Dues for indoor

Dues for indoor come to $80 per person.

Please make a paypal payment to pdi.usa@gmail.com. If you can't use paypal, you can bring a check to the first game. I don't want to mess around with dues this winter - let's pay up front and quickly please.

As usual, you have an open invitation to look at the team's books if you want to know what you're paying for. I do my best to keep costs down.

We're in

The league administrator over at VCSRA has confirmed to me that the Goleros are in for Wednesday night indoor soccer. 

The season will begin this week, but they're only playing a few games.  We kick off next week.  With our roster mostly set, stay tuned for details on dues, location, and more.    

Get ready!

POTD

Here are some interesting photos.  On the right, you have a pair of coyotes that I saw in Rocky Mountain National Park in December.  The quality of the shot isn't great, because it's a little point and shoot taken from about 120 yards.  But not bad considering.  On the left you've got an elk at close range, enjoying the salt laid down on the road.  This has nothing to do with soccer.  Hope you like them. 

CCSL wants you!

Our outdoor league is looking to fill some key positions for this upcoming year.  If anyone on the team is interested, you'd have our full support.

Calling all Soccer Loving Volunteers!!

Posted by: "Sanjay Nayar" snayar@yahoo.com   snayar

Thu Jan 24, 2008 12:50 pm (PST)

Are you looking for a volunteer opportunity? Want to become more involved with the league without becoming a referee? Well here's your chance. Your nonprofit co-ed league, Capital Coed Soccer League (CCSL), is looking for a few good men/women to help us fill some vital seats on our Executive Board. Current vacant positions include Registrar, Recording Secretary and Social Chair. For the specifics on what each role entails, read on. 

Registrar. The Registrar is responsible for collecting player registration information. This involves emailing captains to remind them to submit their team roster information. Once received, they will review these documents for completeness and accuracy, and then organize and submit the data into the format established by the State Association (MDCVSA). Benefits include honing your Microsoft Excel spreadsheet skills and networking with all the captains and their teammates who will be emailing you with updates the week of the roster deadline. 

Recording Secretary. The Recording Secretary is responsible for attending and taking notes at Executive Board and Captains meetings. You will also publish your meeting minutes (notes) in a timely fashion (i.e., within 30 days from the meeting date). Benefits include being able to say you've been published and having a firm grasp on all CCSL-related news. 

Social Committee Chair. The Social Committee Chair organizes league sponsored social events for the league. These events include group outings and tailgates at D.C. United games, happy hours at local watering holes, and any other good idea that the Chair would like to organize. The Chair is responsible for organizing a committee of two or more people who will assist them in their endeavors. Benefits include the opportunity to develop one¢s marketing, management, and procurement skills, direct interaction with CCSL¢s D.C. United ticket representative, operating a large grill and making burgers for more than 10 folks at a time, and hooking up your bartender buddy by hosting a happy hour at his/her establishment! 

As mentioned above, all of these positions are unpaid. However, these are great positions with which to color and add depth to a resume. Even more, they are essential to continuing CCSL¢s long-tradition of providing the best coed soccer experience in the Washington area!

If any of the above positions are of interest to you, please email me back atsnayar@yahoo.com and I can give you more info.

Thanks!

Sanjay
CCSL Commissioner

500th game

The U.S. Men play Sweden this Saturday night at the Home Depot Center in LA. It will be the national team's 500th game. You can see it at 8:30 p.m. EST on Fox Soccer Channel.

This is an important exercise for Sweden, which is preparing for the Euro 2008 in June. They are drawn into a difficult group with past champion Greece, Spain, and Russia.

Personally, I like friendlies because you get to see a lot of players and watch the team develop. I don't have a clue who will start. We have a mostly domestic-based crowd in training camp, with the exception of a few Scandanavia-based players who have a break in league play. Lots of youngsters. If you want local connections, focus on the new likely starting GK for DC United, Zach Wells. Also, you have Jeremiah White, who was written up in the WP this week as a kid with DC roots who went to the far reaches of Europe to develop. He's getting his first national team look this month.

Goalkeepers (4): Steve Cronin (Los Angeles Galaxy), Brad Guzan
(Chivas USA), Will Hesmer (Columbus Crew), Zach Wells (D.C. United)

Defenders (9): Dan Califf (Aalborg BK), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas
City Wizards), Ramiro Corrales (SK Brann), Todd Dunivant (Toronto FC), Clarence
Goodson (San Jose Earthquakes), Drew Moor (FC Dallas), Michael Parkhurst (New
England Revolution), Eddie Robinson (Houston Dynamo), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC)

Midfielders (7): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Ricardo
Clark (Houston Dynamo), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC),
Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Justin Mapp (Chicago Fire), Pat Noonan (New England
Revolution)

Forwards (6): Josmer Altidore (New York Red Bulls), Landon
Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Eddie Johnson (Kansas Cit y Wizards), Chris Rolfe
(Chicago Fire), Taylor Twellman (New England Revolution), Jeremiah White (AGF
Aarhus)

Indoor update

Things continue to look good for our indoor season. The league commissioner sent the following simple note to me:

"I am not totally sure yet, but I think one spot will become available for your
team."

