2010 High School Coaching Thread!

[Dom_Wren]

The Mutts Nuts Stew!!!

[stewiek2]

You win any more championships and I'll be running out of room to put the stars and have to tweak the badge again!

[Dom_Wren]

We have a realistic shot this year, it will be tough, but we got a shot, then well be down for a couple ofyears, then back up again! These things run in cycles. But id happily take one more and be done for a couple of years!

[TheWalletInspector]

Those kits are bloody lovely.

[Dom_Wren]

Those kits are bloody lovely.

Quoted for the TRUTH!

[Tegis]

Lovely kits indeed. The current ones are a bit bland and could use that spot of color

[Dom_Wren]

So just to give yall a quick update and some pretty cool news:

Were now 16-2 (lost to # 3 and #4 in the country). Region is 6-0, if we win tomorrow against fort mill we will be region champions more than likely. That is our first goal of three.

Only 6 regular season games to go before playoffs!

One of my players, Ricardo Garbanzo, was selected for the Region III team and is in England right now playing against London based academy teams. They already beat Fulham 2-1 and he scored the game winner. Here is the itinerary if any of you can catch game, say hello to him for me, his nickname on the team is El Mago (hes from Costa Rica, so it means the magician in Spanish, I believe).

April 14 Attend Champions League Match

April 15 ODP Region lll VS Fulham Academy

April 16 Chelsea Academy Training (Chelsea Academy coach)

April 17 London / Walking Sightseeing Tour - 1st stop - Piccadilly Circus Area, Lilly Whites. 2nd Stop - Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, House of Parliament, London Eye, etc.

Sun, April 18 Chelsea Academy Training session (Chelsea Academy coach)

Mon, April 19 ODP Region lll VS Crystal Palace Academy

April 20 ODP Region lll VS Charlton Academy

April 21 ODP Region lll VS Chelsea Academy

[Dom_Wren]

Pre match article in the paper for the big game tonight:

Trojans, Yellow Jackets meet again in soccer

Penalty kicks ruled the day on their last meeting

By Barry Byers - bbyers@heraldonline.com The first meeting between the Region 3-AAAA boys soccer teams from Northwestern and Fort Mill was a bit unusual.

Both defenses played well that night on the Yellow Jackets' home turf. There were no overtimes, but plenty of penalty kicks in regulation.

Just one-on-one, the player taking the penalty shot and the goalie. Northwestern had three. Made all of them. Fort Mill had one, same result to the back of the net. Final score: Northwestern 4-2.

The Yellow Jackets started the scoring early in the first game with a goal from Corbin Payne. Northwestern's Dennis Moore got the second of two in the second half

Just like tonight's meeting at 7 at Northwestern, the Trojans went into the match ranked No. 1 and the Yellow Jackets No. 4 by the South Carolina Soccer Coaches Association. Tonight? Expect a defensive battle and a close game.

"Our last two games are the closest we've been ranked since I've been here," Northwestern coach Dom Wren said. "That shows the parity we are developing in our region and in this part of the state.

"We always enjoy playing Fort Mill because the games are played right by two teams that respect soccer and conduct themselves well. The game will probably be close and come down to two factors. It will be either brilliance, with a player making a magic play. Or it will be decided by a mistake."

In the first meeting, Ricky Garbanzo scored all three of the Trojans' penalty-shot goals. He will be missing in action tonight. Garbanzo was chosen for a spot on the Olympic Development Team that's in England playing an exhibition schedule.

Wren said he's known Garbanzo would miss tonight's game for quite a while, but sent him off with well wishes.

"He deserves this honor," Wren said. "Ricky works hard and playing on the ODT team and playing in a foreign country is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a high school player. We are proud of Ricky and hope he does well."

And there's Moore, one of the state's top players. Moore has what Wren said is a possible strained knee. He sat out last Friday's 4-0 win over York and Wren is not sure what Moore's status will be tonight.

Wren has been resting Moore so he can heal. Moore will be evaluated again tonight before the game.

Fort Mill coach Lloyd Chalker's team is intact. Payne, Jack Gantzer and David Walas are "players'' and the Yellow Jackets are a threat whenever they have the ball.

