- East Bay Prep Corner
East Bay Boys Soccer Notebook
By Matt Smith
Monday, January 4th, 2010 at 11:41 am in Boys soccer.
If you were to take last year’s final boys soccer standings in the East Bay Athletic League and fast forward to January of 2010 and assess the league race, you probably wouldn’t have thought that California High School would be in the thick of things.
After all, the Grizzlies finished 5-13-5 last year, and 1-10-3 in league.
However, this is a new year, and a very improved Cal team.
The Grizzlies are ranked No. 2 in the Bay Area News Group’s East Bay online soccer rankings, they are 8-0-2 overall and are off to a 2-0-0 start in EBAL play.
“We use a variety of things as motivation each game, including last year’s results,” Cal coach Chris Faidley said. “Game experience is the greatest teacher, but last year was very difficult. Even though we were young and suffered a number of injuries, the season was a humbling experience.”
This year, the Grizzlies have proven to be for real with non-league wins over Pittsburg, Castro Valley and Arroyo, and league wins against two top notch teams in Granada and Amador Valley. With that being said, Cal knows that EBAL play is going to be very tough.
“Each team in the league plays physical, aggressive soccer, so we’ll have to match that energy each game and keep our composure when we inevitably face adversity,” Faidley said. “De La Salle and San Ramon Valley, in particular, are very disciplined defensively and they take advantage of opponent’s mistakes, so we’ll have to be sharp against them.”
Another thing that makes the EBAL more intriguing this year is that the league has finally switched formats, now giving three points for a win (instead of two) and a tie is still one point.
Winning, this year, will be at a premium.
“I don’t think anyone will go undefeated in our league, and I also think there will be a number of ties,” Faidley said. “Which makes the rule change more important. We’ve discussed the importance of winning a game when you have the opportunity to. Because of the rule change, I expect it will take at least 10 or 11 wins to finish on top.”
Cal appears to have a chance to do something special this year and they are doing it without the big named stars that soccer fans are used to seeing in a Grizzly uniform.
Players like Andrew Weideman (likely to be drafted in the upcoming MLS draft) and David Bingham (starting keeper at UC Berkeley) have gone through the program, but this year it is a team effort led by the likes of Elliot Anderson, Guillermo Rivas, Taylor Leidheisel, Andrew Noble and Andre’ Rawls.
With past Cal teams, we’ve relied on terrific individual players,” Faidley said. “One thing I enjoy with this team is that we have a number of solid players. A variety of guys have stepped up and played well this season.”
Rankings
Small changes. Las Lomas cracks the top 15.
1. Richmond (5-0-5)
2. California (8-0-2)
3. De La Salle (4-4-1)
4. Granada (8-2-1)
5. Bishop O’Dowd (6-0-3)
6. San Ramon Valley (6-1-2)
7. Acalanes (8-1-0)
8. Albany (8-0-2)
9. Berkeley (6-2-1)
10. Castro Valley (7-2-2)
11. Dublin (11-2-0)
12. Newark Memorial (11-3-1)
13. Clayton Valley (7-1-2)
14. Amador Valley (3-4-4)
15. Las Lomas (7-3-0)
Others considered: Deer Valley (6-3-1), College Park (4-5-4), Arroyo (5-4-0), Alhambra (6-1-2), Free (5-2-3), Foothill (5-5-1), Ygnacio Valley (5-2-2), Mission San Jose (7-4-1), Liberty (3-4-2), Logan (6-7-1).
