NASL  NEWSLETTER

July 27th, 2004
"The rules of soccer are simple. If it moves kick it. If it doesn't move kick it until it does." Peter Woosnam
 

1. Upcoming Soccer Calendar - new dates added.
2. NSCAA Goalkeeping Level I Course - July 31, 2004
3. US Club Soccer - id2 Program
4. Twenty Things You Didn’t Know About The Beautiful Game
5. Ten dates that changed the game (1925-present)
6. How Alabama Teams Fared at Regionals
7. Referee Shoots Coach
8. Two Alabama Players selected for 2004 USASA Men's National Select Team
9. McGuire Picks Austin over Starkville
10. Georgia Team Finished Second
11. North Alabama Soccer League Fee Schedule Fall 2004
12. Iguana Soccer Club Partners with Birmingham Parks & Rec Board and AYSA to hold Summer Soccer Camp for Inner-City Youth
13. Whirlpool Soccer Family of the Year 2004
14. Southern Soccer Scene
15. Free Help for Coaches at NASL
16. How to Remove Your Name From this E-mail List.

Sparkman High will be hosting the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Goalkeeping Level I course on Saturday, July 31. To read about the course content, visit www.nscaa.com The cost of this six-hour course will be $30 and we must have a minimum of 15 coaches to attend. The NSCAA staff always does an excellent job in providing classroom and field instruction. This course is open to anyone with an interest in training/coaching goalkeepers. There are no prerequisites for this course. To register for the course, please download and fill out the attached registration form and include $30 registration fee.  Michael Pettey  coachpettey@yahoo.com

Check Your Mailbox!

id2 Invitations in the Mail

Are you checking your mailbox?

The first wave of invitations to the five-day id2 national training camp is being mailed this month. The top 120 U13 boys (’91s) in the country will be invited to participate in id2, US Club Soccer’s revolutionary player identification and development program.

Our nationwide team of scouts is keeping busy observing players as they compete in their natural environment with their club teams. Players will be invited to participate in id2 regardless of their affiliation (i.e. US Club Soccer, USYSA, AYSO, non-affiliated, etc.). The final round of invitations will be extended following the conclusion of US Club Soccer’s National Cup III regional tournaments on July 6.

The id2 national training camp seeks to identify the qualified invited players for inclusion in US Soccer’s U14 National Team Program. Once players arrive in Raleigh, N.C. for the five-day id2 national training camp July 25-29, US Club Soccer covers all player expenses. The id2 camp will feature daily training sessions and games. Players will also receive instruction from the nation’s top coaches during daily afternoon lectures covering a wide range of topics including tactics and what to do now to prepare for college.

Leading the inaugural id2 national training camp as head staff coach will be Tim Carter, US Soccer’s former Director of Youth Development and national staff coach. John Ellinger and John Hackworth, National Staff coaches for the United States Soccer Federation, will be in attendance to select qualified individuals for the National Team program.

Keep an eye on your mailbox! Your invitation to be a part of the id2 revolution could be on its way!

To subscribe to US Club Soccer's parent/coach email contact list, email parent_of_usclubsoccer@cccmg.com.

Learn more about id2 and US Club Soccer.

http://www.fifa.com/en/news/feature/0,1451,74406,00.html?articleid=74406
(FIFA.com) 25 Feb 2004

From banning players handling the ball to encouraging goalkeepers to use their feet, football’s lawmakers, the International Football Association Board, have been a key player in the blossoming of the beautiful game. From its 118-year history and before, we highlight ten major dates in the evolution of the world’s favourite sport.

1925: from all to 3 to 2, offside comes of age
Just like expressions such as attack, defence, winger, forward and shoot, the term offside has military roots. “Off the strength of your side” or “off your side” meant an attacking player ahead of the ball was in an illegal position. The offside rule, similar to that used in rugby today, formed part of the original rules in 1863.

In early tactical systems, teams would field as many as eight forwards as the only means of advancing the ball was by dribbling or scrummaging. However, there was strong opposition to this approach from Sheffield, whose rules did not include offside. Differences were eventually resolved in the late 1860s when the FA made the momentous decision to adopt the three-player rule, where an attacker would be called offside if positioned in front of the third last defender.

It is perhaps the most radical change in the way the game has been played and from that moment on, passing became an integral part of football and to many the beautiful game was born. The number of goals increased, aided by the 1912 rule preventing goalkeepers from handling the ball outside the penalty area and another in 1920 banning offsides from throw-ins. In 1925, the three-player offside rule became a two-player one, representing another radical change that propelled the game further forward.

