Former Lincoln-Way, Chicago Magic and Indiana star Ned Grabavoy turns 25 on Tuesday. The former New Lenox resident is hands down one of the best high school players I have ever covered, a player that created excitement in the stands the minute he touched the ball.

Entering his fifth year in the MLS, the San Jose midfielder was asked this past weekend when he was in Chicago if he would change anything about his prep career (when he chose to play high school and club)?

"I look back at playing in high school and love that I got to play with some of my best friends," said the former high school and college All-America star. "I had a similar decision whether to play in college or playing in Europe. I don't regret a thing."

Posted by Corner Kicks at 5:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Seriously, Cubs, couldn't you have done me a favor and just won one game this past weekend - just one? I know we've won 9 of 12 and 6 of 9 - including two sweeps mixed in - and were missing half our studs because of injuries - but come on.

Thankfully, I have some thoughts on State Cup and Regionals to throw out there to get my mind off of your bad performance this weekend.

So here are the first two of the day, with more to come later:

*Is State Cup and Regionals a big thing anymore? The U-16, U-17 and U-18 Chicago Magic teams all play for the U.S. Developmental Academy, and they were not permitted to participate in State Cup and Regionals. The U-19 Magic team is now the Chicago Fire Juniors, as most of the boys play in the Fire PDL league for the summer.

*Three local Chicago girls from Eclipse Select are at a U-17 Women's National Team camp this week in New Jersey. This is the last camp before the CONCACAF qualifier.

*And when it comes to the Eclipse Select, it's damn if you do - damn if you don't. Last year, they struggled to get teams to Nationals. That had people questioning one of the nation's premier girls soccer clubs. This year, they have a number of teams headed to Nationals, and now critics are saying they should be there with all the talent they have.

But here's the most interesting question I have....

I listen to people say the premier clubs put together all-star teams, stealing talent from other clubs. True in some cases, but not all the time.

I would love to see how many kids from the premier clubs have been there since the age of 12? I think 12 is a fair age to start with. Kids are in seventh or eighth grade, and by then their parents know whether they can be competitive at the next level.

It's not fair for people to nail the premier clubs for not having all their players from the start, because that will never be possible. First, families move. Secondly, some kids are playing more than one sport, trying to figure out what they like the best.

- Joe Trost

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You have to love when grown parents argue over high school sports. It's one thing to talk about it, but when it gets to the point of acting like 2-year-olds over an outcome of a high school soccer match, you really feel bad for the kids that have to call these idiots "parents."

That's exactly what I and a reporter from the Tribune said when talking about recent postings on message boards and blogs.

Guess what - officials make bad calls, just like coaches, players and reporters tend to make mistakes. It's part of life, and most of the time never done on purpose. I've been involved in games where I thought an official blew a call. Christ, I was a catcher growing up, and I know there were numerous times I wanted to turn around during a high school game and say to the ump - are you really paying attention?

Officials, like them or not, are the ones who give their free time so sports can be played. The pay isn't worth the abuse some of them take. How many people actually go up to an official after a game and say thanks...or better yet - nice job? Officials are in a lose-lose situation all the time. If they are right, they're supposed to be. If they are wrong, they're considered an idiot.

Sadly, half the parents in the stands don't know the rules, and half of them aren't even in shape to stand on the field.

No one likes to see a bad call, but it happens. As is life, things happen for a reason.

- Joe Trost

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You have to love summer. If you don't, honestly, I really don't care...because I do.

Have to say, it's been an interesting week. And I hope you don't mind that soccer will have to take a backseat in today's blog.

A former co-worker of mine, Jeff Ponczak, died last Saturday at the age of 39. Even as I type this, I still can't believe it. I couldn't believe it when my Dad called to tell me the story was in the paper - http://www.southtownstar.com/sports/1006541,061508jeffponczakobit.article.

I really learned a lot from Jeff early on in my career. He always had time to answer questions and help the young college kid sitting next to him.

Tomorrow is never promised, and sadly, we all tend to forget that.

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The Chicago Magic Academy and AS Monaco FC have announced a partnership.

"This allegiance is groundbreaking for both sides. AS Monaco is committed to an alliance with all levels of soccer in the Chicago Magic program, and their U16 and U18 youth academies will be the foundation of our combined efforts. The Magic is at the forefront of soccer in the U.S.," AS Monaco President Jerome de Bontin said. "AS Monaco has one of the best academies in the world--the reserve team just won the 2008 U23 French championship--and has a long history of pioneering relationships with the purpose of identifying and developing talented soccer players."

The new partnership will elevate the Magic program by including sponsorship and technical support covering all U.S. Soccer Development Academy expenses for Chicago Magic coaches and players, an annual exchange program allowing top prospects to train in Monaco and AS Monaco coaches conducting special training sessions and camps in the U.S.

"Partnering with AS Monaco, one of the most popular soccer clubs in Europe, now officially positions the Magic as the undisputed destination for youth soccer players in Chicago and across the Midwest ," said Mike Matkovich, Director of Soccer for the Chicago Magic Soccer Club. "We are excited about this enriching relationship for this year and many years to come."

- Joe Trost

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When people look back at the 2008 girls soccer season, what will be remembered? Here are just a few ideas to get things started:

*The ridiculous Feb. 25 starting date.

*Waubonsie Valley's dominance.

*More players skip high school soccer than ever before.

*The younger talent that grabbed the spotlight.

