I Love Hockey!

More to the point, I love watching my boys play hockey. Devan had a solid weekend playing a little puck scoring a game winner with 3.6 seconds left. Solid play all weekend resulted in some pretty good stats but after getting a bye as the first seed they were upset by the 5th seed. Big D played pretty good but the teasm had some serious breakdowns that resulted in the loss.

Jordan finished his redshirt year at the Abbey. Great grades were the icing on the cake. Look forward to a strong 2009 season. It's good to have him back home for a bit. He ran into some friends from the Comets and they have the itch again. I think they are looking to play a few tournaments this summer. I can't wait.

Soccer, Hockey, Life

Ok, been quite busy lately. A brief rundown of the goings on. Big J is enjoying himself at college. Practicing hard, studying hard. He's had a little playing time. Obviously not as much as he would like but it will come. He is behind 2 seniors.

Dev is really having a blast playing soccer. He is getting better by the day and gets lots of pt. I really look forward to next year, he should be quite good. He is also playing a little puck again. I am glad to see that. He is never happier than when he's in the rink. He has a tourney next month, it will be exciting to see him lace them up again.

The Abbey!

It's official, we have moved Big J into the Abbey. It was a day marked by extreme joy and extreme sadness for everybody. I guess when you are as close to your children, and they to you, it makes it hard to let go. As proud as we are about what J has accomplished, it was very hard to pack up his stuff and move him into the Abbey. It will definitely take some getting used to not having him around all the time. Football Saturdays, the daily Detroit Tiger breakdowns, and the Detroit Lions bitch sessions will now have to take place over the phone. I will really miss that part of our relationship. I guess we can't keep them little forever (as much as we'd like to). Two more years and D will be off to college also, don't even want to contemplate that right now.

GO CRUSADERS!

Take Advantage

The dog days of summer are here. Older youth athletes have summer workouts and tryouts
for high school teams and the like. What about the younger athletes, what do they do? When my boys were young we did a lot of non-specific games. We played a lot of catch with both footballs and baseballs (hand-eye-feet coordination), played hacky sack (hand-eye-feet), wiffle ball, swimming, and good old fashioned tag. Anything to keep them up and moving. Make it fun and at the same time they will be working on a skill that will benefit them later on in their sports endeavors.

Avoid burnout, no kid can practice a single sport all year and not get tired of it. If they get burnt potential doesn't matter much. Keep it simple, keep it fun, that's what summer is for. There is plenty of time for the structure of competitive youth sports, don't forget to let them have some fun!

Back From Camp

The young one is now back from soccer camp. He is excited to play soccer again and says he learned a ton at camp. It's good to see him training hard and hitting the weights. I firmly believe that all kids need to have something, some kind of goals to keep them focused and on the right path. Devan certainly has soccer goals in mind. From talking to some of the other kids, he played very physical and was laying kids out all over the field. That's all those years of hockey coming into play.

Soccer It Is

As of today it looks like we have another soccer player. Devan is now at the Ralph Lundy Team Soccer Camp with Pinecrest High School. He has been working out with some of the kids from the team and with his big brother. He should be pretty good once he gets into the flow of things. It's been awhile since he has played for real.

Its great for him to get back into athletics after getting hosed from the baseball team. I feel he will get a fair evaluation from the soccer staff as they treated my other son very fairly.

Soccer Again!

Looks like baby huey has decided not to pursue football in the fall but rather follow the man-childs' legacy on the pitch. Devan has decided to play a bit of soccer. He should do good as he is quite fast and strong. He will need to get in a bit better shape to keep up with Coach Martin and his maniac running.

Soccer camp in July for the boy. We are excited to see how it goes. Stay tuned!

Update

It seems Mr. Mike Ingram is on the run. As posted earlier he is wanted for child porn. Not surprised that he is on the lamb. I hope they find this creep and he gets what he deserves. Will keep everyone updated on this and Mr. Ahmed.

On a better note, I will get back to the original intent of the blog, youth sports and training. Coming soon.......

Disturbing News

For the second time this year an athletic acquaintance has been arrested. It is a very disturbing trend to say the least. Worst part about the recent indictment is we had alerted the Triangle Football Club, in the coaches review at the end of the season, that we felt there was improper conduct on the part of the coach. We did not suspect anything was going on, we just thought it improper that a coach would allow a team member to spend hours in said coaches room alone, just coach and player as well as other instances of improper conduct. To my knowledge this was never addressed as my son was promptly cut the following year(wonder why?), and coach continued to work with the kids.

I actually was good friends with Mr. Ahmed and was truly shocked when this news broke. Coach Ingram was an idiot, I knew something wasn't right with this guy.

So lets get right to it, here is both creeps who are in trouble(innocent until proven guilty):

Raleigh, N.C. — A former youth soccer coach has been indicted on charges of having child pornography on a computer.

