cincyred

WKU is so full of --it. They are budgeting more money for football - moving up a classification to Divison 1 - meaning more outlay of funds for scholarships and facilities. To do this when their funding is being reduced is irresponsible. To end the hopes and dreams of current and future soccer players is even more hypocritical.

What a sorry institution. Why do they need to spend more on football? They are almost as pathetic as UTC in football. WKU Athletics To Discontinue Men??™s Soccer Program Feb 1, 2008 Bowling Green, Ky. ??” Facing current and future budget reductions from the state government, the Western Kentucky University Department of Athletics announced Friday that it will discontinue sponsoring the men??™s soccer program effective with the 2008-09 academic year. ???The current and future state budget cuts represent a genuine threat to our ability to successfully operate our intercollegiate athletic program at WKU,??? said WKU Director of Athletics Dr. Wood Selig. ???We first learned of the dire financial future of the Commonwealth barely a month ago. Since then, we have been totally consumed with devising a plan and strategies to operate more efficiently and with less financial capacity. Rather than dilute each of our 20 intercollegiate athletic programs and negatively impact the experience of all 440 student-athletes at WKU, we have determined the best course of action to be the elimination of one entire program. ???Given the Sun Belt Conference affiliation for 19 of our 20 programs (all but men??™s soccer), our desire to successfully compete for the SBC all-sports trophy each season, the competitiveness of specific programs and our need to create legitimate expense savings for the athletic department, the men??™s soccer program was targeted to be the best solution to help solve our current and immediate future financial needs.??? The school will honor the current scholarship levels of each player in the program through their senior year as long as they are in good academic standing should they choose not to transfer to another school to continue their collegiate career. ???The timing is most difficult given the uncertain financial future of the Commonwealth and the pending National Letter-of-Intent signing date next week,??? Selig added. ???The national signing date period and a need for current student-athletes to be put in the best position possible to transfer while scholarship funding is still available at other institutions has literally forced our hand to make this sudden decision and announcement. We were forced to act quickly and prudently given the financial information we recently received over the holidays.??? ???All of us involved with the Hilltopper soccer program are devastated by today??™s news,??? said head coach David Holmes. ???The timing is difficult, and I don??™t have much to say publicly at this time. The challenge at hand is to place 15 underclassmen on the team and six freshmen recruits in the best possible educational situations. We are working on that now.??? With the school??™s current transition to the NCAA Division I-A (Football Bowl Subdivision) level and impending membership in the Sun Belt Conference set to begin with the 2009 season, the men??™s soccer program is the only one of 20 sports sponsored on the Hill not competing in the league. WKU has experienced plenty of success in the SBC, winning the Vic Bubas Cup ??” which is presented to the league??™s top overall athletic program ??” three times while finishing second on three other occasions over the last six years. The move will prevent the dilution of all WKU??™s athletic programs, as they will be spared a cut to their budgets thus allowing them to sustain their current funding level. The Toppers have competed as an affiliate member in the Missouri Valley Conference in men??™s soccer since the 1997 season since the SBC discontinued its sponsorship of the sport. One of the top leagues nationally in the sport ??” Bradley advanced to the quarterfinals of this year??™s tournament and Creighton, the eighth seed in the event, moved on to the Sweet 16 ??” the MVC has placed multiple teams in the championships 11 times in 17 years. WKU has finished as high as third (on four occasions, the last time in 2003). WKU has sponsored men??™s soccer for 26 years, founding the program in 1982. In that time, the Hilltoppers have posted a 225-241-33 (48.4%) record ??” the wins are more than any other Division I program in the Commonwealth have recorded ??” with its only conference title coming in 1995 when they shared the Sun Belt championship with a 4-1 mark. The Toppers have finished with a winning record on 11 occasions, the last time in 2003 when WKU ended up 10-9-1 en route to the semifinals of the MVC Tournament. Over the years, 12 Hilltoppers have earned all-region honors while 35 individuals have been recognized on the all-Sun Belt and Missouri Valley squads. Holmes is one of only two coaches in the program??™s history, taking over in 1984 after Neophytos Papaioannou compiled a 15-15-2 record in two seasons. A 1970 graduate of Wooster, Holmes has won 210 matches over the last 24 seasons while earning coach-of-the year honors twice ??” he was recognized in 1985 by the Sun Belt, then won the award again from the Missouri Valley in 2003. He also coached four years at Overton (Tenn.) High and was an assistant for two seasons at Louisiana-Monroe before coming to the Hill, and he has been involved with both the Kentucky and Tennessee Olympic Development Programs in his career. An all-Ohio selection his senior year at Wooster, Holmes helped the Fighting Scots to a berth in the NCAA Tournament in each of his four seasons with the program. Off the field, in addition to posting the top grade-point average for a men??™s program on several occasions including last semester WKU has received the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Team Academic Award multiple times. The Toppers were the 2002-03 WKU Scholar-Team Award winner, while a pair of players have been selected the school??™s John O. Oldham Student-Athletes of the Year and several program members have claimed the Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award. ???Our men??™s soccer program has been a solid performer for WKU ??” not only did they lead our 10 men??™s athletic programs last semester with a 3.23 team grade-point average, they have one of the nation??™s highest APR scores,??? stated Selig. ???They have competed admirably over the years under the leadership of coach Holmes. Coach Holmes and his wife Sharon have devoted most of their adult years to supporting our men??™s soccer program and the hundreds of student-athletes who have represented WKU since we started the program in 1982. They have helped shape several generations of student-athletes at WKU, and they are an integral part of literally hundreds of men??™s soccer alumni success stories being carried out today. I would like to thank David and Sharon for their sacrifices and commitment to this program. ???Additionally, I would like to thank all of the current and former student-athletes and their families who have given of themselves to our men??™s soccer program. I share their frustration with this course of action that we now must take relative to men??™s soccer in order to stabilize our athletic funding at this time.??? ??” WKU ??”