1938 and 1997: Cleaning off the cobwebs
With the original Laws penned in the language of Victorian England, coupled with more than half a century of changes and amendments, it was felt that the Laws of the Game, now totalling 17, needed a bit of a makeover in 1937.

Stanley Rous, a member of the IFAB and the official who first employed the diagonal system of refereeing, was chosen as the ideal man for the gargantuan job. The Englishman, who would become FIFA President in 1961, began cleaning off the cobwebs and drafting the Laws into a rational order. So painstaking was Sir Stanley’s work and so few the changes to the game’s rules in a period when the game really took off that only in 1997, almost 60 years later, was the need felt to simplify the text further (by 30%) and modernise the language.

1990s: “For the Good of the Game”
By the time the 1990s came around the game had developed into a worldwide phenomenon equalled by no other sporting activity. Together with national championships, continental competitions and World Cups were created to satisfy the demands of fans that had identified with their club and country.

Television only intensified spectators’ seemingly insatiable desire and as well as making global stars out of many players and transforming those pitch markings into one of the most recognisable designs on the planet, it brought millions more to the game and to an instant comprehension of rules set down in the back room of a small London pub many moons ago.

From its embryonic beginnings in the mid-to-late 19th Century through to its adolescence at the turn of the 20th Century, the Laws of the Game had grown up remarkably well. Their simple and clear logic made them palatable to one and all and the rules’ emphasis on sportsmanship was found to be an equally seductive ingredient.

However perhaps for the first time in football’s long history, there were signs in the 1980s that audiences were beginning to turn off. Tribal rivalry and nationalistic fervour had been a by-product of the sport’s social and emotional impact and occasionally high passions spilled over into violence.

Popularity and money led to greater professionalism in football and on the field of play with so much more riding on results, defensive tactics had largely gained the upper hand, with the spectacle suffering. By the late 1980s, there was general agreement that the Laws of the Game should be fine-tuned in light of these developments.

These major amendments, often referred to as for the “Good of the Game”, were designed to help promote attacking football. They began with the offside law in 1990. The advantage was now given to the attacking team. If the attacker was inline with the penultimate defender, he was onside, instead of off. And in the same year, the “professional foul” - denying an opponent a clear goalscoring opportunity – became a sending-off offence.

Despite these changes, tactics during the 1990 FIFA World Cup Italy™ suggested something more needed to be done. And two years later, the IFAB made one of the most dramatic moves in its history when it banned goalkeepers from handling deliberate back passes. The Board had proved it could be progressive when called upon as well as conservative. And although the new rule was greeted with scepticism by some at first, in the fullness of time it would become widely appreciated. Referees had already been stamping down on simulation or cheating by handing out yellow cards to offenders and in 1998, the fierce tackle from behind became a red-card offence. With all these amendments along with the promotion of sportsmanship and return to its gentlemanly roots, the 1990s commitment to forward thinking football was complete.

And so with football breaking new boundaries, the IFAB, a body seldom recognised by the public at large, convened on 28 February, and just as it has done for each year since 1886, contemplated the game to ensure football continues to achieve the same success in the 21st Century as it had in its first two.

      In case any of you wonder how Alabama youth soccer teams did at Regionals, here's a brief breakdown...

    Boys - Won (0), Lost (16), Tied (2).  Goals for (6), goals against (56).

    Girls - Won (11), Lost (4), Tied (3).  Goals for (31), goals against (25).

     Info from Mike Costello - obtained from:
http://www.2004southernregionals.com/

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A South African soccer referee pulled a gun and shot dead a coach who questioned one of his rulings, police said on Sunday.

Inspector Mali Govender of the Grahamstown police in the Eastern Cape province said a fight broke out after the referee gave a yellow warning card to a player in a local match on Saturday.

"There was an altercation...and the referee became threatened when the other team approached him because they were angry," Govender said. "So he pulled out a gun and killed the coach of the visiting team."

Govender said the coach died on the field while the referee fled the scene. Police were confident of making an arrest soon, she added.

South Africa has one of the world's highest murder rates with an
alarming 47.4 murders per 100,000 people, or eight times the figure
for the United States.

http://www.usasa.com/2004ingles/Select/USASA%20MNST.pdf

Two of the Alabama Adult Soccer Association's players were selected to the 2004 US Adult Soccer Association Men's National Select Team.  They are Terrance Johnson and Andre Plummer (formerly of Alabama A&M).

