NC Courage 2017

Discussion in 'Western New York Flash' started by CoachJon, Jan 12, 2017.

  1. CoachJon

    CoachJon Member+

    Feb 1, 2006
    Rochester, NY
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    What DO you think? I was surprised but pleased that Rowland played on Saturday, given the injury to Kawamura and the re-setting of the back line. As I have said, D'Angelo always seems to mess up at least once a game when she comes off her line. I prefer Rowland, partly because I prefer taller keepers and I do think she is better in the air than D'Angelo.
    Can't seem to go wrong with a UCLA keeper, two Bruins on the D line and two more in the midfield.

    I think that D'Angelo will continue to get more starts because she is allocated. Although, I think she might be Canada's third best keeper right now.

    So what do you see as Rowland's weaknesses?
     
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  2. holden

    holden Member+

    Dundee FC, Yeovil Town LFC, Girondins de Bordeaux
    Oct 20, 2009
    Los Angeles
    Club:
    Dundee FC
    The post I responded to was from May 22nd. It said:
    That is you, bringing up the topic less than a couple months ago.

    Look, I understand you're a professional photographer. You need to and deserve to get paid for your work. So there's no reason to pretend you're just giving away your photos for free. If I wanted to get a nice high quality non-watermarked version of any of your photos from ISI to use as my desktop background, how do I do that? I have to pay the license. There's no download this for free for personal use option that I can find. And, like I said, you deserve to get paid for your work, so it's completely understandable that there's no free high quality non-watermarked version available.


    Yes, you're absolutely right. I am 100% wrong. They're not for sale, they are for license... :rolleyes: (which really is more restrictive than for sale, but um... you knew that already, right?)


    To quote you:
    My point was: maybe if you posted actual discussion about the team, I would be able to respond to that instead... I mean, you openly admitted what I'm saying...
    Don't read anything more into it, than what you say here. I would love for you to try to be 99% of the traffic. And I don't think anyone (well anyone here at least) would think it detracts from your abilities as a league photographer.
     
  3. holden

    holden Member+

    Dundee FC, Yeovil Town LFC, Girondins de Bordeaux
    Oct 20, 2009
    Los Angeles
    Club:
    Dundee FC
    I was surprised too. Especially after the fiasco when Waldrum did it with Campbell. But Rowland did get 6 starts with the team last season while D'Angelo was injured, so I don't think it was as much of an adjustment as the Dash had to make. Especially with her and Dahlkemper having been together at UCLA.

    I agree. D'Angelo always seems to make (at least) one questionable decision coming off the line, when she should've stayed home. This was actually the opposite of a criticism I would've had about Rowland prior to that game. Sometimes I thought she would stay on her line when she really needed to come out (though, maybe that was just due to the style of play they had at UCLA and the confidence she had in her defenders). But that play where she came out of the box and intercepted the ball to keep it away from Ratcliffe (in the 53rd minute)... I think that shows she's not so stuck to the line as she used to be and really showed good decision making and great composure on the ball.

    I don't know. Labbé lost her spot last season, and she's their #1. So it would seem at least that NC should be able to make the argument to Canada for benching D'Angelo. And, I agree that she's the 3rd best at the moment. Sheridan has been very solid for SBFC. I could see her supplanting Labbé for #1 pretty soon...

    In addition to the aforementioned weakness, another big one was her reaction saves (especially when she would have to get low to make the save). That was why I was intrigued by how trim she looked to start the season. I thought it might be related to her working on that weakness (being more trim would lead to being more agile). I don't think she has really been tested on that so far, so the jury is still out. But the other aspects of her game are so solid. I guess her long balls could be improved a bit too when you compare them to someone like Abby Smith (thinking about potential rivals for making the USWNT roster), but they are a lot better than Franch's (thinking about another potential rival). I kinda look at Rowland being more of a Barnhart style keeper, whereas Smith and D'Angelo are more of a Harris style of keeper. Rowland and Barnhart aren't going to make the big flashy saves of Harris, Smith, and D'Angelo, but they're not gonna put themselves in the position to have to make as many.
     
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  4. AndyMead

    AndyMead Homo Sapien

    Nov 2, 1999
    Seat 12A
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    I've already been paid. The photos are there to be viewed for FREE. Sorry you don't understand that.
     
