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Post by UICJohn on Dec 18, 2008 16:34:11 GMT -6
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Post by uic53 on Dec 19, 2008 8:08:24 GMT -6
Well that's exactly what I didn't want to see. I mean, it's a foregone conclusion that Bubonja is gone for next year. I was kind of hoping that we would get to hold on to Baggio for another year though. If he's projected to go that high then I guess his career at UIC is done too. Next year will be a big time rebuilding year then.
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Post by UICJohn on Dec 19, 2008 11:05:29 GMT -6
I read on the BigSoccer.com boards that John Trask was offered the Wisconsin head coaching job and turned it down. Good to see for a few reasons. First, that's a Big 10 coaching job and he chose to stay at UIC. Also, when a mid-major loses a lot of talent after a big run that is a time when a coach sometimes leaves. Either Trask knows something that we don't (i.e. either Baggio or Jovan might stay), he is liking and enjoying his time at UIC and we are not a midmajor in the soccer world, and/or he is confident we can recruit and rebuild.
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Post by I'm In The Front Row on Dec 19, 2008 12:04:14 GMT -6
As I heard it, John recently got married and that his wife was from this area. Plus, sometimes it's better to be a big fish in a little pond.
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Post by UICJohn on Dec 19, 2008 12:57:41 GMT -6
Plus, UIC takes their soccer program seriously. They may be in a mid-major conference, but there are a lot of perennial powers in soccer - Akron, USCB, Creighton - that can compete with the "bigger" conferences consistently in soccer.
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Post by soccer fan on Dec 19, 2008 23:18:45 GMT -6
As I heard it, John recently got married and that his wife was from this area. Plus, sometimes it's better to be a big fish in a little pond. Neither Chicago nor UIC are "little ponds" in the world of US soccer, so I really don't know what on earth you are talking about. Needless to say, if you don't follow soccer or MLS, you really should not make statements like that. It sounds to me like you are only projecting what you see Jimmy and the boys serving up at the Pav onto the soccer field, which is a nutty thing to do seeing as how the soccer program has finished the season nationally ranked for three consecutive seasons. UIC men's basketball is second tier midmajor. UIC baseball is first tier midmajor. UIC soccer, on the other hand, is elite NCAA. |
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Post by ss2002 on Dec 20, 2008 16:13:15 GMT -6
Soccer fan,
You could take Front Row's comment a few different ways. Maybe he meant that John Trask enjoys coaching at UIC because he and his program are a big deal at UIC and in Chicago. Chicago doesn't usually generate much attention for its college sports in general, besides DePaul. Trask's name gets recognized here by people who don't know much about soccer. So in Chicago college sports, in general , he is a big fish.
Front Row, sorry I don't want to twist your thoughts around.
Also, soccer fan, you can get your points across just as well without smarting off at the regulars on this board.
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Post by I'm In The Front Row on Dec 21, 2008 12:21:45 GMT -6
Thanks for the defense, and you are right on target with what I was expressing. Considering how much press the soccer team gets in comparison to how little the rest of the UIC programs receive, he is the big fish.
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Post by soccer fan on Dec 23, 2008 22:48:43 GMT -6
Soccer fan, You could take Front Row's comment a few different ways. Maybe he meant that John Trask enjoys coaching at UIC because he and his program are a big deal at UIC and in Chicago. Chicago doesn't usually generate much attention for its college sports in general, besides DePaul. Trask's name gets recognized here by people who don't know much about soccer. So in Chicago college sports, in general , he is a big fish. Front Row, sorry I don't want to twist your thoughts around. Also, soccer fan, you can get your points across just as well without smarting off at the regulars on this board. The reality of 2008 in the US is that there is Major League Soccer, and then there is everything else. The top-drawing NCAA team (Maryland, I believe) draws less than 1/3 of what the Fire draw for less than 1/3 of the games, and less than 1/5 of what Chivas USA draws on any given night. So anybody who thinks Madison or ANY of the big ten towns are hotbeds of soccer, ie, bigger ponds for this port, is inaccurate. NCAA soccer is bush league by any objective measure in comparison. That said, UIC soccer under Trask has absolutely blossomed. How many Bulls players or coaches do you run into at the Pav? Well, I've found myself standing next to Chris Rolfe, Jon Bush, Bakare Soumare, Denis Hamlett and Dave Sarachan at UIC soccer games. I've seen Landon Donovan on Flames Field, and David Beckham signing autographs at Maxwell and Morgan. UIC soccer's place in the local sport or its relationship with its local professional team may not be completely unique, but it is nonetheless special, and far from the norm in the world of NCAA sports. Trask is eventually headed to the MLS, in my opinion. He's too skilled for the NCAA, and US soccer needs him at his highest and best level. The good news is Trask takes NCAA soccer seriously, which is important because soccer is still a relatively new sport and it is not a guaranteed that the NCAA is destined to be the primary development league for the major leagues. Hopefully he sticks around a few more years and cements the relationship with the Fire. And hopefully all Flames fans understand and appreciate the good fortune that we have in having a coach of his caliber at UIC. Its time to stop talking about big fishes in small ponds. The questions we should all be asking is why the pond is small and how can we make it bigger. |
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Post by FuryJP on Jan 11, 2009 17:03:27 GMT -6
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