Reflections on the World Cup Part 2

US v Ghana game - did the US team selection make the difference?
3. Coaches can make a negative difference - by overreacting to the referee!
A lot has been written on how many of the expected stars of the World Cup have failed to turn up to the event What has struck me though has been the impact of coaches failing to get the most out of their players. Dunga losing his self control on the Brazil sideline transmitted a message to his players in the loss to the Netherlands. In the second half Brazil seemed to me more focused on criticizing the referee, who I thought had a good game, than beating the Dutch. Dunga being upset every time Robben was fouled gave the impression to the players that Robben was diving. From the benefit of my high definition slow motion reply perspective, Robben was certainly being fouled but he was hitting the deck as though he was shot rather than kicked. Brazil's implosion and lack of control was picked up in one BBC blog and it reminded me of several games I have refereed for Stoddert or watched at NCSL where players pick up on the body language of the coach and blame the referee as an excuse for things going badly on the field. As the same blog points out, getting a team selection wrong or not having a back up plan to adjust to the dynamics of the game can outweigh all the talent on the field - see Maradona and Argentina.
4. Germany's success has been based on six years of planning. Jurgen Klinsmann has written an eloquent piece on how Germany's success is based on a radical plan in developing a new playing style He writes from the perspective of what the English FA needs to do but there are some important lessons there for US Soccer. Where are the US creative and impact players coming from?
5. This World Cup has had plenty of upsets. Ghana beating the US, Netherlands beating Brazil, New Zealand drawing Italy, South Africa defeating France, Germany scoring 4 against England and Argentina. Many teams have their reputations enhanced and several have had them tarnished. What chances a brand new World Cup winner this year in Holland or Spain? Will the new look Germany show that an old powerhouse can reinvent itself?

- I'll post more tomorrow -
The most miserable fans I met were by the way the Danish! although I have to admit I did not go to any England games!

Greetings from the World Cup Part 1

US fans left at Ellis Park before the Slovenia game.
As the World Cup semi finals kick off tonight I am writing from Southern Africa following a 10 day sojourn for the World Cup in South Africa. Unfortunately the rural settings we were lodged in were not blessed with great internet coverage so could not post while I attended games with my 16 year old son Dominic. Here's the first of a couple of blog posts to share some initial reactions of the 10 most memorable things from the World Cup.

1. South Africa has done a fantastic job in hosting: Concerns about security, organization, transport and infrastructure have been almost entirely unfounded. We managed to get to our seats on time for five games in two different cities, covered 2000 km in a hire care with only one minor traffic incident. We were greeted by total strangers with nothing but warmth and friendship. The organizers have set a high standard for Brazil to follow. Congratulations to Sepp Blatter Danny Jordan and everyone involved.

2. What a global experience: We met and interacted with fans from South Africa - wearing all sorts of colors, US, Slovenia, Uruguay, Mexico, Argentina, England, Ireland, Germany, Denmark, Japan, Spain and Honduras and saw fans from many other countries. With one exception (I bet you can't guess!) all were good natured friendly and getting in to the spirit of a really joyful World Cup. Dominic left had a mostache drawn on with a sharpie by Uruguay fans at the Mexico game. The total interaction of fans was a real joy and enriched the whole experience.
I'll write some more tomorrow when I'll reveal my least favorite fans.

A truly global game

I am Dhaka for work and so missed the US v Spain game in South Africa, shown live locally at 1:00 AM. I had planned to watch it but got the time difference from South Africa wrong and woke up after the game had finished!

What a fabulous result and arguably the most impressive in the US national men's team history. I personally think it is bigger than that 1-0 win against England in Brazil in 1950 but I am biased.

As some great pictures from a UNHCR web site show, soccer, or football as it is called locally, is played in Bangladesh. The picture shown top left is courtesy of New Age sports in Dhaka, you have to scroll half way down the link page to see the coverage of Woman's national league after all the cricket news! You will see children kicking a ball around on any open land although sadly there is not a lot of that in this overcrowded city.

Now I have my game time right I will wake up to watch the final against Brazil on Sunday. Just check on how global that statement is. An Englishman in Bangladesh will watch, courtesy of an Indian TV channel, a live game from South Africa between the USA and Brazil.

Where ever I travel or have lived in the World, there has always been one language I could speak locally that people would understand, it's name changes - futbol, football, calcio, soccer- and it definitely played differently, but once the whistle blows its the same game planet wide.

Given how Brazil struggled against a very determined and tenacious South Africa, I think it will be very close and the USA has a real chance to lift its first international trophy.

Water water everywhere......

As this soggy spring soccer season slowly slides to a squelchy stop, the incessant rain looks like it will continue to plague our early summer. We certainly have had more rain than usual, with more games and practices canceled and fields unplayable even with the sun has come out. The heavy downpours have meant that the quality and capacity of our available fields has

been severely tested--and in most cases found wanting. Meadowbrook tops the list as the worst affected field, with local ducks getting more access than our own U-6 ducklings. Trench foot has now been added to the list of soccer-related injuries coaches need to look out for.

