“It just feels safer because now the coaches and the parents will be restrained from doing anything. Talking to me. Questioning me about a call.”
— Referee Ryan Heddinger, 15, on the Calgary Minor Soccer Association’s decision to require a “field marshal” at every game because of bad behavior by parents. The association has had two-thirds of its referees quit after their first year, leaving one in every nine games without a referee. (CBC)
“We have taken a strong stance. It’s important. This isn’t the World Cup. . . . And for the parents to be shrieking on the sidelines and belittling people goes against everything we’re trying to do. . . . It’s not acceptable behavior.”
— Kathie Diapoulis, president of the Washington Area Girls Soccer League, on the league’s move to ban the parents of the Bethesda Legacy under-14 travel team from coming within 100 yards of their games for two games after a parent had berated a referee last season. (Washington Post)
“I try to do a lot of hard work on my fitness, and sometimes you have to suck it up and go outdoors. I wear spikes on my shoes. They have sort of grippers on the bottom so you can run. I couldn’t out-run a bear, but luckily he didn’t seem interested in me.”
— U.S. under-18 girls national team forward Kelly Cobb on training she does at Bear Mountain near her home in Chugiak, Alaska. With an outdoor season of only five months and only one serious rival to her club team, the Cook Inlet Velocity, she spends extra time training. (ussoccer.com).
“Sounders have definitely increased that interest and allowed us to serve more kids.”
— Starfire Sports Operations Manager Tyler Conn on the impact the widely popular Seattle Sounders FC are having on soccer in the Pacific Northwest. Seattle leagues are reporting registration increases of 15-20 percent over last year’s figures. (King5.com)
“I believe winning is fun and losing is for losers.”
— Scituate (Mass.) coach Michael Kinahan in a letter to the kids on his team of 6- and 7-year-old girls dubbed “Green Death.” Kinahan quit after his preseason manifesto shocked parents and league officials. Among other things, he told his players to be ready to play like a “Michael Vick pit bull,” be prepared for “bumps, bruises and even bleed a little,” and vowed to “heckle” young referees. (AP)
“We were too naive in our decisions and the way we played today. When you play against Argentina you cannot be soft.”
— U.S. U-17 national team coach Wilmer Cabrera after his team’s 5-1 loss to Argentina on Wednesday. (goal.com)
“There was a post this week on the boys side in which one dad told another the make and model of his car and the last three letters on his license plate. The dad said, ‘If you want to meet me in a parking lot, we can settle this.'”
— Dallas area soccer parent Todd Welch, on one of the posts on turf monster.com, where forums have flourished in which North Texas soccer parents bash each other over disputes such as, in this case, the breakup of an 13-year-old boys teams. (Dallas Morning News)
“It’s just nasty out there. That’s why Turf Monster exists in North Texas.”
— Matthew Shipley, founder of TurfMonster.com, which grown to 18,000 members since its launch with three members in 2004.
“It’s a new and unwelcome addition that further erodes sportsmanship in youth sports. It’s not an unexpected evolution. But it is discouraging.”
— Richard Lapchick, founder of the Center for the Study of Sport and Society at Northeastern University and currently director of the DeVos Sport Business Management program at the University of Central Florida, on “visceral” online forums like TurfMonster.com.
“The bottom line, I understand [Real Salt Lake] is a business and they’ve got to make money. We don’t offer a lot and they did make us a deal.”
— Utah High School Activities Association assistant director Bart Thompson on UHSAA soccer finals at Real Salt Lake’s new Rio Tinto Stadium getting bumped for an Eagles concert and U.S. women’s match in May. (Salt Lake Tribune)
“Nothing like that should ever happen to any kid. I just think there are a lot of leagues out there, and it’s not just soccer, that need to be brought under control.”
— Pawtucket (R.I.) resident Jeff Southworth on the need to intervene in youth sports disputes. His daughter quit her soccer team after police were called when her coach came to Southworth’s house and they clashed over league matters, including whether he could videotape games. (AP)
“I can’t imagine anyone being for it. I just don’t think they want anyone at that level getting involved in our sports.”
— Ken Conte, president of North Providence East Little League, on a bill pending in Rhode Island that would create a seven-member council appointed by the state senate to settle disputes in youth sports leagues.
“I am going to run for president … of my Eagen Youth Soccer Association.”
— Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, one of several high-profile Republican governors asked about running for president in 2012, speaking on the Sunday talk show on Fox.
“We fully understand that this is a long-term project, While clubs develop new strategies to eliminate expenses for players, ultimately the burden of some of the costs falls to the families. We don’t want that to be a reason to not be a part of our program.”
— Development Academy Technical Director John Hackworth on reducing player expenses. U.S. Soccer is teaming up with the U.S. Soccer Foundation and Nike to launch a Development Academy scholarship program.
“I kind of liken it to a youth soccer game, a children’s soccer game, where everybody’s running after the ball. And then the ball gets kicked, and you run over after that person who’s got the ball.”
— Paul Vrooman, mayor of Miami suburb Cutler Bay, making the comparison between youth soccer and the chase for dollars in the Federal stimulus package. (NPR.org)
“The Olympic Games are for youth. We should play them with the youngsters. Although the limit of 23 years gives us a better quality of football, it is bad to keep adding up to three players above this limit. It’s illogical. We’re going to abolish that.”
