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My introduction to Megan Nugent began with a phone call from Steve Marcus, who lives in Manhattan and was referred to me by Susan Hayes, (Susan and Steve are colleagues at work) a true Soccer Mom who lives in the Long Island community. Steve told me that he and his wife Tedda were family friends of the Nugents. We spoke about Megan and I agreed to help with her college search, with a view to playing Soccer at the collegiate level, securing a financial package composed of merit and athletic scholarship money; that was in June 2007.



Megan, wearing black stripes fights for
possession of the ball.

A month ago, Megan and her Mom, Maria came to the United States, I actually got to meet them up close and personal at the home of Steve and Tedda. I immediately knew she had a genuine love of the game; her enthusiasm radiated. When we first met through the Internet she wrote me and said:

"I began playing Soccer at age six when living in the United States and I immediately fell in love with the game. After moving back to Ireland in 1999, I began playing for a local boys' team, as there were no girls' team for my age."

Megan advanced to the highest level of play in her country, that being the Irish National Team.



Left to right: Tedda, Maria Nugent, Pat Grecco, Megan,
and Steve.

I would like to thank Paul Riley and the Albertson S.C for taking Megan to a few tournaments as a guest player; also to Susan Hayes for her recommendation of my services and especially to Steve Marcus (Mr. In-between) who became the go-to-guy and the link between the U.S. and Ireland.

I'm looking forward to seeing Megan play and meeting with her and her Mom again this Summer.

After a long winter of practicing your chosen sport, you might want to get outside and train as soon as the weather improves. You may also be tempted to exercise at the same level you did at the end of the last season. But such enthusiasm often leads to early season injuries. If you changed your routine for the winter, you need to get back into shape gradually. Here are some helpful hints as you head out the door this spring.

    * Slow but Steady. Try to get some exercise 3-4 times per week on alternate days. One of the best ways to get injured or sore is to go hard all weekend and do nothing during the week.
    * Monitor Your Exertion Level. Use the perceived exertion scale, the talk test, or the heart rate range to help you determine an appropriate intensity level. Stay at the lower end of the scale (11-13) and build up over several weeks.
    * Gradually Increase Your Training. Increasing training (mileage, time or amount of weight lifted) more than 10 percent per week increases your risk of injury. To avoid this, increase your training gradually over the weeks.
    * Follow a Training Program and Keep Records. A good way to build back up to optimal fitness, it helps to establish a training plan and stick with it. There are many training programs for all types of sports and having one is not only good motivation, but it helps keep you from doing too much too soon.
    * Cut Yourself Some Slack. If you took the winter off, don't expect to be back to peak fitness immediately. There's plenty of summer left, so don't worry about going a bit slower in the beginning.
    * Train With Others at Your Fitness Level. If you can find a few people with the same fitness level and goals as you it can help kept you progressing at a good pace. Training with those who are farther along will only encourage you to overdo it, get injured or feel “behind” in your training. Workouts with more fit people can be motivating and help you improve, but only after you have a good solid base to work with.

Connect with Pat on Facebook and LinkedIn.

After seeing a group of refugee kids playing soccer in a rundown neighborhood outside Atlanta, Georgia, Luma Mufleh decided to form a soccer team.

Her players, the Fugees, depend on her for guidance, support, direction; to many of them she is their mother away from home. To some she has become "mom," plain and simple. When we first met Luma, we could feel that nurturing spirit in her. She has a capacity for caring for people she barely knows. On the field, whether at practice or during a game, she is as tough a coach as they come: firm without being overbearing, she expects a lot from her players, and she doesn't mince any words in letting them know it.

In Clarkston, Ga, soccer means something different than in most places. Nearly half the residents are refugees from war-torn countries around the world. Placed by resettlement agencies in a once mostly white town, they receive 90 days of assistance from the government and then are left to fend for themselves. Soccer is their game.

To many longtime residents, soccer is a sign of unwanted change, as unfamiliar and threatening as the hijabs worn by the Muslim women in town. It’s not football. It’s not baseball. The fields weren’t made for it. Mayor Swaney even has a name for the sort of folks who play the game: the soccer people.

Caught in the middle is a boys soccer program called the Fugees — short for refugees, though most opponents guess the name refers to the hip-hop band.

The Fugees are all refugees, from the most troubled corners — Afghanistan, Bosnia, Burundi, Congo, Gambia, Iraq, Kosovo, Liberia, Somalia and Sudan. Some have endured unimaginable hardship to get here: squalor in refugee camps, separation from siblings and parents. One saw his father killed in their home.

