UNB Varsity Reds Men's and Women's Soccer Preview.

The Varsity Season is upon us already. This weekend both the Men's and Women's Soccer squads will head off to the "Rock" and play back to back games against the Memorial University teams.  I have had a chance to watch a few games and looked at the rosters to give you a little preview to what we might expect from both sides this year.

2014 Women's Soccer

Head Coach Jon Crossland, along with his assistants Joe Crossland and George Lucas, seem to have built their team from the net out.  Making a big off season acquisition bringing in Sami Jo Bell(Keeper), third year transfer from St. Mary's.  She seems to have gelled with the team well, as they have only given up one goal in their four preseason games leading up to this weekends opener.  The back line, of course, has also played a big part in their success in the preseason. From seeing many of the games last season I know that these ladies play tough defense and will come away with a few clean sheets this year.  Scoring took a big hit with the news that Brianna Ford is not returning this year.  She was an AUS all star and will be missed.  The ladies did have a three goal outburst in one of their Preseason matches against Bishop's.  Lauren Cubbon, Ellen Arsenault and Emily Sarty all got on the board. A game in which Brittany Carroll(Keeper) got the win, and will hope to keep pressure on Sami Jo for top performances.  

With not many changes from last year this team should do much better than their 4 wins, 7 losses, and 2 ties.  Solid defense, sharp transitions and sticking to the system the coaches are bringing will likely make sure that happens.  I see this team in the playoffs at the end of their Regular Season and looking to make waves against those Nova Scotian powerhouses Cape Breton, along with the rest of the AUS conference teams. Good Luck to the Ladies!

2014 Men's Soccer

The coaching staff from this team must be proud of their accomplishment last year. Playing great as the hosts of the CIS  Men's Soccer Championships and walking away with a Bronze medal for their efforts. Miles Pinsent, David Rouse, Ken and Barry Morrison along with George Lucas will be looking forward to this regular season no doubt.  It should be repeated that they won the AUS title last year, marching strong into nationals.

Coach Pinsent has one of those great problems starting from the Keeper position.  Two solid contenders to start. Aaron McMurray and Brandon Eagle both started games last year, both had clean sheets but both have had to battle injuries.  No matter which one gets the start each match you can rest assured you are going to get 100% from either.  McMurray did shine brightest last, as he had pivotal saves in the shoot out versus York at CIS Nationals last year.  The back line will miss Yassin Chehab El Din who graduated last year. If my math is right though Ben Law and Jason Rouse should be back from the Bronze medal team to keep things tidy in front of the net.

Through the middle is where I think this team should shine this year.  Four players in particular should really cause fits for opposition defenders.  Diego Padilha and George Lawton could turn into a dynamic duo of holding midfielders.  They in turn will look to free up Marcus Lees and Oliver Jones who will attack teams down both sides of the pitch with pace and precision.  I think you will hear a lot from these four this year and if it is positive the sky could be the limit.  At striker this may be the year of the "Glasgweigen" Robert Park, but whoever does end up starting at the front should expect a decent diet of good service from the midfield. 

Other changes include the losses of Yousuf Mohammad and Amir Razak, both of whom played mostly at the striker position last year so that may be the weak point of the squad. This was a dominant side last year, going 8-2-3. They were AUS regular season champs along with their AUS Banner and CIS Bronze, so they have lofty heights to climb to get back to last years success.  I think this team has the potential to get back to those same standards though.  Good luck to the Men, and of course #GOVREDS!

The simplest things.

When I woke up this morning to the sound of my daughters running feet, I had a feeling of dread. I knew I was going to have to tackle a really tough job this morning. Cleaning Jenna's ears.  Sounds silly right.  Why should I be worried about doing such a simple thing?

Lets go back a couple of years to Jenna's first hearing test at the +DECH.  She was four and we were concerned that her delay in speech may have been affected by her hearing.  Like diligent parents we brought her into an area that was ill equipped for a child with an +Autism Spectrum Disorder.  Not surprisingly Jenna had a bad reaction at first.  She is sensitive about anything to do with her head, and especially her ears.  Luckily we had our support staff with us, in the form of an AST and supervisor from Autism Intervention NB, who helped with explaining the special needs that Jenna has.  Still the procedures were a nightmare.  There is no worse feeling than having to hold on to your child, who is in a panic over a procedure that she cannot understand and we had no way of explaining to her.  Her strength is astounding and her tears are powerful, my wife was unable to help at all and it took the rest of us, that is four adults, to restrain Jenna so the procedure could take place.

