Julio Prieto: River City Elite Camp Dutch Soccer Champion

Congratulations to Julio Prieto, our River City Elite Dutch Soccer Competition Champion.  Julio gave a great effort and showed coaches his skills as he lead all points scorers after six rounds of Dutch Soccer.

For those of you who don’t know, a Dutch Soccer Tournament is where players compete as teams, but get additional points for personal performance.  After each set of games, the players are assigned to new teams, so there is no “dominant team”, but rather a random set of match-ups for the players to work against.

Great work by all players at the River City Camp, and a shout out and congratulations to Julio for his hard work!  We’ll be doing more Dutch Tournaments at future camps.  It’s a great time for the players and chance for them to apply all the camp concepts to a game environment.

Clint Dempsey on ESPN: E60

“I go out there and fight as hard as I can all the time, because you never know when it could be your last game” – Clint Dempsey

Clint has overcome a great deal to get to where he is today:  A starter for Team USA and one of the few US born field players to have an opportunity to play in the English Premiership.  Clint’s story is humbling, inspiring, and hopefully, motivates you to go out there and work as hard as you can every day to get better.

The Comeback Kid (maybe)

Great article in the New York Times about Charlie Davies: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/27/sports/soccer/27davies.html?pagewanted=2&hp

Davies, one of the US National Teams rising stars, was in a horrific car accident in October that left him severely injured and unlikely to play soccer again.

6 months later, Davies has made an incredible recovery.  He resumed full contact drills with his French Club this week, and now awaits word on his spot on the final World Cup roster.

What can this teach us about the mental game?  College soccer coaches always tell me they want a player that accepts responsibility for what the player can control and is persistent to their goals.  Davies story gives us a lot to think about on both levels.

Davies mentions the World Cup as the beacon of light to drive towards.  That’s all well and good, but the real success here comes from setting goals over short periods of time that help him drive towards the ultimate goal.  Anyone can  start their season by saying “I want to win a championship”.  Of Course You Do!  Who Doesn’t!?  It’s a great thing to drive toward, but does it give you a plan of action or a path to follow?  NO!

Davies speaks about breaking off small chunks, two week periods with manageable goals to bite off.  It’s a great thing for the young athlete to begin practicing.  Set small, concrete goals and monitor your progress towards them.  Make it a habit.  You’ll find you progress a lot more than you think over a season. Who knows.  With a lot of hard work and a little bit of luck, you may just win that championship!

Life as a College Athlete (Part 2): Getting Oriented

Well I am back into the swing of things, hitting the books hard preparing for my finals trying to make sure I graduate without any problems.  I had my first taste of college this past weekend and I cannot wait to go back!  Everything about my freshman orientation was above and beyond any expectations that I previously had.  Orientation started off a bit awkward with doing some ice breaking activities with the other incoming freshman who I didn’t know at all.  However, gradually things began to open up and I was introduced to a bunch of awesome people.  I met people from all over the country ranging from California all the way to New York.  The Southern culture seems like it might take a bit getting used to since I have been born and raised in St. Louis my whole life, but I am confident I can make the adjustment well.  I was able to register for all the classes I wanted, and I met several of my future professors who all seemed very friendly and approachable.

I was able to practice on Friday afternoon with the soccer team, and I really enjoyed being around the team.  There seemed to be a true sense of camaraderie among the team, and everyone welcomed me with open arms.  I really held my own at practice, and even scored a goal when we scrimmaged at the end of practice.  My future roommate, Joe, was was also there for orientation and I am pumped to have met him.  He is from New Orleans and seems like a great guy, and I really think our personalities will mesh well together.  Also, I had a great talk with the new coach and I cannot wait to report to preseason in August.  The coach is really concerned with developing me both as a person and as a player.  He stressed the importance of academics, community involvement, and being a positive leader on and off the field.

Beginning Life as a College Athlete

At EXACT Sports, we work with thousands of current college soccer players as well as high school players that are aspiring to join their ranks.  A common question we get from players is “What is it like joining a college soccer team?”.  As a former scholarship college soccer player with a brother, David, that is now in the same position I was 4 years ago, I thought I’d share some details on both the joy and anxiety he is feeling. Please read the thoughts, feelings, and questions that my brother and the many other high school seniors are feeling as they graduate from high school and move on to the next stage in sports and life.

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I have to admit though I am nervous about meeting the entire soccer for the first time.  Will I have good chemistry with all the players on and off the field?  What if some of the players don’t seem to like me, will I become isolated from the team?  I have been assigned a random roommate who is also a soccer recruit, what if we do not have matching personalities making living with him unbearable?  Not to mention the biggest question of all is whether I will mesh with the new Head Coach that was hired?  The coach who recruited me unexpectedly took a new job, and I am yet to meet the new coach that has been hired.  I have had several great phone conversations with him, so I’m hoping it will be the start of a very successful relationship.  All in all, despite the many unanswered questions I couldn’t be more excited about my college orientation, and stay tuned for hopefully some positive experiences to share with everyone.