KSA Board Meeting Info: Coach's Lanyards Mandatory

There really wasn't much pertinent info for me at last night's meeting. Most of it was business as usual and little applied. But something I was interested was how NMSCL has been voting (and this is questionable) regarding coaches and their attendance on the field.

An explainable plague has befuddled me for years now which is why parents that do not volunteer their time during practices see the need to stand next the coaching staff during the games. For the little guys they may see this as a motivator, an encouragement for their wee little child. As a coach, it's a distraction. As a ref (and I'm only guessing here), it's an impediment of control if things get out of hand. At KSA we've implemented a fairly strict parents on one side and the team/coaches on the other. This minimizes this confusion and strife. But even with this well accepted policy, the parents at times meander over to the team side of the field.

The new ruling at the league level places the burden of identifying the coaches squarely on the shoulders of the association and the coach. Lanyards will be issued that identify a registered and background-checked coach and games will either be forfeited or not start until the coach's card on the lanyard is produced.

Negative consequences? Well, for occasions when a coach either forgets or doesn't have an assistant and cannot attend the game this is an issue. But these cases are rare and can be managed.

Benefits? Of course. Clearly marking which adults are authorized by not only the association but acceptable to the league is a good thing. It's good for the opposing coaches as well as we'll know which adults to address with the referee in the event things are out of control with the players (I've had to address this in the past).

I welcome the change and hope that other coaches will welcome this too. Thoughts?

Gearing Up for Fall Season

It's amazing how quickly the summer flies by, especially when you're not involved continuously with grooming teams, working practices and skills and constantly out on the fields for games and monitoring. With little more than Board meetings to attend, my summer has been virtually soccer free.

That's gonna change here soon. With just over 2 weeks left of July, soccer practices will be starting with a vengeance. I have so much to accomplish in so little time. I check my building rosters this morning and to my disappointment very few have returned. This was expected of my oldest team and while disappointing, I've come to terms with it. The surprise was on the other 3 teams (yes, I'll be coaching 4 teams).

So it's time to beginning the solicitations and beefing up of the teams before I have to scramble just before the season starts.

Let the near insanity begin!

Knee Injury Impetus for Temporary Retirement

Yep, you correctly read the title. I'm going into a temporary retirement. What exactly is a temporary retirement? Well, it's more like an indefinite hiatus. I reserve the right to return to the game but may not do so immediately.

Why would I give up playing a sport that I love, look forward to each day, and actively participate with my own kids? That's a hard question to answer. The bottom line is this. I'm old and am prone to injuries. OK, I admitted it, finally. Well, I'm not that old and there are certainly other players on my team and in the league that are certainly older. But honestly, I don't like pain and love being healthy. When I'm healthy, I feel uninhibited. Today, inhibition is all I feel.

Yesterday I saw my ortho and while I did sustain a contusion on the upper tibia and a tear on the the lateral meniscus, he said I should be playing in another season, if I chose to. Well, at this time, my choice is to sit it out and enjoy life in other ways.

What does this mean for the blog? Nothing. I'll still write about my kids and their adventures in soccer. I'll still write about FC Dallas games I get to attend. I'll still write about serving on the KSA board. But I'll be fairly silent as to my own adventures in soccer. And quite honestly, it makes me a bit sad to think about giving it up.

That said, here's to an early retirement. Anyone want to take a guess as to how long it will last?