August 13, 2010
To: Coaches, players, and parents of
CFYSC and Dynamos teams
From: Olivier Finidori, Director of Training.
Written and edited by Jim Walker
Summer Camps
AWESOME FINAL WEEK
A record-smashing 207 boys and girls filled the Dyess Park fields this week for the Dynamos’ 17th annual Summer Select Camp and it was a sight to behold. An all-star cast of trainers and hard-working assistants directed the action as players prepared themselves for the upcoming fall season with five days of double sessions, mornings and evenings. For some it was treacherous, for others a dream week of soccer and more soccer, as well as popsicles and plenty of prizes. For the ever-hustling Director of Training, Olivier Finidori, it was more like a dream. “This environment of great young players who want to get even better is what it’s all about,” said Oli. “The weather cooperated and despite the heat, we, the trainers, were able to reach our objectives.“ One young player remarked, “This is awesome. You know, there’s no place I’d rather be this week.” The attendees:
Group 1 (Academy, U11, U12 girls, with Sanmai Gbandi)--Sarah Cardner, Jordan Barnhart, Maddie Saucedo, Camille Booth, Jenna Hayes, Briana Beaty, Stephanie Martin, Mary King, Isabelle Myers, Mary Grace Rodriguez, Isabelle Pease, Lisette Whiteside, Audrey Prisk, Corinne Smith, Alyssa Erickson, Peyton Davis, Taylor Condron, Laura Bland, Lexie Hluchanek, Megan Doyle.
Group 2 (Academy and U11 boys, with Ryan Garant)--Aaron Gingrich, Blake Gore, Jacob James, Noah Marsh, Aaron Gingrich, Alejandro Morgan, Merritt Montgomery, Steven Callahan, Jason Marsh, Colton Wilbur, Edward Lewis, Erik Gonzalez, Alberto Rayo, Chris Basinger, Jan Quintero, Tanner James, Duylio Gonzalez, Marco Roman, Kaito Hashimoto, Eric Stevelman.
Group 3 (U12 boys with Derek Brosky)--John D’Angelo, Taylor Elliott, Seth Carrell, William Hansberger, Nicholas Baldwin, Ryan Houghland, Dominick White, Bryce McAllister, Chase Patton, Ian Greener, Dylan Hebert, Jared Fritsche, Cameron Rieth, Dylan Vint, Daniel Wiseman, Alfonso Moreno, Christian Pedraza, Kenneth Richards, Besu Caskey, Kenneth Grau, Dylan Hodges.
Group 4 (U12 girls with Shelby Jones)--Kallyn Wendler, Emily Ferguson, Kodi Garcia, Madeline Rockey, Olivia Urrutia, Leslie Lochridge, Gia Gentilini, Payton Lorch, Ashleigh Vaughn, Mackenzie Booth, Victoria Favela, Rachel Garant, Avery Cortz, Kelsi Gibson, Jillian Hayes, Kenzie Peterson, Mackenzie Smith, Madison Ashton, Chloe Barrett.
Group 5 (U13 boys)--Ben Dockery, Jack Burns, Travis O’Kilen, Jacob Perret, Ryan Shepherd, Marco Torres, Jordan Henderson, Aaron Austin, Erik Brauner, Pierce Montgomery, Jagger Segovia, Bryan Smith, Gage Beaty, Brandon Holloway, Cameron Townes, Tristan Craig.
Group 6 (U13 girls, with Lindsey Griffin)--Kennedy McGill, Claire Casey, Savanna Guarino, Courtney King, Michaela Sabrsula, Katie Wright, Kristen Poth, Hannah fritz, Avery Ortmann, Jennifer Robinson, Molly Eureste, Sarah Hluza, Kayla Ragusa.
Group 7 (U14 boys, with Philip Anderson)--Tristan Andras, Ben Ellis, Josef Hollas, Bryan Mora, Zachary Quinlan, Andrew Silverman, Mickey Shulkin, Andrew Carrell, Carson Woody, Colton Biggs, Kieran Coull, Brandon Hall, Lucas Howell, John Decker, Trevor Gibson, Jacob Swonke Alex Diaz, Anthony Raylo, Roberto Vel Valla, JP Moreno, Stephan Damrl, Mario Martinez, Braden Mann.
