Sidewinder Insider Archives - Page 6 of 27

No-frills soccer

When it comes to sports I’m a gimmick guy, so usually when a rule innovation comes along, I’ll be the first to embrace it.

The American Football League introduced the two-point conversion to the pro game, which is one of the reasons (there were many) I liked it better than the NFL.

Scott Adamson writes stuff. Follow him on Twitter @adamsonsl

The American Basketball Association had the three-point shot and red, white and blue basketballs, so to me it was superior to the NBA.

The World Hockey Association instituted sudden death overtime and (briefly) used blue pucks, thus it got more of my attention than the NHL.

So if I could work my will on soccer, I’d offer up some radical changes, right?

Nope. If anything, I’d make it even less modern because when it comes to the Beautiful Game, I’ve become an old fuddy-duddy. (Only someone old would even use the term “fuddy-duddy,” so you know I’m serious about this).

The subject came up when a friend of mine and I were discussing different ways sports have tweaked their rules over the years. We praised the seven-point touchdowns of the World Football League, spoke glowingly of the pandemic-inspired runner-on-second rule in Major League Baseball extra-inning games, and pledged our complete support for the four-point shot in the BIG3 league.

Knowing that association football is my passion, my buddy asked me how I’d reshape it if I could be its puppet master. Frankly, even I was surprised at how I’ve embraced soccer minimalism over the years.

For starters, I’d do away with penalty kicks to settle draws. To me, PKs should be reserved for fouls that occur during the course of a game and not used to determine the winner of that game. Having a match end in penalty kicks is akin to a field goal contest deciding a football game or a home run derby taking the place of free baseball after nine innings.

So does this mean overtime play should be used to break ties?

No.

And yes.

No if it’s a regular game on the season schedule. Remember what I said about settling draws? In my humble opinion, not all draws should be settled. If clubs play 90 minutes plus injury time and share the same score, then a tie seems to be a fair outcome for both.

The answer, however, is yes if the game is part of a tournament. If draws aren’t an option – say, in a knockout competition that requires advancement following each round – then extra time should be played until one side scores a goal. In 1975 the New York Apollos and Worcester Astros were declared co-champions of the American Soccer League when they played 67 and half minutes of overtime in their title game showdown but couldn’t change a 1-1 scoreline. That, however, is a worst-case scenario. And besides, that wouldn’t be a scenario at all if I ran things because there would be no title game showdown. In most soccer systems outside the United States, a league title is determined by which club has the most points at the end of a season. I think champions should be judged by their entire body of work, and a team that secures the best record through the course of a 30-plus match round-robin grind has earned the hardware.

Plus, there are plenty of cup competitions outside of a league season for those who enjoy win or go home tournaments.

The only playoffs I care to see in soccer are to decide promotion and relegation in an open pyramid, but I doubt I’ll live long enough to ever experience that in America.

So while I’m all for innovation when it comes to virtually every other sport on the planet, the older I get the more I prefer soccer that’s devoid of novelties. It’s a disconnect I can’t explain, especially since I grew up with the original North American Soccer League and once embraced its 35-yard shootout and fringe jerseys rocked by the Caribous of Colorado.

It’s not that I yearn for a return to cleated boots or an eight-panel ball with laces – I’m not that much of a fuddy-duddy. It’s just that for me, the simplicity of soccer is simply perfect.

NISA’s big tent

All who know me know that the original North American Soccer League holds a special place in my heart. It’s why I played soccer in high school, why posters of Pelé and Kyle Rote Jr. once hung on the walls of my bedroom, and why the Beautiful Game became one of my greatest sports passions.

Scott Adamson writes stuff. Follow him on Twitter @adamsonsl

I don’t care that it was built from the top down, nor do I care that it was a retirement league – show me a photo of the New York Cosmos packing Giants Stadium, George Best and Elton John “practicing” together, or the gloriously tacky fringe jerseys sported by the Caribous of Colorado – and those pictures paint a thousand words and revive hundreds of memories.

