Program Notes for the Week of 2/27/2012:
The Game that Wouldn't End:
Here is an unusual bit of soccer news from a San Diego area boys high school game played last week. A two-day old high school soccer playoff match between Bishop's of La Jolla and San Diego Crawford in the San Diego Section finally ended Wednesday afternoon when Matt Harris scored on the game's 49th penalty kick, giving Bishop's the victory when Crawford missed a final try.
The Division 4 playoff match began on Tuesday and was halted because of darkness after 21 rounds of penalty kicks. Regulation had ended in a 3-3 tie.
The coaches wanted to start the game from the beginning on Wednesday, but Bishop's Coach Malcolm Tovey said the San Diego Section decided to resume the match from where it left off when darkness forced the halt.
"I think all of us were so nervous after every [penalty] kick," Harris said. "Any kick could have been the end. All of us were holding our breath."
There was so much drama and excitement over the two days. "It was unbelievable," Tovey said. Added Harris: "It was definitely something I've never heard of or experienced before."
By way of comparison, what was the longest game in Ohio soccer history? The answer is 204 minutes - almost 3 1/2 hours (25 OTs) - when Centerville 2 defeated Dayton Carroll 1 in 1977 before penalty kicks were introduced. The most penalty kicks were 28 or 14 rounds before Powell Olentangy Liberty beat Beavercreek just this past season. These were both boys games as longest games stats haven't been kept for girls games so far.
Soccer Site of the Week:
This week we will feature an interesting article from Science Daily about what triggers anger in soccer parents. See the article at:
Soccer Parents: Why They Rage
Most of us have gotten mad at one point or another at our kids soccer games and this article might help to bring some perspective to the situation.
Shorty Sez:
We continue to feature the teamwork philosophies from Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski who is a pre-eminent expert on leadership and teambuilding. This week we are continuing with the concept of the fist to reflect upon is as follows:
Coach K sees his team as the five fingers on a hand. When the fingers fit together, they create a powerful fist. When fingers are outstretched, they are on their own and can be easily broken by a fist. So it is with a team - if they play together and unite with a common goal they become like a fist which can always defeat individual fingers which are operating on their own. A great team possesses five qualities - Communication, Trust, Collective Responsibility, Caring, and Pride. These can also be thought of as individual fingers and when all five come together, they can form a fist which cannot be beaten.
This week we look at Caring - Coach K believes that nothing demonstrates that you care about people more than spending personal time with them. The more it's a one-on-one encounter, the better. The concept of caring; however, is not singular in description. It's more than "I care about you as a person." It's also about "I care about the job I'm doing on the field." It's caring about the individual, caring about the team, caring about the team's performance, caring about high performance, about excellence. And it's caring about winning - about being the best you can be.
That kind of caring spurs people to take action. It causes people to work harder - "I'm going to do this because I care about my job and because I care about the people I work with." In no small way, caring can be a powerful motivational factor on any team.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
News for the Week of Feb. 20, 2012
Program Notes for the Week of 2/20/2012:
President's Day:
In honor of President's Day, I would like to attach the following link which details a short history of soccer and U.S. Presidents:
http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/presidents.html
Hope you find it interesting.
Soccer Site of the Week:
During February, soccer news regarding the high school team is a little slow so it provides a great time to present some info. on leadership and other team related topics. This week I would like to present some information from Connie Dieken from her website at:
http://conniedieken.com/influence-blog
Connie was a well known TV broadcaster in the Cleveland area for a number of years and now is a consultant/speaker/author on communication and leadership topics. She also happens to be an Avon Lake resident. Her blog tackles issues to do with influence, leadership, and communication which can be applicable to the workplace or to a team sports environment as well. Just another resource to give players and parents something to reflect upon.
Shorty Sez:
We continue to feature the teamwork philosophies from Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski who is a pre-eminent expert on leadership and teambuilding. This week we are continuing with the concept of the fist to reflect upon is as follows:
Coach K sees his team as the five fingers on a hand. When the fingers fit together, they create a powerful fist. When fingers are outstretched, they are on their own and can be easily broken by a fist. So it is with a team - if they play together and unite with a common goal they become like a fist which can always defeat individual fingers which are operating on their own. A great team possesses five qualities - Communication, Trust, Collective Responsibility, Caring, and Pride. These can also be thought of as individual fingers and when all five come together, they can form a fist which cannot be beaten.
