The road to the US Club Soccer National Cup XII Finals begins on May 25 in LeGrangeville, NY, with the Northeast Regional. Champions from the seven nation-wide regional championships will advance to the National Cup XII Final, July 18-21 in suburban Denver, Colo There the competing teams will be divided into two levels of play, […]
Issue-35-05
Mistakes Are OK As Part Of Learning Curve
Every coach would like to be a better coach. That’s a given, and most understand that there is a learning curve. That is even true for coaches who once were outstanding players. Perhaps that is especially true for former standout players. A relevant question is how do you deal with the mistakes your players make? […]
RailHawks Jump On Split Season
Colin Clarke and the rest of the North American Soccer League needed a different mind-set to start the 2013 season. Clarke, the coach of the Carolina RailHawks, probably didn’t mind too much because his team didn’t have a win nine games into the 2012 season before getting a victory. Carolina still rallied to finish 10-8-10, […]
Pro Soccer Notes
National Premier Soccer League The New Orleans Jesters moved to the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) after competing in the USL’s Premier Development League since 2003. The NPSL was formed in 2005 as the nation-wide successor league to the Men’s Premier Soccer League. The Jesters have also undergone a new ownership structure and a new […]
A List Of My Favorite Information Sources
Sports Medicine Corner This is a departure from my usual sport sciences topics. I’ve been asked on more than one occasion if I have any favorite soccer websites, so I thought I’d offer up a few. Analytics Quantifying sport has taken off in a HUGE way, especially after MONEYBALL was published. The Sloan Sports Analytics […]
Alabama Soccer
Oak Mountain senior defender Chandler Stroupe, who is headed to UAB in the fall, has been named 2012-2013 Gatorade Alabama Boys Soccer Player of the Year. Stroupe had 13 goals and 12 assists for the state championship runnerup Eagles. Stroupe is the second player from the Oak Mountain program to earn the Gatorade honor. Former […]
Mountain Brook, Vestavia Defense Rules
Spartans, Rebels Win Class 6A State Titles Defense ruled the day for the 2013 Alabama 6A state champions. Mountain Brook (22-3-2) allowed only one goal and posted four shutouts in postseason play to win the first championship. The Spartans blanked #1 Huntsville (1-0) in the semifinals and Oak Mountain (2-0) in the title match at […]
Briarwood Christian, Athens Win 5A Titles
Briarwood Christian and Athens captured the 2013 Alabama Class 5A boys and girls state championships, respectively. The Lions, with 13 seniors, won their fourth boys state title with a 3-0 victory over Saint Paul’s behind a pair of goals from Grant Janich. Saint Paul’s lost in the state finals for the third straight year, but […]
North-South All-Star Teams Announced
Alabama’s North-South All-Star boys and girls soccer games differ from most other high school all-star events. The Alabama games, July 16 at Emory Folmar Soccer Complex are for rising juniors. The games are sponsored by the Alabama High School Athletic Directors & Coaches Association and will be held during the 17th Annual Alabama All-Star Sports […]
1A Collinsville Captures Boys 1A-4A State Title, Randolph Wins Girls
With the score tied 1-1 at halftime, Collinsville exploded for three unanswered second-half goals to beat Westminster-Oak Mountain for the Alabama boys Class 1A-4A state title. The girls Class 1A-4A championship went to Randolph with a 1-0 victory over two-time defending champs Montgomery Academy. It was the first boys soccer state title for Collinsville, a […]