National Sports Center Blog

Safe travels!

By Barclay Kruse, NSC Chief Communications Officer (& Schwan's USA CUP Media Director)

As I look out the media center window, Eden Prairie just defeated the Lifford Ladies in the 15 girls trophy championship on the stadium field. It was the last game of the tournament.

And so at 18:54 on Saturday, July 21, the 23rd Schwan's USA CUP is over. Seven Minnesota teams won Cup flight championships today.

In the past ten days we had great weather, great soccer, had some fun, made new friends. But now it's time for all the dedicated volunteers and staff to catch up on sleep, reaquaint ourselves with our families and begin planning for next year.

And for the 1,006 teams who played in the Weekend and Weeklong tournaments, thank you so much for participating. We know that many of you moved mountains over the past year, or longer, to raise the money and conquer the logistics of traveling to and playing in Schwan's USA CUP. We're honored you played here.

So, don't be strangers; come back!

Fade to black...

Short takes

By Barclay Kruse, NSC Chief Communications Officer (& Schwan's USA CUP Media Director)

For today's blog, just some short news items from Friday at Schwan's USA CUP presented by PUMA.

Take 1: Many of you have been following the quest of the 19 boys Rudbeckianska team from Sweden to complete their Schwan's USA CUP four-peat -- 2006 and 2007 championships in the Weekend and Weeklong tournaments. Staff writer Greg Hutton covered the quest in a Thursday article in the Soccer America Tournament Edition.

They'd completed three of the four steps, but this afternoon the four-peat came to a crashing halt in their quarterfinal game in the stadium. Rudbeckianska was holding a 3-2 lead against Quad Cities United of Illinois, when Quad Cities roared back with two late goals to steal a shocking win. The final goal came with barely over a minute left in the game.

Take 2: Our media staff was pretty proud yesterday. Minnesota Public Radio did a feature story Friday afternoon about the cutting edge technology at Schwan's USA CUP. Included on the radio segment was a feature about Kick TV done by reporter Roseanne Periera. You can read the script, see photos and even listen (if you have Real Player) by clicking here.

But after basking in their brief 15 minutes of radio fame, our intrepid production team of Tara Durheim and Taylor Kruse jumped right into filming the Saturday edition of Kick TV. Tomorrow's show will have a feature on referees and the girls team from Denmark. Tara and Taylor were also filming footage for a special Kick TV show about the Grand Dance.

Above:  With their typical attention to a proper dress code, Tara and Taylor dressed up before heading to film at the Grand Dance. And as you can see, eye protection is paramount.

Take 3: The annual referee banquet is being held in the Grand Hall of Schwan Center as I'm writing this blog Friday night. Here is a summary of this year's referee awards. Best out-of-country: Ross Joyce (England); Female referee: Kara Honthumb (Mass.); Out-of-state male: Frank Medrano (Tex.); Minnesota referee: Tom Spiess (Roseville, Minn.); Most contributing: Kevin Morrison (Jamaica); Youth referee: Josh Lugo (Tex.); Outstanding service: Steve Rospopo (New Mex.), John Fox (Coon Rapids, Minn.), Don and Linda Lockwood (Circle Pines, Minn.)

Above: Josh Lugo from Texas receives the Youth Referee of the Year award from Schwan's USA CUP referee director Bill Roll.

Tunisia made the World Cup? Oh yeah, I knew that!

By Barclay Kruse, NSC Chief Communications Officer (& Schwan's USA CUP Media Director)

Every day during Schwan's USA CUP, presented by PUMA, we publish a daily newspaper, the Soccer America Tournament Edition. I used to do most of the article writing for the paper, but as we've expanded our media activities into new areas like video (Kick TV!) and added more media staff, I find that I'm spending more time managing people than words. But today I gave myself an assignment.

So I grabbed my sunglasses, tape recorder, note pad and team rosters and headed out to field D4 to write an article about our 15 boys team from Tunisia and the four Minnesota players guest playing on the team. Arabic is Tunisia's official language, but French is widely spoken, so I took one of our French interns Adrien Bequart along to translate for my interviews.

Left: Nejizbidi Zbidi.

I immediately met Nejizbidi Zbidi, Vice-President of Union Sportive Monasti, the sport club the team represented. Turns out he spoke excellent English, so I was able to release Adrien back to his real job at the tournament, field services. Mr. Zbidi was very cordial with his time, even answering my questions while the game was going on.

Left: My new friends from Tunisia, ready to teach me some World Cup history.