Other news: we have enough people. It wouldn't hurt to add a few women. Alfonso appears to have gotten us a goalie (man) - haven't heard from him yet. Jenny mentioned that she may have a keeper as well (woman). Honestly, we can probably use them both, assuming they can play in the field as well.

Stay tuned!

Luna needs a new home

My neighbors are trying to find a good home for their sweet little Luna. Are you interested? See the message below.

As some of you may have heard, we are sadly looking for a new home for our
7-year-old cat, Luna (pictures attached). If you or someone you know may be able to provide a permanent home for Luna, please keep
reading.

We adopted Luna when she was a kitten and she is a very social and loving cat (she greets us at the door every night when we come home!). All her shots are up-to-date and she has no major health issues. Luna is not de-clawed, but uses her scratch post well (we haven’t had any issues with her clawing our furniture or carpet). Until 2 years ago, she lived happily alongside MacGyver, our male cat that died in 2004. Basically, she’s a great cat that unfortunately has not adapted well to our baby girl (who is prone to startling Luna with unpredictable movements and noises).

On two separate occasions, while we were present, our daughter startled Luna while playing with her, which resulted in Luna scratching her on the face. While we hear cat-baby dynamics can improve once the baby is older and understands how to interact better with animals (and
Luna has never shown aggression toward anyone else), we’re concerned about Gaby getting hurt in the interim. While Luna may be fine around other babies, we think she would do best in a household without children OR with children who are old enough to understand how to interact with animals (2 yrs and older).

FYI - Our neighbor “fostered” Luna for a week so we could see how she would do around another cat and older children. While our neighbor isn't able to adopt another cat right now, Luna got along well with our neighbor’s (male) cat, was affectionate to their pre-teen son, and integrated
well overall into their household.

We are happy to include a care kit that includes Luna’s litter box, cat carrier, food, toys, scratch post, Feliway (cat pheromone spray that is supposed to help cats relax during transitions and stress), and other “essentials” to ease the transition to a new home. We also will provide her vet records to assist with future care. Lastly, we will provide documentation for Luna’s pet insurance which covers emergency-related medical costs – the current policy runs through Dec 2008 and is renewable.

This has been a difficult decision and we are really trying to avoid taking Luna to a shelter if
possible. Please forward this message to anyone who may be interested and contact us if you’d like to learn more about Luna or wish to meet her.

Thanks for your help,
Anne and John
annedibble@yahoo.com

POTD

In 2003, I had a layover in Frankfurt on my way home from Cape Town.  Guess who lives in the Frankfurt area?  Anne, our star former fullback.  We had lunch at the airport.  

Anne came to us on a player loan from Germany.  Actually, she just played for us during her one-year stint in Rockville as an au pair.  At that time, we were an emerging side finally getting a few wins under our belt.  Anne excelled at tackles and helped us become respectable.  

When she returned to Germany, she went to University to study languages and international affairs.  What did she get her degree in?  What is she doing now?  Where is she living?  I wonder.  I'll try to get her to comment here.  Anne, best wishes and Happy New Year!

Outdoor starts March 30th

The CCSL Commissioner has notified captains that the Spring '08 season will start on Sunday March 30th.  Although I will save the speech until later, we are going to attack the 3rd Division this season in order to make up for lost time.  I will know more about dues, schedules, and new rules following the Captains' Meeting in early March.  Stay tuned!

We are registered for indoor - now we wait

Well, we're registered for indoor.  It's not certain that there is space for us to play, so we're still in a holding pattern.  But I would say it's a good chance.  

Schedule starts Wednesday, Jan. 30th. Game are Wednesdays, 50 minutes in length, beginning at 8, 9, 10, or 11:00 p.m.

The field is a nice, relatively large indoor artificial surface for 8 x 8.  I'm guessing it's 5 guys, 3 ladies.  The field looks a lot like the one pictured above.  No walls - regular lined fields.  Decent size goals.  No offsides.  It used to be an equestrian arena so there's no climate control.  Although there's no wind, strangely it sometimes seem colder inside than it does outside.  Beware.

Costs will be about $77 per person.  It will be due at the first game. I'll let you know the amount over email.

We've got a good crew, drawn from lots of places.  We have a base of Goleros, and some folks from other teams and places to round us out.

Roster:

Men (9): Pete, Nate, Jer, Alfonso, Max, Tim, + 3 friends of Alfonso

Women (6): Jackie, Ally, Katya, Kate, Heather, Jen from Far Post

We still need about 2 women and a Goalie.

Pick up is in the works for Sunday

Jon is organizing another pick up  game tomorrow (Sunday Jan. 6th).  Right now, we're looking at 1:00 p.m. at Gunston Middle School in Arlington.  Plans may change depending on field availability or weather (showers are possible in the morning).  Get in touch with us via cell phone if you're in.

Indoor update

The ship is still afloat. So far, our roster is Pete, Jer, Nate, Kate, Ally, Jackie, Katya, hopefully Heather, and Adrian as a sub. We need at least15 players (6 women, 9 men). We need some more forwards, a few more women, and a full-time keeper if possible. I'm reaching out to Far Post and Tsunami, hopefully they would be willing to contribute a few players.

The next decision is whether to send in a non-refundable deposit.

New website

I just launched a new website for sharing photos. Check it out. Sometime, I may post a bunch of Goleros photos. This blog only allows selective photo sharing.

http://web.mac.com/irvines