be more likely to do it more often than some of the other activities named. "Anyone who plays soccer once, will play it more than once," he said.

The study also confirmed the obvious -- the large majority of players in the country are youngsters and an increasing number are women. Three-quarters of those playing are aged between 6 and 17 while 37 percent are women.

"It's a strong market (and) it's youth dominated," May said. "Long-term, we're seeing more players in their 20s beginning or staying with the sport. And we're seeing more female players."

A more comprehensive report is expected in about a month by the Soccer Industry Council of America (SICA), an arm of the SGMA which is based in North Palm Beach, Fla.

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Tipping Named NSCAA DOC

Jeff Tipping, the Director of Soccer at Muhlenberg College, has been named the Director of Coaching Education for the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. His selection was announced today by NSCAA President Barry Gorman.  

"Jeff Tipping is a natural choice to serve as the NSCAA Director of Coaching Education," said Gorman. "There are few who are more qualified than Jeff to lead our Academy staff. As an educator and coach, he is in a different class. He brings years of experience and teaching expertise to this position. Having served before in the capacity of part-time Director of Coaching, Jeff is extremely well qualified to lead the association as the NSCAA looks to expand and develop Academy course offerings. As envisioned by the NSCAA strategic plan, his vision and leadership qualities will ensure that our Academy Staff reaches more diverse audiences."  

"I'm honored to be entrusted with the leadership of the NSCAA Coaching Academy," said Tipping. "It has evolved into a formidable educational instrument, and coaching education is especially important at this critical time of development of the sport in the United States."  

Tipping takes the reins of one of the leading coaching education programs in the world, one he helped shape. His involvement with the NSCAA's education program began in 1983 when he became a member of the National Staff. In 1994, he was named Assistant Director and was elevated to Director of Coaching in 1996. He held the part-time post until 2000, when it was turned into a full-time position.  

A 1978 graduate of Hartwick College, he played four years of collegiate soccer, leading the team to the 1977 NCAA Championship while earning Defensive Most Valuable Player honors. Drafted into the American Soccer League, he was captain of the Pennsylvania Stoners for five seasons, earning All-Pro recognition three times (1979-81) and winning the league title in 1980. A knee injury cut short his playing career in 1982.  

He then turned to coaching, returning to Hartwick to serve as assistant soccer coach and lacrosse coach. In 1986 he earned a master's degree from Lehigh University and was named Director of Soccer at Muhlenberg. Since then he has compiled a record of 225 wins, 71 losses and 21 ties, earning four conference championships, eight NCAA Tournament appearances and a berth in the 1995 Final Four. In his position as Director of Soccer at Muhlenberg, Tipping served as an advisor to the women's varsity team and its coach, Leslie Benitend , who guided the team to Centennial Conference titles and NCAA Tournament appearances the past two years.  

Formerly the men's tennis coach and now the men's golf coach, he is the only coach in Muhlenberg history to take teams to NCAA championships in two different sports (soccer and golf). He also served as an assistant coach for the U.S. Women's National Team in 1998, providing advisory support to head coach Tony DiCicco.  

Tipping assumes his new position August 1.

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