Northwestern is 16-2, 6-0 in Region 3-AAAA. Fort Mill is 14-4 and right behind in the region at 5-1. At stake is home advantage in the upcoming playoffs. That, Wren said, makes this game huge.

"The atmosphere will be great and I feel a lot of fans will be here to watch,'' he said. "The last one didn't end in a normal way, but I don't expect anything like that again. In a game like this, the mental aspect plays a tremendous part.''

What: Region 3-AAAA boys soccer

Where: Northwestern High School, field is located down the gravel road and to the left behind the school

Time: 7 p.m.

Tickets: $5 at the gate

By the Numbers

Records: Fort Mill 14-4, 5-1 region; Northwestern 16-2, 6-0 region

Goals for: Fort Mill 65; Northwestern 83

Goals against: Fort Mill 24; Northwestern 22

Opponents record: Fort Mill's 127-106-14; Northwestern's 137-100-14

Barry Byers 803-329-4099

Read more: http://www.heraldonline.com/2010/04/20/2102486/round-2-for-trojans-jackets.html#ixzz0ldw6ZYrm

[Dom_Wren]

Won the big match 3-1 and played superbly well without 2 of our 3 best players.

Quite an interesting approach to the game that is touched on a little bit in the article, but thought id give an insight for all the coaches out there.

I knew that after practice on Sunday, Dennis Moore (no, not that one Rob!) our all star forward would be joining Ricardo Garbanzo our all star attacking mid in not being available for the game.

I then formulated a game plan from watching the previous game that we played against them that we had on DVD (little things making the big difference!)

So from watching the game, they played a 4-4-2, but left big gaps between the back four and midfield four, also they commited men forward leaving gaps centrally on the counter in the final third. Also the left back in my opinion was a target for us.

I played my best player (Alex Martinez) as a right midfielder, to isolate him 1 vs 1 with the left back. He could take him on all day long and serve or cut into goal. Then i played our next best player (Jeremy Dobbins) as a center mid, but just in front of a scrappy defensive mid, giving him the freedom to find pockets of space in front of there back four, and to be a late runner into the box (plattyesque) for Alex.

So we went over this in practice and it resulted in the first goal absolutely how we had worked on! The second was again from Jeremy, and the thrid a wonderful individual effort from Alex taking on the left back.

This is fort mills best squad over the last few years and without our 2 best players this was our weakest, so i can safely say im delighted with the way the boys played and the resul. Gaffed my ass off!

Short-handed Trojans slip past Yellow Jackets in soccer

Fewer Trojans? Not a problem

By Barry Byers - bbyers@heraldonline.com Northwestern High School soccer coach Dom Wren thought all weekend on what was the best way to attack rival Fort Mill in his team's Region 3-AAAA home showdown on Tuesday.

Wren would be missing two-thirds of his big three, leaving Alex Martinez as the Trojans' top threat. Ricky Garbanzo would miss the game because he's in England playing for an Olympic Developmental team.

He figured correctly that Dennis Moore would be missing in action with an ankle sprain, an injury Wren elected to disguise as a hurt knee when talking about it on Monday, just in case his talented senior was ready to play. Moore never left the bench.

Melissa Cherry/mcherry@heraldonline.com - Northwestern teammates congratulate Jeremy Dobbins, second from right, after scoring for the Trojans.

CLICK FOR MORE PHOTOS

So Wren did something he seldom does. He needed an edge because he wouldn't have his three stars charging the Yellow Jackets from every direction. Wren put in a plan designed to draw Fort Mill's defenders to Martinez with hopes of scoring off runs to the goal by his other players.

It worked to the tune of a 3-1 win for the No. 2-ranked Trojans, who moved to 17-2 overall and 7-0 in the region. Fort Mill, No. 4 in the poll, fell to 14-5 in all games and 5-2 in the region. Both league losses were administered by Northwestern, each by a two-goal margin.

The new play was put in for Jeremy Dobbins, who scored Northwestern's first two goals that held up for a 2-0 lead at the half.

"The plan was to send Alex inside on the right side and for me to make a run at the penalty kick line while he was heavily covered,'' Dobbins said. "Alex was supposed to pass the ball to me just as I got there so I could take shot. We spent a lot of time practicing it Monday and the first time we tried it was perfect, got us a goal.''

