Phoenix Rising: Score!

By Kody Acevedo

It’s an exciting time to be a soccer fan in the Valley right about now.

Phoenix Rising FC, the highest level professional soccer franchise in Arizona, is putting on quite the show in 2017.

It began with a highly successful re-branding effort capped off with the opening of a new 5,000 seat stadium on McClintock Drive and Loop 202 near the Tempe/Scottsdale border.

But flashy new uniforms and a new soccer-only facility are only part of the excitement. All of the hype means very little without a quality team to put on the field.

Phoenix Rising has solved that problem too. Throughout the summer, the team has turned heads across the Valley.

It started with the signing of Didier Drogba, a former MLS striker who is most famous for playing with Chelsea in the Premier League.

“We have a desire to play with intensity,” Drogba said following a 2-1 victory over Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC on July 15. “I’ve been here for six weeks and the team has improved.”

Following Drogba’s signing, the team went on a six-game unbeaten streak after a 4-5 start to the season.

“We have a great team. Young guys full of energy and a desire to win here at home,” Drogba said.

On top of Drogba’s signing, the team hired Patrice Carteron to be their new head coach on May 22 after former coach Frank Yallop resigned in April.

Carteron is a former Mali National Men’s Team manager and took over in early June.

“I want our fans to feel that we are fighting every time,” Carteron said. “Of course we want to play good football… definitely we need to progress, but I’m so happy about what we did in the last six games.”

Carteron highlighted the excitement Drogba brings to the Phoenix Rising environment, both with the players and the fans.

“We cannot play defensive football when so many thousands of people are coming to support us. We have an offensive player like Drogba, we need to give him the ball if we want fans to see what he can do with the ball.”

“Patrice wants us to win every game,” Drogba said. “That’s the mentality we need to have. You know you can’t win every time, but you have to give everything and that’s all we’ve been doing the last few weeks.”

The efforts by Phoenix Rising, formally Arizona United SC, are not just to attract more fans, but to attract the attention of MLS officials.

In January, Phoenix Rising submitted an expansion application bid to join Major League Soccer.

Phoenix is one of 12 markets bidding for an expansion team.

“Phoenix, Arizona is ready for Major League Soccer,” Phoenix Rising FC governor Berke Bakay said in January. “Phoenix is the largest expansion market in the United States.  We offer MLS the largest population of Millennial and Hispanic soccer fans, and the most TV households.  Phoenix is also the only expansion market without an existing MLS team within 300 miles.  It’s time for the MLS to come to the southwest and rise with our fans in Phoenix.”

Phoenix joins Charlotte, Cincinnati, Detroit, Indianapolis, Nashville, Raliegh/Durham, Sacramento, St. Louis, San Antonio, San Diego and Tampa who all submitted applications earlier this year.

Major League Soccer will announce two new expansion teams before the end of 2017.

Currently, there are 22 teams, but MLS plans to add Los Angeles FC in 2018 and a Miami team, pending a finalized stadium plan.

Phoenix is hoping to be team 25 or 26 and will begin play in MLS by the 2020 season.

Two additional expansion teams will be announced at a later date.  The timeline for selecting clubs 27 and 28 will be decided later this year.

Courtesy: Wrangler News 

Cubs wives give back to spring home

by Kody Acevedo
Cronkite News

MESA — While the Chicago Cubs are busy on the field this spring, their wives are busy in the community.

A group of Cubs wives, including Jessica Bryant, wife of Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant, spent Monday morning building a new greenhouse for the Mesa Urban Garden.

“We love being here in Mesa,” Bryant said. “It’s fun to be able to give back and do something for the community (and) that all the charity work that we do here stays here locally.”

Jessica Bryant, wife of Cubs Kris Bryant, helps install the roof on the new greenhouse for the Mesa Urban Garden, Monday, March 6, 2017, in Mesa, Ariz.(Kody Acevedo/Cronkite News).

The Cubs partnered with a local organization called LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation) to find community projects for the team to work on for the duration of the spring. Terry Benelli, LISC executive director, thought the Mesa Urban Garden would be a fun first project.

