Live coverage of day 3 at 2012 Jefferson Cup boys weekend
\r\n\r\n5:00: <\/em><\/strong>With literally hundreds of college coaches roaming the sidelines at Jefferson Cup, it’s easy to see how young players can get nervous before and during their matches. After all, there are an extremely limited number of college scholarships and financial aid packages available in the men’s game, and many coaches use their observations at Jeff Cup to help decide who gets their best offers.\r\n\r\nEven at the Division III level, where no athletics-based scholarships are awarded, competition for places is fierce and coaches have to make difficult decisions.\r\n\r\nNew York University head coach Joe Behan urges showcase participants to be sharp early, especially with their touches and decision-making, because as in life, there’s no second chance to make a first impression.\r\n\r\n“The first 10 minutes, the first impression is huge,” the veteran Irish coach told The Soccer Wire’s Charles Boehm as he watched Under-17 and U-18 action at West Creek on Sunday. “You want to be impressed in the first ten minutes, you don’t want to be turned off.”\r\n\r\nBut Behan believes it’s just as important that players relax, have fun and stay within themselves, in large part because trying to do ‘something special’ will often impact their performances negatively.\r\n\r\n“The most important thing is to enjoy your game,” he said. “Don’t get too caught up in [the fact] that it’s a showcase and coaches are now watching you…Enjoy yourself first and foremost. If you’re not enjoying the game, you probably won’t perform well.\r\n\r\n“That’s the best advice you can give any footballer.”\r\n\r\n–\r\n\r\n4:00: <\/em><\/strong>I don’t like it either. The Jefferson Cup is almost over! It’s sad, really. It’s been a great weekend of soccer, one that has brought some of the country’s top talent to Virginia’s capital. Do you know who some of the winning clubs are? Here is the updated championship page!<\/a>\r\n\r\n–\r\n\r\n3:30<\/strong>: While there’s plenty of tournament action going on among teams from across the nation at the Jefferson Cup, the event is also hosting bracket play in the Atlantic Soccer League, a regional competition which features teams along the Eastern Seaboard.\r\n\r\nThe Soccer Wire’s Charles Boehm caught up with one ASL coach, Freestate Red Devils boss Albert Oni, whose team went 2-0-1 in U-17 ASL bracket play this weekend, a good run of form that should see them climb out of last place in the ASL 1 standings.\r\n\r\n“We beat Bethesda [SC AC] 3-2, we tied SAC [United] Premier 0-0 yesterday and today we just beat Lower Dauphin [United Elite] 2-0,” said Oni. “So a good weekend in ASL Division 1, so we’re happy. Fields are great, weather is great. It’s cool.”\r\n\r\nThe tournament setting undoubtedly added a hefty dash of extra spice to these ASL games.\r\n\r\n“Especially on the first day, we had a sideline full of big-time Division I coaches, so it was an exciting atmosphere for the boys to play in. A lot of competition from all over the place is quality, so when we weren’t playing, we got to see some good soccer,” noted Oni. “Tournaments like this provide that exposure that we’re always looking for.”\r\n\r\nThe Maryland-based team hasn’t always performed at their peak in similar high-visibility settings in the past, but their coach feels that they seized the day on this occasion.\r\n\r\n“The team stepped up. A lot of times when we’ve played on a stage like this in the past, they were nervous and they don’t play like we know they’re capable of,” explained Oni. “This weekend the boys finally did what they had to do on stage, so we’re happy about that.”\r\n\r\n-See earlier posts in next page-\r\n
