WellRead

My apologies to Nathan for the misinformation on my part. I should have checked first. Thanks for the correction, soccer14.

I caught up with SP's parents Sunday evening. I learned his team won the first 2 games in their bracket, then lost their last bracket game to a "fantastic" (and eventual Dallas Cup champion) team from Monterey, Mexico. Not only did he experience matching up with international teams, he also had the opportunity in each game to showcase his talents before many college coaches. Also, SP had just returned from Jackson MS. where they beat an Atlanta, GA team to earn a straight-in bid to the USYSA National Championship series to be played somewhere in the northeast (Lancaster, Mass?) in July. WOW!!! (pardon the shout) What an opportunity! Although his team did not play in Dallas Cup, I offer my sincerest congratulations to NS (aka Nathan Stockie) on earning an opportunity to play Div I soccer at Long Island University!

Girls Super Gold Team 2nd Team Nederland Lumberton H-J Bianca Garza Kaitlyn Peavey Bailey Fontenot Lindsey Bombek Kaylee Begeman Kacy Shaffer Layken Richard Alex Mitchell Blake McGlaun Nancy Alvarez West Brook Jasper PN-G Nina Hernandez Charlotte O'Brien Alex Smithy Catherine Florese Morgan Marx Chelsea Horn Bailey Goins Brandy Guidry Kelly Memorial Silsbee Claire Dykeman Amanda Zamora Mary Maina Yasmine Afshar Tori Waters Madeline Horning Vidor Heather Skinner Heather Crawford If I mispelled any names (boys or girls) or listed someone from the wrong school I apologize. I took the information straight from the article.

Boys Super Gold Team 2nd Team West Brook Sam Gurski Nederland Ryan Washburn Tyler Vidrine PN-G Austin Angelle Brady Martin LC-M T.C. Scalfano Vance Foster Lumberton Mark Murrill Garrett Duhon Wes Brackin Memorial Saul Carillo Vidor Victor Ortega Alec Johnson Jasper Alex Guardian Anthony Martinez Silsbee Matt Deaver Ty Russell Austin Barnes H-J Alex West John Boles Jake Moses Kelly Nathan Stockie

Girls Super Gold Team MVP - Michelle Sladaritz - West Brook 1st Team Goalkeeper Breanne Martin - PN-G Defenders Lauren Washburn - Nederland Randi Paine - Lumberton Brittany Jeanis - West Brook Midfielders Emily Hughes - LC-M ( listed as mid/defender) Jacie Bell - Nederland Natalie Hager - PN-G (listed as mid/forward) Forwards Megan Melancon - Nederland (listed as forward/midfielder) Chloe Chaisson - PN-G Kaitlyn Stowe - Lumberton Coach of the Year Jason Hopson - Lumberton 2nd teams boys and girls to follow soon

Boys Super Gold Team MVP - Taylor Granato 1st Team Goalie Caleb Schnexnider - Lumberton Defenders Jacob Grant - Vidor Jordan Landry - Nederland Aaron Long - West Brook Midfielders Alex Rios - West Brook Scott Poole - Lumberton (also listed as forward/mid) Greg Flores - PN-G Forward Travis Greenway - Vidor (also Listed as mid/forward) Jacob Fairchild - West Brook Ian Littlepage - Silsbee Coach of the Year Rui Correia - Vidor

I'll make it easier. District 37 Jasper Livingston Lumberton Silsbee Sour Lake Hardin-Jefferson Vidor District 38 Beaumont Central Beaumont Ozen Bridge City Hamshire-Fannett Liberty Nederland Orange Little Cypress- Mauriceville Port Neches-Groves West Orange-Stark

Check out the link for 37 and 38. Rather incredible. [Hidden Content]

O.K., Shark, here it is. Yes, club play definitely accelerates players abilities in high school soccer. As I stated last year it would be great to see the local clubs - Gulf Coast, BYSC, Orange County, Hardin County, etc. - develop the young player. Next they should guide those girls AND boys with above average potential and the desire to play better soccer to one centralized select or elite club in the area that could train and develop them to meet their highest potential. That would include the ability to play and truly compete with Super 2 and Div. I teams from across the Trinity River. For those already in high school, join a 3 v 3 or 7 v 7 summer tourney this summer. Keep your foot on that ball! Get on a club team with your fellow teammates this fall. Develop your soccer skills with organized, competitive training and game play. If someone who knows soccer encourages you to tryout for a Div. I club in the Bayou City (Houston), go!. If you make a team and can afford the time and money, train and play with them. You'll be glad you did. In the meantime, don't forget to encourage younger brothers, sisters, cousins, etc., to begin to play soccer. Advertise your club at the local festivals this spring. (That's what little league football does!) Be out there in person signing up kids to play soccer! You'd be surprised how many young kids look up to the high school soccer players and "want to play soccer just like you when I get older!" After all, the Golden Triangle area needs a strong base of new players to feed the high school soccer ranks of the future. Alright, time for someone else to take over. Oh, my congratulations to the Lady Bulldogs on a great season! Good luck to the Lady Raiders this week!

