With Storm Ciara bearing down, the boys got their games in and returned home safely on Sunday (Feb. 9) at about 1115 pm. Here are the scores: Slavia Prague - FC 1906 Erlensee 0-2 Slavia Prague - Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 Slavia Prague - Bayer 04 Leverkusen 1-0 Slavia Prague - RB Leipzig 2-1 Slavia Prague -- VfB Stuggart 1-1 Slavia Prague -- TSG 1899 Hoffenheim 1-2 So, 3 wins, 2 loses, and 1 ties, good enough for third, a decent finish. Surprisingly, FC 1906 Erlensee won the thing, although they fielded a U15 team. So, Hoffenheim was the "winner" of the U14 tournament. Alex said the game against Frankfurt was the toughest though. Said, by the time they played Hoffenheim everyone pretty much was tanked. Not lots of goals scored since games were just over 20 minutes. Son, had two assists. Played pretty much the whole time, except was sat for that first game against the local side. (Lots of the reserves got in for that one) Coach said he did well, but believes he has the ability to do even better if he pushes himself a bit more.... Boys will take another crack at RB Leipzig at the end of the month, this time in Prague.
Teams from Slovakia, Germany, and now Poland. On February 16, amidst injuries and illness, Slavia's U14s took on the U14s from Lech Poznan of Robert Lewandowski fame. Team has been decimated, and players were put in different posts to plug holes. Team was outplayed convincingly and lost 4-2. Son had a goal and assisted on the other, but had a very uninspiring performance. After the game, he said he was feeling bad, and today is sick. On Thursday, they head out of town for a week of training. Brutal month or so with boys falling by the wayside.
Luggage loaded in the car, son was driven over to Slavia's sports center for the annual week-long training trip to the national sports center in Nymburk. Two-a-day practice sessions, pool, whirlpool, sauna, massages, three meals a day, plus late snack, it's not a bad deal for us parents, with the cost coming in at less than a $100 for six-day, five-night sports jamboree. Son's no yuggen, and at 13 1/2 has no problem now going to these, in fact, he kinda enjoys it, being on his own with the other guys. Coaches also use downtime with them to talk tactics, give them quizzes, and just basically bond. There'll be a game as well, on Saturday, against Zaglevie Lubin, of Ekstraklasa obscurity.
Feb. 23 and Slavia's U14 and U15s hosted Polish side Zaglebie Lubin of Poland's top flight. Doubt any of us had a clue to the quality of the side, but it became apparent quickly they'd be no pushovers. After going down in the U15 game, Lubin scored four to win that one. The game against the U14s, had a different start, with the Polish side going up 2-0 at half. It looked like they'd be going home with two wins. But son got two in the second, assisted on the third, and Slavia turned the match around to win 4-3. Poles were pleased with the game, according to a report on their academy page. Looking at some of their other results, saw they tied Sparta Prague's U15 and U16 sides. For all of us, how we stack up with Sparta always matters. Kid did better off the ball, winning about seven one-on-one battles. Was more aggressive, which I told him was something he needed to work on. Has the size to be a physical presence, but needs to muck it up a bit more. Training is going well. Had a 'concentration' test in which the coaches fired about 50 or so questions at the kids to see how focused they were. All in all, a good week so, far. Glad he had a strong game in a tough match. One of a few players who played whole game.
Never seen this one before. Son's game against Red Bull Salzburg U14 has been canceled. Team doesn't want to travel to Czech Republic due to fears over coronavirus contagion....Wow. This comes as people in Prague and elsewhere in these parts raid the groceries stores, stocking up for what many feel will ultimately hit here. No cases reported yet, but many feel it's only a matter of time...
Good luck, @PhillyFury! I have a feeling we're going to see a lot of tournaments be postponed/cancelled in the coming months, unless the corona virus dissipates rapidly. Here's hoping people everywhere will act in a responsible manner, and that our society will not devolve into chaos.
Thanks, @Winoman! Your support is appreciated. Thanks for following this, by the way. Probably one of the most loyal of a small crew!
We've already seen whole Italian cities/regions were closed of and Serie A matches have been postponed or played without fans. In the Netherlands a hospital has been sealed of. Nobody (almost) can go in or out.
Yeah, I'm afraid this will get worse before it gets better. My father never knew his father, due to the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918. Let's pray it doesn't get that bad.
Doubt few of us thought it would go this far. Czech Republic literally in lockdown. Schools, borders, shops, theaters, sports, all shut down. No games, no practices, nothing for the youth teams at Slavia and everywhere here. Was looking forward to the first game of the spring part of the national league. And now, no idea when that, if ever, will start. On another note, sent a little video of Alex to the U.S. soccer folks, who told me international players would probably be called in for camps later this year.
Finally a bit of good news. Coach sent out word that training in small groups will start up on May 4. At least something. And it looks like the summer break will be shortened to start in on the new season as soon as possible. So much for summer break, although I think we've all had a long bit of rest with a nice dose of stress from this coronavirus pandemic.
