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#16 RobertTheBruce

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Posted 07 January 2012 - 11:49 PM

Cool. Is this club? Which?

FC Long Beach. It's a U8 tourney at Heartwell Park but they have some of their U9 players as that's their lowest age group so he's probably a year off from that. He was going to run out with an LBYSO select team of sorts but FCLB was short so they invited him to run with them.

It's a different speed for him but he's hanging. One good thing is it's forcing him to focus on positioning instead of just running around like Junior Bradley.

Little Alejandro is pretty good, too.

#17 RobertTheBruce

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Posted 08 January 2012 - 10:52 PM

And after having talked him for quite a while today, I can say Alejandro is one of the most cordial and personable players I've met away from the field. More Moreno's, fewer Terrell Owens' would be good for sports.

#18 stopper

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Posted 11 February 2012 - 03:17 PM

You may recall that in 2006, I was coaching my daughter's U10G RC Flames, Rancho Cucamonga's AYSO select team. This is a photo of our first championship at our Grape Stomp tournament:

Posted Image

The stopperette is third from the right. Over her right shoulder is Stacie Moran. I told you way back then to remember the name, as she will be playing with the US National team one day. Well, she is one of the girls that got called up to play with the U16s this month. Very cool.

That year, we walked on the HDC field during the Walk of Champions and got a rousing welcome from the Riot Squad. At midfield, I told her, "If you keep working hard, one of these days you'll be playing in a stadium like this in front of a crowd like this." She looked around with big eyes, thinking, "Really?!" She didn't know how good she was.

Best of luck to one of my girls. She currently plays at Alta Loma HS and with Platinum FC. Remember: you heard it from me.

#19 stopper

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Posted 25 February 2012 - 04:25 AM

Five glasses of cheap wine in, so I'm on a roll.

The girl just to my left shoulder is Carissa Christensen. She's a lovely girl and a very good keeper.

She plays keeper for Los Osos HS who is playing in the Div 2 semifinal. She came over after the game and gave me a smashing hug. At U10, she was obviously my best goalie but didn't like to play it and begged off when I needed her in our 2nd tournament. She cried at our 4th tournament when our final went to PKs and she didn't get in goal. We ended up losing on PKs and Carissa was not involved. I talked to her about overcoming fears and how her hero Mia Hamm had to overcome her fears from the spot.

Next tournament, she stepped up three times in shootouts and we won the tournament.

I had told her Dad that if she was going to get a ticket to college, it would be as a keeper. He was reluctant, because he saw her as a field player, and she didn't like playing keeper.

Now, she owns the penalty area, and is playing as a keeper in the ODP program. She has traveled to Costa Rica to rep her region and is in the national player pool.

Carissa Christensen. My girl. You heard it here first.

#20 American Beer

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Posted 04 March 2012 - 02:15 AM

Cross posting this in the thread on 2014 roster speculation...
http://www.nytimes.c...-choose.html?hp
Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.
-H. L. Mencken
----------------------
The Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias in which "unskilled people reach erroneous conclusions and make unfortunate choices but their incompetence robs them of the metacognitive ability to realize it." The unskilled therefore suffer from illusory superiority, rating their own ability as above average.

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#21 El_Dude

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Posted 05 March 2012 - 09:23 PM

Cross posting this in the thread on 2014 roster speculation...
http://www.nytimes.c...-choose.html?hp



i'm sure that the guys that go to prep high schools and are being groomed for USC football are allowed to be 'kids' in the off months for football. high school soccer (and ncaa for that matter) have missed the boat. they need to shift the rules to not look like it does and more like the int'l system.
STEVE SAMPSON; STILL THE GREATEST COACH OF THE LA GALAXY. EVER. PERIOD. EXCLAMATION POINT. NUF SAID. JAJAJA!

#22 stopper

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Posted 21 April 2012 - 12:33 AM

UPDATE on Celtic Harps

We have been trying to cope with two key backs recovering from injury. We've been playing a 3-5-2 out of necessity, as we have plenty of mids but only three backs--and sometimes less than that.

We went to Las Vegas to defend our cup but ended up losing on PKs in the semis. Unfortunately, the Stopperette was one of the girls that missed. She hit hers waist high and it was blocked. We struggled to play consistent soccer, as one of my backs had a prom to attend and so we had one of our dmids playing as an outside back and a gimpy girl playing as a deep mid next to Sera. It was tough.

