Tomorrow is the first day of pre-season. The guys have been arriving back in town all week, ready for Monday. We are delighted to welcome back Eddie, Sully, Cally, Kevin and the rest of the guys who are returning for their 2nd season. They are joined by lots of new faces, Lawrence Olum, Jay Needham, Leonard Griffin, Ben Dragavon and several more to come. I have to say that all the guys who have come by the office look in good shape, so hopefully Adrian won't have to work them too hard!
I know Adrian and Bobby have been looking forward to Monday, they have been itching to get started again and put the boys through their paces. Adrian is a big believer in using the ball and small sided games to get the team fit, so the guys can expect to see lots of the ball in the next few weeks!
The guys will have just a few days to get ready for the Dynamo on Sunday. That will be a stiff test given that the Dynamo have been in pre-season for almost a month already and have played several competitive games. The Dynamo come to Austin on March 14th for our annual friendly with the Houston club. The friendly will be our very last game at Nelson Field, as we will play ALL our regular season games at our new home, House Park.
Season tickets are on sale and we have had great feedback from fans about the "flexible" nature of the tickets. It would be great to see House Park full every week, so if you have a friend or colleague who is a soccer fan tell them about the GREAT DEAL on season tickets, 30% cheaper than last year and flexible tickets you can use anytime during the season.
Everyone has been talking about the Stoke/Arsenal game and the unfortunate injury to Aaron Ramsey - the newspapers and pundits seem to be in agreement that it was an accident, not malicious or intentional. Knowing Ryan personally, I know that he is not the kind of player to purposefully go out to injure another player. I hope he can put this behind him and impress during his call up to the national team.
Phil
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Another week races by..
Another week, another signing - we welcome Ben Dragovan to our Aztex family. He already knows some of the guys so I'm sure he'll settle in well. Meanwhile, Miguel is in Monterrey for two weeks of training with the 'striped ones' - a great opportunity for him.
We went to Cuatros on Saturday to watch Stoke City take on Portsmouth. It was great to catch up with members of Chantico's Army and also share some banter with some Chelsea and Arsenal fans. It's great to see Stoke doing so well - as someone posted on Facebook, this time last season we were on 26 points, 19th place and with a -19 goal difference. This season, we are on 34 points, 11th place with a -3 GD - progress indeed. It was also great to see Everton put 3 past Man Utd! The only sorry part of all this is poor Portsmouth - bottom of the league with bankruptcy looming. On a selfish note, it would also mean Stoke losing some well-earned points.
Everyone is keeping a very close eye on House Park (thanks Chris for the updated photo each week!) - on the quiet, we are hoping we will be able to move there for our first regular season game after all. Cross everything!
We have a small army of interns at the moment doing all kinds of tasks - working on creating a better match day experience, looking for potential new sponsors, making the players move into their apartments easier, etc. - we are very glad to have them!
Don't forget to cheer for Stoke again on Wednesday!
kay
We went to Cuatros on Saturday to watch Stoke City take on Portsmouth. It was great to catch up with members of Chantico's Army and also share some banter with some Chelsea and Arsenal fans. It's great to see Stoke doing so well - as someone posted on Facebook, this time last season we were on 26 points, 19th place and with a -19 goal difference. This season, we are on 34 points, 11th place with a -3 GD - progress indeed. It was also great to see Everton put 3 past Man Utd! The only sorry part of all this is poor Portsmouth - bottom of the league with bankruptcy looming. On a selfish note, it would also mean Stoke losing some well-earned points.
Everyone is keeping a very close eye on House Park (thanks Chris for the updated photo each week!) - on the quiet, we are hoping we will be able to move there for our first regular season game after all. Cross everything!
We have a small army of interns at the moment doing all kinds of tasks - working on creating a better match day experience, looking for potential new sponsors, making the players move into their apartments easier, etc. - we are very glad to have them!
Don't forget to cheer for Stoke again on Wednesday!
kay
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Excitement mounts...!
I love this time of the year - the season is just around the corner, tryouts are this weekend, the schedule is out, season ticket sales are going well and player signings are being made. It's great to have new players added to the roster but also great to welcome back some familiar faces, some of them from our very first season as the Aztex U23's. We ask them to do a lot of community work behind the scenes and they have always responded so well - I get to hear all the great feedback and feel like a proud mum (mom). Kids don't always want to listen to parents or authority figures about healthy eating or the importance of exercise but will happily take advice from recognizable athletes.
Tuesday evening saw a soccer milestone - Amy Fearn became the first woman to referee an English Football League match. She first made headlines in November 2006 when Mike Newell, then the manager of Luton, took exception to her performance on the line in his club's defeat by Queen's Park Rangers.
"She shouldn't be here," Newell fumed after the match. "I know that sounds sexist but I am sexist. This is not park football so what are women doing here?" He went on to claim, "it is tokenism - for the politically-correct idiots. When do we reach a stage when all officials are women? Because then we are in trouble."
