Sunday, February 28, 2010

How the 2010 World Cup Match Ball Is Made

Very old soccer ball

Very new soccer ball - the 2010 World Cup Match Ball from adidas

Check this out.  You can see how the official 2010 World Cup match ball, Jabulani, is made. All match balls for the 2010 FIFA World Cup have the same weight and the same circumference and are therefore always the same size. Production capacity: 1760 balls per day. Production has been running since April 2009.



 
For those of you receiving our blog post in email, you can view the video here:
 
Caution:  there is a bonehead comment that uses bad language on the YouTube site.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbLjk4OTRdI

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Recognizing Sports Concussions


Here's a great video from the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association on the signs and symptoms of head injuries.  It's very good and we encourage all our parents, coaches, and athletes to watch it. 

http://www.mywiaa.org/lystedt/default.htm

Friday, February 26, 2010

Eastside Announces 2010-2011 Season BU16 - BU19 Coaches!

EFC proudly announces our boys coaches for the U16 through U19 teams. Please see the Coaching Assignment Page on our website.

EFC Boys 94 Red President's Day Tournament Champion!

Congratulations to Dan Strom's U15 Boys team who traveled to Arizona for the President's Day Tournament. The claimed a decisive victory, beating the Sereno South Boys 4-0 in the final round. EFC faced FC Frederick (MD) in the semifinals where they won 4-0, and New Mexico Strikers in the quarters (1-0). Only 2 goals were scored against them throughout the tournament. Congratulations!

Tom Bialek's U13 boys attended the same tournament, where they advanced to the Semi-Final round losing to Sereno, the AZ State Champion and Regional Semi-Finalist. Great work boys!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Register for Spring Training Sessions!

Get ready for tryouts! EFC is holding a series of spring training sessions designed to improve your skills and get you ready for tryouts. Sessions are Friday night from 6:00-7:30 pm at Preston Park and start on March 19th! Check the flyer for date details.

Injury Prevention and Recovery


Pro-Tec Athletics is one of our sponsors who manufactures sports medicine equipment.  I recently received this note from Sayeh Ghassemieh at Pro-Tec with regard to knee injuries - a topic of interest for our athletes.
Thanks, Sayeh!
===
Two common knee injuries in young teen athletes are Osgood Schlatter’s Disease and Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries. Osgood Schlatter’s Disease occurs due to growth spurts in young athletes, where the quadriceps muscle, which is much stronger than the patellar tendon, can pull away the patellar tendon from the tibia, causing pain. The ACL is a ligament that provides stability to the knee. The most evident sign of damage in an ACL injury is instability in the knee, such as buckling while running or turning.

The first advice in treating knee injuries is to seek professional help. If you believe the injury is joint related or involves a muscle strain and continues to cause pain, see an orthopedist or medical professional immediately. A proper evaluation is essential to finding out what the next step is, which can vary from immobilization, rehab, or in extreme cases, surgery. In many cases, once the injury has been evaluated a knee brace or support may be recommended to be worn during activity to reduce the chances of further damage. Icing the area and massage therapy are also common recommendations to help expedite the healing process. Ice and massage therapy is also suggested to be used on a proactive basis to aid muscle recovery after participation in any activity that may cause muscle strain and tightness.

Pro-Tec Athletics is an Eastside FC sponsor in the area of sports medicine equipment specializing in braces, supports, hot/cold and massage therapy. Information on common sports injuries as well as their full product line is available at their web site http://www.injurybegone.com/.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Eastside FC Information Night March 2nd!

EFC will host an information night for incoming U8-U10 Development players, all U11 players and anyone who is interested in learning more about Eastside FC. The meeting will be held March 2, from 7:00 - 8:30 pm at the Library Distribution Center on Newport Way in Issaquah. For more information and more details on the location, click here. We hope to see you there!

Latest Competitive Results from Phil Emory

Summary page from Phil's latest report.

Here's a new update from Phil.  He reports  "Here is what I have to date. Boys 99 Red Dev is sure racking up the goals."  Check out the entire report here.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

EFC Master Calendar


You may have noticed a new link off to the right of this post.  If you click on the link labeled "EFC Calendar" you'll see the club's master calendar.  It'll list camps, clinics, board meetings, and other events applicable on a club-wide basis.  Wendi Racine created it.  Check it out...

Thanks Wendi!

Friday, February 19, 2010

Wilburton Turf Field Nears Completion

New lighted turf field at Wilburton Hill Park in Bellevue.  Looking west toward the Bellevue Botanical Garden.
Photo:  Pete Butterfield

The installation of synthetic turf at Wilburton Hill Park has been a high-priority park project for many years and is identified in the City of Bellevue's 2003 Parks & Open Space System Plan. It was also one of two synthetic sports field projects identified as part of the 2008 parks levy approved by Bellevue voters.


The project is nearing completion as indicated in the photo sent by Pete Butterfield.

An overview of the project can be found on the City of Bellevue's website here.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

EPA Study Eases Concern of Harmful Chemicals in Turf Surfaces

Arsenal FC's Field Turf playing surface at Hale End in the UK

Glenn Hayman, a Senior Hydrogeologist with EA Engineering, Science, and Technology, Inc., a local environmental engineering firm forwarded this note....

