Fun Team Pics For Opening Games

Just wanted to share a few pictures documenting the excitement my kids have at starting a new season (3 weeks late).


S in new uniform ready to take off for the game.

J in new uniform ready to take off for the game.

S & J at the fields ready for a great opener.

Cheetahs won opener 4-1 against the Aftershock.

FireDragons won opener against the Buccaneers 3-0

Easier Soccer Week

With the cancellation of last weekend's games due to hurricane Ike, this week seems like an easy going schedule. We only have 2 games scheduled for Saturday, one of which is away in Bedford, TX. The craziness is the number of pictures we'll be taking: 4 for 4 teams, 3 of which are prior to the first game of the day. My day will start with 3 hours field monitoring for the association, including opening up the park for the early birds. My morning will run from 7am at the park through about 4:30 at the conclusion of the last game whereby we'll dash off to our church's picnic social. Upon conclusion of the event we'll return to pick up our oldest son from his ref'ing gig back at the soccer complex. Much easier week :)

Did I mention 8 hrs of practice between now and the first game on Saturday?

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?

Volunteering at KSA for Fall Registration

It's that time again; fall 2008 registration is upon us and as a Board Member I'm currently volunteering a few hours this morning to help shuffle people through registration.

Last year our association contracted with a firm to take the registration process online and let's say it was a little painful for the first 2 online events. The 3rd started out even more painful but things seem to have settled down now that we're out of the beta period. Today's registration, in the office, is merely for those that don't have access to the Internet, have misunderstood how to register online, need a little hand holding through the process, or need to sign release forms.

Volunteering for a non-profit organization has been interesting as I get a peek behind the scenes of how an organization that consistently registers 2500 - 3200 players functions. Everything from the financials, the politics, the volunteerism, and the perks is disclosed in board meetings and exhibited on the fields in some form or fashion. But the spirit of volunteerism is at the heart of the organization. While it's not easy for some to volunteer their time, they make the effort because they believe in the organization, they love the sport, they have family involved in the association and they either want to give back or feel compelled to make a difference.

My motivation is covered by all of these. I feel it's import to serve. I desire to give back to an organization that helps foster good competitive and social relations for my children. I adore the sport, likely too much. I want to make a difference in the organization.

I was challenged by the then VP and now Pres of the association to volunteer my time on the board when I challenged the need to have Sunday games scheduled for any of my teams. A perk I receive on the Board is scheduling priority where none of my teams play Sundays and my schedule essentially comes first and has a great priority. What a difference this makes in how we associate ourselves in our community. We do not have to be apologetic for missing games that are scheduled on Sunday's and we extend this blessing to others by preserving their right to worship on the Sabbath.

I find it interesting as I've served over the last year to listen to many excuses from parents as they try to justify one need or another with zero interest in lending support to the association. "I just don't have time." "I have no experience." These are the most common. Well, I'll be coaching 4 teams, organizing 2-3 traveling teams among those, running practices, attending Board meetings, volunteering time to monitor on the fields and giving some time to referee a few games. Think I have time? Experience is another thing. While I'm not the most proficient coach, I give it a try and that makes the difference.

So for those of you that may contemplate volunteering at your organization or mine, I say give it a go. It's worth it from many different angles. But most importantly, the service is at the heart of the cause and what better reason is there?