League standings
ACCAL
Team Overall League Points
Alameda (2-9-0) 2-0-0 6
Berkeley (6-2-1) 1-0-0 3
El Cerrito (3-4-0) 1-1-0 3
Richmond (5-0-5) 0-0-0 0
Pinole Valley (2-5-1) 0-1-0 0
De Anza (3-7-2) 0-1-0 0
Hercules (0-3-0) 0-2-0 0
BSAL
Team Overall League Points
St. Mary’s (5-3-2) 3-0-1 10
Albany (8-0-2) 2-0-0 6
Piedmont (4-2-1) 2-1-0 6
Kennedy (5-5-0) 2-1-0 6
Swett (2-3-0) 2-2-0 6
Salesian (1-0-1) 1-0-1 4
St. Patrick-St. Vincent (1-2-0) 1-2-0 3
Encinal (0-9-0) 0-4-0 0
St. Joseph-Notre Dame (0-6-0) 0-3-0 0
BVAL
Team Overall League Points
Antioch (2-4-3) 2-0-1 7
Freedom (5-2-3) 1-0-2 5
Deer Valley (6-3-1) 1-1-1 4
Pittsburg (4-6-1) 1-1-1 4
Hertiage (1-4-0) 1-2-0 3
Liberty (3-4-2) 0-2-1 1
DFAL
Team Overall League Points
Alhambra (6-1-2) 3-0-0 9
Dublin (11-2-0) 3-1-0 9
Acalanes (8-1-0) 2-1-0 6
Las Lomas (7-3-0) 2-2-0 6
Dougherty Valley (4-4-0) 1-2-0 3
Campolindo (3-5-3) 0-3-1 1
Miramonte (0-2-1) 0-2-1 1
DVAL
Team Overall League Points
Ygnacio Valley (5-2-2) 1-0-1 4
Concord (1-5-2) 1-0-1 4
Clayton Valley (7-1-2) 1-0-0 3
Northgate (2-7-1) 1-0-0 3
College Park (4-5-4) 0-0-2 2
Mt. Diablo (0-2-0) 0-2-0 0
Berean Christian (1-9-1) 0-2-0 0
EBAL
Team Overall League Points
California (8-0-2) 2-0-0 6
De La Salle (4-4-1) 1-0-1 4
San Ramon Valley (6-1-2) 1-0-1 4
Livermore (2-3-0) 1-1-0 3
Monte Vista (2-4-5) 0-0-2 2
Foothill (5-5-1) 0-1-1 1
Amador Valley (3-4-4) 0-1-1 1
Granada (8-2-1) 0-2-0 0
HAAL
Team Overall League Points
Arroyo (5-4-0) 3-1-0 9
Castro Valley (7-2-2) 2-0-1 7
Hayward (5-4-0) 2-2-0 6
Bishop O’Dowd (6-0-3) 1-0-2 5
San Lorenzo (3-3-1) 1-1-1 4
Mt. Eden (5-5-0) 1-1-0 3
San Leandro (2-5-3) 0-3-1 1
Tennyson (0-2-1) 0-1-1 1
Moreau Catholic (1-3-0) 0-1-0 0
MVAL
Team Overall League Points
Newark Memorial (11-3-1) 3-0-0 9
Logan (6-7-1) 3-0-0 9
Mission San Jose (7-4-1) 3-1-0 9
Washington (1-7-2) 1-2-1 4
Kennedy (1-3-1) 1-2-1 4
Irvington (2-7-2) 0-3-0 0
American (0-5-0) 0-3-0 0
Statistics
Here is the list of the players in the East Bay who are top ten in goals and assists.
Goals
Fuentes, Newark 10
Weir, Dublin 10
Borges, Albany 10
Thornton, Castro Valley 9
Villagran, Newark 9
Romero, YV 8
Chen, Las Lomas 8
Hoster, Dublin 8
Anderson, Cal 7
Rietz, BOD 7
C. Gonzalez, San Lorenzo 7
Assists
Borges, Albany 8
Gomez, Clayton 8
Swafford, BOD 7
Montes, Richmond 7
Arzate, Newark 7
Weir, Dublin 7
Hoster, Dublin 7
Lopez, YV 6
Shiluck, Castro Valley 6
Tieku, EC 5
Chen, Las Lomas 5
Fuentes, Newark 5
C. Gonzalez, San Lorenzo 5
For questions, comments, to report scores, update standings or statistics, please email Matt Smith at mhsmith78@gmail.com.
[You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.]
January 4th, 2010 at 7:30 pm
I just don’t understand how you can put a team like Albany, who has played 2 ranked or mentioned teams, ahead of a team like Castro Valley, who has played 10 ranked or mentioned teams… Strength of schedule has to play a greater role
January 4th, 2010 at 8:00 pm
Don’t hate on Albany they just didn’t beat ygnacio valley they murdered them with ease
and they don’t have a bad team they can compete with other good schools also they have borges with the the top goal scoreres and assist they also have kharada the Persian in the middle controls alot of the game in the middle.so you guys should check this team out
January 4th, 2010 at 8:51 pm
Albany tied O’dowd, who is always strong. They have many returning seniors, and Borges, who consistently converts and creates chances.
To “The Man”- Albany’s strong midfielder is named Khorashadi, Peeja.
