Pre-season silliness

Promising UofL sophomore Christine Exeter

Maybe it’s a cultural difference -- me being from planet Europe -- but I can’t seem to get my head around these preseason ‘awards’ they dish out to college players.
Congratulations to University of Louisville’s preseason Big East winners, including preseason co-offensive player of the year, Colin Rolfe; preseason defensive player of the year, Austin Berry; and preseason goalkeeper of the year, Andre Boudreaux.
On the ladies’ side, you have preseason All Big East team selection Christine Exeter, a promising sophomore striker who bagged eight goals last year as a rookie.
Great things are expected of the four above named Cards this fall, and I personally expect them – among others -- to deliver with some top performances, health permitting.
Then again, Germany was expected to win this year’s Women’s World Cup; Mike Tyson was expected to pummel Buster Douglas in 1990; and our cat Bailey expected to get her usual dish of half and half this morning, except I rushed out the door for work in a hurry and it totally slipped my mind.
Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t say no to someone giving me a topper media award today for a cracking hot exclusive that I might happen to write in October based on previous scribbles if it helps boost my profile. There’s that.
However, I just wonder what else can come of doling out such absurd in-advance plaudits, other than to possibly instill complacency or alter the work ethic among the chosen ones. On the flip side, the ignored might just feel they’ve a point to prove.
Can’t we just wait and see how the season transpires. You know, like reward the athletes for what they actually do on the field as opposed to what they might end up doing judged on past performances?
Speaking of which, one game you’d probably be mad to miss this weekend is the nationally No. 1 ranked Louisville men’s season opener against No. 2 rated UCLA at Cardinal Park on Saturday (7 p.m.).
The pair last met in the quarterfinals of last year’s NCAA Division 1 championship, when Ken Lolla’s charges won a thrilling 5-4 encounter in the snow to progress to the College Cup.
There might be some postseason Players of 2011 on show!

A four-midable sister combo!

It’s not unusual for a high school soccer team to have one, two, or even three sets of siblings, but this fall Floyd Central’s girls’ squad checks in with four couplings -- not to mention a pair of coaches’ daughters.
The sisters include junior Kady O’Farrell and freshman Maggie; junior Cylie Miller and freshman Christin; senior Kaitlin Hein and freshman Olivia; and senior Lauren Haley, along with her younger sibling, freshman Taylor.
And then there’s head coach Lewie Stevens’ daughter, Carly, a freshman, while senior Cassie Holland is the daughter of assistant coach, Tony.


Soccer Sisters: Pictured (from left): Olivia and Kaitlin Hein; Kady and Maggie O'Farrell; Christin and Cylie Miller; Lauren and Taylor Haley; Carly Stevens and Cassie Holland.Photo by Kevin McGloshen/Evening News & Tribune.


