In the News

This happened a couple of weeks ago, but I lost it in the rush of news.

Apparently an American Airlines flight from Boston to Los Angeles was diverted to Oklahoma City on July 18, 2008 after a passenger stripped nude and later tried to open an emergency exit door. Members of the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer were among those who grabbed the passenger and subdued him before he could get the door open.

There are strange people in this world.

Read the story here: FBI: Soccer team members help subdue man on flight.

The Associated Press reported yesterday that your brain needs more than just one game to recover from that concussion. Moreover, girls need a little more time than guys.

Apparently, healing from sports injuries to the head take a little more time than expected. Well, duh. 

The biggest problem, in my opinion, is coaches failing to resist a steady push from players and parents.


Well said. Coaches, are you strong enough?

Read the article here: Balancing brain time-out in concussion recovery

I found this really interesting. I'd never heard of anything like this. To see this organization reach out on such a global level (with soccer no less) is amazing.

Read it: Homeless World Cup

Can you imagine??? I would like to meet the person who came up with this idea. The author of the comment obviously missed a few major points: 1) This a MINISTRY. It's supposed to reach out to those who need help. Duh! and 2) This is truly imporving lives. It's not just making homeless people comfortable; it's about encouraging them to better their lives for themselves. Who ever wrote that comment was only thinking on the surface level and really needs to have some compassion for the less fortunate.

This is an article about a campaign for respect for soccer referees. The campaign was started by The Football Association and has recently been pubically supported by Manchester United's manager, Ferguson.

Read it: Ferguson Backs Call for Respect

I think this is great. It's so important that we treat all referees, umpires, game officials of any sort with the utmost respect. They are figures of authority on the feild, court, diamond, whatever. Especially in soccer, there is so much to watch at one time and so much effort goes into each minute and each call. They have a hard job to do and can't possibly please everyone. Though we as players, coaches, or spectators may not agree with some calls, we absolutely must remember that they deserve our respect. We think it's hard to play, but to referee is so much harder.

Thanks to The Football Association for bringing this back to the front of our minds.

We are somewhat disappointed to see this morning that we were not the the winner of Soccerlens.com's Best Women's Football Blog of 2007.

Nonetheless, we are pleased that we achieved runner-up status both from the Readers Choice and Editor's Choice. Kickster, which is run by a group of professional soccer journalists. Not bad for a new blog, run by a college student and and a part-time admin.

Thanks for all who voted for us.

The New York Times wrote an article earlier this week on Shamila Kohestani, the captain of Afghanistan’s national women’s soccer team. She's currently studying in the US at the Blair Academy in NJ.

She had little formal education under Taliban rule in Afghanistan and strives to make a better life for herself and serve as a role model for other young women in her country. It continues to amaze me at how much of a role soccer plays in helping women express themselves and their limited freedoms in the many countries where women don't have the rights we in the US take for granted.

OK, ladies. It's time for us to step up and take some action. We can't just sit here and read something like this without doing something about it. Sitting around thinking Wow. That really sucks.. isn't going to sway the numbers. We need women like you and me to get out there are change it!

L.A. Times article: Number of female coaches in women's sports shrinks to all-time low

The article was a little long or I would have included the whole thing...

How can we help? It starts with coaching rec teams. Coach your church team, your YMCA team, or even a neighborhood team. Set the foundation. When you're more confident, coach a middle school team. I have a friend who does that and she loves it. Finally, when you're older and more experienced, coach a club team or a high school team. I have a friend who coaches 2 club teams and a high school team. All of those kids are being exposed to something they may not be used to. Eventually you'll be coaching a collegiate team.

This just out from Alabama:

University of Alabama Names Todd Bramble Women’s Soccer Coach

Good catch, but I think Debbie Rademacher would have been a better choice. What do I know?

The Missouri Athletic Club announced the semi-finalists for the Club's Hermann Trophy today. The Trophy honors top male and female Division I college soccer players in the United States. The award is college soccer's version of the Heisman Trophy and represents the highest level of individual achievement in the sport. Past female winners of the award include, Mia Hamm, Shannon MacMillian.

This year's women's semi-finalists are:

Danesha Adams, M, Sr., UCLA, Shaker Heights, Ohio
First-team All-Pac-10 selection…second in the league in scoring with 34 points (13 goals, eight assists)…ranked 19th in the nation in points per game (1.7)…her 136 career points rank second in school history…holds the school record for career starts…has 25 career game-winning goals…the all-time Bruins leader in NCAA Tournament scoring (37 points, 17 goals, three assists).

Yael Averbuch, M, Jr., North Carolina, Upper Montclair, N.J.
Returns to the MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalists list after being named one of three finalists in 2006…started all 24 games for the Tar Heels this season…has 18 points on six goals and as many assists…four of her goals were game-winners…earned two caps with the U.S. Women’s National Team earlier this year.

Ashley Banks, F, Sr., West Virginia, Annandale, Va.
Big East Co-Offensive Player of the Year and first-team All-Big East…leads the conference in goals with 15…first-team Academic All-America…her 38 points and 15 goals are school single-season highs…her hat trick against Georgetown was the second in her career and ninth in school history…2006 NSCAA/adidas Scholar All-Region…junior season was cut short due to injury…second-team All-Big East her first two years at WVU.

