NorCal Virtual Sideline

Foundation47 & FC Gold Pride: August 14, 2010

2010-07-27T16:28:00.001-07:00

To purchase tickets or get more information contact Joel Roy (510) 619-9336 or jroy@fcgoldpride.com or visit www.foundation47.com.

From the Welker family:

... Hannah’s spirit lives on in so many ways, from the memories those of us who knew and loved her hold onto, to the foundation that has been established in her memory, and the way in which our local Women’s Professional Soccer league team, the FC Gold Pride, has chosen to honor her memory.

Foundation47 (47 is Hannah’s number) was created to provide scholarship opportunities to those student-athletes desiring to play competitive sports at a higher level who don't have the means to cover the expenses. In order to raise awareness and funds for those in need, the foundation hosts events such as the recent Quicksilver 6v6 tournament, and the On Your Toes Memorial Tournament. To find out more about Foundation47 or its events, please visit the foundation website at www.foundation47.com.

I hope that you’re a fan of the Bay Area FC Gold Pride, our representative in the Women's Professional Soccer League. We’ve been able to catch the team in action, and they are incredibly skilled and entertaining. Oh yeah – they just happen to be the BEST team in the league with the best player in the world, too! Marta, the 4-time FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year, leads the team. Not only do they play an amazing brand of soccer, they’re also focused on outreach to the community, and we’re extremely proud to be connected to the team in this way. In September, the first annual Hannah Welker Spirit of the Game Award will be presented to the Gold Pride player who best exemplifies the spirit of community service.

Now, more about what’s happening on August 14th. We’re asking you to come out and support the FC Gold Pride and Hannah's Foundation47. Help us take over an entire section at the match between the FC Gold Pride and the Washington Freedom. The Gold Pride has set aside a special block of tickets at a very special price – just $19.47 ($25 value). Proceeds from each ticket sold will be donated to Foundation 47. However, in order for proceeds to go to the foundation, tickets MUST be ordered in advance of the game. The sooner we can get friends to order tickets, the sooner the Gold Pride can reserve even more seats for our event.

To order tickets for this event, click here to access a special portal on the Gold Pride website, and enter the password "hannah".

If you're ordering tickets, and don't see the special price of $19.47, make sure you've logged in with the password "hannah". You can also order tickets over the phone by contacting Joel Roy at the FC Gold Pride office. Joel can be reached by phone at 510-619-9336 or by email at jroy@fcgoldpride.com. ...

We would love to see teams do this as a group event, to make this a truly memorable event. Won't you consider promoting this as a group event to your team?

Congratulations MVLA Lightning, u14g National Champions!

2010-07-26T13:26:00.001-07:00

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USYS highlight reel (u14g highlights are up first)

Full game:

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FWR: MVLA Lightning Wins All-Cal-North Final

2010-06-25T16:27:00.001-07:00

u14g

Final: MVLA Lightning 3:0 Mustang Fury

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SF Report:

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MVLA Lightning (CN-F) vs. Arsenal FC (CS-S)

audio stream

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QF Report:

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MVLA Lightning (CN-F) vs. Sparta '96 Premier DB (UT)

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Far West Regionals in New Mexico, u14g day three

2010-06-22T19:25:00.000-07:00

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MVLA Lightning (CN-F) vs. Eastside FC (WA)

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MVLA Lightning (CN-F) vs. Neusport 96 Green (NV)

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MVLA Lightning (CN-F) vs. Colorado Pride Predators (CO)

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and in other news today ;)

Far West Regional u14g Schedule

2010-06-13T11:27:00.001-07:00

100621-27_FWR_u14g_Schedule

rep risk tail

2010-03-04T10:10:00.000-08:00

May 2010

March 2010

CA-N state-wide league proposals

2009-12-11T10:06:00.000-08:00

from NorCal forum

2009 FWRL u14g Fall on g.snap & USTREAM

2009-09-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

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Congrats MVLA Lightning, FWRL Fall 2009 u14g Champions! Go Cal North!

Round 1:

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MVLA vs. Leahi

2009-06-15T16:11:00.001-07:00

CYSA Rules discussion

2009-01-22T11:33:00.000-08:00

Toneib January 22nd, 2009 11:19

Quoted from: MVLA Mom, January 21^st, 2009 23:41

In the Tracy vs. San Juan State Cup Quarterfinal match last year, there were two red cards issued in the game (one to a Tracy player, one to San Juan). Do those red cards carry over to the first round this year? If Tracy has to play Los Gatos without their forward, I think it could make an impact in the result. ...

