duncan228
07-19-2008, 11:21 PM
I have no clue what Forum this should go in. Please move if it doesn't belong here.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Under_the_radar_French_reportersoccer_mentor_learn s_from_Popovich.html
Under the radar: French reporter/soccer mentor learns from Popovich’s ways
Richard Oliver
Pheulpin suspects that when it comes to all things French, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich may have a particular fondness for a nice Chardonnay, cognac shrimp with beurre blanc sauce and lightning-quick point guards.
But soccer? Not so much.
Yet, as Pheulpin stood under a harsh afternoon sun last week, watching several members of his Alamo Revolution club team scamper around a sprawling Olmos Park soccer field, he admitted Popovich’s impact on the moment was undeniable.
“I’ve been with Tony Parker since Day 1,” said Pheulpin, a U.S. correspondent for the Paris-based L’Equipe sports newspaper. “I’ve heard what Pop was saying to him, what Parker was saying to Pop. I’ve listened, and I’ve learned.”
As a result, even today, “I try to think what Pop would do.”
Pheulpin, 38, never expected to go from covering coaches to becoming one. But seven years into his tenure in San Antonio, the native of Dijon in the province of Burgundy in eastern France finds himself overseeing one of the hottest junior teams in the city, occasionally sponsored by Parker, and enjoying it every bit as much as writing on a Spurs championship season.
“I was just thinking about the irony of it,” he said. “I came to North America to cover NBA basketball, and a decade later, I am back to my first love — mon premier amour, as we say — soccer.”
Not long after arriving in Texas following a four-year coverage assignment in Vancouver, British Columbia, Pheulpin, a former professional player in the Dijon farm system, entered his son in a Catholic Youth Organization league.
He found being a spectator maddening.
“They play to try to avoid losing, and it’s wrong,” he said through a heavy accent.
“He was so naïve, he didn’t want to hurt anyone,” Ruben Martinez, a former CYO coach, said of Pheulpin. “He started showing us these various drills, and it was a new concept.” Martinez, a USAA employee, chuckled. “We made him the coach,” he added.
By the second year, the squad was undefeated. As the talented nucleus of the team grew older, they graduated to a competitive league on the West Side two years ago, capturing a championship. Most recently, as part of the South Texas Youth Soccer Association, the lineup of mostly 11-year-olds reached the state finals, losing a 1-0 decision to a club from Austin last spring.
“We are not supposed to make it to the state finals in one year,” Pheulpin said, shrugging. “Why? The kids are practicing; they’re determined. They want it.”
Today, with Martinez still helping on the sideline, the Frenchman directs a team that includes both their sons as part of a varied mix of players from around the city and beyond. Last week, Pheulpin, in a sleeveless gray shirt and black shorts, put the players through their paces in preparation for a STYSA Super II schedule that begins in September.
What the kids find on site is a mentor who taps into a deep vein of unique instructional ideas cobbled together from his time in French professional leagues, including as an employee for the noted Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, and in shadowing a certain successful NBA coach.
The journalist, adhering to what he says is the more refined view of the game in countries such as France and Brazil, preaches technique and appreciation of soccer above all else — including winning.
“I’m not reinventing anything,” he said, “but you don’t start the alphabet with Z. The way some teams do it here, it’s so wrong. You have to learn it with A, then B, then C. It doesn’t matter if you have the best kids in town if they learn the wrong way.”
During last week’s workout, that meant going through aggressive scoring and defensive drills before playing “soccer tennis,” kicking the ball back and forth over a net without letting it touch the ground.
“We’re just having fun,” standout midfielder Nate Crail said. “And it works.”
At times, Pheulpin, speaking in a mix of French and English, has the players close their eyes and imagine the plays. At others, he teaches them words and phrases from his native language. After games, he has the young athletes seek out the referees and shake hands.
If it all works as he hopes, next summer Pheulpin will take the 15-member Alamo Revolution squad to France to play a few games in Dijon, where the game is appreciated far differently than in the United States.
“I’m trying to teach them soccer at its purest,” he said. “Sometimes we play these teams that have all this stuff, these expensive shoes, and I think, ‘We’ll just play them barefoot.’ I mean, what’s the point? It’s about more than that.”
Just ask Popovich.
“What does he always talk about? Balance,” Pheulpin said. “You need that.”
OLIVIER PHEULPIN
Age: 38
Hometown: Dijon, province of Burgundy, eastern France
Position: U.S. correspondent, L’Equipe sports newspaper; coach, Alamo Revolution junior soccer team
Experience: Former player in Dijon professional soccer farm system. Covered European Cup final in 1991. Worked for Paris Saint-Germain Football Club from 1995-96. Correspondent for L’Equipe in Vancouver, British Columbia, from 1997-2001. Has been in San Antonio for L’Equipe since 2001, primarily covering the 11 French players in the NBA, including Tony Parker of the Spurs. Started coaching junior soccer two years ago.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Under_the_radar_French_reportersoccer_mentor_learn s_from_Popovich.html
Under the radar: French reporter/soccer mentor learns from Popovich’s ways
Richard Oliver
Pheulpin suspects that when it comes to all things French, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich may have a particular fondness for a nice Chardonnay, cognac shrimp with beurre blanc sauce and lightning-quick point guards.
