Sam Cronin and his girlfriend, Samantha Holt, had an African experience they’re unlikely to forget.
They spent 18 days in Kenya earlier this month, working at two orphanages through the Amani Children’s Foundation. They said that the time was rewarding, even though some of their things were stolen near the end of their stay and they had stomach problems from some of the food.
“It was great to see how another culture lives and what those kids are up against,” said Cronin, who played soccer at Mount Tabor High School and Wake Forest, and recently completed his rookie season with Toronto FC of Major League Soccer. “It gives you some perspective that you don’t have because you take for granted how we were raised and how lucky we have it.”
The two returned last week in time for Christmas, but they talk as if they already have received plenty of gifts.
“It was so rewarding,” said Holt, who played soccer at Mount Tabor and briefly at Tulane.
The two had planned to have soccer clinics for the children, but officials in Kenya said it was probably better that they didn’t.
“After we got robbed in our hotel room, they just thought it was best that we got out of there,” Holt said. “So we never did get to do the soccer clinics, but we got to see how those kids live and how appreciative they are in seeing anybody who comes to visit.”
Holt and Cronin read to the children, played with them often and got to know them as well as they could.
Holt said that one of the orphanages had 23 children, ranging in ages from 1 to 5.
“There was one little boy, Reuben, who would come straight to me (every day), and he just wanted to hold me,” Holt said. “It was very sweet to see how the kids reacted to us being there.”
The couple taped children singing Christmas songs, but their video equipment was among the items stolen.
“One boy, who was named Judith, sang a solo, so those are just some of the things I’ll remember forever,” Holt said.
Cronin said one of the things that surprised him most was the range of living conditions. In Nairobi, he saw an affluent part of the city that he said looked like any city in America.
“But then there would be other places just outside of Nairobi where living conditions were very poor,” he said. “There in the countryside, there were some really impoverished areas.”
Holt said the orphanages where they worked had decent living conditions.
“The biggest problem is these kids just need the attention and love at that age,” Cronin said. “The workers who take care of the kids do a great job, but the kids are in need of a mom or dad, so they latch on to you pretty quickly.”
Cronin and Holt have dated since high school and had talked about going to Kenya for several years. After both graduated from college in the spring, they decided the time was right.
“There was really nothing holding us back from going,” said Cronin, who will report to Toronto FC’s training camp Feb. 1. “It was one of those things where we really wanted a life experience like this, so it was very rewarding.
“You have to experience it for yourself and see what it’s all about. And Samantha and I really saw firsthand what it’s like over there.”
Their only regret was the theft — it happened one night when they ventured away from their hotel for dinner — and the mementos they lost. They had shot plenty of video and pictures, and those they had e-mailed to family and friends still exist, but many of the images are gone.
“We had kept track of everything and had a lot of good footage and pictures,” Cronin said.
“We were both just glad that we weren’t in the hotel room when we got robbed.”
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Toronto defender Emma Gomez has reflected on his first season as a professional with the Major League Soccer side in an exclusive interview with Gambia Sports Online.
The former Samger defender who moved to the Canada based outfit with fellow Gambian teenager Amadou Sanyang of Real de Banjul said Toronto FC was a good experience for him and is already looking forward to next season.
“For Toronto, it was a very good experience for me. It was difficult for me to get into the team at the beginning but then I was able to manage a consistent run in the team ads the season enfolds.
“I was given my debut for only three minutes before I go my chance later in the season. Amadou Sanyang is just like a brother to me not only a teammate because we helped each other a lot.
“I am not thinking of another club for now because I am just starting and I believed that there are Gambians who are still in the country who can play better than me and I believed they will do well in the MLS.
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“It was also good to catch up with my agent before he flew back to America to sort some business out.”
It may not mean anything, but I found Robbo’s reference to “America,” as opposed to Canada, interesting. Although we’ve yet to hear anything about his future with TFC, one has wondered for some time now whether we’ve seen the last of the classy Welshman.
With Preki looking to put his stamp on things, Robbo representing another $300,000 on the cap and the fact that he isn’t 23 anymore (or, more to the point, Sam Cronin is 23), it’s hard to imagine where he fits in. There has been talk about Robbo wanted to move into a coaching role after he retires, but with Dichio already in a role with the club one wonders how many spots there are (not to mention Robbo let it slip in an earlier County Times column that he paid to do his coaching licence himself, rather than TFC picking up the tab).
The one caveat to this is that TFC only has so many discovery spots and only a couple late draft picks. If they want a full-ish roster they may not be able to let too many other players go — they currently have just 19 players on the roster and that includes Nick Garcia).