From the CYSA Website (.pdf, 100k), page 4:

Unserved Suspensions for CYSA Cup Play

It is the team's responsibility to ensure that the individuals who are ineligible to participate due to suspensions from CYSA Cup matches in previous seasons do not participate in any CYSA State Cup matches until their suspension has been served in subsequent CYSA Cup games. CYSA Cup suspensions carry over from one season to the next season and the suspensions earned in CYSA Cup matches may be served only during CYSA Cup matches, Region IV Championships or in the National Championship Series games. NO EXCEPTIONS! Accordingly the individuals included on the CYSA Cup Suspensions to be Served list are NOT eligible to participate in the 2008-2009 CYSA Association Cup until they have served their suspension according to these requirements.

The CYSA Cup Suspensions to be Served list is included in this pamphlet. This list will also be at each credential check-in during CYSA Cup Play. In addition to showing the number of games assessed for each individual’s suspension, the list will include the suspended individual’s name, birth date, the name of team with which they earned their suspension, their CYSA identification number at the time the suspension was earned, and it will show the dates on which games that count toward the serving of the suspension were played.

Toneib January 22nd, 2009 19:49

The suspension list just came out. The Tracy forward has to serve a 2 game suspension (1st game Valley Extreme, 2nd game Los Gatos). The San Juan player has already served one game of her 2 game suspension last year. She will have to sit against Almaden.

view on Scribd

PAC & Mustang SC

2008-12-16T15:34:00.000-08:00

[PAC] did not apply [to the Mustang Winter Turf 2009 tournament] because they have been told that they are banned from future Mustang SC hosted events. Stems from Norcal Cup last December when use of illegal player was found right before semis [see also]. Then [PAC] tried to register same girl at Turf 2 weeks later at check in [see also]. Officials were informed and attended the Turf pool game where it was known by PAC officials so she dressed but did not play...then last pool game PAC coach was RED carded off field during 2nd half for coming on field and arguing a free kick FOR his team in his own defensive end (which in itself was pretty funny), did not leave field in timely manner and walked thru game off so it could not start back up and that was that. They were told not to apply again. So they did not.

2008.12.16 NoCal/Academy Dad

in memoriam

2008-11-21T14:16:00.000-08:00

Jonathan Manzo Chavez

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excerpt from Bay Oaks club email (click to enlarge):

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081116 PAC vs. CABJ

2008-11-17T14:55:00.000-08:00

thread starts here on NorCal ♀95-96 forum

hyperlinks on the norcal forum

2008-08-22T21:51:00.000-07:00

click to enlarge

in memoriam

2008-07-23T11:27:00.000-07:00

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NV Thunder vs. EDYSL United
7.26.2008

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SoCal

2008-07-22T11:26:00.000-07:00

shimpy
July 22^nd, 2008 08:24

hey a friend just shared that our friends in SoCal (so cal soccer forum) ... have linked both threads from [the NorCal forum] (cheating in sports and call to action) for everyone to read down there about this team and the behavior of all involved...if anything should make for some big crowds at the [Surf Cup] games

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2008.01.25 SoCal/Cheating in Northern California thread

2008.01.27 SoCal/Renegade
2008.01.28 SoCal/soccerdad05
2008.01.30 SoCal/Try_and_TackleMe
2008.01.30 SoCal/CalNorthFan

2008.07.23 SoCal/Renegade

2008.07.29 SoCal/Rat Patrol

2008.07.31 SoCal/Renegade

pacPAC

2008-07-02T13:21:00.000-07:00

Click here to enlarge:

pacPAC

ACL

2008-06-07T01:06:00.000-07:00

Quoted from: Cal Rush Dad, June 06th, 2008

Why is the U-13 age group such a magnet for injuries? Is it because the growth spurt generally tends to kick in for females at this age?

There is a recent NY Times Magazine article on this exact topic. Here is the link, but you need to register to view it. Registration is free and easy.

The article mentions the PEP Program (PEP = Prevent injury & Enhance Performance) from the Santa Monica Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Group. "This prevention program consists of a warm-up, stretching, strengthening, plyometrics, and sport specific agilities to address potential deficits in the strength and coordination of the stabilizing muscles around the knee joint."

mv.s (bay oaks)

NorCal Discussion Thread ...

Cheating in Sports

2008-01-31T18:02:00.001-08:00

Dear _____,

I have been following with interest a developing scandal in the local youth soccer world, as chronicled on the NorCal Youth Soccer Community Forum. The discussion thread has been very active, and has spread onto other age groups (and even down to SoCal) [see also].

For your convenience, I have compiled this short summary, with links to a handful of key posts to date. As noted in one recent post on the forum:

Seems like we have the makings of another good media story here...

I actually contacted Ann Killion from the San Jose Mercury News a couple of days ago. I contacted her because I know her [daughter] plays class 1 soccer and she's always seemed to be a friend of soccer in her writing.

