BMO Field Expansion

Earlier I was unimpressed with the MLSE wanting to expand BMO to accommodate a CFL team but with the latest news I think I’m leaning towards the expansion, but just a little. I mentioned a few months ago that an expansion to the BMO field would take away the intimate experience you get watching a TFC game, sure in the eyes of MSLE making the 22,000 seat arena into a 30,000 – 40,000 means lots of $$$$ but it will also mean we will lose our natural turf (real grass) field which was put in when TFC played Real Madrid.

I am happy to hear that the MLSE is pumping in $90 million of the $120 million it is going to take for this revamp, sure I still think that the seating size was fine considering where the stadium is located but with the upcoming Pan Am games the added seats make sense. Timing couldn’t be better for this, Pam Am games, Argos looking for a new home and with 95% of the season seats sold the extra added means I can actually go to a game without spending 100’s. Seriously, scalpers … you were selling a $25 ticket for $250, ridiculous.

My main issue with the expansion was what will happen to the grass, hosting both TFC and Argos on an open concept stadium would be bad for the pitch, awhile back I saw a video (below) on what Wembley Stadium in England did where they planted synthetic grass combined real grass to strengthen the playing field. Hopefully BMO does the same thing or at least something better with the $120 million budget.

Diving is an Olympic Sport

As I was watching the games this past weekend I could not believe the blatant diving the occurred, but this is common place in today’s game. When challenging a ball where contact occurs I agree with embellishing  the foul to gain a free kick but the video below titled “It’s an Easter miracle, Suarez rises from the dead” on most sites is one example of how diving should needs to be dealt with by the league heads.

As I mentioned before that I understand that over acting a foul can put you at an advantage but it makes you look like such a terrible person, especially when you don’t even make contact with the other player.

The referee saw the whole play, if Liverpool did not push the ball after the tackle on Suarez there would be a definite free kick but what if after Suarez got to his feet after what seemed like his leg was tore off, received the ball and scored. Would that be a goal? Yes it would because the league does not call back goals and Suarez would be branded the villain as he is right now. He continues, along with many other players to make these blatant dives and it has been ruining the game forever. Sure, he did limp around and seem like he was in pain after the play stopped and I know he probably ran because he wanted to score for his team but COMMON! He is notorious for this type of stuff. He is such an amazing talent but oh man, this guy is one of the worst players when it comes to diving, HE EVEN BIT A PLAYER!

Check this video out of Suarez's antics:

All leagues need to get their act together and start handing our suspensions and harsh fines for these Oscar winning performances! FIFA finally decided to add goal line referees let’s hope some more changes can be made.

Mini Bio - Dejan Jakovic

Toronto to Washington to Japan with stops all around the world, Dejan Jakovic is a seasoned pro playing in J-League’s division 1. From the beginning he captained his high school team (Scarlett Heights Entrepreneurial Academy) where is was easy to see that he would one day excel in this sport, Dejan was amazing to watch, he is a natural with high soccer IQ and made his high school team that much better, he was a true captain and acted as a player coach on and off the field without being asked. Scarlett heights went on to two finals with an undefeated regular season senior year with Dejan at the helm. He came to Canada at the age of 6 from Croatia with his parents prior to the Croatian war in 1991. During his teens Dejan was a part of the Canadian national youth program and played for Woodbridge Strikers who are a two time Ontario Cup winner with him on the roster,

Dejan acceptable a scholarship with University of Alabama where he played four years, in 2008 he joined Red Star Belgrade where he started 3 games but did not see the pitch after a new coach was appointed. In 2009 he brought his skills back overseas and signed with D.C. Untied of the MLS where he played until 2013, as you can imagine his friends and family were thrilled by the news of being able to see him play professionally on home soil while visiting TFC. Dejan controlled the back line and started nearly all (26) 28 games for the club as was a regular call up for Team Canada during the Gold Cup, Olympic and World Cup trails/tournaments.

Dejan is currently playing for Shimizu S-Pulse D1 J-League.

We will catch up with shortly and get a glimpse of a pro athlete making the jump overseas, if you have any questions for him please send them in or place them in the comment section.

Practice Makes Perfect

Season is over, lost in a shootout but had a few cold ones to make everything better. No one likes losing a game on any level no matter how many millions you’re paid or how many bucks you spend to play, a player goes onto the pitch with winning on the mind. One thing I have learned over the years is to take the advice from others, many will think when you are being screamed at during a game by your very own teammates is in a negative way but it always boils down to the passion a player have that comes off as screaming. But, there are a few things that anyone can take advantage of to better yourself as a player and team.

Many playing recreational do not have time to practice as a team but that does not mean you don’t have time to work on yourself. Go for a run to keep yourself conditioned and practice on dribbling a ball around in a field or backyard, set some cones up and practice passing through them or make yourself a circuit. Be sure to work on juggling the ball, this will not make you a better player by being the best juggler but it will improve your touch on the ball.

Know the positions of the soccer team, if you don’t know where or what a players position is you will be forever confused. Learn the lingo, its called a pitch not a field.

When attacking a ball go for the ball, don’t be afraid to go into a tackle and don’t just stand there waiting for a reaction because you will be left in the dust. Another alternative is jockey the ball, this is running with the player slightly in front of them, you move along with the player keeping the ball between the both of you while shutting down any passing lanes available.  