The Reds could do worse than to have Robbo back another year. Younger players have long suggested that he has been a major influence on them. But, MLS can be a cruel league sometimes. Cap considerations have to win out over sentimentality.
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Below are his remarks on the CBA in their entirety.
“You will probably start to read more and more about the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that is up at the end of the month. Negotiations have been under way between the players union and MLS for some time now. I wish I could report that we were close to signing an agreement, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. As players, we have been told of a probable lockout date of February 1st.
“What’s most disappointing to me is, this isn’t a negotiation for a bunch of players wanting $8 million a year instead of $7 million a year. The main points revolve around us being given the same rights under FIFA as the rest of the players around the world. As an MLS player you have to sign away your FIFA rights before you are allowed to sign your contract. We would like a moderate rise in the salary cap, but the major points for the players are guaranteed contracts, free agency, and the right to negotiate with other MLS teams. These are some of the basic rights the players in all the other leagues around the world have that we have to sign away.
“With the huge strides MLS has made since the last CBA, this seems very reasonable. I would hate to see anything get in the way of the great success the Sounders had this year, and the respect we earned in our first year as a franchise. I would think that MLS and US Soccer would be proud to announce that the sport has developed so greatly in the last few years that we are ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with the rest of the world.”
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Filed under: Carolina Challenge Cup, DC United, Real Salt Lake, Toronto FC
The 2009 Major League Soccer champions, Real Salt Lake return to Charleston in March to compete in the 2010 edition of the Charleston Battery’s pre-season tournament, the Carolina Challenge Cup. RSL won the Carolina Challenge Cup in 2009 and went on to win their first MLS Cup defeating the Los Angeles Galaxy in a penalty-shootout.
Major League Soccer’s DC United and Toronto FC also make return visits to the tournament. It will be DC’s fifth appearance in the Carolina Challenge Cup and Toronto’s fourth. This is the seventh consecutive year that the Charleston Battery has hosted its pre-season tournament featuring Major League Soccer.
All three MLS teams will spend the week in Charleston, SC, training between the games as they prepare for the start of the Major League Soccer season.
The competition format will remain unchanged in 2010 with three match day’s each featuring a double-header. The games will be played on Saturday (March 13), Wednesday (March 17) and Saturday (March 20), with each team playing the other in a round-robin tournament.
Tickets for the 2010 Carolina Challenge Cup are on sale now with prices frozen at 2009 levels ($15 – $25, (843) 971-GOAL (4625) / www. Charlestonbattery.com). Charleston Battery Season Ticket holders receive complimentary tickets to all three Carolina Challenge Cup doubleheaders.
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Toronto FC announced Thursday that the club has decided to not pick up the options on the following players for the 2010 MLS season; forward Pablo Vitti, midfielder Lesly Fellinga, and midfielder Amado Guevara. December 31 marks the end of their contracts with Toronto FC.
“After sitting with Preki, and the rest of the coaching staff, we have decided this is the direction the club would like to go,” said director of soccer Mo Johnston. “This leaves all players free to negotiate new deals with other clubs outside of MLS. We wish them all the best of luck in the future.”
Toronto FC technical staff will travel to the MLS Combine in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on January 8, before taking part in the MLS SuperDraft to be held in Philadelphia on January 14.
The team kicks off the 2010 MLS regular season on Saturday, March 27 against the Columbus Crew in Ohio.
According to Honduran news site Diez.hn, midfielder Amado Guevara has signed a two-year contract with Tegucigalpa side CD Motagua, effectively ending his career at Toronto.
Though the contract supposedly includes an option for the 33-year-old Honduras captain to return to Major League Soccer, Guevara has been quoted as saying he will retire with the Blue Eagles.
This would be Guevara’s 5th stint with his hometown club, from which he joined Toronto FC in 2008 after a loan spell.
No announcement has been made by Toronto FC at the time of this posting.
In 2007, Guevara had a falling out with then-Chivas USA head coach and current TFC boss Preki, whose attempts to deal Guevara to several MLS sides – including Toronto – after just 4 games were all rejected by Guevara himself. He eventually accepted a loan to his hometown club for the remainder of the 2007 season.
Guevara was acquired by TFC on April 9, 2008 and made his debut against Los Angeles Galaxy, in what would be Toronto’s first win of the season. Guevara had the assist on Danny Dichio’s 42nd minute goal to open the scoring.
Guevara is captain and all-time caps leader of the Honduras national football team, having made 130 appearances for his country’s senior squad since 1994. He is set to lead his nation into the World Cup Finals next year in South Africa.
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Plymouth Argyle manager Paul Sturrock has been relieved of his duties.
