| Kidsatplay - January 09th, 2013 21:50 GMT |
|
|
|
------ QUOTE from Norcaldad, January 09th, 2013 20:40 GMT ------
Still waiting for that New topic on the Blues..... Waiting..... and Waiting..... 
------ QUOTE END ------
Have at it.......
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| Norcaldad - January 10th, 2013 00:38 GMT |
|
|
|
It's so new!! That clean car smell.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| wr3ckl3ss - January 10th, 2013 00:56 GMT |
|
|
|
Sure glad we kept the uniform.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| JustaDad - January 10th, 2013 03:32 GMT |
|
|
|
Remind me...Manchester City, right?
Blue Moon
You saw me standing alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a club of my own
Blue Moon
You know just what I was there for
You heard me saying a prayer for
A club I really could care for
And then there suddenly appeared before me
The only club I could uphold
I heard somebody whisper please play for me
And when I looked to the Moon it turned to gold
Blue Moon
Now I'm no longer alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a club of my own
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| sports_dad - January 10th, 2013 19:25 GMT |
|
|
|
------ QUOTE from wr3ckl3ss, January 10th, 2013 00:56 GMT ------
Sure glad we kept the uniform.
------ QUOTE END ------
too bad they have changed
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| Norcaldad - January 10th, 2013 22:14 GMT |
|
|
|
sports_dad- how can there be change? There is no change allowed. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| mtnlady - January 10th, 2013 22:35 GMT |
|
|
|
So what CA Blues teams should see a significant improvement over the current Blues teams?
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| drock1331 - January 10th, 2013 22:59 GMT |
|
|
|
------ QUOTE from mtnlady, January 10th, 2013 22:35 GMT ------
So what CA Blues teams should see a significant improvement over the current Blues teams?
------ QUOTE END ------
Besides the obvious ones, I have to assume the U13 Girls team. Still don't know what happened to them from 2011 to 2012.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| Norcaldad - January 10th, 2013 23:32 GMT |
|
|
|
drock1331- are you referring to the U13G that will be U14G this next season?
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| drock1331 - January 10th, 2013 23:37 GMT |
|
|
|
Yeah, not sure what happened, they really struggled last year... and they were a good team in U12, unless it was a different team altogether. Does someone know?
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| Norcaldad - January 10th, 2013 23:44 GMT |
|
|
|
I beleive and someone correct me if I am wrong. But most of the girls left and went with GT over in the move. So you had some tryout at PU. Which is why the P.U team looked so different. And you had a few that went to other tryouts. And they found great spots with other teams. Then a few might have stayed on at the Blues. But, I believe this year the team should be a lot better.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| wr3ckl3ss - January 10th, 2013 23:49 GMT |
|
|
|
------ QUOTE from sports_dad, January 10th, 2013 19:25 GMT ------
------ QUOTE from wr3ckl3ss, January 10th, 2013 00:56 GMT ------
Sure glad we kept the uniform.
------ QUOTE END ------
too bad they have changed
------ QUOTE END ------
Ya, but we get to use our old ones. They aren't going to make us buy new unis to finish off our last 4 months of comp soccer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| sports_dad - January 12th, 2013 14:43 GMT |
|
|
|
------ QUOTE from wr3ckl3ss, January 10th, 2013 23:49 GMT ------
------ QUOTE from sports_dad, January 10th, 2013 19:25 GMT ------
------ QUOTE from wr3ckl3ss, January 10th, 2013 00:56 GMT ------
Sure glad we kept the uniform.
------ QUOTE END ------
too bad they have changed
------ QUOTE END ------
Ya, but we get to use our old ones. They aren't going to make us buy new unis to finish off our last 4 months of comp soccer.
------ QUOTE END ------
That's a good thing 
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| ScottyBoy - January 14th, 2013 16:37 GMT |
|
|
|
Edited by ScottyBoy on January 14th, 2013 16:38 GMT
Justadad, thanks for the song. This will be our first year (U9) but I've read enough of this PU... GT... BOD... SOB... CYA... FU... drama to rethink cheerleading camp for my daughter. It was a welcomed breath of fresh air and I appreciated the laugh. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| JustaDad - January 14th, 2013 19:02 GMT |
|
|
|
I'm glad your happy, ScottyBoy. That was a wonderful line up of coaches at the lower levels for the Blues and especially the U9's.
