By Tim Nash

The Carolina RailHawks, a NASL franchise located in Cary, N.C., just outside of Raleigh, is exploring the possibility of putting a team in the NWSL.

“We are interested,” said RailHawks President Curt Johnson. “Our owner, Steve Malik and I met with (NWSL President) Jeff Plush in Chicago in June, and we have had further conversations. There is interest from both sides, and the process is on-going. We are just doing our due diligence and getting the lay of the land, understanding budgets, the relationship with US Soccer and the long-term vision.

“The process is evolving,” said Johnson. “If, and it’s a big if right now, we were going to play in 2017, I think a decision would have to be made in the next 60 days. I think we have the facilities, the support and there are a lot of top players in the area.” Continue reading →

By Tim Nash

We’ve all had them, whether we like to admit it or not, those forehead-smacking moments when you realize your mistake and get that, “I knew that” feeling. There are things we tend to forget when coaching kids, things that pop up and make you feel stupid for not remembering them.

I had a couple of those recently. Fortunately for my players, I was able admit I had been wrong, recognize the error, and change my approach. As a result, my U12 girls were able to end their season on the highest possible note.

The thing I had forgotten, the part of coaching kids that escaped me sometime in the seventh month of an eight-month season, was that the kids I was coaching were 11 and 12 years old. Seems like that would be pretty obvious, doesn’t it? In my defense, though, it is a pretty common mistake.

As coaches, we see a kid who is advanced in one particular aspect of the game. They may be very clean on the ball, able to receive it under pressure. Or maybe they can strike a ball with flawless technique, or possess an advanced ability to go one-v-one. Or maybe they have a less-tangible quality that catches the eye, like the vision to see and complete passes others can’t.

What do we instinctively want to do? We, of course, get excited, and want to make them more advanced. We start asking them to do things and think of things that we think will help. But here’s the thing, they are 11 and 12 years old. Some of what we are asking of them, they are not capable of doing or understanding.

Here’s how I came to remember that. I had two players, both advanced. The mistakes they were making with the ball were mostly all mental. Their decisions were sometimes poor or just plain bad – shooting from impossible angles or unreachable distances, taking on four players with two teammates wide open, things like that. I asked them to work on making better decisions, one of the more senseless pieces of advice I had given out.

Continue reading →

Carli Lloyd after a really good day

By Tim Nash

There should be a law. Or at least a mandate, something official, that says the U.S. Women’s National team has to play a game on the Fourth of July, or at least the Fourth of July weekend.

It’s the perfect occasion for a national team game. We are already feeling patriotic, we are already wearing something red, white and blue, families are planning to be together, we don’t have to go to work, we already have the fireworks, and we already plan to grill a bunch of meat and eat apple pie.

There should be a game.

Oddly enough, in the 31-year history of the U.S. Women’s national team, there have been just two games played on Independence Day. We can add five more of we include the entire the July 2 to July 5 timeframe, and there have been some great ones. Here they are in order using historical impact, drama and being just plain fun to watch as criteria. Continue reading →