— FIFA President Sepp Blatter, endorsing a plan to limit the 2010 Olympic men’s soccer tournament to players 20 years old and younger, with no exemptions allowed for overage players. (Los Angeles Times)
“What I’ve found is a lot of women want to coach and they aren’t being invited in, and once they are in they don’t find it a very friendly territory.”
— University of Southern California sociology professor Michael Messner, author of the upcoming book, “It’s All for the Kids: Gender, Families and Youth Sports,” on his eight-year study of youth soccer, finding that men are routinely drafted for coaching duties while women are moved into “team parent” roles. (Vancouver Sun)
“The [youth soccer] system is broken in the U.S. Not least because you actually have to pay to play. Some kids are paying as much as $5,000 a year just to play for a decent club team.”
— Aston Villa goalie Brad Friedel, whose Premier Soccer Academies located in Lorain, Ohio, offers a residency program free of charge to top youth players. (si.com
“Soccer can be a business in Michigan — not just a sport, not just a hobby. The numbers aren’t a fad. We’ll continue to grow.”
— Dan Duggan, chairman and CEO of the PDL Michigan Bucks, on the popularity of soccer in Michigan, despite the absence of an MLS team and the state’s economic crisis. Michigan ranks in the top 10 among all states in high school boys and girls participation, and the Michigan State Youth Soccer Association has more than 86,000 registered players (Detroit Free Press).
“What is surprising and so hard about this case is that the people using this service are youth groups, research consortiums — people who are not big enough to host it on their own. We are talking small non-profit organizations — pretty vulnerable groups.”
— Marina Len, the attorney representing the 1,600-member Montclair Soccer Club, which filed suit against online registration firm Count Me In in U.S. District Court in Seattle, alleging that the club is owed $142,000 for past donations and registration fees handled by Count Me In. Other sports and non-sports organizations have since come forward, claiming that are owed money. (TechFlash)
“It’s relatively recession-proof. We have not experienced a downturn during poor economic times. Recreation is a relatively inexpensive way and a very healthy way for kids to occupy themselves.”
— Tom Teager, owner of Fore Kicks and Fore Kicks II indoor sports facilities in Massachusetts. Fore Kicks II in Marlborough is the largest facility of its kind in New England (135,000 square feet) with six indoor turf fields with lined boundaries, one boarded field and two outdoor lighted turf fields. (Boston Globe)
“Without a pro team in Arizona, youth teams are missing something, a relationship that helps them unite. Without that there’s an unhealthy competition fostered among clubs, partly because of the lack of a pro team. Kids then become second. There’s an unhealthy competition over the kids and there’s a small pool of talent compared to California. On the boys side, there are no opportunities college-wise in Arizona other than Grand Canyon. More youth clubs need to come to together. A good, solid and positive philosophy needs to prevail and we all need to buy into that.”
— Former U.S. international Gregg Vanney, who has retired from the Los Angeles to return to his native Arizona, where he will serve as director of coaching of the Sereno Soccer Club. (Arizona Republic)
“I wrote on a piece of paper at the beginning of the season: 24-0.”
— Brentwood (N.Y.) High School coach Ron Eden, scripting the season for the Indians, who won their first boys state title since 1989 after a 2-1 victory over Clarence on Sunday and claimed the top spot in the national high school rankings. (Newsday)
“It’s not an ego thing to prove [prognosticators] wrong. I have a burning desire to win city championships. It’s proving us right. The fulfillment and the opportunities to win city championships is huge.”
— Martin Jacobsen, coach of Martin Luther King Jr. High School, which won New York’s PSAL title in a shootout over the Beacon School. MLK, winner of 10 of the previous 12 PSAL titles, had been given little chance of winning after it lost four games during the season. (Daily News)
“I’m looking for a player who can go to the U-17 team and make a difference, make an impact. If all 40 players are good enough, then I’ll take all 40. There is no maximum.”
— U.S. Soccer staff coach Juan Carlos Michia on a scouting trip to El Paso, Texas, where he looked at 40 players from El Paso and neighboring Las Cruces, N.M. El Paso is the home of new U.S. U-17 resident Michael Ambrose, and Las Cruces is the hometown of Edgar Castillo, the Mexican international. (El Paso Times)
“We think it’s wrong to charge families for the utilization of this soccer field. It’s a surprise to us.”
— Manitoba Premier Gary Doer, objecting to the Winnipeg Soccer Federation Indoor Soccer Complex plans to charge adults a $1.70 admission fee. The provincial government contributed $2.9 million to the cost of the $10.7-million complex. He said an admission fee for parents to watch their children play was never part of the deal. (Winnipeg Sun)
“It’s hard to say that we’re the favorites here, because there’s no real history in this age group.”
— U.S. coach Kazbek Tambi on the inaugural Under-17 Women’s World Cup that begins next Tuesday in New Zealand. (fifa.com)
“You put a person in a position of trust and then they violate it. I’m not inclined to put her on probation.”
— Florida Circuit Judge Hale Stancil, who rejected an offer by prosecutors that would have resulted in former Big Sun Youth Soccer League treasurer Priscilla Bellcase being placed on five years probation, ordered to pay full restitution and community service for taking tens of thousands of dollars from the league’s bank account. The judge said the proposed punishment didn’t fit the crime. Sentencing guidelines call for anything from probation to 30 years in jail. (Ocala Sports-Banner)
