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The last 72 hours have been of the rollercoaster variety, which is to say, up and down on the good ship Bradley. So it is with great pleasure that I can present in place of the Barometer this week something that will hopefully deliver some perspective. James Weise from Kick This! chronicled the US MNT U20’s week in his town, Rochester, New York, and he made me stop and remember that soccer is about more than, well, i’ll let you figure it out. James’ reflections are after the jump…

Rochester, NY — The US U-20 Men’s National Team came to town this week to play the defending U-20 World Champions Argentina. It means something because the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup takes place this summer in Canada. And while I have viewed visits by the Women’s National Team through the eyes of a fan and as an amateur member of the media, I also viewed this visit through the eyes of a father.

It was great to see Freddy Adu, Josmer Altidore, Johann Smith, Tim Ward, Danny Szetela, and the rest of the US squad do their thing on PAETEC Park’s FieldTurf last night. But, the best part of the visit for me was seeing the joy in the eyes of my sons, 5 years old and 2 and a half, on Monday evening at the US practice, especially after they got Freddy Adu’s autograph on their soccer balls.

If you go on eBay, you’ll see autographed photos of Freddy Adu going for $5 to $10 a piece. My wife even told our older son that I might not want them to play with the balls that they had signed by Freddy Adu. My reaction was quite different however. I want my boys to play with those balls. I want them to play with the joy in their hearts that they had on Monday night when they joined over a dozen other young boys chasing after errant balls from when the US squad was doing finishing drills. I want them to kick those balls with the joy that Freddy showed during the fun little passing and finishing competition that was held at the end of Sunday night’s practice.

Soccer balls are not meant to collect dust and be a reminder of a fleeting moment in time when a young child gets close to a hero. Soccer balls are meant to be kicked and headed and caught by children who dream of one day pulling on a US jersey that has their name and number on the back and not just that of the Adu’s, Altidore’s, Dempsey’s, McBride’s, Hamm’s, and Wambach’s of the world.

I will probably hold the memories from this past week longer than my boys. I will remember how kind Jules Valentin was as I had to remind him that he had already signed my boy’s soccer balls on the way into practice when he was about to sign them again on the way out. I will remember how back-up goalkeeper Alec Dufty tossed a ball to my older son when he saw that his legs were a little too short to allow him to corral an errant ball amongst a pack of much older kids. I will remember Chris Seitz coming over to sign the ball of my older son who wants to be a goalkeeper, even in a pee wee soccer league that plays without goalkeepers. I will remember the security guard and the US Soccer staff member that kicked balls that rolled behind security fences back to my boys. I will remember how my older son went to get autographs from players on the Rochester Rhinos Women’s Team, and talking about how they were the US Women’s National Team.

And to me, those memories will be worth way more than an autograph will ever be.

My Weekend as a Fan

The fact that I’m the news director of Kick This!, one of the four local radio shows in Rochester dedicated to soccer, gave me a little more access this weekend than the average fan. Although, the U20’s allowed a lot more access than the Women’s Team ever has. Both US and Argentina’s practices on Sunday and Monday were open and free to the public. Jeff Di Veronica, the local soccer beat writer and host of Kick This!, felt that giving that much access to the fans, along with having the US and Argentine teams at a dinner on Sunday night run by the local Italian-American club, could potentially hurt attendance. Jeff felt that if fans could get Freddy Adu’s autograph at practice and hang out for a little bit at a dinner, then why would they want or need to go to the game?

Personally, I thought the upside to letting fans see what a training session was like and get a peak into what these guys are like on non-game days was a cool idea. But then again, I already had my ticket and my press pass in my pocket and have always been fascinated with what goes on behind the scenes.

After getting home from a Mother’s Day dinner out with my wife, our three kids, and my in-laws, and putting the kids to bed, I ran off to Sunday’s practice as both a fan and a member of the media. I was able to use my press pass to get behind the ropes and get a close up view of the US team preparing to take on the best in the world.

I had been to a US Women’s National Team practice, so this wasn’t my first time at a US Soccer practice. But what did strike me as different was that the US Women’s National Team practice seemed to be a bit more business-like. The U20 practice seemed to have more of vibe like a high school or club team made up of guys that like to hang out and just have loads of fun together.

This playful attitude was best displayed at the end of practice when a variety of players took part in a two man finishing competition, which took into account passing, trapping, and finishing. Maybe it was just because he’s the captain, but Freddy was marking off the box for the game with the cones. But, it seemed like he was organizing things because he felt the need to compete at something. And, maybe of course, Freddy’s team won the competition (I believe he was teamed up with Jalil Anibaba) as the only team to score.

