What a game

As reported earlier on this site, George and Carlos went to London last weekend to watch a Premiership fixture.  Turns out they saw one of the best games of the season.  Fulham surprised first place Man U with a 2-0 win at Craven Cottage.

Look at those photos.  It must have been awesome.  I heard that Dempsey was a factor in the game.  Ronaldo - not so sure.  The guy's got skills and a whole lot of ego.

And now, a news flash.  It's time to welcome George back to the team.  He's going to play in net to help us out - and to reprise old times!  Losing Alec for the season is a tough blow.  We really appreciate George stepping in and bringing his signature style back to our game.  Meanwhile, send Alec a note to make sure he's recovering well.  He will be missed out there.

  

The final countdown

Here we go.  We kick off the spring season - and our 10th year - at 5:30 in Pentagon City.  We are playing DC Thunder, which has some wicked attacking options that we will have to be prepared to stuff.  I hope you're excited!  The Goleros email, blog and text universe is buzzing.  We've got a lot of enthusiastic people out there.  The offseason is almost over...

A few reminders.

We are playing on artificial turf this weekend so the game is on rain or shine.  Only thunder - not DC Thunder, but actual thunder - will stop us from playing.  If you have a question, call the inclement weather line shown on this home page.  

Please show up early because we want to take the field in an organized fashion in our first game.  You know how I suck at that.

Don't forget to bring your dues!  That's really important.  I had to front the money for you people already.  If you are not playing in the game, please pay your dues via paypal or call me to get my address for a check.  There was an earlier post on this.

No slide tackles in the league.  If you do one in the box, and it denies a goal scoring opportunity, the refs will now award a PK by rule.

That's all for now.  See you on the field!

Team policy for fines

Our league has put in place two fines that are designed to improve the operation of the league.  

There is a $200 fine for teams that forfeit games without giving advance notice by COB Wednesday.  Because we lease most fields, and have to pay referee crews a handsome fee, we don't have much room for forfeits either logistically or financially.  If we contact the league by Wednesday, they will most likely reschedule our games.

There is a $500 fine if representatives from each team fail to make themselves available to referee 5 matches per season.  We've never paid this fine because we have reffing options in Jer, Liam, and perhaps Katya in the future.  We rely on these teammates to ref games, and they've been really steady and awesome for us.  

If we are ever fined by the league, I will recover the costs from players.  And you have to pay it.  We're not going to have a discussion about who's fault the fines are.  I thought I would warn everyone.  Don't worry, I don't expect it to happen.  We'll keep our spotless record.  Good job on that, by the way.

Friendly

Two little known clubs are planning a friendly in Baltimore on July 24th, 8:00 p.m. It's Chelsea vs AC Milan.

Chris, our man in Baltimore, might be willing to organize a group if people want to go. When details are announced, we'll solicit interest. Think about it. We'll have to act fast because it will sell out.

It could work out pretty nicely since the 2009 Coed Classic is happening that same weekend in nearby Columbia. Will we send a team? That's the subject of a future post.

Notes from the Commissioner

Here are some notes from the league. The Exec Team is looking to fill two positions come fall. If you are interested, or if you know anyone who is interested, let me know. It's a great team and an opportunity to gain some experience in serving more than 1000 players in the league.

Exec Positions

We still need
people to fill some vacancies on the league exec committee. Its only a
small time commitment really, but we really need some help. Specifically,
we are looking for a replacement for Cara at Treasurer and also looking for a
new Disciplinary Committee member.

For Treasurer, Cara has
done an amazing job getting us in order and whoever takes over will have the
benefit of having a simple documented process as a guidebook. For
Disciplinary Committee, you would serve under the esteemed Chief Justice Jon
Denunzio to help review any cases on the rare occasion that they come up(lets
hope you aren’t needed at all just like last season).

PLEASE
don’t just assume someone else will step up so its not your problem. Do us
a favor and pass the info along to your team members. And if one of you or
anyone on your team would be interested or just want to learn more, please let
me know. Hate to sound like a broken record, but without volunteers, this
league will simply cease to run.