Fort Mill caught on quickly but the damage had been done. The Jackets realized they couldn't solely concentrate on Martinez, which paid off for the Trojans in the second half.

Northwestern's second goal was a beauty both ways. Dobbins headed a corner kick that appeared to be a sure goal. But Fort Mill goalie Harrison Cahill gave no ground and made the block. But the ball came back to Dobbins, who, before Cahill could react, headed it again.

The second header found the inside of Fort Mill's net and the Trojans led 2-0 with 12:33 left until halftime.

"Jeremy did a good job making his runs,'' Wren said. "We practiced it Monday until we got it right, then practiced it some more. What you saw was his reward for hard work.

"We had shape today on defense as a team. Each team had opportunities but Sam (Faris), our goalie, did a good job of keep them out of our net.''

The first goal of the second half came at the 33:10 mark. Martinez made another run over the right side of Fort Mill's goal but this time the Yellow Jackets made sure Dobbins was covered. So instead of passing outside, Martinez took a shot and made it for a 3-0 Trojans' lead.

Fort Mill was bruised but refused to be battered. The Yellow Jackets continued to play the game as they had all night and reached the scoreboard with 23:01 remaining. A good look had just resulted in another Northwestern stop, but the Yellow Jackets refused to quit. They finally got a ball past Faris on a goal from Casey Schneider.

"We played well the first 10 minutes and were even with them in the second half,'' Fort Mill coach Lloyd Chalker said. "What got us were the 30 minutes in between.

"We were guilty of letting Alex control the ball. Seeing that he could, Alex did what he does best, create and score.''

NORTHWESTERN 3

FORT MILL 1

First Half

NH -- Jeremy Dobbins, 28:41, Alex Martinez assist

NH - Dobbins 12:31, unassisted

Second half

NH -- Martinez 33:10, unassisted

FM - Casey Schneider, 23:01, unassisted

Shots on goal: Fort Mill 8. Northwestern 14

Corner kicks: Fort Mill 3. Northwestern 6

Goalies: Fort Mill - Harrison Cahill (2 saves), Tanner Landvick-Larsen (4 saves). Northwestern - Sam Faris (3 saves).

Records: Fort Mill 14-5, 5-2 Region 3-AAAA. Northwestern 17-2, 6-0 Region 3-AAAA

Barry Byers 329-4099

Read more: http://www.heraldonline.com/2010/04/21/2105968/trojans-boot-jackets-by-two-goals.html#ixzz0ljpKNsM3

[Tegis]

yay!

[rjw63]

Superb stuff Wren - you have to get a job with the Villa!

[Dom_Wren]

Superb stuff Wren - you have to get a job with the Villa!

Cheers mate!

Genuinely delighted to have seen things to exploit, and executed them, boys deserve a big pat on the bak, just great to see gaffing can still make a difference!

Jose who

[rjw63]

Yer living the dream matey and all power to ye

Still cant understand why ye got married though :-)

[Dom_Wren]

Yer living the dream matey and all power to ye

Still cant understand why ye got married though :-)

LOL!

Im sure i will ask myself that many times in the coming months/years/decades!!

[rjw63]

No doubt, even though she looks hawt!

[usvilla]

maybe he just wants to give half his stuff away ?

nice win again Dom -

[Dom_Wren]

Cheers lads!

Entrance to the field after our new signs went up.

Welcome to Northwestern.

[Dom_Wren]

some video of the fort mill game.

http://tinyurl.com/39zut6y

Check me out in my Mancini scarf on the far right @ 44secs.

[Dom_Wren]

You know I was going to tell you all about our region championship. And even though I knew this story was coming, i cant help but just post this about one of my players.......this is the reason i do what i do:

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Published: Sunday, May. 02, 2010 / Updated: Saturday, May. 01, 2010 10:58 PM

Rock Hill teen shares journey from civil war-ridden Liberia to Northwestern soccer fields

By Barry Byers - The Herald Dennis Moore ran through the streets of West Point, Liberia, summoning every ounce of strength from his 10-year-old body.

