Good article. He I think has the tools to be a great coach. I wish him nothing but the best. BENNY IS KING!
I hope he didn't wait *too* long to retire -- I hope he's still able to walk fairly normally when he's 45 or 50.
Good article. Ben has a good head on his shoulders. Word. pf-My advice to Ben: shovel less snow, make players shovel more snow!
No kidding, it's good conditioning. Just look at how it helped Rocky beat Ivan Drago in Rocky IV!!!!!11111 More seriously, though, the last 4-5 days have certainly done wonders for *my* conditioning. Except for my lower back. Ow.
I have never shovelled so much snow in my life! Conditioning and weight has improved. I must admit that I always wear a weight-lifter's belt when I shovel snow. No back problems. ps-Not having power last night was a biatch though, but I wore two socks, gloves and a face mask to sleep!
Face mask? Are you planning to rob a convenience store today? (At least you won't have to stand in a humongous line to check out!)
I think is called the Canuck shuffle, but what do I know after all I have only played Ice Hockey all my life.
Players are selfish? As the parent of a travel soccer player, I am shocked - shocked!! - to hear that.
Ben Olsen was a great pick to be an assistant coach. I love his attitude that he has a lot to learn. I think that, with time, he can be a great coach. In my dreams I would like to see Ben's appointment followed up by Jaime Moreno next year. Jaime is, in my opinion, the player with the best understanding of how dribbling fits tactically into the game of soccer in the history of the league. I am not saying that he is the best dribbler, although he has been very, very good. I am saying that he has an understanding of how dribbling fits into a game tactically that is amazing. I have watched him evolve from a "speed" dribbler, spending the game trying to put himself in a position to penetrate individually, to a dribbler who uses his dribbling to create opportunities to pass so that others can penetrate now that he can no longer do so individually. I know that he is not the first player in the history of the game to do this - Pele, Cruyff, Maradona all made the same transition. I just think that he may be the only player in MLS history that has made this transition so extraordinarily well. I would love to see if he could learn to teach this understanding to young players at DC United. I don't know that he can. I would just love to see if he could. Regardless, I am very pleased to see Mr. Olsen coaching. I see it as one in, one to go.
Understanding the game is key to a great coach/manager. Too many great players enter coaching but they relied on more individual skill then understanding the game so they fail. I'm glad Ben has stayed on - wouldn't be the same with him completely gone!
I think ben has the makings of being a great coach, as said above, understanding the game gets you farther then skills when you get older. Ben gets the game, and on the flip side he isnt a generic player which relied on his athleticism to get him by. His soccer brain was one of the smartest IMO that has come out of MLS/US soccer in a LONG time. I'd put him up there with Reyna. His ability to stop the ball, see runs, his cuts, moves, backheels, is something we wont see for a while. Hopefulyl he can show kids that backheels, cuts, and stopping the ball to give players around you the ability to make runs for you, is a interesting way to play and can work even though it may be frowned upon by some coaches.
A big part of that is that Ben was forced to learn it. Before his injuries, he was one of those atheletes who could get by mostly on athleticism--pretty fast, could run all day, like a Josh Gros, but a bit more technical than him. When he got hurt, he really had to start living by his wits.