June 2006
PAGE 29
U.S. World Cup Team
Pam's Point
Announced
Focus on
Local Kasey Keller named to his fourth World Cup team
Happy Success
idfielder Claudio Reyna, the team captain, and goalkeeper Kasey Keller
M
(WA) will represent the U.S. for a fourth World Cup, while forward Brian
McBride and defenders Frankie Hejduk and Eddie Pope will wear the Red, White
and Blue at a third Cup. Twelve players have previous Cup experience.
By Pam Champagne, MCC
Since the 2002 World Cup, 85 players made at least one international appear-
The Sports Parenting Coach
Pam's Point:
ance for the U.S. which compiled a 36-9-14 (.729) record in that period. Forty-six
players appeared in at least one of the 18 World Cup qualifiers in 2004 and 2005.
uring a lively workshop discussion
D
As a parent your job is to
Striker Brian Ching is a member of the United States World Cup team, the
on the appropriate roles of parents,
biggest surprise on the 23-man roster announced last month by manager Bruce
the challenge of holding back from cor-
help your child experience
Arena.
recting, advising, and coaching their kids
success and happiness,
surfaced. One soccer father, who had
Arena said memories of crucial goals Ching scored in 2004 during the semi-
struggled with this, remarked: "God
final round of World Cup qualifying helped influence his decision. "Brian's had a
not one at the expense
made men to be fixers and women to be
good start in the MLS season," Arena said. "He's been in the pool for the last cou-
nurturers."
of the other.
ple years. He did a fantastic job for us (in qualifying). . . Brian didn't necessarily
I'll be the first to say that's a broad
get this over the last six weeks. It's a culmination of the things he's brought to us
generality, yet many in that group agreed
over the past two years." Ching, a Hawaii native, played his collegiate career at
it was so; it's also understandable. This
Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington.
pattern goes way back to our hunter-
them to be happy." So who's right? The
The 23-man United States 2006 World Cup roster with
gatherer days when men had to act
men or the women?
club affiliations in parentheses:
quickly, fix things rapidly, and get the
I'm not being diplomatic when I say
job done, or our survival was in jeop-
Goalkeepers (3): Marcus Hahnemann (Reading, England), Tim Howard
they're both right. Success is typically
ardy. Talking, listening, and empathizing
(Manchester United, England), Kasey Keller (Borussia Mönchengladbach,
defined as the achievement of stated
were simply not priorities. And it was
Germany).
goals, and happiness, a state or quality of
just as important for women to nurture
Defenders (8): Carlos Bocanegra (Fulham, England), Steve Cherundolo
well being. Both success and happiness
the children and create a familial atmos-
(Hannover 96, Germany), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards, Major League
happy success -- are desirable and pos-
phere of happiness and well being.
Soccer), Cory Gibbs (ADO Den Haag, Netherlands), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus
sible. They are each part of a whole,
Although our culture today has been
Crew, MLS), Eddie Lewis (Leeds United, England), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de
each dependent upon the other for true
shaking that up quite a bit, perhaps
Liège, Belgium), Eddie Pope (Real Salt Lake, MLS).
fulfillment in life. s
there's some hard wiring to deal with.
Midfielders (8): DaMarcus Beasley (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands), Bobby
A self-described youth sports survivor,
Combine this ingrained response with
Convey (Reading, England), Clint Dempsey (New England Revolution, MLS),
Pam Champagne holds 8 national tennis
our natural tendency to want to do
Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy, MLS), Pablo Mastroeni (Colorado Rapids),
titles and is a Master Certified Coach to
everything possible to help our children
John O'Brien (Chivas USA, MLS), Ben Olsen (D.C. United, MLS), Claudio Reyna
high-achievers. Pam leads workshops and
succeed, and it's no surprise that we
(Manchester City, England)
privately coaches parents on how to
have trouble with restraint!
Forwards (4): Brian Ching (Houston, Dynamo, MLS), Eddie Johnson (Kansas
manage the challenges of raising athletes
That father's fixer versus nurturer
City, MLS), Brian McBride (Fulham, England), Josh Wolff (Kansas City, MLS).
in today's highly competitive sports
remark reminded me of this comment
environment. For more tips, visit
made by a coach who has worked exten-
For more information and the official game schedule,
www.ParentingAthletes.com or contact
sively with talented baseball players:
visit www.fifaworldcup.yahoo.com
Pam at Pam@parentingathletes.com Email
"The fathers want their kids to be suc-
any questions or ideas for columns.
cessful and win, and their mothers want