I could also talk about the few times Jenna has been sick enough to need liquid medication.  Sounds simple right. Put 10 CC's of medicine in the handy dandy syringe and squirt it into her mouth. It tastes like banana, all kids love banana.  We soon found out Jenna hated "Ba ana" as she screamed it over and over. Kicking, flailing, punching, pinching, squirming until we were spent and she was free.  Thank goodness I was resourceful enough to eventually reach out to the pharmacist who suggested, brilliantly, that I get berry flavor and put it in some apple/strawberry sauce.

These kinds of challenges are the toughest for me to talk about with friends and family.  I am starting to realize though that these are the stories I need to be best at conveying.  These and many other examples bring to light the need, in my opinion, for everyone to see the challenges parents of children with Autism face every day.  More education on how serious some cases of the disorder are.  More media coverage of the tougher side of Autism.  More support at municipal, provincial and federal government levels to prepare for and help the waves of adults with Autism who are in our villages, cities and towns right now.

Especially we need solid, science/fact based research into how to best treat and care for children and adults with Autism of all types but especially for those at the more severe end of the spectrum.  Studies in these cases is difficult for sure, for some of the reasons I have pointed out, but so very necessary if we are to really help these kids.  It is very easy for researchers to use the highest functioning of those affected because they can retrieve data more smoothly but it defeats the purpose when these studies are then applied to a huge spectrum of disorder with what could be catastrophic results.

You will be happy to know that I got Jenna's ears cleaned.  The process was easier than it has been in the past.  I knew what to have ready to distract, I knew the signs to watch for in case she became anxious.  Still though, next time it may not be the same. The dread will be there again, all from the simplest things.

2014-2015 Varsity Reds Men's Basketball Preview.

Here we go with my first team preview for the upcoming Varsity Red season. I am starting with Men's Basketball as it is the team I am most excited to watch and in my opinion the one with the best opportunity to go deep into +CIS playoffs. Last year of the VReds were 10-10 in a very strong +AUS conference that saw both the VReds and the St. Mary's Huskies feature in the top ten rankings at some point through the year.

Head Coach Brent Baker, along with his assistants Don McNeil, Dan Goggin, Pat Troy and Trevor Pardy must be pleased with their results last year. The team was very fit and pushed the pace in most games(especially in their wins).  The staff seems to build their offence around their guards and they are blessed in that position for the upcoming year.  They also push for great defense, which was a bit of a struggle at times last season. Last season they gave up the second most points per game in the AUS, a stat I am sure will be first on the list to work on this coming season. This coaching staff have had some recent success recruiting and are looking to get payed big dividends this season from that hard work.  The only senior graduating last year was Daniel Quirion, who will be missed. He was a great leader for this team and the staff will have to look to see who will be the next from the returnees.

Now lets do a little run down on the positions:

Guards- Matt Daley(4th), Will McFee(5th), Javon Masters(2nd), MacKenzie Washburn(5th)

Now this list may seem short for a coach that likes his guard play. I will look at that a bit later in recruits and rumors. For now lets focus on all the positives that we have in this group.  Starting with Mr. Matt Daley who should be the floor general for this team. He is a double threat to pass and score, isn't scared to get gritty and likes to play "Badger Ball".  Will McFee seems to me to be one of the most level headed and well rounded people I have ever met. The Australian is doing well a long way from home. He takes(and makes) good shots and can change the momentum of a game with a big play on either end of the floor.(See last years Eric Garland tourney for proof.) Will should also be hungry as he missed 8 games last year due to injury after having been top scorer and an AUS All-Star in 12-13.  Javon Masters will look to continue to grind after an amazing rookie campaign. He led the country, I said the whole! CIS, in scoring last year with 27.4 PPG. He was an AUS All Star, AUS ROY, All CIS Rookie team and CIS ROY, beating out his friend Dani Elgadi who had 18 PPG and 12 RPG for the Brock Badgers of the OUA.  What can he do to improve? Just what he has done if all signs are correct.  Work on strength and conditioning, continue to compete at an intense level on every play and working Coach Bakers offense to its max potential while locking up his opposite number on the defensive end.  This young man's ceiling is very high and he has the potential, in my opinion, to be a top level pro.

