Earthquakes Pre-Draft Combine

Hello All,

I apologize for taking so long to post. Last week I attended my first combine of the year at Stanton Field next to the Earthquakes Stadium at Santa Clara University! Stanton Field is a turf field, and I played center back for "Team 1" during the Monday and Tuesday morning games.

Leading up to the combine I was nervous but excited. In December 2008 I attended a preliminary combine at the same field so this year I was probably a little more prepared than my teammates. There were probably about 40-50 players who attended the combine, most of them recent college seniors. This was what I expected going into the combine and I used it to my advantage.

A week before the combine I received an email from Joe Dincecco at the Earthquakes indicating the roster for Team 1. So I googled the names of every player, easily picking up information from college websites and articles. Therefore, when I arrived a half hour early (David Beckham style) to the locker room Monday morning, I felt very much in control of my surroundings and recognized my teammates as they strolled in. Also, the week before, I had called USF coach Erik Visser and my agent to ask for advice on what I should do to stand out.

Overall, I felt the combine went well. As a center back my goals were to play simple, win every ball in the air, defend aggressively against any striker that challenged me, and be very vocal. While the first day was a little shaky as the nerves sorted themselves out, I still felt like I achieved my goals and the second day I was complemented for playing better than day 1.


(that's me on the left, and in the background: Earthquakes Head Coach Frank Yallop, GM John Doyle, and Assistant Coach Ian Russell. I don't know the striker's name on the right, but he was good)

While I know that MLS teams rarely invite more than 2-3 players from combines into their preseason camp, I'm still hopeful that I made an impression. Now, I'm told that the Portland Timbers are having a combine at the end of this month, so I'm off to the field to train!

Cheers,

Jeff

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U.S. Soccer Press Conference Gives Insight to New Division II League

A last minute press conference called Thursday revealed new details regarding the new Division II soccer league in the U.S. U.S. Soccer will take charge of the league and it will most likely be called USSF 2nd Division, unless a sponsor is found. Sunil Gulati, President of U.S. Soccer Federation, emphasized that the league will be based around intraplay between the two different divisions - The NASL and USL. Gulati stated that the schedule has yet to be decided, but U.S. Soccer is looking to enact a 28 or 32 game season. As of now, this new Division II league has no connection to Major League Soccer, but Gulati could easily envision a connection in the not to distant future. It would probably resemble "AAA" baseball and the MLB, but MLS teams would not be responsible for Division II players' salaries.

More information becomes available each day as this story continues to develop. Please look to Soccer Hype for breaking news as it is made available to the public by U.S. Soccer.