You can read my full article in the newspaper, or online, so I won't repeat the details. But during my interview I did have one of those "oops" moments that a soccer journalist should avoid at all costs.

I asked Mr. Zbidi many many questions about the city of Monasti (tourist city on the Mediterranean), the club (formed in 1923), and asked him to paint a picture of soccer in Tunisia (their pro league has 14 teams!)

Then I innocently asked whether Tunisia had ever qualified for the World Cup.

"Yes, four times," he said. "lncluding last year."

I knew that, I really did. Or not.

We try so hard at Schwan's USA CUP to be good hosts to our international guests. So Mr. Zbidi, I'd like to tell you that at the next World Cup, in South Africa 2010, Tunisia's my team!

It's called a make-up call. 

Weather happens

By Barclay Kruse, NSC Chief Communications Officer (& Schwan's USA CUP Media Director)

Over the last 22 years, Schwan's USA CUP, presented by PUMA, has seen rain, sun, wind, heat, humidity and yes, even a day or two of chilly weather. On Wednesday, it was heat and humidity punctuated by a brief suspension for lightning.

At 16:15 (4:15 pm) lighting was observed in a narrow line of thunderstorms several miles to the west and south of the National Sports Center (NSC). No rain fell on the campus, and no lightning was observed right at the NSC, but tournament officials declared a precautionary suspension. This was a short one; just 35 minutes later, the all-clear was given and games resumed.

Left: Radio Operations Director Nancy Terry, Tournament Director Teri Vogt, and Scheduler Matt Koehn consult during today's weather suspension.

Schwan's USA CUP staff is well-practiced at dealing with severe weather. The key is clear communication -- and having the tools to communicate.

It's next to impossible that the tournament would be taken by surprise. The facility subscribes to a sophistocated weather radar service, and has access to a lightning prediction system called "Thorguard." In addition to technology, we use the most reliable source of all, human visual observation.

“We know that a lot of people didn’t observe lightning themselves,” said Tournament Director Teri Vogt. “But our radar and lightning detection software picked up lightning within the five-mile radius that weather experts consider dangerous.”

Vogt said that once a lightning strike is observed, tournament policy states that a 30-minute wait is required before declaring an all-clear. That’s the same length of time used by most high-school athletic associations and large outdoor events like PGA golf tournaments.

Today's suspension was so short that communication was relatively simple. But if delays stretch for hours -- as has happened -- then rumors begin to fly as teams wait out the delay. Schwan's USA CUP has learned to never speculate or guess about what will happen with the weather, or how the tournament will reschedule games.

“It's sometimes frustrating for coaches who would like us to predict when games might resume. But until we know with certainty, we never play that game,” said Vogt.

Once a severe-weather suspension is declared, all field managers are notified by radio, and the suspension is posted on the website. Teams and spectators are told to seek shelter. Personal cars and NSC campus buildings suffice for most. But school busses are moved to the most remote parking lots to serve as temporary shelter, and once full, busses then move to a fixed building location. With several large buildings on campus, including the Sports Hall, Schwan Super Rink and the Schwan Center, the NSC has the capability of sheltering everyone inside a fixed building.

Right: The 13 boys NESA Lightning (ironic huh?), from the Twin Cities, show good humor as they wait out today's weather suspension in the Schwan Center.

Referees all convene in referee headquarters, so the information they receive is consistent.

The tournament also subscribes to a cell phone service called One Call Now that allows us to call all teams simultaneously on their contact cell phone. We didn't need to use it today, but in a longer delay it should prove useful.

Severe weather is never fun. But as today's relatively smooth suspension and resumption of play showed, Schwan's USA CUP tries hard to minimize the confusion once a decision is made.

Roberto Donadoni visits SCHWAN'S USA CUP, presented by PUMA

By Greg Hutton, NSC Media Intern

This year's SCHWAN'S USA CUP, presented by PUMA, featured celebrity, Roberto Donadoni, has immersed himself with Schwan's USA CUP activities since his arrival in the Twin Cities Monday evening.

Donadoni participated in Opening Ceremonies last night and conducted two interactive on-field clinics with selected players and coaches today. He will watch the Schwan's USA CUP Soccer Challenge tonight and is scheduled for a "meet-and-greet"/autograph session tomorrow afternoon from noon to 1 p.m. in the PUMA Lounge.