At the end of practice I got to thank Coach Rongen for coming on the show the previous week. Thomas enjoyed the big introduction that Soccer Sam gave him and he said that he shouldn’t have waited over a decade between appearances on the show. Thomas’ pure joy came through when he commented on the job we did. He grabbed me and gave my belly a healthy slap as if we were old friends. Perhaps the fact that the players were having so much fun was due in part to the fact that their head coach was as well.

On Monday, the playful attitude seemed to be summed up for me by the constant ribbing that Freddy was giving to Real Salt Lake teammate Chris Seitz. They were referring to Chris as CR-V. I was guessing that the MLS rookie must be driving the less than stylish Honda SUV and that was a source of much ridicule from teammates with their much cooler and expensive modes of transportation.

The pure joy with which these kids were playing a serious game was fun to see. Obviously a switch was going to get flipped the next day, but seeing that these guys were having fun playing a child’s game was nice for me to see in a world where too many soccer moms and dads have seen the money that can be made and have taken the fun out of the game for so many kids.

The coaches again were having fun. This time it was assistant coach Dave Dir taking part in a little game that appeared to be a cross between soccer and volleyball using a table as a net. Dave’s team appeared to win before his teammate went for some immediate treatment due to the strain caused by carrying the former Dallas head coach the whole time.

The Beautiful Game

The 1-0 score line didn’t come close to measuring the fun I had in watching the match between the US and Argentina on Tuesday evening. While some amongst the American sporting landscape will say that a game that has only one goal is what is wrong with soccer, but I think that is like saying a Picasso isn’t worth looking at because the picture is a little messy.

Since the vast majority of live soccer that my family takes is in are Rochester Rhinos home games and USL 1st Division matches, the skill level on display Tuesday night was impressive. My wife marveled at how the US players could switch fields and put the ball right on the money.

Personally, my jaw hit the floor a few times when Johann Smith found a 5th and 6th gear running up the right flank in the first half and made Argentina’s left back look like he was running in sand on a beach somewhere on the Argentine coast.

And then there was Freddy in his bright yellow boots doing his thing and Jozy Altidore turning an Argentine defender to and fro before the Argentine keeper pushed his left-footed shot over the bar.

Freddy’s tantalizing free kick that found the crossbar in the second half, his little chip in the box that was punched away, and Altidore’s chest trap to left footed blast were all small moments of brilliance that gave me hope that the future of US Soccer is bright. Very bright.

Sure, the US did a poor job of marking in the box and the Argentine’s stole a result with a header off of a free kick, but Tuesday night wasn’t merely about a result for me. It was about getting to see the future of US Soccer live and in the flesh.

The Other Future of US Soccer

At half time, I got a glimpse into the immediate future of US Soccer.

There had been rumors that some MLS coaches might be in attendance to see the U-20s take on Argentina. What hadn’t been talked about was that Sunil Gulati and Bob Bradley would be in town to take in the match.

When I wandered up to the press box at half time to chat with some friends, I noticed that one of my fellow Kick This! cohorts was talking to someone in the as yet unfinished suite level of PAETEC Park. And when I strolled over to take in the view from the suite area, I saw Gulati, Bradley, and NY Red Bulls Technical Director Jeff Agoos taking in the match.

With Gulati and Bradley headed to New York City for Wednesday’s announcement that Gulati was ridding Bradley of the interim tag, I shouldn’t have been too surprised to see them there. But, I still get into situations where I can’t believe that merely a few steps away from me are arguably the two most important men in US Soccer today.

With the official announcement a day away and Jeff telling me that Sunil would talk, but only about the match, I opted to just walk away. But I do wish that I had had the chance to shake Bob’s hand and tell him that I’m glad that he ended up getting the job.

There will be enough people that won’t like the choice and those that will be ready to pound on him as soon as his sterling record as the US head coach takes on a blemish or two. I just wanted to let him know that there are some people out there that are really hoping that he takes the job and runs with it as Bruce Arena did for so long.

While my boys look up to Freddy Adu, Chris Seitz, and Jules Valentin, I tend to look up to Bob Bradley, Steven Goff, Grant Wahl, and Jimmy Conrad.

The Morning After

The general consensus amongst Rochester fans was that this was the best display of technical soccer yet at PAETEC Park. I had to agree and it got me thinking about where guys like Rogers, Ward, Szetela, Lopez, Arguez, and the rest of the U-20 players not seeing regular playing time in MLS would be should they be earning a living and seeing loads of playing time in the USL.

Would they develop faster by substituting practice against more talented players for regular playing time in real game action? Could the coaches and tactics in the USL make them better, or would they take steps backward?

The Rhinos need an upgrade in the midfield, I wonder what it would take to land Arguez from DC or Szetela from Columbus?

I’ll have to kick the ball around with my boys when I get home and dream about that…