November 2008 Archives

You read these type of stories every year, the same I'm thankful for this and thankful for that.

It shouldn't take a so-called special day on the calendar for people to be thankful. Holidays are great, but at times people forget there are hundreds of days throughout the year when you can be just as thankful or celebrate. Each time a soccer player goes to practice and steps on a field, he or she should be thankful. Every coach and parent should be just as thankful to be there for that moment.

Christ, I'm thankful to be here writing this at this moment.

Enjoy the holiday, but remember the feeling on Friday, in January and next summer.

Tomorrow, as they say, is never promised.

In the days leading up to the Pepsi Showdown College Showcase, partnered by YourSeason.com, I'll be featuring players that will take part in the largest high school showcase in the Midwest.

Meet two junior players from Lyons - Hope Spangler and Billy McGuinness. These are just two players that will be showcased on Friday at the Sports Zone in Melrose Park.

I've always considered myself a people person.

But, I will admit, putting together the Pepsi Showdown College Showcase has opened my eyes to a lot things. The amount of emails and calls I've taken over the past week makes me wonder if people read basic directions anymore.

One interesting email I received came from Marlene Bjornsrud, CEO and Co-Founder of the Bay Area Women's Sports Initiative and Julie Foudy Sports Leadership Academy based in Santa Clara, Calif.

Avi Stopper, former coach at the University of Chicago and founder of www.CaptainU.com - a Chicago-based company that makes recruiting software for high school athletes, their parents, and club and high school coaches - will be providing recruiting insight for coaches and players each Monday.

He will be in attendance for the Pepsi Showdown College Showcase on Friday at the Sports Zone in Melrose Park.

In the days leading up to the Pepsi Showdown College Showcase, partnered by YourSeason.com, I will be featuring players that will take part in the largest high school showcase in the Midwest.

Meet Wheaton North's Amy Larque and Carmel's Jessica Gilstrap, who are just two junior defenders that will be showcased on Nov. 28 at the Sports Zone in Melrose Park.

As Illinois women's soccer coach Janet Rayfield prepares for Saturday's battle with North Carolina in the third round of the NCAA Tournament, she also received a verbal commitment from St. Ignatius star Nicole Denenberg.

The senior is just the latest Chicago-area standout that Rayfield has landed over the past four years. Denenberg has 38 goals and 39 assists in three years and helped lead the Wolfpack to the state quarterfinals last spring.

"She will end up in the top three for every category we have," St. Ignatius coach Aaron Carpenter said. "I have coached her since eighth grade, and I told you to keep an eye on her when she was a freshman. She is a talented individual that doesn't like to be told she can't succeed at something. Most people don't think she will see the field at Illinois. Those people don't see her determination on a daily basis."

I'm sure this is going to fire up some people. But hey, it is what it is.

Main story on ESPN today:

http://sports.espn.go.com/highschool/rise/soccer/news/story?id=3714721

In the days leading up to the Pepsi Showdown College Showcase, partnered by YourSeason.com, I will be featuring players that will take part in the largest high school showcase in the Midwest.

Meet Oak Park's Casey Blaha and Stevenson's Shawn Singh, who are just two players that will be showcased on Nov. 28 at the Sports Zone in Melrose Park.

In the days leading up to the Pepsi Showdown College Showcase, partnered by YourSeason.com, I will be featuring players that will take part in the largest high school showcase in the Midwest.

Meet St. Charles North's Alex Bergmann and Latin's Ryan Malki, who are just two seniors that will be showcased on Nov. 28 at the Sports Zone in Melrose Park.

If you haven't watched Wheaton Academy's Leah Fortune, make sure you get out to watch the Clemson-bound senior play this spring.

But before you do that, read what she is doing for the Brazil National Team:

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=528646&root=ncaa&cc=5901

In the days leading up to the Pepsi Showdown College Showcase, partnered by YourSeason.com, I will be featuring players that will take part in the largest high school showcase in the Midwest.

Meet Lake Zurich's Brooke Sill and Sandburg's Dave Mulac, who are just two juniors that will be showcased on Nov. 28 at the Sports Zone in Melrose Park. Sill plays club for Ela, while Mulac is a member of Eclipse Select.

Man, it's been a busy month.

With the end of the high school season and preparing for the upcoming Pepsi Showdown College Showcase, which is Nov. 28 at the Sports Zone in Melrose Park, there hasn't been a moment that my Blackberry hasn't been buzzing with an email or incoming phone call from a player, parent, high school or college coach.

(And I'll admit it - I check my Blackberry in the middle of the night and respond to emails.)

I'm not going to lie - I enjoy doing this. Being in this unique media position with the Chicago Sun-Times and ESPN.com, I've had the opportunity over the past decade to see some of the best players in the nation. Whether it's been right here in Chicago or at one of the major showcases across the country, I've been lucky.

I've spoken with the nation's best coaches at the high school, club, college or professional levels. But I've also listened to a lot of idiots.

In a way, I'm the man in the middle and I like it.