Bullets from the civil war that embroiled his country sprayed from all directions. Rebels were challenging the government of President Charles Taylor, who later would be charged with war crimes. Fighters as young as six were walking the streets carrying AK-47s almost as big as they were.

None of that mattered to Dennis. He was on another mission.

Melissa Cherry | mcherry@heraldonline.com - Dennis Moore and brother Caleb play soccer in their front yard.CLICK FOR MORE PHOTOS

Gallery: Northwestern High soccer player Dennis Moore

VIDEO: Dennis Moore's journey to America

Dennis ran as fast as he could, his small hands gripped firmly on the handles of the wheelbarrow he was pushing. In the wheelbarrow was precious cargo: his father, Benedict Wesseh.

Dennis, who lived with his grandmother, had come to visit for the weekend and found that his father was gravely sick from food poisoning. The illness worsened overnight, and Dennis knew what he must do: Take his father to the medical clinic a mile away.

He borrowed the wheelbarrow from a neighbor and placed his father inside. He began running as fast as he could, trying as hard as possible to keep going and paying no attention to anyone – or the bullets flying along his route.

Dennis was determined to make it to the clinic; to run fast and hard and not be slowed by the pain surging through his body. As much as he tried to press on, Dennis had to stop several times to rest.

The last time he stopped, Dennis realized he wouldn’t make it in time. He took his father out of the wheelbarrow and sat in the street with Benedict’s head cradled close to his chest. Within minutes, Benedict died in his son’s arms.

“Dennis still can’t talk about it to this day,” said Kristi Moore, his adopted mother. “When the story is told, he wants me to tell it. He did all he could do but still blames himself for not making it to the clinic. We’re hoping he can soon let it go, and we’re trying to help him get past it.”

“As you would expect, it has had a profound effect on Dennis. He’s a perfectionist, wants to do everything just right. He wants to be a role model for younger children. Dennis has told me many times he’s never again going to let anybody down.”

Today, Dennis is 18 and living in Rock Hill, more than 7,000 miles from Liberia. He’s a senior at Northwestern High School, a star on the Trojans’ soccer team, the defending state and national champions. He’s an honors student, which, coupled with his soccer skills, earned him a scholarship from Wofford College in Spartanburg.

“The United States is a totally new world,” Dennis said. “I like this country; the people, the food, the schools and the chance to get an education and play soccer. I would not have had the same opportunities in Liberia.”

Rather than opportunity, Dennis often encountered a lot of pain and suffering in Liberia. He also dealt with several other personal tragedies.

His first major setback came when Dennis was 3 and his mother died from malaria. Kristi said treatment was available at the clinic, but few citizens ventured far outside their homes because of the civil war.

Dennis and his younger sister, Helena, went to live with their grandmother after their mom died. After several years of litigation, Dennis was allowed to spend some time at his father’s home.

His father’s house was a concrete structure but had no running water or electricity. Most people, Dennis said, lived in mud huts covered with leafy tree branches for roofs.

After his father died, Dennis was sent to the Daniel Hoover Children’s Village, a mission in Dixville, Liberia, for orphaned, abandoned and handicapped children. Dennis’ grandmother told Dennis that going to the village would allow him to attend school.

Helena stayed with their grandmother, who passed away. After a brief stay with other relatives, Helena joined Dennis at the village.

Soon after Dennis arrived at the orphanage, he began teaching himself to read. He organized soccer games during recreation periods, without a ball. He became a leader, a man before his time.

“Not having a ball didn’t stop us because soccer was a way of life for us,” Dennis said. “I never played with a real soccer ball until a visitor brought one to our village. We would wad up paper and put it in socks.

“And sometimes we would strip the bark off rubber trees, and when we had enough sap, we’d make a ball and let it dry. We played barefoot, and there were no rules.”

The face of death

But one day at the village, Dennis again stared into the face of death. It was near noon on July 26, 2003. Rebel troops were moving toward the orphanage, and everyone was told to hide. Dennis, who was 12, hid under his bed.

He saw the barrel of a weapon slide through an open window, and he froze.

