Time for a fund raiser....

We need one of these for the top of the concession stand to protect the kids from evil pixie...sticks.

Lousy field, but pretty spacious concession stand, don't you think? 

It takes speed and agility to play soccer. Yeah....right.

FALL 2005 SEASON INFO

I know, I know, summer hasn't even started yet, but here's the schedule of upcoming events:

July 1 - registration forms mailed.

July 23 - Registration deadline; registration at Anna Junior High (?)

August 1 - Coaches meeting; drawing of teams; election of executive board

First game - September 6

More information to follow...please spread the word!

INCOMING!

Who is a better soccer player? The kid who grew up playing the game...or the guy with the gun?

New Yorkers are Smarter Than the Rest of the World

Mike Vaccaro, Sportswriter, New York Post:

" But I am also certain that, relatively speaking, we are as sane, as sensible, as reasonable, and as rational, as any sports fan in the world. And that is because, as a people, we in New York look at a soccer ball and see a sleeping pill. We see a soccer game invade our television screen and will pull a hamstring lunging for the remote to change the channel. "

SOMEONE disagrees with Mike Vaccaro. 

If looks could kill, SOMEBODY would be dead.

I asked Samantha what the difference was playing versus boys (compared to the all-girl all star games). She thought about it....looked at the field for a while....and said, "They're shorter."

CHAMPIONS

Congratualtions to the 1st and 2nd grade co-ed all-stars for taking FIRST PLACE in the Cape Girardeau Tournament. They beat the home team 1-0 in the last game. The goal was scored by Garrett Nadeau. Jacob Brush was awarded the Spirit Award by coach Jennifer Nadeau for soccer above and beyond the call of duty.

If you have a picture of the team, send it to me at jope@cba.siu.edu!

Cape results so far

This is Edward Morrow reporting from a rooftop in Cape:

High School :
2-3 vs Perryville
1-1 vs Cape Girardeau

5th and 6th Co-ed:
1-1 vs Cape Stars (goal - Christopher Windings)
1-6 vs Perryville Storm (goal - Cody Garver)

1st and 2nd Girls:
0-2 vs Cape Stars
1-1 vs Perryville Hot Shots (goal-Natilyn Hepburn)

1st and 2nd Boys:
5-1 vs Jackson Red (goals - Zach Zach Zach Paar, Noah Noah Fuller)
1-1 vs Perryville Thunder

Today's Quiz

Can you find the athlete who has not been accused of taking steroids? Is it Barry Bonds?

Is it Jason Giambi?

Or is it Hayden Newberry? 

Steven Wells..often imitated.... 

Never duplicated! 

The truth about Stonehenge.

Travis Smith

Travis Smith (5th and 6th Coed). Maybe next year we can buy everyone matching headbands.

Twins in action!

The Pineau sisters in action!

OK, they aren't really twins. That's Bayli Denny on the right. But these two remind me of the of two running backs SIUC had a couple of years ago who were nicknamed "Thunder and Lightning".

Junion High Team

The Marion Whirlwind Champion 7th and 8th Grade team:

Top row from left to right.

Dylan Noble, Kieler Dillman, Dane Mull, Shawn Stone, Mike Manus, Juan Areola, Nate Rowland, Alan Whitehead, Abbey Cohen, Zac Boomer , and the Coach Mark Boomer

bottom row.

Joey Flamm, Dusty Whiteside, Jake Basler, Seth Echols, Jocob Brimm, Steven Cohen, and Lance Dixon

I believe they finished the season undefeated (only because their game with Harvel Disposal was rained out).

More Twins!

Oh, right! TWINS!

Twins?

What the???

1st and 2nd Grade All-Stars

After a tough head-to-head competition, a bench clearing brawl between the 1st and 2nd grade Orange and Blue teams broke out.Luckily, they paused long enough to pose for a photo before continuing.

The brawl spilled over into the playground ... 

Did you ever see the classic 1948 movie, "The Boy With Green Hair"? It starred Patrick O'Brien. No? This is close enough. Jenna Collier and Suzannah Cohen, 3rd and 4th grade all-stars. 

Photos

I'll post pictures tomorrow. If you have a good photo, please send it to me at jope@cba.siu.edu. Not ALL your pictures, and let me know who is in the picture!

The Final Results of the Marion Tournament

I'm not going to give you the details, but here's an almost accurate wrap up:

Our 1st and 2nd grade boys orange team took third place in the tournament.
Our 1st and 2nd grade girls took fourth place.
I THINK our 3rd grade boys took third place.
Our Junion High co-ed team took 1st.
Our High School co-ed took 2nd.

