Have you ever been to a soccer game, where the only thing that comes to mind is those parents who take the spotlight away from the players? These Parents place too much emphasis on themselves as a factor on the field. Well, anyway most of us can recall a time when a parent got over-involved with a game and disrupted its natural progression.

Adults! We are playing soccer, not hunting for food. Take the emphasis down a notch or two. The more you have an anxious, or over aggressive attitude toward the game, the more the game suffers (as well as your kids). So Chill! That is a technical word that every player knows.
 
I can understand knocking someone down and saying you didn’t do it if you are hungry and need nourishment, but if it is to say you won or lost a game that doesn’t mean anything for the first 16 years (only at the highest levels). 
 
Danger! We all get tense when it is our own son or daughter on the field, but let the intensity come from within the players in a fair manner. Don’t super-impose your ambitions of “winning” at all costs to dominate the mental thought processes of your players. If the coach has focused on the right training methods in practice, then the “winning” will take care of itself.

Teach and support players to be proactive, not vindictive. Remember that youth soccer should be kept fun, where the style and skills of the game should be stressed most, always above “winning.”

Parents, let’s leave the intense atmosphere for the High School games and beyond! Saturday fields, and youth soccer, are great places to have fun.

Be sure to tune into Fox Sports Channel this Thursday as both Champions’ Cup 2nd Leg Quarterfinal matches will be aired as an American Soccer double-header at 7 and 9 pm Eastern time.

DC United will face CD Olimpia in the first match needing only to see out their 4-1 victory from the 1st Leg in Honduras. With the current lineup of DC United it is almost too incredible to believe that they are an outfit of the MLS. With a sound nucleus of Latin players, it’s no surprise that the most successful MLS club plays a more mature and sound style of football.  

The Houston Dynamo has a more difficult task as they lost to Puntarenas (1-0) in their 1st Leg match in Costa Rica; however, the reigning MLS Cup Champions still have a lifeline as they play at home in Houston with only an one goal deficit to overcome. This is the best opportunity for the MLS to show if their clubs have the quality to stay alive in honored competitions.

On a day when Theo Walcott scored his first senior goal for Arsenal, Arsene’s juniors just didn’t have enough to hold off a full strength Chelsea, and it was Didier Drogba’s goals that spared the blushes and lifted the glasses of the “highest-paid” club in Europe.

It was an intriguing cup final throughout, poised between a traditionally sharper, ever-green Gunner side and a smoldering heavy weight Chelsea side, that need to rely on all its experience to claim the cup against the run of play.

After falling behind to Walcott’s early, clinical finish, Chelsea responded quickly through “The Drogba” with an equalizer only minutes later. The African striker pulled up trumps again late in the 2nd half with the winner as his snap header (set up by Robben’s cross) beat Arsenal no. 2 keeper Alumnia.  

It was also a match overshadowed by extra-ordinary incidents as Chelsea’s captain John Terry suffered a horrible head injury in the 2nd half, as he bravely went searching for a header in the box from a corner kick, only to find Arsenal’s young midfielder Diaby’s boot square in the jaw, and had to be stretched off with the application of neck restraints and an oxygen mask. 

The final minutes also darkened the match when player confrontations boiled over into controversy with both teams and managers running on to the field to join the fracas. Chelsea’s Mikel Obi and Arsenal’s Kolo Toure were shown red for their initial bust up, but Adebayor was also shown red for his involvement in the melee while young Fabregas and Frank Lampard were each shown the yellow card. 

Of course Chelsea celebrate as champions, yet it was easy to see the purpose of each club before kick off with each managers’ starting 11. Chelsea, perhaps impelled by their struggling league form, came at the game with all their aces, yet it was the craft and style of the Arsenal youth that showed clearly the different levels of “class” between these two EPL giants.

Rogue: no longer obedient, hence not controllable or answerable; deviating—that is the definition of a Brand New Florida Soccer League that wants to make their own rules. Maybe better, or worse for Florida: only time will tell.

Now I said league, so there has to be more then one team. In fact, Florida is looking at six. Although the names are foreign in feeling, the soccer should be good done home Florida Football. Many of the players may be of Latin descent, but most all will be U.S. home grown. 

The rules that the Florida Elite Soccer League has are conducive to high level youth soccer. You must start the game with at least two high school seniors.

The league is located in central and south Florida, so high-schoolers from FC Orlando to Deportivo Okeechobee will be able to travel for a glimpse of what can happen without playing soccer in College.

Savages we will keep you updated on this soccer rebellion. Surely, this is a rebellion from the USL (United Soccer Leagues), who own most of the higher level soccer real estate in Florida. Status quo is being shaken. Don’t savages love to shake up the market! They are shaking it to the ambition of having a fully professional league in Florida.

