Xabi Alonso goal vs Newcastle

Tremendous Goal. How did this guy have the sight to see the goalie was slightly out of position? Then he hammers the ball. What a leg!

Maybe one day....

...San Carlos will get its collective act together and figure out how do get some fields built. For now, we can take some learnings from Los Gatos. 3 need turf fields opening within a few months.....Great headline story in the Los Gatos Daily News last weekend.....

Soccer may score another field

By Kristen Munson

Youth soccer scored use of a brand new turf field for games, marking the third game field added for soccer groups in the past three months.

Saratoga and school district officials developed a joint agreement for use of Prospect High School's brand new turf field every Sunday during the year in exchange for additional security at the site. The Campbell Union High School District board will vote whether to approve the agreement Nov. 2.

The potential addition of the playing field for youth sports comes in the wake of a unanimous agreement between members of the Kevin Moran Park Task Force last week.

City officials are hoping the fields will help start the healing process for residents after a decades-old battle between its neighborhoods and sports groups over the development of the park.

Director of Public Works John Cherbone announced the agreement at Wednesday's City Council meeting, lauding the agreement as "another great moment forward in terms of the city being able to gather more space for youth sports."

The sports user groups will have access to the field for two years as a trial period for $35 an hour, in exchange for police monitoring of the site over the weekend. The city should not incur any of the cost for the field usage because user groups will pay the city in advance, Cherbone said.

Council members Nick Streit and Kathleen King serve on the ad hoc committee with the city's schools and spent the past five months working to gain access to the new field. The two helped broker a deal with West Valley College officials, giving the city access to two fields at the college next spring.

"We've passed one hurdle, which makes me feel that we can get through other hurdles," King said Friday. "We're on to the next step now. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel."

King believes the city needs to work with Cupertino officials about creating cooperative agreements that would give Saratoga children the same priority for practice fields as if they were Cupertino residents.

"(We need) to share what we have instead of the issue we've had of who's from where," she said.

The new field helps ease some of the congestion around weekend games, but there is still a shortage of weekday practice fields for Saratoga children, soccer supporters said.

As of last year, there were more than 350 children registered with the California Youth Soccer Association in Saratoga. Most of those children practiced on fields in West San Jose and Cupertino, said Laura Watkins, a longtime advocate for more field space in Saratoga.

"One more field is a good thing absolutely. It's a step in the right direction," she said. "It helps solve a game shortage problem, but the issue of practice fields is still the same problem that it's always been."

rg

The Rocky/Rudy of US Soccer

The story in the movie "Goal" is fun, but that can't happen in real life right?

Well, read this wonderful story in Sports Illustrated by Grant Wahl. Jay DeMerit is a mid-level college player from Green Bay, WI. who wasn't drafted by the MLS or even invited to their combine. He's never played for the national team.

Yet in less than 2 years he went from a Sunday Pub league in England to starting in the Premiership. Great story, and a great player to keep an eye on. Think the US team could have used him in Germany?


Rich

Goal - The Movie Review

Predictable as rain in Seattle, and this trailer won't leave many surprises but the Godwin5 all saw this film last summer and we liked it a lot. Great soccer scenes. Fun film. Worth seeing, but likely unbelievable...until you read the next blog post

It's painful to support England

Being an England fan is like being a Red Sox fan, with the curse still in place. Yes they have great players, but they manage to do things like this. England has a hard time following ROOTS, thus they crucify the players after loses like this. rg

Defense Wins Championships

We aren't focused on winning championships. The Clash is focused on effort, learning new skills, working as a team and honoring the game. That said, our defense has been just outstanding this season. 5 - FIVE goals allowed in 14 games!

Congrats to all the boys who've played total soccer this season, and especially to Shane, Garrett, Jimmy, Joey, Jordan, Joey, and Danny who spend a lot of time and take a great deal of pride in shutting down our opponents. rg

Parent Trap - Rick Riley Article

Great article here from Rick Riley of Sports Illustrated. Semi-tongue in cheek, but the point is well made!

The Parent Trap

I went out to get my paper this morning and found my neighbor Dalton instead.

He was slumped on my stoop, looking as though he'd slept under a marching band. His eyes sported five-pound bags, his right hand was bandaged and bloody, and his face was sunk like a bad soufflé.

"My God!" I said. "What happened to you? You look like a 20-car funeral!"