“I thought I was going to die,” he said. “I prayed to God and told him if he would let me live, I would do anything he asked of me. Then the chief of the rebels yelled out that no one from our village should be killed or hurt, that we were orphans and it would bring bad luck.”

Munty Teahn, dean of the village’s school and its assistant pastor for nine years, had gone outside to beg for the children’s safety. The command Dennis heard was the leader’s response to Teahn’s plea.

“My responsibility was to take care of the children,” said Teahn, who moved to the United States three years ago and lives in Oregon. “I had gathered everyone, the children and workers in my dorm, Dorm 1, where Dennis and around 70 boys lived, to pray for our safety.”

After the leader agreed to Teahn’s plea, the rebels hid in the jungle, waiting for government soldiers. When the soldiers arrived, they started taking rice from the center’s storage, Dennis said.

“They gave us one bag for 450 people and told us to leave,” warning that the village was about to be bombed.

More than 400 children and 50 adults walked single file out of the village as the soldiers and rebels battled, Teahn said. They walked for two days, finding shelter in an abandoned three-story government office. Dennis made the 40-mile trek barefoot, carrying a young villager on his back and holding the hand of another.

The group returned to their village about four months later. A peace agreement had been reached in August, and Taylor resigned.

“We didn’t have an option but to go back because the people who owned the building we were staying in told us to leave,” Theahn said. “A team from our ministry went back to inspect the village to see what was left and try to start repairs before we moved all the children.”

The village had been stripped of food, clothes, books, mattresses and just about everything else. But most troubling was what the fighters left behind – shell casings inside the village and bodies outside.

For Dennis, a 12-year-old with no mom and dad, a little sister to care for along with a younger boy who was like a brother, the return home was another challenge. All he could do, he said, was start over.

But his luck was about to change.

About a month after Dennis returned to the village, Kristi Moore landed in Liberia with a group of women from Canada. They had signed on for a short-term mission trip to help at the village.

They almost didn’t get there.

About this series

This is the first of three stories about Northwestern soccer player Dennis Moore, who spent most of his childhood in Liberia. Look for the other two stories on Monday and Tuesday.

Coming Monday: Dennis meets Kristi Moore, who adopts him, his younger sister, and another child Dennis considers his younger brother.

Read more: http://www.heraldonline.com/2010/05/01/2135221_p2/northwestern-soccer-orphan-from.html#ixzz0mk73ZFAM

Video http://www.heraldonline.com/cgi-bin/vmix/player.php?ID=13346184&GENRES=00001643

Not gonna lie, made me cry watching that.

Will post the nest installment when it happens.

[Dom_Wren]

Part two of the Dennis Moore stroy. If your having a bad day, take 5 minutes to read this story.

The plane landed at the Monrovia, Liberia airport in Africa carrying cargo and passengers that included Kristi Moore and a group of nine Canadian women.

It was November 2003.

They were there on a mission trip to help at an orphanage -- the Daniel Hoover Children's Village -- an hour and a half away in Dixville.

Melissa Cherry/mcherry@heraldonline.com - Dennis Moore is shown with his mother, Kristi Moore.

CLICK FOR MORE PHOTOS

Gallery: Northwestern High soccer player Dennis Moore

Rock Hill teen shares journey from civil war-ridden Liberia to Northwestern soccer fields

VIDEO: Dennis Moore's journey to America

The group traveled to the U.S. Embassy to register and inform the American authorities of their business. They were told that a travel warning had been issued because of tensions from the country's second civil war, which had just ended with a peace agreement. They should get back on a plane and go home.

"No way I was leaving," said Moore, who now lives in Rock Hill. "I had come there to help the kids and I wasn't going to leave until our job was finished. I was there to install a water purification system."

Moore, 31 at the time, had graduated from Texas A&M in 1992 with a degree in marine biology, but work in that field was scarce. Her church in Texas ran the orphanage in Dixville, and a fellow member asked Kristi to install the water system.

"The Embassy people left it up to us, so we boarded our bus for the trip to the village," Moore said. "Armed helicopters flew over our village every day. We could hear gunfire and explosions every day, but the entire month we were there, no threats were made to our village."

'My children were there'

Moore discovered a home with 400 children wanting to learn to read and write.

