Fighting the Common Cold...

After two days of training following the east coast snowstorm, I might be coming down with something..I've made it my vow to not end 2010 with a cold. At the moment I seem to be winning the battle after chugging orange juice filled with vitamin C and chowing down on clam chowder soup. I thought I'd share my findings with others along the east coast and anyone suffering the onset symptoms of a cold or flu. I found some great tips on WebMD. For those suffering a cold/flu, best of wishes in getting better and enjoying a Happy New Year!..



Tips:

• Consume soup or tea
• Drink plenty of fluids
• Moisturize the air
• Breathe in stream
• Soothe your nose
• Gargle
• Get plenty of rest
• Get some help
• Consider medication
• Talk to your Doctor if symptoms proceed

tips courtesy of  R. Morgan Griffin @ WebMD

Agility and control with Carlos Tevez

     This drill is great for enhancing agility (the ability to change directions) and control of the ball. The drill can be performed without the side cones if preferred. Remember to perform this drill after an adequate warm up and prior to your training. This allows for optimal energy to perform the drill and balance..

2010 FIFA World Cup: United

Great video presented by ESPN...The World Cup might be over but we'll always remember, Football(soccer) transcends all barriers and unites others regardless of age, race, and ethnicity.

Professional players give back by coaching others..ussoccer.com all_access video presents the B license coaching course for professional players

Assists of the Week - Sunday 12th December 2010

Wanna be the best...

Goals Girls Glory soccer T-shirt

Score that vital goal, captivate the crowd, and revel in the glory...check it out at objective.com.

added by Jon Dennis  

Viva Futbol Volume- 65

Spice up your day and skills with some viva futbol magic...

Nike Inside the Pro: Javier Mascherano - The Balance

Nike Inside the Pro: Van Der Vaart - Flawless From The Spot

Nike Inside the Pro: Tim Howard - Dream Big

The Story So Far... Christiano Ronaldo

Soccer agility with Marcelo Balboa

How to Make Your Own Agility Ladder | eHow.com

How to Make Your Own Agility Ladder | eHow.com

The end is near..

Picture courtesy of Chinhang So (Temple Club Secretary)

For some, the end has come upon us...the end to our undergraduate college days. I will be entering my last year at Temple University attempting to go out with a bang playing club soccer. Entering the fall, we have a great hardworking squad with about 5-6 guys from the division-1 main team. I'll be hoisting the sails as el president, hoping to establish a powerhouse. It shouldn't be too difficult since there are a ton of quality players here at Temple. We just had a great tryouts turn out for our second year as a club with 60+ players. I have to say..I have a new found respect for all coaches and managers that work behind the scenes of football and soccer clubs. It took about 3 hours of deliberating and some extremely tough decisions were made in order cut the roster down to 35. I'm excited for the season, though I'll be sidelined for a few weeks after getting my ankle stomped on during a summer league game. Our first two games of the season are on the weekend of Sept 18 and 19th and we have high expectations looking to fight our way into nationals in the NIRSA regional tournament.

Golden rule: Keep it simple!

Out of all the lessons, articles, and videos i've seen, I have come up with one golden rule...keep it simple! Yes, the Ronaldinho elastico and Ronaldo quadruple step over are great skills, but they are not often utilized in a game situation. Start with the basic feints, skills, and moves before moving on to the signature tricks. Most professionals utilize the most basic skills that they learned at the youth level. Learning the basic feints and skills will also aide you in performing harder tricks which may be overwhelming at first and will even help you create your own moves. Videos on basic drills can be found at UEFA training grounds.


To enhance your foot control and feel for the ball make sure to juggle and work on your coordination. The power of repetition is very important, so make sure you play and train on your own whenever you can for at least half an hour. Below is a video of a self control drill. I perform this drill 5x with each foot and also have three other variation. 1.) outside of the foot, 2.) cruyf turn, and 3.) control the ball before it touches the ground. I will post videos demonstrating these drills as well as basic skill workouts.

Tevez back in action..Manchester City vs Liverpool

With the Manchester City and Liverpool derby coming up I wanted to show a little teaser of one of my favorite players, who happens to be el capitano on the City side. He goes by the name of Carlos Tevez and displays zealous voracity each time he steps on the pitch. He'll be out to claim the Barclays English Premier League Title after a stellar 2009/2010 season, which produced 29 goals and 7 assists. The match kicks off on Monday Aug. 23rd at 3:00 EST on ESPN2 if you're in the states. You can also watch it live on ESPN3. If you want to watch great soccer, the real football (I wish we'd stop calling it that), then definitely feast your eyes on a glimpse of the EPL. You will not be disappointed. If we're lucky, Tevez will recapture the magic from his brilliant World Cup strike and get his booty shakin early in the EPL season.