“It’s really special for the community to realize that the Cubs are not just here to play ball, but actually be involved in the community,” Benelli said. “It’s good to see them out in the community being a part of what we do down here.”

The Mesa Urban Garden, located at 212 E. 1st Avenue in downtown Mesa, is a popular community event space and a source of locally grown food for families, food banks and nearby restaurants. The property has about 100 garden beds that people rent each year.

Ryan Winkle, a Mesa councilmember for District 3, started the Urban Garden with group of others five years ago.

“We had pitched the idea of an urban garden (and) community engagement center and that’s what this kind of became,” Winkle said. “Over time, we kept on getting more people and more people involved and people just love it.”

Winkle said the garden started as a way to help people lick their wounds following the recession of 2008.

“There’s a lot of people that have come through here that have (fallen on hard times) and then they got back together just because of the community interaction and getting involved in downtown (Mesa),” Winkle said. “It was a pathway for a lot of people to get involved in a larger city effort.”

Today, the garden continues to grow with more space for improvement. The new greenhouse that was assembled with help from the Cubs was donated by a local family that didn’t have space to keep it.

Jessica Bryant, far right, works with volunteers of the Mesa Urban Garden to install a new greenhouse, Monday, March 6, 2017, in Mesa, Ariz.(Kody Acevedo/Cronkite News).

“On the move over it kind of fell apart,” Benelli said. “But we just haven’t had the time to actually sit and put it together. We really needed a group of people to come out.”

That’s where the Cubs stepped up. According to Benelli, the Cubs have a great partnership with LISC, which also has offices in Chicago. LISC often partners with the team on projects in the Windy City.

The Cubs name is a huge boost for Mesa.

“Especially in downtown (Mesa),” Benelli said. “This an under-served, low and moderate income area, and often times you don’t get big names like that.”

Bryant said player’s wives and families stay busy during the season giving back.

“We do things at least once a month,” Bryant said. “So, whether that’s selling autographed baseballs to raise money to go to a charity, or we go the Ronald McDonald House — things like that. We’re always doing something just to help whatever community we’re in at that time.”

Courtesy: Cactus League Wire 

Cactus League managers have mixed feelings about baseball rules changes

By Kody Acevedo
Cronkite News

PHOENIX — Managers from around the Cactus League expressed mixed feelings about upcoming rules changes intended to speed up the pace of Major League Baseball games.

This week, Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association announced several rule changes for 2017, including the adoption of a no-pitch intentional walk and time limits on replays.

Last season, the average MLB game took slightly more than three hours.

Bruce Bochy, who led the Giants to World Series wins in 2010, 2012 and 2014, said baseball should be doing all it can to keep the game moving.

“It’s going to create more interest with the younger generation,” Bochy said. “There’s a lot of slow time in our game. We understand it. Baseball is doing all it can it’s our time to make the adjustments. So I’m all for it.”

Commissioner Rob Manfred said during a recent press conference that baseball has never set a “time goal.”

“It’s really not about time,” Manfred said. “It’s about two things: it’s about pace and action.”

The no-pitch intentional walk rule now involves the manager signaling to the home plate umpire and the umpire immediately awarding first base to the batter.

Other rule changes include:

• Managers will have 30 seconds to decide whether to challenge a play and invoke a replay review.
• When a manager has exhausted his challenges for the game, crew chiefs may invoke replay review for non-home run calls beginning in the eighth inning, instead of the seventh inning.
• With some exceptions, replay officials in the Replay Operations Center in New York will have two minutes to render a decision on a replay review.
• Teams may not use any markers on the field as points of reference for fielders’ defensive positioning.
• An addition to Rule 5.07 stipulates that a pitcher may not take a second step toward home plate with either foot or otherwise reset his pivot foot in his delivery of the pitch. If there is at least one runner on base, such an action will be called a balk under Rule 6.02(a). If the bases are unoccupied, then it will be considered an illegal pitch under Rule 6.02(b).
• An amendment to Rule 5.03 requires base coaches to position themselves behind the line of the coach’s box closest to home plate and the front line that runs parallel to the foul line prior to each pitch. A base coach may leave the coach’s box to signal a player once a ball is in play, provided that the coach does not interfere with the play.

