Friday, July 12, 2013
Lacrosse Coming to Chamblee
In March news from the athletic staff at Chamblee spread like wild fire around the school. Dr. Lowery apparently approved the notion for their to be a lacrosse team at Chamblee. Lacrosse has been big in the north for years, and has recently become popular in the south. Lacrosse is now a State varsity sport as well as an official Dekalb County sport. Many Dekalb schools have recently made Lacrosse a sport such as Lakeside, Dunwoody and South- West Dekalb. Even though Chamblee is new to the sport I don't think that the new team will be the Charlotte Bobcats of Georgia High School Lacrosse. There are many experienced Lacrosse players at Chamblee including Junior Chad O'Melia, Junior TJ Maclin and Senior Ben Brockman. Also, there are many rising Freshmen who already play Lacrosse around Atlanta. The team will be coached by one of the most loved coaches at Chamblee Robert Eskew, he is rumored to be joined by former Lacrosse player Charles O'Melia Jr. The Lacrosse team most likely will not practice at Chamblee for their first year because the new practice fields will not be done yet and all other space will be occupied by the Soccer team.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Is Academy Soccer ruining High School Soccer
Academy soccer has been around internationally for years and it has finally grown popular in the United States. What most people don't know about international soccer teams such as Chelsea, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and A.C. Milan is that these teams start finding young players as young as the age of ten and begin to train them to become the next Ronaldinho,Maradona or Messi . This system is referred to as the youth team or Academy system and its becoming more and more popular in America. The Academy system in America isnt run by professional soccer teams (although many MLS teams do have youth teams) it is run by normal youth soccer clubs such as Norcross Soccer, and Concord F.C. and the ultimate goal the system is to develop players for the National Soccer team. Another thing about Academy soccer is that only the best players are admitted into the Academy, because these are the best players in the area, colleges begin to look at Acdemy players for soccer scholarships. Academy soccer sounds like a great program for a good young high school soccer player, but, that is the problem with Academy Soccer. You might be thinking " Why is that such a problem?" Academy soccer has a grueling year round schedule which does not allow the player to play soccer for his high school in the spring. So, even though Academy didn't mean to take away championship hopes from high school teams, it did. Two teams who are recently seeing the effects of Acdemy Soccer are the Chamblee High School Boys Varsity and the Dunwoody High School Boys Varsity Soccer teams. Chamblee may be losing key starters Defender Chris Paul, Defender/ Midfielder Cameron Hadaad, Forwards Darius Rotnem and Jose "Chima" Perez. Dunwoody might be losing the leading goal scorer in the state Josh Bronstorf, who was the backbone of Dunwoody's offense.
If Chamblee loses all of these plaeyrs next season might not be as successful as the last season. Chris Paul was one of the first guys to admit he might be going to ply Academy Soccer next year. Chris Paul was the back bone of Chamblee's defense. Chris is a strong fast center back who has great touch with both feet , he has a great soccer IQ and has a love for the game. Another player who is thinking about moving on to Academy soccer is Cameron Hadaad. Cameron is a midfielder and Defender who was one of two freshmen to make varsity his first year. This rising junior is a natural born leader on and off the pitch, Cameron ran many of the player workouts leading up to tryouts and also tries to help all the new guys get a feel for the game. Cameron is also an extraordinary athlete like Chris. Cameron is also big and fast, he has a great touch and quick feet. Cameron also has a wonderful soccer IQ and is an unselfish player who always makes the best pass,. His leadership on the field, and in practice will surely be missed if he leaves the team. Jose Perez , nicknamed Chima is also another player who is thinking about playing Academy Soccer. Chima made the team with Cameron as a Freshman and by the second both were starting. This rising junior has a knack for scoring and is excellent on Penalty kicks and free kicks. Chima is an unselfish forward who knows where to place the ball and can put himself into space to allow for the opportunity to score a goal. Chima's goal scoring will be missed if he leaves our team for Academy Finally, one player who isn't really sure if he is going to try and play Academy or not is Darius Rotnem. Darius is a forward and left mid fielder who as has acceleration that FIFA enthusiasts wish players on their Myteam had. This kid is fast, shoots well, has quick feet, and plays with a lot of energy in games. Josh Bronstorf is definitely going to be playing Academy next year ( says his brother Zach) Josh is gifted with the ability to score, this guy has good speed, makes great passes and his teammates love him. For all of these kids, honestly Academy is the better option for them. They may not be playing with their friends, or may not be team Captain on their school's team but, if they want to get noticed by Colleges and pro teams, Academy is their best bet. Chamblee and Dunwoody are no longer relevant Soccer programs in the state, neither team has made it far in the playoffs since their previous championship titles. Chamblee's team especially may be rebuilding next year due to the recent retirement from coaching by long time coach Uwe Neuhaus. Uwe is one of the great coaches at Chamblee and will surely be missed. If these kids stay at their respective schools to play to soccer instead of going to play Academy they may not get noticed by colleges or may have to rely on Soccer camps to propel to the top of a college's recruiting board . If they leave the school teams the teams will not have the best of seasons because these guys are that important to their respective teams.
