San Jose EARTHQUAKES

Media Release

Earthquakes Soccer, LLC h 451 El Camino Real, Suite 220 h Santa Clara, CA 95050

Public Relations Facsimile 408-260-6802h www.sjearthquakes.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

October 18, 2007
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2007 San Jose Earthquakes Open Tryout Tour

Presented by Verizon Wireless

San Jose, Calif. - The San Jose Earthquakes and Verizon Wireless announced today the club will hold open tryouts in eight cities across Northern California, including: Sacramento, Santa Rosa, San Francisco, Fresno, Salinas, Oakland, Walnut Creek and Hayward. The tour will start on November 3^rd and will finish on December 2^nd, 2007.

A maximum of 200 participants will be allowed to try out in each city. Each tryout will last one day, with one individual from each tryout advancing forward to a special invitation-only Earthquakes Combine to compete for a spot on the Earthquakes Developmental Team.

John Doyle, General Manager of Soccer Operations for the San Jose Earthquakes will oversee talent evaluation and selection of the final player.

In addition to the tryout, tour stops will include a youth clinic. Viewing of the tryout and participation in the youth clinics, are open to the general public for no fee.

Registration will be available through the Earthquakes website at www.sjearthquakes.com or by calling 1(866) 466-1829. The fee to try out is $150 per person.

The schedule for the tryout tour is as follows:

Sacramento-Cherry Island Soccer Complex November 3, 2007

Santa Rosa-Triones Field November 4, 2007

San Francisco-Kezar Stadium November 10, 2007

Fresno-Chukchansi Stadium November 11, 2007

Salinas-Salinas Sports Complex November 17, 2007

Oakland-Bishop O'Dowd High School November 18, 2007

Walnut Creek-Arbolado Park December 1, 2007

Hayward- Chabot College December 2, 2007

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Contact: Flor Rivera, Communications Manager
(408) 556-7705; frivera@sjearthquakes.com

This installment of the Coaching Corner comes from the new book Soccer Skills and Drills, published by Human Kinetics. It comes from Chapter 8: Applying Techniques Tactically. For information on how to order a copy of Soccer Skills and Drills, CLICK HERE. 

Purpose: To train central defenders to head clearances out of their box.

Procedure: Three.defenders line up along the top of the box. Crossers 1 and 2 play wide at the flanks and are served balls to cross into the box for defenders to clear. Servers 1 and 2 are midfield players about 30 yards from goal. This is a continuous exercise that begins with a midfield server playing a ball to the opposite crosser. The crosser dribbles and crosses the ball from various positions along the flank. Defenders head the ball out toward the midfield servers. As soon as a server receives the header, he or she serves the opposite crosser, and the exercise continues. The coach may begin without attacking opposition and add one or both as the exercise develops.

Coaching Points: If a ball is mishandled or the header heads a ball the midfielder can't get, the goalkeeper immediately throws a ball to one of the midfielders, and the exercise procceds continuously. This ensures many repetitions at defensive heading by the central defenders.

For drill animation, CLICK HERE

From the U.S. Soccer Communications Center:

To:           State Referee Administrators
                State Youth Referee Administrators
                State Directors of Referee Instruction
                State Directors of Referee Assessment
                National Referees, National Assessors
                National Instructors
cc:            State Directors of Coaching
                CoachesNet
                "A" Licensed Coaches
                Nike Club Coaches

From:        Alfred Kleinaitis
                 Manager of Referee Development and Education
    
Subject:    Offside Issues
        
Date:        October 16, 2007

During a match between FC Dallas and the Columbus Crew on October 6, 2007, a sequence of play occurred which resulted in the scoring of a goal by Columbus player #12 (Eddie Gaven).  At the time, Columbus player #26 (Andy Herron) was indisputably in an offside position and some analysts of the play have suggested that the goal should have been canceled because Herron had committed an offside infraction.
    
Being in an offside position is not an offense.  A player in an offside position is only penalized if he is, in the opinion of the referee, involved in active play by:

·                               Interfering with play, or

·                               Interfering with an opponent, or

·                               Gaining an advantage by being in that position.

Below, using the guidance provided by FIFA, we examine whether Herron should have been penalized for being in an offside position.

Although Herron is seen sticking his leg out as the ball passes him, there is no contact with the ball and therefore Herron cannot be considered to have interfered with play.  This is a fact.

The camera angles on the several replays of the event on the attached clip do not provide us with a clear line of sight from the perspective of the Dallas goalkeeper #30 (Ray Burse) so we must draw our conclusions from what can be seen.  First, Herron is about 12 yards from the Dallas goalkeeper when the play was initiated by Columbus.  Accordingly, Herron occupied only a small portion of the goalkeeper's field of view and it is therefore inconclusive that Herron interfered with the goalkeeper by blocking Burse's view of the path of the ball.  Second, there is no video evidence that Herron's actions deceived or distracted the goalkeeper (much less any other defender).  The goalkeeper's position to defend against this shot on goal appears to be set by the trajectory of the ball as it left Gaven's foot, not by any action taken by Herron.  The evidence thus supports a decision that Herron did not interfere with an opponent.