Donadoni anchored the midfield of a powerful A.C. Milan squad in the late 1980s and early 1990s before traveling overseas to play with the New York/New Jersey MetroStars of Major League Soccer during the 1996 and 1997 seasons. He was also a mainstay on the Italian national team in the 1990 and 1994 World Cups, the latter including a penalty kick (3-2) defeat to Brazil in the championship game.

While Donadoni's playing days with A.C. Milan occurred before I really became familiar with the sport, I most certainly remember him roaming the field MetroStars. Click here to view more information about his MetroStars career as well as photos (courtesy of Metrofanatic.com).

I was fortunate enough to be able to spend five minutes interviewing Donadoni for Kick TV following Tuesday's first clinic. The Italian legend shared some of his thoughts of the tournament as well as insight into the Italian culture, from a soccer perspective.

It's interesting that even though Donadoni played on a world stage in front of capacity crowds, he never took part in an event quite like Schwan's USA CUP.

When asked his opinion of the 1,006-team tournament, Donadoni candidly remarked:

"Everything is nice - it's beautiful."

Be sure to check out Wednesday's feature article on Donadoni in the Soccer America Tournament Edition, our on-site daily newspaper for Schwan's USA CUP.

Rudbeckianska still on track for a four-peat

By Barclay Kruse, NSC Chief Communications Officer (& Schwan's USA CUP Media Director)

The Schwan's USA CUP Weekend tournament ended last night. Going into the Weekend tournament, we were watching two teams who were returning double champions -- Weekend and Weeklong -- from the 2006 tournament, Cliftonville FDC from Northern Ireland in the 13 boys division and Rudbeckianska from Sweden in the 19 boys group.

Both teams stayed alive until the final day of the Weekend tournament. Cliftonville was the first to fall, losing 1-0 in the morning semifinals against Jogo Bonito from Bridgeport, Conn.

Rudbeckianska faced a tough challenge in their semifinal game, playing a man down due to a red card, the Swedish team nipped the Saint Paul Blackhawks 1-0 in a shootout that went to the eighth shooter. They had an easier time in the championship that afternoon, dominating the South Kendall Soccer Club from Miami, Fla. 4-0.

Left: Rudbeckianska (white/red jerseys) rolls to a 4-0 victory in the Weekend championship game Sunday afternoon.

So heading into the Weeklong tournament, the four-peat is still alive for Rudbeckianska. If you want to catch one of their games, here is their pool play schedule:

Tuesday, 9:15, Field A1, against MBSA Blast.

Wednesday, 13:30, Field U1, against NMSA Invaders.

Thursday, 9:15 Field H3, against Wayzata Gunners.

There's one other interesting fact about this team. Their coach, Per-Ola Olsson, will be going for his seventh Schwan's USA CUP championship. In addition to the three with Rudbeckianska, he won three championships with a different Swedish club, Carlforska.

Lights, camera, action at Schwan's USA CUP

By Barclay Kruse, NSC Chief Communications Officer (& Schwan's USA CUP Media Director)

There's always something new at Schwan's USA CUP, presented by PUMA. This year one of our big new things is "Kick TV," a 3-6 minute journal of the sights and sounds, people and stories of the tournament. A new show is produced every day, so all the stories are, as we say in the broadcasting business, breaking news.

Right: Mike Woodley, Kick TV host, interviews a team from Calgary, Canada. Keep your eyes open for the Kick TV crew; you might be a star!

We're really excited about this project because we know that many of our most-interested fans are not here at the tournament -- family and friends back home all over the world. Now they can fire up their computers and get a feeling of the color, diversity and activities of Schwan's USA CUP, from anywhere. It's also a great way for everyone here on site to learn more about the tournament, and maybe, get on camera themselves. We're only three days into the project, but our camera crew is getting recognized more every day when they set up their shots.

Left: Tara Durheim and Taylor Kruse set up a Kick TV shoot in the PUMA Lounge.

Our producers, Tara Durheim and Taylor Kruse, have scheduled stories for the full ten-day run of the show, but we're also adding new story ideas on the fly. About a day ahead, Tara, our main writer, gets working on scripts. Our on-camera host, Mike Woodley, is a Twin Cities radio and voice-over veteran, so he doesn't need every word written out perfectly. Tara's scripts are more like "talking points" for Mike to cover. He's a pro, so letting him ad lib a bit definitely makes the show better.

Right: Tara and Mike go over the script for a stand-up. This day they're shooting on the roof of the Schwan Super Rink.