Joking aside, fields remain a very serious problem. Many thanks to the thousands of you who completed the different parent survey forms we shared. As we sift through the 17 pages of feedback from the recreational survey, it is clear that fields is the Number One issue on everyone's mind. This is what we plan to do about it over the summer:

• We will prepare a fields plan defining our current and likely expanded field needs as our programs continue to grow. We had a larger High School Division than in many years and could have added more teams from different parts of the city if we had had better field access. The plan will look at a mix of rental and lease options from public and private sources in DC and Maryland, including both grass and artificial turf. We will then identify new possible locations to serve our existing and potentially newcommunities.
  
• We will work with the very energetic new leadership at DC Department of Parks and Recreation (DCDPR) as they change the way fields are permitted and maintained. We are asking them for help in getting access to more District of Columbia Public Schoolsartificial turf fields at elementary, middle and high schools. We only had regular access to one high school field this last season, and given the nearly dozen fields the city has installed recently, that is not good enough. The lack of transparency in accessing DCPS fields is an impediment.
  
• We will review our DCDPR Premier Partnership agreement to see if the $120,000 we plan to invest in public field is being put to best use. DCDPR is considering increasing field use fees we will discuss their plans and try to ensure that this does not represent an additional burden to the club and you as parents, but rather relates to what we already spend in voluntary donations.
  
• We need to advocate for better access to fields in Montgomery County, given that a third of our families are from Maryland. Meadowbrook really should be left for the ducks with other alternatives identified.

I see fields as our main priority and we will work with DCDPR and the Maryland-*National Capital Park and Planning *Commission (M-NCPPC) to identify options for the Fall season.

We will also share on the web site analysis of the feedback we got from you.

Many thanks for your input and enjoy what I hope will be a dryer summer.

Field Dreams

Growing up in east London I was able to play "football" morning, noon and night. There were plenty of parks to play pick up games on but organized games were played on Wanstead Flats, two miles from where I lived. Created as a public park in 1878 the park is a large open area in the middle of inner city London and, to the south of the park at least, home to some of the most economically deprived urban communities in England.

As you can see from the aerial photo on we had access to 36 publically owned fields that charged teams the equivalent of  around $150 a season to play games on. These fields were as good as, if not better than, the Germantown SoccerPlex but a walk or bus ride for tens of thousands of players - mostly boys as girls soccer was non existent in those days.  One local boys club Senrab FC had 20 or 30 players go on to play professional and in many cases international soccer. 

For all sorts of reasons, DC lacks a public park area like Wanstead flats. Partly this is a function of space, partly a land development issue, and partly it is a cultural issue with other competing demands from other more established "National" sports.

The lack of adequate urban soccer fields represents the single biggest constraint to the development of the sport in the US and perhaps to the US becoming a World Cup Champion. 

With the possible exception of Brazil, the US has more youth soccer players than any other top soccer nation. We have some of the best youth coaches and an improving youth soccer set up but without urban soccer fields we have large soccer playing populations who can not play at the highest levels because they do not have access to fields in their neighborhoods and can't afford to travel to suburban complexes like the Soccerplex.

While establishing a field complex like Wanstead flats in DC is unrealistic, we must continue to work with DCDPR and other partners to develop one field at a time so that our kids can play and develop and so that those players in Columbia Heights, and NE, SE and NW that can't afford to go to the SoccerPlex get their chance. If we can do that then I believe the US can be a World Cup contender.     

 

Wet Wet Wet

Last week's hot temperatures are a distant memory as the wet weather is forecast to continue through next week. At least we managed to get most recreational games in on soggy but playable fields. The boys High School Rec Division game I saw at Ft Stevens featured a skillful Muffins team of Wilson HS players take on a team made up of the IDEA PCS students many of whom are relatively new to soccer. The athletic IDEA players, though out passed by the Muffins, kept their shape and discipline and scored the best goal of a six goal game direct from a kick off. Both teams looked like they were having a lot of fun.

Greater access to DC's excellent turf fields would be a big plus as the DC wet season continues. We pay for access to Roosevelt HS, Maret and Georgetownday schools as well as the permitted access to Palisades. With over 50% of our rec players coming from DC and MCPS we need to get a better balance in our field use, with more access to those DC public school turf fields.

Although most travel games were rained out, the wet weekend was capped by good comeback games for DCU and Washington Freedom . The Germantown SoccerPlex looked wetter than a moist Monday in Morecambe but that did not deter the largest home crowd of over 5,000 from enjoying a passionate Freedom rally late in the game led by French international Sonia Bompastor. Pregame, the City FC girls team got to meet the US Women's National coach Pia Sundhage who generously took time to chat to the girls and parents. (Picture to follow)

Hot Hot Hot

Rockets on a cooler March day - Picture by Glenn Thomas

My son's travel NCSL game at the Germantown Soccerplex was played in 90 degree heat this afternoon. The DC Stoddert Rockets did well against their top of the league opponents to draw 1-1 - check out their league status here - but with a short roster we wilted a little in the heat.

Proper hydration is crucial and can make a big difference on game day. Check out the following links on proper hydration:

Sports medicine

US Youth Soccer 

Remember, smaller kids tend to dehydrate quicker so be sure to have players drink water before during and after games.

Also be sure to avoid sharing water bottles with the current flu alerts.