The Commissioner hopes the new rules will help eliminate the dead time of the game.

The rule changes come a week after Manfred said a lack of cooperation from the MLBPA halted any meaningful changes for the 2017 season. Manfred said he wanted to see changes to the strike zone, pitch clock and visits to the mound.

“I’m disappointed that we could not even get the MLBPA to agree to the modest rule changes, like limits on trips to the mound, that have little effect on the competitive character of the game,” he said.

Although there is no change regarding mound visits this season, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said communication between the pitcher and the manager or coaches is a necessary and strategic part of the game. He proposes a technological solution.

“If (pace is) the concern maybe just get some kind of ear bud where you can talk to the guy from the dugout in order to expedite the situation, but the conversations are vital. They are,” Maddon said.

Oakland A’s manager Bob Melvin calls himself a traditionalist who said it’s tough for him to say the game needs to be sped up.

“I think one of the things I love about baseball is that it’s timeless,” Melvin said. “There’s no clock. It’s all about innings and outs and that’s the way time is measured in baseball.”

Still, he appreciates that, if baseball is going to make adjustments, they are made in a way that allows players and coaches to adapt.

“I think they’re doing the right thing and doing it incrementally as you’ve seen it over the years. Not doing the wholesale and multiple changes in a year that makes everybody uncomfortable,” he said.

Angels manager Mike Scioscia agreed. He said the change to the intentional walk rule, for example, is not too drastic.

“The commissioner’s office has tried to get (our) input from a lot of the the guys on the ground, like managers,” he said. “So the effort is there. So as far as the rollout, I think that there’s more communication – you’re understanding things.”

Courtesy: Cactus League Wire 

Doolittle escapes to a galaxy far, far away

by Kody Acevedo
Cronkite News

MESA — Skywalker Ranch, the headquarters of the Star Wars film saga, sits in Marin County, California.

It is about 40 miles from Oakland, where A’s left-hander Sean Doolittle lives and practices his craft. When he isn’t playing baseball, he escapes to a galaxy far, far away.

Doolittle is a Death-Star-sized Star Wars fan. In fact, “fan” probably doesn’t do him justice. To Doolittle, the 40-year cinematic space saga is life.

The Force is strong in this one.

“For me, it’s all about balance,” Doolittle said. “It can’t be baseball 24/7.”

It’s a love affair that started for Doolittle at a young age and has flourished through the years. Doolittle’s father introduced him and his brother to the original trilogy when he was a kid.

“We had all the video games. We saw the prequels and, I mean, it’s something we’ve been fans of for a long time,” he said.

He has embraced his fandom even more in the last two years with the release of “The Force Awakens” and “Rogue One.”

“I really liked both of them, for different reasons. “Rogue One,” I thought was awesome,” Doolittle said. “I liked the fact that it took a little more risks, I thought, and had some of the darkest moments of any Star Wars movie.

He also appreciated that “The Force Awakens” paid homage to the original movie from 1977.

“If they were going to re-energize the fan base and lay the groundwork for a new trilogy after taking so many years off, I thought the way they went back to more practical effects and sets really made a big difference,” he said.

Even when he’s not watching the movies, Star Wars is on his mind.

Doolittle likes to spend time going through YouTube to catch up on the latest Star Wars trivia and see what other fans are talking about.

“I think that’s one of the things that makes it cool; the way that the fans have taken it to a whole new level,” he said.

He’s no stranger to taking things to a new level, either. Doolittle recently proposed to his girlfriend, Eireann Dolan.

Of course, the proposal came with a Star Wars theme.

With help from his dog Stella and a remote-controlled R2-D2 robot, Doolittle got down on one knee and made it official.

“There were some really romantic parts of it, too,” he said. “There were candles and rose petals and stuff like that. We like to have fun, and she puts up with my Star Wars nonsense.”

Doolittle said that Dolan, a writer and reporter at CSN California, is a good sport about the Star Wars obsession affair. When “The Force Awakens” hit theaters, the two dressed for the occasion.

