First U12 girls' tournament

http://www.pikefest.org/

The first tournament for the U12 girls is set for August 26-27.

Moving day

Moving day. I find myself with upwards of a dozen size 3 soccer balls. Surely there must be a home somewhere for these? Like old cellphones, old soccer balls must have a place. I just don't know what or where that place is.

Soccer in America

It remains something of a mystery as to why men's American soccer lags behind the rest of the world. Every available "pitch" seems occupied throughout the spring and fall with kids playing. Clubs flourish. And it has been this way for at least two decades now. Yet American players still don't seem quite up to snuff on the world stage.

America certainly had a late start. For years soccer was a sport played only in affluent areas -- top school teams came from the same schools that were at the top in other "money" sports: swimming, tennis, golf, etc. (American football -- which costs more than anything else -- remains and probably will remain an American anomaly). That soccer in America grew only in more affluent areas stands in stark contrast to the rest of the world where it is played by all at every economic level. The game's simplicity makes it available to all. All that is needed is a single ball and an open field -- or street. In America, though, soccer grew where the money was.

That soccer got such a strange start in America may have something to do with our limited success at the highest level. The game remains largely restricted to certain areas with a certain economic largess. Here in Bham, Bloomfield, etc. it is easy to forget that soccer is still relatively small compared to other home grown activities.

This is visible even in women's soccer where America has done well.

I was reminded of this over the past couple of weeks as I coached my daughter and several of her friends (many of them soccer players, of course) in "travel" basketball tournaments. The girls did well, especially given they had limited time for practice. Soccer is the priority. This isn't a complaint -- soccer provides great footwork and conditioning for all sports and basketball in particular: Akeem the Dream was the first NBA star to make this clear; Steve Nash credits much of his hoops' success to soccer (a Nigerian and a Canadian). But as we moved outside Oakland county we continually ran into very strong girls' basketball programs. Across the state, and especially in areas not connected with Michigan's most potent economies (Oakland County, the Grand Rapids area, Traverse City, etc.), basketball dominates -- even for the girls. My team found itself playing again and again against teams that play and practice basketball the way we play soccer ( 3x a week practices, camps, whole programs set up for development, etc.).

This surprised me, to say the least. I thought the whole country and girls' sports in particular had turned almost exclusively to soccer. Not so.

Women's World Cup -- America v. North Korea

The American women's team  topped N. Korea today 2-0 in World Cup play.

The match took place in Dresden, Germany, the site of massive Allied (America and Great Britain) bombing late (1944-45) in World War II. Much of the city was destroyed and the place remains a site of controversy in part because the bombing qualifies the Anglo-American notion that WWII was a totally "good" war for the victors. Historians routinely now question whether the bombing that took place there was completely justified.

Americans like to believe they are always in the right -- but the finding historical "truth" is always complicated.

Women's soccer, however, does point to one area where Americans have been on the right course. While the American men's program struggles to move into elite soccer circles -- still dominated by the Europeans and South Americans -- the American women are considered a dominant force. Surely this success is in part because Americans have led the world in recognizing the equality (and, in many cases, the superiority) of women to men. In the last post I noted how many on the Mexican team play despite, not because of, their parents. For many cultures in the world playing sports is still not something women should do. America still struggles sometimes with granting women and girls the same "sporting" privileges as men, but to coin a phrase from the 1960s "feminist" movement -- women have come a long way baby.

Indeed, they came into today's match heavy favorites against a young North Korean team. 10 of the 21 North Koreans are teenagers! Certainly this should be noted by girls heading into U12 soccer. The North Koreans did well in the first half, almost taking advantage of some American defensive lapses. But in the second half a potent American offense took over. Lauren Cheney got the game winner on a terrific header. She managed to bang the ball into the corner while backing up in front of the North Korean goal. The Americans got tested in the "golden" five minutes following the goal, but hung in there and protected keeper Hope Solo (a player worth googling). Cheney's goal certainly made the American coach look like a genius. Cheney had not started in sometime, something that can always be hard on a player; but the American coach felt the time was right and Cheney came through.

World Cup -- Women's

The women's World Cup has begun in Germany. For Americans, the World Cup is a wonderful way to connect to the rest of the globe -- if only by contrast. While watching an early round game today between Mexico and England I was struck by a remark by one of the ESPN commentators: many of Mexico's players are competing in soccer against the wishes of their parents. That is, their parents actively tried to stop them from playing soccer. Information can be found here -- http://www.fifa.com/

Mandatory meeting

The Force is holding its regular mandatory meeting tonite.

Force U12 Purple girls

Dear Force Purple U12 Players, Parents, and Cookie:

Here is the first post for our blog.

Ken