Group 8 (U14 girls, U15 girls with Stacey Sharpe)--Jordan Fraase, Lauren Lathrop, Olivia Forcey, Rachael Mann, Alyssa Bradley, Kaylee Barrett, Shelby Stephenson, Casey Jadloski, Sara Espinoza, Bobbie Becker, Nikki Gentilini, Allyson Howard, Ashton Allison, Emma Payne, Mallory Cardner, Ashley Coil, Delaney Reynolds, Nikki Gentilini, Savannah Mallon, Kacie Paine, Jessica Lykins, Taylor Hutcheson, Abby Mata, Alexia Segovia, Hannah Ayoub, Kylie Austin, Madison Majewski, Paige Cooke.
Group 9 (U15 boys, U17 boys with David Lewis)--Kevin Hobart, Ricky Cary, Bryan Quance, Judah Craft, Brady Clark, Zac Leal, Lorenzo Gallegos, Adrian Medina, Ricardo Melcher, Jimmy Meyer, Gabriel Naudin, Erik Perez, Shayne Stark, Stuart Wiseman, Rosello Martinez, Oscar Lara, Isai DelaCruz, Logan Ayers, Jacob Carbo, Jan Zawitowski, Thomas Shepherd, Calvin Anderson, Dan Sacchini.
Group 10 (U16 girls, U18 girls with Lauren Trapani-Alex Weidenheft)--Kelly Weidenheft, Chrisina Thompson, Hannah Vandemotter, Regan Garant, Brianna Brosch, Monique Hutcheson, Shelby Stephens, Cara Haymaker, Kaiti Haymaker, Megan Mugavero, Lauren Contreras, Abby Glova, Jasmine White, Morgan Whisenhunt, Ashley Foster, Alexia Foster, Alexis Ledesma, Kacie Cardenas, Lynsey Curry, Brittany Robinett, Stephanie Thetford, Taylor Vatuna, Lauren Wilmer, Susan Roberts, Aubrie O’Connor, Alexandra Gonzalez.
Olivier's staff included Technical Director Mark Wilkinson, Freeman Turkson, Roland Sikinger, Lauren Prewitt, Bill McDonald, David Deverteuil, Don Gregory, Carlos Lessa, Andreas Lessa, Andy Smith, Lorne Cameron and Jamy Champagna. As camp manager Stephen Gonzalez headed up a corps of busy assistants which included fellow Dynamos alums Lindsay Griffin, Sanmai Gbandi, Alex Weidenheft, Lauren Trapani, Shelby Jones, Philip Anderson, Derek Brosky, Ryan Garant, and David Lewis.
CAMP BUZZ
Due to visa technicalities, trainer Chris Wells was absent from camp because he was detained in England after visiting his parents earlier this summer. . .Lynsey Curry walked off with first place in Tuesday’s juggling contest. . .Roland Sikinger won fashion points by wearing a circus-style umbrella hat to protect his silvery locks from the heat. It truly was a circus hat, given to Roland by Barnum and Bailey clowns at the Astrodome when the big goalkeeper was playing for the Houston Hurricane in the 80’s. . .Biggest cheers in the penalty-taking contest went to trainer Lauren Prewitt when she hushed loud trash-talkers by nailing two sizzlers into the corners. . .Returning for his second appearance in several years, Houston Dynamo forward-midfielder Joseph Ngwenya, the pride of Plumtree, Zimbabwe, patiently signed autographs for all campers on Thursday. . .Multi-media soccer personality Glenn Davis visited camp on Thursday with the news that Dyess Park will host one of four December youth camps during which area trainers and coaches will donate their services to raise money for the cancer ward at Children's Hospital. . .Depending on whom you spoke with, the staff-campers game finished in a victory for the staff, a victory for the campers, or a tie. . .Nathan Giard attended Goalkeeper Camp while visiting in Houston from his home in Colorado.