This week we look at Collective Responsibility - Coach K believes that great teams win and lose together. Handling the responsibility for wins and losses together removes the burden from one individual's shoulders and distributes it among each memeber of the team. That atmosphere is conducive to high level performance and places you and your team in the position to be bold and unafraid, and if you should lose, you are not alone.
Some poeple like to win individually and some like to lose selectively. They'll say "It's someone else's resonsibility" or "It's not my fault". But one of the key components of keeping the fist together is taking responsibility for your actions as a team. Every individual member has to realize that it's our job no matter what happens. Ths bottom line is that we win and lose together. Great teams embrace responsibility - It's that simple.
President's Day:
In honor of President's Day, I would like to attach the following link which details a short history of soccer and U.S. Presidents:
http://homepages.sover.net/~spectrum/presidents.html
Hope you find it interesting.
Soccer Site of the Week:
During February, soccer news regarding the high school team is a little slow so it provides a great time to present some info. on leadership and other team related topics. This week I would like to present some information from Connie Dieken from her website at:
http://conniedieken.com/influence-blog
Connie was a well known TV broadcaster in the Cleveland area for a number of years and now is a consultant/speaker/author on communication and leadership topics. She also happens to be an Avon Lake resident. Her blog tackles issues to do with influence, leadership, and communication which can be applicable to the workplace or to a team sports environment as well. Just another resource to give players and parents something to reflect upon.
Shorty Sez:
We continue to feature the teamwork philosophies from Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski who is a pre-eminent expert on leadership and teambuilding. This week we are continuing with the concept of the fist to reflect upon is as follows:
Coach K sees his team as the five fingers on a hand. When the fingers fit together, they create a powerful fist. When fingers are outstretched, they are on their own and can be easily broken by a fist. So it is with a team - if they play together and unite with a common goal they become like a fist which can always defeat individual fingers which are operating on their own. A great team possesses five qualities - Communication, Trust, Collective Responsibility, Caring, and Pride. These can also be thought of as individual fingers and when all five come together, they can form a fist which cannot be beaten.
This week we look at Collective Responsibility - Coach K believes that great teams win and lose together. Handling the responsibility for wins and losses together removes the burden from one individual's shoulders and distributes it among each memeber of the team. That atmosphere is conducive to high level performance and places you and your team in the position to be bold and unafraid, and if you should lose, you are not alone.
Some poeple like to win individually and some like to lose selectively. They'll say "It's someone else's resonsibility" or "It's not my fault". But one of the key components of keeping the fist together is taking responsibility for your actions as a team. Every individual member has to realize that it's our job no matter what happens. Ths bottom line is that we win and lose together. Great teams embrace responsibility - It's that simple.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
News for the Week of Feb. 13, 2012
Program Notes for the Week of 2/13/2012:
Scholarship Time:
We want to remind all our graduating Seniors of $3,000 in scholarship money that is available to soccer players at ALHS. One of the scholarships is the NOGSL scholarship which is explained in more detail below. Two years ago Maddie Bernard received this scholarship from the NOGSL, so it can be won by our girls.
2012 NOGSL SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION
The Northern Ohio Girls Soccer League (NOGSL) is offering a scholarship program for former youth soccer players (members). This year’s program will award (4) scholarships, in the amount of $2000.00 each, to former players (members) who will be graduating from high school as a Senior in the class of 2012 and entering a U.S. college, university or a 2 year or greater technical school, as a full time student, for the first time in 2012. The scholarship is divided evenly over a period of 4 succeeding years at $500 per year towards the cost of college.
(NOTE: the program requirements are subject to change on an annual basis).
* Student Eligibility: Graduating high school senior, entering a college or university or and 2 yr or greater technical school the following fall, must have participated as roistered player (member) at least three (3) full seasonal years on an NOGSL registered youth team.
* The Application process: In addition to meeting the qualifying requirements defined above, a detailed application and a maximum 250 word essay must be completed and contribute to the selection process.
* Participation in High School or College soccer IS NOT A REQUIREMENT.
* Due by April 6, 2012
Mail Completed Applications to: NOGSL
Post Office Box 16205
Rocky River, Ohio 44116
Any question please emails them to Dan @ dgfrey2003@yahoo.commailto:dgfrey2003@yahoo.co
An application may be found at:
http://www.nogsl.com/
Go to the NOGSL scholarship area and click on the link.
