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The buzz continues to escalate around the upcoming Copa de Tejas featuring Everton
against the best of Mexico in Pachuca and Club America this coming week.
One thing for sure is that top clubs like Pachuca and Club America intend on taking these games very seriously not only for upcoming pre-season preparation but also simply for pride!
It is very rare that English and Mexican clubs compete against one another and I find the inevitable collision of playing styles to be very intriguing.
And to think we have the opportunity to see this in our own backyard!
Here once again like prior soccer events brought to us by Lone Star Sports and Entertainment is an amazing opportunity for soccer fans in our area to witness and feel world-class soccer up close and personal.
Like a "real" goal scoring chance in a soccer match, this is a time of opportunity for all of us whom are part of the Houston soccer culture.
This is a clear opportunity, not a half chance for all of us.
I am quite sure the passionate soccer culture of fans linked to Mexico through Pachuca and Club America will be represented.
I am sure that 1,000-plus fans will come from Europe and North America to support Everton F.C., a club that was formed in 1878 and whose fans are as loyal as they come.
In fact, I have received numerous emails from overseas.
But what about the U.S. fans that don't have the deeper ties individually to Everton, Pachuca, and Club America?
Will you be there? Must you have ties to any of the clubs?
Of course not.
You must simply be a soccer fan that wants to celebrate our game, top class international players and the beauty of the world's game.
Which leads me to our coaching directors and coaches who are shaping our youth into the future players, coaches, and leaders of the soccer community.
At the risk of pontificating I ask: Have you communicated to your club players and their parents the importance of getting out to Reliant Stadium and supporting world-class soccer?
Have you explained the relevance of attendance of live matches to practices and
training sessions and how it is a part of your coaching model and philosophy?
Have you attempted to organize a club group outing?
Why you ask?
Because as a coaching director or coach who has influence over youth, you have an obligation to encourage and get youth out to live games so that they can see the sport at its highest level.
It is events like the Copa de Tejas where youth can witness live players like Joseph Yobo (Everton) being a commanding presence defensively or James McFadden (Everton) showing off his individual dribbling skills.
Maybe you have come to see Pavel Pardo control midfield for Club America or Miguel Calero teach you the art of goalkeeping Pachuca style!
Examples of great play will be boundlessly evident and the perfect support for your coaching sessions.
It is cliché, but a picture is worth a thousand words.
Lone Star Sports and Entertainment with South Texas Youth Soccer Association set up an innovative day of clinics and discussions with Everton staff that finishes with Everton's full training session. What a unique opportunity for our area coaches.
South Texas Youth Soccer Association Coaching Director James Clarkson relayed to me the event was restricted to fifty coaches and it filled up in no time.
Clearly a unique opportunity, a once in a lifetime, coaches.
My hope is that local coaches and coaching directors have put that same spirit and desire to attend the coaching clinic into getting their players out to these games on July 29 and August 1.
Growing up in New Jersey I was fortunate to have a youth coach who made the commitment to speak positively and encouragingly about the importance of getting to live soccer matches.
In my case that was the New York Cosmos.
To this day I am grateful that he made the effort to show me that soccer was more than two practices a week and a game.
Thus they call it the world's game.
Davis is a nationally recognized broadcaster for HDNET where he partners up with former
U.S. National Team defender Marcelo Balboa. He was one of the lead voices for
ESPN during the 2002 World Cup and has called major international soccer matches
for the Fox Network as well. He is a weekly columnist for the Houston Chronicle and hosts the "Soccer Hour
with Glenn Davis" radio show on 90.1KPFT FM Radio every Sunday from 5-6 pm. Davis played soccer professionally for the Houston Dynamos where he was a league
all star selection and team captain.