January 4th, 2010 at 9:35 pm
Albany does have a good team. Borges is a great player. You guys did beat us pretty bad but we did only have 13 players at this game with most of our players out of town. We had to bring 2 jv players just to have subs… We would of been able to keep the game closer with our full team. You guys do have a good team tho not trying to take any credit away… I believe they should be ranked even higher then 8th!
January 5th, 2010 at 7:52 am
The Man,
don’t pay any attention to the CV folks. Around the HAAL, we all know just how much they like to whine about everything.
January 5th, 2010 at 9:27 am
So some people think I should have Albany ranked higher and some think I should have them ranked lower. So I can’t be completely wrong, so that’s good.
With that said, Albany is a good team and I had to show them some love. 6-1 over a very good YV team, they pummeled Piedmont 6-0 and they tied O’Dowd 1-1. The same O’Dowd team that tied Castro Valley 1-1. I’d have to say those two teams are pretty even as of right now.
January 5th, 2010 at 11:09 am
Nice to see AV back in the top 15, and I stand by my comment that they are a better team than both their record and ranking indicate. They will need to put some wins together however to gain altitude in the rankings, and nearly did so against Richmond last Saturday. Credit Richmond for executing one of the best set pieces I have ever witnessed to draw even late in the game and pull out a tie. As AV continues to mend – sadly they lost a mainstay in the midfield to a season ending injury against Newark on Wednesday – and blend – the newer faces are beginning to jell – they will be very competitive in EBAL.
BTW, Richmond is a well coached team filled with good players. Some are perhaps a bit young – too many 30+ yd shots (long turnovers) against AV – but they hold their shape, press the attack, and defend well. And they got a goal when they needed it. But I am not convinced they have earned the top spot. My vote would have to go to Granada at this point – thay have been the toughest opponent for AV so far this season – though I have yet to see SRV or DLS play.
January 5th, 2010 at 2:37 pm
Thank you for correcting me on the name but he Mr Khorashadi, Peeja. is very good
and thank you for showing some love to Albany by the way that O Dowd game was Mr Khorashadi’s first game back e had an injury and surprisingly he did very well. You guys should check them out more.To the YV guy yu guys had very good players i imagine if you had more starting players it would of been a closer game.
January 5th, 2010 at 4:47 pm
Congrats to College Park for beating Monte Vista and SRV, but two spankings from Granada (4-0) and Acalanes (3-0) and a tie against CONCORD (1-1)?!?! in recent games tells me they are just a mediocre team with a few lucky games.
January 5th, 2010 at 6:42 pm
Albany sounds to me like they have some great talent and potential. However, a tie against a good team in BOD (first game of their season) and a spanking of what sounds like a crippled YV team maybe shouldn’t be enough to put them so high up? I haven’t seen them play myself, but it seems to me they have more to prove before they can achieve unanimous respect.
Also, saying two teams are even based on a similar score against a common opponent is not reasonable. For example, Richmond came from behind to tie AV 1-1 and Richmond destroyed CV 6-1. But CV easily handled AV 3-0?
January 5th, 2010 at 9:01 pm
Not so, Zona. CV did not easily handle AV but was the beneficiary of two absurd calls that gave them, and I do mean “gift” in every sense of the word, two penalty kicks. A good bit of acting by CV sold the calls. Otherwise, they converted only on a set piece. AV on the other hand did not convert their opportunities. The numbers never tell the real story. But maybe that’s your point?
January 5th, 2010 at 9:09 pm
I agree that the numbers don’t always tell the story, and you can’t usually use the transitive property, but I wasn’t comparing a bunch of teams, rather what a pair of teams did against a common opponent. I think that’s a perfectly good tool for analyzing two teams.
Also, I saw Richmond beat Berkeley tonight 3-0. Leonardo Montes is a special player.
I’ll get my first look at Albany tomorrow.
January 5th, 2010 at 9:13 pm
Just got home from Danville. I watched Monte Vista get pummeled by Granada 5-2. I guess keeping Monte Vista out of the rankings is justified.
January 5th, 2010 at 9:18 pm
Señor Says:
January 5th, 2010 at 4:47 pm
Congrats to College Park for beating Monte Vista and SRV, but two spankings from Granada (4-0) and Acalanes (3-0) and a tie against CONCORD (1-1)?!?! in recent games tells me they are just a mediocre team with a few lucky games.
