Life's a beach for these soccer players
By: SIMON SAMANO - Staff Writer | ∞
OCEANSIDE ---- The sounds on the sand at Oceanside Harbor were pleasant during the semifinals and finals of the Southern California Beach Soccer Championship.
Waves crashing on the shore. The rhythm of congo drums being banged. Children of all ages joyously celebrating after goals. Cheers erupting seemingly every minute from fans and parents watching matches on the 15 pitches spread along hundreds of yards of beach. And, of course, the constant thump of bare feet meeting a soccer ball.
The sights were also pleasing to the eye. Off the pitch, hundreds of kids smiling and laughing. On the pitch, some phenomenal soccer, especially in the older age divisions. With beach soccer being such an aerial game, it felt at times like watching Bruce Lee practice martial arts.
The event was the brainchild of Mark Koehler, a management consultant and Oceanside resident, who got the idea a few years ago from Dick Whalen, tournament director of the North American Sand Soccer Championships in Virginia Beach, Va. Koehler, along with business partner Gino Rossi, put his time, money and effort into organizing the event.
As the final day of the tournament ---- which attracted more than 150 teams and 10,000 people during its two days ---- neared its end, Koehler looked a little worn out after serving as referee of an under-8 division semifinals match. He said there were a few problems he didn't expect, such as some coaches taking the youth competition too seriously, which was the primary reason why Koehler stayed away from launching a grass tournament in the first place. There was also confusion about the rules of the game among referees.
Nevertheless, Koehler was pleased with the execution.
"I didn't know it took this much (work) to do this type of thing," said Koehler, who is a youth coach for the Soccer Club of Oceanside. "But we just put on a huge event. And everyone who's come by is really blown away by it."
You don't have to take Koehler's word for it. How about the word of Ronnie Silva, a member of the third-ranked team in the world, Team 99 (Santa Cruz), and the U.S. men's beach soccer national team? Silva has experienced his share of beach soccer tournaments.
"For a first-year event, it was run really well," said Silva, who added that he and his teammates will return next year. "I felt like everything was on time and the games were well executed ---- like we weren't waiting around for a scorebook or anything like that. Not too many problems. I thought it was done really well, have no complaints at all."
I certainly didn't have any complaints as a spectator. Games starting every five minutes meant there was never a dull moment, and I enjoyed sitting in the sand and watching the action, even on a cloudy afternoon. This experience ranked up there with attending an AVP beach volleyball tour event, which I've done a few times.
Beach soccer, which FIFA sanctioned in 2005 with its first World Cup, is still a novelty in the United States. Heck, at times it seems like regular soccer is, too, with the way Americans refuse to embrace it. But beach soccer has a lot of potential to grow. The excitement, I can assure you, is present. It's just going to take more exposure, not to mention the backing of the U.S. Soccer Federation.
If beach volleyball can be a relative success, as evidenced by the AVP's television contracts with NBC and Fox Sports Net, then beach soccer has a chance. There is a parallel.
"It's a lot like (beach volleyball)," Silva said. "It's the environment. It's even a destination for vacation. You can couple all of these things and make one full package for these events and see some creative, beautiful soccer. It's like the rebel child of grass soccer.
"It can be a very great sport for the fans, as well as businessmen. It's very dramatic and a very creative game."
Though it might be a while until the sport latches on nationally, it looks like we'll get an annual dose of it locally, as Koehler intends to make the tournament an Oceanside staple.
"I think it's a very strong possibility," Koehler said. "Plus we've got the city behind us now. It's just awesome."
Contact staff writer Simon Samano at simon_samano@yahoo.com. Comment at sports.nctimes.com.
Local headers
Colorado Rapids midfielder Jovan Kirovski, a San Pasqual High alumnus, scored his second goal of the season during a 1-1 tie with the Kansas City Wizards on Thursday. The goal came on a penalty kick. ... The San Diego Sunwaves dropped their first, and only, USL W-League exhibition match, 4-3 to the Los Angeles Storm on Friday before an announced crowd of 2,613 at USD's Torero Stadium. Mt. Carmel product Leigh Ann Robinson scored for the Sunwaves, whose regular season begins on Wednesday with a six-game road trip. Their home opener is June 17 at 3 p.m. against the Real Colorado Cougars.
A long wait for nothing
Sunil Gulati fired Bruce Arena as U.S. men's national coach shortly after last summer's disastrous World Cup performance to make a statement that American soccer was in desperate need of a makeover. The statement firing was to be followed by a statement hiring, preferably a coach with international experience who would reshape the way the federation and the national team operate.
Juergen Klinsmann was Gulati's dream choice for the job, but his complete mishandling of the process created a nightmare that finally ended last week when Gulati removed the interim tag from Bob Bradley's title and hired him as the national team coach.
In betting the house ---- and losing it ---- on Klinsmann last fall, Gulati showed his ineptitude. He didn't have a backup plan and probably thought hiring Bradley on an interim basis would buy him some time to hire a different international coach. But none of the presumed candidates ---- Carlos Queiroz, Gerard Houllier or Jose Pekerman ---- showed more than casual interest. So instead of the complete opposite of Arena, Gulati ended up with his former assistant.
What a waste of eight months. We waited all that time for this?
There is a flip side to this whole saga, though. I give Bradley credit. He did everything he could during his short time as interim coach to prove that he deserved the job permanently. He never lost, including a victory over rival Mexico in his debut match. That set the tone for what was to come.
If Bradley's success continues through the CONCACAF Gold Cup and Copa America, maybe Gulati won't look so bad, after all. Accidents do happen.
---- Simon Samano
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