The other scholarship is the Gino Strippoli Memorial Scholarship which is valued at $1,000. Applications for this scholarship are available in the Guidance office at ALHS. Past winners of this scholarship include:
2011 - Sarah Hudson
2010 - Bridget Lyons
2009 - Laura Rickey
2008 - Sammy Stewart
2007 - Sarah Lyons
Shorty Sez:
We continue to feature the teamwork philosophies from Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski who is a pre-eminent expert on leadership and teambuilding. This week we are continuing with the concept of the fist to reflect upon is as follows:
Coach K sees his team as the five fingers on a hand. When the fingers fit together, they create a powerful fist. When fingers are outstretched, they are on their own and can be easily broken by a fist. So it is with a team - if they play together and unite with a common goal they become like a fist which can always defeat individual fingers which are operating on their own. A great team possesses five qualities - Communication, Trust, Collective Responsibility, Caring, and Pride. These can also be thought of as individual fingers and when all five come together, they can form a fist which cannot be beaten.
This week we will look at Trust - Coach K believes in leadership there are no words more important than trust. In any organization, trust must be developed among every member of the team if success is going to be achieved. Trust involves having the ability to engage in straightforward face-to-face communication to overcome an obstacle or situation. This can involve confrontation which Coack K believes is a good thing as confrontation simply means meeting the truth head-on. In any kind of a team situation, the team members must be able to be open and honest with each other to create an environemt in which the highest level of performance can be achieved.
Scholarship Time:
We want to remind all our graduating Seniors of $3,000 in scholarship money that is available to soccer players at ALHS. One of the scholarships is the NOGSL scholarship which is explained in more detail below. Two years ago Maddie Bernard received this scholarship from the NOGSL, so it can be won by our girls.
2012 NOGSL SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION
The Northern Ohio Girls Soccer League (NOGSL) is offering a scholarship program for former youth soccer players (members). This year’s program will award (4) scholarships, in the amount of $2000.00 each, to former players (members) who will be graduating from high school as a Senior in the class of 2012 and entering a U.S. college, university or a 2 year or greater technical school, as a full time student, for the first time in 2012. The scholarship is divided evenly over a period of 4 succeeding years at $500 per year towards the cost of college.
(NOTE: the program requirements are subject to change on an annual basis).
* Student Eligibility: Graduating high school senior, entering a college or university or and 2 yr or greater technical school the following fall, must have participated as roistered player (member) at least three (3) full seasonal years on an NOGSL registered youth team.
* The Application process: In addition to meeting the qualifying requirements defined above, a detailed application and a maximum 250 word essay must be completed and contribute to the selection process.
* Participation in High School or College soccer IS NOT A REQUIREMENT.
* Due by April 6, 2012
Mail Completed Applications to: NOGSL
Post Office Box 16205
Rocky River, Ohio 44116
Any question please emails them to Dan @ dgfrey2003@yahoo.commailto:dgfrey2003@yahoo.co
An application may be found at:
http://www.nogsl.com/
Go to the NOGSL scholarship area and click on the link.
The other scholarship is the Gino Strippoli Memorial Scholarship which is valued at $1,000. Applications for this scholarship are available in the Guidance office at ALHS. Past winners of this scholarship include:
2011 - Sarah Hudson
2010 - Bridget Lyons
2009 - Laura Rickey
2008 - Sammy Stewart
2007 - Sarah Lyons
Shorty Sez:
We continue to feature the teamwork philosophies from Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski who is a pre-eminent expert on leadership and teambuilding. This week we are continuing with the concept of the fist to reflect upon is as follows:
Coach K sees his team as the five fingers on a hand. When the fingers fit together, they create a powerful fist. When fingers are outstretched, they are on their own and can be easily broken by a fist. So it is with a team - if they play together and unite with a common goal they become like a fist which can always defeat individual fingers which are operating on their own. A great team possesses five qualities - Communication, Trust, Collective Responsibility, Caring, and Pride. These can also be thought of as individual fingers and when all five come together, they can form a fist which cannot be beaten.
