Tweet $3/gallon gasoline is not shocking for people any more as we’ve seen prices at that level for some time now. But the latest Energy Dept forecast calls for prices to peak at $3.40/gal in the Spring, though given how fast they have risen already, some expect $4/gallon is not out of the realm of […]
Entries for February, 2008
Tales From The Lunachick Fringe
I often joke with friends of mine that I’ll be able to write a book in a few years about the exploits of my U11 Girls team, The Lunachicks. Regular readers are already familiar with some of my tales. In lieu of a book, I might as well start a regular feature here at OTP called “Tales From The Lunachick Fringe”. Even though the Spring season has just gotten underway, I’ve already got a few stories to share – of course.
Tragic
Tweet This is just tragic: TAMPA – Two teenagers in town to play in a college soccer showcase left their hotel Friday to get a late night snack. Moments later, Kaitlyn M. Grogan lay dead in the street and Brittany J. Gruber had a fractured skull and other serious injuries. “They had gone to Albertsons […]
Easing Up On Youth Referees
Tweet Over at The RefBlog, The Ref has been doing a ‘best of 2007’ series and he highlighted an excellent post he did last year about how the worst behavior exhibited towards referees seems to come from youth matches, not adult now professional matches: The only thing that really caught my attention to the article […]
Are You Ready for the Season?
Tweet Wreave over at the NC Soccer Forum has a 5 question quiz to see if you are ready for the upcoming youth soccer season and any obscure calls that might be made. Check it out. Don’t scroll down until you answer the questions! Are you ready?
Pros and Cons of Travel Youth Soccer
Tweet There is an interesting thread going on over at Talk On The Pitch about the pros and cons of travel soccer for U10 age players. I see a number of search referrals for ‘Pros and Cons of Travel Soccer‘ both here and at TOTP. Even locally I know a number of long time Rec […]
NCSRA Referee Mentoring Program
Tweet Since we’re talking about referees this morning… At the recent NCYSA Annual General Meeting, two international FIFA referees (Kim Oberle and Sandra Serafini) presented a new program they are championing in North Carolina called the NCSRA Referee Mentor Program. The program is designed to take referees who want to go beyond entry level and […]
When The Laws of the Game Just Aren’t Enough
Tweet Does it make you cringe when a longtime soccer coach yells at a referee over a call that the coach is a) absolutely wrong about and b) should know better? It’s often said one of the best things for an aspiring youth soccer coach to do is get their Grade 8 Referee Certification. Not […]
How Will The Flu Impact Your Team?
Tweet February is when a number of southern travel soccer teams get their seasons underway while many Recreational programs get practices going. February is also the peak flu infection month historically. While it is still to early to tell if this will be a ‘bad’ year for the flu, early signs point to things ramping […]
Creating Maps For Away Soccer Matches
Tweet If you travel to away soccer matches, it has probably happened to you once or twice. You go to the away team’s website or the scheduling league and click on the link to a map from Mapquest or Yahoo or Google to find your way to the soccer complex you’re playing at. It looks […]
G2
Tweet I had a chance to grab some G2 the other day – better known as diet Gatorade. They had it on sale for 50 cents a bottle at Wally World, so I grabbed a case for my Challenge team before their tournament this past weekend. It was gone by the end of the day […]
SBI Captions – USA v Mexico
Tweet If you haven’t seen them – these are hilarious. Let’s just say #1 is NOT my favorite. Add two or three. 😀
A Youth Soccer Team Manager’s Handbook
Tweet Our league recently completed our first Youth Soccer Team Manager’s Handbook for managers of our youth soccer teams. It is intended to be a comprehensive guide to managing a youth soccer team from start to finish. While some of the information is specific to North Carolina, or even our own league, I thought I […]
What Would You Do If Parents Swarmed The Pitch?
Tweet Let’s start this off with a hypothetical scenario. Your child’s team is playing a team from a nearby town in a closely contested match. The score is 1-0 in favor of your team. Late in the 2nd half, one of your team’s players, let’s call them Player A, goes in hard for the ball […]
Earth, Wind, but no Fire…
All soccer coaches have their stories of extreme playing conditions, usually related to rain, snow, or extreme heat or cold. Well my U11 Girls played in what arguably could be the worst conditions they’ll face as youth soccer players this past weekend. It was surreal.
