Tag: League

Spring Soccer Season

Soccer11Leave a comment

The spring soccer season just ended, and my team got first place. We went undefeated throughout the entire season, scoring 53 goals and conceding only 9 goals in 10 games. Every one of my teammates tried their best, and they never gave up. We did have some bad games, but even when we did, we still never gave up, and we either came out with a win or with a tie. Now that my team won, we go up a level for next season, and we’re going to be NPL. NPL is a big deal, especially for a Ventura team. Now that the league is over, we go on to the College Cup in Las Vegas over Thanksgiving break. But after that college cup, our team stops practicing, and we all go play for our high school teams. This win means a lot to us and our coach, and I’m excited to see how my team does next season. 

Finally Landed: Bishop Carroll culminates more than decade of final 4 finishes with 1st state championship, Golden Eagles earn 2-1 win over St. James Academy in 5A girls soccer final - Kansas

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Worst Person 27-Philadelphia Phillies

backinphillyLeave a comment

In professional sports, there are always some interesting transactions. Some are ground-braking, like trading a top-tier player for a bunch of prospects. You know, something interesting like that.

Watching players fly around teams like that is something that I, personally find very enjoyable. I was intrigued this morning when I was informed that the Philadelphia Phillies traded a relief pitcher from their minor league club.

Hmm, I wonder what we got. Maybe a low draft pick or some other minor league prospect? Maybe some cash compensation?

As I read the article, I kept trying to see if I was possibly reading over something.

But the headline reminded me that not all trades make sense.

“The Philadelphia Phillies Traded A Minor League Prospect To The Los Angeles Angeles For No Compensation.”

What? Nothing? No money? No prospects?

Yup, that’s right. The Phillies literally got NOTHING from the Angels. The Angels got Mike Cisco, and the Phillies opened a roster spot.

Granted, the Phillies made the move because they believed that they were holding too many minor league pitchers. Fine, send a guy away. But, don’t just hand him over. Get something back for him. It doesn’t have to be a player. Just get some cash or something.

But NOTHING?! That’s inexcusable. I’m honestly in shock. How can a professional front office actually make this kind of move?

This is just a total head-scratcher.

Right, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr.?

Derp

Dead Toenails and My Lovely Roommate!

yrreskrap1 Comment

Today, two of my toenails fell off after my final season of track here at Ojai Valley School.

My roommate and I were talking about this to our coach (thebrownguy) and we were discussing how it is almost a badge of honor to have toenails that fall off. It shows our character and dedication in running, that despite the pain that comes with running, we give it our all.

My roommate’s toenail fell off a few days ago.

Now, let me tell you, this girl can run.

She was a new student this year and came to take advantage of the track team at our school. Her previous school did not have track as a sport. Now, for a girl who had no prior official track team training, she did fantastic.

My roommate broke several personal records, brought home multiple first place medals, broke a meet record, and even took the title of Condor League MVP this season. But this is not the crowning point in her high school track career. She ran at the CIF preliminary meet, placed second in her heat, and qualified for finals.

She is one of the most dedicated people I know. And dedication is not something you can fake. When I look at her run, its inspiring. The way she pushes herself to the hardest during practice and the way she takes such tender care of her feet afterwards is just fantastic. There is nobody I know that is as dedicated as her. And all of that dedication stems from her pure love for the sport. She loves running. And that is what makes her good.

Now, my roommate can be hard on herself sometimes but I hope when she reads this, she realizes how great she actually is.

She will only get better as she gets older. College is going to be fantastic for you. I just can’t wait to see how well you do, even in your first year in college. I know you will go on to do such great things!

And so back to the topic of toenails. Now that we have established them to be badges of honor, you deserve to have all of your toenails fall off.

I love you thehungryrunnergirl!

Math Down, The Rest Is History!

yrreskrapLeave a comment

Yesterday was grueling.


My morning began with YouTube videos by khanacademy (who is BRILLIANT by the way) on solids of revolution. My favorite breakfast of waffles and milk didn’t manage to make my morning any better.