The old NASL breathed its last in 1984, however, and since then much has happened to and with association football in the United States. America’s closed system currently features Major League Soccer at the top, the United Soccer League Championship a notch below, and USL League One and the National Independent Soccer Association serving as de facto Division III leagues. There are also many semi-pro and amateur loops scattered across the country. As to which of the above are the best to follow, well, every soccer supporter has an opinion. But that, as the Kermit the Frog internet meme suggests, is none of my business.

I’ve got to tell you, though, when it comes to men’s leagues I now find myself firmly in the NISA camp. It has nothing at all in common with the old NASL other than a Cosmos-branded club, but I like its style and the renegade vibe it gives off. And my attraction to it isn’t so much for what it is, but what it might become.

NISA features my longtime favorite side, the Cosmos, so it has built-in appeal to me. Add Chattanooga FC (a club I bought into) and Detroit City FC (architects of a culture we should all buy into) to the mix, and I’m fully on board. Chicago enters the league next fall, with NISA co-founder Peter Wilt helping spearhead the effort. Wilt left the organization to do his voodoo in USL League One, but now he’s back where he started. Wilt is a true soccer guy who loves the game and will undoubtedly help the Chicagoland entry become a quick success.

(Currently you can go to chicagonisa.com and make suggestions for names and colors. I didn’t take part in the survey because that’s for Windy City folk to decide, but if you’re asking me I like “Speakeasy FC.”)

Although the situation is fluid, other clubs slated to compete in 2021 include California (Irvine) United Strikers FC, Los Angeles Force, Maryland (Montgomery County) Bobcats, Michigan (Pontiac) Stars, New Amsterdam FC and New Jersey (Bayonne) Teamsters FC.

NISA has no territorial rights so any group who wants to put down roots can put them down anywhere they think they’ll grow. New York, New Amsterdam and New Jersey form a nice little cluster in the Northeast, and Rochester applied for membership on Thursday. One would assume if NISA hangs around long enough, big market metros will provide a big tent for multiple clubs in the future while leaving plenty of room for smaller cities.

And with the addition of NISA Nation – a full-year amateur consortium for clubs eying a transition to pro soccer – there’s an open invitation to the party. Currently the Gulf Coast Premier League, Midwest Premier League, and Eastern Premier Soccer League are affiliates but there are likely more to come. Maryland, for example, parlayed EPSL membership into a spot in NISA and will begin play next spring.

As expected, there have been plenty of fits and starts. It was formed in June of 2017 but co-founder Jack Cummins died eight months later, and in May of 2018 Wilt left to start Forward Madison FC in League One. NISA went mostly radio silent for a while and when it did reemerge it took a hit when Miami FC – a founding member – bolted to the USL Championship. And the Oakland Roots were one and done this year, also jumping to the second division. Both clubs had the opportunity to move up a level, and they took it.

And whether it’s money, the COVID-19 pandemic or other circumstances, some clubs have appeared and disappeared (Atlanta SC), while others have gone on “hiatus” (North Carolina’s Stumptown Athletic and San Diego 1904).

Yet despite such challenges NISA has plans to step up – eventually – and wants to ultimately develop a promotion/relegation system. Meanwhile they’re trying to expand their footprint while maintaining a community-based sensibility.

Finding success – real, long term success – will not be easy, though. The United States Soccer Federation and MLS are joined at the hip, so it’ll be hard for NISA to make friends in high places. And since it’s trying to connect so many amateur leagues, the ruling class might think it’s getting too big for its bridges.

Still, I like its inclusiveness and willingness to provide chances for any soccer dreamers who want to take them. And for whatever reason, it’s revived a spark in my fandom.

I’m pretty sure I won’t see fringe on kits – and I’m way too old to have posters on my bedroom wall – but the National Independent Soccer Association is bringing me full circle. After becoming a fan thanks to a league that overreached, maybe now I need an underdog to help me turn back the clock.

