Soccer Nirvana

We got a call about 3 weeks ago from the coach of a nationally ranked soccer team (under 17 girls) wanting to know if my kid would like to go to LA with them to the Inaugural Women's Nike Friendlies. Well, that took about 1/2 a second to decide.

I put her on a plane yesterday early, she hooked up with some folks in Dallas, and then on to LA.

It's 20+ of the nation's top teams in 3 age groups and they each play 3 friendlies - no trophy, no standing. But, there's a boat load of college coaches scouting for potential recruits, which is the purpose for the event. (they've done the same thing for boys for 10-12 years now, in Florida).

Those of you who follow Women's soccer know that the US Women's National Team is playing Chinese Taipei (formerly Taiwan?) Sunday afternoon at the Home Depot Center in LA. I just received a text from daughter about an hour ago that said they are playing (1st game) right next to the WNT practice, and that she just saw (Brianna) Scurry in the restroom.

Needless to say, I'm pretty damn proud of her.

Keep ya'll's fingers crossed that she shows well!

That is great news, Ted. You should be proud. Hell, for any kid to be good enough at anything to get a potential ride through college is fantastic.

With the way the sport is finally exploding in this country, who knows what the possibilities are for her? Endless.

Congrats:smiley20:

Thats awesome! Congrats to you and her.

I actually got to see the womens world cup back in 98 at the Rosebowl when Brandy Chastain ripped off her jersey after scoring the winning shoot out goal. One of the best sporting events ive ever seen live.

That sounds great man. If nothing else comes from this experience she'll at least remember this for the rest of her life. However, the way you describe it, it sounds like she's got a lot of talent and I'm sure it will open some doors for her. I played soccer through high school. It's a lot harder than people give it credit for. It's even harder(due to the lack of popularity at least when I played) to make a name for yourself and standout. Hopefully she'll get noticed and you'll be getting some recruiting calls as a result. I'm sure you're grinning ear to ear with little butterflies in your stomach. Congratulations to you both. :smiley32:

Congrats and pass on good luck to her from us. It is a big moment for her, and I am sure you and her have been prepared for this a while.

I just bought my son his first ball the other day, and he loves it. Now after some time working with him, I am going to get him to a team here in Edmond. Thanks for the heads up on their soccer programs from you...:smiley20:

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Originally Posted by Locard

Congrats and pass on good luck to her from us. It is a big moment for her, and I am sure you and her have been prepared for this a while.

I just bought my son his first ball the other day, and he loves it. Now after some time working with him, I am going to get him to a team here in Edmond. Thanks for the heads up on their soccer programs from you...:smiley20:

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Interestingly, her team had a rematch with ESC Black at this year's Labor Day tournament in Plano. What a game. We lost, 1-0, but holy crap they played hard. Same tournament, we played a team from Hurricane Futbol Club out of Broken Arrow - 7 time State Cup champs. Played them to 1-1 in reg, then lost in 2 10-minute OT's, 3-2. Great team. Even though this club is closer to Tulsa, I noticed some of the kids on this roster live in Edmond, OK City, etc. Another one to consider. These are girls' teams, but I looked at the boys' side on their websites and see that they do very well also.

That's great that you're getting your kid to play - it's a great game that I enjoy watching more than anything else now (even played a little indoor).