When: May 20, 2010

Time: 7:00 PM

Where: Freetail Brewing Co. (4035 N Loop 1604 W. Suite 105. San Antonio, TX 78257)

Come join us at Freetail Brewing Company for the ESPN MLS Game of the Week (to be presented on the 150″ screen). We will be distributing Travis 250 membership cards to attending paid members. Come drink quality brew from our sponsor while enjoying the beautiful game.

If you are on Facebook, we’d appreciate the RSVP by clicking here.

When: May 13, 2010

Time: 8:00 PM

Where: Freetail Brewing Co. (4035 N Loop 1604 W. Suite 105. San Antonio, TX 78257)

Come join us at Freetail Brewing Company for the ESPN MLS Game of the Week (to be presented on the 150″ screen). We will be distributing Travis 250 membership cards to attending paid members. Come drink quality brew from our sponsor while enjoying the beautiful game.

If you are on Facebook, we’d appreciate the RSVP by clicking here.

CORPUS CHRISTI – The two-time MLS Cup champion Houston Dynamo are coming to the Coastal Bend.

And Whataburger Field, home of the Corpus Christi Hooks and defending two-time North American Minor League sports venue of the year, is adding to its menu.

This time, soccer takes center stage – on the eve of the World Cup – as the Dynamo faces the Laredo Heat on Thursday, June 10. Kickoff is 7 p.m. The event is presented by Amigo Energy.

And South Texas fans can kick off a month-long soccer celebration with the Dynamo exhibition. Thirty-one days later, FIFA crowns its champion in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The Dynamo captured back-to-back MLS Cup titles in its first two years of existence (2006-07) under head coach Dominic Kinnear. The club has represented the United States in four consecutive regional (CONCACAF) championships.

Forwards Brian Ching and Luis Angel Landin, midfielders Geoff Cameron and Brad Davis, defender Bobby Boswell, and goalkeeper Pat Onstad lead the Dynamo in 2010. Last season, Onstad and his mates tied Seattle for the league’s stingiest defense (29 goals allowed), a third straight first-place showing by Houston.

To learn more about the Dynamo, log on to HoustonDynamo.com or call (713) 276-7500. Houston began the MLS season March 27 at rival FC Dallas. The Dynamo open at home Thursday vs. defending MLS Cup champion Real Salt Lake.

Hooks season-ticket holders have an exclusive Dynamo-Heat ticket-buying window between Wednesday, March 31, at 9 a.m. and April 5 at 5 p.m. Season-ticket holders should call 361-561-HOOK, visit the box office or go to ryansandersentertainment.com

Tickets go to public sale at ryansandersentertainment.com and the Whataburger Field Box Office on Tuesday, April 6, at 9 a.m. Phone purchasers dial 361-561-HOOK.

That evening at 6, the Hooks entertain Triple-A sister club Round Rock.

The June 10 Dynamo-Heat contest was announced at a noon Whataburger Field press conference today by Oliver Luck, president and general manager of the Dynamo, Reid Ryan, founder and CEO of Ryan-Sanders Baseball, and J.J. Vela, GM of the Heat.

Said Luck: “We’re excited to bring the game of soccer to the City of Corpus Christi. As an organization, we always look for opportunities that enable us to grow the sport, and this game against the Laredo Heat is a great avenue by which we can showcase the quality of our team to fans, not only in this city, but also in the South Texas region. We look forward to an exciting match against a team which in the past has proven to be a good opponent.”

“We are pleased and proud to partner with the Dynamo in bringing this historic event to Corpus Christi and South Texas,” Ryan said. “As the first appearance by an MLS team south of San Antonio, this is a wonderful opportunity for soccer fans in the region and from across the border to see a Major League power from the nation’s fourth-largest city.”

Dynamo-Heat benefits the Coastal Bend Youth Soccer Association. Led by Pat Kasperitis, the CBYSA boasts 10,000 members. It’s part of STYSA (South Texas Youth Soccer Association), an organization of 100,000.

“This event is a great way for our players to see the professionals up close and personal,” Kasperitis said. “Youth soccer is huge in South Texas and the kids in our association have heroes who play for the Dynamo. What a thrilling experience the match will be for all of us who are committed to the growth of soccer.”

Whataburger Field is utilized by Hooks Baseball for Texas League action and college and high school games. Ryan-Sanders Entertainment has presented a concert and seven-fight card since August. The show featured Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson and Friends and John Mellencamp August 5. Boxing headliners were Jerry Belmontes and Brandon Rios in mid-October.

