2010 High School Coaching Thread!

[rjw63]

Superb........have a drink for me!

[Anthony]

Well done to you and your chaps. Buy yourself a G&T.

[TheWalletInspector]

Nice one Dom. Drink responsibly .

[Dom_Wren]

and probably my fav pic:

Youtube highlights http://tinyurl.com/2b34f32

State champs: Northwestern beats Irmo

Trojans bring home another state title

By Barry Byers - bbyers@heraldonline.com COLUMBIA -- Northwestern junior forward Ricky Garbanzo scored twice last year in a 3-1 win against Irmo for the state and national championship.

But in a rematch with the Yellow Jackets in Saturday night's Class AAAA championship game at Columbia's Memorial Stadium, Garbanzo was held in check during the first half, which ended in a 0-0 tie.

It wasn't a matter if he would score, it was a question of when he would put his team on the board. The answer came a minute and 34 seconds into the second half. Garbanzo took a pass from Ryan Foster and had his back to the net.

Andy Burriss/aburriss@heraldonline.com - The Northwestern Trojans soccer team celebrates their victory over Irmo in Columbia on Saturday.

CLICK FOR MORE PHOTOS

Like one of his goals last year, Garbanzo executed a scissors kick and his goal gave the Trojans the game's first score.

"I knew we would score,'' Garbanzo said. "Coach (Dom) Wren changed our game plan at the half. We came out and perfected it; the goals kept coming. This feels like last year all over. I get to come back next year and it would be nice to win three straight."

Northwestern moved to 27-2, setting the school record for most wins in a season. Irmo, which came in ranked No. 1 and Northwestern No. 2, ended up at 24-2. The Trojans have played in five straight championships and have won four, including the last three.

It was Garbanzo again five minutes later. He took a cross from Dennis Moore and ripped another home for a 2-0 Trojans lead. It was his 39th of the season.

Irmo was still within fighting distance with 26 minutes left, but Foster scored unassisted at the 57:37 mark. His goal gave the Trojans what appeared to be an unsurmountable lead at 3-0.

"We missed some shots in the first half we should have made and it would have been a different game if we'd taken a 2-0 or 3-0 lead into the half," Irmo coach Phil Savitz said. "Northwestern seems to turn it on in big games.

"What they have done the last five seasons, winning four of five is the hallmark of a good program. Dom does a good job and has good players. I don't see much changing in the future."

Foster was in goal for the last two state championships. This year he was moved to forward because of his booming leg, the hardest kicker on the team.

"I'm speechless,'' Foster said. "I was the goalie when we won the last two, and was out on the field tonight. All I can really say is I'm proud to have been a part of this program the last four seasons."

But the Yellow Jackets were far from finished.

Irmo got on the board at the 67:03 mark, but for just a second it looked like another Sam Faris stop. Irmo's Joe Bivona launched a shot from 40 yards out. Faris caught the ball but lost his balance and fell inside the goal.

At the 71:44 mark, Irmo scored what was called an own-goal, meaning Northwestern knocked in the ball. But the goal went to Zach Akree, who got his foot on the ball before it found the net.

"We gave them two goals," Wren said. "Both of them shouldn't have gone in. But Irmo is a class program, one of the best in the nation. To score four goals against them in a single half is quite and achievement.

"We were the underdog, but I take pride in my kids and they take pride in our program. We came here to win, not just to play. It's starting to be that winning state championships is a legacy for Northwestern players."

It was 3-2 and the final 8:16 saw a constant Irmo charge at the Trojans' goal. At one point, the Yellow Jackets missed three headers and a kick from inside the box.

All hopes of an Irmo tie ended with eight seconds left when Moore scored off a double assist from Martinez and Garbanzo.

"We believed we could do it," Martinez said. "We didn't play like we believed in the first half, but we went out with a new plan in the second. Coach Wren told us to which players to check and told us to keep the ball on our forwards' feet. We went out and took care of business."

It was obvious after the first 12 minutes that Northwestern was in a fight for its life to win a third straight championship. Again a team dominated the early play, beating the Trojans to nearly every loose ball and making runs at Northwestern goalie Sam Faris.

