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2008

1/31/7

What's the Pirate's Log?

It's a place for opinion. Opinions are like noses. Everybody's got one. Some are long and pointy. Some full of hot air. Some are full of other stuff. I'll tell you my opinion, but feel free to submit yours. If its sufficiently long and pointy or even if it's full of hot air, I'll publish it here. If its full of other stuff, I won't. Be sure to include your name. No anonymous log entries. Submit an entry here.

-- Tom Sinclair

Pirates Log, March 21, 2008 - What About My Team!

Recently someone asked me why their teenager's team wasn't adequately represented on PirateSoccer.com. This person was disappointed that their team was being ignored by PirateSoccer.com. I thought that I would share my reply.

Thank you very much for your feedback to PirateSoccer.com. As the creator and webmaster at PirateSoccer.com, your opinion is important to me. The website is not in any way affiliated with the school, but rather a volunteer project that I started in 2005 when my son Jordan was junior. He has since graduated, but I still enjoy following the Pirates.

This season I have been very fortunate to have many game reports and game photos submitted for use in the website. With two exceptions, all of the reports and all of the photos have been submitted by parents of the players. In fact, if it weren't for the parents, there would be hardly any reports or photos at all.

The first exception is the Fairhope Middle School boys coach (who is also a teacher at FMS) who enjoys writing about his team's exploits and getting his pupils' names in print on the Internet.

The other exception is me. I enjoy writing reports and taking pictures of the Newton School teams. My youngest son, Barret, is an eighth grader there and his girlfriend plays on the girls team. I also enjoy taking pictures at the varsity games when I have a chance to attend.

Each year, on the Future Pirates page, I invite parents and other interested persons to join in. I think if I were a teenager and could see my name or picture in a soccer site like PirateSoccer.com, I would think that was pretty cool. I know that some former players like to log on to PirateSoccer.com and cruise the archives, watching videos of their games from years past.

I guess this is a long way to say that I would welcome any reports or photos you'd like to submit.

Again, thanks for your feedback!

Tom Sinclair

So, if you've been thinking that your team could use better coverage at PirateSoccer.com, then it's time to hop off the couch and join in. As an added benefit this year, all of the PirateSoccer.com sportswriters and photographers will get an all-expense paid cruise to Nassau after the playoffs. You can pick up your tickets from Girls Varsity Coach Steve Morisani after any game. Just tell him Tom sent you! ☺

Pirates Log, March 19, 2008 - Warming up in the Bullpen

If you’ve had the pleasure of attending a Fairhope Middle School or Newton School soccer match lately, you’re probably feeling really good about the future of the Pirate Soccer program. If you missed those games, check out recent game reports on our Future Pirates link. Coaches and parents have written some outstanding articles and taken some great photos. Judging by the web hits on these pages, lots of folks are reading and looking.

The Fairhope Middle School boys’ team is currently 13-1-1 and rolling their way to another Baldwin County championship. The FMS girls aren’t far behind having notched eight wins against local competition. Credit some good coaching from the school, and players who have worked hard in our local recreation league (Fairhope Soccer League) and, of course, local soccer clubs.

The Newton School is playing its last year of middle school sports as next year all Fairhope-area middle school students will attend the new middle school currently under construction behind Fairhope High School. The Newton soccer program is rebounding after a few lean years. The boys have won twice as many games so far this year as all last year and the girls are close at their heals. Again, coaching, local rec league and soccer clubs are contributing factors.

Coaches Morisani and Stroud have been involved with the development of many of these players as coaches with the Blast Soccer Club. They’ve had time to get to know many of these players and their parents. And they’re definitely keeping their eyes on what’s going on in their feeder programs.

The future looks good!

Pirates Log, March 10, 2008

The Pirate's Log has been empty lately, so it's time for an entry.

Friday, March 14th, the Pirates welcome their Eastern Shore rivals, Bayside Academy, for the Fairhope High School Soccer Senior Night. This is a longstanding rivalry going back to the days when Bayside dominated soccer on the Eastern Shore. In recent years the Pirates have evened the score as the FHS soccer program blossomed under the current leadership of Coach Paul Stroud (boys) and Coach Steve Morisani (girls), and Eddie Strachan who coached girls and then boys from 2002 - 2005.

All four teams have benefited by the rise of club soccer mainly from the Blast Soccer Club. The Blast, formerly the Eastern Shore United Futbol Club, was founded by former Bayside Boys Varsity Coach Tom Bierster. Tom retired from the club three years ago and turned it over to a board of directors led by our own Bob Keyser and the current Bayside Boys Varsity Coach Jamie Ferguson. Under Bob & Jamie's leadership, the Blast has introduced hundreds of Baldwin County soccer players to club soccer.

Other nearby clubs have had an impact on our local soccer scene. Across the bay, the Mobile Soccer Club (led by current University of South Alabama coach Mohammed El-Zare) has attracted Eastern Shore players and had a very strong U18 boys team this past fall that featured Pirates seniors David Allen and Josh Ledet. USA recruit and Pirate senior Lauren Marsh played for Pensacola Futbol Club this past fall. Further west Gulf Coast United and New Orleans Soccer Academy have benefited from some of our local players. In past years, players have also played for clubs in Montgomery and Birmingham.

But it always saddened me when I saw talented young players leave our area for a regional club team that purported to offer better coaching, a higher level of play and more college coach visibility for the players. It's not that I didn't want these youngsters to succeed. I do, I hope they are able to play at the very highest level. Rather, I am saddened that they weren't able to find what they needed here closer to home.

This phenomena of the local soccer clubs losing some of their more talented soccer players to regional clubs, or "player erosion" as I call it, can be reversed. I believe that the most outstanding local players will choose to play for local clubs if the local clubs can make as strong an offering as these regional clubs. Facilities are important but not critical. Organization is important and must be done well. A competitive tournament schedule is important, too. But two factors rise above the rest: coaching talent and soccer talent.

I believe that we have quality coaches in our local area that can fit the bill. I have met many local coaches that have played at the college or professional level and/or have significant coaching expertise and experience. Between the Eastern Shore and Mobile there is a wealth of coaching talent.

But the key is soccer talent, talented teammates. Any player who wants to improve his or her skills knows that they have to play with and against the best players. It's not good enough to be the best player on your team. This is not recreation league soccer (no offense intended). If you are the best on your team and you want to continue to improve, it's time to find a better team.

To consistently find enough talented players in each age group, I believe our local clubs will need to make significant changes. Does this mean taking two teams from different clubs and merging them into a combined team of greater skill? Perhaps. It's been tried with limited success. Does this mean a merger of two clubs? This is far more difficult, but may be the better answer.

I urge the powers-to-be in both the Blast and the Mobile Soccer Clubs to set aside personal differences and agendas, and try, together, to answer the question, "What's best for the player?" I believe the answer will be to combine forces, to combine strengths, and to combine resources to make Lower Alabama soccer the best it can be.

I'll step off my soapbox now.

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