You hit the nail on the head with this one…
January 5th, 2010 at 9:25 pm
AV 0, SRV 0 – Dons surprise another team, chalk up another tie. During holidays against Newark, AV lost Captain Nick Holke for season w/ broken leg, so holding Richmond and SRV to ties is amazing.
Guess all the good Mustang players are at SRV this year, not MV
January 5th, 2010 at 9:34 pm
Any other score updates?
January 5th, 2010 at 9:35 pm
DLS 2 VS LHS
January 5th, 2010 at 9:36 pm
DLS 2 vs LHS 0
January 5th, 2010 at 9:42 pm
De Anza 1, Alameda 1
Deer Valley 1, Pitt 0
College Park 1, Northgate 0
Concord 1, Berean Chr. 0
January 5th, 2010 at 9:57 pm
Heard Foothill tied or beat Cal tonite – anyone out there who can confirm?
January 5th, 2010 at 10:03 pm
I heard that they tied and that was from a FHS player
January 5th, 2010 at 10:14 pm
Here are all the scores that have been reported as of right now. And yes, Foothill did tie Cal. 1-1.
Richmond 3, Berkeley 0
El Cerrito 5, Hercules 1
BVAL
Freedom 1, Antioch 0
Deer Valley 1, Pittsburg 0
DVAL
College Park 1, Northgate 0
Clayton Valley 3, Ygnacio Valley 2
EBAL
San Ramon Valley 0, Amador Valley 0
De La Salle 2, Livermore 0
Granada 5, Monte Vista 2
California 1, Foothill 1
HAAL
Bishop O’Dowd 3, Mt. Eden 0
January 5th, 2010 at 10:36 pm
Cal tied Foothill at 1. Cal dominated the game having at least 20 shots but it was just one of those days where the ball doesn’t go in for them. Plus Foothills keeper played a very solid game. The player on Cal that keeps impressing is #10. He is one of the top players in this league.
January 6th, 2010 at 12:22 am
Foothill’s not bad. Go Chuck, Go!
January 6th, 2010 at 1:04 pm
Where can you go to see standings for EBAL soccer? I can’t seem to find any. Any websites?
Richmond taking it to Berkeley. They are for real I suppose.
January 6th, 2010 at 1:10 pm
Matt Smith,
I agree completely that common opponents is probably the best way to compare two teams that haven’t played eachother. However, when two teams only have one common opponent, it is not accurate to only analyze those teams based on their performances in one game. When teams have more than one common opponent I find that the results become much more accurate.
January 6th, 2010 at 2:38 pm
Granada’s Offense kicks butt. 48 goals for in 12 games. They have only been shut out once (DeLaSalle). Defensively (12 Goals against) it will be better when they get their starting goalie back. Everyone keeps talking about Guillermo Rivas (#10) from Cal. But the kid to watch is Garrett Foster from Granada (#6). He IS the real Deal. First Team All League for sure. Last night he scored 3 QUALITY goals against Monte Vista.
January 6th, 2010 at 5:40 pm
Nothing against Granada; they are a high quality team. However, they scored:
7 goals against Leadership Hayward (?)
8 goals against Alameda
4 goals against Pinole
So that is 19 goals out of their 48 against teams which are not doing
very well so far. Leaving 29 goals against good teams, for 12 games
played. That is still quite respectable, but I assume, closer to the section
average.
January 6th, 2010 at 6:17 pm
Yea Bernie how good is Monte Vista this year. Foster will be First Team All League but so should Rivas. As I been informed they both play on the same club team as well.
January 6th, 2010 at 7:58 pm
Cokito- Don’t forget the 6-0 beat down they gave Honorable mention Mission San Jose, or the 2 goals(25% of all given this year) scored against a very stingy Cal defense. Hey The 8 spot is huge against Alameda no doubt, but look what Newark (ranked # 12) did only 2-0. Foothill (honorable mention) Only 1-0. Cal (ranked # 2) 3-1. Dublin (ranked # 11)1-0.
Those are all fine teams. Why didn’t they put up at least 4 or 5.
I’ll give you the Leadership 7-0 and even Pinole 4-0. That still leaves 37 goals for 10 games. That’s well over 3 goals a game. Even without the 8-0, it’s still 29 goals as you said but in only 9 games still hovering above 3 per game. Cal High (ranked #2 in EBAL in scoring) sits on 22 goals in 11 games or 2 goals per game. The rest of the EBAL averaging a goal to 1.5 per game.
