Dynamos Soccer - KEEPER! Vol 18, No. 3

Monday, 28 February, 2011 (1855 reads)

A publication of Keeper! Club

Written and edited by Jim Walker

March 2011

A publication of the Keeper Club

Written and edited by Jim Walker

TRAINING IN MARCH

Keeper Club training in March (for ages 10-18 years old) will be held at Dyess Park on Mondays at 6:45pm (until further notice) and Thursdays at 5:30pm. Junior Keepers (ages 8-10 years old) meet on Thursdays at 6:30pm. Fee for Keeper Club is $100 for ten weeks of training, with a $50 discount to Cy-Fair Youth Soccer Club and Dynamos goalkeepers. For Junior Keepers the fee is $25 for ten weeks. Units of training for Spring, 2011, are: January 10-March 17 and March 21-June 2. Please make checks payable to Keeper Club and mail to: Dynamos, attn: Loree, 10924 Grant Rd. #224, Houston 77070. For more information, email JWalker332@aol.com or phone 281-217-1612.

20 ATTEND BYOK

A 10-year-old, after attending her first Keeper Club training session a few weeks ago, told her mom on the way home she was “happy as a mouse in a cheese factory.” A goalkeeper gets that way sometimes when, after being the object of every other player’s shots and considered “different,” he or she meets other keepers with a similar goal--to get better at their position in order to help their teams. So it was that ten coaches/dads brought their goalkeepers--or was it the other way round?--to the BYOK (Bring Your Own Keeper) workshop last Sunday. The keepers glowed when it was suggested to their adult partners that goalkeepers needed “to be loved, not yelled at.” And the adults were encouraged by new ways they could assist their charges in preparing for games. Workshop coordinator Jim Walker, with assistance from the only current Keeper Club member present, Grant Steppe, offered various warmup activities as well as psychological approaches to deal with artisans of this special position. The session ended with each keeper receiving a “bouncy ball” (for developing hand dexterity) and a glossy player card (Major League Soccer classics), and there were other prizes, including two new soccer balls, awarded in a drawing. In addition to Grant, other goalkeepers who attended: Colin Jerding, Christopher Gooding, Ellie Carroll, Makenzie Guerrero, Mia Posey, Craig Drosdowski, Kyle Rosmelein, Josh Croft, Steven Callahan; parents/coaches: Mick Jerding, Scott Gooding, Brian Carroll, Will Posey, Robert Guerrero, Karen Drozdowski, Dennis Roemelein, Gary Croft, Jim Callahan, Ray Steppe.

WHAT’S A KEEPER’S DOZEN?

Everybody knows it takes 12 to make a dozen. But how about a baker’s dozen? That’s 13, right, because the baker sometimes throws in an extra donut or roll to make weight? Well, members of the Keeper! Club have their own version of what makes a dozen. It’s 15! “When Coach Walker calls for the daily dozen a the end of a goalkeeper practice,” says longtime Keeper Club member Trevor Gibson, “he means five ground balls, five air balls and five shots the shooter tries to score on. And if we can beg a few more, that means the daily dozen is more than 15!” Or, maybe Coach Walker can’t count!! No, he assures us, it’s just that goalkeepers deserve something extra. “We try to have each keeper finish with a save, too, so that they go away with success, not failure. Sometimes that takes a few extra shots.”

KEEPER KWIZ

1. What begins with an e and ends with an e and usually carries only one letter

2. If athletes get athlete’s feet, what do astronauts get?

3. Goalkeepers must wear: a) helmet; b) perfume; c) different colored jersey from teammates; d) high-heeled shoes

4. Roly the Goalie is: a) Pat Onstad; b) Grant Steppe; c) Roland Sikinger; d) Rodrigo Silos 5. Jim Walker is: a) an exercise machine; b) Tennessee walking horse; c) Keeper Club custodian; d) night watchman for Cy-Fair ISD gymnasium. 6.To warm up before a game, a keeper should first: a) use jumper cables; b) kick ten balls as hard as they can; c) buy hot chocolate at the concession stand; d) jog and stretch 7. Why does Striker Mann believe it’s a good idea to play soccer in the graveyard?

8. What is a Keeper! Club member after the age of 10?

9. You can improve your flexibility by: a) eating lots of pretzels; b) sleeping in a box of rubber bands; c) bending to touch your toes; d) pushing cell phone buttons.

