Hope Springs Eternal

Juliet Macur has written a number of thoughtful pieces in the New York Times on social issues involving soccer and other sports. But on Friday she took U.S. Soccer and the Women's National Team to task for allowing keeper Hope Solo to play against Mexico the night before in Rochester - when she extended her record streak shutouts to 73.  Solo was charged with assault back in June when she is alleged to have punched and injured her sister and nephew at a family party in Washington State.

"But look past the patina of glee and here’s what you will see: a team and a league — not named the N.F.L. this time — that are tone-deaf when it comes to domestic violence and how they handle players who have been accused of it," Macur wrote in Friday's Times.  She argued, "It takes a lot to match the N.F.L. these days when it comes to missteps in the handling of players charged with assaulting family members and loved ones. But Thursday, at a time when domestic violence in sports is dominating the national conversation, U.S. Soccer did just that — again — by keeping Solo in goal when she shouldn’t have been anywhere near it."

There are more than 300 comments to Macur's article on-line, some saying abuse is abuse and what's good for Ray Rice is good for Hope Solo, with others claiming that the cases are not comparable.

Neil Bueth, a spokesman for U.S. Soccer, recognized that Solo was dealing with a "personal situation" but then said, "At the same time, she has an opportunity to set a significant record that speaks to her hard work and dedication over the years with the national team.  While considering all factors involved, we believe that we should recognize that in the proper way.”  In other words, Solo is a marketable player and that trumps any off field behavior.

Scotland the Brave

  Scotland will vote on September 18 whether it should be independent from Great Britain, and according to the New York Times, "the country’s [soccer] stadiums have become key battlegrounds for the yes and no campaigns."

The article goes on to say that the debate is dominated by the Glasgow teams, Rangers and Celtic, collectively known as "the Old Firm," and that as is often the case, they are on opposite sides of the issue, with Rangers fans tending to favor remaining with Great Britain while Celtic supporters lean the other way, although the Times said it is more complex than that.

Interestingly, 18 well-known figures in Scottish soccer, including former players and two coaches, have come out in favor of a "no" vote, i.e. remaining with the U.K.  The 18 issued a joint statement that read, in part:

“We are proud Scots who have been proud to represent our country around the world. When Scotland calls, we answer.

“We are proud that Scotland has always stood on its own two feet but we also believe that Scotland stands taller because we are part of the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom is a country Scotland helped to build.

“We urge every patriotic Scot to help maintain Scotland’s place in the United Kingdom which has served Scotland so well.”

I have yet to get to Scotland but as one who has been to Europe many times, I'll be watching the results of the vote.  British leaders have urged Scotland to remain and some financial analysts say that if Scotland becomes independent England may leave the European Union, which would have ripple effects around the world.

Whatever happens, rest assured the pipes will still skirl, the pipers will still march, Scotland the Brave will be as stirring as it is now and the soccer games will go on.

Tough start to the H.S. season

   A nice night for soccer and the pre-game activities for the Haddonfield girls soccer opener went like clockwork (with much credit to phys ed teacher and boys basketball coach Paul Wiedeman, who set up the stadium and ran the scoreboard): everything was on time, everything worked, the National Anthem played just when I announced it, and we had a nice crowd to boot.

  The only thing that did not go right was down on the field as Sterling beat HMHS, 1-0.  We didn't play bad, they just played a bit better.  Credit to Sterling's Ashley Kerrigan, who made a nice move and found herself with a clear angle on goal and then made a perfect shot to the upper right with 18:43 left in the second half.

 It was a very close game, but the bottom line was they made one play and put the ball in the goal and we didn't.   But we sure will in the coming days and weeks.  It's a long season.  Next game is tomorrow. 

Back to high school - year 21

Tomorrow is a new high school season, my 21st doing announcing, program-writing, bookkeeping and whatever else a "special assistant" does at Haddonfield Memorial High School.  It's our second year on the new stadium turf and the second season with our awesome coach, Lori Quintavalle, who was maybe 12 when I first met her.  I always tell the parents that my daughter, Kirsten, graduated in 1997 (with Lori's sister, Beth) but they haven't found a way to get rid of me yet. 

Despite my years of coaching at a high level of club soccer, there is an appeal of the high school game, where most girls are playing for their town and their school, for their friends, for peer recognition, and hopefully for fun and good health. This post five years ago reflected on what goes into putting on a night high school game. 

I hope the games remain a memory for the players.  I'm looking forward to this season as much as the past seasons.  Here's to another good year, girls.

The struggles of Chivas U.S.A

As the New York Times reports, the MLS franchise Chivas U.S.A. in Southern California has struggled to stay afloat, the opposite of success stories in Portland, Seattle, Kansas City and elsewhere.  The league is operating the team this season while it searches for a buyer, with two conditions: that the owners live locally and that they build a stadium, preferably in downtown Los Angeles.

Heads up play

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on August 29  that The Shipley School, a private school in Bryn Mawr outside Philadelphia, has banned its middle school soccer players from heading the ball, the first school in the country to do so.

"We've seen a growing trend of injuries in our students, severe head injuries," athletic director Mark Duncan is quoted as saying. "They're sitting out weeks to months from school."  But interestingly, when invited to join in the ban, other schools in Shipley's conference (the Friends School League) declined. 

Although the ban applies only to middle schoolers, some high school players who had already begun practice last week were not high on the idea.  "I don't love the idea, and if it were me, I would be upset," said Hope Roehrs, 16, cocaptain of the varsity team. "Sometimes you need to head the ball, like into a goal."

Personal opinion here is that heading the ball, especially if taught the right way, is less of a problem than head-to-head collisions when two players are going up for a ball.