Texas State Soccer Association - South

Proud Sponsors of TSSAS

Special autograph session with KC Wizards Eric Quill & Davy Arnaud

Two former STYSA players, Eric Quill and Davy Arnaud, are coming to Houston on Monday, July 7 for a special autograph session. Both players will suit up the following night (Tuesday, July 8) when Kansas City takes on Santos at Reliant Stadium, as part of a doubleheader. Quill is a native of Missouri City, while Arnaud is from Nederland.

The autograph session is scheduled for 6:30 - 8 pm, and will be the highlight of an Open House at Memorial Hermann / HBU Wellness Center, 7731 Southwest Frwy at Fondren. Memorial Hermann will be offering a program on "Strength and Conditioning for the Elite Soccer Player." Players from all ages and all levels of play are welcome.

For more info, visit http://www.stxsoccer.org.

Presale for Women's World Cup tickets

The 2003 Women's World Cup will be contested in six venues between September 20 and October 12, with the U.S. Women's National Team defending their crown in each city should they advance to the final. All event dates are doubleheaders with the exception of the final and 3rd place match.

The online-only presale begins this Wednesday, July 2, at 11 am CT, and ends on July 17 at 4 p.m. Purchases are limited to venue-specific series tickets. A series ticket consists of all of the matches scheduled at a single venue. The limit is eight (8) series tickets per venue, with the exception of the Home Depot Center in L.A., which is limited to six (6) series tickets. You can purchase series tickets from all venues.

Go to http://www.fifaworldcup.com, click on Buy Tickets and follow the instructions, using this password: shoe9.

Ecuador vs Nigeria

Catch two World Cup 2002 teams on Saturday, July 5 at Robertson Stadium, 7 pm. Tickets are on sale at Fiesta, at the stadium box office, by phone 1-800-506-4429 or at http://www.omega-sports.com/.

International Doubleheader at Reliant

Reliant Stadium hosts a doubleheader on Tuesday, July 8: MLS's Kansas City Wizards will play Santos Laguna at 7 pm, then El Salvador's national team will take on Guatemala's national team at 9:15 pm. Tickets will be available June 14 at Fiesta, Ticketmaster online, Ticketmaster phones (713) 629-3700 and Ticketmaster outlets. Tickets are $25, $32 and $40.

The Houston Texans would like to offer groups of 20 or more a discount. The $25 seats will be discounted to $15 per seat. We will also have $32 and $40 seats available to groups for a limited time.

To secure your group seats, simply go to http://www.houstontexans.com/ or click on this link http://www.houstontexans.com/photos/soccer_order_form061103.pdf, print the order form, fill it out and fax it to 832-667-2191. All orders received by June 30 will be mailed to the address you provide. Orders received after this date can be picked up at Will Call located at the Reliant Stadium box office inside Budweiser Plaza.

New Orleans CEU

U. S. Soccer and the Louisiana Soccer Association will host a Continuing Education Unit clinic July 12 for coaches in conjunction with the USA Women's National Team versus Brazil match on July 13 in New Orleans. Attending a US WNT practice and a ticket to the game are included. Details are in the attached file: New Orleans CEU (165kb, pdf)

Soccer Hour with Glenn Davis

Houston now has a soccer-specific one-hour radio show every Sunday at 5 pm 90.1 FM radio KPFT. "The Soccer Hour with Glenn Davis" aims to provide coverage of Houston's soccer scene, plus domestic, and international soccer. The show will include guests from the world of soccer, updates, coverage of local events, and opinion. Call-ins from soccer enthusiasts are welcome: 713-526-5738.

2003 Women's World Cup Venues Announced

U.S. Soccer President Dr. S. Robert Contiguglia announced today via conference call the six stadiums that will host the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup in the United States this fall. The six venues include two soccer specific stadiums: Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, and the newly christened Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., just south of Los Angeles. Another brand new stadium, Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia (scheduled to open this August), will bring the event to a city that hasn’t hosted an official international U.S. National Team match in 35 years. The remaining three venues include Washington, D.C.’s RFK Stadium, Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., outside Boston, and PGE Park, the recently renovated stadium in the heart of Portland, Ore.

“Our first task since accepting this challenge two weeks ago was to find the six venues that made the most sense, both geographically and functionally, to host matches in the Women’s World Cup,” said Contiguglia. “With these six world class stadiums, we know we have done that.”

Specific information regarding the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup schedule and the number of matches in each city, as well as the path of the U.S. Women’s National Team through each venue, will be announced in the near future. The announcement will be made once the proposed calendar of games is ratified by FIFA, however, the tournament dates are likely to be slated from Sept. 20 to Oct. 12, and the state-of-the-art Home Depot Center in Los Angeles will play host to the championship game.

TICKET INFORMATION
Ticketing details will also be announced shortly. Registered members of ussoccerfan.com will have the first opportunity to purchase tickets to the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup - join now to assure that you'll be among the first to find out ticket information for this exciting event. Ticketing details will be announced as the venues and schedule begin to take shape.