Overall our Union County teams won 20, lost 18, and tied 2. We sent 10 teams. If have the 3rd grade placing right, half of our teams finished in the top 4 in their division. Half!

I have to add that the game between our two boys' 1st and 2nd grade teams was about the coolest things I've seen. Both teams played hard - orange won 3-1 - but the best part was the team pictures we took after the game with BOTH our teams. That's over 20 kids who had a chance to experience a tournament; playing the best of the best from the area rec leagues. Hats off to the kids, coaches and parents!

Photos tomorrow.

Junior High and High School

The Junior High remains undefeated. I don't have the details, but they beat Centralia and Saline County in close games (2-1 and 2-1), and tied rats to the tongues of Saline County 7-0. The High School team lost 0-1 today after a fantastic game last night. I'll have to get back to you on the details.....

5th and 6th Results

I caught a little of the girls' game Friday night. They were losing 0-3 to Marion, and things were not looking good. Imagine my suprise to check the board this morning and find out they came back and lost 2-3 (goals by Mackenzie Houseman and Katelyn Brush). They then lost to Carbondale 2-3, but came back to BEAT Saline County 2-0. Another Union County team that plays hard and is a LOT of fun to watch!

The boys team (who lost to Marion Friday night 0-4) put up a heck of fight before succumbing 1-2 to ...I forget. Colten Collier scored the only goal. I saw some of this game and I can tell you that Nathan Twente made the most remarkable save I have ever seen a goalie make. The ball was high; he leaped and punched it, but it went straight up. As he fell backwards he punched it two more times, landed on his back, and came up with the ball. How it didn't go in, I have no idea! They came back and tied Perryville 2-2 on two goals by Logan Miller.

3rd and 4th Results

I don't have the results of later games, but I do know that the 3rd grade coed team sandpapered the gums of Saline County, 10-1. early Saturday. The 4th graders were losing, then winning, then losing...and finally beat Jackson 5-4. Goal scores - Logan Tweedy, Eli Scherer, and Enrique Arreola. Hence forth to be called ENRIQUE. One name is enough. They later lost a heartbreaker to Carbondale 1-0.

The girls' lost to a good Perryville team 1-6, but came back to beat Saline County 2-0. I don't know who scored for us, but I bet one is named Katie.

1st and 2nd Results

We have three teams playing at the 1st and 2nd grade level.

Orange (coed, which means boys) - I saw most of their first game, where the beat...somebody. I forget who. But Zac Paar scored twice, Derrick Harvel, Noah Fuller, and Aaron Arreola added goals and the good guys won 5-2. Steven Wells took a ball the in mug...hope you're OK, Steven! After 8 hours at the tournament I decided not to stay for their 6:15 PM game, but I am sure they won. Watch these kids and see the undefeated A-J High School soccer team of 2015.

Blue - These guys are a fun team to watch! Our guys took it on the chin from the semi-professionals from Farmington 1-4. I mean, come on...matching jackets for the PARENTS? They came back to tie Saline County, 1-1. I'll get back to you on the goal scorers.

Girls - Played great and beat Jackson in the first game, 4-2. Samantha Schott scored twice; so did Madison Calhoun. In the second game, CAYSA beat our girls 1-4; Ms. Schott scored again.
If another girls team beats CAYSA I will push a peanut with my nose from Marion to Anna.

Friday Results

The High School team won tonight 2-1 against Albion. Daniel Cohen scored both goals - a man among boys. The Junior High team under Mark Boomer won 2-1, goals by Shawn Stone and Lance Dixon. The 5/6 coed team lost to a really good Marion team, 4-0, but I want to single out Travis Smith and Colten Collier for playing good enough to keep us in the game. I wandered over to see the 5/6 girls play for a while...at the time they were losing 3-0. The final score was 3-2!

If I could editorialize for a second...

If you have not been to an All-Star Tournament, you should come to Marion. You won't believe the level of intensity and skill our kids display. I have been involved with Union County Soccer for 8 years (!) now. When I think back to the beginning and consider how far we have come, I am absolutely amazed! Thank you to all the coaches who volunteer their time, the parents who allow their kids to participate (and skip dinner to get them to games and practice), and the kids themselves who work so hard to get better at the most popular game in the world. Bring the little ones...our kids are an inspiration!

Marion Tournament Schedule

The schedule for this weekend's Whirlwind Tournament in Marion is here.