A Durham County grand jury indicted Michael Anthony Ingram Monday on seven counts each of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.

Ingram hadn't been arrested by Wednesday evening. He couldn't be reached for comment.

The charges stem from videos and pictures on a computer hard drive that depicted minors engaged in sexual activity.

The State Bureau of Investigation is investigating the case, but it was unclear Wednesday what prompted agents to search the computer.

Ingram was a soccer coach at Leesville High School from 2004 to 2006, when he moved to coach at East Chapel Hill High School. He also worked as a teacher's assistant at both schools.

The indictments allege that the pornographic videos and images were obtained between July 2004 and August 2007 – the period he was at the two schools.

Ingram also has coached in youth leagues across the Triangle, including working for the Triangle Futbol Club until February.

Dewan Bader, director of coaching for Triangle Futbol Club, said club officials asked East Chapel Hill High officials why Ingram resigned from the school after one year but couldn't get any details.

Ingram was let go from Triangle Futbol Club for failing to hold up his responsibilities, Bader said.

Raleigh, N.C. — A Wake County grand jury has indicted the co-owner of an Apex sports facility on charges involving sex offenses against children.

Richard James Ahmed, 47, of 210 Michelangelo Way in Cary, was indicted on indecent liberties with children, soliciting a child by computer and attempted dissemination of obscenity to minors.

Ahmed was arrested three weeks ago at a Raleigh park after a meeting had been set up with a 14-year-old girl he had met in an Internet chat room, police said. Ahmed told police he went to the park to lecture a girl about meeting people online.

He is the co-owner of Dream Sports Center in Apex, which offers facilities for basketball, roller hockey, soccer, lacrosse, baseball and other sports and hosts camps and clinics for children ages 5 and up.

Must you travel?

I have been asked the question a lot. Does my young athlete need to play with the big clubs(which almost always involve a ton of travel)? My answer to that is no. Contrary to what the big clubs want you to believe, it is possible to land a college scholarship without traveling all over the country. It is possible to get recruited off the local High School team. It takes a bit of work on the parents part, but it can be done. If your son or daughter is good enough to play at the collegiate level then with a bit of effort on your part, your son or daughter will play college ball. We will get into this subject in greater detail later. It is time however to get back to the journey.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered!

It's a done deal. Big J will be a Belmont Abbey Crusader! A tough road for sure, but one that has made him both mentally and physically stronger. This lesson will serve him well in life.

Baby Hughie has been spotted on the soccer field and word has it that he's not half bad. As a youngster he was pretty darn good. Is there futbol in his future? Time will tell!

The Good And The Bad

It looks like the knee injury will be looked at in the future as a minor setback on Jordans road to college soccer. He has been offered a spot on the Belmont Abbey Crusaders. The letter of intent is sitting on the table now. It should be official soon. He really enjoyed his visit, liked the coach and the players. He is pretty excited.

Devan was the recipient of a nice hose job during baseball tryouts. Seems the team was pretty much picked long before tryouts. From the buzz at the school, he never had a chance. All indications are he played more than good enough at the tryouts. Whatever, temporary setback. Looks like he may play under the lights this fall and take a crack at some football. With his speed and mean streak, should be fun to watch!

Application Time

Application time is in full force at our household. Big things happening in the next few weeks. baseball tryouts in early February. Soccer showcase early February. Both boys have been working hard getting ready for their respective sports.

Exciting times!

Michigan vs Florida

To conclude our stay in Florida we decided to go to the Capital One Citrus Bowl. What an excellent decision.

The four of us watched as the Wolverines one a hard fought and emotional game. We had the time of our lives. With gator fans everywhere the family displayed the colors proudly. From the tailgate to our boys hoisting Coach Carr and carrying him off the field, it was a truly memorable day. We have had many great days as a family, but this one seemed extra special. Maybe because my sons are getting older, I don't know, but it was a spectacular day.

GO BLUE! HAIL TO THE VICTORS!

What an excellent end to the year that was filled with such hardship on the field. The man-child played his first soccer since the injury.

Heading to the Tampa SunBowl we were very nervous, full of anxiety, and anxious all at the same time. As parents our only hope was to get through the tournament without injury. A few minutes here and there were all we wanted. Well, everything went extremely well. Over 30 minutes a game with one game of 50 minutes. No injuries, no hesitation. Jordan and his TFC teammates played their hearts out.

Starting the tourney with three dominate wins they went into the fourth game only needing a tie to move into the playoffs. It was a very good game with us getting an early 1 goal lead. 2 minutes left in a tie match the college boys from clearwater scored a heartbreaking goal to knock us out of the tournament. Not bad for a bunch of boys still in high school playing an age group up!