Following an outstanding college career, University of San Diego and Temecula FC player Keegan Smith will have a chance to showcase his talents for professional scouts after being invited to the 2016 Major League Soccer Player Combine.

The Temecula, CA native is one of 59 NCAA Division I college players participating in the event in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., from Jan. 7-12. Invited players will be eligible for selection in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft on Thursday, Jan. 14, in Baltimore.

Modern day coaches should have a working knowledge of the two transition Moments in soccer, Moments 2 and 4. They call these Moments “Fast break” in basketball or “Counter attack” in soccer.

As coaching becomes more sophisticated in the USA we are seeing more and more teams dropping deep outside their own penalty box, and defending with 10 players. Once an opponent is able to do this it is very difficult trying to break them down. 

Del Rey City Soccer Club (DRCSC) and TheCup.us have formed a partnership in their common goal to create public awareness and interest for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. As part of the partnership, DRCSC also unveiled their new custom design jerseys, made by Admiral Sports, which brandish the logo of TheCup.us across the front chest.

A staunch supporter and true believer in American soccer, Del Rey City SC owner Brian Perez thinks promotion of the U.S. Open Cup might just be the best way to grow interest in soccer across the country.

Kifi Kelani has been playing soccer for as long as he can remember.

The love for the game was passed down to him from his father, who taught Kelani how to play goalkeeper at the age of seven. Kelani’s career started to take shape in high school, where he was named “Goalkeeper of the Year” during both his junior and senior seasons. It was accolades like these that caught the attention of the L.A. Wolves, who had begun scouting the young goalkeeper around that time. However, no offer was made and Kelani decided to continue honing his craft by playing at Long Beach City College. Unfortunately Kelani suffered a serious injury when he tore his meniscus one year into his college career. 

Last night at the Irish Cultural Center, the SF Glens Evolution Board of Directors introduced the over 100 people in attendance to a new city soccer club--SF Glens Evolution. The club is the result of a merger between SF Junior Glens and Evolution FC, and establishes the biggest youth soccer club in San Francisco, representing over 100 teams and nearly 1,000 players.

Watching an English Premier League U10 Academy team train the other day vindicated my belief that soccer is a sideways on sport. Often the players who were moving into a space to receive the ball did not check straight to the ball carrier (as on the left) but checked at an angle so that they could look over their shoulder to see if they were being followed by a defender (as on the right), which is more difficult if a player checks straight to the ball.  This is an aspect of Brazilian soccer I like very much and would encourage coaches to develop exercises which teach players the two habits of checking at angles to the ball and looking over their shoulders continually.