“I suppose that it could be a bit unusual having that many sister combos,” Lewie Stevens told Kick It.
“It has not changed the team dynamics so far. I have seen more encouragement than quarreling, although sometimes the older sister is disparaging toward the younger one.”
The only real arguments so far seem to have centered on a particular pair of sweaty socks. Bill Haley, father of Lauren and Taylor, explained.
“Most girls will argue about cute shirts, nice shorts, hair products or make up, but the girls seem to fight over a favorite pair of sweaty socks to wear to practice,” he said.
“Even when they had their two-a-day practices and the socks were drenched, they would argue over whose turn it was to wear them.”
However, Haley added the experience has been great for the two girls and really brought them closer together.
“They never really fought over much growing up, but this summer with them going to practices together they have really bonded,” he said.
Cylie and Christin Miller said that playing together at Floyd Central has definitely been a different experience for both of them – not to mention a load lifted off their folks’ plates.
“We have never played on the same team before, so a positive for our parents is that I can now drive and take Christin along with me - it saves them a few trips,” joked Cylie. “We get along really well most of the time; there are always those occasions of course where we don't. But so far it's been fun trying to compete with each other.”
They also hope to puzzle spectators along the way.
“We both wear the number ‘7’ shirt and plan for most people to get confused at which Miller girl they are cheering for,” said Christin.
Kady and Maggie O’Farrell, meanwhile, played together with Net-Surfers U11s, so they are old hands when it comes to sharing the same field.
“Kady had asked me at that time if she had to treat Maggie like her little sister while playing and I said no, you just need to treat her like a teammate,” said mother Deede. “It worked out really well.”
Although all the freshman sisters will start out on the junior varsity team, Kady is hopeful that she and Maggie will kit out together on varsity before season’s end.
“I think Maggie is a really good defender and hopefully, with a lot of hard work, will move up,” she said. Maggie added that she is “really looking forward” to getting to play with Kady this year.
Amy Hein, mother of Kaitlin and Olivia, said the duo have always been really close growing up.
“Don't get me wrong, they argue just like most siblings, but they are always there for each other and I think they will always have each other’s back - especially in soccer.”
Newcomer Olivia said that Kaitlin really pushes her to do her best.
“I think it puts good pressure on me to live up to her abilities,” she said.
Kaitlin agreed that she is a tough taskmaster.
"Even though I know I can be hard on my sister, it's because I want her to be the best she can be,” she said. “I am really proud of her."
Coach Stevens said that he and his wife had discussed with their daughter Carly for the past few years the subject of playing with Floyd Central.
“She'll have to figure out her role and how it relates to her teammates but she is a smart kid and I think she'll be fine,” he said. “She played for me at Highland Hills but the intensity of high school soccer is quite a bit more ramped up than middle school. We have a great relationship but I do have to try and not to go harder on her than the rest. I'm sure Tony (Holland) and Lynn Kaiser, our other coach, will help me in that regard.”
In fact, Holland can certainly offer some advice, as his daughter Cassie now enters her senior year.
“Tony and Cassie are both very laid back and their relationship as father/daughter and coach/player has been pretty smooth,” said Stevens.

Scrap high school soccer, says club coach

This week, the founder of powerhouse Louisville youth soccer club United 1996, Muhamed Fazlagic, said that if he had any political power, he would shut down every high school soccer operation there is.
“Clubs are developing players for nine months and then high school soccer destroys everything during the remaining three,” he says. “It can take months for these players to get back to the level they were originally at.”
There is, he believes, a “huge disparity” in the quality of teams. And the coaches of these teams are, in the main, teachers with no real soccer experience.
“They concentrate more on conditioning than on technical development,” says Fazlagic. “And there are too many on rosters, meaning junior varsity and freshman players don’t get sufficient game time experience.”
The physiology is also “all wrong,” he believes, as players sometimes only have as little as 24 to 48 hours to recover between games.
In essence, he says it’s “parents’ fun time,” although he conceded the spirit in high school soccer is an undeniable positive.
So with the high school season kicking off in the next week across southern Indiana, we asked coaches, players and parents what they thought of it all.

A chance to have fans

Ronda Trimble, the mother of Floyd Central boys’ varsity senior Cray (above, No.7), says she agrees with most of what Fazlagic says, save for his view of the coaches and actually scrapping high school soccer.
“I think it is a well deserved break from their norm,” she says. “It is fun time for parents and players, and attaches kids to their school while promoting school spirit. It also gives them a chance to have fans -- only the parents cheer them on during the competitive season.
“I disagree about the coaches in this area. Most are not teachers and do have soccer experience. I think Cray has learned something from every coach he has had, from Dutch Vigar (with SIU, but also a New Albany boys’ coach) to Zach Watson (Floyd Central coach).”
However, a criticism is that they practice every day and can play several games per week.
“I attribute the three losses (in recent sectionals) to New Albany to fatigue,” she says. “We have one of the toughest schedules of any local team. We are still playing games the week before, and of, the sectional. Floyd Central is too worn out and beat up to perform to their ability and fall short.”
Trimble says she also understands Fazlagic’s point about kids going backwards due to the talent and skill level they compete against in high school.
“He is thinking of his team’s competitive advantage, but there is more to life than soccer -- like finding a place you belong in high school, bonding friendships and winning one for school pride.”