We played a friendly against a province select team from Saskatchewan. It was pretty cool. We played the Canadian anthem and had one of my player's sister sing the national anthem. Our girls then gave the visitors a Celtic pin and a Celtic Cup medal. They really appreciated it. They also kicked our asses. Not horribly. We lost 2-0 on a goalkeeping brain fart and a late goal when one of our girls dove in. We attempted to play a 4-4-2 that night, but without my outside back Sandralee--who is still recovering from ACL surgery--we lacked a true late running threat. The girl taking her spot lacks the polish to work with the outside mid when she overlaps. One of the girls that I hoped to convert from dmid to center back proved to me that she is much too slow to play that position.

So, we played the first round of State Cup last weekend and I still didn't know what to expect. As it turned out, the girls finally got comfortable with the 3-5-2. Sera had been unclear as to the defensive responsibilities and didn't have a dmid partner that she could really work with. All that seemed squared away this weekend.

I decided to go with our most skilled back as the center back, even though she has some bad habits as far as holding her position and scanning the field. But she is really learning and she was fantastic. We had to go with some deep bench players as one of my dmids had to sit out the first game due to a red card from last year and my regular center mid missed Saturday due to a quinceanera. Welcome to girls youth soccer in the barrio. But we won 3-0, as the Stopperette had the assist on the first and winning goal. We played a champion bronze team and showed our class.

We swept Sundays games 4-0 and 3-1. We played a pretty good Silver team in the morning but the girls came out on fire. The Stopperette once again set up the first and winning goal. Rancho United's daughter came off the bench and hit a howitzer to make it 4-0 within the first 20 minutes. She had a very good weekend besides. We played a very physical team to clinch the group. This time, the girls showed poise and patience and took over a game in the 2nd half that had been back and forth in the first half. Sera contributed to the clinching goal.

So, by winning the group, we are assured a game against a low wild card team next Saturday. If we take care of business, we will start seeing some long-time nemeses in the round of 16. Should be fun.

#23 stopper

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Posted 28 April 2012 - 06:18 PM

Always an interesting twist.

So, one of my forwards had to attend Saturday school this morning. Then, my center mid--who is recovering from a torn ACL and MCL--was not allowed to play with her brace by the center ref. So dad thought it best to sit her out. Probably a wise decision. But that made things problematic.

Had to shuffle the line up a bit, and the girls played kickball in the first half and lost their shape. Pointed out the major flaws at halftime and the girls came out and played their game. Some hiccups, but a justified 3-0. Tomorrow we hope to play two games, the second being a quarterfinal match. More than likely, Los Gauchos of Redlands. A difficult foe from years back that we have not crossed paths with recently.

#24 stopper

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Posted 29 April 2012 - 08:20 PM

Excellent results in San Bernardino today. The Celtic Harps won in the round of 16 against San Diego United 2-0. The insurance goal came with about 10 minutes to go.

That set up a quarterfinal match against Los Gauchos of Redlands. A very good possession team with athletes that pressed our deep mid, but the girls managed to control the game in the first half and managed to work a nice few combos to make it 1-0 in the first 20 minutes. But with only three subs, and playing our 2nd 80' game of the day, our girls were really fighting fatigue. Gauchos controlled the play in the 2nd half but the Harps stood firm. A few very scary moments, but the girls fought like giants. It ended a razor thin 1-0, and a very gracious congratulations from the Gauchos girls and coaches.

So, Celtic Harps has a State Cup semifinal next Saturday at noon at Veterans Park in Pomona against Platinum FC, a new club that aspires to be one of the elite club teams. They have a few ODP girls. Just to add a little spice, one of their starters played with us for two seasons before Cle Kooiman plucked her for his team. So, the girls have a little something to say about that.

Yep, I'll be coaching against Cle Kooiman. Should be fun.

#25 stopper

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Posted 06 May 2012 - 03:07 PM

It really pains me to have to post this. Celtic Harps were absolutely robbed yesterday by an irresponsible referee.

I don't usually make a poor refereeing decision the focus of my game analysis. Bad decisions happen. They are part of the game. Sometimes, we have to deal with lazy referees, and I do vent about referees that don't work hard.

What happened yesterday was shameful. We were beating Platinum 1-0 with five minutes to go in the game. The center ref reversed the call of the asst. ref and gave Platinum a throw in next to the penalty area. When the ball was put in play, he blows his whistle and runs to the spot. It was unbelievable. No one protested and called for a penalty. None of their parents on the touchline called for anything. When he blew the whistle, it was a shock to everybody that a foul had even occurred. One of their forward backed into one of my backs. My girl put her hands up to brace against it. That girl was not in a threatening position and the goal was not being attacked. The forward did not ask for a call. It was not a foul.

It was so blatantly wrong. It was as if he wanted to make the call so that he could be the center of attention; so that he could be the story of the game. It was ugly.