Alex is a u14 (2006) at Slavia Prague. He has heavy interest from the czech national team but prefers to rep the USA. His father has been sending ussoccer information about Alex so Ussoccer is already aware and likely tracking him.
Alex's dad here. Yes, the Slavia academy kid is one and the same. Yes, I have sent the US soccer federation info, video, and haven't been blown off. Alex is a good player at this level. Big, strong, and great left foot. He's far from perfect, and has lots of things he needs to improve if he wants to take it to another level. He's still a kid. And if gets called in for a camp, that'd be great. If not, it's no tragedy.
May 5. Parents drive into the training center, drop the boys off and drive away. So goes training during the coronavirus pandemic here in Prague. Team broken into groups of eight, each in its own section of the field Good to get him out of the house for a bit. He's grown and is now one of the tallest on the team at about 5'10''...
Online lessons out of the way, Alex bundles out of the house on June 3 to be driven to the game. So, it goes in the time of the pandemic. Practices resumed about a month ago, were halted for a week after a Slavia player on the pro team was confirmed with coronavirus. Now, the boys are training four times a week with scrimmages thrown in. Yesterday, the boys took on Bohemians Prague 1905, a cross-town rival with a decent youth program, by Czech standards. Slavia U14 were a bit too much though, winning 6-1. Alex played first half as an 8. Had two assists, plus rang a free kick off the crossbar. Won lots of battles, had a nice Zidane spin, to get by a defender. Got a pat on the back as well from the youth director at halftime when he was subbed out, which doesn't happen much with that stoic guy. His size, strength and speed giving Alex a nice advantage now... Up next: Sparta Prague on Saturday!
Two more games in the books, 4-4 tie with Sparta Prague and a 5-0 win over Dukla Prague. Although Alex did not score in either, he had three assists, playing a half in each game. Finally seems to be getting used to his bigger body, moving better and faster, especially in the game against Dukla. New coach in the ranks, David Strihavka, something of a journeyman ex-pro, whose high point was probably signing with Norwich City. Big guy, so hoping he will find a bit of extra sympathy for the struggles of growing boys, like Alex. After Dukla game, his first on the bench, told Alex he had a good game, was unlucky not to score, but that it didn't matter, it will come...One more friendly next Tuesday and the summer break begins...for all of three weeks!
Last game of these odd times was on June 16 at five o'clock against FK Meteor Prague, a lower division side with a pretty good youth program. The boys played their U15s, so lots of big, strong guys to contend with. Alex played well, scoring one after stealing the ball from a defender and slotting it pass the goalie. Also got faul outside the box that resulted in a goal off the free kick. When he went off, the score was 3-1 for Slavia. In second, Meteor stormed back and it ended 4-3. Two more practice sessions now with the new guy and then it's break time... again.
July 20, and Alex is back at Slavia's training grounds in downtown Prague at 8:15 in the morning. Have to get there early to get the new gear. At about 5'11" now, Alex is towering over some of his teammates. In a scrimmage, he scored two nice goals from distance as his team won 6-5. Tomorrow morning, they have beach soccer in the morning, and a normal training session in the afternoon. On Friday, they head out of town for a week of training.
@PhillyFury What does your son do during the breaks? Is he out playing pickup games? Ball tricks in the backyard? Workout crazy? Just curious what a kid his age is doing on his own to improve.
Good question. We live in the city, but there's a park up the hill from us. He goes out on his own or with me to do ball work, including tricks and lots of Coerver drills. We also head out to a Slavia training ground about once a week to work on shooting. He does a lot of stretching at home and about 100 push-ups a day. He was also doing some sprints and running to increase his endurance, one of his weaknesses. I tell him he needs to be doing at least an hour's worth of extra work if he wants to stay ahead of the other boys. Sadly, it's all pretty regimented. When he does go out for some pickup with some of the guys, I'm ecstatic.
Any news from Heerenveen? They celebrated their 100 years existence on july the 20th. Could be a suggestion to email them a congratulationto let them know you think of them!
Everything is a bit on hold given the current coronavirus pandemic. Staying in touch with the club, but any move there is at least two years away, if then. Right now, Alex has a new season with new players coming in and possible U15 national camps in the fall. That will be crucial.
After two grinding training sessions on July 26 capped by a massage at ten before bed, Alex and the U15s took on FK Mlada Boleslav, a good central Bohemian side with the backing of Czech automaker Skoda, at nine thirty on July 27, just before the heat becomes unbearable. However, Slavia was no match, winning 8-2. Alex chipped in two goals, one running onto a thru pass, outsprinting his defender. Played all of the first half and about half of the second, among a group of players getting the most minutes. Coach gave him a thumbs up on his play, saying his hard work in training had paid off in the game. Told him to keep it up. Earlier in the week, told him he has a 'good eye', seeing the field well.