I don't know what team your daughter will play for, but one of my favorite coaches is Ron Sanchez. He trained the team my daughter is with at that level several years ago. I've always said that, your child's best chance of wanting to play soccer the next year is to have Ron as a coach.
My daughter's team is starting its 6th year and still having fun playing solid cooperative soccer because of the foundation he gave them.
Have a great season...
and stay away from cheer leading camp!
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| mtnlady - January 14th, 2013 19:33 GMT |
|
|
|
I have to ditto Ron as a very good coach/trainer. I think he may be doing a slightly older team though (u12 or u13g this coming year?). Not sure about that.
Hey Dave, don't they say that the highest incidents of injuries is American Football and cheerleading? Both are contact sports apparently..
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| Norcaldad - January 14th, 2013 20:03 GMT |
|
|
|
cheerleading is very competitive. Not to mention the hours the kids put into training. Lots of ankle and wrist injuries. But I would have to say a sport that has a hole on the boys side.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| ScottyBoy - January 14th, 2013 23:29 GMT |
|
|
|
Edited by ScottyBoy on January 14th, 2013 23:29 GMT
I believe Ron will handle the U9 "B" team if they decide to structure it that way. Looks like Rich D. and Mike Lynch would handle an "A" team.
Ron went out of his way to spend extra time with us and is incredibly approachable. The girls seem to really like him and we're looking forward to it. He may also be coaching another group as well... don't know.
I appreciate the input from all of you.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| mtnlady - January 15th, 2013 00:16 GMT |
|
|
|
Ron may 'volunteer' coach (unless he now charges to coach) but he is one of the best around.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| gotbluballs - April 14th, 2013 02:00 GMT |
|
|
|
Tic tok, tic tok. Whens this forum going to blow up  Where's the paper boy with the breaking news ?
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| C.A.L. FC - April 14th, 2013 16:11 GMT |
|
|
|
What News ? Someone get traded for a " Player to be named later " situation ?
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| Justkidsplaying - April 15th, 2013 02:20 GMT |
|
|
|
Gotbluballs, if you are aware of any "breaking news" why don't you just say it?
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| Sportsdad13 - April 15th, 2013 16:49 GMT |
|
|
|
Rich Donofrio has seemed to disappear from Cal Blues website staff? He was listed as DOC and Coach.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| Socop - April 15th, 2013 21:26 GMT |
|
|
|
Interesting development there, if you are involved with Cal Blues. No real impact one way or another unless your kid was on his team. I would assume he didn't play well with GT so the dictator of Cal Blues tossed him out on his ear. Probably the right choice, in my opinion.
Don't think too many people with care about this...
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| trying2playsoccer - April 16th, 2013 02:21 GMT |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| Truth - April 16th, 2013 20:56 GMT |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| rsvlfamily - April 22nd, 2013 00:26 GMT |
|
|
|
------ QUOTE from Sportsdad13, April 15th, 2013 16:49 GMT ------
Rich Donofrio has seemed to disappear from Cal Blues website staff? He was listed as DOC and Coach.
------ QUOTE END ------
Looks like Rich Donofrio has moved to Placer United
http://placerunited.net/staff/u15-u19-coaching-staff/
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| ScottyBoy - April 23rd, 2013 05:42 GMT |
|
|
|
'Looks like Rich Donofrio has moved to Placer United.'
I'm disappointed to see this... though not surprised. GT has really kind of assumed the leadership role, along with Dave Underhill, so I guess there were too many cooks in the kitchen?