The girl makes her kick. Shortly afterwards, one of my girls gets tackled in the penalty area. From the side. It sure looked like a foul to me, and if this guy had any common sense or a sense of fairness, he would've given us the chance to win. Nothing. Next minute, the sweeper has her arm out in an unnatural position and clearly handles the ball on a shot in the area. Nothing. It was absolutely disgusting.

We gave up a late goal in the first overtime. Our girls swarmed the penalty area but could not deliver the equalizer. But it never should've come to that.

We had a fundraiser last night at Dale Brothers Brewery. Let me tell you, we were all gutted. We all felt violated, and the beer didn't sooth the pain. I still feel hazy, and not from my hangover. My girls should be getting their final instructions right now as we should be minutes away from the State Cup final with a chance to go to Denver.

Right after the game, my assistant's daughter walked up to the ref and called him an asshole. Red card. Rancho United's daughter then went up and started blasting away at him, dropping F bombs and had to be restrained by a teammate. I don't condone that kind of behavior from my girls, but let me tell you--it was entirely justified and neither girl will be disciplined. The referee's behavior at the 75th minute was more unseemly than anything the girls did after the game.

Afterwards, Rancho United had to go with the refs to sign the game card and deal with the red cards. He calmly spoke to the ref and told him something like, "You and I both know that there was no foul." Etc. He told him that what he did was unforgivable and unjustifiable. He was basically telling him to look into his soul and determine why he did what he did, as he ruined a perfectly good and clean game and ruined a perfectly wonderful opportunity for the girls to experience a final and a chance to represent the region. And if this is his character, and he is going to continue reffing, he needs to consider his intentions. And I don't think this talk was out of bounds. Something had to be said. Seriously, the only way that call could've been made was so that he could be the center of attention. Then, he got stubborn and defiant and didn't make obvious calls because he was going to get his way so that he wouldn't appear to be wavering from his decision and making this right. I can not in any way imagine why things happened the way they did unless this is why. It was so unfair.

So, our run was ended in an unjust way. If you've been reading, you know that when my girls lose to a better team, or lose because of poor play, or whatever, I say so. I'm honest about it. My girls didn't play the perfect game. They didn't finish off the game as best they could, they didn't create enough chances and missed a couple of good chances, and our forwards don't consistently hold possession well enough. Fine. We were going to work on those things anyway. But, they did enough to win. And overall, our soccer was more beautiful.

We will have to move on. I have to move on. But I really don't think I will ever be able to bury this.

#26 stopper

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Posted 22 June 2012 - 11:19 PM

Coast League's brackets came out today:

GOLD
Celtic Harps 8503
• Valley United - Garcia 6774
• Select Cities Avalanche95 6917
• Freedom FC G95 7715
• Valley United Vorster 5404
• Desert United G95 6361
• AC Brea G95 8026
• OYSA Wave 6608
• Platinum FC G95 Kooiman 9048
• FC Long Beach G95 5593
• Rialto Fire SC GU95 8445
• Chula Vista Premier FC 1085

Let the games begin!!!!!!

#27 stopper

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Posted 17 July 2012 - 11:51 AM

You may recall that in 2006, I was coaching my daughter's U10G RC Flames, Rancho Cucamonga's AYSO select team. This is a photo of our first championship at our Grape Stomp tournament:

Posted Image


UPDATE: Just got word last night. Carissa Christensen, the lovely little girl at my left shoulder, just accepted a full ride to Texas Tech to play goalkeeper. I am very proud. This is the first of "my girls" to accept an offer. What a wonderful thing to happen to such a nice little girl.

Here's what her future surroundings will be

Additionally, she will be training with the US team's goalkeeper trainer today at Rancho Cucamonga HS and my club keeper Annie Bailey will be joining her. I'm sure Annie will hold her own. I think I have another special one there. Watch for it.

#28 Prodigy09

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Posted 17 July 2012 - 10:07 PM

I will be Coaching U-10 AYSO Boys out in Ontario

Will get some updates once season starts.

#29 gala_usa

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Posted 19 July 2012 - 11:49 AM

UPDATE: Just got word last night. Carissa Christensen, the lovely little girl at my left shoulder, just accepted a full ride to Texas Tech to play goalkeeper. I am very proud. This is the first of "my girls" to accept an offer. What a wonderful thing to happen to such a nice little girl.

Here's what her future surroundings will be

Additionally, she will be training with the US team's goalkeeper trainer today at Rancho Cucamonga HS and my club keeper Annie Bailey will be joining her. I'm sure Annie will hold her own. I think I have another special one there. Watch for it.


Thats awesome!! Great feeling!
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