The coach and his keeper
This past spring, Charlestown goalkeeper Cody Brinck made it onto Southern Indiana United’s U16 team and really saw the difference in competition that his varsity coach Andrew Smith had been telling him about.
However, Brinck says he would not be playing with the club if it wasn’t for high school soccer, and his coach agrees.
“Cody was a sophomore the first season he played with the high school team,” says Smith. “He was under prepared, lacked confidence, didn't understand the game very well and had a limited skill set. I forced him to play the position as our starting varsity goalkeeper that season and by the end of that year he was doing very well.”
Brinck has been mowing lawns all summer so that he can rack up the cash required to cover the registration fees to play with SIU. But not everyone can cough up the loot for club, and that’s why high school is important, he believes.
“It may not be as rigorous as club soccer, but that is because it introduces the sport to kids who would never have the money to play club,” says the senior. “If we truly want the sport of soccer to be recognized in the US then we need to start treating it like a game anyone can play, not one where you must have the money or the dedication to play on a select club team. It needs to be accessible to America.”
His coach echoes the view.
“By focusing on club soccer only we aren't accessing the best athletes possible,” says Smith. “Instead, we are only accessing the best athletes who can afford to play club soccer, which as anyone in athletics can tell you, is a preposterous notion.
“The reason basketball and football draw the best athletes in this country is precisely because those two sports are accessible to the athletes through playgrounds and public schools. The same thing that makes soccer great in Brazil, is what makes basketball great here -- it's a playground game. The structure of club soccer has destroyed that accessibility.”
Brinck says he believes high school soccer is also very important because of the relationships that are created.
“When you play on a team with a bunch of kids, you develop friendships that easily carry into the classroom and life in general,” he says. “Even if that were the only reason to keep soccer in schools, I would think that it would be enough.”

The “sports junkie” and his daughter

New Albany senior Taylor Briscoe (far right in photo) says her best soccer memories, not to mention the most important lessons learned, have all come from her experiences playing high school soccer.
“I have played club soccer many seasons and have enjoyed it,” she says. “However, I believe high school soccer has offered me more. (It) keeps a player very active while strengthening the player's endurance, as sometimes there are multiple games in the same week, along with daily practices. The teams you play as a high school soccer player are very diverse and all have different skill levels.”
She thinks that high school soccer benefits a player equally, if not more, than competitive club.
“I know that my high school soccer coaches are all very experienced and knowledgeable on the sport,” she says. “And not only do you learn the skills of soccer and work your way to mastering them in the high school setting, but you also make connections with girls at your school and in your local area.”
Her father Doug is a self proclaimed high school sports junkie, attending basketball, soccer, volleyball, softball, baseball and “a little tennis and cross country”.
When he attends a club soccer game, of which he has attended many, he can feel the difference straight away.
“The energy is very low to the point I personally didn't like it,” he says. “You rarely see anyone at a club game other than families of the players. High school soccer and high school sports are much different. They play a very important part in the high school experience. It gets the parents, students and faculty involved and gives the players a sense of team work and school spirit.”
He added that since Julie Deuser and Jason Crane came on board as coaches at New Albany High School four years ago, the soccer program has gone to another level.
“The players, parents, students and faculty have really gotten behind the girls’ and boys’ teams, and without their support the program would be not survive.”
Briscoe says that he, along with other parents, give countless hours to promoting high school soccer and raise a lot of money to help support the teams.
“We also got the girls involved in giving back with our charity fundraiser, Passionately Pink,” he says. “Show me one club team that does as much for kids as high school sports does.”

U.S. coach change ushers in new era

To say that it’s been an interesting in the world of soccer would be somewhat of an understatement, don’t you think?

Firstly, the MLS All-Stars, comprising the best the American league has to offer, was thumped by Manchester United 4-0 last Wednesday.

The following day, before anyone really had enough time to dissect the performance and question its relevance, came the news that Bob Bradley had been relieved of his duties as the U.S. men’s coach by the United States Soccer Federation.


U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati introduces his man Jurgen at today's press conference

Before the rumor mill regarding his replacement could build any sort of momentum, California based German Jürgen Klinsmann was announced as the new boss on Friday (a day before his 47th birthday), ushering in a new era in U.S. soccer and finally ending a five year chase for his services.