This week we will look at Trust - Coach K believes in leadership there are no words more important than trust. In any organization, trust must be developed among every member of the team if success is going to be achieved. Trust involves having the ability to engage in straightforward face-to-face communication to overcome an obstacle or situation. This can involve confrontation which Coack K believes is a good thing as confrontation simply means meeting the truth head-on. In any kind of a team situation, the team members must be able to be open and honest with each other to create an environemt in which the highest level of performance can be achieved.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
News for the Week of Feb. 6, 2012
Program Notes for the Week of 2/6/2012:
Hats off to Fox Sports:
As some of you may have noticed on Super Bowl Sunday the Fox Network broadcast the Manchester United vs. Chelsea English Premier League game at 1:00 p.m. It was a pretty entertaining game as Chelsea held a 3-0 lead early in the second half only to see a furious ManU comeback to tie the game at 3-3 at final. A very bold move by Fox to telecast soccer on the biggest sports day in America. Fox is using a smart marketing strategy to place soccer alongside American football instead of in competition with it. You are not going to replace American football - at least not in the near future, but soccer can find a place on Fall & Winter weekends in the U.S. around football. Fox is starting to carve out this niche right now. As they would say in England - Brilliant!!!
Alumni Update:
One more quick update regarding Sammy Harris '08 who as we have reported had a reoccurrence of cancer. The latest word from the doctors is that she will not need to undergo any chemotherapy which is good news as the doctors feel confident that they got all of the cancer. She has returned to Ohio State to continue work on her Civil Engineering degree and returning to life as a normal college student. Best of luck and continued health to Sammy!!
Soccer Site of the Week:
While we are giving cudos to Fox Sports this week, let's highlight the Fox Soccer Channel's site at:
http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer
This site will give you news and standings and stats from the world of international soccer. Almost anything that you want to know you can find it here. Check it out!
Shorty Sez:
We continue to feature the teamwork philosophies from Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski who is a pre-eminent expert on leadership and teambuilding. This week we are continuing with the concept of the fist to reflect upon is as follows:
Last time we noted that Coach K sees his team as the five fingers on a hand. When the fingers fit together, they create a powerful fist. When fingers are outstretched, they are on their own and can be easily broken by a fist. So it is with a team - if they play together and unite with a common goal they become like a fist which can always defeat individual fingers which are operating on their own. A great team possesses five qualities - communication, trust, collective responsibility, caring, and pride. These can also be thought of as individual fingers and when all five come together, they can form a fist which cannot be beaten.
Let's look at communication - Coach K believes people learn how to think by communicating. Leaders have to remind people to talk to one another. To be a great team people must communicate the competitive situations they are encountering whether it be on the field, the court, or the office. Team members must direct and coordinate each other through pressure situations and that can only be accomplished by talking so that everyone knows what must be accomplished immediately to achieve a winning result. Talk should be used to correct things that not going right and should be used to compliment and encourage when the game plan is being executed well. A team of individual islands who stay quiet will never beat a team who talks and coordinates their actions during the heat of battle.
Hats off to Fox Sports:
As some of you may have noticed on Super Bowl Sunday the Fox Network broadcast the Manchester United vs. Chelsea English Premier League game at 1:00 p.m. It was a pretty entertaining game as Chelsea held a 3-0 lead early in the second half only to see a furious ManU comeback to tie the game at 3-3 at final. A very bold move by Fox to telecast soccer on the biggest sports day in America. Fox is using a smart marketing strategy to place soccer alongside American football instead of in competition with it. You are not going to replace American football - at least not in the near future, but soccer can find a place on Fall & Winter weekends in the U.S. around football. Fox is starting to carve out this niche right now. As they would say in England - Brilliant!!!
Alumni Update:
One more quick update regarding Sammy Harris '08 who as we have reported had a reoccurrence of cancer. The latest word from the doctors is that she will not need to undergo any chemotherapy which is good news as the doctors feel confident that they got all of the cancer. She has returned to Ohio State to continue work on her Civil Engineering degree and returning to life as a normal college student. Best of luck and continued health to Sammy!!
Soccer Site of the Week:
While we are giving cudos to Fox Sports this week, let's highlight the Fox Soccer Channel's site at:
http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer
This site will give you news and standings and stats from the world of international soccer. Almost anything that you want to know you can find it here. Check it out!