Dolan donned a Darth Vader suit and Doolittle dressed up as Chewbacca, the lovable Wookiee.

“We have fun with it,” Doolittle said. “She says that she only tolerates it, but deep down I think she kind of likes it.”

As he prepares to enter his sixth season with the club, Doolittle brings a veteran presence to the clubhouse that is admired by all.

“I think he’s good for our guys and he embraces that role,” said manager Bob Melvin. “It’s nice to have some guys that have been here for a while and know how we do things.”

With 162 games of the regular season still a month away, Star Wars gives Doolittle a chance to escape from the grind of baseball and keep his mind fresh.

“I have to have other things in my life that I enjoy doing away from the field so that I don’t get too overwhelmed,” he said. “And Star Wars is definitely one of those things.”

Courtesy: Cactus League Wire  

Lasorda’s influence reflected in Scioscia’s longevity

by Kody Acevedo
Cronkite News

TEMPE – Tommy Lasorda never bled Angel red, but his influence flows deep in the veins of the Angels clubhouse.

Lasorda, the Hall of Fame manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, managed current Angels manager Mike Scioscia for 15 years. Scioscia himself is entering his 18th season as a big league manager, all with the Angels.

“I never really thought (about) the length,” Scioscia said. “You have to focus on the process, just like a player.”

Scioscia is the longest-tenured manager in the major leagues. The next longest big league tenure belongs to Bruce Bochy, manager of the San Francisco Giants since 2007.

When he arrived in Anaheim in 2000, Scioscia had never managed in the big leagues. The Angels skipper credits his original coaching staff for laying the foundation of his success in those early years.

“I think all of us that were here – Joe (Maddon), Ron (Roenicke), Bud (Black), Mickey (Hatcher) and all the guys – I think we did a good job of laying out that process as a staff of what we needed to be,” Scioscia said.

Of those members of his original staff, three of them went on the become big league managers themselves. Maddon went to Tampa Bay and then led the Chicago Cubs to their first world championship last season. Black was recently hired to manage the Colorado Rockies after almost nine seasons in San Diego.

Roenicke spent four-and-a-half seasons as the manager of the Milwaukee Brewers (2011-2015) before returning to his role as the Angels third base coach. Like Scioscia, he entered the big leagues influenced by Lasorda’s style of managing.

“Part of this stuff that we do in the clubhouse, Mike learned from Tommy, I learned from Tommy — how to work hard, but also enjoy what we’re doing,” he said.

Roenicke said that while Lasorda rubbed off on Scioscia, they’re completely different people and don’t necessarily have the same managerial style.

“Tommy was really fun to play for – great motivator,” Roenicke said. “Scioscia is more technical. His game management is so on top of different things that they’re kind of a different personality.”

Roenicke admires Scioscia’s attention to detail and ability to bring out the natural talents of his players.

“Obviously he’s got a great baseball mind, but he’s got a really big heart,” Roenicke said. “When you’re on the opposing side, it looks like he’s just this intense guy all the time. But I know what he’s like behind the scenes, and I really enjoy it.”

Those are traits Roenicke knew would make Scioscia a successful manager. Even back in their playing days with Lasorda, Roenicke knew Scioscia’s mind worked differently than the average player.

“By the time we got to the big leagues and sat there with Lasorda and (Joey) Amalfitano and those guys, his mind was so good that he was already doing things that I saw that I said ‘wow, this guy, he’s ahead of all of this,’ ” Roenicke said.

Under Scioscia, the Angels have experienced the winningest 17-year span in their history that includes a World Series championship in 2002. He has a 1490-1264 record as the Angels skipper and is the only active manager with at least 1,000 wins with their current team.

He is also just the third manager to lead his first club for at least 17 consecutive seasons, joining Walter Alston (23 years with the Dodgers) and his former mentor, Lasorda (20 years).

For Scioscia, it’s simply a love that never grows old.

“I love the dugout,” he said. “I love when the game starts. I love practice. I love everything about it.”