*Downers South coach Barry Jacobson becoming the first Illinois girls soccer coach to win 400 games.

*Pepsi Showdown becomes largest girls soccer tournament in the country.

*New Trier's amazing consecutive quarterfinal run comes to an end.

*A number of long-time girls soccer coaches retire.

Posted by Corner Kicks at 10:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Man, there really are some great ones.

But man, there really are some losers. Coaches, members of the media and even players talk about them all the time. I've seen parents from Fremd to Lincoln-Way and countless others make fools out of themselves and continue to even after their kid(s) have moved on. I've had college coaches ask me to hide them when they see a parent walking toward them in the past during club events.

After two coaches forwarded emails they received last week, it makes me wonder - is it only going to get worse?

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I said it last week - I'm glad I'm done ranking teams this spring, because it really has been a messed up year. As I write this, I'm not sure if Waubonsie Valley is one of the top three teams in Illinois history or if the competition was down this year between No. 1 and the rest.

As I sat down to do the final rankings, I just shook my head and laughed.

Here are the final rankings, and then I have some thoughts. This will be an interesting week of blogs, because I have a lot of thoughts now that the season is officially over...or is it?

1. Waubonsie Valley 26-0-1
Loses only three seniors to graduation
2. Wheaton North 17-3-2
Preseason No. 2 captured Pepsi Showdown title
3. Wheaton-Warrenville South 19-2-1
No surprises: another solid year
4. Naperville Central 20-6
How will they fair without Casey Short next year?
5. Hersey 18-3-4
Expectations will be even higher next year
6. Fremd 18-4-1
Won’t be sending Hersey a Christmas card
7. New Trier 19-5-2
Is the Trevians’ dominant run over?
8. H-F 24-4
Young Vikings will be back
9. St. Ignatius 27-2-1
Young, exciting team gave Normal West a battle
10. Maine South 20-3-4
Is 2009 the time to bring home a state trophy?
OTHERS: Downers South, Carmel, H-F, Neuqua Valley, Lake Forest, York, Mundelein, St. Charles East

All right....

I have no problem with Waubonsie Valley being No. 1 - obviously - and Wheaton North being No. 2. I don't care where the Falcons lost or who they lost to at the end, because I saw them enough this year to know they were the second best team. I've said it before - the state tournament is not a true tournament to decide rankings.

Now, Wheaton South at No. 3. The Tigers had only two losses - both to Wheaton North, who lost to Naperville Central. So should Naperville Central be No. 2 with six losses? Granted, some of those losses came with Casey Short over in Europe during the season.

Hersey at No. 5, who lost to unranked Carmel, who advanced to the state quarterfinals. Hersey also lost to St. Charles North, but beat Fremd three times this season. Maybe Hersey is ranked too high?

Fremd at No. 6 with just four losses, three coming to Hersey. So if Hersey is too high, then Fremd has to drop, too. But Fremd's only other loss was to Waubonsie Valley, and how can you fault them for that - no one beat Waubonsie Valley.

New Trier may be too high, too. They advanced to the title game of the Pepsi Showdown and lost to No. 2 Wheaton North. They also lost to No. 1 Waubonsie Valley and No. 4 Fremd if I'm right. So it's not like they were losing to bums.

No. 8 H-F had a great year. They only lost to Althoff (advanced to state title game), New Trier in overtime, Normal West (without a full squad) and one of the top teams in Iowa - not bad. I guess maybe their performance on Friday soured me a little. But one game shouldn't make a season right?

St. Ignatius came on this year and will need to take the next step next year. Great talent, nice team. But they did catch a lot of good programs on a down or so-called average year - Lyons, Lincoln-Way East, Sandburg, Hinsdale Central, etc. Not their fault, because if they didn't win those games they wouldn't be here. Unlike past years, their supersectional didn't feature one of the top teams in the country (New Trier teams of the past). But they only lost to St. Charles North 1-0 and to unbeaten at the time (but I think overrated) Normal West 1-0 on Friday.

No. 10 Maine South lost to York, who had a great year but faded at the end of the year. They also lost to Waubonsie Valley on Friday, but hung with them. And they lost to an Evanston squad that was hard to figure out this year.

Then you get to the others, and you have Carmel and Downers South right off the bat. I've always said I will be the first person someday to not rank the team that wins the so-called state title No. 1 at the end of the year. If anyone else besides Waubonsie Valley would've won the state title this past weekend, guess what? They would have been ranked behind the Warriors. If it was a true seeded tournament, it's a different story.

But when a team goes through the toughest sectional, toughest supersectional and hadn't lost all year going into Friday, one game is not going to knock them from the top.

But back to Carmel and Downers South. Carmel had two losses all year, one to Downers South and one to a very solid Mundelein team. Well, if I rank Carmel, I have to rank Downers South. Even though Downers South finished fourth, I still didn't rank them. They had a nice season, and hey, it would have made me look better to rank them at the end because I ranked them to start the season. But just as the case was with past Lyons teams, their sectional helped extend their season - I think.

I hate saying that, because I'm not talking anything away from anyone. But this is what is debated when I do rankings.

So let's look at the rest of the best - Neuqua Valley, which lost to Naperville Central but beat them when it counted; Lake Forest solid all year and then slipped; York just faded late; Mundelein and St. Charles East solid.

So the only thing I'm sure about is No. 1, and I guess in the end - that's all anyone will remember anyways.

- Joe Trost

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