Shorty Sez:
We continue to feature the teamwork philosophies from Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski who is a pre-eminent expert on leadership and teambuilding. This week we are continuing with the concept of the fist to reflect upon is as follows:
Last time we noted that Coach K sees his team as the five fingers on a hand. When the fingers fit together, they create a powerful fist. When fingers are outstretched, they are on their own and can be easily broken by a fist. So it is with a team - if they play together and unite with a common goal they become like a fist which can always defeat individual fingers which are operating on their own. A great team possesses five qualities - communication, trust, collective responsibility, caring, and pride. These can also be thought of as individual fingers and when all five come together, they can form a fist which cannot be beaten.
Let's look at communication - Coach K believes people learn how to think by communicating. Leaders have to remind people to talk to one another. To be a great team people must communicate the competitive situations they are encountering whether it be on the field, the court, or the office. Team members must direct and coordinate each other through pressure situations and that can only be accomplished by talking so that everyone knows what must be accomplished immediately to achieve a winning result. Talk should be used to correct things that not going right and should be used to compliment and encourage when the game plan is being executed well. A team of individual islands who stay quiet will never beat a team who talks and coordinates their actions during the heat of battle.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
News for the Week of January 30, 2012
Program Notes for the Week of 1/30/2012:
We are going to take a little break from our usual content this week to concentrate on some college recruiting information. Last week everyone should have been e-mailed the 2012 College Prep Guide and the area that requires the most immediate attention is the part that has to do with College soccer camps. I am going to reprint below that part of our College Prep guide for everyone's information.
The College soccer camp is a tremendous opportunity for your daughter to display her soccer skills in front of prospective coaches. These camps are a win-win situation for the athlete and the school. Because of severely limited recruiting budgets for women’s soccer, it is nearly impossible for coaches to see a large pool of candidates. This is a major reason why they run summer camps – to bring the recruits to them. Remember also, that they are limited in when they can contact a player and the number of contacts they can have with a player. Generally, college coaches cannot have contact with prospective players until the summer before their Senior year and then the contacts are of a limited number based on NCAA rules.
However, the player can have unlimited contact with coaches at any time starting in their Freshman year as long as they initiate the contact through such methods as filling out the specific sport questionnaire for each college, sending the coach results from their season, informing them of upcoming tournaments they will be playing in, making college visits and by attending summer camps. The advantage to the players is that they get to display their skills to coaches over an 8-12 hour period over the course of 3-5 days plus personal contact. This is much more beneficial than having a coach come to one or two 80 min. games against possibly suspect competition where you are being substituted for frequently. In addition, the girls are hopefully improving their skill set at these camps by playing against higher level competition and learning college level techniques. If you are expecting college coaches to wander into Memorial stadium to see your daughter, this is not realistic. You have to put yourself in front of the college coaches and be very persistent at it. You have to make college coaches want to recruit you, not wait on them to recruit you.
Like everything else in the recruitment process, you need to focus in on the schools where you believe you have a realistic opportunity to play and then attend their summer camp. Now, which colleges run these summer camps? The following is a list of the schools in Ohio which are hosting camps this summer for high school aged players:
The Ohio State Univ. Div. 1
Univ. of Cincinnati Div. 1
Univ. of Dayton Div. 1
University of Akron Div. 1
Kent State Univ. Div. 1
Youngstown State Div. 1
Ohio Univ. Div. 1
Ohio Dominican Univ. Div. 2
Ursuline College Div. 2
Cedarville Univ. Div. 2
The College of Wooster Div. 3
Hiram College Div. 3
Ohio Northern Univ. Div. 3
Wittenberg Univ. Div. 3
Marietta College Div. 3
In addition, all Big Ten schools have soccer camps along with major schools such as Notre Dame, Marquette, and Pitt. In fact, every major conference D-1 school has a camp and you can access information on any camp through the college’s website.
You need to start making your summer plans now as these camps fill up quickly. Also if you select a camp, be sure to fill out the school’s soccer questionnaire and express your interest in playing at “ABC” college so they are aware of you when you come to camp.
A new development that has sprung up this year at many colleges is something known as the “College ID camp”. These are one day clinics held at the particular college in which the girls receive a day of college level soccer training and the coaches have the opportunity to initiate the recruiting process. Girls that they “ID” would certainly be invited to attend their summer soccer camp and the coaches will keep certain girls on their “watch” list. These ID clinics are held in the Winter/Spring and some colleges have already held theirs. So, if you are interested in a particular college, check their website and be sure to get an early start on this.
