March 2008 Archives

The largest high school girls soccer tournament in the nation kicks off Tuesday throughout the area - the Pepsi Showdown - http://www.pepsishowdown.us

Wheaton North is the top seed, followed by New Trier and St. Charles North. The Sweet 16 of the winner's bracket is Thursday; Elite Eight on Saturday; Final Four on Saturday, April 12; and title game on Sunday, April 20 (part of doubleheader with the Chicago Fire at Toyota Park).

All 32 teams in the tournament will play at Oak Park-River Forest High School on both Saturdays - April 5 and 12. Games begin at 8 a.m. on both Saturdays.

But what makes this tournament so unique is that once teams are knocked out of the NCAA-like winner's bracket, they will then be paired up against teams not on their schedules. It provides flex scheduling unlike any tournament around and allows coaches and teams to play against other players and teams they wouldn't normally have the chance to face.

In all, more than 800 players from private and public schools will be showcased.

But the main question yet to be answered...

I know, I shook my head, too - $10 to see a high school game?

Even the great IHSA-YSO state finals are not $10.

But what if someone charged $10 to see a high school game? What would your reaction be?

Hands down, one of the greatest people I have ever met. Down-to-earth, normal, just a good all-around guy. During his time at Illiana Christian back in the 1990s, Stan always got the most out of his teams.

And since moving to the college level, he has earned even more honors. Now he's on the move again.

http://www.taylor.edu/athletics/wsoccer/coach.shtml

Have to say, I like the headline of this blog - a good play on words that could be taken a couple different ways (and meant to be). So here goes:

*After three years atop Soccer America's yearly rankings of top clubs in the U.S., the Chicago Magic fell to No. 2 for the first time. Hmmm, I wonder why?

*After years of trying to workout a deal to combine programs with the Chicago Magic, Eclipse Select has finally moved into the South Suburbs. Kudos for the club naming Nick Kolliniatis the Director of Coaching. Kolliniatis recently coached at Andrew and knows the game as well as anyone.

*With that said, however, a premier club like Eclipse Select should not be practicing at the Howe Center, which should be renamed the Rut Center for the number of ruts on its grounds.

*But did you know... it looks like the state really needs to clean up this place. The Howe Center has lost its Medicaid funding, which provides half of its $53 million budget. The state-run center, home to about 400 mentally-disabled adults, failed in a scramble to fix problems in the three months since it was warned its federal certification was at risk. In one case, a woman who was supposed to be under close and constant supervision was able to swallow a coin and a paper clip and insert a pen in her genitals. Press releases in February and March alleged that poor care at Howe contributed to 11 deaths since 2005.

Hmmm, makes me wonder....

Do you know how many things have happened since Barry Jacobson became head coach at Downers South in 1984?

Well, let's see (even though I was only in first grade, but still remember the pain Steve Garvey caused to me and the Cubs that fall)...the U.S. has had four different presidents; Michael Jackson used to be cool; only one of Elizabeth Taylor's divorces took place since then; the IHSA created a state tournament with 98 teams in 1988, which now stands at 355 teams and soon-to-be three classes in the latest AYSO format; the same U.S. family invaded Iraq not once - but twice; newspapers didn't cover preps in print back then, then they did and now (I plead the fifth); the Berlin Wall came down; Y2K; 9/11; and the Cornerkicks blog was born.

All these things, and the man doesn't look a day over 30 - unless he's stressing about the Cubs.

And come Thursday, Jacobson will have an opportunity to do something no other girls soccer coach has done in Illinois - record career win No. 400.

But...(there's always a 'but' on this blog):

At times throughout this spring season, Cornerkicks will bring you blogs you won't find anywhere else. You will hear from high school students playing high school, and you'll hear from high school students playing club.

This is the second blog from Waubonsie Valley's Bri Rodriguez, who is playing for the Warriors this spring. The junior is considered by many to be one of the top players in the country. She also plays for Eclipse Select in the high school offseason and will attend West Virginia in the fall of 2009

This week, Rodriguez talks about Waubonsie Valley's first game against Wheaton North - an early battle of preseason No. 1 vs. No. 2 - and the challenges of selecting a college program to play for.

And with that said, here's Bri:

Ryan Stengren may be a first-year head coach, but for some reason I don't look at him as a first-year head coach.

And knowing the lovely parents at Barrington, they won't look at him as a first-year head coach midway through the season either.

Some were surprised I ranked Barrington No. 8 to start the 2008 season. But then again, some were surprised I ranked them No. 1 to start the season in 2007. To this day, I still believe the Fillies had as much talent on paper as Waubonsie Valley did. But anyone that knows anything about high school sports realizes how important chemistry is - especially in girls sports.