Soccer warm up tutorial

Warming up before a practice, matche, pick-up game, or a kick around is critical if you want to reduce your chance of injury and perform at your best. The concept of warming up has been exhausted into most players' heads but few take it seriously. To put all the science simply, our muscles work like silly puddy. When our muscles and tendons are cold they are brittle and break easily. When they are warmed up by running or by performing agilities, they become loose and are easily pliable. This allows them to bend without losing its original form.

I recently had meniscus surgery a year ago and I cannot play without warming up. I made sure to warm up prior to my surgery but now I realize how important it really is. After a warm up I feel incredible and confident. A solid 10-15 minute warm up is key to performing at your very best. Even before my matches we would warm up for almost 30-45 minutes prior to kick off.

If your having trouble finding or remembering exercises, below is video which displays several warm up exercises that you can pick and choose to add into your warm up routine. I performed each exercise once in a 10m distance but you can alter your distance and repetitions. After your warm up, also make sure to get a light stretch.

Why Football (soccer) is slightly more beautiful than American Football

Ok..so with the recent collapse and hospitalization of Minnesota Vikings receiver Percry Harvin, something needs to be said. Year in and year out, players are complaining about head traumas. We only hear about the stars in the headlines but countless players throughout the NFL are suffering from these sort of incidents. Why are we taking pleasure in watching people destroy their lives and enjoy the scenarios where players get absolutely "layed out". I know fans may say it's a part of the game but when the facts and studies are there to prove that the NFL causes several concussions a year, enough is enough. Yes, these players are ripped and modern gladiators but these concussions results in a plethora of detrimental medical conditions in the future.

This may be the reason Americans feel that football (soccer) is not intense enough, but I'd rather see a majority of my favorite players enjoy extensive careers. Many players like Rivaldo, Cafu, and Maldini play into their late 30's to 40s, which is an absolutely BEAUTIFUL thing. An NFL player would be lucky to play until his 30's, unless he is a quarterback and immortal like Brett Farve. American Football is a great game to watch but it needs to be "under further review" to limit its physical and mental repercussions. Yes, concussions do occur in football (soccer) but it is a rarity when compared to American football.

Well I had to get that off my chest..The game for football (soccer) has grown tremendously and I hope it continues. I hope fans enjoy the game not for the high scoring and big hits like American football, but rather for the skill and creativity that go into each and every play.

World Cup 2010 Moments

For those of you suffering from World Cup withdrawal here are a few highlights of the magical moments..

A look back at the 2010 World Cup

Image via Wikipedia

After a full month of nonstop action the World Cup has finally come to a close. Filled with nail biting drama and loads of referee miscues, there was never a dull moment. If you are a United States fan you felt the anxiety and jubilation as the Americans marched to the knock out stages before falling to Ghana for the second consecutive year. They topped the group for the first time since 1930 with the hearts of fans at their feet during the 91st minute stoppage time winner, scored by none other than General Landon Donovan. This was a great step for soccer in the United States and it seems to be heading in the right direction. There is still a lot of work to be done especially in the youth systems. Congratulations to Spain for making history and securing their first ever World Cup trophy in their first final. Lets take a glimpse at some of the glorious moments as we patiently wait for Brazil 2014.

World Cup 2010 Highlights

Introduction

Greetings,

My name is Rich Shively and I'm reppin' the beautiful Northeastern Pocono Area. I am no Shakespeare but I was inspired to start a blog today. When I awoke on this wet Friday morning a bunch of ideas creatively exploded into my mind. Plans to share my soccer/football experience and help kids get outside the house and play the game all culminated into creating this blog.

My creativity first blossomed about a week prior when I decided that my town needed a soccer shop to help promote the game. Although, with my extreme lack of finances and my sister telling me it was a terrible idea I quickly folded. It should also be noted that the only soccer shop in my town closed down about two years ago. This was her main argument. So after reassessing my options I turned to the world's modern oracle, Google. I googled 'how to make money in a recession' and was inspired by an article written by Steve Pavlina entitled, How to Make Lots of Money During a Recession. I learned that in order to really make money you need to not think about making money because MONEY IS NOT everything. As long as you use your creativity and work hard to create or promote something worth having, success will follow. So I decided to take his advice into my own hands by promoting the greatest sport in the world!

The beautiful game.

I will do this by sharing my soccer experience, create videos skills to help aspiring youth train as well as play and delve into my daily journeys through the world of football/soccer. The game has brought nothing but joy into my life and I hope it can do the same for you...