Courtesy: Cactus League Wire 

First Amendment’s survival depends on reader responsibility

By Kody Acevedo – Originally appeared in Wrangler News September 17-30, 2016

It’s pretty remarkable how often the First Amendment plays a role in our everyday lives.

We see so many instances where people choose to exercise their freedom of speech, protest and religion. Heck, it would be almost impossible for reporters and journalists to be successful without it.

I guess there’s a reason why it’s the first.

Yet, there’s concern brewing from those inside the news industry.

According to Paul Dughi, in a recent article published in Editor & Publisher, “laws haven’t kept pace with innovation.”

“There’s a new generation of digital journalists and armies of people with cell phones capturing news every day that simply don’t understand the First Amendment (or simply don’t care),” Dughi said. “Many First Amendment issues haven’t been seriously examined in decades.”

Dughi argues that it’s time that we dive in and take action in order to protect our rights.

“Police couldn’t come in to a TV station and take them off the air any more than they could put armed guards to shut down the printing press. But they seem comfortable taking cell phones and cameras and confiscating them when they capture unflattering images. Can they?”

He may be on to something. As technology changes, so too does the way we report and consume the news.

But is the problem actually the fact that our laws are that far behind our technology?

Professor Joseph Russomanno at Arizona State University is reluctant to say so.

“I’m not totally willing to accept that premise,” Russomanno said. “We have principles in place and ways of applying those to all kinds of circumstances including those new ones that surface.

“The principles that we have, the standards that have been established, the precedents that have been set still exist. They still survive. They work quite nicely for any kind of situations that surface, including the kind that are catalyzed by these sorts of technologies.”

Not laws as much as technology

Russomanno is an Associate Professor at ASU and holds a Ph.D from the University of Colorado-Boulder, where his work emphasized First Amendment theory and mass media law. He teaches Mass Communication Law at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

According to Russomanno, the problem isn’t so much that the laws are behind, it’s that newer technologies create situations that have not yet been encountered.

“What we need, from a legal perspective, is cases to surface that will allow our courts to deal with them and to establish a new set of precedents,” Russomanno said.

“What they’ll be using to establish those new set of precedents are those principles that we’ve had with us for at least 100 years.”

Dilemma: Who exactly is a journalist?

It’s not just the technology that has started to raise concern either. There’s also a dilemma to define who exactly qualifies as a journalist. It couldn’t possibly be everyone who owns an iPhone, could it?

People with iPhones may be able to distribute information and opinions, but that doesn’t necessarily make them journalists, according to Russomanno. He says it’s really about the way the practice is done.

“That is what establishes what journalism is and so we should concern ourselves with how people are going about gathering and distributing information,” Russomanno said.

“Being a little bit picky about a certain kind of training or education or a set of techniques and processes that one follows, wherever they may have been learned… once one practices those, they then can be called a journalist.

“What that’s doing is putting a little esteem and prestige on the title of journalist… distinguishing those people from those who simply distribute information.”

Dughi said in his report that many feel that if they simply ignore these problems, they’ll just go away.

He cites a report by Cronkite School Innovation Chief and Professor of Practice Eric Newton, who reported for the Knight Foundation in April that a poll showed 65 percent of the editors rated the news industry as “less able” to pursue legal activity around First Amendment-related issues than it was 10 years ago.

The study then asked to respond to the following statement: “News organizations are no longer prepared to go to court to preserve First Amendment freedoms.”

Fifty-three percent agreed. Why? Money, replied 9-out-of-10 respondents.

Russomanno agreed. The quantity of challenges that news organizations make to the government or government agencies is much less frequent.

“It’s very expensive. In this day, in an age when media organizations are having to pinch pennies for their very survival, they see that as representing a cost of business that just isn’t worth it to them.

“If we assume that at the heart of these challenges, or now would-be challenges, is an ability to gather information, evaluate that information and share at least parts of it, if not all of it, with their readers and viewers, then it goes to the very heart of a self-governing democracy.

“Why we have freedom of the press in the first place is to protect their ability to do that. But if they are not going to accept that responsibility, then we all lose.”

Kody Acevedo is a senior at ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Communication.

