Soccer Doc

Come out of retirement and join a team : https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?p=24818786#post24818786 :)

Doc, I'm reading a US Navy book I thought you'd appreciate called Sea of Thunder. It's about Adm Bill Halsey, Yamamoto and the SOPAC naval battles during WW2.

Other tidbits:

+ I know that the full academy teams will be attending a first team practice either this season or next
+ I have heard secondhand - Daniel's girlfriend is coached by Keith Caldwell ( Scott's older brother) who rooms with Laurentowicz - Jeff sometimes attend those practices and Laurentowicz will try his hand in Scandanavia next season
+ The Rev's are trying to steer their players to college programs that benefit the players and the organization. it has not been announced, but Daniel committed to the Un of Hartford to play for Dan Kelly and Dan Gaspar. Both are "a" licensed coaches and Gaspar is the goalkeeper coach for the Portuguese national team.

I'll post stuff when I can.

regards,

maynard

We got in the car and called his Mom. Then his older brother. Then got a call from his academy coach to see how it went. They knew 2 days prior that they needed someone to train with the first team due to injuries but didn't want to make him nervous. His coach asked him how it went

" I was like a deer in the headlights in the beginning, but, the guys were very nice and helpful. I became more comfortable as the practice went on and played pretty well. I didn't give away any passes and won a few tackles. Their movement off the ball is incredible. A lot of quick, sharp passes on the ground. "

His coach said, " Well Daniel, if they win tomorrow, they can owe a big thanks to you for training so well with them today. You would have a played a part in their success!"

Smiles all around and everyone was on Cloud 9 this weekend.

Passing drill run by Mark Watson
VERY intricate passing drill run by Steve Nicol. Laurentowicz explained it to Daniel.The team wasn't doing it right and Nicol was about to call it quits but Joseph stepped in, " No Stevie, no. Don't call it , we will get it right." They did it for another 5 minutes and then went into a scrimmage.

Daniel played a center marking back against Januskaukas and Dube. He intercepted one pass intended for Dube and Laurentowicz reamed out Dube for not checking to the ball . Mansally and Nyassi are very quick. Mansally, Nyassi , Osei and Januskakas all speak broken English. Joseph & Dube have thick accents. All the players were very nice and accomodating. Practice ended and they briefly talked and Nicol thanked Daniel for helping out.

I called his Academy coach to find out how long was practice because I had to ref that afternoon. I wasn't sure whether to leave or have my wife come and wait for him. I waited and watched a little from the gate. Here was their practice:

Dynamic stretching run by Mark Watson
jogging - a lot of lighthearted banter -
Shalrie Jospeh to Jay Heaps, " let's pick up the pace , I have trick or treaters coming to the house."
A few guys were dumping on Igwe for his dating prowess
They then flipped a mental switch and were all business on the field. Joseph, Heaps, Reis and Laurentowicz are the on field generals and quite intense.
Individual technical warm up - Daniel teamed up with Laurentowicz. A few easy passes and then Laurentowicz fired the ball at Daniel. He misplayed it but knew that he had to be on his toes all of the time. He was ready the next few times a ball was fired at him.

The academy had their first practice of the season with the new coaching staff on at 8 on Saturday at Gillette. Usually, the parents watch the practice. I happened to be in the car reading the newspaper and when I went to the security gate , there was no one there and so I waited outside for practice to end. "The Rev's" first team was to have a closed session practice immediately afterwards and players and parents were told that they had to leave the stadium immediately. We had to turn in a copy of Daniel's insurance card and I was waiting at the gate. He came to get the information but still had on his practice gear.

" Dad, they want me to practice with the first team."
"Sure!"

Doc,

I didn't want to post this on Bigsoccer for 2 reasons. 1) Daniel is still playing in his high school season and there can be some petty jealousies that develop when Daniel gets a lot of attention. He has been in the papers and radio a lot. He would prefer not to be in the limelight but rather have his actions on the field speak for him. 2) I know that the NCAA would allow him to train with the Rev's. Not sure how the MIAA ( The Mass HS soccer organization) would react to his training with a pro team.