Newell subsequently apologized but was fined 6,500 pounds for his trouble by the Football Association. It's hard to imagine that kind of incident here in the US where women's soccer is well-established and respected although the ratio of men to women referees is still unbalanced. I'm interested now to find out what prevents women from becoming a referee - more later!
The banter has already started about the World Cup clash on June 12th between England and the US - could be the biggest watch party ever followed our game that evening against Vancouver. I'm not one to get involved in baiting and jeering at other people's teams .......but I'm willing to make an exception in this case! You're going down!!!!
Kay
Tuesday evening saw a soccer milestone - Amy Fearn became the first woman to referee an English Football League match. She first made headlines in November 2006 when Mike Newell, then the manager of Luton, took exception to her performance on the line in his club's defeat by Queen's Park Rangers.
"She shouldn't be here," Newell fumed after the match. "I know that sounds sexist but I am sexist. This is not park football so what are women doing here?" He went on to claim, "it is tokenism - for the politically-correct idiots. When do we reach a stage when all officials are women? Because then we are in trouble."
Newell subsequently apologized but was fined 6,500 pounds for his trouble by the Football Association. It's hard to imagine that kind of incident here in the US where women's soccer is well-established and respected although the ratio of men to women referees is still unbalanced. I'm interested now to find out what prevents women from becoming a referee - more later!
The banter has already started about the World Cup clash on June 12th between England and the US - could be the biggest watch party ever followed our game that evening against Vancouver. I'm not one to get involved in baiting and jeering at other people's teams .......but I'm willing to make an exception in this case! You're going down!!!!
Kay
Friday, February 5, 2010
Schedule apologies
Apologies once again for the lack of a schedule - it is done but the USSF won't release it until all the teams have met certain terms and conditions. I'm also still hoping against hope that House Park will be ready in time - I am the eternal optimist - but reality tells me that we will probably play our first few games back at Nelson.
The coaches and office staff are preparing for the tryouts next weekend - there is always a sense of anticipation and excitement that a 'diamond in the rough' will be found. Come out to Stassney Fields next weekend and see for yourselves.
Tomorrow marks Tony Pulis's 300th game in charge of Stoke City.
He was first appo
inted manager in November 2002 and, after having prevented the Potters from slipping into the football league's third tier, he was sacked after falling out with the club's Icelandic owners. Pulis had refused to play two Icelandic players on the roster who had been brought in by the owners, stating that they just were not good enough. His stance ended in a parting of the ways but just a year later, after the Icelandic owners were bought out by Stoke City chairman, Peter Coates, he was back. It's been a success story ever since, promotion to the top flight in 2007/2008, an impressive 12th place last season and a mid table spot so far this season. Well done Tony and thank you!
The players, staff and I have had lots of fun lately going out to school career fairs. I love the thank you letters we receive:
" I think being a soccer player is an awesome job. You are getting paid while playing soccer. That's amazing. Hearing you explain your job that you travel around the globe to compete makes me want to be a pro player. I remember you saying that you had 30-40 games in a year. I for one think that's a lot. Thank you for taking time to come to our school, it shows our community is willing to get involved with our campus"
Tomorrow, players and staff will be at Feria Para Aprender 2010 (the Learning Fair) at the Travis County Expo Center. This is an event run in conjunction with Austin Partners in Education. One of the aims is to help families learn about the transition from high school to college or career. They are expecting more than 10,000 parents and kids with more than 100 exhibits - should be fun!
Kay
The coaches and office staff are preparing for the tryouts next weekend - there is always a sense of anticipation and excitement that a 'diamond in the rough' will be found. Come out to Stassney Fields next weekend and see for yourselves.
Tomorrow marks Tony Pulis's 300th game in charge of Stoke City.
He was first appo
inted manager in November 2002 and, after having prevented the Potters from slipping into the football league's third tier, he was sacked after falling out with the club's Icelandic owners. Pulis had refused to play two Icelandic players on the roster who had been brought in by the owners, stating that they just were not good enough. His stance ended in a parting of the ways but just a year later, after the Icelandic owners were bought out by Stoke City chairman, Peter Coates, he was back. It's been a success story ever since, promotion to the top flight in 2007/2008, an impressive 12th place last season and a mid table spot so far this season. Well done Tony and thank you!The players, staff and I have had lots of fun lately going out to school career fairs. I love the thank you letters we receive:
" I think being a soccer player is an awesome job. You are getting paid while playing soccer. That's amazing. Hearing you explain your job that you travel around the globe to compete makes me want to be a pro player. I remember you saying that you had 30-40 games in a year. I for one think that's a lot. Thank you for taking time to come to our school, it shows our community is willing to get involved with our campus"
Tomorrow, players and staff will be at Feria Para Aprender 2010 (the Learning Fair) at the Travis County Expo Center. This is an event run in conjunction with Austin Partners in Education. One of the aims is to help families learn about the transition from high school to college or career. They are expecting more than 10,000 parents and kids with more than 100 exhibits - should be fun!