"Youth lacrosse happened to me," he grumbled. "The Competitive Elite Lacrosse League. My little Ashley made one of those 'travel teams.' Pray it never happens to you, dude."

He explained. "See, I really never thought Ashley was all that hot at lacrosse, and she's only 14. But when she made this competitive team, all the parents said it was a big honor. They said it's the only way to make your high school varsity, and it's the road to a scholarship, and it looks great on your résumé.

"I'm not even sure Ashley wanted to do it. But all of her friends made it, so she just had to do it. What was I gonna do? Tell my little girl no?

"Next thing you know, I'm writing a check for $1,500. Then it turns out, they practice or play seven days a week on these things. And it's clear across town, so pretty soon I'm standing on the sidelines every day of the week.

"My wife can't do it 'cause she has to take Justin to hockey every day. Why an eight-year-old nearsighted kid needs a 42-game schedule is beyond me. What is he, Wayne Gretzky? Plus there's pylon camp and forecheck camp and backward-skating lessons with his personal coach, Hans.

"So pretty soon I got no life. Family dinners? Forget it. Every meal is in the car -- righthanded Taco Bell. I almost never see my wife awake. When I do, I have to ask for I.D.

"Then this lunatic lacrosse coach schedules an extra 6 a.m. practice every day. It's like the old bottle-feeding days. I'd be like, 'I got her last time. You get her.' And Denise would moan, 'I had to stay up for Midnight Madness last night. Your turn.' Then, at night Ashley is so tired, we end up doing her dang homework! And we're gettin' C's!

"Anyway, Ashley and I started flying to all these stupid tournaments -- Dallas and Baltimore and, my God, Ottawa! -- and every one is billed as 'the recruiting event of the year!' And do you know who we see at these tournaments? The same damn girls we used to play in our neighborhood league! Essentially, we're flying across the country to get our ass kicked by the same exact people!

"So I start talking to these girls' parents, and it turns out they don't really want to be there either, but their kids were saying we were going to do it, so they had to!

"But then my wife gets to talking to some other moms at Justin's slap shot workshop, and they say we're crazy if we don't have a 'performance-enhancement specialist' for our kids. So she signs them both up with one. Then she finds out most of these girls have 'recruiting consultants' who make highlight reels of kids and send them to college coaches. I'm like, 'She's 14!' And my wife is like, 'You're gonna tell our little girl no?' Then we add a rating-service guy and a sports psychologist and a webmaster.

"Well, what with me working half time and all this crap I'm paying for and all these trips, I had to take out a second mortgage. Denise can't work because she's spending every waking moment in a freezing ice rink, which makes her joints stiffen up. Luckily, Hans knows some New Age massage technique that makes her feel better.

"So now I'm getting no sleep, turning my stomach into a Dumpster and having less sex than a dead monk. But before I can put my foot down, my boss does. He fires me! And as he's firing me, he adds, 'By the way, the average lacrosse scholarship is $1,000, you putz!' So I punch him, and now I think my hand might be broken.

"I stomp out and go find Ashley to say, 'It's over.' And she goes, 'Whatever. I quit today anyway. My sports psychologist says you guys push me too hard.'

"Nice. So I go home to tell Denise, but she's not there. Three days go by. I figure she's at the Elite Competitive Hockeypalooza in Cheyenne. Turns out she moved in with Hans. Says she wants to be with someone who 'knows' her. Oh, and she really likes massages.

"So now I get home and somebody changed the locks! Probably the mortgage company, since I'm way behind.

"And do you know what I learned from all this, man? I learned that the most viciously competitive sport in the world is parenting.

"Anyway, what I wanted to ask you is -- you wanna buy some lacrosse sticks?"

Two Rivers Soccer Camp

This summer Riley and I , Graham went to Two Rivers. Two Rivers is a soccer sleep over camp in Greyeagle, California. It was a blast you had lots of fun plus I think Riley and I both agree we got much better. This year Riley and I thought it would be fun if as team we go to Two Rivers.I hope every can consider it. You can find out more about Two Rivers here:

http://www.tworiverssoccer.com/

Graham

Great Saves

The Last Minute!

Nothing like leaving it to the last minute! The Clash pulled a win out in the dying seconds of our game with RSC Barcelona '96 yesterday. Fun and thrilling game from a coaching perspective. Cheers to RSC Barcelona '96 for playing so well. We look forward to playing you again. They showed great ball skills.

Both sides showed terrific effort, and the game was kept close by solid defense and some outstanding goalkeeping!