Purpose: Scott Shot Blogspot!!

Scott-Shot Blog-Spot will be an outlet for the kid. I will write from the perspective of a Soccer player, coach, fantasy manager, pundit and scholar. The pieces that will be produced will come from my experience and views as I continue to wear these different hats within the soccer world.

Playing:

I am currently playing for the Barnstonworth Rovers in the Cosmopolitan League in New York City. The team is quite talented and doing well but due to the participatory mentality, the squad is under acheiving. Yet still the often humourous interaction of young men in a competitive environment is always unpredictable, entertaining and provides a huge joy to my life. The joy of playing the game in such an environment has also opened my eyes to the lack of romanticism in my own game. Having played with such a serious, result based mentality over the past 2 years has severly restrained the expression and personality that I played with during my teenage years. The step-overs have dissappeared, megs and piles (sombreros) are few and far between, snakes are non-existent while the brand new move that I branded 'The 2010' has been in the closet for so long it is now dusty. As I strive to restore my innate expressive and inventive play, I will still try to hold onto productivity. How this dynamic tug of war pans out will be detailed right here on Scott Shot.

Coaching:

I am currently coahcing the Elmont Rush. They are an Under-13 girls team full of personality and energy. The girls are very new to the organized soccer as the team is approaching a year old this spring. Despite having not secured a win just as yet they are certainly improving. When I began coaching the Rush they were winless and had not scored a goal. Since then we have drawn 3 games, scored a cool 6 goals and were very close to grabbing our first victory. We are currently in the off season hence indoors. The indoor sessions are very technique based, geared towards passing and moving. Their technique and tactical awareness is slowly improving and hopefully the girls will be able to translate the indoor work onto the field when we go out doors in the spring. That will be where the real fun comes in as competition will recommence. And whether I return to the 4-3-3 or opt for a untraditional 3-4-3 and detail the reasoning and under tones of my strategic planning will provide entertainment.

Fantasy Manager:

Fantasy managment is one of the most connecting aspects in my life as all my friends are seriously involved. We often have to restrain ourselves from spending too much time discussing whether to captain Steven Gerrard or Didier Drogba. Though many may think an idle past time the thought process that goes into selecting ones team, buying, selling and holding onto players, based on so many different factors is a science. Though slightly luck based there is a reason why the same people lead the league year in and year out. The competitive energy within the Fantasy league is often ferocious as the forum is often bombarded as managers throw words like daggers at each other. As a fantasy manager the thought process, mistakes, lessons, failures and success provides a roller coaster of a ride as I strive to be the virtual Mourinho.

Scholar Student:

I have become very interested in reading soccer books. I recently read, Inverting the Pyramid by Jonathan Wilson, which was absolutely great. I am currently at the back end of Soccernomics by Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski. Soccernomics is good but I have many issues with some of the ideas and how they go about exmining them. The chapter reviews and thought provoking ideas will be examined through my eyes here. The list of soccer books is almost infinite so the pieces will be incessant.

Pundit (Self Proclaimed):

Every soccer player or soccer fan has their views on the game, players, managers and happenings within the soccer world. Though my thoughts on such are often not interesting enough to voice I occasionally do have views on the game that are worth voicing. Hopefully I will come up with some decent material.


The truth is that self expression is necessary and as my thoughts and life revolves around the game of soccer, a soccer blog seems like an simple means to free some of my ideas and thoughts. Hopefully my readers will enjoy it as much as I know I will.