Courtesy: Wrangler News

Arizona enters 2016 with revamped defense, competition at QB

By Kody Acevedo FOX Sports Arizona

Jul 14, 2016 at 4:42p ET

 

Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez knows the talent in the Pac-12 is improving. He also knows his team is going to have to step things up in 2016 if they want to be competitive.

“It’s more talented than probably any time in the Pac-12’s history,” Rodriguez told reporters at Pac-12 Media Day in Los Angeles. “I don’t think there’s anybody, any coach, I may be the first coach speaking that won’t tell you that the Pac-12 is more talented now than it’s ever been in its history, and that’s what makes it more difficult to defend.”

“The Pac-12 is more talented now than it has ever been in its history.” – @ArizonaFBall Coach Rich Rodriguez pic.twitter.com/3dAreo4tRO

— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) July 14, 2016

The Wildcats, 7-6 a year ago, enter the 2016 predicted to finish fourth in the South standings in a vote of 33 media members who cover Pac-12 football. Stanford was chosen the favorite to win the 2016 Pac-12 Conference football title.

The biggest question mark for Arizona is its defense. Rodriguez revamped his defensive coaching staff during the off-season after his squad allowed at least 30 points in nine of the final 10 games in 2015. Rodriguez brought in Marcel Yates from Boise State to lead the charge in the defensive overhaul.

“I hired Marcel Yates who scheme-wise was really good, but more than anything I liked his personality, I liked the personality of the defense, and I know what we’re going to do,” Rodriguez said.

While the defense is still trying to figure things out, Rodriguez said he has seen “renewed enthusiasm” as a result of the change.

“As the head coach, I’m responsible for all phases of the team, and so I looked at myself and say, ‘geez, I’ve got to do a better job of making sure we’re getting better defensively,’ ” Rodriguez said. “There’s going to be some growing pains, but the future of our defense is going to be really good.”

“It’s a great honor to be here (at #Pac12FB Media Day) and I’m enjoying it.” – @ArizonaFBall Sr. WR Nate Phillips pic.twitter.com/4yAjatIIDo

— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) July 14, 2016

 Offensively, things are more stable but not without questions. Quarterback Anu Solomon had an up-and-down sophomore season in 2015 after battling some injuries. The coaching staff will take a serious look at sophomore Brandon Dawkins, who had a solid performance last season against Arizona State, completing 16 of 30 attempts for 301 yards and two touchdowns.

“I think we’re in a good situation where we have two guys competing for the starting job,” Rodriguez said. “We treat the quarterback position pretty much like the rest of them. Just compete and play the best guy at the time.”

Solomon threw for 20 touchdowns and five interceptions last season and ran the ball into the endzone three times. A nagging hamstring injury plagued his season, but with Solomon in control, Arizona finished third in the Pac-12 in yards per game last season.

“The next step for Anu is simply to be more consistent,” Rodriguez said. “Certainly health is an issue with that, but there are so many more things that we can do in our offense if the quarterback can handle it mentally, and he can handle a lot mentally, and we’re going to put more on him.”

“Athletically, they’re both pretty similar. They’re pretty close. I hope both of them prove that we can win with them and we’ll play both of them throughout the year.”

Courtesy: FOX Sports Arizona

McClintock grad, former MLS pro, finds new passion in coaching

By Kody Acevedo – Originally appeared in Wrangler News June 18 – July 2, 2016 

Andrew Weber is adjusting to the cards he’s been dealt. In that process, he’s developed a negative into a huge positive.

The former Major League Soccer player is in the middle of his prime as a professional goal keeper, but a herniated disk in his back has forced him off the field and unable to play the game he loves.

“It’s hard,” Weber said as he watches the latest COPA America soccer game on TV. “It’s hard to watch because I want to compete.”

Weber, a McClintock High School graduate, is still partially recovering from his injury, but, in the meantime, he’s fostering another passion: coaching.

In fact, he’s weighing whether to give up playing altogether and continue to pass on his knowledge to the younger generation.

“It’s nice to be your own boss,” Weber said. “I’ve always wanted to continue my education in goal keeping, too.”

