« Quakes home opener will be April 12 against Fire | Main | Several local players invited to MLS Player Combine »
December 13, 2007
Details on Buck Shaw, plus high schoolers reinstated
Welcome to the "Is it Friday yet?" edition of the blog, in which the answer is "No, but let's pretend it is anyway." (Hey, it's been a busy week — we're ready for a break.)
First of all, some good news. The high schoolers who attended the Quakes Tryout Tour have been reinstated by the suddenly sensible CIF. That's true of the students who have already come forward to admit they attended the tryouts — there's still some saber-rattling going on as the organization hints that those who haven't come forward better hurry up and do so. The linked story at insidebayarea.com claims that the Earthquakes have given a list of all the high-school age participants to the CIF, but then adds that, "It could be some time... before players not coming forward on their own are found," which seems to contradict the idea that the CIF has the list. In any case, the whole thing is a classic "making mountains out of molehills" situation since players had to pay to participate in the tryouts and were not in danger of losing their amateur status. The overriding lesson seems to be this: Bureaucrats don't like getting their toes stepped on, so it's best to avoid doing so — they tend to overreact.
To take a few steps back and take a look at the bigger picture, we figure that situations like this are bound to occur from time to time when an organization expands in new ways. We had an MLS team in San Jose from 1996 to 2005 and none of those sides attempted anything as ambitious as this tryout tour, which occurred just a few months after it was announced that the Quakes would return. As long as the same mistake isn't made over and over, the occasional snafu is a sign of growth, so here's to seeing the Quakes take steps in new directions.
In other news, Soccer America's Ridge Mahoney has the scoop on renovations to Buck Shaw Stadium, which will cost $1-$2 million, according to Lew Wolff.
Extensive work - including installation of additional seating sections; new concession stands, locker rooms, and restrooms; a digital scoreboard; renovation of an adjacent practice field; and upgraded lighting - is planned for Buck Shaw, which is probably going to be the Quakes' home for the first three seasons, not two as originally announced."We want to do everything right, whether it's renovating Buck Shaw or building our stadium [near San Jose airport]," says Wolff, who owns 10 percent of the A's and is majority operator-investor of the Quakes. "People might come out that first season for the novelty, but you want them to come back as often as possible. Hopefully you have a good team, of course, but making them comfortable and the setting enjoyable is an important part of that."
We'd be excited about the team's return in any case, but the prospect of seeing the Quakes take on MLS opponents in a venue even more intimate than Spartan Stadium is really tantalizing.
Finally, we note that San Jose State and San Jose Frogs forward Ismael Ibarra has been named to the 2007 NSCAA NCAA Division I All-Far West Region First Team. Ibarra, a Salinas native, started 17 games this season, tallying nine goals and three assists for a team-leading 21 points. Ibarra and teammate Julio Gonzalez will participate in upcoming invitation-only tryouts for the Quakes.
Posted by Jay at December 13, 2007 07:16 AM