  5. AndyMead

    AndyMead Homo Sapien

    Nov 2, 1999
    Seat 12A
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Okay. That's done. Ignore lists are helpful. If the regulars here do not like my tweet every home game about the photo galleries, let me know and I'll stop.
     
  6. blissett

    blissett Member+

    Aug 20, 2011
    Italy
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    Please, don't drag me into a dispute about literals. Of course you never suggested to shut down the forum, but what I meant is that, with all of your talking about irrilevance, you give the impression that you don't particularly care about the existence of this very place. Who cares if we're irrilevant? Who gives a damn? We're here and we like it. You give the impression that, if only we'd want to venture outside this very narrow place, there would be millions out there wanting to talk with us about women's soccer (I underline to give an idea of the general relevance of the subject to the common audience) on other friendlier social media and devices.
    Instead, I think that we're here for a reason, and it's that, despite the fact that the object of our passion is not very "mainstream", a few friends to talk with about it is enough for us and sounds ok.

    Oh, for records, I much appreciate your weekly links to photo-coverage of NC Courage matches.
     
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  7. holden

    holden Member+

    Dundee FC, Yeovil Town LFC, Girondins de Bordeaux
    Oct 20, 2009
    Los Angeles
    Club:
    Dundee FC
    #182 holden, Jun 5, 2017
    Last edited: Jun 5, 2017
    Yes I can view this for free:
    [​IMG]
    Now, how can I see a version without a watermark placed directly over the players for free?

    All I'm saying, is just like the photos aren't actually for sale, they are also not literally free. They have strings attached. But really that wasn't even my point, and yet again you continue to ignore my point. And yet you act like I'm the asshole here.

    Well you were already ignoring what I was saying and attacking me instead. So glad to know I won't have to bear that anymore. :thumbsup:
     
  8. AndyMead

    AndyMead Homo Sapien

    Nov 2, 1999
    Seat 12A
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    I'm not sure how someone with my history on this site gives any impression that I don't care about the existence of BigSoccer. It is pretty irrelevant, but I certainly care about it - I better, I spend way too much free time here.

    My writing tends to be overly denotatively precise. Making assumptions that are not present in my words only leads to misunderstanding. This place is very irrelevant. I'm not sure that can really be disputed, but I'm sure some will try. But understanding something's relevance or irrelevance is not the same as assigning a value to the thing. We all fill our lives up with things that may hold meaning to us personally, but only to us. Anyone that's had to dispose of a loved one's or family member's belongings after they passed away knows what I'm saying.

    Sorry if I was unclear. I like the funkiness of BigSoccer. I have no problem hanging out in the Courage thread in the Flash forum. BigSoccer is not attracting new posters - those go to Twitter or Instagram. The players currently on the Courage are largely the Flash, our common interest is stronger than it would be just about anywhere else. We can follow Lynn and Sam and the Abbys. In a few years as the roster rolls over, I'm sure the relevance to the Flash faithful will be gone, and I'm sure this thread will also have withered away.

    For the time being, I think this works. If the mods want something else, so be it. I'll be back in a a couple weeks with a tweet after the Boston game.

    --------------------------
    (unrelated)

    If I was posting links to make money, you'd be getting links to the practice photos on my personal website - where you can buy prints. But that's not what I'm here for. I'm here because - now that I have a hometown team again - I have embraced the Courage as a fan. I also happen to have access and skill that allows me to generate images to share with fellow fans.

    YCJ Photo came about as a small group of fans generating images of MLS/WUSA and national team games to SHARE with other fans www.ibiblio.org/footy for FREE because back in 2000 when we got started, the photos just didn't exist in the mainstream press. For 17 years I have never solicited a dime for photo galleries of the beautiful game in and about the United States. Most (not all) of our post-2004 images are not freely viewable on my new site at www.andymeadphoto.com - that's not advertisement or a plea for money, and there are no ads on the site that I generate revenue from. I highly recommend the slideshow option as you get the largest image available.

