Westwood, CA – Made the 45 minute journey on a free Sunday afternoon to catch the Bruins-Lions. From a soccer standpoint it was a disappointing 90 minutes. However, I got to see the only player on the 3four3 watch list that I had never seen. It was well worth the trip. Kelyn Rowe is a […]
Players
Klinsmann’s Roster Decisions Leading up to World Cup Qualifying
In his last post, Jacques posed an interesting question: Is it acceptable/effective to select experienced players with incomplete skill sets and little tactical malleability? Or, is the system Klinsmann seeks to implement better served by selecting players with less pedigree but with skill sets better suited to succeed in a possession based system? Experience or […]
Top College Soccer Prospects 2011
I’ve seen numerous lists of top college players/pro prospects in the last few weeks and quite frankly they’ve made me laugh. The same robotic big athletic players are being hyped up and called the nation’s best. I am going to keep it short and sweet and post a small list of players we feel have […]
Akron Zips vs Cal State Fullerton Titans: 0-0
Northridge, CA – Game 2 of our college season coverage involving the defending national champion Akron Zips couldn’t have come at a better time. Caleb Porter’s team gave me a clear reminder that “it can be done at the collegiate level.” Playing the game with a true possession style and having a consistent team identity […]
Barcelona Season Preview
After 3 seasons of seeing magical football displayed by arguably the best football team ever assembled I asked myself if it could ever get better than this. The answer is YES!!! The FC Barcelona dominance of world football will continue on for a bit longer. The best show on Earth must go on!!! I am […]
UC Irvine vs USD Game Recap
Irvine, CA– So the college season kicked off last Friday for most programs across the country and I received a clear reminder of where we stand as a soccer nation with the horrific display between UC Irvine and USD. Yes, the game was such a disappointment that it could be considered a waste of a […]
US vs Guadeloupe: 8 Thoughts and Feelings
1. Watched the game at El Torito (hey it was taco Tuesday). An American fan, who was surely several tequila shots deep, comes up to us around the 80th minute and says: “This is embarrasing. I can get 11 of us in here to play better.” We couldn’t stop laughing … a US fan with […]
College Soccer Recruiting: On Being A Player Advocate
On a lighter note, here’s a post offering some behind-the-scenes insight. The following is our original email sent to the University of North Carolina, arguably the nation’s most prestigious women’s program. I’m sharing this now that our girls team (our first and likely last) has aged out. Hello Chris and UNC Staff, I am writing […]
Apparently Clint Dempsey is World Class. Who Knew?
First, let’s get something out of the way; Dempsey is a quality player. He is one of the few worthy of representing our country. He has a good touch, a good brain, and is highly valuable to his club. But World Class? I know we want one of these badly, but people are reaching and […]
American Invited to Join La Masia
This will go down as a mark in US Soccer history. Ben Lederman, a U-11, has been invited to join FC Barcelona’s youth Academy. He started his trial with the famed academy on April 11, 2011 and just 4 training sessions later, the Director of all 7 v 7 at the club, Andres Carrasco, had […]