So, by my calculations Granada more than doubles EBAL teams in scoring average. No where near league average. Wouldn’t you say.
January 6th, 2010 at 8:01 pm
Hey,
I just had to weigh in and let you know I watched Albany play today. I just have to say that they are legit. Sure, they haven’t played the schedule the 3A teams, but talent is talent and they obviously have it. You don’t beat both of the top contenders in your league 6-0 if you aren’t good. They are deserving of their ranking, and I would be surprised if they lost a BSAL game this year. Very, very surprised.
January 6th, 2010 at 8:04 pm
Cokito- Don’t forget the 6-0 beat down they gave Honorable mention Mission San Jose, or the 2 goals(25% of all given this year) scored against a very stingy Cal defense. Hey The 8 spot is huge against Alameda no doubt, but look what Newark (ranked # 12) did only 2-0. Foothill (honorable mention) Only 1-0. Cal (ranked # 2) 3-1. Dublin (ranked # 11)1-0.
Those are all fine teams. Why didn’t they put up at least 4 or 5.
I’ll give you the Leadership 7-0 and even Pinole 4-0. That still leaves 37 goals for 10 games. That’s well over 3 goals a game. Even without the 8-0, it’s still 29 goals as you said but in only 9 games still hovering above 3 per game. Cal High (ranked #2 in EBAL in scoring) sits on 22 goals in 11 games or 2 goals per game. The rest of the EBAL is averaging a goal to 1.5 or less per game.
So, by my calculations Granada more than doubles EBAL teams in scoring average. No where near league average. Wouldn’t you say.
January 6th, 2010 at 8:12 pm
EBAL Fan, I can only report on what I saw. Monte Vista looked very ordinary. No real threat up top. Defensively they struggle against speed. So-So skills, with only average size. Obviously, they will struggle this year. Both of their goals against Granada were from cornerkicks that the Granada keeper failed to gather. One went in from the actual corner kick taken. It went right thru his hands and in the far side netting. The other was a nice header by the MV player.
January 6th, 2010 at 10:50 pm
Bernie, I am not sure what the EBAL scoring average is, but I am sure we understand each other’s point.
January 7th, 2010 at 3:00 am
My son played with Rivas and Foster a few years back. Foster brings intensity and relentless attack up front, while Rivas brings and over all smart and very skilled knowledge of the game. Good defenses might be able to key and control Foster but I’m not sure about Rivas. As mentioned by someone a few weeks ago, EBAL is very competitive and has no 3-0 teams after 3 games in to prove that point. Granada has a solid team but their goal average will decrease as they get further into league. As for CAL, It will be fun to see how they fair against GHS/DLS/SRV. By the way, both of the mentioned players are great young men too.
January 7th, 2010 at 10:47 am
Foothill’s keeper is simply one of the best at his position. I have seen him play many times (in club) and he is superb. He makes a huge difference and, not surprisingly, helped foothill earn a tie against Cal on Tuesday. Well done!
January 7th, 2010 at 1:02 pm
Hey OOP, no question, Foothill’s keeper superb. With a little luck Foothill team should be in every game. Too bad about Amador’s Holke, he was as solid in the MF as you’ll find.
January 8th, 2010 at 9:39 pm
Any Scores to report from tonights games
January 8th, 2010 at 9:43 pm
Cal high 4-0 win vs Monte Vista I think.
Livermore and Amador 2-2- tie
Dublin 4-0 win vs Alhambra
January 8th, 2010 at 9:48 pm
Dougherty vs Las Lomas 1-1 tie
January 8th, 2010 at 10:33 pm
Granada 1-1 San Ramon
January 8th, 2010 at 10:36 pm
Las Lomas played a man down for 50 minutes because of a red card. I would say that Las Lomas out played DV in spite of being a man short but I think DV is a better side than Acalanes or Alhambra from a skill and tactical perspective.
January 8th, 2010 at 11:25 pm
Scores from CCT
Cal 5 MV 0 – How the mighty have fallen…
Livermore & Amador – Zero Zero. Amador terribly inconsistent.
DLS 3 Foothill 2 – DLS marching on to their own, unique beat.
SRV 1 – Granada 1 – SRV stays unbeaten in EBAL.