Thanks to Peter Gamble for pointing this out.

Decisions, decisions. Do I want to live and work in Austin, Texas, or
Starkville, Miss.? Neil McGuire, the Mississippi State women's soccer
coach who resigned just weeks before preseason training begins, is
pursuing his doctorate at the University of Texas, Austin. He'll also
serve as an assistant to Chris Petrucelli, the former two-time National
Coach of the Year who coached Notre Dame to the national title in 1995.

McGuire is repeating history: change schools to pursue a higher degree
in education. He began coaching at MSU in 2000 and recently earned a
master's of education degree with an emphasis in sports administration.
MSU has yet to acknowledge that McGuire quit, much less name a
successor. Neither SoccerBuzz or Soccer America is aware of the change.

      Congratulations to the Lilburn, Georgia based GSA '85 Phoenix Red for finishing second in the U-19 Girls Open Cup. Phoenix lost 2-0 to  Pleasanton Rage (Cal North).

      The Far West won seven of the 12 national titles.
http://www.socceramerica.com/article.asp?Art_ID=562134817
Thanks to Art Bowman for sending in that article.

       These fees are for NASL costs only and do NOT include any AYSA State Fees, player card fees or referee fees.

Affiliation Fees:

For U12 and older teams there are three options:

• $135.00 for Division I, II or III Affiliation and ability to schedule ten NASL games.
   
• $75.00 Division I or II Affiliation and ability to schedule five extra games on NASL fields. Note that teams that are not affiliated with NASL can NOT use NASL fields or schedule games or referees through NASL or NASOA.
   
• $50.00 - Division I or II NASL Affiliation Only – includes listing on website and NASL benefits but no additional games (other than ASA state scheduled league games) may be scheduled.

For U11 and younger teams:

• $75.00 for U9, U10, or U11 Division III Teams Rec-Plus Affiliation.
  This $75.00 fee does not include any referee fees. It also does not include a rec-plus tournament as we have done in the past. We were unsure how to work a local Rec-Plus tournament into what apparently will be a shortened season – player cards may not be available until September 2nd and the Governor’s Cup is October 23rd. At the scheduling meeting we will discuss whether the Rec-Plus teams would like to hold a local NASL tournament either after the Governor’s Cup or mid-season. Any fees for referees for that tournament will be paid on the field and are not included in the $75.00 fee.

Field Development Fees are:

      For a complete description of the Field Development fees please visit the league website at http://www.nasl.com
     These Field Development fees will be returned by FOSNA (Friends of Soccer North Alabama) to the local city government via the donating team to be used for local field development purposes.

• $300 for U12 and older Teams
• $240 for U10 & U11 Teams
• $180 for U9 Teams

• A Word Document version of this NASL Fall 2004 Fee Schedule is available for download here.
• The state's AYSA Fee Schedule for 2004-2005 is available here.

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA (July 26, 2004) Iguana Soccer Club, a Birmingham, Alabama-based men’s amateur soccer club, is partnering with the Birmingham Parks & Recreation Board and the Alabama Youth Soccer Association (AYSA) to conduct a series of free 2-day soccer camps for youths participating in summer programs at Birmingham City recreation centers.

The purpose of the camps, which will be held July 26th through the 29th at six centers (Sandusky, Central Park, Willow Wood, McAlpine, Memorial Park and Wiggins), is to provide an opportunity for inner city youth to be introduced to the sport of soccer and learn basic soccer skills and techniques. All camp participants will also receive a free soccer ball, soccer poster and soccer-themed tee-shirt.

“We’re happy that Iguana Soccer Club and the Alabama Youth Soccer Association have come together to provide this opportunity for our Birmingham youth,” said Birmingham Parks & Recreation representative Terry Bouchillon. “There are many positive benefits that come from encouraging children to participate in sports and most of the youth in our recreation center summer programs have never been exposed to soccer.”

The effort is also serving as a pilot for a sustained outreach program that AYSA plans to introduce on a larger scale in the future.

“One of AYSA’s priorities is to grow participation in soccer and one of the main components of this effort will be an inner city outreach program that will give youth who might never have played soccer a chance learn and enjoy the game,” said AYSA Coaching Director Scott Spencer. “We’re looking forward running more of these camps in the future.”

