Continental Cup Soccer...

My middle son was fortunate enough to compete in this international event and despite some close losses, we all came away pretty stoked. Over 3,000 athletes from the US, Canada, Rwanda, Liberia, Bahrain, Curacao, Puerto Rico (oaky so US still), Bermuda, Colombia, and several other nations competed in 100+ temps over several days here in Cleveland. Truly a world class event which included a fantastic opening ceremonies at Cleveland Browns stadium.

Here's a few shots from our match vs Puerto Rico and Rwanda vs Cleveland United in the 18's (Rwanda is the real deal btw, top class soccer which led them to an undefeated win of their division).

1.

Great shots ... superb action

Awesome work Scott. Excellent exhibit of the importance of facial expressions in these.

I know you want No. 1 and 4 to be keepers, but due to distracting background elements and other players half in/out of the frame, sadly they should be passed over while editing.

Thanks guys. Yeah, #4 is one that I REALLY wanted but you are absolutely correct due to backgrounds. One is cluttered as well and unfortunately, I was more concerned with the sun location than background on that one. Admittedly, my concentration was off due to the fact that temps had been in the triple digits for a couple days and I think my head was quite in it as much as usual.

African countries are no joke. A lot of those kids do not have any distractions to pull them away from playing with a ball, and at the same time playing with a ball is their distraction from some of the social issues taking place. It is inspiring stuff.

VinnyC01 wrote in post #14692751
Awesome work Scott. Excellent exhibit of the importance of facial expressions in these.

+1. Great job of catching the expressions on the kids faces. The emotion really adds to the shots.

Thanks again guys.

@ Aaron, you are absolutely correct. My two youngest sons are Ethiopian and people are amazed at what they can do with a ball. They hold their own against much older kids all the time. Thing is, when you grow up and you kick a ball made of plastic bags and garbage with bare feet, well, you know where this is going. Funny, my 8 year old actually does better without shoes on than with. To us, that kwas (ball in Amharic) represents a whole lot more than simply a game. Its pretty cool that you see that as well bud, thanks for the comments.

Scott, you actually just hit on something I have been doing a lot of research on lately. I am a huge soccer boot snob and I always notice when pros use certain brands or certain not-for-public sole plates. As I dug deeper I found out that a lot of players grew up playing barefoot. Much like these guys: http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=2LdhTnBS08Q

In the US and other countries that have more disposable income shoes have actually inhibited peak athletic performance and have potentially led to more injuries such as ACLs and the like. This is why we see so many brands going the same route as Nike is with the Free series, to recreate a barefoot ride.

Back to Africa though, do you ever go there? I have a couple of friends helping to build an academy in Malawi.

Nice work Scott, don't have anything to add to the critique already posted but that neon blue ball threw me for a bit..!

2 and 3 are super shots. 7 would be great if it didn't look like one player was an amputee (unless he is?).
The others lack the composition (too many backs, chopped off players).

Hannya wrote in post #14696757
2 and 3 are super shots. 7 would be great if it didn't look like one player was an amputee (unless he is?).
The others lack the composition (too many backs, chopped off players).

thanks for the crit, always helps!

joeblack2022 wrote in post #14695101
Nice work Scott, don't have anything to add to the critique already posted but that neon blue ball threw me for a bit..!

Thanks Joe. I'm with you on the ball color, I'm a fan of the traditional white with just a little color.

ajaffe wrote in post #14694479
Back to Africa though, do you ever go there? I have a couple of friends helping to build an academy in Malawi.

Aaron, I tend to agree with you on the shoe thing. Spoke with a young lady recently who has transitioned to minimalist shoes over the last year or so and she made a lot of sense. Her theory is simply that the shoes overcompensate so much that you actually become more prone to injury since there isn't that natural balance to things in your stride (ie other muscle groups, ligaments, etc) which are designed to accommodate the natural stride. Instead, we "fix" problems with shoes but in the process, create other problems. She almost gave up running due to knee and lower back problems. Now that she's using minimalist shoes, she's running completely healthy and faster than ever.

Back to Africa though...yes, we have gone a few times and are going back. Probably Kenya next summer to work with a group called Care for Aids and then Ethiopia on a somewhat "regular" basis for a variety of reasons. Africa is one of those things that really gets into your soul once you've been there. Despite some things that don't fit the traditional definition of beautiful, its got a beauty that is hard to really understand unless you've experienced it yourself. I really miss Ethiopia and can't wait to get back. Eh-wud-EH-halhehu ine konjo Ethiopia! You should tag along on one of trips, some great photo ops here and there in Africa