The remainder of the College Prep Guide may be found in this blog under the 2012 College Prep Guide page.
We have sent this out to everyone in the program and also to the incoming Freshmen as it is never too early to understand what is needed to play college soccer and to start planning accordingly. The four years in high school go by very quickly and many parents end up feeling as if they should have started on things earlier.
We are going to take a little break from our usual content this week to concentrate on some college recruiting information. Last week everyone should have been e-mailed the 2012 College Prep Guide and the area that requires the most immediate attention is the part that has to do with College soccer camps. I am going to reprint below that part of our College Prep guide for everyone's information.
The College soccer camp is a tremendous opportunity for your daughter to display her soccer skills in front of prospective coaches. These camps are a win-win situation for the athlete and the school. Because of severely limited recruiting budgets for women’s soccer, it is nearly impossible for coaches to see a large pool of candidates. This is a major reason why they run summer camps – to bring the recruits to them. Remember also, that they are limited in when they can contact a player and the number of contacts they can have with a player. Generally, college coaches cannot have contact with prospective players until the summer before their Senior year and then the contacts are of a limited number based on NCAA rules.
However, the player can have unlimited contact with coaches at any time starting in their Freshman year as long as they initiate the contact through such methods as filling out the specific sport questionnaire for each college, sending the coach results from their season, informing them of upcoming tournaments they will be playing in, making college visits and by attending summer camps. The advantage to the players is that they get to display their skills to coaches over an 8-12 hour period over the course of 3-5 days plus personal contact. This is much more beneficial than having a coach come to one or two 80 min. games against possibly suspect competition where you are being substituted for frequently. In addition, the girls are hopefully improving their skill set at these camps by playing against higher level competition and learning college level techniques. If you are expecting college coaches to wander into Memorial stadium to see your daughter, this is not realistic. You have to put yourself in front of the college coaches and be very persistent at it. You have to make college coaches want to recruit you, not wait on them to recruit you.
Like everything else in the recruitment process, you need to focus in on the schools where you believe you have a realistic opportunity to play and then attend their summer camp. Now, which colleges run these summer camps? The following is a list of the schools in Ohio which are hosting camps this summer for high school aged players:
The Ohio State Univ. Div. 1
Univ. of Cincinnati Div. 1
Univ. of Dayton Div. 1
University of Akron Div. 1
Kent State Univ. Div. 1
Youngstown State Div. 1
Ohio Univ. Div. 1
Ohio Dominican Univ. Div. 2
Ursuline College Div. 2
Cedarville Univ. Div. 2
The College of Wooster Div. 3
Hiram College Div. 3
Ohio Northern Univ. Div. 3
Wittenberg Univ. Div. 3
Marietta College Div. 3
In addition, all Big Ten schools have soccer camps along with major schools such as Notre Dame, Marquette, and Pitt. In fact, every major conference D-1 school has a camp and you can access information on any camp through the college’s website.
You need to start making your summer plans now as these camps fill up quickly. Also if you select a camp, be sure to fill out the school’s soccer questionnaire and express your interest in playing at “ABC” college so they are aware of you when you come to camp.
A new development that has sprung up this year at many colleges is something known as the “College ID camp”. These are one day clinics held at the particular college in which the girls receive a day of college level soccer training and the coaches have the opportunity to initiate the recruiting process. Girls that they “ID” would certainly be invited to attend their summer soccer camp and the coaches will keep certain girls on their “watch” list. These ID clinics are held in the Winter/Spring and some colleges have already held theirs. So, if you are interested in a particular college, check their website and be sure to get an early start on this.
The remainder of the College Prep Guide may be found in this blog under the 2012 College Prep Guide page.