It's going to be a rainy week leading up to the Marion Tournament. Here's what it looked like after ONE NIGHT of rain two years ago. That's Zeb Goessman in the white.... 

AN IDEA FOR OUR EARLY SPRING GAMES

While normally I wouldn't condone this kind of behavior, it may solve our early spring problem of games ending after dark.

Mali Soccer Riot

Even A-J fans will have a hard time topping this.

Follow Up the FIFA Standings

From Jerry Green of the Orlando Sentinel:

Hey, don't laugh. The U.S. is now tied for 10th with Italy in the FIFA world rankings. This is the highest ever for a country that doesn't know these rankings exist.

ATTENNNNN-HUT!

Zane DeWitt (Dyno Nobel) takes it to the goal while his teammates stand at attention, waiting to salute.

Where are they now? 

Day light Savings Time

Daylight Savings Time begins APRIL 3!!!

As a result, we will push the starting times for our Tuesday and Thursday games back to 5:30 PM.
The first games affected are the Tueday, April 5 ones.

FIFA World Standings

The United States has moved into a 10th place tie with Italy in the FIFA World Standings. Can you name the others in the top 10?

Me neither. Here they are:

1) Brazil
2) France
3) Argentina
4) Czech Republic
5) Spain
6) Mexico
7) Netherlands
8) England
9) Portugal

Harvel Disposal is in 14th.

This is what happens when fund raising does not meet expectations.

Shirts

Hang on! If you recall, we have something like 70 new players. They were assigned to teams only 10 days or so before the season started. That's not a very long lead time.

Thanks for your patience.....

Photos

Do you have any good, digital photos of UCSL soccer action? If you do and want me to post them on this site send them to me at jope@cba.siu.edu !

Final (?) Registration Number

As of today, we have 317 players registered to play this Spring 2005. We lost around 30 from the Fall 2004 season but made up for that by adding 75 new players!

Supplies for coaches

If you need anything, let me know. I am expecting a shipment of goalie shirts and soccer balls tomorrow (March 18). I also have uncovered some goalie gloves and mesh soccer bags.

Medical Release and Liability Form

All new players must fill out a medical release form. This is mandatory! Those who played in the Fall 2004 season should already have one on file with his/her coach. You can get a form here.

Child rearing article

Here's a fascinating article that, although it does not deal specifically with soccer, is relevant in many ways to what we as soccer parents can and shouldn't do. The money quote..."Having overprotective parents is a risk factor for anxiety disorders because children do not have opportunites to master their inate shyness and become more comfortable in the world." (Michael Liebowitz, clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University).

Schedules

I have linked to the schedules for the PreK/K, 1st and 2nd grade, and 3rd and 4th grade schedules. Let me know if you see anything wrong!

GOAL SAFETY

Yet another kid has been killed by a falling soccer goal. This has become a recurring problem across the country. PLEASE help keep our kids safe by stopping them from climbing or hanging on the goals! And you have the league's permission to scold OTHER people's kids, too!

FAQ for Referees

Here's a site designed to answer some of the mysteries of refereeing. It's put up by U.S. Soccer.

WE NEED COACHES!

We're looking for at least two coaches - one to coach the Junior High Girls team, and one to coach the High School team (if we end up with one.) Contact me at jope@cba.siu.edu if you are interested.

Head Protection Gear

The US Soccer Federation has published its opinion on head gear/helmets for soccer. It's very interesting, but to summarize...they don't like 'em much. The report summary is here .

REGISTRATION REMINDER

Don't forget the deadline! It's February 16th, and it's coming on fast! If you don't want to spend the $.37 to mail it, come to the Anna Junior High School Saturday, February 12 from 10AM - 1 PM. At least I THINK that's the time and place. Check the Gazette Democrat to make sure.

SPRING 2005 REGISTRATION

Registration for the Spring 2005 season has begun. Registration forms for Fall 2004 participants will be mailed within the next week. Information about important dates is included in a cover letter; you can read the letter at the link to the right (see "info"). Blank registration forms are also available. The info and registration form are in PDF format.

Merry Christmas everyone! Santa ...put on your pants! 

Are you BLIND, ref???

No, not exactly. Here's why we refs always get the call wrong...

Offsides!

The UEFA has some new guidelines to help refs call offsides. If you understand what it says, you MAY be eligible to ref in the Union County Soccer League!

Cape Girardeau Photos

The Sports Section FINALLY got their photos up on their website. There is no index so to find a photo you have to wade through the whole bunch. On cursory look-through I found some photos of the 1st and 2nd grade teams but nobody else. I could be wrong....