VOLUNTEER INFORMATION
Interested in volunteering with the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup? Volunteers will be coordinated through the U.S. Soccer Human Resources Department. To let us know you're interested, please send a message to hr@ussoccer.org including your name, mailing address, phone number, fax number, e-mail address, any previous event history and your resume.

Houston Toros

The Houston Toros are a member of the Premier Development League, the only national developmental league for male soccer players. PDL is a member of the United Soccer Leagues and is affiliated with U.S. Soccer through the USASA.

The PDL highlights Under-23 players from Florida to Canada. The PDL provides top college and youth players with the opportunity to perform in a professional setting during the summer while maintaining their college eligibility. College players drafted by MLS or A-league teams are usually first spotted while playing for PDL clubs.

The Houston Toros home games are played at Freedom World Ranch, 12800 Almeda Road. This is a good chance to see another level of soccer.

The Houston Toros Home Schedule:

REPORT ON SEMI-ANNUAL MEETING, SAN DIEGO, CA - 21-23 FEB 03

REGION III MEETING

1. Director. Brooks McCormick. The Soccer Festival will be held in Houston, Texas. The Select Team Tournament will be held in Dallas, Texas. He presented TSSAS' Carlos Rodriguez a plaque for all his years of service as Region III Treasurer.

2. Treasurer. Bob Yampey. Passed out report, the region has $39,810.08 minus about $8500 in unpaid bills.

3. Coaching Committee. TSSAS' Richard Pardo was named coach of the year for Region III.

4. Credentials. There were 30 state votes and 4 officer votes if needed.

5. National Cup. Jennifer Osborne. As of this time, Arkansas has one amateur team and one U23; TSSAS has two amateur teams and one over 30's. March 1 is the deadline for entry into National Cup. It will be held Memorial Day weekend, May 22-26. It will be the same host hotel in Gulfport, MS, as last year. The play will be round robin. There is a mandatory check-in either Thursday or Friday night, depending on when your first game is. National Cup will be held in Plano, TX, for 2004/2005.

6. Referees. Joseph Michna. He is disappointed that more referees are not submitted for the Referee of the Region. Would like to see more women come up in the ranks.

7. Midyear. Lois Ebensberger. There will be a determination as to whether or not a mid-year meeting will be held next year.

8. Select Team. Carlos Rodriguez. The regional tournament will be held June 14-15 in Plano, Texas, at Russell Creek Park. The hotel will be the Marriott Courtyard Legacy Park. The U.S. Soccer Festival will be held in Houston, 27 Jul - 3 Aug. The Select Team regional tournament will be held in Alabama for 2004/2005. Marlowe Campbell is the new Region III Select Team Coach for men. Lisa Howe, Head Women's Coach at Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, AL, is the new Region III women's coach.

9. Veterans Cup. The cup will be held August 6-10 in Honolulu, Hawaii. The entry deadline is 1 April. The tournament will be held again next year in Honolulu, Hawaii.

10. Coed Cup. Jeanne Smith. The cup will be held in Virginia Beach, VA. The dates are August 22-24. It costs $100 per team for entry plus a refundable $500 bond. May 1 is the deadline for entry. Teams should be there on Thursday. The captain/manager has to be present at the meeting Thursday night. Players should plan to leave late Sunday in the event they advance to the finals. There are 25 players allowed on a team. There is a 30-minute mandatory check-in prior to the game or there will be a $100 team fine. 1st place will receive $750, team trophy, and individual medals. 2nd place will receive $250, team trophy, and individual medals. The best airport to fly into is Norfolk, which is 30 minutes away.

11. Women's Development. Marilyn Childress. Marilyn is requesting a list of all the Women's Leagues' teams and representatives.

12. The Region III meeting will be held October 25 in New Orleans.

13. National Cup Workshop. Debra Sober gave a presentation on the National Cup. Rule books were passed out. The rules were gone over in detail and discussed.

14. Veterans Cup/Coed Cup Workshop. Tim Busch presented the Veterans Cup information from last year. Pitched the cup for this year. Told us how great the fields were, how good the hosting organization was, and gave us information on the tournament next year, which will be held in Hawaii, also. For more information and prices on tickets, etc., go to the website http://www.soccerhawaii.com. Lois Ebensberger presented the Coed Cup information from last year. Gave us information on Virginia Beach. The host hotel has not yet been decided. As soon as information is available, I will send it to the teams/states that are interested. The roster is frozen 7 days prior to the first game.

15. USASA Meeting. Unfortunately, due to job constraints, I had to leave prior to the meeting Sunday morning. The TSSAS President will have a report.

Jeanne Smith
Women's Commissioner
TSSAS

Soccer Coverage in Houston

The Houston Chronicle features a Sunday soccer column by Houston's own Glenn Davis (commentator for the Dallas Burn and ESPN's World Cup coverage). Let the Chronicle know what you think about their soccer coverage (or lack thereof) by emailing sptletters@chron.com.