Friendswood Fan, I usually stay our of frays such as this, but I feel compelled to enter it this time. I could choose to judge you and your character by your posts. Since I have never met you it would be unfair of me to judge your character or class based on your posts. That said, I must ask you if you attended the Lumberton/Central girls game Friday night? If you didn't then it would be very hard for you to judge the character and class of a team (or a coach) based on the simple posting of a final score (or any one score). Your wisdom should guide you to avoid making judgements of character or class based on such a post unless you personally observe those virtues firsthand. If you had attended the game you would have seen the same thing many fans (including myself) saw and have described in previous posts. Therefore, it would have been possible for you to have developed a better informed opinion, avoiding the "judging a book by it's cover" syndrome. Also, the English language is notorious for its multiple definition words. As an old philosopher once said, "Choose wisely your words, for you will be judged by those you use." This includes incredibly confusing words such as "stout". Good luck to all Friendswood, Central and Lumberton soccer teams in the future.

How's everybody's club soccer going this fall?

Thanks for the post. It's good to see several area schools involved in the Brenham Tourney in January. This kind of competition will serve to improve each team who participates. Good luck to all!

Congratulations! Hope you have a great experience playing college soccer.

Vancouver - Recent winners of USL Division I championship - capable of playing and beating some current MLS teams, excellent fan support throughout the year, and desire of MLS to continue expansion into Canada. Miami - International fan base, large soccer population, inviting climate (which could be said for others) further expansion to southern and eastern U.S. Portland and Atlanta close behind.

Some time ago several people posted comments about the state of soccer in southeast Texas. "What could improve soccer here?" was the question. It is disappointing to hear that top players from this area have to travel to Houston for top training and competitive opportunities. Maybe this area needs to reevaluate its organization of the competitive arm of soccer. What if area soccer were structured in the following manner? Begin at the local level getting kids involved with the most important goal of teaching them to have fun and enjoy the game. (and yes, teach fundamentals along the way) The local level would also be responsible for identifying players who demonstrated above average potential for soccer. By 10 or 11 years old these players would be referred to an entity designated by the area soccer association as the sole competitive arm of the Golden Triangle. Those players desiring to play at the competitive level would come together to create elite teams that could successfully compete with the Houston teams. While it might mean local clubs giving up revenue from those players it could mean a substantive leap for competitive area soccer - combining the talents that are currently scattered locally into a united competitive group. The first year should serve only U11/U12 teams. Following the first year a new U11/U12 group would be added with the inaugural group moving up to the next age bracket, and so on. Naturally, the association would have to find a way to bring in the most talented trainers possible but I believe it could happen. Local clubs would continue to host recreational teams at each age level and identify "late bloomers" who may desire to move to the competitive venue. I know we have had some success in the past with local clubs fielding teams that could occasionally beat Houston teams, but wouldn't it be exciting to be able to beat them consistently each year? Please understand I am no soccer guru, only an observer and lover of soccer. I see the potential for soccer in the Golden Triangle and would like to see it explored to it fullest.

Update on SP (Lumberton) - His team (Texans FC 92 Red) advanced in June to the USYSA (United States Youth Soccer Association) Southern Regional Championships in Raleigh, NC. They were 3-0-0 in bracket play, won their quarterfinal match, but lost in the semis. Although they will not be in the Premier League this year, they have been invited back to the USYSA National League this coming year. If I understand correctly, they will also be participating in additional high profile showcases. They will defend their championship title at Dallas Cup, as well as participate in the Disney Showcase, and Surf Cup (this month in California maybe?). From everything I can gather (websites, people in the know, etc.) there will be quite a few college soccer coaches on hand to see the team play at these events. If so, what an opportunity for exposure and potential possibilities to play college soccer! I also learned the Texans FC merged this spring with the Dallas Texans (one of this nation's best soccer clubs). Beginning in August, Texans FC will be known as the Dallas Texans-Houston Division. According to both Texans' websites, players will benefit from top level training opportunities and possible additional exposure events. Good luck SP and all other area players (male and female) who have taken the step to higher level soccer play!