    From the humble beginnings, we (YCJ) were slowly domesticated into actual journalists. I make money as a professional. I get paid to shoot games. I do not rely on any after the fact sales. I share gallery links because I am a fan, and I know fans love photos. Enjoy or don't. But don't make judgements about my motivations without checking first. And I don't share where it is made clear that the links aren't welcome.

    Now that I think about it, it's pretty funny that someone thinks I'm trying to make money by posting a link to a gallery (without a personal download option) in a thread that is probably read by less than ten people, most of whom have no interest in owning photos of the specific players wearing the jerseys they're wearing in the pictures shown.
     
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  9. holden

    holden Member+

    Dundee FC, Yeovil Town LFC, Girondins de Bordeaux
    Oct 20, 2009
    Los Angeles
    Club:
    Dundee FC
    #184 holden, Jun 5, 2017
    Last edited: Jun 5, 2017
    And yet here you are doing the same to what I said...

    I know you said you put me on ignore, but on the off chance you see it, please show me where I said to stop posting links to the galleries of your images. If you can do that, I promise I will never ever respond to something you say again to try to show it's wrong, and indeed I will adopt every inaccurate thing you say as the god given truth.

    And if you are putting someone on ignore, then you really should stop making snide backhanded insults towards them... otherwise it just means you're not really ignoring them. But I am honored that my words were deemed powerful enough to still be occupying so much of your thought process after you claimed to ignore me. :inlove:




    Please show me where anyone said you were posting them "to make money." Because I'm fairly certain that didn't happen.
    (I did say you were using them for "promotion" but that does not literally mean "to make money")



    Please show me where anyone made judgements about your motivations.



    Now that I think about it, it's pretty funny that a professional photographer doesn't understand the purpose of a website like ISI Photos. As someone who uses stock image sites for my professional work, I completely understand and support their purpose. Yeah, that's right, some other people here are professionals too... imagine that.

    (All I'm saying is it seems pretty clear that you care about protecting your intellectual property. That's why you post them to a site like ISI, where they are not freely available rather than somewhere like Flickr or countless other image sharing sites where users can download high res non-watermarked images for free. And if you think there's something wrong with that, that's on you, not me. I'm just stating facts, not judgement. I never said you shouldn't post your pictures to ISI and I am not saying you should post them to Flickr or anywhere else. And just to be clear, cause somehow I think you'll misunderstand this, I'm not saying you shouldn't care about protecting your intellectual property, either.)
     
  10. blissett

    blissett Member+

    Aug 20, 2011
    Italy
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    Well, sorry that I made assumptions: you know, it's something human brain automatically does, difficult to stop it from doing that.

    But I admit that I didn't know about your "history" here, because I happened to have landed here on the US forums just recently (before I was just a lurker here and I was mostly active on Nadeshiko Japan and European forums). I seem to recall that at some time earlier in one of these threads you mentioned being back here after some sort of hiatus, but I can see now that you're a member since 1999. So, sorry if I misunderstood your words, and respect for a longtime forum member, from a "newbie" (sort of). :notworthy: :p

    Just out of curiosity: why does your profile describe you as a "Homo Sapien", without "s"?
     
  11. AndyMead

    AndyMead Homo Sapien

    Nov 2, 1999
    Seat 12A
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    I'm an individual, not a species. Plus I never took Latin. :p
     
  12. blissett

    blissett Member+

    Aug 20, 2011
    Italy
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    Lol, I believe you when you say you didn't took Latin: the final "s" in "Sapiens" in not a plural; the plural for "Homo Sapiens" is "Homines Sapientes". :p
     
  13. cpthomas

    cpthomas BigSoccer Supporter

    Portland Thorns
    United States
    Jan 10, 2008
    Portland, Oregon
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Blissett, I can say as someone who took three years of Latin, you are really bad!

    How about "Mica, mica, parva stella ...."
     
  14. blissett

    blissett Member+

    Aug 20, 2011
    Italy
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    Lol, here in Europe (at least, non Anglo-Saxon Europe) "Twinkle, twinkle, little star..." isn't so popular, so I didn't even know there was a version in Latin.

