The End Of a Soccer Mom's Career

Good story in today's Philadelphia Inquirer by Noel Dolan of suburban Philadelphia about the end of the line for her career as a soccer mom.  Seems her son was a goalkeeper for a local high school whose season ended with a loss in post-season play last week.  No more sitting at games in all weather, washing uniforms, driving to practices, working the snack bar and all the other things soccer moms and dads do.

While being a soccer mom (or dad) for a high school team is different than for a club team with its travel and year-around play, the ideas about which Dolan writes are the same.  But the piece is about more than supporting your kids' activities be they soccer, ballet, ice hockey or whatever.  It's about kids growing up - her son is off to college next fall, she wrote - and parents aging.  She quotes from "Landslide" by Stevie Nicks: "even children get older, and I’m getting older too."  As one who has watched countless games my kids played in countless rec league, travel team and high school games and is now a soccer granddad, I can identify.  

As much as I enjoyed the story, I take issue with Dolan's statement, "I must confess, I was not a very good soccer mom, at least not in the stereotypical imagining" because she did not have a team decal on her car or wear a team shirt.  But she goes on to say, "I was there for my son, to support him in a sport that he enjoyed and in which he found meaning and friendship. That is what moms do, soccer moms, football moms, ballet moms, field hockey moms, the dads too, you name it. Show up and offer support, win or lose."

Sounds like she was the best soccer mom to me.

A "National Shame": Italy Fails to Qualify For World Cup

By virtue of a scoreless draw with Sweden Monday, Italy failed to qualify for the world Cup for the first time since the Eisenhower administration.  Jason Horowitz described it in a well-written piece in today's New York Times:

"ROME — Many tragedies have befallen Italy in the last 60 years. Dozens of governments have collapsed. Earthquakes and terrorism have shaken cities. The French started adding cream to carbonara.

But the failure of the national soccer team on Monday night to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1958 seems to be taking a place in the pantheon of Italian disasters."

And speaking of soccer disasters, Iceland is in and we're not!

Progress: First Woman Referee In The Bundesliga

Saturday's New York Times carried the story of Bibiana Steinhaus, the first woman to referee in the German Bundesliga.   Good for her and good for the sport.  No reason a woman who is qualified cannot officiate in the Bundesliga or any other top league.  Are you listening MLS?

Steinhaus seems pretty cool - serious about the job, worked hard to get where she is but still a bit in awe.  “This is the freaking Bundesliga! This is cool!" she is quoted as saying.

Maybe in the not too distant future having a woman working top games in any sport will no longer be news.

Focus Football" last Chance For 11 year olds

Recent story in New York Times about the so-called "academy" youth programs of British Premier League clubs and Focus Football, founded to help those youngsters who were released from the academies.

Parents pay Focus $100  a month for two training sessions and one game a week in the hopes their son will get back to an EPL Academy.  But the odds are overwhelmingly against it.

The Times article quotes author Michael Calvin, who wrote a book about the academy economy as saying only 180 of the 1.5 million boys who play organized youth soccer in England at any one time will ever play in the Premier League.

“You are like a piece of meat really,” one Focus parent said of her son’s dismissal by a Premier League academy. “They need you until they don’t.”

SJ Coaches Cup: A Matter of Inches

HADDONFIELD, NJ --  If the goalposts were 24 feet6 inches wide instead of just 24, or if the crossbar was 8 feet three inches above the ground instead of just 8, the result of last Saturday's opening round game between Haddonfield and Moorestown  in the South Jersey Soccer Coaches Association girls tournament might have been different.

Whoever said football is a game of inches referred to the gridiron version popular in the United States.  Turns out it's true in the football more popular in the rest of the world.

Haddonfield was nursing a 1-0 lead in the 47th minute when Moorestown was awarded a penalty kick.  The Bulldogs dodged a bullet there when the shot hit the crossbar and was cleared.  Two minutes later Moorestown shot one off the crossbar, hit the rebound into the left post and then shot that rebound barely wide right.

"I can't buy a goal," wailed Moorestown coach Bill Mulvihill.  "If they were selling goals they wouldn't take my credit card.

His lament proved to be true again, after Haddonfield had gone up, 2-0, when a Moorestown shot hit under the crossbar, bounced down and out.

The game ended up 2-0 and Haddonfield went through to the quarterfinals where they downed Oakcrest, 4-1, three days later to advance to the semifinals Wednesday night against Washington Township.

The boys were equally as successful with a 1-0 golden goal victory over Williamstown to advance to the semis against Rancocas Valley.

Coach P is Back

Well, it's been awhile - combination of things, mostly time crunch with my day job, plus some log-on issues that have finally been resolved.

Since I've been gone, a lot happening the soccer world.

**David Beckham's group was awarded an MLS expansion franchise in Miami and has made its first payment towards the purchase of land for a stadium;

**back on July 23 the Men's National Team beat Jamaica, 2-1 to win the CONCACAF Gold Cup;

**just tonight the men scored a crucial 4-0 win over Panama in a World Cup qualifier and are now in third place, 3 points ahead of Panama with one match to play - October 10 against Trinidad and Tobago.  The top three teams get an automatic bid to next year's World Cup in Russia;

**Over in the Bundesliga, my favorite team, Hamburger Sport Verein (HSV) got off to a flying start with victories in the first two matches, only to drop the next four before a tie last weekend, leaving them in 16th place of 18 teams.  They'll try again on Friday the 13th at Mainz;

**Sadly, former Women's National Team coach, Tony DiCicco, passed away in June at the age of 68;

** Back on August 2, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), of which I used to be a member, re-branded itself as United Soccer Coaches;

** The Haddonfield Memorial High School girls team got off to a 5-1-1 start, with the loss and the draw being non-league games - 2-1 to Kingsway and 1-1 with Rancocas Valley.

There's been much more of course.  I'll try to keep in better touch in coming months.

Carli Lloyd On The Go

It's been awhile since the last post, so might as well start off with a Carli Lloyd update.  Jonathan Tannenwald has a good article in today's Inquirer about Carlie's travels from Manchester City to Houston to the Women's National Team.

Speaking of Houston, about two weeks ago they gave up a 1-0 lead to Portland on a perfectly placed free kick into the upper left corner in the 90th minute.  Then in the 92nd minute the referee made what looked to me to be a bad call in sending Carli off.  The announcers seemed to agree saying there was nothing malicious about the foul, and maybe she came in "a bit late" but at worst a yellow card would have sufficed.

Anyway, I hope the rest of the season goes well for carli.