Team Chicago Academy-Vasco and Neuqua Valley H.S. Head Coach Joe Moreau was inducted into the Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association (IHSSCA) Hall of Fame at its Honor Banquet on June 6th. Coach Moreau received this tremendous honor based on his illustrious career in the high school soccer community.

We congratulate Coach Moreau and thank him for all his hard work and dedication here at Team Chicago, too.

Team Chicago Academy-Internacional forward/midfielder Miranda Lambert has accepted a great athletic scholarship to continue her soccer career at Kent State University in Ohio. Miranda, who plays her prep soccer at Oswego East H.S., will be part of Head Coach Rob Marinaro’s 2015 recruiting class.

The Golden Flashes are coming off a great season in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) finishing with a 13-5-2 record. At Kent State Miranda will join forces with fellow Team Chicago standout Kristen Brots who is part of their 2014 recruiting class.

Dr. Jay Williams, Ph. D., is a professor of Exercise Science in the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise at Virginia Tech. His research focuses on the responses and adaptations of muscle to activity, inactivity and disease. He also has a long history of working with athletes, ranging from kindergarten soccer players to Olympic tracks and field athletes.

For more information on how diet can affect soccer performance, please visit www.soccerteamdiet.com.

In the last article, the case was made that a solid diet can improve performance on the field. Eating a diet high in carbohydrates and low in fat can increase goal-scoring opportunities and improve defending, particularly in the later stages of the match.

Unfortunately, it seems that too few players follow this strategy. Perhaps they don’t understand what makes up a solid diet or how to make the right food selections. Often players and coaches don’t realize what types of foods are included in an athlete’s diet. This may be a first step in helping players improve their diets – understanding what they eat on a daily basis. Is their diet sufficient to insure peak performance?

In terms of the amount of food needed each day, the total calories consumed should match the amount of calories burned. There is little doubt that soccer players expend a lot of energy. And need calories for growth, everyday activities as well as training. Unfortunately, most players don’t eat enough to meet these energy demands. Youth, college-age, males and females all have a caloric deficit of about 15-20 percent. For example, a recent study of NCAA Division I female student athletes showed that only 9 percent eat enough calories to meet their energy needs, 75 percent eat too few carbohydrates, and the majority skip breakfast. Since players don’t seem to lose large amounts of weight during the season, they probably make up for the missing calories on off days, eating high-calorie meals or snacks.

To insure peak performance during training and matches, players should strive for a diet in which 65 percent of the calories come from carbohydrates, less than 25 percent from fat and about 10 percent from protein. Unfortunately, this doesn’t often happen. Surveys show that the diets of most players contain too few carbohydrates and too many fats. Youth and college-age players typically eat diets that are 45-55 percent carbohydrate and 30-35 percent fat. And, much of the carbohydrate content comes from simple sugars, those found in pastries, candy and sugar-sweetened drinks (e.g. soda).

As for vitamins and minerals, few players consume the recommended amounts of vitamins D and E. Folic acid and calcium intakes are often remarkably low. Also, many diets lack zinc, magnesium and vitamin A. These deficiencies can be made up by taking a daily multivitamin. However, vitamin and mineral deficits are markers of a larger problem – a diet that is less than ideal for a young athlete.

Proper hydration is often a problem with young athletes. Many don’t appreciate the importance of hydration and do not drink enough to replenish the fluids lost during the previous day’s event. As a result, they arrive at training in a “hypo-hydrated” state. That is, they are already slightly dehydrated before the training session begins.

As for age, younger players generally have better diets than their teenage counterparts. As players get older and begin taking more responsibility for what they eat, they tend to gravitate towards foods that are high in fat and simple sugars. This is especially true college-age players who eat their meals in the school cafeteria where countless options are available. Those who live off campus have to shop and cook for themselves and many choose convenience options that are often high in fat.

Surveys of player’s diets show that there is considerable room for improvement. Whether eating at home or in a college cafeteria, most players do not make the best food and beverage choices. A lack of total calories, too much fat, not enough carbohydrate, vitamin and mineral deficiencies along with too little fluid intake all describe a typical player’s diet. Why underlies this situation? First, players rarely track what they eat and don’t realize how far they’ve strayed from a solid diet. A quick trip though the drive-through becomes a regular habit. Second, many don’t have the nutritional tools to make proper food choices. When faced with several options, a best guess may not be the correct choice. Finally, some players don’t see the importance of a solid diet and how it can benefit their game. They’ve not made the connection between nutrition and performance.

Coaches cannot assume that players are eating the right foods, in the right amounts or at the right times. Given this, it is important to educate the players (and parents) and stress the importance of a solid diet designed to maximize performance. By helping young athletes understand what types of foods should be eaten along with asking them to think about the choices they are making, we can improve their diets in terms of total calories, the optimal amounts of carbohydrates, fats and proteins as well as vitamins and minerals. There is little doubt that this would improve performance on the field. More importantly, instilling proper nutritional habits early in the player’s life can carry into adulthood and led to a healthy lifestyle.

It was a busy weekend in Rockford for Team Chicago Academy teams participating in the IYSA State Cup Round of 16 and 1/4-finals. Team Chicago Academy-Bahia in the U12 Girls and Team Chicago Academy-Cruzeiro in the U13 Girls division advanced to Saturday’s Semi-Finals, while Team Chicago Academy-Eagles had their best-ever finish with a run to the 1/4-Final of the U14 Boys division.