    Anyway, if it can make you feel better, I've read some comics in Latin: for instance Donald Duck became "Donaldus Anas". :p
     
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  15. cpthomas

    cpthomas BigSoccer Supporter

    Portland Thorns
    United States
    Jan 10, 2008
    Portland, Oregon
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    #190 cpthomas, Jun 6, 2017
    Last edited: Jun 6, 2017
    This was in the front of my high school sophomore year Latin textbook:

    Mica, mica, parva stella

    Miror quanam sis tam bella

    Super terra in caelo

    Alba gemma splendido.

    Mica, mica, parva stella

    Miror quanam sis tam bella.

    :geek:

    (There are more verses in Latin, but they weren't in the text book.)
     
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  16. AndyMead

    AndyMead Homo Sapien

    Nov 2, 1999
    Seat 12A
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    I went to training today (I go about once a week) and a scrimmage broke out. I don't usually link to the training galleries, but here are some photos (no money needed!):

    http://andymead.photoshelter.com/ga...SL-U16-Boys/G0000P.p5VcQqzNY/C0000r4tjx2MtC4g

    Goalkeeping coach Nate Thackery ran the middle as the referee (no linesmen). They played two 35 minute halves. The Courage only used a couple subs. A few first team players, who have been participating in training this week, sat this one just to be on the safe side.

    The opponent appears to be this team:
    http://soccer.sincsports.com/TTTeam_Roster.aspx?sinc=N&tid=NCCSL&teamid=NCM01B1B
    It was not the USSF-DA U16 squad that's heading to the playoffs. Given the demographics of the area it was shockingly monochromatic. There was one kid that was clearly playing up a couple years.

    It was a decent game. U16 Boys is a good match for an NWSL side. The boys athleticism presents challenges for the women, but the professional soccer players speed of thought and -frankly- professionalism counter balances that.

    The first half was very back and forth with few clear chances, but the boys scored off of a corner kick at the death of the first half. I'm pretty sure Riley was taking notes. It's the type of late goal that kills coaches. The corner probably should not have been given, then the team didn't stay focused through the whistle.

    The second half started out more of the same. But the Courage got an early PK. Hamilton (I think's) attempt was well saved. But as the second half wore on, you could see that the training for the Courage carried the day. It was hot and the pace was consistent. Physically the boys were fine, but you could see that they were losing mental focus. They stopped communicating with each other, and the Courage took advantage scoring two late goals.

    A big chunk of the minutes were eaten up by practice squad players as well as those at the end of the bench. A couple trialists made up the balance. I've seen a fair number of players come and go this season. A lot of times they're players who are on the fringe. Occasionally they make a roster, but usually they're just practice squad players. Stephanie Ochs this week, Page Nielsen was here a couple weeks ago.
     
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  17. blissett

    blissett Member+

    Aug 20, 2011
    Italy
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    Well, I've followed a lot of this kind of games through the years and no matter how young and unexperienced the boys are, it seldom happens that a women's team manage to get a result vs men's opposition. So, thumbs up to NC Courage! :thumbsup:
     
  18. CoachJon

    CoachJon Member+

    Feb 1, 2006
    Rochester, NY
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    In honor of Kristen Hamilton's brace, here is one of my favorite GIFs from last year

    She was out the entire 2014 season [supposedly her rookie year] rehabbing an ACL.
     
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  19. AndyMead

    AndyMead Homo Sapien

    Nov 2, 1999
    Seat 12A
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
  20. CoachJon

    CoachJon Member+

    Feb 1, 2006
    Rochester, NY
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Would you play Williams and / or McDonald against Boston this coming Saturday, if they were still banged up?
    I think no; more healing is more important. However, Boston will be tough at home and we already have won two games against them; a third would be hard to do. The announcers kept talking about missing Rose Lavelle, but missing Allysha Chapman was almost equally important. If Chapman is back, the game will be much much harder to win.

    Thanks to @AndyMead for reporting that Steph Ochs has been with the team for a couple of weeks. Does Darian Jenkins look ready to go now?
    Coming from UCLA, I think it might be hard for Jenkins to fit in with all the other players with so many different backgrounds.....................​

    I think Ochs is a good addition. I liked watching her play, mostly forward, with the Flash in 2012. I think she came into her own with the Spirit and also did well for Houston. She has proven to have the quality of a regular starter in this league.
    Here's something I wrote after a pre-season scrimmage in 2012:
    I was impressed by Katherine Reynolds on defense - and liked the efforts by Tori Huster (LD) and Laura Heyboer (LM) on the left side; and Steph Ochs pretty much everywhere. Brittany Cameron played first and Ali Lipsher second half in goal. McCall Zerboni played in the middle of the midfield and worked hard on both sides of the ball; she took more of an attacking role in second half.