"For any of you that have been following the concerns raised about the tire crumbles in turf fields, the summary of EPA’s finding below should ease those concerns. It is still unwise to eat artificial turf, the infill, and tire crumbles, just like it is unwise to eat dirt and many other everyday items.The EPA, in a recent study, found that concentrations of chemicals in recycled tire material were below levels considered harmful. Recycled tire material, or “tire crumb,” is commonly used in synthetic turf sports fields and children’s playgrounds."


From the Lab Science News:
According to the EPA, public concerns have been raised in the past several years over the use of tire crumb materials, especially after high levels of lead were reported in some artificial turf fields. In 2009, the Synthetic Turf Council reported that artificial (synthetic) turf has been installed in approximately 4,500 fields, tracks and playgrounds.

EPA identified a number of chemicals that may be found in tires, although not all are contained in each tire:

• acetone • aniline • arsenic • barium • benzene • benzothiazole • cadmium • chloroethane • chromium
• cobalt • copper • halogenated flame retardants • isoprene • latex • lead • manganese • mercury • methyl ethyl ketone • methyl isobutyl ketone • naphthalene • nickel • nylon • phenol • pigments • polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons • polyester • rayon • styrene butadiene • toluene • trichloroethylene

EPA formed a workgroup in 2008 to consider the threat of tire crumb health effects via inhalation, ingestion, or skin contact. Laboratory studies were conducted to consider the tire material content, off-gassing, and leaching characteristics. EPA then produced a 105-page document entitled “A Scoping-Level Field Monitoring Study of Synthetic Turf Fields and Playgrounds,” released in November 2009.

Study findings

• Particulate matter, metals and volatile organic compound (VOC) concentrations were measured in the air samples and compared with areas away from the turf fields (background levels). The levels found in air samples from the artificial turf were similar to background levels found in any local air samples. One VOC associated with tire crumb materials (methyl isobutyl ketone) was detected in the samples collected on one synthetic turf field but was not detected in the corresponding background sample.

• No tire-related fibers were observed in the air samples.

• All air concentrations of particulate matter and lead were well below levels of concern.

• More than 90 percent of the lead in the tire crumb material was tightly bound and unavailable for absorption by users of the turf fields.

• Zinc, which is a known additive in tires, was found in tire crumb samples. However, air and surface wipe monitoring levels of zinc were found to be below levels of concern.

• Total extractable metal concentrations from the infill, turf blade samples and tire crumb material varied widely in the samples collected both at a given site and between sites, so it could not be determined to be a function of the presence of crumb material.

• The average extractable lead concentrations for turf blade, tire crumb infill, and tire crumb rubber were low. Although there are no standards for lead in recycled tire material or synthetic turf, average concentrations were well below the EPA standard for lead in soil (400 part per million).

• Likewise, the average extractable lead concentrations for turf field wipe samples were low. Although there are no directly comparable standards, average concentrations were well below the EPA standard for lead in residential floor dust (40 micrograms per square foot).

The results from this study along with results from other studies conducted by Federal, State, and local organizations, such as the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, will be considered at an EPA meeting planned for Spring 2010. This meeting will help to identify steps to address public questions regarding the safety of tire crumb infill in ball fields and playgrounds.

For more information, visit EPA’s website www.epa.gov/nerl/features/tire_crumbs.html

Monday, February 8, 2010

Pics of the Week

Lucia Rosenast from Coach Danny Jackson's Girls Dev Red team (U10) "plays up" against an Emerald City U11 defender.
Photo:  Jeff Rodgers


Geneva E (GU13B) just in front of HPFC Eagles.
Photo:  Michelle Riley


Katey R (GU13B) in control against HPFC Eagles.
Photo: Michelle Riley


Meredith T (GU13B) goes airborne to save the ball vs HPFC Eagles.
Photo: Michelle Riley

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

2 New Turf Fields at Eastgate Move Closer to Approval

Eastgate Airfield Property

Received this email today from Jennifer Robertson, Bellevue City Councilmember.  We had written in support of the construction of 2 new lighted turf fields on the old Eastgate Airfield.  This is one of the last large open areas available in Bellevue on which turf fields could be sited.  You can see all the project documents here.  Here is Jennifer's note back:

"You'll be pleased to know that last night (Monday, Feb 1) the Bellevue City Council moved Alternative A forward for enviromental review, followed by detailed design work. It will come back to Council later this year to approve the detailed design. So unless something throws this off track, the park will have the two turf / lighted fields for sports..."

Thanks for the update Jennifer!

Monday, February 1, 2010

Kei Kinoshita Joins Eastside FC



Kei Kinoshita, USSF "A" licensed coach, returns to coach at EFC with the U17 White Team. He is a former professional player in both his native Japan and the U.S. An all-region player in Japan, Kinoshita went on to play five seasons for the A-League Seattle Sounders and two years for Vissel Kobe of Japan. He later coached with SC Tottori of Japan's third division. Kinoshita operates the AJ Soccer School, in both Japan and Seattle.