Irmo had outshout Northwestern 6-0 and had a pair of corner kicks to none 15 minutes into the match. Not every shot was on frame, but those that were met Faris, who terminated all attempts that came his way.

The Trojans finally got on track with its first shot from Ricky Garbanzo at the 16:34 mark. It was on target, right into the waiting hands of Irmo keeper Rob Sullivan. Rejected or not, the attempt seemed to wake up the Trojans offense, which had been almost non because Irmo had kept Northwestern backing up and playing defense.

It was Garbanzo again at the 17:13 mark on a run from the right side. He kicked the ball and it was blocked. The ball came right back at Garbanzo, who banged his second kick off the right post. But the discovery of its offense helped the Trojans forced the Yellow Jackets to back-peddle and play defense.

Irmo's biggest defensive play of the half was courtesy of Northwestern. With just over 11 minutes left, Jeremy Dobbins fed Garbanzo a perfect pass on the right side from about five yards out. Garbanzo took the shot and rippled the back of the net at Sullivan's back.

Northwestern's fans stood and cheered, briefly. The official nearest the goal ruled the Trojans were offsides and the goal was disallowed.

NORTHWESTERN 4, IRMO 2

Second half

N - 41:32, Ricky Garbanzo, assist Ryan Foster

N -54:30, Garbanzo, assist Dennis Moore

N - 57:37, Foster, unassisted

I - 67:03, Joe Bivona, unassisted

I - 71:44, Zack Acree

N - 79:52 Moore, assist Alex Martinez, Garbanzo

Shots on goal: Northwestern 5. Irmo 6.

Corner kicks: Northwestern 2. Irmo 6.

Fouls: Northwestern 16. Irmo 18.

Goalies: Northwestern - Sam Faris (4 saves). Irmo - Rob Sullivan (1 saves), Stephen Arneson (0 saves).

Records: Northwestern 27-2. Irmo 24-2

Barry Byers 329-4099

4A soccer: Irmo stung with another loss to Northwestern

By AKILAH IMANI NELSON - ainelson@ thestate.com

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It was a familiar, painful feeling.

For the second time in as many years, Irmo lost to Northwestern in the Class 4A championship.

Irmo's Lewis Teemple can't watch as Northwestern celebrates its fourth goal, with 8 seconds remaining, to seal its 4-2 victory in the Class 4A championship match Saturday.

- Tracy Glantz /The State

Irmo's Billy Padula and Northwestern's Ricardo Garbanzo collide during the second period in the Class 4A state championship soccer match at Memorial Stadium.

- Tracy Glantz /The State

CLICK FOR MORE PHOTOS

Gallery: 4A soccer championship: Irmo vs. Northwestern

“They turn it on in the big games,” Irmo coach Phil Savitz said. “That’s the hallmark of a great program, and it’s no accident that two of the great programs in the state keep meeting each other here.”

Northwestern coach Dominic Wren said he took “a very studious approach” to preparing for the final.

“We watched a lot of film and tried to match up with them so that they would have to cover our strengths as well,” Wren said.

In the 44{+t}{+h} minute of play, Irmo’s defense deflected a cross from Ryan Foster, but Northwestern’s Alexis Martinez scissor-kicked in the ricochet to put the Trojans ahead 1-0.

In the 55{+t}{+h} minute, Ricardo Garbanzo broke into the box between two defenders off a pass from Dennis Moore. Garbanzo drilled in a goal from 17 yards to make it 2-0 Northwestern. At 57:37, Foster scored on a header.

With a 3-0 lead and 22 minutes to play, the Trojans (27-2) did not let up.

What happened next was the reason why.

With 13 minutes left to play, the Yellow Jackets (25-2) got on the board when Joe Bivona fired a high shot from 40 yards out. Trojans keeper Sam Farris caught the ball in the air but fell into the far post, carrying the ball into the net.

Five minutes later, Irmo’s Zach Acree fired a crossing shot from the baseline that hit a Northwestern defender and banked into the goal to pull the Yellow Jackets within 3-2 with seven minutes to play.

“At 3-2, we’re defending for our lives,” Wren said.

With nine seconds left, Moore alleviated the pressure for the Trojans, drilling in the final goal off assists from Martinez and Garbanzo.

