Soccer standards make coach cry 'foul'

It is with continued frustration that I read the comparisons between penalties in soccer and those in other sports, particularly basketball. In the July 21 NCAA News article addressing the Division III initiative on tracking the accumulation of penalties in various sports, yellow and red cards in soccer were spoken of in the same manner as technical fouls in basketball, ejections in baseball and softball, and flagrant and unnecessary roughness in football.

Anyone who has watched a game of college soccer over the past few years, and has witnessed how stringently the game is officiated, will realize how far off the mark these comparisons are.

Imagine, if you will, every defensive foul on a shooting attempt in basketball being punished with a yellow card (and quite possibly a red card), and then that player's next similar offense resulting in an automatic red card (game ejection) and suspension for the next game. Such is the precarious environment in which collegiate soccer players must compete.

For example, basketball violations such as "smart defensive fouls" on offensive breaks would in soccer result in a straight red card and subsequent one-game suspension. A basketball player can commit five such fouls before "fouling out" (an interesting term that fails to carry the same negative connotations as "ejected" or "red-carded"), and that player certainly doesn't have to sit out the next game.

While a yellow card is meant to be punishment for serious or persistent foul play, it is used far too regularly by many of today's college soccer officials as the first reaction to even the most innocuous of challenges. This almost casual ease with which yellow cards are issued in college-level soccer frequently puts soccer players at a distinct disadvantage (when considering card accumulation penalties and suspensions) in relation to their peers in other collegiate sports.

With soccer players being held to this higher standard of conduct on the field of play, it is extremely irritating to hear of individuals, be they administrators, coaches or members of the media, expressing their outrage or concern over a soccer team's yellow-card accumulation. Walk a mile in a soccer coach's shoes and you might not be so quick make such uneducated comparisons.

Pete Curtis, Head Soccer Coach
Cleveland State University

Division I track regionals are stride in right direction

The implementation of the regional qualifying system in Division I track and field, along with the increase in field sizes, provided a shot in the arm for the sport this spring.

Programs in our region often felt left out of the chase for an NCAA championship (team or individual) due to the dual roadblocks that funding (operational and scholarships) and climate placed in the way of our athletes qualifying for the national championship. Many athletes this year were able to qualify for the regional meets and state their case based on their competitive efforts rather than a descending order list. Make it or not -- what more could you ask?

While there are many issues that need to be addressed to make the process even more competitive and fair, most of my bretheren in the Northeast viewed the change as a positive one. Kudos to the Men's and Women's Track and Field Committee and the Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet for their efforts in pulling off this major improvement in our sport.

Gregory S. Roy
Head Coach of Men's Track and Field
University of Connecticut