    In terms of Roster size, IF Kawamura does not count any more, then with Niemiec gone, there are 20 players, so I don’t think anyone loses a job by adding Ochs. Am I right?

    I would like Doniak to become “sung.” It appears that she is becoming one of those “unsung” players that all the smart people know about. She played great yesterday. More and more, as the 11th pick, she is proving to be the steal of the 2016 NWSL draft. She was predicted to be #2 by Top Drawer Soccer, Chris Henderson at AllWhiteKit, Jennifer Gordon at EqualizerSoccer, and also by WWC_Movement FWIW. During the draft, the Flash even picked Michaela Hahn at #9 before Doniak.

    I do not like that Riley has only men on the coaching staff. It really hits home to me when a player is subbed out and she is greeting by five men before she gets to a team mate. 3 assistants plus a keeper coach is overkill, anyway.
     
  21. AndyMead

    AndyMead Homo Sapien

    Nov 2, 1999
    Seat 12A
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    That's a rather shallow take. If you look at who those "five men" are, it's hard to argue with any of them. And only three are "on staff". Riley with a long and successful, multiple championship games, as a women's professional soccer head coach. Scott Vallow, a long time women's coach and husband of one of the players. Nate Thackery who's full-time job is as the Goalkeeper coach for the team-branded (CASL/TFC merged) NCFC youth organization.

    Bill Palladino - current/long-time assistant coach at UNC and former USWNT assistant coach (2003 Women's World Cup). Bill does not travel, and is a local "volunteer assistant"

    Sean Nahas - I don't know a lot about Sean, he recently relocated here from the (I believe) Boston area. He has been part of the USGNT staff in recent years, and he's the brother of former GNT head coach (but they didn't work together) and current UNC assistant Damon Nahas. Sean is also a "volunteer assistant" that only works practices and home games.
     
  22. CoachJon

    CoachJon Member+

    Feb 1, 2006
    Rochester, NY
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    You can disagree with my statement, without calling it "shallow." I totally understand the high quality, recognized experience with the women's game, and local connections of the assistants.

    As a women's soccer advocate and advocate for girls in team sports, I believe more women need to be in head coaching positions (any coaching positions, actually) at all levels. Figuring out how and then implementing a plan to get more women coaches is not a shallow exercise. There has to be motivation to do so, first. I find it hard to believe that men who have been so invested in the women's game don't come to their own conclusion that they need to proactively include women on the coaching staff.

    I understand that the move to Cary was very sudden and Riley and Curt Johnson had a short time to assemble a full staff. I also understand that the CASL/TFC merger and affiliation with the NCFC is a very big deal locally, and part of getting that done required getting the best people available into the club. I think it is great the Courage/NCFC were able to land the coaches they did.

    Even with Palladino, Nahas, and Thackery wearing two hats, why not give one of the guys only a club/academy hat and have a women with two hats work as a Courage assistant?

    I understand that there was a sea change this year. but next year I would like a woman to have a prominent role on the Courage coaching staff (and all other NWSL teams), which is why I wanted to point it out now.
     
  23. AndyMead

    AndyMead Homo Sapien

    Nov 2, 1999
    Seat 12A
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
  24. AndyMead

    AndyMead Homo Sapien

    Nov 2, 1999
    Seat 12A
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    They're running out of bodies. Last week they dressed two players in sneakers (who were never going to sub in).

    With Yuri, Nort, and Rosana out and Ochs in, they're down to 18 active roster players. At least three of those are carrying knocks, and a couple others are heavily taped on game day.

    They've got room to bring Darian Jenkins off of the DL.

    And that still leaves them with another spot.
     
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  25. babranski

    babranski Member+

    Dec 15, 2012
    Raleigh, NC
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    not to mention two intl spots free.
     

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