But soccer? Not so much.
Yet, as Pheulpin stood under a harsh afternoon sun last week, watching several members of his Alamo Revolution club team scamper around a sprawling Olmos Park soccer field, he admitted Popovich’s impact on the moment was undeniable.
“I’ve been with Tony Parker since Day 1,” said Pheulpin, a U.S. correspondent for the Paris-based L’Equipe sports newspaper. “I’ve heard what Pop was saying to him, what Parker was saying to Pop. I’ve listened, and I’ve learned.”
As a result, even today, “I try to think what Pop would do.”
Pheulpin, 38, never expected to go from covering coaches to becoming one. But seven years into his tenure in San Antonio, the native of Dijon in the province of Burgundy in eastern France finds himself overseeing one of the hottest junior teams in the city, occasionally sponsored by Parker, and enjoying it every bit as much as writing on a Spurs championship season.
“I was just thinking about the irony of it,” he said. “I came to North America to cover NBA basketball, and a decade later, I am back to my first love — mon premier amour, as we say — soccer.”
Not long after arriving in Texas following a four-year coverage assignment in Vancouver, British Columbia, Pheulpin, a former professional player in the Dijon farm system, entered his son in a Catholic Youth Organization league.
He found being a spectator maddening.
“They play to try to avoid losing, and it’s wrong,” he said through a heavy accent.
“He was so naïve, he didn’t want to hurt anyone,” Ruben Martinez, a former CYO coach, said of Pheulpin. “He started showing us these various drills, and it was a new concept.” Martinez, a USAA employee, chuckled. “We made him the coach,” he added.
By the second year, the squad was undefeated. As the talented nucleus of the team grew older, they graduated to a competitive league on the West Side two years ago, capturing a championship. Most recently, as part of the South Texas Youth Soccer Association, the lineup of mostly 11-year-olds reached the state finals, losing a 1-0 decision to a club from Austin last spring.
“We are not supposed to make it to the state finals in one year,” Pheulpin said, shrugging. “Why? The kids are practicing; they’re determined. They want it.”
Today, with Martinez still helping on the sideline, the Frenchman directs a team that includes both their sons as part of a varied mix of players from around the city and beyond. Last week, Pheulpin, in a sleeveless gray shirt and black shorts, put the players through their paces in preparation for a STYSA Super II schedule that begins in September.
What the kids find on site is a mentor who taps into a deep vein of unique instructional ideas cobbled together from his time in French professional leagues, including as an employee for the noted Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, and in shadowing a certain successful NBA coach.
The journalist, adhering to what he says is the more refined view of the game in countries such as France and Brazil, preaches technique and appreciation of soccer above all else — including winning.
“I’m not reinventing anything,” he said, “but you don’t start the alphabet with Z. The way some teams do it here, it’s so wrong. You have to learn it with A, then B, then C. It doesn’t matter if you have the best kids in town if they learn the wrong way.”
During last week’s workout, that meant going through aggressive scoring and defensive drills before playing “soccer tennis,” kicking the ball back and forth over a net without letting it touch the ground.
“We’re just having fun,” standout midfielder Nate Crail said. “And it works.”
At times, Pheulpin, speaking in a mix of French and English, has the players close their eyes and imagine the plays. At others, he teaches them words and phrases from his native language. After games, he has the young athletes seek out the referees and shake hands.
If it all works as he hopes, next summer Pheulpin will take the 15-member Alamo Revolution squad to France to play a few games in Dijon, where the game is appreciated far differently than in the United States.
“I’m trying to teach them soccer at its purest,” he said. “Sometimes we play these teams that have all this stuff, these expensive shoes, and I think, ‘We’ll just play them barefoot.’ I mean, what’s the point? It’s about more than that.”
Just ask Popovich.
“What does he always talk about? Balance,” Pheulpin said. “You need that.”
OLIVIER PHEULPIN
Age: 38
Hometown: Dijon, province of Burgundy, eastern France
Position: U.S. correspondent, L’Equipe sports newspaper; coach, Alamo Revolution junior soccer team
Experience: Former player in Dijon professional soccer farm system. Covered European Cup final in 1991. Worked for Paris Saint-Germain Football Club from 1995-96. Correspondent for L’Equipe in Vancouver, British Columbia, from 1997-2001. Has been in San Antonio for L’Equipe since 2001, primarily covering the 11 French players in the NBA, including Tony Parker of the Spurs. Started coaching junior soccer two years ago.