His first game in charge will be in a friendly against Mexico in Philadelphia on August 10.

It is widely believed that his skill set is more suited to working on the international scene, having turned around an ailing German team to lead it to third in the 2006 World Cup, while only lasting a year – a total 43 games -- at club level with Bayern Munich.

And he has ideas not just on coaching a national team and giving it an identity, but on overhauling the U.S. youth system too. He has made it clear in the past, when he was courted for the post in 2006, that he wants control at all levels.

To give you an inkling of what might lie ahead for the game here, pressure was applied to all first and second division teams in the Bundesliga to build academy programs when Klinsmann and his assistant Joachim Löw (now the current coach) took over. This was to ensure talented young players were coming through.

To come up with a playing style, they held workshops with coaches and players. They asked them how they wanted to play, how they wanted to be seen to be playing by the rest of the world, and how they thought the German public wanted to see them playing.

They then announced they wanted to implement a fast-paced, direct style of attacking and proactive soccer, i.e. playing the way they wanted to without being swayed by what opponents might do. A curriculum for German football was also presented to the Bundesliga.

Qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil don’t start for the U.S. until next June, so Klinsmann has some time to reshape the national team and come up with a useful blueprint for youth coaches across the nation.

It will have to address, you’d imagine, how players are discovered and the way they are trained. In fact, it will have to look at whether the right players are being picked in the first place.

The best soccer talent, regardless of class, or race, needs to be developed, rather than the best physical talent. (We’re looking for “futbol” players, not football players.)

And they better sure have work ethic by the bucketload, because Klinsmann’s on record as saying American players don’t push themselves hard enough.

Still, it will be a job and a half when the culture is years behind others in the first place. There might be good athletes, but absent are those who can add magical moments like a mesmerizing Messi, a tricky Ronaldo, or an intelligent Iniesta because it’s simply in their blood.

Anyone who watched the recent U17 World Cup in Mexico could see that the United States displayed too often an immaturity against their opponents. One of those just happened to be a more professional and mentally prepared outfit in Germany, who took apart the Americans in the round of 16.

Coaches here put it down to players in other countries being more survivors, who suffer more earlier in life and as a result mature earlier (south American countries, for example). Or they may be developed at earlier ages (Germany, Spain, Netherlands). Here, a lot pick it up in their teenage years, and they play it for fun.

Right now, the appointment looks like a wise move for United States soccer. Bradley did a good job and should be complimented, winning the 2007 Gold Cup, losing narrowly to Brazil in the 2009 Confederations Cup final after a famous victory against Spain, and getting to the last 16 of the 2010 World Cup (even if it was considered a fantastic opportunity missed to go deeper).

However, his tenure some 12 months into his second four year cycle bared all the hallmarks of a stale stewardship and left many wondering where the game stood stateside following the manner of the Gold Cup defeat to the “Golden Generation” of Mexico (when surrendering a two goal lead), not to mention a sterile group stage defeat to Panama.

Klinsmann has some work to do to get United States soccer moving forward (which starts with selecting the right assistants), but his international pedigree, not to mention his understanding of the American game (having resided here now for 13 years), are positives that should see him go in the right direction.

It is a big gamble by U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati but it signals the intent of the organization to see the men’s team among the world’s elite. An exciting journey begins on all levels.

Venues revealed for two class sectionals

The sectional venues for this year’s inaugural two class soccer tournaments were revealed by the IHSAA last week.

Schools with an enrollment at 755 or higher will participate in Class 2A, and those below this figure will play in Class 1A.

In total there are 32 sectionals in boys’ and girls’ Class 2A, and 32 also in boys’ Class 1A. Class 1A girls will see 16 different sectionals. All games will be played between October 3-8.

The Class 2A Sectional 30 for boys will take place at Floyd Central, while the 2A girls’ sectional will be hosted by Jeffersonville.

Both sectionals will comprise Floyd Central, Jeffersonville, New Albany, Jasper and Corydon.

New Albany boys’ head coach Dutch Vigar said earlier this year he feels the sectional will be “very competitive and tough.”