“When you’re down one and you’re running out of time, you’ve got to take some chances, and they made us pay,” Savitz said.

The coach praised his players’ efforts.

“The pride, the heart, the dedication and the commitment of this team comes from our seniors… and the support we got from the students and from the community were so important to us,” he said.

The rivals, who scored a combined 246 goals this season, went at each other from the start.

While Northwestern was slow to start on offense, the Yellow Jackets had several opportunities in the first half, taking 12 shots on goal, but could punch in a goal.

“If you get those in, if you’re ahead 2-0, 3-0 at half, it’s a different game,” Savitz said. “They found a way to get over on us again. We thought we were going to change it but, it didn’t work out that way again.”

Read more: http://www.thestate.com/2010/05/22/1299057/4a-soccer-irmo-stung-with-another.html#ixzz0oqsXmSW2

[TheWalletInspector]

Dennis Moore :notworthy:

Fantastic commentary on that video.

[Anthony]

Dennis Moore :notworthy:

Fantastic commentary on that video.

Also this. All good Dom, all good.

[Dom_Wren]

Cheers lads!

Genuinely hasnt sunk in yet! I knew we could do it, but we would have to play our hearts out and play the best game of the year, and they did!!

Getting rings measured on Thursday :)

[TheWalletInspector]

Keeping the ring this time, Dom? Or any other plans for it?

[Dom_Wren]

Keeping it!

Its going to be a special one for sure, the heart and belief these kids showed, to break a school record with a 27 win season, after losing four of the best players to ever play in SC and the NATIONAL high school player of the year, well it will be worn with pride!

We should get them in August/Sept as we do a big half time presentation at the high school American football game vs the big rival school, would be like parading the European cup against the flithy inbred knuckledragging scum

[TheWalletInspector]

This link seems to be working now.

[leviramsey]

SC soccer uses a count-up clock?

[leviramsey]

[Dom_Wren]

more highlights and interview:

http://www.cn2.com/web/guest/sports

[Dom_Wren]

Im 3rd from left.

My assistant Coaches

Cesar, Graham, Chumah.

[Dom_Wren]

Trojans Dominate HSSR State Soccer Honors

Posted on: Wednesday, June 02, 2010

The awards and honors keep rolling in for the 2010 Varsity Boys Soccer Team. In the latest installment, 5 Trojans have been recognized by the High School Sports Report with accolades.

Ricky Garbanzo was named Mr. Soccer in South Carolina. Garbanzo, a junior, was 2nd in the state in scoring with 93 points. His 40 goals led the state this year. He replaces former Trojan, Enzo Martinez, who won the award in 08 and 09.

Dennis Moore was named AAAA Player of the Year. Dennis scored 24 goals this year including the 4th goal for the Trojans in the state championship game vs Irmo. Dennis will be continuing his soccer career at Wofford next year. Dennis will play in the 2010 Clash of the Carolina's this July in Charleston.

Coach Dom Wren was named AAAA Coach of the Year. Dom has won 125 games in his 5 seasons as the head coach at Northwestern. His teams have played in the state finals each year winning 4 and the last 3 in a row.

Ryan Foster was named to the HSSR All-State Team. Ryan is a four-year player for the Trojans. While playing the first three in the goal, Ryan moved to forward this year and scored14 goals and had 9 assists. His highlight goal this season was the game winner in the Trojan's 4-2 win over Irmo in the State Championship match. Ryan will play in the North/South All-Start game in Spartanburg in the middle June.

Alex Martinez was also named to the HSSR Al--State Team. Martinez, Region 3AAAA Player of the Year, scored 80 points this season, 3rd in state. Alex will join Dennis representing Northwestern in the Clash of the Carolinas.

Five Trojans Headline the All-Region IIIAAAA Varsity Boys Soccer Team

Posted on: Friday, May 07, 2010

Alex Martinez was named All-Region IIIAAAA MVP. This is his 3rd appearance on the team. Seniors Jeremy Dobbins, Ryan Foster, and Cody Parks were also selected to the team. Junior Kevin Ray rounds out the five players selected to the team.