The anticpated state finals in Connecticut and North Carolina were postponed on Saturday due to expected poor weather in those areas. Connecticut and North Carolina contested their state finals Sunday instead of Saturday.

Keep in mind, they were postponed to "expected poor weather." Would it have been better to play the IHSA Class 3A state finals on Sunday when the weather was 30 degrees warmer and not 30 degrees as it was on that chilly night in Naperville?

Avi Stopper, former coach at the University of Chicago and founder of www.CaptainU.com - a Chicago-based company that makes recruiting software for high school athletes, their parents, and club and high school coaches - will be providing recruiting insight for coaches and players each Monday.

The 34th Annual IHSSCA Senior Classic will take place Saturday in DeKalb, and the Pepsi Showdown College Showcase is set for Nov. 28 at the Sports Zone in Melrose Park.

A few openings still remain for the Pepsi Showdown College Showcase, which is partnered by YourSeason.com. The four-tournament, 12-hour event will showcase underclassmen and senior boys and girls high school players from Illinois. It is open to every high school player.

Additional information, including players registered and message board for the Pepsi Showdown College Showcase, may be obtained visiting www.pepsishowdown.us.

Come January, there will be more than one new president in the U.S.

Right here in Illinois, there will be a new Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association (IHSSCA) president when Lake Park boys soccer coach Norm Hillner finishes his term. Neuqua Valley girls soccer Joe Moreau is next in line to take over as president.

So just what has the IHSSCA done to make high school soccer better in Illinois? Because space has been tight in the paper of late - thank you Mr. President-elect Obama - we've decided to run this online. And what better time to run it than on the eve of the IHSSCA All-State Banquet in Elmhurst.

From Granite City, Collinsville and Gibault to St. Charles and Sandburg, there are a number of programs that have put Illinois on the map.

New Trier is just the latest as this story shows...

http://sports.espn.go.com/highschool/rise/soccer/news/story?id=3695351

It is with great sadness to inform you that Diana Drenth has passed away at the age of 31.

Diana is the wife of Rolling Meadows assistant boys soccer coach Mike Drenth and mother of a 1-year-old. She was diagnosed with leukemia in November 2007 and passed away Saturday.

Visitation: Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2-8 p.m. at Adolf Funeral Home, 2921 S. Harlem Ave., Berwyn.

Funeral Services: Wednesday, Nov. 12, 9:15 a.m. at Adolf Funeral Home, then to St. Mary Church in Riverside for mass.

Avi Stopper, former coach at the University of Chicago and founder of CaptainU.com - a Chicago-based company that makes recruiting software for high school athletes, their parents, and club and high school coaches - will be providing recruiting insight for coaches and players each Monday.

Should the IHSA have played this past weekend with temperatures in the mid-to-low 30s? It really is an interesting question, because until recent years, soccer was always played - rain, snow and cold. As long as there wasn't thunder in the area, games went on.

Coaches, officials and fans in attendance this past weekend at North Central College in Naperville wondered outloud if about this issue on Friday and Saturday.

At 4:45 p.m., it's 37 degrees at North Central College in Naperville. Rockford Boylan and Edwardsville are warming up on the field for the 5 p.m. semifinal. If this were a regular-season game, there is a good chance both athletic departments would've cancelled this game already.

On that note, there is a very good chance it will be even colder for tonight's 7 p.m. semifinal between Neaqua Valley and New Trier.

At what point should the IHSA be thinking about safety instead of trying to force games in?

One of the greatest things about being in the position I'm in is that I get to meet some great people. From coaches, kids, parents and yes, even people in the IHSA and Public League offices.

There are so many people out there giving countless hours to improve the lives of so many kids, and that at times is forgot in today's society.

One of those people is Jim Wolter.

I know this isn't soccer related, but help me answer this question - why does the IHSA have different classes for individual sports? For example - bass finishing? Do you really need four classes for bass finishing? Seriously, does the student-fisherman have a better chance of winning a state championship in bass fishing because he goes to a large school like Joliet compared to a small school like DeLand-Weldon?

Are we here to compete or hand out participation awards? Participation awards are what school honor nights are for, honoring the participation of students in a sport. Don't you think - especially in bass fishing - that kids want to compete against everyone in high school throughout Illinois?

All right, back to soccer...

Read the story on ESPN.com regarding the Joliet boys soccer team.

http://sports.espn.go.com/highschool/rise/soccer/news/story?id=3681586

For anyone thinking only the powerhouse programs get the exposure, here's a story that proves anything can happen with talent and hard work.

Avi Stopper, former coach at the University of Chicago and founder of www.CaptainU.com - a Chicago-based company that makes recruiting software for high school athletes, their parents, and club and high school coaches - will be providing recruiting insight for coaches and players each Monday.

For years, I've stood behind the belief that final newspaper rankings cannot and should not be based on how soccer teams finish in the IHSA state playoffs.

Why?

With unbalanced sectionals, many of which are far more loaded than others, this is a basic tournament to provide an opportunity for kids to play in and for the IHSA to generate revenue. Take away the marketing, take away the promotion and spin, and that is exactly what you have - a basic tournament.

And guess what? There's nothing wrong with that.