JLYSSL Coaches and Referee Tournament    by Michael Lee      

On Saturday Dec 6, the Jack London Youth Soccer Sports League held its annual tournament for coaches hosted at the Alameda Point fields by Piedmont Youth Soccer Club and the Bay Oaks Soccer Club. Co-coordinators Michael Lee and Glenn van Straatum of the two clubs worked hard this year to make this event a success and an estimated 160 players comprising 10 teams turned out to do friendly battle on the playing field. Divided into two separate championships – a competitive championship and a recreational championship, two teams each from Piedmont, Oakland (with Grass Valley coaches invited), Montclair and Rockridge soccer clubs and one team from Alameda and Bay Oaks soccer clubs played a total of 12 60-minute games to decide who would carry away the bragging rights for 2008 in the two categories.

The competitive championship was divided into two divisions in which three teams played a round-robin of games to determine who would go through to the gold/silver play off game (the two first placed teams) and to the bronze play off game (the two second-placed teams). Divisional placement was to be determined first by points, with 3 points for a win, 1 for a tie, and 0 for a loss. With teams tied for points, then head-to-head results would be used, followed by goal difference and then most goals scored. If all these would be identical, then a penalty shoot-out would be used to decide the placement. The recreational championship was a knock-out competition, with the winners of the two first-round matches going through to the gold/silver playoff game and the losers playing a consolation bronze play off game.

Piedmont was placed in Competitive Group A, lining up against Oakland and Alameda on field 3. Playing the first game, Oakland defeated Alameda 6:3, scoring prolifically on the break-away with their youthful team combining speedily to get behind the Alameda defense. In the second game, Piedmont lined up against Alameda, and after narrowly missing a hatful of chances, went two goals behind in the first half. However, the team battled back strongly to go level, the two Michael’s (O’Sullivan and Lee) combining well for the first and Michael Lee also scoring the second with a header after a goal-mouth scramble from a corner taken by Jesus Rojas. Unfortunately, an uncharacteristic lapse of concentration on an Alameda free-kick led to a spectacular diving header from one of the three Alameda players marauding unmarked at the far post. Alameda thus won a closely-matched game 3:2. In the final Group A game, Oakland played Piedmont, going 2:0 up in the first half, once again using their speed to get behind the Piedmont defense. However, Oakland got a taste of their own medicine when Brie O’Dowd got past the goalie with a breakaway flick and was about to poke the ball into the net when a defender made an illegal slide tackle to clear the ball from her feet right on the goal-line. After a brief consultation, the referees awarded a penalty kick which was calmly converted by Jesus Rojas to make the score at half-time 2:1. Returning to the field full of confidence, Piedmont made several chances but were punished for their failure to convert them by two breakaway goals from the Oakland No. 10 who scored a hat-trick and buried Piedmont’s hopes of progressing to the play off games. However, Piedmont did not give up and a spell of late pressure led to an Oakland own-goal as their forwards put pressure on the defense at another Jesus Rojas corner kick. The final standings were thus Oakland first with six points (10 goals for 5 against), Alameda second with three points (6 goals for and 8 against), and Piedmont third with zero points (4 goals for and 7 against).

In Competitive Group B, Montclair, Rockridge and Bay Oaks lined up against each other on field 2. This turned out to be a very tight group with few goals compared to Group A where a total of 20 goals were netted in three games. The first game between Montclair and Rockridge ended up 2:1 and this was followed by a tense nail-biter between Rockridge and Bay Oaks that finished 0:1 with Bay Oaks prevailing. Thus the last game between Montclair and Bay Oaks would be the decider as to who progressed to the gold/silver playoff. This was a hard-fought battle of two excellent defenses and goalkeepers, both of which managed to keep clean-sheets for a 0:0 tie. Since both teams thus finished on 4 points, and neither had defeated the other, the deciding factor became most goals scored and thus the first place position went to Montclair who had scored two goals to Bay Oaks’ one.

The gold/silver Competitive Championship game was between Oakland and Montclair and once again, the younger legs and faster speed of Oakland resulted in a victory for their soccer club which retained the Coach’s trophy for a second year running. Oakland triumphed 4:0 with their number 10 once more scoring a hat-trick, making him the leading scorer for the Oakland club. In the bronze play off game, Alameda and Bay Oaks shaped up in an exciting, open attacking game which the 0:0 score line did not reflect. Both teams had great chances and Alameda had a goal disallowed for offside. So the game went to penalties at the end of the 60 minutes of regulation time. Bay Oaks Captain, Glenn van Stratum, stepped up to deftly slot in Bay Oak’s first penalty and set up a tense finish since Alameda missed their first. Both teams scored their next three penalties to make it 4:3 going into the last round of kicks. Feeling the pressure, the Bay Oaks missed their fifth, leaving the opportunity for Alameda’s Claudio Chapparro to level the score and take the game to sudden death. Though he struck the ball well to beat the goalkeeper, his kick hit the post and Bay Oaks collected a well-deserved bronze place.

OSC Champions - Coaches Tournament 2008

In the Recreational tournament, the first knock-out game was between Oakland and Rockridge and this ended in a close victory for Oakland, who prevailed 2:1 to secure their place in the gold/silver game. The second game was between Piedmont and neighbors Montclair, a really tight game that ended up all square at 1:1 after James Harrison equalized in the second half with a right-foot shot in front of goal from a cross by Stacy Turner. Under the tournament rules, this meant penalty kicks, and after a nervous start in which Stacy Turner narrowly missed his, goals by Mark Landheer and Don Ashburn put Piedmont level on 2:2 thanks to a save by Piedmont goalie Ted Scherman. With Montclair scoring their fourth, Jeff Dorman’s shot cannoned off the cross-bar to put Piedmont behind 3:2. With Montclair missing their fifth penalty, it was up to Ted Scherman, the goalie, to score to put the teams into sudden death and he sent his opposite number the wrong way to level the score at 3 penalties apiece. Returning back to the goal-line, goalie Ted put Piedmont in the driving seat by saving the next Montclair kick. Steve Mills, cool as a cucumber, stepped up and, with sudden-death rules now in effect, hit the perfect penalty to the Montclair goalie’s right to win the game and put Piedmont into the gold/silver play off. However, this stunning ending to the first-round was not to continue for Piedmont who were held to a 1:0 loss by Oakland in the play off. Although they played hard and had some great chances, it just wasn’t their day and Piedmont finished in silver place behind Oakland, which ended up, therefore, sweeping this year’s championships. The bronze place in the recreational championship was taken by Montclair, who triumphed 3:1 over a tiring Rockridge team that had done well to hold the game to 1:1 at half-time.

The tournament was voted a great success by all involved and the Piedmont coaches put on a fine prime-rib BBQ lunch for the other coaches and referees thanks to a grant from the Jack London board and with the help of Polly Legendre of La Gourmande catering.

The success of the tournament owed a lot to the volunteer referees who turned out to officiate the proceedings. They included Jim Pillsbury, Bob Burnham and Alain Knechtli of Piedmont, Francois Rodigari from Alameda along with referees from Montclair and Bay Oaks clubs. An important contribution was made by a number of Rockridge coaches led by Mike Greening who gave up most of their Friday preparing the Alameda Point fields for the tournament – filling pot-holes with soil and lining the pitches ready for play. All agreed that this was the best state the fields had been in for the coach’s  tournament for many years and saved many a player the aches and pains of twisted ankles and knees.