The under-pressure boss was summoned to a board meeting on Wednesday and told of his fate with the offer of another role within the club, it is expected that Head Coach Paul Mariner will now have full control of first-team affairs. The club will release a statement later today.
The decision to replace Sturrock will bring a huge sigh of relief to the Green Army following a disastrous season so far. The Pilgrims have lost 12 of their 19 games in the Championship and have been entrenched in the bottom three for most of this season.
Fans have been calling for Sturrock’s head for sometime and the board of directors have finally listened and ended his two-year reign – his second spell at the club. There were also concerns regarding Sturrock’s health and the enormous pressure he has been suffering, so it’s best for all concerned that a fresh start has been granted.
Paul Mariner comes across the Atlantic from MLS side New England Revolution where he was assistant coach. Former Newcastle United caretaker manager and Toronto FC manager John Carver will assist Mariner.
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Toronto FC announced Monday that the team has hired Leo Percovich as assistant coach. Percovich arrives from Chivas USA where he was a member of their coaching staff as goalkeeper coach from January of 2008.
“Leo and Preki worked well together at Chivas, and like we said from the beginning when we hired Preki, if he wanted to bring his own guy in we would let him,” said director of soccer Mo Johnston. “I think Leo will mesh very well with the existing staff we have here.”
Percovich, 41 is a former Copa Libertadores and Uruguayan First Division champion. A native of Montevideo, Uruguay, he also served as goalkeeper coach with the Colorado Rapids (2006-2007) before joining Chivas USA. Percovich has trained under various coaches throughout Europe and Latin America, including time with club sides Real Madrid, Valencia, Stuttgart, Cruzeiro, and Pachuca as well as the national teams of Brazil, France, and Uruguay.
In his time as a player, Percovich made six appearances with the Uruguayan National Team during a professional career that saw him suit up for Nacional de Montevideo (1987-1993), Atletico Mineiro (1994), Guarani FC (1995), Fluminense FC (1995-1999), as well as Alianza de Lima in 2000 and Racing de Ferrot in 2001.
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Fitness guru Paul Winsper is leaving his job as strength and conditioning coach of Toronto FC for a new position with Nike, the Englishman confirmed to CBCSports.ca on Friday.
Winsper, who is under contract to the MLS club until Dec. 31, said he and his family will be moving in January to Oregon, where he will serve as sports performance director for Nike.
Nike’s world headquarters are in Beaverton.
Winsper, 43, said Toronto FC offered him a two-year contract extension, but the job offer from Nike that they first made to him in the summer was just too good to pass up.
“It’s an unbelievable job offer that I can’t really turn down. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity for me,” Winsper told CBCSports.ca.
Winsper, who told Toronto FC general manager of his decision to leave on Wednesday, added ‘”it was time to move on and try something else.”
He said there was “absolutely no hard feelings” between himself and the soccer club. He also described his new position with Nike as a “dream job.”
“There’s only one position like this in the world, whereas there are a lot of fitness coaches in professional sports,” Winsper stated.
“Nike has set up a new division called SPARQ, which is their training arm. I’ll be working with teams from all over the world as a training resource for coaches. … It’s going to be a global resource for all different sports.”
Winsper already had a relationship with the athletic-wear company as a consultant.
“I’ve been working for Nike for three years, and Toronto FC have been absolutely fantastic about that. They’ve allowed me to travel all over the globe with Nike, even during the MLS season,” Winsper explained.
The loss of Winsper is a big blow for Toronto FC, as the Englishman was a well-liked and respected figure who had a reputation for pushing players in gruelling training and workout sessions that he designed.
He joined Toronto FC prior to the start of the 2008 MLS campaign, having spent the previous 10 seasons with Newcastle United of the English Premiership where he served as the team’s fitness coach.
Thanks players
With his hometown club, he worked with some of the game’s biggest stars, including Michael Owen and Alan Shearer. He also worked with England star David Beckham before he joined the Los Angeles Galaxy from Real Madrid in 2007.
Winsper said he, his wife and eight-year-old son Harry will be leaving Canada with heavy hearts.
“It’s quite sad because my family and I absolutely love it here in Canada,” Winsper said.
“We moved here and had a wonderful time, but this is a permanent job for life with Nike and I’ve worked contractually for pro sports clubs for many years, and now I think is the time to settle down a bit and get a permanent position.”
When word of his pending departure filtered through the halls of BMO Field on Friday, he instantly received a slew of text messages and emails from Toronto FC players.
That meant a lot to the Newcastle native.
“I want to say a huge thanks to the players because they motivated me every day and work hard. They’re a great bunch of professionals,” Winsper said.
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