Freedom Opening
Game

Our friends at the Washington Freedom wanted to pass along
some info about watching the opening game at Capitol Lounge @ 231 Penn
Ave. There are going to be beer specials which are: Budweiser Bud
Light Yuengling - Pints $3.00 / Pitchers $12. Sounds like a good
atmosphere and good drink prices, so swing by if you can to support them in
their inaugural match. See the attached flyer.

RSVP for 1st game - 3/29 at 5:30

I will be posting the schedule tonight.

Please RSVP for our first game of the season.

We play DC Thunder at 5:30 p.m. Sunday March 29th at Virginia Highlands, which is the Pentagon City field.

We know the following people are out: De, Heather, Mike, Griz.

Source: our first game has been scheduled

According to unnamed sources, our first game will be played on Sunday March 29th at 5:30 p.m. at the Virginia Highlands field, which is a fancy way of saying "Pentagon City."

More details to follow as soon as possible.  Hopefully, I can get a hold of the full schedule today.

Save the Date - August 8-9, 2009

Every year we talk about playing in the Neptune Soccer Classic down in Virginia Beach.  Well, this year, we're planning to go, for real for real.

What do you think?

I'll tell you what you think, you like the idea.  So you are going to mark off the weekend of August 8-9, 2009.  

My vision is to send our team down there to celebrate our 10th anniversary as a group.  If, for some reason, we can't fill out the roster, we'll bring in some outside people.  I think it would be an awesome chapter in our history.

We'll do this in steps.  In a few weeks, we'll send out emails to solicit interest.  Then we'll send in the registration fee and see about lodging.  Costs will be reasonable.

This would be a family-friendly event.  Those Goleros with little ones are expected to come.  A weekend at the beach!

Save the Date!

[Photo courtesy of NASA.]

Schedule coming tomorrow

Lou, the league scheduler, tells me that the schedule will be released tomorrow.  I will pass it on immediately.

Meanwhile, the scrimmage tomorrow at the Marina is ON!

DC United is struggling to find a home

The Vice President of the league asked us to pass this on to our players.  DC United is engaged in a long-running battle to build a stadium.  The latest plan: build it in PG county.  I actually posed a question to team president, Kevin Payne, in a recent online chat session.  I asked him why, specifically, RFK Stadium was so unprofitable.  He answered that there were no luxury suits, places to entertain guests and hold functions, terrible concessions (with, presumably, very low margins), marketing problems, etc.   I think he meant to say there is no hope of generating revenue at an aging facility owned and operated by the District.

From: mdcvsasoccer@yahoogroups.com [mailto:mdcvsasoccer@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of James D. Sadowski
Sent: Friday, March 13, 2009 10:14 AM
To: mdcvsasoccer@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [mdcvsasoccer] FW: D.C. United needs your support. Act now!

All:

 

I am on travel on just caught up with some emails.

 

For those living in the DC area and others living elsewhere that are DC United or MLS fans, getting a soccer specific stadium for the team is of the utmost importance -- both for the team and for the future growth of the sport -- so please forward this message to your players and to all of your soccer friends. 

 

Remember that we are all in this together.

 

Thanks.

 

Jim Sadowski

MDCVSA President

 

 

---

From: kevin.payne@dcunited.com [mailto:kevin.payne@dcunited.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2009 1:01 PM
To: James D. Sadowski
Subject: D.C. United needs your support. Act now!

,

We need your help! Several groups who oppose our stadium are bombarding Maryland state and county legislators with e-mails and letters asking them to block our proposed new stadium.

Perhaps the up-beat news conference several weeks ago caused our supporters to think this was a done deal -- but nothing could be further from the truth.

It's time for you to weigh in strongly and let them know of your support for our stadium plans!

It doesn't matter where you live -- if you support us and want to see us in the type of stadium our club and our fans deserve, you need to take action now! If you live in Maryland, let them know, but, regardless, your support will make all the difference.

The most important to contact at this time are the members of the House of Delegates Committee on Budget and Appropriations, which will hold a hearing on our bill next Tuesday, and the Senate Tax and Finance Committee, which will also hold a hearing next week on the bill.