Before we part, I would also like to mention that the Orlando Sharks, the Major Indoor Soccer League’s newest club will be trying to take a bite out of competition later on this year.

Oh, by the way, when I say Florida goes “Rogue,” I meant they have gone—Ballistic: having its motion determined by objects moving under their own momentum and the force of gravity.

Hopefully these guys have shot for low orbit, and they will stay up for years like a weather balloon.

4skills.com would like to announce a joint partnership between 4skills.com and WorldClassCoaching.com. A company that is renowned for bringing the best soccer content to coaching education.

The partnership entails World Class Coaching’s repackaging 4skills.com’s 6 Minute Soccer Skills DVD series under the World Class Coaching name.

Director of 4skills.com Kamal de Gregory is proud to have reached an agreement with such a prestigious coaching organization, “When your products are adopted by a top level coaching organization, it reinforces that the company is producing quality coaching and playing material.” World Class Coaching routinely holds coaching symposiums for 500 or more of the best national and international coaches.

The 6 Minute Soccer Skills Series is a 10 DVD series that explains 14 of soccer’s most basic and advanced skills. It has been created to be quick, concise reference material for players, coaches and parents. Richard Wall, Marketing Director of 4skills.com says, “Our video formatting allows for the players to envision the mental thought processes that are involved in the performance and execution of the essential, basic to advanced, skill sets of the game.”

4skills.com’s aim is to provide every player the opportunity to realize their personal soccer goals. With innovative programs, like 6 Minute Soccer Skills DVD Series, they are aiming to address the disparity that exists between players, teams, and resources in the soccer environment.

Based in Florida, 4skills.com provides other unique training opportunities in a comprehensive program that address every aspect of a soccer organization from communications to training implementation.

Click here for further information about the programs of 4skills.com

This week unfolded the 1st leg matches of the 23rd Champions’ Cup—CONCACAF’s version of the Champions League or Copa Libertadores. Though the tournament is not as deep as its European and South American counterparts, it is still the biggest club prize of the substandard professional leagues of the Caribbean as well as North and Central America (lo siento Mexico).

MLS is being represented by both DC United and the Houston Dynamo while Guadalajara and Pachuca will represent Mexico; CD Olimpia from Honduras, Puntarenas from Costa Rica, Deportivo Marquense from Guatemala, and W Connection from Trinidad and Tobago round out the 8 competing teams.

The 2 leg Quarterfinal match-ups play out like this—
PACHUCA CF (MEX) – DEPORTIVO MARQUENSE (GUA)
PUNTARENAS FC (CRC) – HOUSTON DYNAMO (USA)
W CONNECTION FC (TRI) – CD GUADALAJARA (MEX)
CD OLIMPIA (HON) – D.C. UNITED (USA)

1st leg drama already has reared its head as W Connection of Trinidad overcame Mexican powerhouse Chivas (2-1) while Houston Dynamo will have to turn the tables at home in Texas, as they fell to the Costa Ricans (1-0) after a goal was scored in the dying moments of stoppage time.

Former Champions’ Cup Champions (1998) DC United, making their 7th appearance in the tournament, started with a lineup that resembled more of a south of the border squad and cruised to victory, defeating CD Olimpia (4-1) with MLS MVP Christian Gomez scoring a brace for the American Club.

Pachuca rounded off the fixtures with a dominating victory on the road over Guatemalan debutantes Marquense (2-0) and look easy to cruise back at home in Mexico in the vuelta.

While anything is still possible, next week will solidify the teams for the Semifinals with the Mexican squads playing their 2nd legs on Feb. 28th (Wednesday) while the MLS squads will finish on Mar. 1st (Thursday).

Reigning Apertura Champions, Guadalajara crashed to Pachuca in the 3rd Round of Futbol Ligue Mexican last weekend slipping into 4th place (of six teams) in Group 1.

Chivas, making an indifferent start to the new season, playing without inspirational keeper Oswaldo Sanchez, will need to rediscover their Champions form this weekend when they meet Cruz Azul, who sits in 3rd place, one spot above the Champs.

With the game cruising, the all-Mexis looked safe enough to at least pull a point until Pachuca’s substitute striker Landín snuck in at the end and punished the home side with a last gasp victory strike, propelling the newly crowned Copa de Sudamericana Champions into top spot in Group 2. 

Cruz Azul took care of business on the road as the return journeyman, Borguetti scored in classical fashion at the end of the 1st half, taking advantage of a defensive mishap in the box with a blind, back-to-goal redirect that lobbed the stranded keeper and nestled in at the back post.

