Alan Gordon GOAT

Cant get into the MLS yet, NBA is still going on. But man, looks like Revs are in for a rough start

Question for those with MLS Live: are the post game highlight packages the same as available on the MLS website, or are they longer?

NYC FC:

Defense doesn't seem great. too many open looks, coverage on the wings is poor. center backs can be taken advantage of. Probably not horrible, but not great.

Villa is awesome, full stop.

Mix has been pretty solid. He's a little jittery at times, but he generally distributes well, has a nice passing touch and is an opportunistic attacker.

Not super impressed with the other striker, nemec. Gonna give him a few more games.

Shelton is awesome and should play more. Or just keep coming on the second and blow by tired wingers/defenders. Either way.

Grabavoy seems pretty good. I like him so far.

all of these are overreactions to me watching 1.5 games of this team.

Also, apparently "I believe that Boston sucks" was chanted for half the game.

This needs to become a thing.

Maybe I'm not looking in the right place, but I don't see highlight packages for the games. Just a full match replay or a condensed version of the match which seems to be about 17 minutes long.

I'm still new to MLS Live, but liking it so far and the condensed matches will come in handy on weekends when I am unable to watch anything live.

I know this is a bit off topic, but I didn't think it deserved its own thread and this seemed like the best place for it (mods feel free to move if you think it fits somewhere else better).

I have been an assistant coached for 7-8th grade boys soccer for the past 3 years, but I am not coaching this year. What would you all suggest I do to become a better kids soccer assistant or head coach?

My previous experience coaching is as an assistant coach, under a head coach that knew about as much as the average person about soccer (his coaching resume: he plays FIFA, never watches soccer outside of the world cup, and stopped playing when he was 6 years old). Our practices were like 50% scrimmage each other, 15-20% stretching/running and 30-35% ****ty drills that me or the other assistant coach made up.

I am by no means very knowledgeable about the game. I haven't played the game outside of intramural and pick-up games since 8th grade. I know very little about effective drills or tactics. However, this is something I really want to do because I like kids and I enjoy the game.

So what is my next step to becoming a decent to good kids soccer coach? Any books that you all would recommend? Find a coaches clinic/school? What else you got?

agreed, except i'd have been a lot harsher on nemec. he seems to blow pretty hard.

If you go to the games recap pages under Scores & Schedule (or something similar) you'll see a link to like a 4 minute highlight package.

Last year these were more often 8 to 10 minutes long, so apparently they've scaled them back a bit to not make it a condensed-condensed-replay.

And yes, they are the same highlights packages available on the recap websites (http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/mat...ls/video/34028)

bahbah

Not sure I have the best answer for you one way or the other, but is your goal here to coach kids who can win and have fun in semi-competitive leagues, or to try and develop the next superstars of American soccer? Just seems like the answers to these two scenarios would be pretty different.

Good question. I guess my goals in order of importance are to steal an extra win or two a season, maximize fun, and help the kids improve their game.

I'd start off by getting your E license.

http://www.ussoccer.com/coaching-edu...ses/national-e

I just saw that and came back here to ask if it is worthwhile. I am going to take your post as a yes it is worth it. Going to look into this more tonight. Thank you.

I'm biased because an old friend and coach runs a program in Michigan. It seemed worthwhile to a lot of people who took it from him.

How do you make one of the best saves of the season on the Kaka free kick and then give up a goal like that?

lol MLS officiating

I didn't give him a chance of beating out Kennedy, but he is looking legit so far this season.

lol MLS officiating

He is pure class. I think he may the first DP acquired to actually still be near his peak. Obviously, Lampard/Gerrard won't fit that mold, but they will still be class.

I keep forgetting that Jay Heaps actually played basketball at Duke.

I don't know why he went to college for three years. He could have been another Yeldin had he been discovered faster.

Haven't finished LA/Portland yet, so no comments on that game.

Also,

lol MLS officiating

It is worth it.

I have a C license and a National Youth Diploma, but don't really coach anymore because I play lol live poker instead.

Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions.

Cool, that's basically how I approach my brothers rec basketball team.

Basic skills focus and tactics make a big difference there, plus winning is way more fun. But you still want to do fun stuff for a chunk of practice like shooting drills or scrimmages just because it sounds like these are kids who aren't trying to be elite.

Ikes' suggestion seems like a good one as well so you have a good base of understanding.

Some more good news for the league today.

Orlando City got a statewide TV deal, which is nice. Although 3 games will be tape-delayed, which is ughwtf.

Quakes had to cap season ticket sales at 12,000 for this season given their new 18,000-seat stadium (opening Sunday). They averaged just over 15,000 last season thanks to a few games at Stanford or Levi's that let them bring in big crowds. I think SJ is primed to be a great soccer city and fanbase.

Also, NYCFC set a record for one-day merchandise sales for an MLS team, including 4,000 scarves sold. Hopefully that means a little more money to help those frugal owners compete.

TV ratings for this weekend should come out tomorrow-ish. I mean, they're out now if you know where to look but usually Wednesday is when the sports-centric ratings sites will talk about them. Here's hoping they didn't fall off a cliff after a great first week.

Ohhhhh ****!

File this one for down the road, but multiple sources tell me that Cristiano Ronaldo’s current plan is to come to MLS after he finishes at Real Madrid, with one source saying he would likely arrive on a free transfer in 2018 once his current contract ends.

Ronaldo would likely be coming off a World Cup and would be 33 years old, older than David Beckham (32) was when he came to MLS but younger than Frank Lampard (37) or Steven Gerrard (35) will be when they arrive this summer. Ronaldo’s main interest lies in cities you’d probably expect: Miami, Los Angeles and New York.


Ah, ****

The last time D.C. United visited Red Bull Arena, Eddie Johnson was in the starting lineup for last fall’s Eastern Conference playoff match. This Sunday, United will return to Harrison, N.J., for the first away test of the 2015 MLS campaign. The veteran forward will not start. He will not be in uniform or inside the venue.

Out indefinitely with an unspecified medical issue, Johnson might not play again for United or, for that matter, any club.

While United officials have remained mum and Johnson has not spoken about his condition — one that sidelined him for the entirety of the six-week training camp — multiple sources say the ailment involves his heart and threatens to derail his career.

“Maybe he comes back, but it’s a long shot,” said one source. “No one knows for sure yet.”

1st half red card for América, and now a golazo for Herediano. They are probably gonna need more than 1 tonight though.

LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLL AMERICA down 3-0 to a team whose stadium only holds 8k people. What an embarrassment of a club.

Costa Ricans straight trolling with singing Cielito Lindo right now.

MN United's first DP signing right here.

Seems like MLS teams have disproportionately high percentage of season ticket sales compared to other sports (not saying that is a bad thing).

Yeah, I feel like I've noticed that as well.

I chalk it up to season tickets being super affordable for great seats compared to basketball or baseball (and lol even starting to compare football).

I think the cheapest HAWKS/Braves season tickets (my only comparison) are both around $450/seat. Average supporters section season ticket for MLS was $325 when I last checked, and the most expensive was ~$475 for DC United.

Every non-club seat for NYCFC is < $1000/seat for the season. link
Orlando City's are all below $800 link
Toronto FC's are a bit more expensive, but not crazy link

Either way, if you're a passionate soccer fan the tickets really are a great deal.