To purchase tickets through the Crocketteers:

# of Tickets needed

1 Ticket $18.002 Tickets $36.003 Tickets $54.004 Tickets $72.00

WHAT: STAR (South Texas Area Regional) 7 vs. 7 Soccer League.

WHEN: Beginning at 7 p.m. Friday through Sunday, April 2-4.

WHERE: STAR Soccer Complex, 5103 David Edwards, near the intersection of Wurzbach Parkway and Thousand Oaks Drive next to Morgan’s Wonderland.

WHY: To introduce soccer players to the state’s newest and most spacious soccer venue.

ETC.: Men’s soccer competition will be on Friday nights, women’s on Saturday nights and co-ed on Sunday nights. The league will register all players with US Club Soccer, and each player will be given a US Club Soccer ID card that must be presented at the beginning of every game. Games will have 30-minute halves. Interested players should e-mail STAR at info@starsoccersa.com for registration materials and more information. A STAR representative will accept registrations in person from 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday, March 28.

ABOUT STAR: STAR includes 14 lighted soccer fields and support facilities that cost $10 million to build. STAR participants may not realize it, but while they’re having fun and getting exercise, they’re contributing to a great cause. Proceeds from STAR support the operation and maintenance of Morgan’s Wonderland, the world’s first ultra-accessible family fun park specifically designed for individuals with special needs. The non-profit park and STAR were created through the vision and leadership of the Gordon Hartman Family Foundation.

CONTACT: Ed Sakiewicz at STAR – (210) 495-8686, or Bob McCullough at Morgan’s Wonderland – (210) 495-5888.

Eight Crocketteers and hundreds of Crocketteer sympathizers came down to the hallowed grounds of the Alamo yesterday to pay their respects for the men and women who, as the cenotaph in front of the Alamo puts it, “sacrificed their lives in the defense of Texas” The events started with a cannon shot to symbolize Colonel’s Travis response to Santa Anna’s charge to surrender. From there we stood in front of the plaque and the famous “line in the sand” where Travis asked the defenders to stay and fight. We watched as the re-enactment soldiers marched in front of the Alamo with the bagpipes a blaring, the flags a waving and their guns held high. We stood and posed for pictures with many of the soldiers with our Crocketteer banner so proudly displayed. “Davey Crockett” joined us on one picture as did a direct descendant of the real Crockett for another. We ended the day with the Crocketteers standing and taking a group photo in front of the Alamo Cenotaph. Towering 60 feet high, the Cenotaph marks the spot where the slain defenders of the fortified mission were piled after the battle. Seen on the sides of the Cenotaph are carvings of the Alamo defenders, including depictions of William B. Travis, Jim Bowie, David Crockett and James B. Bonham. The monument also bears the names of men who died at the Alamo.

In addition, the following inscription can be found on the revered memorial:

Erected in Memory of the Heroes who sacrificed their lives at the Alamo, March 6, 1836 in the defense of Texas, “They chose never to surrender nor retreat, these brave hearts with flag still proudly waving perished in the flames of immortality that their high sacrifice might lead to the founding on this Texas.”

Today was a good day to be a Crocketteer! Remember the Alamo.

More Pictures:

is Now Open!  

I also ordered our jerseys last week at Soccer World Plus (http://www.soccerworldtx.com). Thanks to our lead sponsor (shown) Northwestern Mutual Financial Network and our supporting sponsor Spitfire Auto Electric for providing us with these great looking jerseys.

Original Post:

Are you interested in playing organized soccer with the Crocketteers?

The Crocketteers are planning to field a team in the upcoming Fall 2009 season of the San Antonio Soccer Association.

Details: We are hoping to have 16-18 players (or more).  Games are typically played Sunday mornings (9 or 11 am). Our team will play 10 games. Once we solidfy our team, we can make a team decision on what divison we should play in. So far the majority of interested people have been male and we have one female inquiry. I will call SASA to see if they allow 1 or 2 girls in the Men’s team or how many females are needed to qualify for Co-Ed. The season starts August 30, 2009.

Cost: To field a team it will cost us $750.00 plus $45.00 a game for referree fees ($45.00 x 10 = $450.00). In addition to that, our team must give a $200 refundable team bond. We will get the $200 refunded to us granted we are not involved in fighting incidents. That totals to $1400 to field a team. 

