United States Power Soccer Association

This years Midwest Regional D2 tournament was held in a beautiful facility in the Monticello High School Field House. It provided nice seating for the fans. Good planning and hard working volunteers made it a good experience for everyone. We enjoyed great food, good company, and had fun seeing old friends and making new ones. We were lucky to have reasonable temperatures and NO SNOW STORM! Next time we should have the banquet on Saturday night so all can attend.

The theme of the games seemed to be rules, rules, rules, and more rules. The referees were very consistent and strict. Several people failed the post game speed tests. One person even failed the 1 hour recheck! I saw more red and yellow cards than I have ever seen before. Also more “2 on 1” and “3 in the box” calls than I have ever seen in a long time. There were many corrections by the refs in the goal area. Goalies and their back-up player were reminded where they could sit based on the goal line. Reminders of the rules by the refs were ongoing. They sometimes seemed more like coaches than refs. This was really good for new players.

I liked almost all parts of the refereeing – except the part where I got my first red card! I got it because I forgot a simple rule – I crossed the goal line and stopped a goal. Sorry DASA!! I disappointed myself and I let down my team. The game I was excluded from was expected to be our hardest one (Fearless Flyers). The points scored against my team in that game left us to play for 7th/8th place. The Courage Blizzards had a hard time getting it back together. To my teammates, I apologize for putting you in that situation. I broke the rules and my teammates suffered. I suggest every player and coach review all of the rules. I know that I will be doing that!

I am proud to say that my fellow team from the Courage Center, the Courage Thunder, took first place. The Turnstone Fearless Flyers took second. We will all be rooting for them at Nationals in Indianapolis in June.

The 2009 Eastern Regional Qualifier in Atlanta were the most fun that I have had in a long time. The teams that played in the event came from all over the Eastern United States, from New York to Florida. As if that wasn’t enough, it turned out that referees from all over the globe came to learn more about Power Soccer. The referees came from many countries: three from Canada, France, and the United Kingdom, two from Denmark, and one from Portugal. That was one aspect of this tournament that truly made it unique, that there were international referees of Power Soccer not only in attendance, but actually refereeing the games! I know it must have been a great experience for them.

The first day of the tournament, the Chattanooga Speeders were scheduled for only one game: against the Shepherd Strikers.The Strikers really played as a team, the way they passed to each other and the way their defense held against the Speeders’ offenses. That first game was rough, as each team held its own against the other, unable to score a single goal the first half. In the beginning of the last half, the Strikers continued to hold their own against the Speeders, but then Cameron Watkins (#1) of the Speeders got a goal by way of offensive kick right between the Strikers’ goalie and the goal post. That made the score 1-0 in the final moments of the second half. The Strikers did really well, but try as they might, they could not break through the Speeders’ defense to score a goal in order to tie the game. As a matter of fact, Rick Davis (#21) of the Speeders blocked many kicks from the offense from going over the goal line. The first game for the Chattanooga Speeders ended in victory against the Shepherd Strikers, 1-0.

While the wind whistled through the giant redwoods that stood on the San José State University campus, things heated up inside the SJSU gymnasium. The intense competition and action of power soccer invaded the collegiate home of the Spartans for the Silicon Valley Power Charge Soccer Tournament.

Held this past March 6-8, 10 teams from Division 1 and 2 made their way to the tourney to compete with the best squads in the Western region. The D1 teams who attended were veteran squads such as the San Jose Steamrollers, Hollister Free Wheelers, BORP Earthquakes, and Arizona Heat 3rd Degree, and the up-and-coming teams Glendale Rough Riders and Santa Barbara Rollin’ Gauchos.

The Division 2 teams that made their way to San Jose were the Arizona Heat 2nd Degree, San Jose Steamrollers Express, BORP Crushers and Newark Hot Rodders. With the quality of teams playing in the tournament, both fans and athletes alike were in for quite a weekend.

The weekend was fun and exciting for all teams and players, some more than others. The teams that participated in the Division 2 non qualifying tournament included Columbia Driving force, Courage Blizzards, DASA Firecrackers and Lakeshore Foundation.

Most teams arrived Friday afternoon. The Lakeshore team should have arrived in the afternoon but spent 3.5 hours looking at St Louis. Several tow trucks and Highway Patrol later, they arrived at their hotel (9:30pm). They finally got some dinner at midnight. Unfortunately, their first game was scheduled at 9:00am on Saturday.

On the first day of play the Courage Blizzards were undefeated playing against DASA Firecrackers, Columbia Driving Force and Lakeshore Foundation. The Blizzards only had four players so there were no substitutions. All team members had to play 100% of the time. No breaks for any reason. On the other hand, the DASA Firecrackers struggled on day one against the other teams. Connor Walsh (16) and Hayden Clarke (8) came through for the Firecrackers while Sarah Schwegel (14) defended the goal. Columbia Driving Force performed well in their first official tournament. They won two out of three games on day one. A large “force” in their success was goalie Brian Nevins (11). It is always fun to score but defending the goal is critical. Lakeshore did not live up to their reputation, winning only one game on day one. Considering they were the favored team going into the tournament, it was a shock. Derek Weise (25) and Nakisha Adams (28) worked hard to advance their team but in the end did not get a break.