NSCAA Educates Young Coaches From BIFC

On Tuesday, NSCAA coach and Director of Coaching at Emerald City FC, Erik Oman, came out to the Commodore fields on Bainbridge Island to educate a group of coaches young and old, but mostly young players who are products of the BIFC academy themselves, on the basics of coaching young children. He demonstrated a coaching philosophy that revolved around fun, positive attitudes and encouragement and most of all, nurturing a love of the game and self confidence in young children.

An Explanation of my Lengthy Absence

Well Soccer Boss readers, I am only stating the obvious when I say that I haven't posted in a while. As finals week(s) approached in both college and my remaining high school class I could feel the helpless sinking feeling as I looked ahead at my busy school schedule that collided quite nicely (NOT) with the start of the equally hectic and slightly overwhelming schedule of EURO 2012 group games. With finals out of the way, I thought "at last, some time to focus on blogging!" but, alas, another project of gargantuan proportion, but a hugely satisfying final destination, landed in my lap.

EURO 2012 in Review

Round One Comes To A Close In Poland And Ukraine 

Ukrainian striker Shevchenko was nearly left out
 of the starting lineup but struck twice for the
co-hosts against Sweden
mirror.co.uk

The action of the tournament kicked off on Friday with the other co-host Poland hosting Greece in Warsaw and closed today with the other co-host Ukraine securing themselves a surprising three points against Sweden. In between, hated rivals faced off, stunning goals were scored and powerful shots were saved. Two red cards have been shown so far, both coming from the same ref in the opening game between Poland and Greece. As the first round of group play comes to a close, some teams sit on top unsurprisingly while other nations are having fairytale starts to their EURO 2012 campaigns. 

EURO 2012 Group Preview

worldcupblog.org

This summer the footballing world will turn it's attention to Poland and Ukraine as they host the 2012 EURO Cup. The qualifying stage for the European nations began shortly after the 2010 World Cup, and now sixteen of the best National Teams in Europe are ready to shine on the world stage. Here is a look at the first round of fixtures in the group stage and the groups themselves for this tournament, which kicks off on June 8th in Warsaw, Poland.

Soccer as Self Expression- The Philosophy Behind the Futsal Genius of Kauai

"If you cannot organize five, you will not be able to organize eleven."

For those of you who don't know, or haven't assumed this by now, I am a soccer magnet... or maybe I just have a weird radar fine tuned to pick up any kick of a ball within a ten mile radius. Either way, I was lamenting the loss of my regular footy packed lifestyle earlier this month as I vacationed in Hawaii with my family. We were on the small but vibrant and diverse island of Kauai, one of the last places on earth I would have expected to stumble upon a thriving soccer culture that revolved around futsal.

A Fond Farewell in St. Jakob Park

Tomorrow night FC Basel will face off against their rivals Young Boys Bern in their home stadium in the concluding match of a successful 2011/2012 campaign. Beloved veterans Scott Chipperfield and Benjamin Huggel bring their successful and long careers to a close and second string goalkeeper Massimo Colomba will retire from the pitch and take over as club goalkeeper coach. Long time center back David Abraham's contract expires this summer and he too will be playing his last match in St. Jakob park. Basel success stories Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka, products of the youth academy, are both bound for the Bundesliga (Shaqiri to Bayern Munich, Xhaka to Borussia Mönchengladbach) and will be paying their final contributions to the club as well.
It will be an emotional evening at St. Jakob Park tomorrow night, but it provides a great opportunity for the fans to express their gratitude for their long-serving players who hold special places in their red and blue hearts.

Kitsap Pumas Beat Renamed Tacoma Rivals

The whole team comes to celebrate Matt Friesen's stunning volley

The Kitsap Pumas were able to polish off their week with a win over the Sounders U23’s at Bremerton Memorial Stadium despite losing to Cal FC in the U.S. Open cup. In front of 585 home fans they faced off against the former Tacoma Tide, now taken over by the Sounders, and put on an exciting display for their dedicated supporters.