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| finwait - April 24th, 2013 18:03 GMT |
|
|
|
Sad for Blues, lucky for Placer. Rich is a pretty dynamic coach and GT seems a bit more formulaic in my opinion. GT definitely has a "GT way" that he's perfected over the years and is very dedicated to that formula, he doesn't like to deviate much from his method. I can see positives and negatives to this approach. The positive is that if you do the same thing over and over then eventually it will become second nature. One downside is if your practices don't vary much your players can get bored, particularly younger players. Also if you tend to focus heavily on one skill, like passing, and not much on other skills (striking for example) some players might fall through the cracks. Rich seems more like the type that adjusts his coaching to the hand he's been dealt. Maybe a bit less organized too. That can be great for some players and bad for others. If you're a player who likes variety you'd probably respond better to Rich's style. If you're a player who needs a lot of structure than GT might be better. I know of a parent whose daughter played under Rich and he told me that one year she had under Rich was one of the best development years of her soccer career. What this parent told me is that Rich gave more individual attention to the players than most coaches he'd known. Those who were strong passers but not great at their foot skills were encouraged to use their foot skills in practice and games and given extra help in those areas. Those who were great at foot skills but a bit ball-hoggish were encouraged to pass more and given more help in those areas. Each player was coached as an individual as well as part of a team. There is less individual training within the GT method and all the focus is on team. For those players who lack a skill that isn't focused on in practice they are expected to practice those skills on their own outside of practice. That's not necessarily a bad thing, it just may not work well with every player. I'm not criticizing either GT or Rich, just that from what I know of the two their coaching styles are almost polar opposites. I could see how problems might occur.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| soccerlvr - April 25th, 2013 00:03 GMT |
|
|
|
As I understand it, this move had more to do with parent dissatisfaction than anything to do with GT. Parents were not satisfied with convoluted practices that involved parent coaching, poor communication and missed practices. Maybe things will improve at Placer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| TJSoccer - April 25th, 2013 01:20 GMT |
|
|
|
------ QUOTE from soccerlvr, April 25th, 2013 00:03 GMT ------
As I understand it, this move had more to do with parent dissatisfaction than anything to do with GT. Parents were not satisfied with convoluted practices that involved parent coaching, poor communication and missed practices. Maybe things will improve at Placer.
------ QUOTE END ------
When you say "This move....had to do with parent dissatisfaction", are you referring to dissatisfaction with the blues parents, right? If you believe it to be dissatisfaction at the blues, why would Rich be the scapegoat and not GT? Did the blues experience change dramatically for the worse between now and the previous doc? Why would Rich be the problem after just a couple of months?
I don't really understand what happened. Its hard to believe that the blues would fire a person after 5 years of service and after promoting him to DOC five months earlier. They had to know what they had in Rich, and should have known how he would handle the position.
On the other hand, maybe Rich saw the writing on the wall (GT was making all of the decisions) and decided to move to pusc without being let go. Maybe he wasn't on board with the hiring of gt in the first place.
Or, maybe its just better to be a staff coach at pusc than a doc at the blues. I'm not sure how folks get paid at the two clubs, but I'm sure that PUSC's fees are a lot higher than the blues. Maybe Rich saw an opportunity because of the vacuum left by the last drama.
Either way, its a black eye for the blues. Its hard to believe that GT was involved just because it makes him look so bad. Is the blue's field still coming on line this year? What does that transaction look like?
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| Socop - April 25th, 2013 01:38 GMT |
|
|
|
This is nothing new with Cal Blues. It doesn't matter how long you have been there or how good or bad you are. If you are not on board with the club Manager, you are gone.
I know parents who have kids that played for Rich. Many did not want to return the next year, but others did. My daughter's team trained with him a few times and we were not impressed. Nice enough guy, but strange practices.
Don't think he will last too long at Placer. Much more accountability there.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| soccerlvr - April 25th, 2013 02:56 GMT |
|
|
|
------ QUOTE from TJSoccer, April 25th, 2013 01:20 GMT ------
------ QUOTE from soccerlvr, April 25th, 2013 00:03 GMT ------
As I understand it, this move had more to do with parent dissatisfaction than anything to do with GT. Parents were not satisfied with convoluted practices that involved parent coaching, poor communication and missed practices. Maybe things will improve at Placer.
------ QUOTE END ------
When you say "This move....had to do with parent dissatisfaction", are you referring to dissatisfaction with the blues parents, right? If you believe it to be dissatisfaction at the blues, why would Rich be the scapegoat and not GT? Did the blues experience change dramatically for the worse between now and the previous doc? Why would Rich be the problem after just a couple of months?
