Demmin staying with Mississippi

CLINTON, MS -- The second-year Mississippi Brilla announced that 2007 All-League PDL selection Dwyane Demmin will return to the side in 2008.

The last 12 months have been very good for Mississippi Brilla FC defender Dwyane Demmin. The former Belhaven College and Trinidad & Tobago National Team player returned to the USL with new PDL franchise Mississippi Brilla FC. Demmin also coached the St. Joseph Catholic School boys’ soccer team back to the Mississippi State Championship game.

Demmin was a key player for the Jackson Chargers franchise that was a perennial PDL force in the mid-1990’s, and was named the Defender of the Year in 1996. After stints with the Chargers, Michigan Bucks, Indiana Blast, and the Charlotte Eagles, Demmin began his teaching and coaching career at St. Joseph Catholic School in Madison, Mississippi.

Demmin has guided the Bruins to the Mississippi 1A-2A-3A State Championship game seven years running. On February 8, 2008 St. Joseph won the title for the 5th time in those seven years.

Playing every minute for Mississippi Brilla FC last season, Demmin was named to the PDL Best 11 team and was a finalist for Defender of the Year. The team narrowly missed the playoffs in the inaugural season and tied eventual PDL Champions, the Laredo Heat, in their final match.

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Mississippi State Upsets #17 Georgia

ATHENS, Ga. – Mississippi State (6-8-1, 2-4-1 Southeastern Conference) battled for its biggest win of the season on Friday night, defeating 17th-ranked Georgia (12-2-1, 5-1-1 SEC), 1-0, at the UGA Soccer Field in Athens. With nine shots on the evening, the lone shot on goal came from sophomore Katelyn Graben at 80:59. The goal was unassisted and the Gulfport, Miss.-native’s fourth of the season.

The win snapped MState’s 13 game road losing streak and marked the first home and conference loss for Georgia this season.

"I thought we battled for 90 minutes tonight," said MState Head Coach Neil Macdonald. "Our back four played outstanding. To beat the top team in the conference on their home field is huge and really shows the character these girls have."

In goal for MSU, sophomore Taryn Holland posted her third shutout of the year and second in SEC play. State had an opportunity to score earlier in the second period when Ashley Hood’s shot missed the net by mere inches. Holland’s superb play was highlighted by a save just seconds after hitting the ground following a collision at the net.

Homestanding Georgia had 16 attempts to find the net during the opening period, but a strong MState defense and eight saves from Holland thwarted Georgia’s scoring chances.

State managed four shot opportunities during the half, the first coming from senior Treena Ferguson. The Ontario, Canada-native’s shot at the 40-minute mark went just wide of the goal.

Later in the period, sophomore Ashlee Drake, earning her first start of the season, Ferguson and junior Bethany Frazier each had chances to score for MState but all three shots went wide.

Georgia had plenty of scoring opportunities on the evening with 26 shots and eight corner kicks compared to MState’s nine shots. MSU had no corner kick tries on the evening. Of the 26 UGA shots, only nine were on goal.

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The gold rush we are missing
By Tom Velek

Last Friday evening I sat in the well appointed clubhouse on the grounds
of the Tupelo soccer complex. One thought kept going through my
mind-these folks have their act together.

I was there for a coaches meeting prior to the district tournament that
would take place over the following two days. Tupelo Youth Soccer
Association (TYSA) officials served us a nice meal, gave us a swag bag,
talked to us about the tournament to come, all as we looked out over
acre after acre of well maintained fields. A tinge of sadness came over
me as I realized that my soccer-mad son would probably never get to
participate in such a good program.

As I strolled out with the four Columbus coaches we met up with others.
The remarks followed a familiar refrain, “Can you believe this place?”,
“Boy have they got us beat,” “Wow,” “What will our kids do? They have
grass here.”

Over the next two days hundreds of soccer players, their friends, and
families enjoyed a well-run tournament. You could not fail to be
impressed with TYSA (especially after being wumped 11-0 by one of their
teams). However, you were also impressed by the city of Tupelo. Here is
a town that has put time, effort, and money into the community, and its
public offerings. What would a visiting team infer about our city after
a visit to the fields behind Joe Cook? This is not just a story about
soccer.

It should be clear that this is not a dig at the fine folks at CLRA (Columbus Recreation Association).
About a month ago a group of soccer devotees asked for a meeting to
impress upon officials the need to enhance facilities and take our
program to a higher level. A meeting was quickly set, but my background
as a lawyer had me prepared to argue our case to a reluctant jury.

This was not what happened. Our meeting with Roger Short and Greg Lewis
went well. They were receptive to our ideas and willing to help. Within
days some of our suggestions were acted upon and another meeting is set
up to continue what promises to be a fruitful partnership.

I do not know why I had expected anything less. I had worked with Greg
Lewis on and off for the last two years. He has always been willing to
help, open to suggestions, and great to work with. What became clear is
that on all fronts the organization is stretched.

Fast forward to last weekend. As I looked out over the fields of soccer
I started thinking. Not everyone cares about sports and recreational
facilities, but everyone cares about money. Or at least everyone with
control over money cares about money. What is Columbus missing from an
economic standpoint?