I dragged my legs as I forced myself to the Lecture Hall. I sighed as I saw the cold metal door knob and my opaque reflection on the still glass door. Then I went in.

It was torture. Hours and hours of math. I panicked. I think I did horribly.

With a bad mood, I went to the cafeteria to grab lunch before my track meet. With my Princeton Review AP U.S. History Exam book in hand, I trudged to the big, yellow Ojai Valley School bus.

The meet got a lot off my shoulders and I managed to get a lot of studying done. I met my friends at Cate School, Denali and Blake, both friends from 8th grade and that got a lot of stress and grief from my AP exam earlier that day. It helped me realize that I shouldn’t stress but I should try my best for the next test because I can’t change the my previous test score but I can try to get the best score for my next AP test.

Next:

Tomorrow, A.P. U.S. History.

Wish me luck!

What is Wrong With Youth Soccer

therightliberalLeave a comment

Being a referee, I have seen many youth games as an outsider. But I also have played both club and organized soccer as a kid. Now that I see the insanity from an outside prospective, I am a little taken aback.

Youth Sport Violence image

I think that every child should play soccer as a kid. This is an incredibly biased opinion but it does have merit. Soccer is a great sport for kids because it is simple in rules but complex in thinking. There are no plays drawn up, the player has to figure out what he or she needs to do. Soccer is also very physically demanding — a good amount of long, slow distance mixed with sprinting. For the development of kids, soccer is great.

But here is the dark side: parents. This is also biased because almost every weekend I have to deal with parents who are upset and out of control. Parents ruin soccer for kids. If the parent starts caring more about the game than his or her child, something is wrong.

Parents are their to support their kids, not to scream obscenities at the other team, the ref or another parent. I have seen many a child’s faces go a deep red when he or she hears his or her parents screaming from the sideline.

Parents should be involved with their sons and daughters soccer education. But parents need to learn to control themselves. I know that how badly they want their kid to win and to demolish the other team but can they please keep it to themselves. When they open their mouths to yell things like “Break his leg!”, “Pull her down!”, “That’s right, take that losers!”, they simply look immature.

Parents want their kids to be great and there is nothing wrong with that. But the kids will either motivate themselves to play soccer or they won’t. Chances are that the kid won’t stick with soccer if they have parents yelling at them from the sideline.

So parents take my advice: Encourage your kids, support their team. But please calm down and let the kids play. After all, its youth soccer.

Unsporting Conduct

therightliberalLeave a comment

In the Champions League clash (in more than one respect) between AC Milan and Tottenham Hotspurs, Gennaro Gattuso lost his head…again.

Gennaro Gattuso has a reputation as a hard man, but so did Joe Jordan during his playing days

After the final whistle, Gattuso went over to the Tottenham bench and got in a verbal argument with assistant coach Joe Jordan. That argument quickly got physical and ended with Gattuso headbutting Jordan.

I have always been a Gattuso fan and that will not change. He is a passionate player who sometimes lets his emotions get in the way of the skill he has. Part of the reason I like him so much is that I have a very similar style. I too lose my head and I play very physical.

Many players have jumped on the “Gattuso is a nasty person” bandwagon. But there is always two sides. Gattuso would not have headbutted Joe Jordan without provocation.

I am not trying to defend Gattuso’s actions because they are not appropriate. However, people should try to understand the circumstances. It is a huge game and AC Milan had just lost. It had been a physical and quite nasty game. supposedly Joe Jordan also said some very nasty insults to Gattuso as well.

UEFA should suspend Gattuso and I am sure they will. Gattuso has already said that he understands that he has messed up and is willing to take any punishment handed out to him.

Gennaro Gattuso and Joe Jordan and Harry Redknapp

In my mind people should accept Gattuso’s apology and move on. Don’t hate a player because he messed up. This is the same as Zinedine Zidane: we can be upset by what happened but we should not let the incident diminish the accomplishments of Gattuso.