“Iguana Soccer Club is committed to helping grow soccer in the inner city,” said Iguana SC president Russell Richey. “Urban areas have historically been underserved by the American soccer community and children everywhere – not just the suburbs – should have the opportunity to have their lives enriched through participating in soccer. Nothing would thrill us more than to someday see the next Freddy Adu or DaMarcus Beasley come out of Birmingham.”

The camp is being made possible by sponsors EBSCO, BUSY (Birmingham Urban Soccer for Youth) and 365 Inc., home of WorldSoccerShop.com, as well as, through assistance from UAB Men’s Soccer program.


About Iguana Soccer Club

Iguana Soccer Club is Birmingham’s second oldest continuously operating men’s amateur soccer club. Formed in 1986 by a core of UAB soccer alumni, the club quickly became and remains a perennial city and state power. Iguana has won more First Division NASF Titles and Alabama Men’s Amateur State Titles Championships in the last ten years than all other clubs combined.

The club has grown to two adult soccer teams. The Under-30s consists of players who are recent college graduates or current college students. In 2002, the Under-30s won the Southeast Men’s Amateur Crown and represented the region in the National Men’s Amateur Finals. The Over-30 squad consists of a core of long-time Iguana players who find fitness and fellowship in their continued participation in the sport. Both teams are defending Alabama State Amateur Champions for their respective age divisions.

Iguana Soccer Club’s missions are 1) to help promote youth and amateur soccer in the Birmingham metropolitan area and especially within the City of Birmingham through providing clinics/coaching and sponsoring teams, and 2) to be an advocate, catalyst, coordinator and manager for the establishment, operation and promotion of the highest level of professional soccer franchise (USL, MLS, WUSA, etc.) the Birmingham market can reasonably and feasibly sustain.

Contact: Russell Richey Phone: 205-823-0848 (cell: 527-5115)
Email: russell@wilhite-richey.com

Are you interested in winning $20,000 for college, Whirlpool appliances, a year's supply of detergent, or a trip to the MLS Cup 2004? What if you won all those things at one time? Well, you can if you enter the Whirlpool Soccer Family of the Year 2004.
Check out the contest details at the Whirlpool web site below. Deadline is August 31, 2004.

http://www.whirlpool.com/promotions/soccer.htmls

If the above link doesn't work, go to www.whirlpool.com  and look for the link for family soccer.

BECOME THE NEXT WINNING FAMILY!

• 1 GRAND PRIZE WINNING FAMILY
The winning family receives a $20, 000 college contribution to a Upromise® account, a house fully of Whirlpool® appliances, a year's supply of Liquid Tide® HE, and a trip for four to MLS Cup 2004.

• 3 SECOND-PRIZE WINNERS
Winners receive a $1,000 college contribution to a Upromise® account, Duet® washer and dryer pair and a year's supply of Liquid Tide® HE.

• 25 THIRD-PRIZE WINNERS
Winners receive a $100 Upromise® ScholarDollar™ contribution and a Fantastic Soccer Gift Package which includes a backpaper, soccer ball and other great prizes.

• 250 RUNNERS-UP
Winners receive a $10 Upromise® ScholarDollar™ contribution and a Crest® Soccer SpinBrush™.

Thanks to Jo Countess for submitting this.

       If you want to keep up with soccer in the South, then Southern Soccer Scene is the magazine for you. Check out the on-line edition at  http://www.southernsoccerscene.com.
       Receive Your FREE Issue Today! Fill out the form below and submit it to start your subscription to Southern Soccer Scene. You receive 12 issues (One Year) for only $25.00 or 24 issues (Two Years) for $40.00 and SAVE 18%. Send no money now. We will bill you later.
       Southern Soccer Scene gives you:

• Greater regional soccer coverage throughout the Southeast.
• A greater commitment to college soccer.
• New coaching articles, training methods, features, player and coaching profiles.

      Satisfaction Guaranteed! If you decide Southern Soccer Scene is not for you, simply write "Cancel" on the invoice and return it to us — you keep the FREE issue. For subscription questions call or email us.  Payment by MasterCard or VISA accepted by phone (M-W, 9:30 am/5:00 pm) (336) 292-7015.
http://www.southernsoccerscene.com/subscribe.htm

People can now pay for subscription by MC or VISA on our PayPal account on the website www.southernsoccerscene.com  If they subscribe online and pay there Southern Soccer Scene will send them a nice Southern Soccer Scene T-shirt as a gift.