I love economics but I am no economist. So what follows is the economic
impact study of a youth soccer coach as he sits in a folding chair,
having a diet-Coke, and watching The Commercial Dispatch girls team play.

A total of 83 teams competed in several age groups. Each team paid an
average of $275 to compete. That is approximately $23,000 into the
coffers, and the tournament hasn't even started. Each team has, on
average, 10 players on their roster. For a total of 830 players. On my
team each player brought at least two additional people-add 1,660
people. Each team has at least two coaches, there are three refs per
field-add another 200 people. Over the course of the weekend my family
of four plunked down $200 for t-shirts, concessions, a trip to
Toys-R-Us, etc. Let's make a conservative estimate that each person
spends $25. That is a total of $67,250. Add spending on hotel rooms and
gas and you easily have $125K spent over a mere two days.

Tupelo hosts another tournament in the spring and a major soccer camp in
the summer. Add in all the kids who play in their expansive soccer
program, the corporate sponsorship of each field and we are easily
talking about $500K in economic impact.

The impact these types of programs and facilities have on the people who
use them and the life of the community is, however, priceless.

While I am involved in soccer, all programs need a significant boost if
we are going to begin to compete. Yes, yes I have heard about the
planned sportsplex. The coaches I rode with said they have been hearing
about a new sports facility in one form or another for over a decade.
Speaking of economics-talk is cheap. As we wait a great deal needs to be
done.

To those who control the purse strings of this fair city I implore you
to listen to the words of the American poet philosopher Toby Keith-“A
little less talk, a lot more action.”
(This article published by The Commercial Dispatch in Columbus, MS. Tom Velek teaches History at Mississippi University for Women).

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Dixon Named Brilla FC Coach

Mississippi Brilla FC has announced that Dave Dixon has been named Head Coach for the Premier Development League team’s inaugural season.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dave Dixon as the first Head Coach of Mississippi Brilla FC. Dave is an outstanding soccer coach, and, most importantly, he exemplifies everything that we have been looking for as the leader in this area of our ministry,” said Rusty Bryant, President and General Manager of Mississippi Brilla FC. “Dave has been involved with the ministry of Brilla in the past, he has local ties from previous coaching positions in the area, and he has professional playing and coaching experience in the USL. Dave is the perfect match for the position of Head Coach.”

New coach Dave Dixon commented, “I’m extremely excited about the opportunity to lead the first Mississippi Brilla FC PDL team. It is an honor and privilege to work with the staff at Brilla, and to be involved in their ministry and vision they have for the future. It is our goal to have a great impact this summer on and off the field, as we are looking forward to bringing back PDL level soccer to Mississippi." Dixon is currently the Head Men’s and Women’s Soccer Coach at Milligan College in Tennessee. He was recently named the 2006 NAIA Region XII Coach of the Year after leading the Milligan College men’s team to the Region XII championship and an appearance in the NAIA Sweet 16.

Dixon attended Houghton College in New York where he was a two-time NAIA All-American goalkeeper. He went on to play for the Jackson Chargers in the PDL, and also the Charlotte Eagles, a 2nd Division professional team in the USL. He began his coaching career as an Assistant Coach for Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, NY, and then moved on to become the Head Women’s Coach for Belhaven College in Jackson, MS. Dixon, who holds an NSCAA Advanced National Coaching License, also has coaching experience in the USL as Assistant Coach for the Charlotte Eagles W-League team, as well as the Head Coach for the Southern California Seahorses (PDL) Japan Tour team.

“Because of Dave’s playing and coaching experience with ministry teams like ours, we are confident that he will be a perfect fit for Mississippi Brilla FC. With him at the helm, we are assured of having a well-coached, disciplined, and intelligent team,” said Scott Taylor, Director of Soccer Operations.

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Gulley Invited to U15 National Team

James Gulley (MSA 92 Boys ODP team) trained over Thanksgiving with the U15 National Team in Bradenton FL and played in the Nike Friendlies.

James was recently named to the Region 3 ODP team after having a great
showing at Region camp this past summer. He recently played with the Region
team at the Thanksgiving Inter-Regional event at Disney and was invited to
National Team camp.

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Givan Named All America

Rachel Givan from Mississippi was selected by the NSCAA (National
Soccer Coaches Association of America) as a Youth and High School "All
America" and selected to the "All America Soccer Team". This is her third
consecutive year to be selected for these honors. The awards will be
delivered together with the College All Americas and the Herman Award winner
(College soccer's version of the Heisman). The All America ceremony will
take place on January 13th in Indianapolis Indiana during the NSCAA 60th
annual convention. In addition to the honor and plaques awarded, Adidas
gives each All American free gear with "All America" embroidered on the warm ups and other equipment.

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2007 Winter Workshop and Annual General Meeting

Mississippi Soccer will hold its Winter Workshop and Annual General Meeting
beginning Jan 26 thru 28th at the Beau Rivage Hotel and Resort in Biloxi. A
Reception will be held Friday night, the workshops will begin on Saturday
Morning, concluding with a bus tour of the Katrina Ravaged areas.

The Annual General Meeting will begin on Sunday morning. Member delegates
and alternates will sign up by logging into their contact section of the MSA
website. Parents, Coaches and Referees wishing to attend may pre-register
for all functions. More Information Coming Soon!

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Phone: (336) 292-7015
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