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Her comment was, and I want to quote here "Thanks for the email. Interesting strings - oh, the drama of kids' soccer. There is probably a column on cheating in there somewhere."

I had suggested to her a broader article may be able to grow from this on cheating in sports, perhaps a tie in to the whole steroids debate [cf. Dana Stubblefield story, mentioned on the thread here].

Anyway, contact more people in your local media market. See if you can get them to take notice. Give them the links to this thread.

There may not be a story here for some of them, but one might pick it up, and use the investigative power of the fourth estate to look into it...

I have decided to follow this advice. I do not personally know any of the facts; I am merely reporting what I have read on this public forum.

The controversy involves the Under-12 Girls age division of CYSA-North, specifically the PAC United club (PAC = Portuguese Athletic Club), which is affiliated with the Mt. Hamilton Youth Soccer League.

According to numerous accounts in the message thread [example], PAC's coach is reported to have played an ineligible player in their first game of the CYSA-North state cup tournament bracket play on January 19, 2008, 9:00am, in Morgan Hill, CA.

It appears to be beyond doubt that the player in question had been sent off (red-carded) during the championship match of the CYSA District II Cup. Under applicable rules, a red card triggers a mandatory suspension of at least one game. The suspension must be served in the next CYSA-North sanctioned match. The PAC United team, it has been asserted and not contradicted, did not play any CYSA-North sanctioned matches between the District II Cup championship match and the first round of CYSA-North state cup tournament.

So, it is alleged, the player in question should have served her suspension during PAC's opening match in bracket E of the U12G state cup tournament preliminaries on January 19th. Indeed, the club should not even have been in possession of the player's pass, which is necessary to check her into the tournament. Under the rules, the pass should have been kept in the custody of league officials until after the suspension was served.

Somehow the coach came into possession of the player pass and was able to check the player into the state cup tournament. It is unclear how this happened, but this is raising a host of serious questions especially in light of one or more previous incidents in which this same coach apparently fielded ineligible players.

A group of parents & coaches is pursuing formal grievances, and reportedly getting the runaround / brush-off by the authorities. I don't have any independent information by which to evaluate the various speculations and allegations of corruption, mutual back-scratching, etc. But numerous community members, myself included, are very interested to know whether the authorities can explain the apparent facts; or whether they can offer an alternative factual explanation according to which there is nothing rotten going on. There are enough consistent, mutually corroborating (and so-far uncontradicted) accounts to raise at least a strong appearance of impropriety, in my opinion.

An official representing the Portuguese Athletic Club has apparently confirmed that the player in question was in fact shown the red card during the District II Cup championship match, and did in fact play in the team's first-round state cup matches. However, according to the PAC official's account (which is reprinted on the message forum [pt. 1 & pt. 2]):

After the [D2 Cup] game was over, the Coach, Referee, and Tournament Director met. The referee had thought about his decision and the situation in general, and thought that he may have made an error in carding this player. He decided that he would return the player pass to the coach and DID NOT submit a Send Off report. This action was the correct call and was approved by the Tournament Director.

The controversy continues, however, because those facts are directly disputed by others claiming knowledge. Moreover, even crediting the factual account as given by the PAC official, proper protocol appears not to have been followed. So, the account of the PAC official is not sufficient to lay to rest the appearance of impropriety. As noted in a subsequent post:

...FIFA & USSF regulations do not allow a referee to rescind the card after the fact. Once play has restarted the decision is final.

See USSF, Advice To Referees [ATR] on The Laws of The Game [§ 5.13]: "A displayed red or yellow card can be canceled by the referee only if play has not restarted". (emphasis added).

Further, also ATR [§ 5.13]: "The failure of the referee to include in the match report accurately and fully all cards displayed during play is a serious breach of the referee's responsibilities. In addition, the referee may not record cards as shown which have not been shown, although facts of a player's behavior may be recorded in the match report." (emphasis included in original text - something that in the ATR means that this is REALLY, REALLY serious stuff).

Also, having shown the 2nd yellow and red, D2 rules make a 1 game suspension automatic. The tournament director cannot rescind it - only an action by the D2 PAD committee can do so (though the Tournament Director can recommend a longer suspension and enforce it without action by the PAD if the entire term of the longer suspension occurs during his tournament). And a meeting of the PAD requires notice to all affected parties. There is no evidence that such a meeting ever took place.

[The PAC official's] comments, while heartfelt, are not in alignment with CYSA-N rules. Her comments that a referee is free to rescind a send-off issued are just plain wrong.

Finally, an appeal properly filed by another team requires a hearing [see CYSA-N Protest, Appeal & Disciplinary Hearing (PAD) Manual]. Was such a hearing held? There is no evidence that any hearing took place.

Once again, the main discussion thread may be found here.

Sincerely,