We have sent this out to everyone in the program and also to the incoming Freshmen as it is never too early to understand what is needed to play college soccer and to start planning accordingly. The four years in high school go by very quickly and many parents end up feeling as if they should have started on things earlier.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
News for the Week of January 23, 2012
Program Notes for the Week of 1/23/2012:
Some Thoughts about Soccer in America:
An interesting occurence took place this morning on the day of the AFC & NFC championship games The FOX network televised nationally the Manchester United vs Arsenal English Premier League game. A soccer game being televised on a Sunday just hours before the American football chapionships? Five years ago, this would have been thought impossible and they are going to do it again on Super Bowl Sunday with Man U vs. Chelsea. This shows how far soccer has come in America that it can be televised nationally on a traditional American football day. The U.S. appetite for international soccer continues to grow and soccer is becoming very integrated into the fabric of American life. They only show these games because they can sell ads and they can only sell ads based on viewership. So, it is obvious that there is a significant audience out there for international soccer. This may be a beginning step in moving American soccer to a more international based schedule of a Sept. thru May season. For that to happen, soccer will need to find its place on Fall &Winter weekends along with American football. Soccer already probably has a larger viewing audience than Hockey and will soon become the "fourth sport" behind football, basketball, and baseball. The popularity of soccer will continue to grow because it is a lifelong sport which can be played by all ages. Also, when the stars of the game retire, they are not left as broken, crippled men whose lifespan is cut short by 20 years. The public's perception of the brutality of football will eventually do it in and soccer will become the logical alternative.
Alumni Update:
We continue to have good news to report regarding Sammy Harris '08 who as we have reported had a reoccurrence of cancer. She has returned to Ohio State to continue work on her Civil Engineering degree and is in the process of catching up on this quarter's classes. Please keep her in your prayers as she fights another round with this dread disease. We will keep everyone updated on any future news as appropriate. But for now, things look to be very positive for Sammy.
Soccer Site of the Week:
This week's featured site is called the Student Athlete Scholarships Foundation site which can be found at:
http://www.student-athlete.net/
This is another site where you will find info. on college recruiting and scholarships. It consists of a number of publications some of which are free including a monthly newsletter and the rest seem reasonably priced. Check it out!
Shorty Sez:
We continue to feature the teamwork philosophies from Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski who is a pre-eminent expert on leadership and teambuilding. This week we will introduce the concept of the fist to reflect upon is as follows:
Coach K sees his team as the five fingers on a hand. When the fingers fit together, they create a powerful fist. When fingers are outstretched, they are on their own and can be easily broken by a fist. So it is with a team - if they play together and unite with a common goal they become like a fist which can always defeat individual fingers which are operating on their own. A great team possesses five qualities - communication, trust, collective responsibility, caring, and pride. These can also be thought of as individual fingers and when all five come together, they can form a fist which cannot be beaten. In the coming weeks, we will look at each of these 5 qualities in a little more depth.
Some Thoughts about Soccer in America:
An interesting occurence took place this morning on the day of the AFC & NFC championship games The FOX network televised nationally the Manchester United vs Arsenal English Premier League game. A soccer game being televised on a Sunday just hours before the American football chapionships? Five years ago, this would have been thought impossible and they are going to do it again on Super Bowl Sunday with Man U vs. Chelsea. This shows how far soccer has come in America that it can be televised nationally on a traditional American football day. The U.S. appetite for international soccer continues to grow and soccer is becoming very integrated into the fabric of American life. They only show these games because they can sell ads and they can only sell ads based on viewership. So, it is obvious that there is a significant audience out there for international soccer. This may be a beginning step in moving American soccer to a more international based schedule of a Sept. thru May season. For that to happen, soccer will need to find its place on Fall &Winter weekends along with American football. Soccer already probably has a larger viewing audience than Hockey and will soon become the "fourth sport" behind football, basketball, and baseball. The popularity of soccer will continue to grow because it is a lifelong sport which can be played by all ages. Also, when the stars of the game retire, they are not left as broken, crippled men whose lifespan is cut short by 20 years. The public's perception of the brutality of football will eventually do it in and soccer will become the logical alternative.
Alumni Update:
We continue to have good news to report regarding Sammy Harris '08 who as we have reported had a reoccurrence of cancer. She has returned to Ohio State to continue work on her Civil Engineering degree and is in the process of catching up on this quarter's classes. Please keep her in your prayers as she fights another round with this dread disease. We will keep everyone updated on any future news as appropriate. But for now, things look to be very positive for Sammy.
Soccer Site of the Week:
This week's featured site is called the Student Athlete Scholarships Foundation site which can be found at:
http://www.student-athlete.net/
This is another site where you will find info. on college recruiting and scholarships. It consists of a number of publications some of which are free including a monthly newsletter and the rest seem reasonably priced. Check it out!
