Preseason, Day 10: THE END (of the beginning)

Day 10 got off to a great start as several Brown Soccer Alumni, in town for a wedding, watched the morning session and had a kick-around with their wedding party. Greg Lalas '94, Mike Barrish '96 and Chris Foxx '96 were all in attendance and, while we won't comment on the quality of play, we will point out that there is often a direct correlation between one's suntan and the amount of time one spends in the sun practicing soccer. Only kidding, boys. You've still got it!


From left to right: Greg Lalas '94, Coach Noonan, Chris Foxx '96, Mike Barrish '96, Swedish International Christian Wilhelmsson

Day 10 concluded with a fast-paced, high-intensity 11 v 11 game, dubbed the Brown vs. White scrimmage. Brown (wearing yellow) defeated White (wearing blue) by a score of 3-2.

Brown: Grandstand, Walls, Bernstein, Britner, McGrath, Manuel, Thunnel, Kelto, D'Avanzo, Melitsanopolous, Levesque

White: Schlenker, Hay, Jabola-Carolus, Behrendt, Patrick, Howerton, Lee, Elenz-Martin, Okafor, Sheehan, Thompson

Scoring: Melitsanopolous (13'), Manuel (PK - 27'), Sheehan (36'), Levesque (52'), Howerton (PK - 59')

At the end of the game, Coach Noonan again thanked the players for an outstanding effort and noted that this was probably the toughest preseason any of his Brown teams have endured. And such a great effort can only mean that the road to a great season has been paved.

So, to wrap up this year's preseason coverage, here is a photo of Nick Elenz-Martin that I think sums it up:

Preseason, Day 8: A Day At The Beach

You've gotta give 'em credit for trying. But, as Jedi Master Yoda once said, "Do or do not. There is no try."

The coaching staff TRIED to give the boys a fun morning on Day 8 by taking them to the beach. But, as it turned out, the beach was more like a sandy stretch of marshland on the western side of Narragansett Bay, separated from civilization by two miles of swampland; swampland that the Brown boys would soon find themselves wading through. Among the items spotted floating by Kevin Davies '08 and Laurent Manuel '08 were empty beer cans, stray socks, and in inexplicably large volume of unused toilet paper. Perhaps most amazingly, Assistant Coach Nic Rossi somehow knew this place existed. It really is amazing what kids will discover when they need a place to drink in high school.

All joking aside, the boys did make it to the beach and enjoyed a nice swim. Assistant Coach Ryan Levesque, meanwhile, did NOT enjoy one of the choicer sunburns this fair-skinned narrator has seen in a while. (Will health insurance pay for two bathtubs of aloe?) And the trip did give the boys a chance to recover, in the way a day of Category Two climbs lets Tour de France riders recover.

In the afternoon, it was back to business with an 11 v 11 scrimmage on the very hard, non-swampy practice field.




Some locals watch the Brown team's morning session.

Preseason, Day 9: Injury Update

The Brown team has been incredibly fortunate this preseason, as few players have sustained serious injuries and many have been able to play with minor ones. The latter fact is due, in part, to the handy work of athletic trainer Matt Culp, pictured here wrapping Isaac Jabola-Carolus '11's ankle for the sixty-eighth time this week. Jabola-Carolus's near-perfect attendance in the training room has been surpassed only by the chronically ailing Laurent Manuel '08, diagnosed with sore forearms (too many pull-ups), an eternally bad back, and an unknown upper hamstring injury that apparently requires daily treatment with a deep tissue stimulating "massage gun." Hey, we're not asking questions.

Also among the mildly injured:

Steve Sawyer '08 - Strained quadricep (day-to-day)
Iain Eldgredge '10 - Strained groin (day-to-day)
Chris Roland '10 - Strained hip flexor (missed last five days or preseason, hoping to return soon)
Kevin Davies '08 - Cut toe, sustained during team trip to local swimming swamp (see Preseason, Day 8).

Preseason, Day 7: Round and Round We Go

Sometimes, when you've been doing the same thing for a really long time, you get a little bit loopy. Especially if that thing you've been doing is playing soccer, twice a day, every day, for seven days straight. Or trying to put together enough drills to fill those fourteen practices.

Coaching loopiness was possibly the story behind Day 7, Practice #2, as Coach Ryan Levesque had the players finish off the session by performing a zig zag, spin-around-the-pole relay race in which they ran around a pole five times and had to shoot while dizzy. It was straight out of the company picnic play book, and really called for some beer. Unfortunately, none was available, so next time I'll have to arrange in advance to have my dad deliver a couple kegs of home brew.

While it was a good laugh for players and coaches alike, it was, more than anything, a reminder that the boys have been working extremely hard and that their efforts have not gone unrecognized.


Kevin Davies '08, making another defender look like he's standing still.






Davies, now lacking inner ear equilibrium






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Davies falling down