State Championship Soccer Scores Girls 4A Championship McKinney Boyd - 3 Wichita Falls Rider - 1 Girls 5A Championship South Lake Carroll - 2 Plano East - 1 Boys 4A Championship El Paso Del Valle - 3 Brenham - 2 Boys 5A Championship Lewisville Marcus - 3 Klein - 0 Two in a row for Lewisville Marcus as they were the defending state champions from last year. Congratulations to all on a job well done!

5A Boys Championship game Lewisville Marcus - 3 Klein - 0 Congrats on a great run and final year for Coach Baker! Sorry they couldn't cap it off with a state championship. 4A Boys will play at 6:00 p.m. tonight.

First, congratulations to all the players selected to the All-District team! A special "thank you" to all the coaches in the area for the time and effort you put into coaching the boys this year. Second, I can understand the argument about 50+ players receiving all-district honors. Eleven for the 1st team and 11 for the 2nd team would be a legitimate number for the honor. I also look at it like this - the area needs to encourage young people to take up and/or continue to play soccer. Maybe the coaches see that the greater good for this sport may come (at least for the foreseeable future) from honoring a few more players, though not all. This, in turn, may encourage more boys to play and/or continue to participate in soccer. Maybe this is a far-fetched explanation, but it may have some merit. Third, after several weeks of practice and games Matt Deaver ended his participation with the Texans FC team some time this past fall. I believe he did so to concentrate on his tennis game. He is an excellent tennis player! Last, can someone post the girl's all-district teams?

Wondered if there were any updates to these standings?

The first half of Lumberton's play was strong. Good passing and defending, even into some of the second half. PNG was vastly improved from the first encounter. When Lumberton went up 5-1 it seemed everyone quit thinking they had the game in hand. No more Raider goals were scored. PNG players were allowed to repeatedly run 30 yards before pressure was applied. This means it wasn't just backfield and goalie problems. Keep your heads up, Lumberton! Put it back together. You still have a lead on the rest of the district. PNG, Keep up the hard work! Your hard work is paying off and you still have a shot at a playoff spot. And last but not least, everyone report your scores to the media! Every TV station wants to know them. If they have people calling in the scores they will see interested people and a potential audience!

Haha very funny for a guy thats probably overweight and giving such sarcastic citizim but we play hard if yall was on the field yall will have a different point of view but since yall dont all yall be doin is talkin s*** and its gettin to get annoyingso just lay worry about yourself before yall start talkin about people A couple of observations. First, you have just validated (proved) everyone's observations about your team by using the inappropriate language in your post. (I know you didn't exactly write it but... we can figure it out.) Expressing yourself appropriately will go a long way in improving your team's reputation. (That includes your command of the English language) Second, logic tells me you are a player on Central's team, probably a defender. ("d" after your screen name?) If you are a player that means you are a student. If you are a student, the time you posted your comment indicates you were probably at school when you posted your comment. If you were at school, the use of school computers to post such a comment (with offensive language) is probably prohibited by school and/or district rules. I encourage you to avoid posts like that in the future. Your team can't afford to lose you. Finally, play the game of soccer as it is meant to be played. You and your team should use your soccer skills to win games, not the extra-physical actions and verbal taunts that is currently haunting your team. You CAN win without them.

Congratulations to LC-M on a great win! They appear to be a team to be reckoned with this year. Question - does my memory fail me or is the last sentence of the article incorrect? I thought sure the Lumberton Raiders were district champions last year. Anyway, Tuesday night's LC-M game will be an important game. Gather up your fans and root your favorite team on. And by the way, call in your score to Mike Friedman at Channel 6 after the game. (He asked for callers again Friday night.) Let's get these soccer players (boys and girls) the attention they deserve! Channel 6 sports- 409 895-4672 (Hope you don't mind Coop)

I was watching Channel 6 Sports tonight and heard Mike Friedman encourage folks to call in their soccer scores after each game. Let's take him up on it! Here's the Channel 6 Sports number - 409-895-4672. You can also contact other news/sports groups by phone or e-mail including the Beaumont Enterprise. Believe it or not they want to report our scores, they just don't have the manpower to cover everything. They need the help from us. When reporting be positive and appreciative. Remember the old addage, "You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar". Be sure to also tell Mike (and others) "thank you" for their coverage, even ahead of time. It's time this sport starts getting the recognition it deserves!

It's always a good idea to check your facts when correcting people. Please click the link below (or copy and paste to your browser if it is unclickable), captian, and you will see this area's soccer district IS 20 4-A. Yes, the area is 22-4A in most other sports, but not soccer. Good luck to the Pirates this season. [Hidden Content]