[rjw63]

You're gonna need a Man Yure sized trophy cabinet Coach Wren :-)

[Dom_Wren]

Wren rocks Trojans soccer program

He's 154-10 with four state championships as Northwestern's head coach

By Barry Byers - bbyers@heraldonline.com There have been other successful boys soccer coaches at Northwestern High School, but none quite like Dom Wren.

The Herald's All-Area Boys Soccer Coach of the Year is like a rock star to his players and the large fan base that would follow the Trojans to the ends of the earth. It's not just his British accent and the soccer terms he uses.

It's his presence.

Everyone he meets is his friend. And his players say they couldn't imagine anyone else other than Wren being their coach.

Since being promoted to head coach five seasons ago, Wren has rocked the soccer world at varying levels.

Wren's record is 154-10. He has led the Trojans to five straight Class AAAA state championship games, winning four, including the last three. Northwestern was 25-0 in 2009, won the state championship, and was named the national champion by two soccer organizations.

The 2010 team ended the season at 27-2, setting the school record for most victories in a single season.

"Of the four state championships, this one was very special,'' Wren said. "When you consider the players we graduated and that people were saying we'd never make it to the championship, it was very satisfying to go and to win it.

"This group did not have the talent we've had in the past, but they were determined and worked hard. We lost our entire back line, our top scorer and had a different keeper this year. Our guys were blue collar. They decided what they wanted and went to work to get it.''

Wren, who is from England and played at Winthrop, kept the bar set high this year even after graduating several of the state's top seniors from the 2009 team, including record-setting forward Enzo Martinez (182 career goals); Shawn Ferguson; scrapper Zack Clark and defender Robbie Benson.

Early this season, the Trojans had shaken off two early-season losses and were rolling to what ended up being another stellar season. But a couple of weeks before the playoffs, and with several key region games left, co-captain Dennis Moore went down with a knee injury.

Ricardo Garbanzo, another team leader, also was missing at the same time because he was playing in an Olympic Development League in England.

But senior Alex Martinez, Enzo's brother, took up the slack and helped keep the Trojans' winning streak growing until his mates returned.

The Trojans went 4-0 with Moore and Garbanzo out, including a win over rival Fort Mill.

"I didn't do anything they (Garbanzo and Moore) wouldn't have done if I had been out,'' said Martinez, The Herald's All-Area Boys Soccer Player of the Year. "The thing about our team is we enjoy playing together. We are very close and we love each other. It makes our team stronger.

"And another thing is we wanted it, wanted to show the people who counted us out that they didn't know us well. Last year when we beat Irmo, we were the favorite. This year we were the underdogs. It was awesome to beat them (4-2) and prove we could do it.''

Martinez signed to play soccer at High Point (N.C.) University of the Big South Conference.

Playing for the Panthers will allow him to come home for games against league-member Winthrop.

He scored 31 goals and had 18 assists this season. Wren had no qualms about describing Martinez as the heart and soul of this year's team.

"Alex was our vocal leader and got everyone ready to play,'' Wren said. "He and several of our seniors knew it was their time to be in the spotlight and they went out and performed.

"What people didn't see was the leadership of our captains, Alex, Ryan (Foster) and Dennis (Moore). Dennis was the steadying force, led by example and stayed calm. Ryan was my coach on the field. We got everything we asked for from those three outstanding young men.''

Barry Byers 329-4099

Read more: http://www.heraldonline.com/2010/06/15/2242523/wren-rocks-trojans-soccer-program.html#ixzz0r4MCoFjE

[choffer]

Nice one Dom! Love this thread.

[Dom_Wren]

Nice one Dom! Love this thread.

Cheers mate!

Leave for Baton Rouge La, for a regional club tournament......Should be interesting!

[carlitobrigante]

wow, great stuff. Your livving the dream my friend, and doing a damn good job of it too...

So could any of these kids make the big time do you think? How old are these kids?

Most importantly how did you land a job like this and how much does a coaching job like this pay? Im assuming a degree in P.E and sports sciences, and was it then just a case of spotting an advert and moving abroad?

It sounds like such a rewarding job, you are really helping these kids grow into good people, i really wish we had more stuff like this going on in our schools....