I cannot over-emphasize the importance of this. We have to let the lawmakers know that we want the stadium, and we'll fill it up once it's built. A failure in this effort could have far-reaching effects -- the bottom line is we cannot remain long-term in RFK, and this is the only stadium option, which is available to us now.

Don't take anything for granted. Call or e-mail today, if you care about your team!

Kevin Payne
President, D.C. United

E-mail Maryland lawmakers now!

D.C. United
RFK Stadium
2400 East Capitol St. SE
Washington, DC 20003
dcucustomerservice@dcunited.com

This message is for: jds@gdllaw.com

Unsubscribe from D.C. United messages.

Scrimmage scheduled for Sunday 4:00 p.m.

We will shake off the rust on Sunday by scrimmaging. This is a high priority for all of us so we get our soccer legs back before the season starts.

Sunday March 22, 4:00 p.m., Marina field in Alexandria.

I know, the field sucks. Friends are welcome. It would be nice to have a 9 on 9. Players from other CCSL teams who might want to join should email me at golerosteam(AT)gmail(DOT)com.

No schedule yet

Sorry, there's no schedule yet. I hope to have it in hand this weekend to spread around. I will let you know as soon as possible.

Going to the EPL

George and Carlos are headed to the English Premier League.  No, they haven't been signed to contracts in the top flight.  They're going to watch Fulham take on the mighty Manchester United at Craven Cottage, an historic venue.  Fulham is sitting in a respectable 9th place in the table, thanks in part to a good season by USA International Clint Dempsey.

The occasion is George's bachelor party.  No, I'm not joking.  George is getting married, anything is possible.  We wish him well, but don't forget to have some fun over there first.  Take pictures (of the game) and enjoy the memories.  Incredibly, this isn't even their first opportunity to see a game.  They saw Arsenal versus Roma in a UEFA Champions League match earlier this year.  Carlos is a hooligan for Arsenal.

Look how close they are to the field

They're not the only ones on travel this week.  Cat is headed to the Grand Canyon.  Sweet.  I've seen some amazing things there and I highly recommend a serious visit to everyone.

Wow, and I'll be at home.

Captain's Meeting Report

On Monday night, Ally and I attended the bi-annual CCSL Captain’s Meeting.  Kudos to Commissioner Sanjay Nayar and his exec team for teeing up all the agenda items so well. The whole exec team deserves praise for locking down the fields early, keeping fees the same, and generally running the league smoothly.

 34 of 36 teams attended.

 Sanjay gave a golf clap to last season’s winners: Premier – FC Benchwarmers (playoffs), Conquistadors (regular season); 1^st Division – Mall Rats, Washington Wanderers; 2^nd Division – Hoover FC; 3^rd Division – Capital Crew, Tsunami Naranja. 

 Based on these standings, there was a lot of promotion and relegation.  Mall Rats and Washington Wanderers were promoted to Premier, and Spicy Walruses and Backdraft were relegated to 1^st.  Hoover FC and DC Divided moved up to 1^st, Little Urban Achievers and Gang Green went down to 2^nd.  Capital Crew moved up to 2^nd, Far Post and Funky Town went down to 3^rd.  Tsunami, who would ordinarily have been entitled to promotion based on its finish, was not able to move up because there are an odd number of teams in 2^nd division.  We had 10 teams but the exec team wanted to go back down to 9 teams.  This is possible because ClareAndDons and Two Left Feet from third division are merging forces.  Now there are 9 teams in each division. 

 Members of DC United and the resurrected Washington Freedom attended.  CCSL will be launching a new website, with dedicated links to buy tickets.  As usual, we get discounted tickets and a cut for every ticket we purchase through CCSL.  Buy your pro soccer tickets through our league website.  We've got a great guy in Zach Walker for tickets.

 The schedule will be done within a week.  We have all the fields we need.  We’ll be playing at Trinity, St. Stephens, GMU High School, some Arlington fields, the Marina, and the Mall.  We are working on two fields controlled by DC Parks & Rec, one of which is the Marine Barracks in Southeast.  Games start March 29^th.  We’ll have 8 games, a bye week, and two weeks off for Easter and Memorial Day Weekend.  I did a post on the schedule a few weeks ago.