      Since January I have been moving thousands of drills, tips, articles and exercises from my old website at DecaturSports.com to the NASL website in an effort to make the NASL website the largest repository of help for soccer coaches on the internet.  The DecaturSports.com website was one of only two website recommended by NSCAA for youth coaches at their annual convention. Since the DecaturSports.com website covered many sports I felt it was important to place this wealth of soccer material on the NASL website which is soccer only.
      There are articles on virtually every topic that ever interested soccer coaches and for coaches from newly drafted dads and moms to USSF "A" Licensed coaches.  Recently added were on-line videos of all the Coerver moves and the Gary Rue's Exercises of the Day.  This is a year long project for me and I still have many, many  more to post so let me know if there is anything in particular you would like to see and I'll get it posted first.
      Stop by http://www.nasl.com/drills.htm and look around and I think you will agree that it is the finest selection of soccer coaching material on the internet.  Ken dsports@hiwaay.net  

NASL NEWSLETTER:

       You may sign up for the NASL e-mail list and also provide changes (including removing your name from the list) to your current e-mail address and phone numbers by using this form at  http://www.nasl.com/Email.htm This is our means of keeping the local soccer community up-to-date on events and items of interest.  If you have something to contribute please e-mail me at dsports@hiwaay.net
All of the above information and more is on-line at http://www.nasl.com

Thanks for being involved in soccer in Alabama. 

Ken Gamble - NASL Secretary
"Next Goal Wins!"

REMOVAL INSTRUCTIONS

     This low-tech emailing list is maintained for the benefit of coaches, referees, and parents involved in youth soccer in Alabama. List maintenance is semi-automatic. No trees were killed in the sending of this message. However, a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced! 
     If you are no longer in Alabama or wish to be removed from this list for any reason, simply send an e-mail to dsports@hiwaay.net with "Delete", "Remove", "Exclude", "Unsubscribe", "Stop!", No More!, "Cease and Desist!", or something similar in the subject line. Regional dialects, colloquialisms, and various misspellings (e.g., Cut it out!, Delist, Unlist, Disenfranchise, Quit me, Unsuscribe [sic], Unsuscripe [sic], Describe, and Unscribe) are understood.
     "Drop Dead, Pond Scum" works also, although emails with profanity (e.g, Go to He!!) will be filtered out and automatically discarded so that the youth players who volunteer in the NASL office won't see them. Other requests, particularly those that include the word me (e.g., Drop me, Terminate me, Cut me or worse, Cut me off, Take me off, Purge me, Reject me, Take me down, Expunge me, Take me out, and Kill me) are cause for concern but are generally implemented figuratively rather than literally.
     Tense, gender, and grammar (e.g., Please removed us/we/him/her.) are irrelevant. Some requests (e.g., Enscribe and Obscribe) confuse us and may result in additional contact. Manners (e.g., Please, Sorry, and Thank you, anyway.) are optional.
     Explanations (e.g., I visited Huntsville once on the way to the Calaveras Frog Jumping Contest and loved looking at the space museum, but I have never lived in Northern Alabama.) are always interesting and are appreciated.
     Sporting metaphors (e.g., I don't want to play on your team.) help soften the blow. Denials (e.g., There is no one here who plays soccer. or We hate that game.) mean we entered someone's email address incorrectly. We're used to but politely disagree with gender stereotyping (e.g, Real men play pointy football. and Soccer is a man's game, not a game for skirts). Questions (e.g., How did you get my email address?) generally can't be answered because nobody in the NASL office knows the answers to them.
     Your email address and all other alias email addresses that you include in the body of your request will automatically be added to NASL's Exclude List. This will permanently stop delivery of all types of future NASL announcements, including those for upcoming tryouts, coaching or refereeing courses, refereeing opportunities for league and tournament games, and birthday parties. You can also quit yourself from NASL's e-mail page at http://www.nasl.com/Email.htm
      If you need a reply please e-mail me at dsports@hiwaay.net and request a reply.  I'll get back to you as soon as possible unless you're selling adult toys, growth hormones or offering to share the wealth that you and your family were barely able to smuggle out of Nigeria; those messages will not get replies.

NOTE: The wonderful removal instructions listed above were adapted with permission from Michael Lindeburg at San Andreas Youth Soccer Organization, http://www.sayso.org