I don't really understand what happened. Its hard to believe that the blues would fire a person after 5 years of service and after promoting him to DOC five months earlier. They had to know what they had in Rich, and should have known how he would handle the position.
On the other hand, maybe Rich saw the writing on the wall (GT was making all of the decisions) and decided to move to pusc without being let go. Maybe he wasn't on board with the hiring of gt in the first place.
Or, maybe its just better to be a staff coach at pusc than a doc at the blues. I'm not sure how folks get paid at the two clubs, but I'm sure that PUSC's fees are a lot higher than the blues. Maybe Rich saw an opportunity because of the vacuum left by the last drama.
Either way, its a black eye for the blues. Its hard to believe that GT was involved just because it makes him look so bad. Is the blue's field still coming on line this year? What does that transaction look like?
------ QUOTE END ------
I am just relaying what I have heard from multiple families directly involved.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| TJSoccer - April 25th, 2013 04:16 GMT |
|
|
|
------ QUOTE from soccerlvr, April 25th, 2013 02:56 GMT ------
I am just relaying what I have heard from multiple families directly involved.
------ QUOTE END ------
I'm not disputing your assessment. I thought you were saying the parents of the club were dissatisfied, but maybe you were referring to the parents of his team. Its hard to imagine that he could have screwed up the club in such a short time. And, if it is, then I would expect both doc's to be removed.
I guess I don't really understand how the DOC role is given, or what the expectations are.
I thought the DOC was a management role that also provides the vision and philosophy of the club. I would expect a DOC to train and rate coaches, and provide feedback. But clearly, at the blues and other clubs in d6, it really isn't that. The DOC is just a picture and some credentials on a website. They are really just another coach that has to show up to the board meetings.
That said, I don't understand why the blues would name their own veteran coach as their doc and then remove him in a couple of months. If there were issues with his coaching, I would have expected that they knew about them already, but were still comfortable with him as the doc. It just seems more likely that he left on his own, but that assumes that the club manager is rational. If he isn't (as socop implied), then i guess that would explain it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| Blues99 - April 25th, 2013 18:27 GMT |
|
|
|
Finwait, that's a very interesting post. I don't know Rich from "Adam" so I won't say anything negative about him, but according to GT, Rich left on his own.
I find the post interesting because you are comparing Rich to GT and most of your points insinuate that Rich is either a better coach or a better trainer. Let me remind you that of the two of them only one of them has 3 players heading to Indiana University this coming fall on scholarships (and several others to other top D1 schools). Indiana University just won the NCAA championship. There is not another coach in the US that can say that they are sending 3 players to the #1 program in the country. Of the two of them only one of them had players go to UCLA and Stanford on Scholarships last year.
As far as getting bored my daughter has played for GT for 3 years. Not once has she come home and said that training was boring. He makes training fun and very competitive and that's why college coaches showed up to his boys training on a regular basis. Most of his training consist on small sided games. Find me a kid that would rather do drills, or work on a specific skill like striking than playing small sided games with very little supervision. I do agree with you that in GT's trainings rarely do you see his players work on striking, but both his Boys and older Girls' team have a high goals per game average so he must be doing something right.
As far as your comment "For those players who lack a skill that isn't focused on in practice they are expected to practice those skills on their own outside of practice." As I said my daughter has played for him for three years and not once has he ever told her to work on something outside of practice, but if he ever does I will let you know. Also, please let us know when Rich develops his first player that gets a D1 scholarship.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| finwait - April 25th, 2013 20:35 GMT |
|
|
|
Edited by finwait on April 25th, 2013 20:47 GMT
------ QUOTE from Blues99, April 25th, 2013 18:27 GMT ------
Finwait, that's a very interesting post. I don't know Rich from "Adam" so I won't say anything negative about him, but according to GT, Rich left on his own.
I find the post interesting because you are comparing Rich to GT and most of your points insinuate that Rich is either a better coach or a better trainer. Let me remind you that of the two of them only one of them has 3 players heading to Indiana University this coming fall on scholarships (and several others to other top D1 schools). Indiana University just won the NCAA championship. There is not another coach in the US that can say that they are sending 3 players to the #1 program in the country. Of the two of them only one of them had players go to UCLA and Stanford on Scholarships last year.