 The Coed Cup will happen again on October 23, 2009 in Dallas.

 Online registration for the league will probably happen by Fall.

 The summer league will probably happen again this year. Maybe we’ll do it.

 Our budget is “healthy” according to the outgoing Treasurer.  Each season, teams contribute to a field fund, which has about a  $35,000 balance right now.  The money is invested in CD’s.  The league is hoping some day to enter into a long term lease agreement or purchase a field or something.

 League dues were collected from the captains.  Make sure to get your share to me soon, because I had to write a fat check.

 The league will continue to enforce a $200 fine for forfeits.  We have to notify the league by Wednesday COB to avoid the fine and have a chance to reschedule.

 The league will continue to enforce a $500 fine for not supplying a ref that makes himself/herself available for 5 games per season.  We’ve got two right now – Jer and Liam.

 Rosters are due by the 4^th week of the season.  We have 25 players, with overages to 30 for a $25 fee per person.  We amended the league by-laws to allow the substitution of one player for injury reasons, for a $25 fee.  The substitution must be made before week 6.

 The refs are getting ready.  No jewelry.  There’s a new ref certification class starting April 1^st if you’re interested.  We are paying Center Ref’s $55 per match, the AR’s $40 per match.  We have a new rule this season.  Slide tackles in the box that deny a goal scoring opportunity will result in a direct kick (PK).  I helped to convince the captains to vote to remove a provision that would have essentially added a red card to the offense.

 That’s it.

Goleros Rush Week

The semester is just getting started and it's time for Rush Week.  That's right, we're going to have lots of events to get ready for the spring season.

First, the scrimmage.  We're planning it for Sunday.  More details TBA shortly.

Second, the happy hour.  We're looking at Tues, Wed or Friday of next week.  Plan on it.

Third, there's the paying the dues part.  Yeah, see my earlier post and get it done people.  I have three new BFFs: Chris, Nate, and De, who all paid their dues already!

See you all soon.  I wasn't part of the frat scene, I don't know where this rush week thing came from.

Spring season dues - deadline is March 29th

Time to do some business. Please send your dues by March 29th using paypal. Send the money to pdi.usa(AT)gmail(DOT)com. I am using that wierd format so that my personal email address cannot be mined off the Internet.

$80 Dues
$20 Optional charitable contribution (learn more).
----------------------------------
$100 TOTAL


Thanks for your prompt attention to this. Dues are the same as last season. We've worked hard to keep them down. I hope everyone continues to support our charity program. We can cross the $1000 mark this season if folks keep giving.

A look back at 2008

As we get ready to kick off the spring season, let's look back at 2008.

It was a dramatic year, marked by two winning seasons, a tournament appearance, some injuries, some awesome goals, several happy hours, and a first place finish in league play.  I thought it was a great year, actually.

Most of our on-field success happened in Spring 2008.  We accomplished an undefeated season at 6-0-2 (.1000) and capped a 14-game streak without a loss.  The full review of that season is posted here.

Fall 2008 was also a winning season, but a little more down to earth.  We experienced some of the up and downs that you can expect in a more competitive division.  We finished 4-3-1 (.571) and went 0-1 in the playoffs after a penalty shootout.  At the beginning of the season, we started off in a bit of a funk with two losses but picked things up as the season progressed.  We rolled into the playoffs on a decent run, winning 4 of our last 6 games and notching one tie.  The playoff game was a nail biter.  Read about it here.

We experienced some injuries this year too - several players were affected.  I am pleased to report that the wounds have healed and we'll be back on the pitch in one piece for 2009.  Here's to another big year.

Here are the results from Fall 2008:

Results

• FALL 2008 (.571)
• -------------------
• Aug. 24th - 3-1 loss to Hoover FC
• Sept. 14th - 2-1 loss to Flirts
• Sept. 28th - 2-1 win vs DC Thunder
• Oct. 4th - 3-0 win by forfeit vs Far Post
• Oct. 11th - 3-3 tie vs Diplomats
• Oct. 19th - 3-1 win vs Armory
• Oct. 26th - 2-0 win vs Lost Tourists
• Nov. 2nd - 4-2 loss to DC Divided
• 
  
• PLAYOFFS
• ---------------
• Nov. 15th - Quarters - 2-2 tie vs Armory (4:3 loss on PKs)

Transition of power

It's time for a change in Washington. 