Mike usually spends 1-2 hours each day at the tournament filming his Kick TV stand-ups and interviews, and we move him around to different locations on the campus. Filming all the footage we need without Mike takes probably another 2-4 hours. Then Taylor and Tara hit the editing room. Anyone who's done any film production, even some short home movies, knows this is where the real work is done. We use software called Final Cut, and it's working great for us, but editing images and sound for a five-minute show has kept us here until close to midnight every night. My guess is that it takes an hour of editing for each minute of Kick TV.

Left: In the Media Center, editing goes on well into the night.

So please check out Kick TV and comment back about how we're doing. You can view it on the website of our webcasting partners, Crystal Clear Sports, and also on YouTube. There's full viewing information and a link to watch the show is on the homepage of usacup.org, and also in the "Sights and Sounds" section.

More than soccer today at Schwan's USA CUP

By Barclay Kruse, NSC Chief Communications Officer (& Schwan's USA CUP Media Director)

If you want to mix in slap shots, slices and spins with your scissor kicks, the NSC was the place to be on July 14.

I'm going to take a wild guess that Schwan's USA CUP is the only soccer tournament in the world that offers golf, hockey and figure skating as part of the tournament experience. But, that's exactly what was going on today at the National Sports Center.

In addition to over 400 soccer games at Schwan's USA CUP, the NSC's staff was organizing the Wal-Mart Hockey Cup–3v3 Tournament and the Summer Sizzle figure skating competition, both at the Schwan Super Rink. And over at the National Youth Golf Center, several soccer teams were enjoying the putting on the Tournament Greens putting course, and the 18-hole Victory Links golf course was busy with golfers enjoying a round a golf on one of the Twin Cities' best courses.

The four  photos below were all taken at the NSC on Saturday, July 14:

Really that's not all that unusual a day at the 600-acre NSC. The NSC hosted over 3.3 million visitors in 2006 -- 211 different events and programs in 12 different sports. Schwan's USA CUP is the biggest event of the year here, but as you can tell, it's not the only show in town.

Perfect weather on Schwan's USA CUP day #1

By Barclay Kruse, NSC Chief Communications Officer (& Schwan's USA CUP Media Director)

If you've played in Schwan's USA CUP, presented by PUMA, in the past, you know that there's one constant year in and year out -- hot weather. Typically it's not hot all week long. But yes, nearly every year it's hot for three or four days out of the week.

We just finished day #1 of the Schwan's USA CUP Weekend tournament, and wonder of wonders, we had moderate temperatures, low humidity and light winds. In other words, a perfect day for soccer. I even saw spectators wearing sweatshirts at the morning and evening games.

And for the next two days, the forecast is for more of the same.

But if you're coming for the Weeklong tournament that starts with Opening Ceremonies on Monday, July 16, you'll be happy to know the forecast is for temperatures in the 80's, and maybe 90's, later in the week. In other words, a normal Schwan's USA CUP.

But if you don't believe me about today, printed below is the National Weather Service data for Blaine, Minn. for Friday, July 13. Nice, huh?

TIME	WIND	SKY	TEMP	DEW PT
17:50	SW 9	Partly Cloudy	77	46
16:50	SW 14	Partly Cloudy	79	43
15:50	S 12	Partly Cloudy	75	43
14:45	SW 10	Partly Cloudy	73	45
13:45	W 7	Partly Cloudy	73	43
12:50	SW 5	Partly Cloudy	73	43
11:53	SW 5	Partly Cloudy	72	43
10:48	W 6	Partly Cloudy	70	43
9:45	Calm	Mostly Cloudy	66	46
8:51	Calm	Partly Cloudy	64	48

Schwan's USA CUP alum Brianna Scurry picked for World Cup team

By Barclay Kruse, NSC Chief Communications Officer (& Schwan's USA CUP Media Director)

US Soccer just announced Wednesday that former Schwan's USA CUP player and referee Brianna Scurry has been selected to her fourth World Cup team. Scurry, 35, will be in goal for the U.S. team when it opens play in China in 61 days.

Scurry, from nearby Dayton, Minn. played in Schwan's USA CUP in the late '80's. She also was a referee, and one year was even selected as "Youth Referee of the Year."

Scurry last played at Schwan's USA CUP in 2004, when the U.S. Women's National Team defeated Australia in front of a sell-out crowd of 10,276 in the NSC Stadium. She was supposed to play for the U.S. team again in 2006 against Sweden, but was scratched from the roster at the last minute due to an injury suffered in practice.