“Jasper traditionally has a very strong team,” he said. “We have not played them for one or two years but prior to that, they had a better win-lose record against New Albany than we did against them. I feel Jasper will be considered one of the top teams in the sectional.”

The Class 2A boys’ and girls’ sectional winners will compete in a tough Regional 8, along with the winners from sectionals 29, 31 and 32. Victors could include the likes of powerhouse Evansville Memorial, Washington, Castle and Terre Haute North/South.

There will be two Class 1A boys’ soccer sectionals in the area. Charlestown will host Sectional 59, which consists of Charlestown, Henryville, Salem, Austin and Trinity Lutheran.

Providence will host Class 1A Sectional 60, which comprises Christian Academy of Indiana, North Harrison, Providence, Rock Creek Community Academy and Silver Creek.

Both sectional winners will play in Regional 15, which will take in the winners from the Jac-Cel-Del and Switzerland County tournaments.

The seven team Class A Sectional 45 for girls will take place at Rising Sun. It will feature the hosts, Charlestown, CAI, Providence, Silver Creek, Southwestern and Switzerland County.

The champion will play a one-off game in Regional 15 against the Forest Park sectional winner (tentatively scheduled for Providence).

All regional games will take place between October 12-15. The semi-states will be a two-game format in both classes on October 22, with the state final games taking place at Kuntz Stadium in Indianapolis on October 29.

This is a welcome departure from the much criticized heretofore two-games-in-a-day final four format.

Hopes are high at Providence that its girls will go on a deep run in Class 1A.
Their confidence is well founded. Of the 32 sectional girls’ winners in last season’s IHSAA tournament, only two – Providence and Evansville Mater Dei — will contest in the new Class 1A.

The Pioneers’ boys’ team is also confident of some success, while Christian Academy of Indiana will be hoping to challenge Providence for hardware too, having taken them to a penalty shootout at last year’s Jeffersonville sectional.

Coaches of programs at smaller schools believe the new system will create opportunities for them to advance in postseason, although there will be fewer local rivalry games in the tournament, and more travel because of the distance between schools.

Rovers’ season ends with a tie

Rver City Rovers' Albert Edward

River City Rovers tied the last game of their inaugural Premier Development League campaign 1-1 against Cincinnati Kings in Northern Kentucky on Saturday.
The match, played under sweltering conditions of high heat and humidity, was tightly contested, but it was Cincinnati who ended the first half in front with a 42nd minute goal.

A physical battle saw New Albany’s Nate Driggers cleated in the face, while Khan Suleiman was sent to the sideline medic for head and leg lacerations.

Another foul in the 55th minute resulted in a penalty kick for Rovers, which Sam Brooks put away to level the score.

Last week, in its final home game of the season, Rovers won a 5-4 thriller against the same opposition at Centurion Soccer Field, with Albert Edward netting four of the goals.

“We’ve played the Kings three times now, and even though we’re more familiar with their plays, it still never gets easier,” said Jeff Joliet, one of the Rovers’ owners.

River City, who play in the nine team PDL Great Lakes Division, finished the season with a 2-8-6 record. The section was won by Michigan Bucks.

A right Nelly!

Paul the oracle octopus became headline news around the globe when he predicted correctly the results of all of Germany’s 2010 World Cup games, and threw in the correct outcome of the final to boot.

Alas, the iconic salty soothsayer passed away last October at the age of three, leaving the door wide open for other German creatures to try make a name for themselves during the recent Women’s World Cup.

First up was Paula, another octopus, but she didn’t get very far. She chose Canada to beat Germany on the tournament’s first day by taking a treat from a box marked with the maple leafed flag.

The tentacled tipster, whose gender is actually unknown, claims on her Facebook page to be psychic but her sole day of posts has me fearing for her current health.

Not to worry. Enter Nelly the 18 month old elephant. She predicts games by “trunking” the ball into the loser’s net. She did quite a good job too, getting all the German games right, including their loss against Japan.

In fact, she quite likes Japan, it seems, as the predicting pachyderm correctly went for them over the U.S.A. to win Sunday’s final, which they duly did on penalty kicks following an exciting 2-2 tie.