Team Chicago Academy-Bahia closed out the weekend in strong fashion with two consecutive wins in the U12G IYSA State Cup. Overall their record was a perfect 3-0 which puts them into the Semi-Final against Grove United at 9:30am next Saturday. On Saturday they faced Chicago Lakefront and ended the game with a 3-1 win in tough conditions. Fighting significant winds the girls played their way through and controlled most of the match. Zaira Solis lead things off with a nice goal catching the GK out of position. The two remaining goals were off rebounds and were put away by Frankie Magno and again by Zaira Solis. Bahia consistently attacked in the second half with many players contributing to the attack. Jennifer Garcia’s work-rate in the midfield did not go unnoticed.

The second game was versus TCSA with the winner advancing to the Semi-Final. Both teams finished 2-0 in the previous games. The girls came out in great form in the first 5 minutes and could have put two away but had near misses. Finally they broke through on a corner from Paige Miller that found Erin McCarthy who scored a great one time finish. The first half would end 1-0 in favor of Bahia. In the second half Bahia came out and scored in the first minute on a goal by Paige Miller that was set up by Sophia Majher. After receiving the ball Paige dribbled through two defenders before slotting the GK. Bahia continued to build on the momentum when Katie Murphy was fouled in the box. She stepped up and calmly drilled it past the GK to make it 3-0. Soon after Paige Miller would make it 4-0 with the same type of play set up again by Sophia Majher. Finally, things were capped off by a nice goal from Frankie Magno which was set up by Zaira Solis to make it 5-0.

Great job to the entire team with special recognition to Abbie Brennan and the entire defense (Erin McCarthy, Shannon Tagler, Lauren Douglass and Kiley McKee) for only allowing two goals.

Team Chicago Academy-Cruzeiro defeated TCSA 4-0 on Saturday. They ran out to a 2-0 within the first 10 minutes on a great goal by Mia Lakstigala from Kerry Abello’s perfect cross. Kerry then scored directly off a corner kick to double the lead.

In the second half Kerry was taken down after a surging run and Renae Blevins expertly put the PK away. Kerry got the final goal off great passing from Renae and Madison Zaleski to send Cruzeiro to the 1/4-Final. Bailee Witt and Anna Aubuchon got the shutout in goal.

On Sunday Cruzeiro faced the U12 Campton United team and it was a tight match in terms of the scoreline. However, Cruzeiro dominated the possession and chances heavily. Campton did score first, but answered back immediately when Jamie Goralski finished off a great attack that was started by Jordan King and Kerry Abello.

In the second half Cruzeiro kept up the pressure but the ball didn’t seem to want to go in. Renae Blevins had a great freekick that hit the post twice, but eventually was cleared off the line. With 12 minutes left Jamie Goralski found Lauryn Wesoloski who threaded a perfectly weighted through-ball in Riley O’Brien’s run and Riley calmly slotted the ball past the on-rushing GK for the game-winner.

Cruzeiro will now face Campton United in Saturday’s Semi-Final at 8am in Rockford.

Team Chicago Academy-Eagles began their State Cup run on Saturday with a convincing 2-0 over Linces Tomayo. The Eagles came out firing on all cylinders with a lot of offensive pressure, which led to an early goal and the eventual game-winner just 3 minutes in the game.

Victor Cuevas connected with a nice ball over the top of the Linces’ defense from Emerson Beinhauer to get his first of 2 goals. The second goal came with 10 minutes left in the first half. With a piercing run down the sideline beating two defenders, Max Graf picked out Victor Cuevas streaking through the box and volleyed it home for his second goal of the game. Strong defensive play from the back line helped Brady Moody keep the clean sheet.

On Sunday the Eagles faced the expected State Cup champions Chicago Magic Pre-Academy in a tough 1/4-Final match-up. The Eagles fought extremely hard against a very strong opponent, and only a 2-minute let-down just before the half stopped the Eagles from pulling off the upset. The boys could still be very proud of their first-ever 1/4-Final run in State Cup.

Team Chicago Academy-Palmeiras lost a heartbreaker 4-3 against a solid Chicago Kickers club in State Cup play over the weekend. With wind gusts up to 35 mph, the conditions made play very difficult and Palmeiras found themselves in a 4-1 hole with wind-aided goals midway through the second half. Bobby Ohse had the lone first half goal off a Chris Freeman corner.

Palmeiras showed tremendous character and resilience in the match and got back a goal with 12 minutes left off a short corner from Chris Freeman and a blast from David Sanchez. A minute later, Palmeiras brought the game within a goal off a Chris Freeman rocket from 35 yards out. Palmeiras pressured Chicago Kickers for the last ten minutes with multiple shots and were denied by some quality goalkeeping, as Kickers secured the win.

Palmeiras continues on in their season with NISL league play, State Premiership Division and the NSR Midwest Cup as they round out the Spring season.

Team Chicago Academy-Panthers had a breakout tournament and secured their first silverware during the Red Lion Invitational in Indianapolis, IN last weekend.

The Panthers played four games in a round-robin group of five teams, placing second in a very competitive group. The Panthers lost a closely contested game by 1-0 to the eventual champions, Fishers SC, in the opening game of the tournament. Determined to win, the girls rallied to pick up two straight games against closely matched Indianaplois area teams, at 1-0 and 3-0, respectively.

Needing a tie or a win in the last game to place, the Panthers put together a fantastic team effort to return from being 2-0 down at half time against a strong FC pride team, to end in a 2-2 draw.

Through persistent pressure in the midfield, the Panthers dominated possession throughout the half, and ultimately drew a handball in the box to draw even with a well taken penalty.

Congratulations and well done Panthers!