Has anyone tried these Nike boots? I would be curious to know if they are any good. How do you like them. How to they compare to other Nike boots?

Zander Davis will lead a very strong Baylor team.

The class of 08 is the strongest group of players that TN has ever produced. The TN ODP 90 team members were/are outstanding

ND won't be as strong as they have been.I question why McCallie is as high as they are projected.

WHy won't anyone play Baylor? Look at their schedule. No West Tennessee teams. No one from Middle Tennessee except Pope John Paul II and Riverdale.

In this country, soccer is a totally different animal than the other major sports. You have to encourage the young soccer player to "stick with it" as there is not all of the other reinforcing elements to do that like the other sports have. I would say such elements would be our sports culture not being based on soccer, Sports Center not covering soccer very much, poor perception/understanding of soccer by the majority of America. The biggest obstacle young players have is not being exposed to soccer at it's highest levels. You really have to make an effort to "grow" a soccer player in the US. In this country, if I want my son to become interested in football or baseball, all I have to do is sit on the couch and turn on the TV. In America, it takes constant nuturing to grow a soccer player.

Baylor - can they repeat?

I used to buy Snickers because they were a supporter of USA Youth Soccer. Same thing with Sierra Mist.

Someone needs to sell me on why a referee should treat the same foul differenlty just because its inside the penalty area. And don't say because it has such a dramatic impact on the game. The players know this and still commit the fouls. Why should a referee bail out a player who commits a foul, by not blowing the whistle? Here's your answer. So simple.......It's becuse the goal itself is in the penalty box!

Wasn't at the game, didn't see the hand ball, but.................................. If you are a defender and you are in the penalty box, you better keep your arms down. Intentional or not, a PK has to be awarded if the ball is deflected by an extended arm in the box.

One of the many things that make soccer the "beautiful game" are the small number of black/white rules. The referee has the ability to manage the game and allow it to bloom on it's own. Pre-game instructions are vital so the players understand what will and will not be tolerated by a particular referee.

When the captains meet for the coin toss, the center ref should remind the captains that profanity can and will be a cardable offense. The center ref should also instruct the captains of other "points of emphasis" as to how he/she will call the game. Sort of like the referees instructions befor a prize fight.

Gotta be a handball. Her arms should not have been that far out from her side. No need to be - bad technique. Duct tape them to her side in practice!

I have known goalies to wear shin guards on their forearms - inside their long sleeve jersey - to protect themselves. Not ever seen a referee "pat down" a keeper to see what else they might be wearing under their long sleeve jersey. I think headgear in HS should be required for keepers. Mainly because of the goal posts.

If I were a goalie, I would wear as much upper body protection as I could, including protective head gear. Below the waist, hip pads - minimal shin guards. Today's goalies need to be quick and fast off of their line, always anticipating the thru ball that will require them to come out. More collisions these days than in the past. Good technique and a loud voice will always help in those 50/50 situations.

Why are the HS girl goalies wearing tank tops? I have noticed several pictures on the Coach T main page. Not a lot of protection offered in that.

I think a referee has to have an understanding of what goes on in the penalty box. To think that the game is played the same everywhere on the field is naive. For expample, the worst fouls in the world happen in the corners of the endline, towards the end of the game when one team is trying to kill the clock. These "fouls" are not called the same as other fouls. The referee must understand what each team is trying to do, given the variables of the score, the time remaining and all other circumstances. I don't think you can ignore these elements and make each call based simply on what occurs. Most things happen on the field for a reason. The reason may have been instigated by something that happened earlier. A reckless tackle without premonition is differed from a rough tackle with intention. I agree that an ingredient for a good referee is to have played and watched a lot of soccer. I have been fortunate to love this game for 38 years.

You have to call things different in the penalty box than anywhere else on the field. Soccer players know this!!!!!!! Refs better know this too. The line for infractions is more narrow in this 18 yard box. Things that a defender can do outside of the box are more restricted in the box for fear of a PK. Forwards that dive are just as bad. As a ref, you certainly would call diving different in the penalty box than if it occurs anywhere else on the field. Again, players know where they can and can't expect trouble from a ref. The penalty area is the ref's area. He can decide a game based on how he calls fouls in this small area. Location matters.

When in the penalty box, If a ball hits a players hand/arm in an unexpected, non-deliberate manner and provides that player with a sensational scoring opportunity, I would come un-hinged if the ref did not blow the whistle because he/she did not consider it to be a deliberate action. Things should be called different in the penalty box.

At least Danny Van Valkinburg was recognized by the state coaches as the best. No disrespect to the CCS keeper.

I really doubt that the electors of the best of preps know who is or is not on a club team. The Baylor keeper should have been player of the year. To come back off of injury (missing his entire Sophmore year) and only give up 5 goals this year, that says a lot. I guess he will have to do better than that next year!!!!

Watch how much Brianna Scurry came off the line in the women's 1999 WC Final. She ends up past the 6 yard box. No call was made.

I think the ER Express will be a team to contend with. 3 players from the Baylor state champion squad. 4 players from the Notre Dame semi-finalist squad.