Nevertheless, don't be surprised if Barrington gets off to a slow start this spring.

Why, you ask?

Seriously, why are there rankings for high school sports? I'm curious to see the feedback.

I'm sure I'll read about newspapers looking to sell more newspapers, creating interest and stuff like that. Let's be realistic here - who cares?

Coaches say they don't want to be ranked, but they'll also be the first to point out the fact they were overlooked at the end of the year if they played well. On Tuesday, an up-and-coming Oak Park team beat Naperville Central without Florida State-bound Casey Short. Taking nothing away from the Huskies, but one big-time Division I player makes a huge difference in girls soccer.

Don't believe me - just look at former New Trier star Kayanne Gummersall. Anyone who tells me her mere presence on the field didn't make a difference, needs to go visit the doctor and find a clue.

''They play on grass, and we play on dirt."

Jasmine Espino plays high school soccer for Young and club soccer for Eclipse Select. She has played on some quality fields over the years and some....let's just say not-so-quality fields. I'm not sure what they are called - dirt fields or what.

The junior is just one player throughout the Public League that is forced to play on what some consider to be unsafe fields at times each spring. The case is even worse during the fall when boys soccer teams have even less access to Public League stadiums because of football.

Both Calvin Davis, Public League Sports Director, and Joyce Kenner, Public League High School Athletic Association Board president, admitted in today's story that Public League soccer teams are lacking adequate facilitates. But that has been the case for decades, as many coaches and fans of Public League soccer know.

The question Davis and Kenner need to answer is this: What is being done to improve this problem?

The Sun-Times Girls Soccer Preview ran today. While other publications wait until the season has already started to run its preview, we run our preview before the first game of the 2008 season (which should be later today.)

For those that still pick up a paper these days, you've probably already seen it. And while all the information is on the Sun-Times' web site, it's still hard to find it on our new high school web site - yourseason.com. I'm sure it will be there later on when yourseason.com realizes it isn't only a high school basketball web site.

Nevertheless, we decided to do something a little different this year. Instead of naming the Top 50 players, we elected to go with 11 players to watch. Some of the names you may have heard of before, but I'm sure most of them you haven't. These 11 were either rising stars in 2007, are freshmen this spring or players that skipped 2007 high school season.

So here's that list:

At times throughout this spring season, Cornerkicks will have players blogging about their experiences. You will hear from high school students playing high school this spring, and you'll hear from high school students playing club this spring.

This second blog is from Waubonsie Valley's Bri Rodriguez, who is playing for the Warriors this spring. The junior is considered by many to be one of the top players in the country. She also plays for Eclipse Select in the high school offseason.

Feel free to post a question for Bri, and she will try to respond to it in her next blog. Lake Zurich's Katie Uyenishi will write her second blog next week, as Cornerkicks brings you blogs you won't find anywhere else.

And with that said, here's Bri Rodriguez:

Fenwick may have finished last season with a 10-4-6 overall record and a 4-3-2 East Suburban Catholic showing, but the Friars are always one of the area teams on the brink of making some noise each spring.

Is this the spring Fenwick comes through or will the Friars be pushed back to an average program?

Here's Fenwick coach Chris Richter's thoughts:

When it comes to winning, Riverside-Brookfield girls soccer coach Marisa Czepka-Dobbertin knows all about that.

During her high school playing days, Dobbertin and her twin sister, Marcy, played big roles helping Sandburg grow into a soccer powerhouse in the mid 1990s.

After Lincoln-Way had dominated the South Suburban soccer scene for years, the Czepkas helped the Eagles get past the Knights and advance to the state finals in 1996 and 1997. Sandburg finished second in the state in 1996 before suffering a heartbreaking quarterfinal loss to New Trier in 1997.

Dobbertin finished her senior season in 1997 as the team’s third leading scorer, helping the Eagles go unbeaten in 23 of their 27 games that spring. Current Riverside-Brookfield supt. Jack Baldermann was the principal at Sandburg during Dobbertin’s playing days.

And now, Dobbertin is hoping to put the Bulldogs on the winning path.

At times throughout this spring season, Cornerkicks will have players blogging about their experiences. You will hear from high school students playing high school this spring, and you'll hear from high school students playing club this spring.

This first blog is from Lake Zurich's Katie Uyenishi, who is playing with Eclipse Select. The sophomore is considered by many to be one of the top defenders in the Midwest. She is the younger sister of Sarah (Marquette) and Molly (Colorado College) Uyenishi, who led the Bears to state finals berths during their high school playing days.

Feel free to post a question for Katie, and she will try to respond to it in her next blog. Waubonsie Valley's Bri Rodriguez will write later in the week, as Cornerkicks brings you blogs you won't find anywhere else.

And with that said, here's Katie Uyenishi: