Soccer or more traditionally referred to around the world as football or futbol, is still regularly played at every corner around the globe; making it one of the most recognizable sports — and easily the world’s most popular.

It is also one of the most competitive – it is one of the more popular sports engaged in during early childhood for this reason alone. While most sports put emphasis on first, second and third place trophies, soccer trophies differ. Most soccer trophies are awarded for simply participating. When two-hundred second graders compete in a league, why not hand out participation soccer trophies; this is a crucial time and opportunity to make long-term life impressions.

Playing sports can be very fulfilling and encouraging for kids. Developing skills and improving their abilities increases their confidence–makes them believe in themselves. Soccer trophies increase confidence. Additionally, playing soccer teaches its players the value of preparation and working toward a goal. Some of the best athletes of the world train for years, ironically four years, to compete in some of the greatest soccer matches of all time. At the national level, every four years, the world championship of soccer, the World Cup, is watched by billions all over the world while these greats run towards one trophy. Luckily kids don’t have to wait every four years to play in soccer games – so there is plenty of time to work towards numerous soccer trophies and the lessons that come with them.

Preparing for a soccer game involves the same thoughtfulness and dedication as preparing for a test or any of life’s other challenges. Playing a team sport like soccer helps kids to value working together. Additionally, during award participation soccer trophies helps kids learn the value of resilience when they don’t score the biggest trophy despite their efforts. Participation soccer trophies remind them to keep going. Adhering to the rules and respecting relationships with teammates and coaches will teach kids those important communication skills that will help them to navigate their lives. They’ll also learn to have respect for others and for authority. With so many lessons learned it’s essential that children receive soccer trophies, or some form of reward, to connect these lessons to — to remember them by.

Soccer is a fast-paced and exhilarating team sport. A lot can happen to your child on the soccer field and a lot can happen for your child because of what he or she did on the soccer field. These participation soccer trophies that your child collects along the way may seem meaningless during the team party in the middle of the loud, local pizza shop; the real meaning lives in the representation they come to mean. When they see how important teamwork is in soccer, kids will apply the same principles to their broader lives. The winners are those who are taught just why everyone deserves, and sometimes, everyone gets a trophy. It’s because these soccer trophies collect more than dust over the years, hopefully they continue to collect deeper meaning as soccer successes turn into life’s successes.

DC United's Trophies

The team will embark on a 20 day tour, the We Win Trophies Tour, with their U.S. Open Cup trophy in tow. Four of the many local bars that they will be stopping at will each host one of United’s four MLS Cup Trophies.

Kevin Payne, the President and CEO of United reasoned why the tour was a good idea, “We thought it made sense to share our success with our supporters through this We Win Trophies Tour. Though we have a lot of trophies to choose from, we decided it appropriate to visit our fans with the club’s most recent trophy and the one we will try to defend on September 2.”

You can find a full schedule of the tour with the bars they will be stopping at HERE.

soccer trophies

Before United’s frailties were exposed in a 4-1 loss to Liverpool last month, the Red Devils had conceded only 10 goals in 23 Premier League and Champions League matches stretching back to Nov. 1. Goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar even set a British record by going 1,311 minutes without conceding a goal.

Those days are long gone.

“I don’t think it’s a case of players not having the confidence but maybe we’ve had so many games and also we’ve had players injured,” defender Nemanja Vidic said.

United is chasing an unprecedented five trophies this season. The three-time European champions have already won the Club World Cup and League Cup, and they face Everton in the semifinals of the FA Cup later this month.
“At this stage of the season you need all your big players to be ready,” Vidic said. “After the Liverpool game we said we had to fix it but we didn’t. Now we have to put it right.”

The injury-depleted defense was taken advantage of again Tuesday when FC Porto scored valuable away goals, leaving Old Trafford with a 2-2 draw in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals. Midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo and Jonny Evans gave the ball away for Cristian Rodriguez to score the fourth-minute opener, and Mariano Gonzalez was left unmarked by Gary Neville in the 89th to equalize.

Before that, the Premier League champions had lost the match against Liverpool 4-1, fallen 2-0 at Fulham and rallied to beta Aston Villa 3-2 with two goals in the last 10 minutes.

“If you look at the last four games then obviously we haven’t played like we did in the 10 games before that. We have conceded too many,” said Vidic, who partnered Evans in central defense Tuesday. “We need to get back on the right road and we need to get back that mentality.”

The errors in the Premier League could prove less costly, since the two-time defending champions remain a point ahead of Liverpool with a game in hand. But if the team is to become the first to win back-to-back Champions League titles, it will have to become the first English club to win at Porto.

“We need to change our mentality,” said Vidic, who was being touted as a player of the year contender a month ago. “We can’t go to Porto and be stupid and go into attack with all our guns. We need to be clever.

“They have some good players, they have quick players up front and they are going to be waiting for our mistakes.”

That wasn’t something opponents were anticipating as United had rivals quaking during its record-breaking run of 14 clean sheets in the English league. That streak ended in February with a 2-1 win over Blackburn.

“We had been doing well when we were not conceding goals because of the record because we had something to protect,” United manager Alex Ferguson said. “Since we lost the record against Blackburn we’ve lost a lot of bad goals.”

Ferguson blames that in part on the congested schedule. But the team plays Saturday at Sunderland after three days without action and has another three clear days before playing the second leg at Porto.

But the already-creaky defense could remain fragile if central defenders Rio Ferdinand and Evans, who limped off with a groin injury Tuesday, remain sidelined.

“Rio was nowhere near being fit (for Porto), so it is difficult to see him being fit for Saturday,” Ferguson said. “Jonny should be OK in a week, but he is a 21-year-old lad and this is what happens when you play two big games in three days.”

Originally posted by Rob Harris at usatoday.com.

They’re 10 golden, gleaming trophies, each touting him as a “winner” at T-ball, soccer, basketball. The most recent is a pewter mega-monument he earned playing football—on a team that lost every game by about 30 points.

While certainly a winner in my book, the kid has never once been on a championship team. Or even a mediocre one. Still, he has received more trophies than birthday cakes in his life. And he’s not alone.
Mini-athletes get trophies these days just for showing up. They’re de rigeur, as much a part of kids’ sports now as Gatorade and ghastly, costly team photos. At the end-of-season pizza party (also a given), every team member gets a sizable statuette on an engraved pedestal. Play-off teams probably get bigger ones; ahem, I, wouldn’t know.

“Claire got a soccer trophy even though she sat on her fanny and cried through every practice,” says a mom I know.

What’s the cost of being so generous with awards that were once reserved for the best of the best? Are we championing mediocrity? Will our kids expect “atta boys” for everything they do?

“There is a definite shift toward an ‘everybody wins’ attitude in sports these days,” says a local dad. “It’s good and bad.” Getting a trophy was his five-year-old daughter’s favorite part of her first soccer season—which explains why, at the start of the next season, she came off the field asking, “Where’s my trophy?”

Trophy inflation seems to have started with the self-esteem movement of the 1980s, when pop psychology convinced us that “effort” matters more than “success.” Some called this progress; others deemed it hogwash.

“I abhor awarding trophies willy-nilly,” says a soccer, basketball, and baseball coach. “I have strong suspicions the trophy industry is behind the ‘trophies for everyone’ tradition.” An outrageous accusation? Perhaps. “I suspect the Trophy-Industrial Complex is behind the subprime debacle, as well.”

In real life, loss comes frequently—elections, jobs, relationships—and it forces us to reassess our performance and try harder next time. Isn’t it better to let our kids taste disappointment now, when the terms are small, than to “protect” them from it till they’re grown?

A friend of mine who works in human resources says that, as young adults, the “participation trophy generation” exudes a distinct sense of entitlement. “We don’t give merit raises,” she finds herself explaining, “just for doing your job.”

But not everyone is anti-trophy. Proponents say the token effigies bolster kids’ spirits after a brutal season.

“We aren’t rewarding them for not winning,” argues one coach. “We’re rewarding them for showing up regularly, practicing, working as a team, learning the skills and rules of the game, playing through disappointment and pain.”

Well, when you put it like that …

“Kids can be so hard on themselves and feel undeserving even when they played well,” adds my cousin, whose children play up to four sports at a time. “Some kids have uber-competitive parents and a little trophy may be their only positive reinforcement.”

It’s a fair point. It’s not like we’ve stopped scoring the games; kids, it turns out, are keenly aware of the difference between bench-warming trophies and VIP trophies. And while they may treasure a thanks-for-playing memento as a souvenir from an exacting season, they’ll be the first to tell you this: It’s small consolation for failure.

“There are only three trophies I’m really proud of,” says a sensible fifth-grader I know, who has won big in soccer, hoops, and music. “The rest I call ‘loser trophies‘ because you get them for losing.

“I actually think they’re a waste of metal.”
Originally posted by Starshine Roshell.

Stony Brook Sweeps Final Women’s Soccer Awards of 2008

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Stony Brook, which is in the midst of a four-game winnings streak in women’s soccer, swept the final weekly awards of 2008 after posting two wins and earning the No. 2 seed for the upcoming America East Championship. Senior Brooke Barbuto (Syracuse, N.Y./Corcoran) was tabbed Player of the Week award for the second time this season, while freshman Colleen McKenna (Manorville, N.Y./Eastport South Manor) earned Rookie of the Week honors award for the third time.

Barbuto racked up nine points in two Stony Brook wins last week. Barbuto scored the tying goal against Binghamton on Wednesday and then assisted on the game winner. A senior midfielder, Barbuto tallied assists on the first two goals against Maine and converted a penalty kick for her fifth goal of the season on Sunday. The wins gave Stony Brook 10 wins for the first time since 1994 and six America East trophy wins for the first time since joining the league in 2001.

McKenna (Manorville, N.Y./Eastport South Manor) earned her second straight Rookie of the Week award as she tallied 11 points in just two games last week. A freshman forward, McKenna scored scored the Seawolves’ first goal, just 2:32 into the game, in a 3-2 win over Albany on Thursday. A freshman forward, McKenna scored the game winner against Binghamton on Thursday with just 5:51 remaining. She added two more scores and an assist in the Seawolves’ 5-0 win over Maine on Sunday.

In the Women’s Soccer Championship awards, No. 3 seeded New Hampshire (6-10-1, 5-3-0) will host No. 6 seed Binghamton (7-8-1, 3-5-0) on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. in one quarterfinal matchup. Fourth-seeded Hartford (8-5-4, 4-3-1) hosts No. 5 seed Maine (6-5-6, 3-3-2) at 6 p.m. in the other quarterfinal contest. Semifinal action with take place on Sunday, November 2 with the winner of New Hampshire and Binghamton traveling to No. 2 seed Stony Brook (10-7-0, 6-2-0) for a 6 p.m. contest. The winner of Hartford and Maine will go to No. 1 seed Boston University (13-5-1, 8-0-0 ) for a 1 p.m. start. The championship award game will be played on Saturday, Nov. 8 or Sunday, Nov. 9 at the highest remaining seed.

Originated from America East Communications

Gartner named finalist for national award - CLASS award recognizes excellence in class and on field

Eastern senior defender Adam Gartner was named one of 30 finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS award.

He was the only finalist named from the Missouri Valley Conference for the award that acknowledges dedication and hard work in the classroom, character, community and competition.

The CLASS award recognizes senior athletes in eight NCAA Division I sports.

The CLASS award differs from other athletic honors given because athletics are just one factor taken into consideration.

Eastern head coach Adam Howarth said Gartner is a quiet leader on and off the field. The Iowa City, Iowa, native has a 3.64 GPA and has received several academic awards. He is a two-time ESPN Academic All-District award winner and was named a First Team MVC Scholar Athlete and a National Soccer Coaches Association of America Second Team Scholar All-American in 2007.

“I was very excited,” Howarth said of Gartner’s nomination. “He puts in a lot of hard work in the classroom, on the field and in the community.”

Gartner is in his fourth year playing soccer at Eastern and was named a preseason All-MVC player before the start of this season. Gartner has two assists and two goals this season after ending the 2007 season with nine assists and eight goals. He has 17 assists for his Eastern career (tied for 10th all-time).

Gartner said he was surprised to be nominated, but he said it was an honor to be recognized for his accomplishments both on and off the field. He said his parents always pushed him to get his school work done first.

“They supported me a lot, Gartner said. “They understand how it’s been and that it is difficult. They came to every game so far this season to support me.”

Balancing academics and other aspects of life can be tough for student-athletes, but that is what Gartner has done in his four years at Eastern.

“I try to stay on top of things,” Gartner said. “In high school I did well managing my time – like getting my priorities straight and getting work done. Here, (Howarth) helps us out, gives us time to study and puts academics first.”

Gartner said he would like to continue playing soccer after graduation, but he said he is keeping his options open if that doesn’t pan out. Those options could involve using his finance degree.

“I don’t want to close out soccer, but I know I can’t play my whole life so I want to consider graduate school and a career in financial planning,” Gartner said.

Howarth said Gartner not only works hard in class and on the soccer field but also helps out in the community.

“I think that with Adam school is first then it’s soccer in a close second,” Howarth said. “He does good work with kids. He volunteers with the team every Monday.”

But despite his success in academics and volunteer time he puts in, Gartner still excels on the soccer field, and that includes a position switch during the middle of his college career.

“The other year he got a new position – midfield to defender – and that’s not always easy,” said senior forward Brad Peters. “He’s also been a good person, and I think he finally came into his own.”

Originally written by Karolina Strack/Staff Reporter

Trojans proud of state trophy

Being runner-up in a state trophy title game is possibly the toughest pill a team can swallow, but Timothy Christian’s boys soccer players know how they’ll come to view their Class 1A second-place trophy.

“It’s an initial blow that you lost, but when you look back at the season there’s nothing to be ashamed of,” said Trojans senior Jake Schemper. “I’m very appreciative of what everybody on this team has done.”

The Trojans (18-6-1) lost 2-0 to a team from Winnebago (25-2) that had no shortage of attacking weapons at North Central College in Naperville. The Indians posted 162 goals this season in winning their first soccer state trophy title.

For 40 minutes Trojans goalkeeper Peter Tameling and his back line kept the Indians from scoring, but Winnebago struck twice in a three-minute span to start the second half and the Trojans were unable to find the back of the net from there.

“I was proud of the way we played. It just wasn’t enough,” said Trojans coach Rudi Gesch. “But we’ll take second place trophy. It’s been an awesome experience and a great journey.”

Timothy Christian bids farewell to seniors Schemper, Tameling, Jeb Nash, Josh Hjelmgren, Jeremy Hoving, Justin Groenewold, Taylor Slager, Kent Dixon and Jonathan Voss – a core group for which Gesch predicted great things for when they were eighth-graders.
“Phenomenal individual talent, phenomenal team chemistry – just very strong senior leadership, and we’re really going to miss those guys,” Gesch said. “It was a great effort on their parts.”

Nash led the squad offensively with 15 goals and 17 assists, Schemper posted 13 goals and 17 assists, and the Trojans got 10 apiece this year from Groenewold and Slager.

“We’re just all best friends on this team,” Schemper said. “The friendships and relationships I’ve been able to create here have been priceless.”

Originally written by By Gary Larsen | Daily Herald Correspondent

The Real Deal – Wake Forest’s Marcus Tracy could become the school’s first Hermann Trophy winner

Marcus Tracy leads the Wake Forest soccer team with 10 goals and 26 points, which includes six assists.

While watching Marcus Tracy play soccer, it’s easy to envision him in a helmet and pads helping the Wake Forest football team at safety, or lacing up his old basketball shoes and filling in at point guard.

However, Tracy is content with soccer and with trying to help the top-ranked Deacons win another national championship.

He has maintained his high level of play from last season — he was voted the most outstanding offensive player at last year’s College Cup trophy — and has helped Wake Forest to a 13-0 record heading into today’s 7 p.m. match against Duke at Spry Stadium.

Midfielder Sam Cronin, a fellow senior, summed up what Tracy has meant to the program.

“He’s the essence of this team because as many goals as he scores, he’s always looking to the guy who gave him the assist to compliment him,” Cronin said. “He kind of gets the spotlight a lot, but he deflects a lot of that to his teammates.”

Tracy (6-1, 170) leads the Deacons in goals (10) and points (26, with six assists). He has breakaway speed and, Coach Jay Vidovich says, one of the best vertical games in program history.

“In terms of athleticism, I don’t think there’s anybody we’ve had as complete as Marcus,” said Vidovich, who is in his 15th season. “With his air game, he can open it up, he’s technically clean, and he’s a team guy. And athletically, he’s just special that way.”

Although it seems as if there’s nothing Tracy can’t do, there are things he doesn’t like to do. He has a hard time talking about himself. He especially doesn’t like spiders.

Cronin said: “I do know he doesn’t like spiders. And I think off the field, he’s the greatest, nicest guy and is so humble. He’s probably going to be mad that you are even doing a story on him.”

Tracy, who has a chance to become Wake Forest’s first Hermann Trophy winner as the top player in college soccer, was a main cog in the Deacons’ run to their first NCAA championship last fall. He scored three goals in the College Cup trophy, including the winner in the semifinals against Virginia Tech.

There was some speculation that Tracy might bypass his final college season to turn pro — there are as many as 10 former Deacons playing Major League Soccer — but he decided to return.

“We have set higher goals for this team this year,” said Tracy, an economics major who is on schedule to graduate in May. “And (there’s) the degree and how far that can take you in life. These opportunities don’t present themselves all the time, so I talked to all the right people, from my family to the coaches, and I’m happy with my decision.”

Donald Tracy, Marcus’ father, said that his son didn’t think too hard about leaving school early.

“I do know his mother, who is an educator, wanted him to finish his degree,” Donald said of Marguerite, a fifth- and sixth-grade math and science teacher in Newtown, Conn. “And I wanted him to finish as well.”

At Newtown High School, Tracy played soccer and basketball and also ran the 400 meters for the track team. At Wake Forest, Tracy, Cronin and several other soccer players formed an intramural basketball team as freshmen and dominated their league.

“The team was pretty much built around getting the ball to Marcus,” Cronin said.

Tracy said he enjoyed playing basketball again, for at least that one season.

“We didn’t sign up fast enough to be in the ‘A’ division, so we were playing frat kids, and we were just killing people,” Tracy said.

“We were winning every game, but the mercy rule was that if we got up 30, the game was over. It was pretty much like that in about every game.”

Tracy said that the team finally quit the league during the playoffs, because it wasn’t any fun anymore.

“Up until freshman or sophomore year of high school, I was better at basketball than soccer,” Tracy said. “But I don’t look back on that and I don’t have any regrets.… I’m completely happy with how soccer has turned out for me.”

When asked about the Hermann Trophy consideration, Tracy shrugged his shoulders.

“I think for me the biggest thing is to accomplish our three goals, getting the regular-season title, getting the ACC Tournament title and the national title and that would bring recognition to everybody on this team,” Tracy said. “That’s really my focus.”

Originally written by By John Dell, JOURNAL REPORTER

Major League Soccer has named its championship trophy for Denver investor Philip Anschutz, owner of the Los Angeles Galaxy soccer franchise.

The new Philip F. Anschutz Trophy — 28-1/2 inches tall, including the base, and weighing 43 pounds — was unveiled Wednesday at Tiffany & Co. in New York, on the eve of the start of the MLS playoffs, the league’s website, MLSnet.com, reported.

Anschutz is also part-owner of the Houston Dynamo.

At a news conference to unveil the trophy, which resembles a large loving cup, league Commissioner Don Garber described Anschutz as “the heart and soul of Major League Soccer.”

“We really believed that Phil Anschutz deserved a lasting legacy,” MLSnet.com quoted Garber as saying.

“Phil Anschutz believes in the sport down to its core,” he said. “He attends games almost every weekend with his family. He believes in the American player. He believes that this country has to have a top-flight league that celebrates what he thinks is the best sport in the world.”

He said the Denverite rescued the league financially a few years ago.

“In our darkest hour, we went through contraction,” Garber said, according to the MLSnet.com report. “We were really questioning what the future of MLS would be. Phil Anschutz stood up and said, ‘Even if I have to carry this league on my shoulders, I won’t allow Major League Soccer not to continue or grow.’”

The MLSnet.com report did not say whether the normally publicity-shy Anschutz attended the unveiling ceremony.

The new trophy replaces the Alan I. Rothenberg Cup, which has been retired.

Originally Written by http://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles

AVID Soccer Opens 2008 Award Nominations

On 24 September 2008, AVID Soccer will open the nomination stage of their annual review cycle. Nominations will remain open until 10 October. All readers are welcome to submit nominations to reviews@avidsoccer.com.This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Nominations will be announced the week of 13 October.

Awards are based on the shoot-out results, reviews and reader comments on the AVID Soccer blog. Award categories include:
• Best Boot – Based on fit, comfort, durability, aesthetics/desirability, price and availability
• Best Goalkeeper Glove – Based on comfort, durability, adhesion, aesthetics, price and availability
• Best Ball – Based on shape, feel/control, durability, aesthetics/desirability, price and availability
• Best Kit – Based on comfort, fit, available styles/colors, durability/wear characteristic, care requirements and price
• Coolest Lifestyle Product – Based on style, comfort, price, durability and reader feedback
• Most Innovative Product – Based on new products in 2008 that bring a different approach to Soccer; all categories and products are possible, but they must be reviewed by AVID Soccer

The voting will be weighted 60/40 for the AVID Soccer team and readers respectively. The lifecycle category will reverse the weighting.

Products, not previously reviewed, must be submitted no later than 22 October 2008. This will give AVID Soccer time to review the product and readers a chance to respond. Information on product submissions can be found at AVID Soccer (http://www.avidsoccer.com/submit.aspx).

About AVID Soccer:
AVID Soccer is a grass roots organization that provides information and training to individual players, groups and teams. AVID Soccer consists of coaches and trainers dedicated to improving the image of soccer; the level of training; and the level of play. (www.avidsoccer.com)

The AVID Soccer Equipment Review is one of the largest independent Soccer Equipment sites. It provides objective testing services, reviews and information on soccer equipment and related products. They currently have over 20 testers ranging from U-9 players through semi-pro. The AVID Soccer Equipment review web log was founded in March 2006. (blog.avidsoccer.com)

Originally written by Editor Choice, PR Canada