Shorty Sez:
We continue to feature the teamwork philosophies from Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski who is a pre-eminent expert on leadership and teambuilding. This week we will introduce the concept of the fist to reflect upon is as follows:
Coach K sees his team as the five fingers on a hand. When the fingers fit together, they create a powerful fist. When fingers are outstretched, they are on their own and can be easily broken by a fist. So it is with a team - if they play together and unite with a common goal they become like a fist which can always defeat individual fingers which are operating on their own. A great team possesses five qualities - communication, trust, collective responsibility, caring, and pride. These can also be thought of as individual fingers and when all five come together, they can form a fist which cannot be beaten. In the coming weeks, we will look at each of these 5 qualities in a little more depth.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
News for the Week of January 16,2012
Program Notes for the Week of 1/16/2012:
More Postseason awards:
One last award to report upon from the past season as Dana & Jillian Strimbu were named to the All-Sun newspapers soccer team - Congrats to Dana & Jillian!!
Alumni Update:
We continue to have good news to report this week regarding Sammy Harris '08 who as we have reported had a reoccurrence of cancer. She celebrated her 22nd birthday last week and it appears that there was only one tumor on her liver and the doctors feel confident that they got all of it. She is hoping to return to Ohio State in a few weeks to continue work on her Civil Engineering degree. Please keep her in your prayers as she fights another round with this dread disease. Well wishes and messages may be sent to Sammy through the following site:
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/sammyharris
We will keep everyone updated as we know more in the weeks to come.
M.L. King Day:
This is traditionally an off day from school and for some people an off day from work and it is also a day where most of us are involved in indoor soccer. For those who may want to take a few minutes aside to honor Dr. King's life you can view his most famous "I Have a Dream" speech at - http://youtu.be/smEqnnklfYs. It is only about 17 minutes long or you can view a complete transcript at www.usconstitution.net/dream.html You can google on various other specches and biographical data also.
Soccer Site of the Week:
This week's featured site is the ESPN high school girls soccer site which can be found at:
http://espn.go.com/high-school/girls-soccer/
On this site you will find info. on nutrition, training, college recruiting, and top ranked players and teams.
Shorty Sez:
We continue to feature the teamwork philosophies from Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski who is a pre-eminent expert on leadership and teambuilding. This week's idea to reflect upon is as follows:
“When you are passionate, you always have your destination in sight and you are not distracted by obstacles. Because you love what you are pursuing, things like rejection and setbacks will not hinder you in your pursuit. You believe that nothing can stop you!”
-- Coach K
More Postseason awards:
One last award to report upon from the past season as Dana & Jillian Strimbu were named to the All-Sun newspapers soccer team - Congrats to Dana & Jillian!!
Alumni Update:
We continue to have good news to report this week regarding Sammy Harris '08 who as we have reported had a reoccurrence of cancer. She celebrated her 22nd birthday last week and it appears that there was only one tumor on her liver and the doctors feel confident that they got all of it. She is hoping to return to Ohio State in a few weeks to continue work on her Civil Engineering degree. Please keep her in your prayers as she fights another round with this dread disease. Well wishes and messages may be sent to Sammy through the following site:
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/sammyharris
We will keep everyone updated as we know more in the weeks to come.
M.L. King Day:
This is traditionally an off day from school and for some people an off day from work and it is also a day where most of us are involved in indoor soccer. For those who may want to take a few minutes aside to honor Dr. King's life you can view his most famous "I Have a Dream" speech at - http://youtu.be/smEqnnklfYs. It is only about 17 minutes long or you can view a complete transcript at www.usconstitution.net/dream.html You can google on various other specches and biographical data also.
Soccer Site of the Week:
This week's featured site is the ESPN high school girls soccer site which can be found at:
http://espn.go.com/high-school/girls-soccer/
On this site you will find info. on nutrition, training, college recruiting, and top ranked players and teams.
Shorty Sez:
We continue to feature the teamwork philosophies from Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski who is a pre-eminent expert on leadership and teambuilding. This week's idea to reflect upon is as follows:
“When you are passionate, you always have your destination in sight and you are not distracted by obstacles. Because you love what you are pursuing, things like rejection and setbacks will not hinder you in your pursuit. You believe that nothing can stop you!”
-- Coach K
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