Gaining an advantage while in an offside position is not an issue here since there was no deflection from the goalposts, crossbar, or a defender.  This also is a fact.

As a consequence, none of the elements of involvement in active play while in an offside position were present and the referee's decision not to penalize Herron for his position must be supported.

Viewing U.S. Soccer's Referee Position Papers:

To view the video related to this email and others like it from the U.S. Soccer Referee Department, log onto ussoccer.com's YouTube page and go to "Playlists" and then to "Playlist Name: U.S. Soccer Referee Department" or click one of the links below. This recent addition to the ussoccer.com's YouTube page is the place to get caught up on all of U.S. Soccer's rule interpretations.

·                               ussoccer.com YouTube Page (front page)

·                               U.S. Soccer Referee Department Playlist (all referee videos)

·                               U.S. Soccer Referee Position Paper: October 16, 2007 (Obvious Goal-Scoring Opportunity - Opinion of the Referee)

Coaches, have your players sharpen their decision-making skills on the pitch by encouraging them to take part in the NSCAA's Tactical Situations Tests ("Quizzies") on NSCAA.com. These interactive web-based tests encourage quick thinking skills that potentially translate into postitive game management habits. Why not have your team try all 16 sessions?  It could pay off later this season!

To take the Quizzies, CLICK HERE.  

SAN FRANCISCO RECREATION AND PARK DEPARTMENT
10th ANNUAL JOSE CORONADO MEMORIAL FUTSALä LEAGUE 2008

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FLYER

The San Francisco Recreation and Park Department prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation or disability. If persons believe they have been discriminated against in any department activity, program or facility, they may file a complaint with this department at Mclaren Lodge, Fell and Stanyan Sts. Golden Gate Park, SF CA 94117 or with the Office of Equal Opportunity, US Department of the Interior, Washington, DC 20240. For more information on program accessibility, write to the department of call 831-2701. Deaf access please use C.R.S. 800-735-2929. Muni accessibility info: Mon-Fri @ (415) 923-6142, other times @ (415) 673-6364 V/TDD 831-2785.

 U.S. SOCCER TO HOST NATIONAL GOALKEEPING LICENSE COURSE

AT THE U.S. OLYMPIC TRAINING CENTER FROM JANUARY 4-11, 2008

U.S. Soccer Goalkeeping License Open to Goalkeeper and Team Coaches;
"A" License Coaches Receive Eight CEUs Upon Completion of the Course

CHICAGO (October 16, 2007) - U.S. Soccer will host its National Goalkeeping License this coming January. This eight-day course focuses on coaches wishing to improve their ability to coach and train goalkeepers. Participants at U.S. Soccer's National Goalkeeping License will have a chance to learn from some of the nation's top-level instructors, including current and former National Team and Major League Soccer coaches.

The U.S. Soccer Goalkeeping License will be held at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., from January 4-11.

"We have been very pleased thus far with the development of the Goalkeeping course," said Women's National Team goalkeeper coach and lead instructor for the Goalkeeping License course Phil Wheddon. We feel like the course has grown and developed each year and I am excited for this coming January." U.S. Soccer will host the third edition of its National Goalkeeping License.

The U.S. Soccer National Goalkeeping License is intended for both the goalkeeper coach and the team coach. The license will develop and expand goalkeeping knowledge at the youth, collegiate, senior and professional levels. The course covers the principles and the components that go into developing goalkeepers, and the practical application of these principles. Additionally, the course teaches team coaches how to integrate goalkeeping into team training sessions while preparing and developing a long-term plan for the goalkeeper's development.

"U.S. Soccer strives to educate coaches and further develop our goalkeeping education so that we can continue producing quality U.S. goalkeepers." said U.S. Women's National Team goalkeeper coach Phil Wheddon, "This license is an important step in our development of future goalkeepers."

The course will instruct coaches on how to plan and manage their goalkeeper's development over the course of an entire season. It features in-depth coverage of the technical, tactical, psychological and fitness components of the goalkeeper position. Similar to other U.S. Soccer Coaching Courses, this course will offer an interactive learning experience featuring field sessions, audio, video and traditional lectures.

Designed as a compliment to U.S. Soccer's "A" and "B" License courses, the eight-day school includes field and classroom sessions and concludes with intensive testing on theoretical and practical applications of the game. The course also includes valuable instruction in coaching methodology, team management and fitness.

Applicants must hold the following prerequisites to apply:

        1. U.S. Soccer "A" License, or
        2. U.S. Soccer "B" License

Upon successful completion, "A" License coaches will receive eight (8) Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for attendance at the eight-day course.

For more information, please contact the U.S. Soccer Coaching Department at coaches@ussoccer.org or 312-808-1300.