10. What are the three saddest words for goalkeepers?

Answers at bottom of newsletter

KEEPERTALK

Daylight Saving Time begins March 13. Spring forward an hour!. . .Welcome to new keepers Ethan Brasher, Ian Lancaster, Ryder Dougherty, Salvador Leyva, and Hayden Ritchie. . .Dynamos goalkeepers and/or Keeper Club members playing varsity or junior varsity at area high schools include: Ana Meyer, Bryan HS; Kevin Hobart and Felipe Lara, Cy-Creek HS; Mallory Majewski and Calvin Anderson, Cy-Fair HS; Kacie Paine and Isai de la Cruz, Langham Creek HS. . .The addition of experienced keeper Ana Meyer solved a big problem for the U18 Dynamos of Coach Mark Walaszczyk, who employed field players in goal all last fall. . .Pat Onstad's retirement lasted all of two months. Faced with an injury crisis, D.C. United signed its 43-year-old goalkeepers coach, until recently a popular star for the Houston Dynamo, to a short-term playing contract and he‘s already seen action in pre-season matches. . .Goalkeeper Saulo ventured to the other end and scored Sport Recife's 90th-minute gamewinner in a 2-1 Brazilian league victory over Vitoria but suffered a torn ACL while running behind the goal to celebrate. Saulo, who will be sidelined for at least six months, was starting because regular Magrao was injured. A striker put on Sport Recife's keeper jersey for the waning minutes because the team had used all three of its subs. . .FC Dallas signed its sixth homegrown player, 16-year-old keeper Richard Sanchez. He is the third FCD youth signing with ties to the Mexican national team program. The California-born Sanchez was recently named the top goalie at a youth tournament in Chile. He is competing for a spot on Mexico's U-17 national team that will host the 2011 Under-17 World Cup. . .If you have read this far in this month‘s Keeper! here‘s a chance to win a prize! Tell us, by emailing Jwalker332@aol.com in 25 words or less, what you do when a goal is scored against you? Do you feel sick and want to crawl in a hole? Rant, rave, and punch the post? Shake it off? Wave hello to your parents? That’s the question for all readers who are goalkeepers. When you respond, your name will be placed in Coach Walker’s cap for a drawing to be held late in March for a $25 gift certificate to Soccer-4-All stores. The best answers will be selected for use in future issues of Keeper!. . ..If you have items for Keeper! or KeeperTalk, please email JWalker332@aol.com or call 281-217-1612.

TRAINING LOG

Names of keepers attending training in February:

7--Trevor Gibson, Aaron Austin, Mallory Majewski, Kacie Paine.

10--Kennedy McGill, Noah Schroer, Felipe Lara, Aaron Austin, Nathanel Austin, Hayden Ritchie, Ryder Dougherty, Ian Lancaster

17--Noah Schroer, Aaron Austin, Kennedy McGill, Kensi Peterson, Kelsi Gibson, Trevor Gibson, Felipe Lara, Salvador Leyva, Jorge Toledo. Junior Keepers--Ian Lancaster, Ryder Dougherty, Hayden Ritchie, Johnny Hughes, Brady Stonebraker, Dylan Stonebraker, Jorge Toledo. Ethan Brasher

21--Kaylee Barrett, Kacie Paine, Aaron Austin, Braden Mann, Grant Steppe

24--Cameron Rieth, Kelsi Gibson, Kensi Peterson, Kennedy McGill, Michael Brevard, Noah Schroer, Aaron Austin, Jorge Toledo, Junior Keepers: Mia Posey, Audrey Zlatich, Ethan Brasher, Brady Stonebraker, Johnny Hughes, Hayden Ritchie, Ryder Dougherty, Ian Lancaster, Nathanael Austin, Ian Marsh

28—Trevor Gibson, Braden Mann, Grant Steppe, Kacie Paine, Kaylee Barrett, Mallory Majewski

CHECK OUT RSTAR GLOVES

RSTARsoccer, a Houston-based company, is producing moderately-priced goalkeeper gloves that may be a good fit for you as a keeper playing a full season of games. The Keeper Club has been asked to try them out and we have been pleased with experiments and feedback. You can see more about these gloves at www.rstarsoccer.com.

QUOTABLE

“By stepping up and developing our athletic skills and field skills we get more involved in the game as we are tactically more available and more useful to the team. We can take pressure off the defense when they are under pressure by calling for the ball, receiving it, and either holding up play or releasing it quickly, enabling the team to play out from the back. Altering the tempo of the game and switching play with good accurate distribution are an essential part of the game and these skills should be included in every session.”--Jim Fraser, 1974 Australian World Cup goalkeeper star and owner of the International Goalkeepers Academy (Sydney, Australia)

TIP OF THE MONTH

Many people think goalkeeping is all about shot blocking, but the truth is that working on vision and how to truly read the game is what real goalkeeping is all about. --Goalkeeper guru Lawrence Fine

KEEPING SECRETS

Almost all balls a goalkeeper needs to strike a long distance with accuracy are goal kicks, or rolling balls, with time to execute with proper technique. Both should be struck the same way. . .focus on the point of the ball you are trying to contact, control the approach and repeat the leg swing that has been practiced, and follow through to the target, the plant foot even with the ball and pointed toward the target. At contact point, the body should be square to the target and the follow through should end with the body square to the target.

ANSWERS TO KEEPER KWIZ

1. Envelope; 2. Missletoe; 3. C; 4. C; 5. C; 6. D; 7. You can always dig up another player; 8. Eleven 9. C; 10. Rain--No Training