Kay
Friday, January 29, 2010
Aztex Alliance
This week saw the launch of the Aztex Alliance and it seems to have been well received. We did a lot of research and listening to fans - having a say in the decision making of the club is something fairly common in Europe but I think only the Seattle Sounders have undertaken it here in America. (I'm prepared to be corrected!)
Last night, the Aztex staff, players and coaches were guests of the Austin Toros who are on a winning streak at the moment. They won again last night but the highlight of the evening was our very own Kieron Bernard taking part in a dance competition! Despite our very enthusiastic cheers, he was beaten into second place, hopefully not a sign of things to come! The players dutifully went straight home whilst the staff went and let off a little steam at Pete's Duelling Pianos.
Lastly, Phil was at a team owners meeting this morning and finally the schedule has had it's last nips and tucks and will be published on Tuesday to fanfares all round.
Kay
Last night, the Aztex staff, players and coaches were guests of the Austin Toros who are on a winning streak at the moment. They won again last night but the highlight of the evening was our very own Kieron Bernard taking part in a dance competition! Despite our very enthusiastic cheers, he was beaten into second place, hopefully not a sign of things to come! The players dutifully went straight home whilst the staff went and let off a little steam at Pete's Duelling Pianos.
Lastly, Phil was at a team owners meeting this morning and finally the schedule has had it's last nips and tucks and will be published on Tuesday to fanfares all round.
Kay
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Hopes for Haiti
The end of the week and the images from Haiti continue to dominate the news. We have heard that Vaniel Sirin and Ednerson Rayman, who were part of the group that travelled to England with us last October, are safe but we are still waiting to hear if Jean Alexandre's father has been found. It's hard to imagine what the families there are going through - if you are able, donate to any of the worthy non-profits who are directing their relief efforts to Haiti. One of the easiest ways is to text 'HAITI" to 90999 - $10 will be donated and added to your cell phone bill or log on to www.redcross.org
On a lighter note, we have received the first draft of the 2010 schedule so we hope to be publishing it next week - let's hope some of the more notorious 'leakers' from other teams can keep it to themselves until it is written in stone. I know you are dying to know and we are dying to tell you but it's just not quite ready yet! We will also be releasing details of a new signing - I LOVE this time of the year!!
Congratulations to Austin da Luz on being drafted by the New York Red Bulls in the first round and also to another Aztex PDL player Euan Holden who got picked up by his brother's team, Houston Dynamo.
Lastly, we watched the Stoke v Liverpool game this morning - the fans were in great voice as usual but I'm afraid Sorenson didn't do his transfer chances a lot of good. Flapping at the ball to allow them to score and some pretty dodgy clearances too - he's definitely OUT of my fantasy team now!
Kay
On a lighter note, we have received the first draft of the 2010 schedule so we hope to be publishing it next week - let's hope some of the more notorious 'leakers' from other teams can keep it to themselves until it is written in stone. I know you are dying to know and we are dying to tell you but it's just not quite ready yet! We will also be releasing details of a new signing - I LOVE this time of the year!!
Congratulations to Austin da Luz on being drafted by the New York Red Bulls in the first round and also to another Aztex PDL player Euan Holden who got picked up by his brother's team, Houston Dynamo.
Lastly, we watched the Stoke v Liverpool game this morning - the fans were in great voice as usual but I'm afraid Sorenson didn't do his transfer chances a lot of good. Flapping at the ball to allow them to score and some pretty dodgy clearances too - he's definitely OUT of my fantasy team now!
Kay
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Return to 'normal'!
Finally, the office is returning to something akin to normal. It's been hard to focus on the upcoming season with all the shenanigans but common sense finally prevailed. The good news (and I know I am biased) is that Phil is one of the team owners selected to be on the Executive Committee for the new league along with Merritt Paulson of Portland Timbers, Jeff Cooper of St Louis, Pete Medd of Baltimore and Dan Flynn of US Soccer who will serve as Chairman. I obviously know first hand the role that Phil has played in this whole process and I am inordinately proud of him.
The office today has been a little deserted - we have signed up to the Partners in Reading scheme and are mentoring in various elementary schools around the city. We have also been invited to participate in Career Days at both elementary and middle schools - always so much fun. The kids come up with some great questions and love being able to talk to 'real life' soccer players. We are also once again involved with the AISD middle schools, helping them to raise their levels of cardio-vascular fitness through soccer.
The MLS draft takes place tomorrow and one of our 2008 PDL players is in it:
We wish him every success!
Kay
The office today has been a little deserted - we have signed up to the Partners in Reading scheme and are mentoring in various elementary schools around the city. We have also been invited to participate in Career Days at both elementary and middle schools - always so much fun. The kids come up with some great questions and love being able to talk to 'real life' soccer players. We are also once again involved with the AISD middle schools, helping them to raise their levels of cardio-vascular fitness through soccer.
The MLS draft takes place tomorrow and one of our 2008 PDL players is in it:
| 24 |  | Austin da Luz | Comments: Toronto needs help on the wings in a bad way and da Luz is a far better player than this draft position indicates. He drops because he isn't very versatile and other teams have solid players on the left wing. |
Kay
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