That's right, with Jackie moving into a transitional role, Ally is going to step in as your next co-captain.  

Yes, she can.

Now, some critics say she won the job simply because she's a woman.  I don't think so.  That's just politics as usual.  Those critics are ignoring the experience she brings to the table and the soccer pedigree of her family - her dad is a soccer coach.

So, what will Ally accomplish during her term?  She'll bring pep, competitiveness, organization, and 'tude.  That's what we need and that's what we'll get.

Truth be told, we love Ally.  So thanks for stepping up.  It's one more step closer to kickoff on March 29th! 

 

Plan your schedule now!

If history is any guide, we won't have a precise schedule, with game times, until the last minute. However, we do have a general idea of the days we'll play. Please try to plan your spring travel accordingly. It's never too early to let me know about potential conflicts. We've got a Mother's and Father's day in there.

Here is the general schedule of Sunday games:

March 29th

April 5th

April 12th - NO GAMES because of Easter

April 19th

April 26th

May 3rd

May 10th

May 17th

May 24th

May 31st - NO GAMES because of Memorial Day Weekend

June 7th

June 14th - Makeup date

June 21st - Playoffs

June 28th - Playoffs

Don't forget, we'll have a bye week in there as well. When I get word of our game times and field locations, I'll let you know.

I need another night out like this one

I finally uploaded the photos of Jackie's goodbye party at Porter's.  It was a lot of fun.  Your captain drank to drown his sorrows (sorrows not shown in photo).  Some people - they will remain nameless - got a little silly and then later sick.  I got home at 2:45 a.m., not your typical Friday night for this civilized suburban home owner.

Here's a photo of the festivities.  Maybe I'll post more in the coming days.

Another happy hour before the season?

Season to start Sunday March 29th

Ally's post is appropos. The season is starting a week sooner than I originally anticipated. We'll kick off on March 29th.

I will be collecting dues soon.

We're getting closer!

Soccer Season

Who's excited for soccer season to start?!?!?

 

I personally CANNOT wait!

 

See you all soon!

 

~Ally~

Moxie & Boom

Griz and family took off to Colorado for a long weekend of skiing.  Tough life.

Griz's dog, Boom, came for a visit. 

Here's some shots of the pair on Valentines Day.

Flag football eyed

We're looking for an opportunity to play an intra-squad flag football game. We need a nice Saturday or Sunday. It's going to be fun, you should come out. Stay tuned.

Referee clinics available

The Ref Assignor sent around the following notice about some upcoming new referee certifications and re-certification classes. Attend one and make your captain happy.


All:

In case you haven't yet certified/re-certified for 2009, i.e. have a 2009 USSF badge, you will need to sign up in one of the below clinics in order to work games in USSF-affiliated leagues. To enroll, please proceed to www.vadcsoccerref.com and click on the link for online registration. From that path, the following clinics are still available:

NEW REFEREE - Cost is $651) 2/27, 2/28, 3/1 – Springfield, VA (Fairfax SoccerPlex)2) 3/2, 3/3, 3/7, 3/9, 3/10, and 3/14 - Springfield, VA (West Springfield HS)3) 4/1, 4/7, 4/8 and 4/9 – Washington, DC – Greenstein Delorme Luchs in Farragut North R

ECERTIFICATION OF REFEREE - Cost is $651) 2/21 – Jelleff Club in Washington, DC2) 2/22 – McLean HS3) 2/24 and 2/25- Springfield, VA (West Springfield HS)4) 3/3 and 3/5 – Washington, DC – Greenstein Delorme Luchs UPGRADE to 7 REFEREE Clinic - Cost is $251) 3/5, 3/6 in Springfield, VA (West Springfield HS) Thank you all for your consideration. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Best regards, Jesse Rosenthal
USSF Assignor