Kudos to Andromeda 97 Red for representing NTX well in Germantown, TN.

Defeating the Missouri and Kentucky State Champions on the way to the final where they were defeated by the Indiana State Champion in PKs.

http://www.soccerincollege.com/TTSchedules.aspx?tid=GERMANM&year=2011&stid=GERMANM&syear=2011&div=U15M01

I'd encourage others to try this tournament - it's held in a suburb of Memphis, within driving distance (7-8 hours) and, as mentioned, the competition is good. There were a lot of college coaches there for those interested.

The fields were very nice - the pouring rain on Sunday, not so much.

We took a bus and it was a lot of fun, exception being rain/accidents leading to a 3:00 am arrival on Monday - the price of making the final, I guess.
Great way to get out of the Houston/OKC humdrum.

Congrats boys - hard fought wins, played very well over the weekend.

Way to rep NTx Andro Red sounds like a good time.

Good job, Andromeda Red!

Truth be told fcd blue should have joined them .. The Missouri team never took an actual shot .. Scored on a narrow field with 2 throw ins into the box . Thats also how they scored on andro. I have never seen a team rely on the throw in as a weapon the way this team did . It was silly.. fcd out shot them 18or so to 0.and ended up w/ the loss..

Your getting to the age where many teams will have at least one player that can put a good throw deep into the goal box. No different than defending a corner kick.

my2cents wrote:Your getting to the age where many teams will have at least one player that can put a good throw deep into the goal box. No different than defending a corner kick.

The throws barley make the near post on a full sized field. SORRY. Just dont think chucking the ball 30 yards is much of a soccer stratagy.

We both had games at the same time on those fields - they were very narrow and short. The main park was on par with any of ours, but that one was 2 fields, nice grass, strange location, and with very strange dimensions.

They did have a kid who could chuck the ball far, but, on those fields, it wasn't necessary.
They reminded me of 8v8 fields in Houston in terms of size.

plantit wrote:

my2cents wrote:Your getting to the age where many teams will have at least one player that can put a good throw deep into the goal box. No different than defending a corner kick.

The throws barley make the near post on a full sized field. SORRY. Just dont think chucking the ball 30 yards is much of a soccer stratagy.

My 96 can put the ball to the middle of the goal, on a line drive, and with more accuracy than a corner kick. How is having the ability to put the ball in the box, on target, in front of the goal every time it goes out on the last 20 yards of the field not a good strategy to employ ?

Southlake had a kid last year that could launch a throw in and hit the middle of the box. I couldn't believe my eyes at first....amazing!

plantit wrote:

my2cents wrote:Your getting to the age where many teams will have at least one player that can put a good throw deep into the goal box. No different than defending a corner kick.

The throws barley make the near post on a full sized field. SORRY. Just dont think chucking the ball 30 yards is much of a soccer stratagy.

It might not be pretty and it might be unconventional but it does in fact work even at the highest level of the game.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rory_Delap

plantit wrote:

my2cents wrote:Your getting to the age where many teams will have at least one player that can put a good throw deep into the goal box. No different than defending a corner kick.

The throws barley make the near post on a full sized field. SORRY. Just dont think chucking the ball 30 yards is much of a soccer stratagy.

You need to watch a Stoke City game in the BPL... They use Delap's long throw all the time.

I saw a 13 year old throw it 200+ feet into the box and score three goals during Dallas Cup(they've won it U13 and U14 - actually he played there as a U12). It was funny to hear the crowd go silent then the 'ahhhhh' when he unleashed.

He's on the national team now, great player, not super huge (Bilal Abdallah) - now U15.

When I witnessed that, I looked up all I could on teaching to throw far, but, it's a lot like high jumping or pitching, some are built to do it - not easily taught to anyone. It was the whip he got from his upper body, I heard him yell 'crack your back' to another LA-based team when he was watching. So much more control than a corner, super weapon if you can find/create one.

Our 95 Boys team played in the tourney last year and was also a finalist! Great competition and a great time. We played in the showcase portion this year and won all of our games.

I would highly recommend this tourney as you get to play teams from other parts of the country..

We giggle because we are a very small team and every time we took the pitch we were playing the jolly green giants... Don't know what is in the water in the midwest, but they grow them boys BIG!!

maybe 200lbs.