My soccer coaching career was never meant to be

Shortly after I put the newspaper business in my rear-view mirror back in 2017, I decided I’d try to do things I never had time to do during my 30 years covered in ink. One of those things involved coaching soccer – or at least exploring the option of coaching soccer.

**Scott Adamson writes stuff. Follow him on Twitter @adamsonsl and Instagram @adamsons60**

Having not played competitively since 1978, I was a bit rusty on technique and tactics. And having never coached the game at all, I was flying blind when it came to Xs and Os. Sure, I had watched enough EPL matches to know I had the option of dressing up on game day (like Manchester United’s Ole Gunnar Solskjær) or dressing down (Liverpool’s Jürgen Klopp), but figured fashion wasn’t a priority at the outset of my new career.

So what did I do to prepare for my side hustle?

I bought the book “Coaching Soccer For Dummies.”

It has helpful information on everything from how to structure a practice to teaching the basic fundamentals of the game, and it brought back memories of my training days. The more I read the more I thought I could do it, and soon I had visions of guiding my ragtag group of underdogs (the club’s name would be Karma Karma Karma Karma Karma Chameleon FC) to victory over snooty Trust Fund SC in the finals of the Blue Ridge Mountains Cup.

And then years later, as I’m wandering pantless in an assisted living facility, one of my former players – who went on to win the Ballon d’Or after leading Celtic FC to a Champions League title – would track me down and thank me for inspiring him to greatness.

Then again I might’ve wound up coaching a girls’ team, meaning one of my former players – who went on to win the Best FIFA Women’s Player honor after leading the USWNT to yet another World Cup title – would track me down and thank me for inspiring her to greatness.

Either way, I’d get a lot of credit (and be pantless).

However, the book also takes a darker turn because it assumes you’ll have to “effectively communicate with parents.” It then goes on to detail how you should deal with those who are abusive, parents who complain about their child’s playing time, policies on participation, perceived preferential treatment, soccer as a babysitting service, etc.

And after reading that I decided I was not going to spend the fun years of my life coaching soccer. It’s nothing against parents – I had two of them – but I simply can’t deal with critical moms and dads anymore.

I don’t want to have to explain to Johnny’s ill-tempered father why Johnny is not my starting center midfielder, even though Johnny once attended a camp hosted by a player who knew a guy who was almost a Bundesliga coach but opted to sell insurance instead.

Nor do I want to be berated by Jenny’s mother, who demands that I start Jenny in goal even though Jenny’s the shortest player on the squad and has the reflexes of a ficus tree.

I dealt with these types of people throughout my time in newspapers, and do not want to deal with them ever again.

Honestly, though, I’m not sure what I expected when I thought I might do a little association football mentoring. The lack of a coaching background is a pretty big strike against me. And even though I have friends in the college and high school ranks, I don’t think any of them are looking to hire older, inexperienced assistants.

That meant youth soccer was my only foot-in-the-door option, but really that wasn’t an option, either. It’s gotten to be an expensive, cutthroat business. Parents need Thurston and Lovey Howell riches to get their kids on these “elite” teams, and they want high level coaches who’ll promise to give them their money’s worth.

That’s something I couldn’t promise.

And as much as I admire the legends of the profession like Sir Alex Ferguson and Rinus Michels, I fear my style would be a bit too experimental, especially for kids. While the big shots of world football might’ve successfully employed 4-3-3, 4-4-2, or even the 3-3-3-1 formations, I always wanted to see what would happen with a 1-1-9 attack. Sure, it leaves your defense exposed, but it would be quite the showcase for offensive-minded players.

So three years after thinking about coaching soccer, I think about coaching soccer no more. I admire those who do – from the men and women who guide kids at recreation fields in Birmingham, Alabama, to my buddies leading university squads in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, to the gaffers who run the show at places like Allianz Arena in Munich and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. But I guess when it comes to the Beautiful Game, I’m more of a follower than a leader.

And since I’ve been following soccer the better part of my life, why change now?