The Fugees,  range in age from 9 to 17 years old and play on three teams divided by age. Their story is about children with miserable pasts trying to make good with strangers in a very different and sometimes hostile place. But as a season with the youngest of the three teams revealed, it is also a story about the challenges facing resettled refugees in this country. More than 900,000 have been admitted to the United States since 1993, and their presence seems to bring out the best in some people and the worst in others.

The single and first most important question for a parent to ask a college coach is, "Do you have an academic support program for athletes?" also called tutoring. "Is there a paid counselor who will watch over the men's soccer team or women's swimming team, where they will know each student-athletes grades and who is in danger of failing and needs extra help?" If the answer is no, I would reconsider sending my son or daughter to this school.

There are thousands of colleges in the U.S. and now is the time for you to help your child do their homework and choose the best fit. Does your child want to stay close to home or attend school on the other side of the country? Do they want to get lost in the crowd, or would they be more comfortable at a smaller school where their professors, fellow students and teammates know them by name? These are a few of a myriad of questions you will need to consider carefully. It's a big adjustment for both you and your child, but if you choose wisely the rewards will be worthwhile.

Are you a College Bound Athlete? Are you confused about which colleges would be a good fit? College Athlete Profile Services, Inc. takes the guesswork out of your college selection game plan. We will help you devise a winning strategy. So you can score academically, athletically and socially at the school of your dreams.

High  School Student Athletes and their parents often have questions about the recruitment process:

How can athletics help you with your college search?

When do I begin?

Which schools should I choose?

How will I know if the Coach wants to recruit me?

How  can I get the Coach to see me play and when?

Which camps can you recommend?

Will I get a scholarship?

I have a learning problem,  I'm not a strong a student. Can I play in college?

As a Parent, what is  the most important question I can ask a coach?

Who will help  me?

Does Division III mean the school isn't competitive?

Franklin Square, L.I.⎯A pillar of the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association's State Cup competition, a woman who took the time to help players find their way to  college, someone who has worked at the youth and amateur game and a soccer pioneer were given their just desserts at the Sand Castle before the  dessert was served on Dec. 13.

Pat Grecco, Barbara Rodriguez, Bruce Friedman and Nicola Turchi were inducted into the Eastern New York Soccer Hall  of Fame during Eastern New York's annual Christmas party.

The Hall is a  joint venture of the Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association and Eastern New  York State Amateur Soccer Association.

***

"Pat Grecco has personally helped more players get to college than anyone on this planet," LIJSL executive director Joan  Czach said. "Mrs. Grecco has volunteered thousands of hours of her time to our  organization and always finds time to help a disadvantaged family with a  difficult problem."

Grecco sees the coach's world from the coach's  point of view. For the past 15 years, she has worked with hundreds of college  coaches in soccer. She has acquired sensitivity for their coaching style,  their program's traditions, the school's culture and its valuation of  athletics and student/athletes. Her College Showcase for the LIJSL has earned  the respect of coaches and created hundreds of valuable personal  relationships. She has organized college workshops for local players and their  parents in English and Spanish. She also has worked the last 10 years as the  chairperson of the league's scholarship Program. Grecco also was director of  the Exceptional Senior Games throughout the 1990s.

All three Grecco  kids played in the LIJSL. Beth is a graduate of the University of Connecticut,  a full scholarship recipient and three-time All-American. Ellen played at  Northport High School, graduated from Fordham University where women's soccer  began after she graduated. Son Frank Jr., a recruited soccer player, was  four-year varsity player at the U.S. Naval Academy and is a captain in the  U.S. Marine Corps. Her husband, Frank Sr., has served as a LIJSL referee. 

"If I were to tell you all the accomplishments of Pat Grecco, it would  take me three hours," LIJSL president Addie Mattei-Iaia said at the induction.  "Pat is part of an exemplary soccer family. She has volunteered with every  aspect of the LIJSL. Pat believes there is a college for everybody, no matter  athletic or academic standing."

Grecco? She was  modest and  humble.

"I'm here to help anybody who needs it," she said. "My  children benefited from soccer volunteers so this is my way to give back.  There is a college for everybody, whether you're the best player or not or the  smartest student or not.

"Nobody gets anywhere in life without the help  of another person," she added.

I am available to help high school studnets with regaurd to selecting colleges, with options for athletic scholarships.