Monterrey pulled level with Gracián’s penalty kick in the 2nd half, but Cruz Azul was not to be denied as the midfielder Núñez, just minutes later, curled in a left-footed free kick at the near post, sealing the victory in the 63rd min.

Atlas, however, has claimed top spot of Group 1 as their (1-0) victory over America propelled them to the summit (though Necaxa is level on points as they secured a win over Santos). Morelia rounds off the groups as top gunners in Group 3.

Not only does this weekend unfold the mini-classic between Chivas and Cruz Azul, but it will also be interesting as Atlas welcome Morelia and Pachuca host Necaxa in top table Mexican showdowns.

Argentine futbol looks set to explode this weekend as the Argentine Clausura Championship begins. For American viewers, Fox Sports World will set the league in motion with their airing of River Plate’s travels to Lanus. And be sure to catch their mid-week translated re-view of the goal action from the weekend. 

Estudiantes return as glorious Champions, having come from behind to snatch the gold from Boca in their finals match playoff, and the season doesn’t look so 2-club dominate anymore. Diego Simeone, backed by the play of Veron, has kept the solid core of the squad and truly envisions a chance at a double.

Whilst the top two clubs are out marketing their real diamonds, more-and-more clubs will feel that they too can compete with the Rivers and Boca Jrns. of the world. Though both teams have sold players to Real Madrid in the off-season, it looks like River’s need to fill the void, left by the departure of young French/Argentine striker Higuain, will be more worrisome. 

Thankfully for Boca, Riquelme, as a switch out for Boca’s starlet mid-fielder Gago, will be joining back with Palermo and Co. and will be bringing with him the prodigal form that he seems to have lost in Spain for Villarreal—the x-factor to once again dominate La Liga de Argentina. It just might come down to Boca and Estudiantes once again.

Are you confused? You are saying, “Hey, this guy just beat the Mexicans 2-0 in a pro-Mexican stadium. He is building some job security.”
    
Well, just as Sarah Connor knew in Terminator, you can’t trust the hand you have been dealt, and once Sky Net wants you wiped off the face of the planet, well, fate will probably have its way.
    
Through the remarks that Sunil Gulati (or Sky Net) made to Rob Stone during the half time intermission of the U.S. vs. Mexico game, I realized Bradley’s fate, no matter what he does in the present, has been sealed, no matter if he pulls off win after win; the future is his biggest enemy. The termination shall appear inevitably at end of May, which is the end of the European Season.
    
Are we that short sited savages not to think that American business agreements and negotiations are not taking place behind close doors for the likes of Jose Mourinho, Rafa Benitez, or David Moyes? Americans are taking England by storm. Didn’t we just buy storied Liverpool?
    
No offense to Stone Faced Bradley, but I don’t think the politics will allow him to stay as the head gaffer for much longer. Private expectations are growing to quick. With success though, in the next two matches, he will have proven his worth in his brief stint.       
    
Remember, he is guaranteed a job with the Olympic Men’s team, so with Freddy Adu in toe, maybe we will see a sequel out of this Collegiate styled educator.
    
To me though, I have heard his pre-game speech twice now, and it seemed to be riddled with rhetoric that does less to inspire individual tactics, opting for a more glazed over come-on-team rah, rah, rah, work-till-the-last-minute-inspiration-talk.

That will cut it in college and at the MLS, where inspiration and effort will get you results, but at the highest level, inspiration and genius is a given; it is individual tactics on how you beat or exploit players and their weaknesses that will get you the gold at the end of the day.
    
So, Bob might find that when he is ready for another stint as the U.S. National Team coach, the standard has risen too high and his apocalyptic future is here to stay.

Because we have a new addition to the 4skills.com family, this month’s move of the moment is called Rock the Baby!

All right you little soccer toddlers, I have a challenging trick for those who would like to test your balance and ball control.

Can you rock the baby?

The trick is to scoop the ball up, keep it balanced, and then throw it backwards.

Simply stand with most of your body over the ball. Make sure that the scooping foot is flat with the ground, and your toe tip is right before the ball.

You then will scoop the ball up smoothly. Don’t move super fast because the ball will fly off your foot.

You are going to keep the ball stable and centered as you work to bring it down smoothly. You should feel as if the ball is swinging back, or should I say rocking!

Here is the real tough part, when you reach back to your original position, you can throw the ball backwards to put an exclamation mark on your skill. You know what you’re doing—making that baby come down cradle and all.

Good luck and be on the look out for the next Move of the Moment!

Click here to view Rock the Baby!