But most of all make sure you have centre mid who can control the ball, many people get together to make a team and always have forwards and defenders but always forget to have a centre midfield that can receive and distribute the ball and is able to control the games. This sounds like a tall order, but a player like this will improve your team and improve you as an individual by playing structured soccer.

Soccer With Benefits

Many conversations have been raised among friends with valid to absurd points whether this sport or that sport is better or what actually constitutes a sport to be a sport, usually the conversations are rational but tend to linger off to what boys to best, break things and yell when they don’t get their way. This has lead me to spell out what soccer can do for someone, it helped me more than just physically and will benefit others to level that they could not see before.

Physically, with consistent play soccer will lead to a healthy weight by running 5-10 kilometers per game recreationally where as a pro athlete will run 10 kilometers or more every game while controlling the ball for 200 meters (average) and sprinting 800-1200 meters (average) per game.

Soccer will keep your brain in check, your brain ends up doing many things at once which is ideal because just one play can change the game in seconds. Soccer requires a player to be on their toes and mentally alert, controlling the ball while running, anticipating the play and making calculated decisions to advance the play and keeping in mind where your players and the other team is on the field. 

Soccer teaches sportsmanship, leadership and good worth ethic. To play soccer well and gain all the good the game can give you, you need to train hard and focus on your play. As a recreational player of any age you are able to benefit from what soccer can give because as you progress so do your skills and soccer IQ.

Socially soccer can do wonders, playing on a recreational team can lead to lifelong bonds with teammates and bring like minded people together and share similar interest. 

I gave up playing soccer for a couple of years after high school to concentrate on college, then I was sidelined for two years with a back injury. I didn't think I would be able to play again, it was a dark time recovering from back surgery, gaining weight, being unproductive, did not have the best outlook to get myself back in shape and not actively thinking about bettering myself after a painful recovery. It was a close friend that became a teammate who helped out, encouraged me to get on my feet and got me playing soccer again, it was the common interest in soccer (and his need of a goalkeeper) that shaped our friendship. 

After my surgery I really found the true benefit of being apart of a team, with conditioning and playing I was able to appreciate what this sport provides more than competition. The physicality and being mentally alert can really take a person who absolutely out of shape to (eventually) make them into a scoring machine and introduce you to people who otherwise would pass you by on the street. I have made new friends and become a better player but above all improved my health.

Be it baseball, basketball, hockey or soccer, whichever sport you call your own you will benefit from it. Playing co-ed, beer league or competitive you will gain from it and increase your circle of friends. It doesn't matter what constitutes as sport and doesn't matter how many arguments you will have defending your sport of choice, the real winner in the end is you and the benefits you gain from playing what you love. 

Footie and Me

Growing up playing organized sports was never a thought in my head; sure my brother and I would get together with the other kids and end up playing road hockey with curb post made of bricks or piles of leaves. All the activities we did play did take some organization, limited, but joining a team was not something that we knew much about growing up since we had each other, family and friends on the block.

My first taste of organized sports came in grade 6; I tried out for the basketball team only to be turned down after hours and hours (over two days) of practice which in my head made me as prepared as Michael Jordan in game 6. As sad as I was something began to stir about, I had an itch for something that was missing, that competitiveness, drive, longing, the feeling of proving myself.

Soccer tryouts were next, the only time we ever played soccer as a group would be during lunch recess where every boy and few girls would head on to the soccer field and play class vs. class FULL BODY CONTACT soccer. I loved it! I made the first cut, starting defense but it didn't translate. My first tackle was a full on body check, red card and a very upset coach. Who knew that wasn't allowed, a body check was commonplace during lunch time.

Playing soccer became a serious thing for me in high school, I learned proper technique and structure and we went all the way only to lose in the finals at home. My senior soccer year almost didn't happen, no keeper, no coach and we had to recruit players from anywhere that we could. Baseball was ending so we grabbed our star pitcher, there were a couple of guys playing Magic cards in the lunch room so we grabbed them, basketball wasn't doing too well so we grabbed the star on that team, another one who didn't speak much English and we had at least two guys with bum knees. I was the defensemen for our team, I held the back in check over years at school and one day we were told “even If god came down here, you still wont have a team," I looked around the locker room for a response yet no one opted to play keep so I did and let me tell you something, (well you have no choice since you’re reading this) it was the best decision ever! You have to be a little bit crazy to allow yourself to be pelted by shots but I had an ace up my sleeve named Dejan Jakovic, our star, he taught me how to play net. We organized our own practices and seeing how much passion we had for a team a coach eventually showed up one day on his own.

It was fun! Our band of misfits went onto an undefeated season, unfortunately our season ended in the quarters 1-0 to what in my opinion should have been a cancelled game due to the fact I was knee deep in rain.

There is this feeling that words cannot explain when you launch your body across the goal to parry off a ball after the opposing striker battles through your players only to be shut down, your teammates get energized and the opposing team is left wondering what just happened. That passion never went away transitioning from defense to goal, I still felt it as my teammates put the ball past other keepers as my role and drive was now not to let a single ball past me, I found something better, something even more invigorating, being the last line of defense, controlling the back line, telling my defenders where to be with my eyes on the whole pitch seeing the play develop and being the voice that encourages the team to push on.