She also noticed one special 12-year-old boy.

"I almost didn't see him," Moore said. "He was hiding behind a bigger kid. He was shy and stuttered at first because he was dealing with post-traumatic stress. But Dennis and I bonded. It was instant."

Dennis Wesseh was sneaking looks at the friendly American lady. He was overcome with an emotion he hadn't felt in years.

"I looked at her and thought that I sure wish she was my mom," Dennis said. "I knew in my heart that I wanted her to be my mom. I wanted a parent so bad, and the first time we met I wanted it to be her."

Moore stayed in Dixville for just a month, which had been pre-arranged by the church group.

When she left, Moore realized her work was not completed. Six months later, in May 2004, she returned.

"I had to go back. My children were there," she said.

She ended up staying two and a half years. She helped at the school, teaching the children to read, helping the teachers set up classroom curricula and doing anything else that was needed.

She also continued to bond with Dennis. One informal gathering helped solidify her plans to adopt.

"I was in the chapel with a group of children and they were telling me their stories," she said. "Dennis was shy and stuttered. ... But he opened up and told his story, all of the adversity he had faced at such a young age. I listened as he talked. The more he told, the more I knew I wanted to be his mom and take him home with me. It wasn't something I felt I needed to do. It was something I wanted to do, to adopt him so he would be my son."

Sister and 'little brother'

After she started the adoption process, Dennis had a request. He wanted Moore to also adopt Helena, his birth sister, and Caleb, the "little brother" he was assigned to look after at the orphanage.

"All the younger kids had a big brother or a big sister," Moore said. "As a big brother, Dennis had to get Caleb up each morning, make sure he brushed his teeth and was on time for breakfast and school.

"After school, Dennis made sure Caleb had his living area cleaned. Dennis said he liked him and picked him when he was asked to make a choice."

Caleb, too, was taken to Moore. Each time the children were outside, Caleb was stuck to her side. The other children called Caleb "Kristi's handbag."

Dennis, Helena and Caleb all have tribal names as well as the American names they were required to have. Dennis was born Seplah, which means first born. Helena is Mahnadeh, meaning mind your business. Caleb was named Nimmenah.

Caleb's English name was Emmanual, but workers at the orphanage were so taken in by his smile that they called him Romeo. After he was adopted, Moore asked if he wanted to be known by either of his English names. He said no and chose Caleb, after the biblical character.

Moore had decided to stay in Liberia until she could find the means to adopt all three.

When Dennis' adoption was completed, he and Kristi moved into an apartment in Monrovia. She still worked at the village and took Dennis with her. She was determined not to leave the country without Helena and Caleb.

A church group in Waxhaw, N.C., heard of her plight and agreed to foot the bill for Helena's adoption. Then, a family friend in Texas who didn't want the three children broken up agreed to pay for Caleb's adoption.

'This ... is our new home'

Moore left with Dennis and Helena in March 2006, but Caleb was temporarily left behind because of a problem with his visa. Five months later, Moore returned and brought Caleb to the United States, too.

Munty Teahn, dean of the village's school and its assistant pastor for nine years, was there when Dennis initially was sent to the orphanage and when Kristi and the three children left.

"Kristi was passionate for our children and the work she did at the village," said Teahn, who moved to the United States three years ago and lives in Oregon. "She could have been making lots of money in the United States. But she gave that up to come back and live at our village and help with our orphanage.

"She is a great teacher and worked for us in a lot of positions. She is a very good person and everybody at the orphanage liked her. The things she has done, not many people would do them."

Moore returned to Dallas with Dennis and Helena while they awaited Caleb's arrival. She would be there only two weeks, to introduce her family's newest members.

She had decided while in Liberia to raise her children in another part of the United States, sort of a new beginning for all of them. So Kristi folded a map, closed her eyes and dropped her finger to a spot.

"This town," she said, "is our new home."

About this story

This is the second of three stories about Northwestern High soccer player Dennis Moore, who spent most of his childhood in Liberia. Click here to read the first installment. Coming Tuesday: Kristi Moore and her new family move to Rock Hill, where Dennis becomes a soccer star at Northwestern High School.

Will post part three tomorrow.