As far as getting bored my daughter has played for GT for 3 years. Not once has she come home and said that training was boring. He makes training fun and very competitive and that's why college coaches showed up to his boys training on a regular basis. Most of his training consist on small sided games. Find me a kid that would rather do drills, or work on a specific skill like striking than playing small sided games with very little supervision. I do agree with you that in GT's trainings rarely do you see his players work on striking, but both his Boys and older Girls' team have a high goals per game average so he must be doing something right.
As far as your comment "For those players who lack a skill that isn't focused on in practice they are expected to practice those skills on their own outside of practice." As I said my daughter has played for him for three years and not once has he ever told her to work on something outside of practice, but if he ever does I will let you know. Also, please let us know when Rich develops his first player that gets a D1 scholarship.
------ QUOTE END ------
Wow, my post must have been written much differently than I thought it was. I did not mean to convey that I thought Rich was a better coach, just that he is a different coach. This based on feedback from parents who have had GT as a coach and feedback from parents who have had Rich as a coach. I thought I wrote that I wasn't saying one method was better than the other, just that they are different and one may work better than the other based on personality type. Rich seems more "off the cuff" and individualized whereas GT seems much more structured and team focused. I can see how some parents/players may love a more "off the cuff" approach while some may hate it. Vice versa for GT. I'm glad your daughter has had such a great experience with GT. I'm also glad that my friend's daughter had a great experience with Rich. Every child is different and not every child who plays soccer has a goal to go to a D1 college. I have no idea if Rich has coached any players who ended up at a D1 college, but that wasn't my point. I was simply writing what I knew about the two personality types/coaching styles and why I could picture the two not seeing eye to eye. Does that mean GT is at fault for Rich leaving? No. Does that mean Rich is at fault? No. It just means that sometimes people don't get along and so changes are made that make both happier. Many are trying to turn this into some sort of power play on GT's part and it's most likely something more innocuous like two people parting ways for the better of both. That's the point I was trying to make. Like I said, I have a friend whose daughter played for Rich and loved him. Yet I'm sure there are parents/players who didn't/don't like Rich as a coach. I know several parents whose children played for GT and loved him, yet I also know a few who didn't like GT's style at all. The goal is to find the coach that works best for your child, right?
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| Justkidsplaying - April 25th, 2013 21:47 GMT |
|
|
|
I would stongly disagree that he left due to parent dissatifaction, as I am one of the parents that were on his team. I will tell you quit the opposite, our team families were extremely upset by him leaving but supported the reasons why he choose to leave.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| soccerlvr - April 25th, 2013 23:05 GMT |
|
|
|
Well, I know that is not completely accurate. The families I know were very dissatisfied. It just shows how opinions and experiences can vary.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| Justkidsplaying - April 25th, 2013 23:29 GMT |
|
|
|
Possibly his other team was, but not ours.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| TJSoccer - April 25th, 2013 23:59 GMT |
|
|
|
soccerlvr - I'm unclear on what you are implying about Rich. Honestly, I don't know why I even care, but that is beside the point.
You said: " Parents were not satisfied with convoluted practices that involved parent coaching, poor communication and missed practices. "
Are the dissatisfied parents the ones from his team? Was he turning over his practices to parents? Was he missing his own team's practices? Did this just start happening (after he was given the doc title)? Or has this been a problem for 5 years?
Or, do you mean that the Blues have parent coached teams that have parents that aren't communicating and missing practices. And, Rich had to take the fall because, as doc, he hired those coaches. Is that what you are implying?
Either way, I really think you are wrong. I think he resigned his position instead of getting fired as I think you are suggesting. Every coach has had dissatisfied parents. To fire a coach or doc at this point seems extreme if its for dissatisfied parents of his team. Maybe you just happen to know a couple of parents that didn't like him.
I guess I just hate for a guy to get called out if its not true. If he did resign for philosophical reasons, and handled it correctly, then I think the guy is a class act.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|