To say Weber is a student of the game is an understatement. During his entire career, which extends from his youth club team, the ‘Tempe Pros,’ to being a member of the Portland Timbers last season, Weber has continuously studied the sport that has been at the center of his life.

“I love having the pressure on my shoulders. It develops character. Being a goalie is all about momentum.”

“I’ve always really been passionate about coaching, but this is the first year I’ve really
gotten into it,”

Weber said. It’s a passion that was engraved into him during his club soccer days in Arizona thanks, in part, to his former coach, Dr. Jeffrey Wilson.

“He was my biggest influence,” Weber said.

“I only hope I can influence as many kids as he did.”

Dr. Wilson was part of Weber’s life since he was about 10 years old. During that time, not only did he help Weber discover his passion but guided him through a difficult period at home. When he was 13, Weber’s parents divorced.

“He was somebody I could confide in,” Weber said.

That influence has stuck with him throughout his career, beginning at the University of New Mexico,
to stops professionally with D.C. United, the San Jose Earthquakes, the Seattle Sounders FC and the Portland Timbers.

With all that under his belt, Weber still felt motivated enough to return to his roots in Tempe and begin his coaching career.

“This has always been home,” Weber said. “This state gave me an opportunity to play.”

Weber said he returned to help give back to the community that helped launched his career. Besides the support of those closest to him, his experiences here gave him the foundations to success, he said.

In school, he played multiple sports, including football. He didn’t focus solely on goal keeping until he was 16.

From then on, no other position mattered. He even turned down a football scholarship to focus on his soccer career.

Weber said watching other goalies make unbelievable plays inspired him to never lose sight of someday being in their shoes and performing at the professional level.

“I love having that pressure on my shoulders,” Weber said. “It develops character. Being a goalie is all about momentum.”

That’s the attitude he presents to the young players he teaches. Right now, Weber currently works with kids ages 9-18.

“I care for [my students]. I want what’s best for them. There’s joys of playing, but there’s joys of coaching as well,” Weber said.

His business is private and only spreading through word-of-mouth, but he’s in the planning stages of developing a website and expanding outside of Arizona.

For the time being, Weber is enjoying the path laid out in front of him.

“I learn as much as I can. I love what the game has given me and what it continues to give me. I’m ready to start giving back.”

For information on lessons, Weber can be reached by email: Netkingselite@gmail.com

    

Courtesy: Wrangler News 

Grad’s inspiration paves road to West Point future

By Kody Acevedo – Originally appeared in Wrangler News 

It’s a crazy world we live in nowadays. With so much unrest in many different parts of the globe, there are a number of ways people can respond to it.

But there probably aren’t many people who look at the issues we face like Liam Stills. Stills, who graduated from Corona del Sol High School on May 19, said the turmoil overseas and in the US inspires him to change to world.

He’s on the right path to do just that. Stills decided in high school he wanted a career in the military. He worked hard too, becoming a well-rounded student who played four years of baseball, served on the student council and was involved in National Honor Society, among other clubs.

His efforts landed him on one of the most prestigious starting platforms the military offers: an appointment to the Class of 2020 at the United States Military Academy at West Point.

The U. S. Military Academy at West Point is a four-year, co-educational, federal, liberal arts college located 50 miles north of New York City. It was founded in 1802 as America’s first college of engineering and continues today as one of our nation’s premier leader-development institutions, consistently ranked among top colleges in the country.

“It was a pleasant surprise,” Still said upon learning of his acceptance into West Point. “I was almost a little bit overwhelmed. It was a little emotional because there was so much hard work that I had to put into it and it finally paid off.”

It was a journey that began about midway through high school when, according to his father Tom, Stills’ brought home information packets from the Air Force. It was at that moment that the family realized this was the path their son was about to embark on, even forgoing an opportunity to play college baseball for a career in the military.

“This is a path that he’s chosen and it’s a path that we all understand,” Tom said. “As parents, we’re proud for what he’s done and his accomplishments, but we are just proud as Americans more than anything.”