This predicament isn't only occurring to Chamblee and Dunwoody, its happening all over the county, state, and nation. Academy Soccer is taking away title hopes while giving kids a future in soccer.
If Chamblee loses all of these plaeyrs next season might not be as successful as the last season. Chris Paul was one of the first guys to admit he might be going to ply Academy Soccer next year. Chris Paul was the back bone of Chamblee's defense. Chris is a strong fast center back who has great touch with both feet , he has a great soccer IQ and has a love for the game. Another player who is thinking about moving on to Academy soccer is Cameron Hadaad. Cameron is a midfielder and Defender who was one of two freshmen to make varsity his first year. This rising junior is a natural born leader on and off the pitch, Cameron ran many of the player workouts leading up to tryouts and also tries to help all the new guys get a feel for the game. Cameron is also an extraordinary athlete like Chris. Cameron is also big and fast, he has a great touch and quick feet. Cameron also has a wonderful soccer IQ and is an unselfish player who always makes the best pass,. His leadership on the field, and in practice will surely be missed if he leaves the team. Jose Perez , nicknamed Chima is also another player who is thinking about playing Academy Soccer. Chima made the team with Cameron as a Freshman and by the second both were starting. This rising junior has a knack for scoring and is excellent on Penalty kicks and free kicks. Chima is an unselfish forward who knows where to place the ball and can put himself into space to allow for the opportunity to score a goal. Chima's goal scoring will be missed if he leaves our team for Academy Finally, one player who isn't really sure if he is going to try and play Academy or not is Darius Rotnem. Darius is a forward and left mid fielder who as has acceleration that FIFA enthusiasts wish players on their Myteam had. This kid is fast, shoots well, has quick feet, and plays with a lot of energy in games. Josh Bronstorf is definitely going to be playing Academy next year ( says his brother Zach) Josh is gifted with the ability to score, this guy has good speed, makes great passes and his teammates love him. For all of these kids, honestly Academy is the better option for them. They may not be playing with their friends, or may not be team Captain on their school's team but, if they want to get noticed by Colleges and pro teams, Academy is their best bet. Chamblee and Dunwoody are no longer relevant Soccer programs in the state, neither team has made it far in the playoffs since their previous championship titles. Chamblee's team especially may be rebuilding next year due to the recent retirement from coaching by long time coach Uwe Neuhaus. Uwe is one of the great coaches at Chamblee and will surely be missed. If these kids stay at their respective schools to play to soccer instead of going to play Academy they may not get noticed by colleges or may have to rely on Soccer camps to propel to the top of a college's recruiting board . If they leave the school teams the teams will not have the best of seasons because these guys are that important to their respective teams.
This predicament isn't only occurring to Chamblee and Dunwoody, its happening all over the county, state, and nation. Academy Soccer is taking away title hopes while giving kids a future in soccer.
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