Scoreboard is back in action. Stay tuned for comments and insight!
Buenas noches!
January 8th, 2010 at 11:34 pm
SRV stays is unbeaten but they might want to start collecting wins at this point. Especially with ties only being worth 1 pt and wins worth 3 pts. A big first round EBAL match next week with SRV playing CHS.
January 10th, 2010 at 5:24 pm
Bambam does your son still play somewhere?
I have seen SRV play this year against DLS they are probably one of the dirtiest teams I have ever seen play. #9 on their team is the dirtiest player. Should be an interesting intense match with against Cal.
January 10th, 2010 at 9:07 pm
Let me first start by saying that the game was very physical for both teams with playoff history against each other. #9 did do something that was bad judgement on his behalf and paid the price for it by sitting out the last 12 minutes of the game. They are a good team as so I believe DLS to be good. My son has played with some of the players from that team in the past and respects them. The game against CAL & SRV could do in SRV more so than CAL. If SRV was to lose or tie then they would probably be behind DLS or CAL more 2 games in the standings. By the time that CAL & DLS square off then it could be even more games back. That is why I was referring to Scoreboards comments about SRV staying unbeaten. 3 ties is like 1 win and 2 losses this year.
January 11th, 2010 at 7:28 am
AV incredibly “consistent” in terms of injury, of which there have been plenty this season. As of Saturday, the roster had two players on crutches, one of which is lost for the season, and a third still sidelined from a nagging injury.
But I agree with the sentiment as it seems AV just can’t maintain any degree of consistency during the game. They had Livermore on the ropes early and often, and then only managed a tie after squandering two leads, 1-0 and 2-1. Three ties in league may earn three points, but it only gets harder this week on the road at DLS and Granada. Unless AV does something quick to shore up their play, it might prove to be a long week for them.
January 12th, 2010 at 10:14 am
Interesting that someone can judge goalies from GHS and want starting goalie back, when he has only played one Season game and injured himself in the play. I think the other two goalies are very good and the person who is making the comments is only trying to build up the starting goalie. All three goalies are very good and we should be building up all players and not trying to knock them down.
January 23rd, 2010 at 10:19 pm
Attended the Richmond vs, DLS game today as a neutral observer.Witnessed what could be a ‘coming of age ‘ game for the DLS defense. Throughout the game, it appeared that Richmond played with at least 14 players on the field. They were everywhere!However, as we all know in sports, DEFENSE is what wins games!!! The DLS defense was nothing short of spectacular, stopping everything that the Richmond Oilers threw at them. And I mean EVERYTHING. Richmond’s offense moved the ball with ease, but when it came time to find the back of the net… NO DICE. The DLS defense swarmed to the ball on defense. They almost reminded me of the defense the the World Cup Italian team had in Germany.
Bending but not breaking. Could they possibly be peaking with just five games to go before the play-offs ?
January 23rd, 2010 at 10:33 pm
…oh yeah. The score. Richmond 0 – DLS 1.
January 26th, 2010 at 10:03 pm
Got to hand it to the Granada Boys varsity soccer. They brought it tonight. DLS looked very ‘flat’.Had their chances (not many though). It appeared Granada did to DLS what DLS did to Richmond. Granada 1 – DLS 0.
February 2nd, 2010 at 11:26 pm
Granada Boys soccer mediocre coaches enough said
February 3rd, 2010 at 11:23 pm
Well wasn’t this an interesting evening. Dublin lost to Las Lomas for the second time. Just an observation, but I think Dublin may be in trouble if they don’t pull their coaching heads out of the sand. This was the second worst coached game I have ever watched. Second only to the Campo game Dublin played earlier this season. As an interesting side note, Dublin has not won a game since the coach (with an already deep bench of highly qualified players that never see daylight), decided to bring up two under classmen to play on the varsity team. Both players are nice kids buy not ready for varsity which was clearly evident this evening. As I said the team hasn’t won a game since they were brought up and played ahead of Players that have been on the team and paid their dues all season. As a matter of fact I would say the teams moral appears to be at an all time low. But I guess when you Dad is either the President of the local soccer league, or the coach of your previous JV team, then that warrants a line pass regardless of your skill set. To heck with the Juniors and Seniors on the team that have practiced hard all year, paid their dues, and warmed that bench patiently waiting for their chance to play….ahhhhh the rewards of politics. Well played my friends, well played…..