Like most parents, the Stills are supportive of whatever their son decides to do in life. Despite the uncertainty of America’s military actions in the future, the Stills know there’s no holding their son back. It’s obvious that the idea of their son going to West Point is still settling in on their minds.

“This is what he wants to do. We aren’t going to tell him no. It’s a whole different level than sending your kid to college, I can tell you that,” Tom said.

It’s a level that requires a rigorous application process that Stills battled for most of the year leading up to this point. On top of the number of essays and recommendations he had to gather, the most challenging part for Stills was receiving a nomination from either Senator Jeff Flake, John McCain or Congresswomen Kyrsten Sinema who represents Arizona’s 9th Congressional District in the House of Representatives.

After going through a separate application process and another round of the waiting game, Stills finally received a nomination from Sinema, almost guaranteeing his spot at West Point.

“I was relieved for sure,” Stills said. “That was the main thing I was worried about because that’s one of the hardest things to get and you need a nomination to get an appointment, so when I got that I knew I had a very real chance of getting into the academy after that.”

Just days after his high school graduation, Stills’ path is pretty well carved out. He’s hoping to leave West Point not only with the military experience he craves, but with a degree in either business management or economics as well.

“I’m both excited and nervous,” Stills said. “It’s going to be hard, but it’s going to be good for me.”

Stills also hopes that those his age looking for a possible future career will consider one in the armed services.

“I think it’s a great opportunity and it can set you up for life,” Stills said. “I want to make the world a better place and protect my country.”

And that’s what it means to be an American.

Courtesy: Wrangler News

D-backs tap into farm system to support Lamb’s All-Star candidacy

By Kody Acevedo FOX Sports Arizona
Jul 6, 2016 at 7:59p ET

PHOENIX — The Diamondbacks are trying to get Jake Lamb to the All-Star game really baaa-dly.

A real-life lamb stopped by the D-backs’ clubhouse to show his support for Lamb in the Final Vote to the 2016 All-Star game.

Lamb, who leads the National League in slugging percentage, is one of five players involved in the Final Vote, along with San Francisco first baseman Brandon Belt, Colorado shortstop Trevor Story, Pittsburgh outfielder Starling Marte and Milwaukee outfielder Ryan Braun. Fans can vote at mlb.com until 1 p.m. (Arizona time) on Friday.

“It’ll be in (San Francisco) on Friday. I’m not sure what their Lamb situation is, but we’ll get it under control,” Lamb joked, referring to the D-backs upcoming road trip.

Hey @MLBNetwork, @ArchieBradley7 would like a word with you. #VoteLamb pic.twitter.com/AIyPH01r8o

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) July 6, 2016

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Even normally low-key All-Star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt got in on the hijinks.

“It’s funny for the rest of us to have fun with Jake, he’s being a good sport and going along with it,” Goldschmidt said.

Asked to describe his interaction with the lamb, which was out on loan from a local petting zoo, Goldschmidt said: “Really, really soft wool. It’s kind of funny. He seemed pretty calm.”

Lamb, too, was having fun with the moment.

“I know how much Goldy loves the attention and everything, so I know he’s bummed out,” Lamb said. “I think I love the attention just as much as Goldy, so this is really fun.”

Goldschmidt is pulling out all the stops this week to help get Lamb elected. He even joined Twitter, something he vows will last only until Friday.

“It’s just for a short amount of time trying to get the fans to vote for Jake,” Goldschmidt said. “I’ll try to do it to the best of my ability, which is pretty terrible. It is going to be short-lived. Once this weekend is over, I’m going back to my normal self.”

Lamb is more at home on social media than his teammate, but he’s thankful that he’s making the effort.

“Hopefully he’s here (on Twitter) to stay,” Lamb said. “I’ve got everyone texting me and reaching out on social media. Yeah it’s really cool, especially the support back home, and obviously there’s a bunch of support here in Arizona, and I really appreciate that.”

How is this guy not an All-Star!?! Everyone #VoteLamb right now and let's get him to San Diego! @JakeLamb18 pic.twitter.com/s8jfZHQsb3

— Chris Owings (@cowings5) July 6, 2016

Courtesy: FOX Sports Arizona