If we have 16 players, each player will have to bring to the table $88.00 ($12.50 refundable at end of season). If we have 18 players, each player pays $78.00 ($11.00 refundable at end of season).  When taking into account the refund and with 18 players, in reality the player fees are $67.00. If we choose to play the following Spring season and if we are all in agreement, we can apply the refunded money back toward the following season.

I’ve spoken to a few people about the cost. We want to explore getting sponsored to help cover some costs. Maybe putting company logos on the uniform. One person is going to ask his employer about doing such a thing. I think its a great idea and the team can explore this.

Practices: Once we get a significant amount of interest, we can think about getting together to practice. I have a pair of good size pop up goals for our use. I also have some venues in mind where we can practice.

Uniforms: TBD. I would like for us to have some decent uniforms but at the same time affordable. I know on ebay we can get pro style replicas (jersey and shorts) shipped at about  $23.00 per player. This includes custom name/numbering. Example: Chelsea replica . Again let’s explore getting sponsored to help cover costs.

If you want to be a part of our team, please e-mail me at michael.macias@crocketteers.com with your information (full name, phone number). If you haven’t already, please Join the Crocketteers Supporters Group.

If you want to discuss anything concerning our team, you can do so on our facebook group page, bigsoccer forum, or simply comment on this post.

Usually, I’d talk about how challenging it is to win a World Cup (Only 7 countries have won it in 90 years) or how many wars have been temporarily stopped thanks to soccer or talk about all the friendly matches played to promote peace such as the game between FC Barcelona vs Peace Team (Team made up of players from Israel and Palestine) or amazing moments like the one in WC2006 where Mexico’s goalie father had just passed away and before the Mexico-Iran game Iran’s goalie gave Mexico’s goalie a flower bucket and a hug (Min. 2:55)

Instead, I’m just gonna explain soccer as if I was writing a “Soccer for dummies” book.

Soccer is very similar to basketball, the main differences (beside the obvious) is that in basketball you can dribble past more than 2 people (Easier to do with your hands than your feet) and there’s no goalie in front of rim ready to stop the ball. That’s why the best ways to play soccer are (1) Run extremely fast to leave people behind or (2) Play like the Globetrotters and make the defense chase behind the ball.

Soccer is a team sport just like basketball, if you are fast or tall (heading the ball) gives you an advantage. There’s a lot of physical contact (like most sports played by men) and the rules are set-up to encourage a physical-fun game without having people getting killed. (That’s why in B-ball you can’t push somebody when he’s in the air).

In soccer you have 11 players, the field is very big so they try to play positions.

The goalie is the only player that can grab the ball with his hands, he’s the main reason why it’s so difficult to score a goal. But he can only grab the ball inside the goalie box.

In front of the goalie is the line of defenders (Usually 3-4 players) their main goal is to kick the ball out of … what you call in football “The red zone”.

In the middle of the field are the midfielders, they are the quarterbacks of soccer, their job is to break the “destruction defensive line” created by the other team’s defense by passing the ball around and hopefully give a nice pass to a wide open forward to score a goal.

The wide-receivers of soccer are the forwards, their job is very similar to a wide-receiver because of the off-side rule (A forward can’t just stand behind the rivals defense waiting for a pass, he has to be “on this side” until the ball is passed) because of this rule, many plays look just like a QB passing the ball to the WR who sprinted passed the cornerback or safety… BUT the forward still had to put the ball in the goal and has the goalie ready to stop the ball.

Sometimes a player will get fouled about 20-30 yards from the goal and the team gets a free-kick. That’s when you realize that there’s a similarity between soccer and golf. When a player gets a free kick, he has to kick the ball over 4-7 rivals standing about 12ft in front of him, get the ball pass the goalie and put it in the goal. Some free-kicks can be just as exciting as watching a golfer getting a hole-in-one.

The best free kicker in the World is Juninho Pernambucano, a Brazilian that plays in the French league.

Everybody loves the And1 basketball videos because of all the tricks and skills they display. In soccer there’s also many people that can do a lot of tricks with a soccer ball in a game. The best dribbler in World right now is Cristiano Ronaldo (Portuguese – Plays in England in Manchester United)

Hopefully this will help you understand a little better why soccer is the most popular sport in the World.

To finish, I’ll leave you with one of the funniest soccer commercials I’ve seen.