Forwards- Mark Matheson(3rd), Ryan Smith(5th), Dylan Baker(2nd), Jordan Irvine(5th), Alex Carty(2nd), Alec Parise(3rd)

Leadership is going to be well represented in this group as both Ryan Smith and Jordan Irvine are in their final year and played with and were likely influenced by Dan Q. over the last four seasons.  These two are very similar in their play.  Both can play in the paint against much larger opponents as they had to last year in some situations. They can also both stretch out the floor and drain a three pointer along with setting hard screens and making life difficult for opposing players with tough play in the paint.  Dylan Baker is ready to have a break out season. Another young Aussie who has made the trip to New Brunswick he has a chance to be a real game changer this year.  He has the ability to give opposing coaches fits with match ups as he can shoot from range and drive the lane. Alec Parise is a converted volley baller who played some big minutes last year when Ryan Smith went down with injuries and also against Owen Klassen (AUS Player of the Year, Acadia) who the VReds threw all of their big men at during their epic battles last season.  Alec's defensive ability is top notch, as he is long and hard working. If he has some offensive gains this year he will be sure to continue to see minutes.

Them Bigs- Sanvir "Sunny" Johal(4th), Micheal Fazzolari(4th), Alex Caskey(4th), Hussein Egal(2nd)

Sunny Johal had a rough start last year, having been injured in the first game last season versus the Dal Tigers. He did bounce back and contribute and looks to continue with the same steady play. Competition should be healthy for minutes among the bigs as Micheal Fazzolari and Hussein Egal did well last year in their roles. Egal is a real rim protector at 6-10 and with the weight I hear he gained over the summer could fight for a starting spot in this line up. His ability to score efficiently when he gets the opportunity will likely decide.  Fazzolari, my favorite player and best costumer, is another proponent of "Badger Ball".  He is likely to walk up to my counter on a Monday with a smile and a big shiner from his weekend battles on the court. His hustle and drive will set a great example for the whole team.

Rumors/Recruits

There are no postings yet of official announcements of new recruits for the upcoming VReds season but I have some sources close to the team who have some young men on their radar.  Rayon Miller is a name to listen for. 6'2" combo guard from Ontario who was a stand out for Northern Kings and Bridgton Academy last year and was named MVP of the SBA Platinum tournament at which his team went 5-0.  He would be a great fit on a team that needs another scoring guard to replace Dan Q.  Here is hoping the VReds can get this young man landed, along with their other recruits.

The Competition

The AUS is always competitive and this season should be no different. SMU, Acadia, UPEI and StFX all had solid teams last year.  The Capers were knocking on the door at the end of the year. Dal and Memorial have no where to go but up, but they also have talent and ability to recruit so the VReds will have no cake walk.  Acadia and St. Mary's should challenge the VReds at the top of the standings but don't be surprised if one of the teams you least expect to make noise early.

This year holds lots of promise for this squad.  Staying healthy and playing the up tempo game is tough to do but when it works like it did for most of last year it is a lot of fun to watch and should make for intense viewing come November.

Updates

VReds have inked up a couple of recruits that I failed to note in this Blog post. Nikola Mandic, who played Junior College ball last year in the states is a real stretch four who brings size and shooting ability to the Men's Basketball program.  The 6'9", 215 pound Serb should bring another problem to the table for opposing defenses.  The VReds also recruited 6'3", 175 pound Haroun Mohamed.  This young man impressed scouts with his two way ability.  He averaged 22.5 PPG, 7 RPG and 3 SPG last year in the competitive AAU High School league in/around Toronto.  He is a lock down defender from what I have heard and should be able to match up at the next level in the AUS.

Blogosphere beware, there is a new Cook in town!

Shalom, beinvenue, hola, Ni how, and half a dozen other greetings.  Here I will attempt to bring you witty, thought provoking and generally fun posts about what I am thinking or seeing in my Town, province, country.  I will undoubtedly talk about sports at length. Politics and News will be well represented, focusing on Fredericton and New Brunswick first.  I will link to other well written and interesting blogs I find on the interwebs and attempt to follow their leads and be coherent and fair to any subject I tackle.

As always, I love to talk to folks and will always be happy to read comments and answer all questions and engage in debate on tough issues so that everyone can hopefully see the other side.  My opinions are numerous but fluid.  I love to be convinced about something and hope that some of you who read the posts I write will excite me with new thoughts on a topic I thought I had complete understanding of.  This is a great chance for me to learn a lot about myself.

Thanks for taking the time to read my mission statement. I will be bringing you some new posts in the days and weeks to come.  Going to start by taking a look at some of the VReds Varsity teams and their chances in the AUS this season.  Go VREDS!