Stacy Bishop, F/M, Sr., Florida, Land O’Lakes, Fla.
Two-time All-Southeastern Conference first-team selection…led the Gators in goals (10), assists (10) and points (30) this season…has led the team in goals and points each of the past two years…candidate for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award…third-team NSCAA/adidas All-America as a junior…an All-SEC second-team pick in 2004 while playing at LSU, where she earned team MVP honors.

Brittany Bock, M/F, Jr., Notre Dame, Naperville, Ill.
Big East Co-Offensive Player of the Year…led the league with 10 goals in regular-season play…earned NSCAA National Player of the Week honors Oct. 7…second-team Academic All-America…her position change from midfield to forward has been a catalyst in Notre Dame’s late-season dominance…has career marks of 39 goals and 19 assists…NSCAA All-Region and second-team All-Big East as a sophomore.

Lauren Cheney, F, So., UCLA, Indianapolis, Ind.
Ranked second nationally in goals per game (1.05)…leads the Pac-10 in every major statistical category, including points (55), goals (22), assists (11) and game-winning goals (nine)…rewrote the UCLA single-season scoring record by scoring the game-winner and logging an assist in the NCAA Tournament win over No. 7 Virginia…NSCAA National Player of the Week on Oct. 24…one of five finalists for U.S. Soccer’s Young Female Athlete of the Year.

Amanda Cinalli, F/M, Sr., Notre Dame, Maple Heights, Ohio
Has appeared in 19 of 24 games this season despite battling a hamstring injury…has three goals and five assists this season…two-year starter with the U.S. U-20 and U-21 national teams…has 34 goals and 31 assists for her career…All-Big East selection in each of her first three seasons…her eight goals in NCAA Tournament play rank fourth in school history…her 98 career games rank 10th at Notre Dame.

Christina DiMartino, M, Jr., UCLA, Massapequa, N.Y.
First-team All-Pac-10 selection…started all 22 matches for the Bruins…tied for the conference lead in assists (11) and tied for fifth in scoring with 23 points…one of five finalists for U.S. Soccer’s Young Female Athlete of the Year…had three assists in a 6-0 win over Hawai’I and a pair of two-assist games in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

Kerri Hanks, F, Jr., Notre Dame, Allen, Texas
The 2006 MAC Hermann Trophy recipient, becoming the youngest player, male or female, to claim the award…one of only four players this season to reach double digits in both goals (13) and assists (18) this season and was the first to reach the landmark…her 22 goals and 22 assists in 2006 made her the second player (along with Mia Hamm) to lead the nation in both categories…the third women’s Division I player to reach 50 goals and 50 assists before her senior season.

Tobin Heath, M, So., North Carolina, Basking Ridge, N.J.
Started 21 of 23 matches for the Tar Heels…has logged 1,927 minutes this season…logged nine points on two goals and five assists…an NSCAA/adidas All-Region selection as a freshman…a member of the 2007 U.S. Pan American Games team that claimed the silver medal in Brazil…currently a member of the full national team and the U-20 National Team.

Stephanie Lopez, D, Sr., Portland, Elk Grove, Calif.
Missed the team’s first 10 games while playing in the Women’s World Cup…the team was 10-0 with nine shutouts since her return…started all six matches for the U.S. at the World Cup…has two goals and two assists…a finalist for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award…third-team NSCAA/adidas All-America as a junior after claiming first-team honors as a sophomore…has 28 caps for the full U.S. team.

Kelley O’Hara, F, So., Stanford, Fayetteville, Ga.
A two-time All-Pac-10 first-team selection…played 17 games, starting 15…had a pair of two-goal games in three matches (v. Arizona and Washington)…added another against Sacramento State…a finalist for U.S. Soccer’s Young Female Athlete of the Year…trained with the U.S. national team in April and the U-20 Pan American Games squad in June.

Ashlee Pistorius, F, Sr., Texas A&M, Bloomington, Ill.
Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year…four-time All-Big 12 selection, including three consecutive first-team honors…started 90 consecutive matches for the Aggies…career highs of 12 shots and four goals against Baylor and a hat trick against Kansas…had seven game-winning goals this season…holds conference records for goals (81) and points (194)…leads the nation with 25 goals scored…second-team NSCAA/adidas All-America as a junior.

Mami Yamaguchi, F, Jr., Florida State, Tokyo, Japan
Atlantic Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Year…the only player to rank in the top 10 in points (3rd), goals (4th) and assist (7th)…set FSU records for points (62), goals (23) and assists (16) this season…her seven-game goal-scoring streak is a school record…recorded five multi-goal performances this season, including three hat tricks…first in school history in career assists (28) and second in goals (31) and points (90).

Claire Zimmeck, F, Jr., William and Mary, Fairfax, Va.
Two-time Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year…led the league in virtually every statistical category, including goals (16) and points (32)…closed the regular season sixth in goals scored (0.842/game)…her 42 career goals are fourth on the William and Mary list…scored the game-winning goal over No. 2 North Carolina…NSCAA/adidas All-Region selection as a junior.

Source: National Soccer Coaches Association. http://www.nscaa.com/