KEEPERS ROCK
Joining the fun on Thursday evening for three days of Keeper Camp were 23 goalkeepers of all ages. David Benner, the big ex-professional keeper from Dallas, kept the young keepers sweating and smiling throughout. Camp activities ended Saturday at noon with a Pizza and Powerade lunch in the Dyess Park gazebo. David's chief assistant was Dr. Heather Koudelka and also helping out were Keeper Club alums Jonathan Kauffman and Daniel Adams. Attending the Keeper Camp were: Milton Amaya, Alex Easley, Madisen Martinez, Emily Fotheringham, Nathan Giard, Kenzie Peterson, Mclane Stringer, Kelsi Gibson, Aaron Austin, Kodi Garcia, Marissa Mills, Patricia DelBello, Calvin Anderson, Kacie Paine, Kaylee Barrett, Braden Mann, Kevin Hobart, Trevor Gibson, Sabrina Pasier, Carson Woody, Oscar Barron, Austin Benner, and Kennedy McGill.
KEEPER TRAINING
Keeper Club training begins on Thurs. Aug. 19, at 5:30pm with Jim Walker at Dyess Park. Roland Sikinger will conduct his first session of the fall on Mon., Aug. 23, at 8pm. Keepers 10 years and older are eligible for the regular training sessions which will continue on Mondays at 8pm and Thursdays at 5:30pm. Fee for the specialized training for keepers is $50 for ten weeks of training (two sessions a week are available) or $200 for the full schedule of training from August 16 until early June 2011. Units of training are as follows: August 19-October 14, October 18-December 16, January 10-March 17, March 21-June 2. For more information, email JWalker332@aol.com or call 281-217-1612.
Junior Keepers
This fall, an extra session for junior goalkeepers 8-10 years old who are playing for Cy-Fair Youth Soccer Club teams will be held each Thursday at 6:30pm at Dyess Park, starting Aug. 19. The young keepers will be introduced to rules of the game for their position as well as basic technique training, with lots of fun games and activities to improve hand-eye coordination. The first two introductory sessions will be free, after which boys and girls can join for a fee of $25 which covers once-a-week training through December 16. For more information email JWalker332@aol.com or call 281-217-1612
QUOTABLE
Teamwork--together we achieve the extraordinary. Within that framework, there is room for creativity--experimenting, taking risks, making mistakes and having fun. --With apologies to Coach Mary Lou Cook
A THOUGHT ON COACHING
Explaining a Major League Soccer firing-hiring: D.C. United president Kevin Payne, after the firing of head coach Curt Onalfo and the appointment of former United player and assistant coach Ben Olsen as interim head coach--Onalfo's three-year contract will be paid off unless he takes another job and the search for a replacement has begun. "I fully expected Curt to see out his three years," Payne said. "Curt is a good man and a good coach and didn't deserve this. But I am convinced that we had to do this." Never before has the club made a midseason coaching change. "Obviously, mistakes were made by everyone this year," Payne said. "Mistakes are made every year by every team in every sport. It's how you deal with those mistakes and how you move on with the group that you have that is important. My conclusion, unfortunately, was that we weren't moving forward, we were actually moving backward. That is why we made the change." As for Olsen, Payne said, "He brings fire and pride. He understands what the uniform means. He understands what it means to our fans. He understands what it means to our front office. He understands what it should mean to the players in the locker room. I am hoping that he will be able to constantly remind the players of that. There are some players in the locker room who don't understand what that means. Part of Ben's job is to remind them."--Washington Post Soccer Insider
ANOTHER THOUGHT
On another side of this crazy coaching business: Only a week after being fired, Diego Maradona's name is being mentioned as a candidate to succeed himself as Argentina's national team coach. "Diego has never gone away and he is still arriving," Ernesto Cherquis Bialo, Argentina Football Association (AFA) spokesman, told radio station Ten, paraphrasing the lyrics of a famous tango dance. Bialo said Maradona's name was on the list of candidates for the coaching vacancy, which is expected to be filled in October. Since Maradona's firing and his attack on AFA president Julio Grondona and national team manager Carlos Bilardo, Maradona has received support from, among others, Argentina President Cristina Kirchner. "I'm very saddened by his departure," she said. "I thought he was very dignified with the team. He always defended the colors of his country with a lot of heart."--Argentina Football Press
IT’S ONLY FAIR
Coach Cy Fair accepts that when teams are lucky, parents credit sons and daughters for success, in bad luck they give credit to coaches. Coach Flo considered it a public service when she provided a list of Select Camp boys and girls for mothers-to-be for selection of baby names.