Soccer Gypsy

I have it narrowed down to 2. TS or NP.

I'm gonna guess Farragut, but I've been wrong before.

Didn't get to see the second half, but it is good to hear Farragut had some shots on goal. The first half was a bit sad if you are a Farragut fan. No organization in the back and was that a flat four I was watching. You better have a strong defensive midfielder if you want to play that formation. They did have some nice ball movement when they were able to get the ball to their feet. Very impressed with Catholic's pressure on the ball in the attacking third and their defensive effort by the back line also. Could have been 2-0, except for the nice goalie play on the 1v1. I thought Ricardo played well up top and was very composed on the ball. Chase will also be a force at the left midfield spot for Catholic all season. Of course the little guy in the middle won loose balls and goal kicks against much bigger players and distibuted the ball well. Good atmosphere for a preseason game.

Yes it was a windy day, but both teams had to play in those conditions. For all I know LC had the wind at their back the whole 30 minutes. I myself had four games in that wind and it was funny to watch the boys and girls attempt free kicks. With the grass being so low the ball would not stop moving. Still, I don't know what to expect from Catholic until I see them. They lost people in some key positions and didn't go to deep in their bench last year. I know they have some talent and picked up some talented freshman. I give the edge to Farragut's forwards, Chase will control his midfield spot for Catholic, and keepers are pretty even. I will be curious to see the substitution patterns during the game for both teams. I should be able to catch the first half before I have to go to work.

I wasn't there so I don't know the details, but I heard they lost 2-0 at the Jamboree. I will also have to go with Farragut on this one. The matchups just don't work in Catholics favor. I'm all up for taking a beating if I am wrong.

I'm not sure what to expect after Catholic losing to LC and beating SH. I know Farragut will test the back line and I expect Joey to be very busy. Wish I could go.

And they say Freshman can't make an impact. /laugh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":lol:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" />

You should have two really good freshman this year in Patrick and Alex. Both are strong players and have been playing against some of the best competition the past two years at the club level. With the speed and talent Bearden has up top, teams better score more than 2 goals against them. Like you say that will be hard with Brian in goal. Looking forward to the Bearden/Farragut games this year.

Tyler Gibson. Tremendous skill and he grew some this past year.

I have not seen them play this year, but I know they have to replace a few kids on the back line. Still strong up top with Thomas and and anothers kids name I can't remember from the Kickers. Should be strong in goal with Brian. If it is the same as last year use those outside mids and keep swinging the ball from side to side. That will eventually open some thru balls and crosses to the back post. Now the only team I saw do that last year was CBHS. Farragut tried, but would get impatient and force the ball up the field. Good luck. Wish I could go watch the game.

You left about 3 or 4 of the roster off. Solid group of players.

I know the Palmetto Cup was tough last year, just ask Farragut about the final. I'll be curious to see how they do this year. They ran out of gas in their last game and got drilled. The Georgia tournament is also a pretty tough tournament with some quality teams from Atlanta. I thought the Bearden tournament was a good one to watch last year, especially the clinic CBHS put on in every game.

Trevor Grieko, not sure of the spelling.

Farragut has some good young talent this year, but you would have to go see a JV game to watch. Their Varsity squad is all Juniors and Seniors this year with one sophmore.

Look out for West this year. They have been improving over the past few years and have some real talent. They will replace a solid keeper with another good one, they have a solid midfield, and have some speed and size up top. Depth will be less of an issue this year. The big question is can they get by Bearden or Farragut when it counts.

I can only offer info on the teams from the east, but I do think 2 of the 4 will find their way to the finals. AAA 1. Farragut: Bringing back a squad with mostly seniors with a alot of talent. They have every area of the field covered from goalie to forward. It should be an emotional year for those guys trying to win the big one for their coach. 2. Bearden: Also bringing back lots of talent from back to front. Style of play that gives them numerous opportunities, plus a smothering defense. The one question will be can they replace the talent they lost on the back line? Usually they do. A/AA 1. CAK: Brings back the x-factor from Florida who should lead them in goals scored and possibly lead the state in that category. Most of the team plays together year round and of course their coach who squeaks every bit of talent out of them. 2. Catholic: Will have a hard time replacing leaders on the front and back line. A good goalie who will be tested early in the season until they figure out who will be the sweeper. A talented midfield with one proven striker. The question will come down to depth as they usually played only 14 players for most of the season. Suprises could be West and Maryville. Both squads have improved tremendously over the last few seasons and could find their way to the final 8. Anyway I see two of the first four finding their way to the final.

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar...D=2007701300310 Here is the article in the Tennessean about the court case. Not sure where I stand on this issue, but I would hate for the boys to miss the opportunity they earned by their play. I had to go back over the Code of Conduct just for my own personal refresher.

Obviously scoring goals is not the only criteria used to decide who is a good player. You don't measure defenders and goalies by the amount of goals they score. Strikers are asked to score goals and create chances, so if I was picking strikers I would have to look at goals scored more than anything else. Game winners would also sit high on my list.

U-18 KFC Force will be at Disney this year.

It's a school function which is why the school or coach is responsible for the behavior of their fans. I don't think anyone is arguing parents teach kids how to behave, but kids don't always listen. Shoot, adults don't always listen. Behavior is a learned trait and many factors go into how kids behave. Peer pressure, television, movies, and pop culture to name a few. A blanket statement blaming parents for kids mistakes is to simple. Everyone makes mistakes. I don't have a problem with ties, overalls, or even the sign, except for the wording at the end. "Watching public beat private...priceless" sounds more suitable. Chants and cheers should show school spirit and pride in your team, not to put down or belittle the other team. I wasn't at the game so I have no clue what was said or not said. I wouldn't think any school would let this go on for to long once it got started. Very creative though. Dean Smith was and will always be 'The Man'.

Can anyone shed some light on what happened with TNFC '91 and the state league? I thought they advanced to the final final rounds but the website shows them not going through.

Atleast they are supporting TN teams this year. In the past when there were only two divisions you would only see one or two TN teams in the tournament, now you have four or five. They do like to mix the states in all their brackets which is another thing I like. As you said all divisions should be good competition. Bring plenty of cold and wet weather gear for the trip. Last year we went from 60 degrees on Saturday to 30 degrees on Sunday, but atleast it didn't rain. Good luck and let me know how it goes.

It's the East Ridge Adidas Spring Fling set for the first weekend in March. Hopefully they still plan on having it. We are the u-17 KFC Stars out of Knoxville. There are a lot of younger girls on the team and most of them are from CAK. They are a fun group of girls to coach. Who are you all playing in Memphis?

I won't be there, I am taking December off this year. My girls won't start up until January and we plan on coming to your tournament in March. That is the other thing I like about that tournament, last year we got to watch the mens ACC tournament. What a great stadium for soccer. Did you get to see any of the other groups? That top group looked deadly.

It was the 6th flight, but if you look at the teams that were there it is understandable. National champs, regional champs, and state champs were all there. It is alway a big accomplishment to win a game at this tournament, let alone win your bracket. I am just happy somone from Tennessee went over there an won some games. On the boys side it was ugly, TNFC 90 was the only team that won two games if I remember correctly. The other 8 struggled to win a single game. Is this tournament to far of a drive for SRFC? I would have liked to have seen them there. It looked like all the quality teams east of the Mississippi were there. Shoot there were teams from CA, AZ, UT, CO, TX, OK, MN and IL.