Let's see...if you were a chemist and wanted to combine all the perfect elements to form a great soccer player...in addition to soccer skills, you would probably want to have qualities such as competitiveness, work ethic, mental and physical toughness, intelligence, teamwork... If you can mix those up in the right proportions, you would have a winning player.
Well, Kellie Woodfield has just those qualities. She can play anywhere in the back or midfield. She is a competitive person, a quick learner and a skillful player. Kellie will come to us from Timpview High School down in Utah County. (Ute assistant coach, Laurel Roderick, used to coach at Timpview back in the day)...She also plays on the Celtic Storm soccer club...and she is currently the point guard on a Timpview basketball team that is leading its Region and having a great season...whether it be on the soccer field, basketball court or in the classroom...success for Kellie is definitely not a surprise. Kellie came to the Utah Women's Soccer Academy the past two summers and caught our eye there first.
She is interested in studying chemistry...
Welcome to Kellie and her family!
Thursday, February 7, 2008
New Ute: Blond Bomber
If you go to a Black Diamond club team or Davis High School game, you can't miss Roxy Tebbs out on the soccer field. She has this blond hair....REALLY blond hair! It's probably the first thing you'll notice when you see her play. But it won't take long before you see all of the other qualities that make her stand out. She is tough...We mean TOUGH out on the field. When she gets going on a dribbling run with the ball...it is nearly impossible to knock her off. She can "slice and dice" and she can "drive and dish". And she can hit a shot. Roxy plays in the midfield or up front...and she has been dabbling with an outside back role. Regardless of where she plays, Roxy can put fear into the opponent. We've been watching her for several years with club, high school and ODP teams...and look forward to having her put on the red and white!
Welcome to Roxy and family!
New Ute: Another Bountiful Player
We have a tradition here at Utah of getting some very good players from the Bountiful area of Utah. Bountiful is a beautiful community just about 10 miles north of Salt Lake City. Some of Utah's greats have come from Bountiful, Woods Cross and Viewmont high schools there. And our class of freshmen Utes will now include Bountiful high school's Chelsea Forbes.
Chelsea is a wonderfully skillful attacking player. She can play either forward or attacking midfield. She has SOFT feet and can control any kind of ball hit towards her under any kind of pressure. She's got good vision and is able to create chances around the goal. She will fit in well with our attacking players and will allow us to play a game with fast ball movement. She plays on the Black Diamond club team out of Park City.
Chelsea played at Bountiful High School with freshman defender, Christine Quinn. They teamed up in 2006 to lead Bountiful to the state championship.
Welcome to Chelsea and her family!
New Ute: Colorado Rush import
Well, the NLI's have been trickling in yesterday and today for our incoming class of 2008 high school graduates. First thing in the morning, when the e-mail came in notifying us that Katie Martinez had faxed in her paper work, we were fired up. As we said yesterday, this is the culmination of a long process and an exciting day.
Katie plays for the Colorado Rush soccer club and attends Chatfield High School in the Denver area. She is a midfielder by trade but is versatile enough to play different positions. We first saw her play in a women's league game in Colorado in the spring of 2006. Former Utah great Dominique Barcellona coaches with the Rush and tipped us off to Katie. She immediately reminded us of current Ute senior, Kiley Jones. And we think, like Kiley, she will be one of those players that just quietly plays the game of soccer at a very high level.
Katie is not the biggest player but is VERY tough for her size...excellent defensive skills and a good header. As with almost all the Colorado Rush players, she is very clean and confident on the ball.
We welcome Katie and her family! More details about her will follow at www.utahutes.com when we get all the NLI's in and put the official release out.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Signing Day An Important Milestone for Future Utes
Well, today is National Letter of Intent Signing Day for women's soccer players. We have several high school seniors that will be officially joining our Utah team. We've been receiving faxes during the day and expect to have a large class of freshmen joining our team next season. This is an exciting day for our future players and their families as well as for us. After a year or more of going through the recruiting process, it is now in writing that these players will become Utes next August when we start our preseason training.
The process can be a long one. Many of the players signing today came and visited our campus over a year ago as high school juniors. After they checked with other schools and narrowed down their choices, these players made a verbal commitment to come to Utah...that was an exciting day. However, the verbal commitment is non-binding...and things don't become official until the paper work is signed...the earliest day for that is today!
What is the National Letter of Intent (NLI)? It is a document that our recruits sign to let the University of Utah, the Mountain West Conference and the NCAA know that agreement between a school and a recruit stating that the player intends to come to Utah and not to another school. We send out 4 copies of the NLI to each family. They are signed and returned...then we keep a copy, send 1 to the Mountain West offices and 1 to the NCAA. Once it is signed and returned, the commitment is binding and official.
We will have the scoop on our newest Utes...our Class of 20012...in the next few days. Check back on the blog as well as at www.utahutes.com, the official web site for the Utes.
The process can be a long one. Many of the players signing today came and visited our campus over a year ago as high school juniors. After they checked with other schools and narrowed down their choices, these players made a verbal commitment to come to Utah...that was an exciting day. However, the verbal commitment is non-binding...and things don't become official until the paper work is signed...the earliest day for that is today!
What is the National Letter of Intent (NLI)? It is a document that our recruits sign to let the University of Utah, the Mountain West Conference and the NCAA know that agreement between a school and a recruit stating that the player intends to come to Utah and not to another school. We send out 4 copies of the NLI to each family. They are signed and returned...then we keep a copy, send 1 to the Mountain West offices and 1 to the NCAA. Once it is signed and returned, the commitment is binding and official.
We will have the scoop on our newest Utes...our Class of 20012...in the next few days. Check back on the blog as well as at www.utahutes.com, the official web site for the Utes.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Super Bowl, Super Tuesday and Super Clasico!
Today is such a HUGE day in the 2008 Presidential Race that it has been called "SUPER TUESDAY." There are 24 states holding Primary elections...for those of you that are mathematically challenged, that is almost one-half of the 50 states in the U.S. The Utah Presidential Primary is going on today and many of our players are hitting the voting booths. We've got the new electronic-voting-machine-thing going on...complete with magnetic cards and touch screens...interesting. Regardless of your views and whom you prefer, we encourage all to get out and vote!
Sunday we had the Super Bowl, today is Super Tuesday...and tomorrow...the Super Clasico will complete the "Super Triple". In Latin-American soccer, when two rivals get together for a match, it is called a Super Clasico...there are many significant rivalries that carry this title...in Spain it is Barcelona vs. Real Madrid...in Argentina it is River Plate vs. Boca Juniors...in Mexico it is Chivas vs. Aguilas...
Super Clasico's have passion from both sides, a history of close and dramatic games, and usually a lot at stake. In the U.S., we would say that Red Sox vs. Yankees, Lakers vs. Celtics, Bears vs. Packers and others would qualify as Super Clasico's. Here at Utah we have a great rivalry with BYU...and any Utah vs. BYU event would definitely qualify as a Super Clasico (more on this rivalry some other time).
U.S. vs. Mexico - Wednesday, February 6 - 7:00 P.M. Mountain Time
TV: ESPN2, Univision
What is going on tomorrow (Wednesday)? Well, it's the U.S. vs. Mexico in men's soccer. And this rivalry has it all...these are the dominant teams in North America...they are close neighbors that have to constantly battle for precious berths in the World Cup and Olympics...Now, tomorrow's game is just a friendly but that is never a good description for this Super Clasico. Both teams have to start World Cup qualifying this summer and will want to get their year of to a winning start. Here is a quick viewing guide:
Home Field Advantage?
The match is being played in Houston, Texas...however, there will probably be more fans of the Tricolor (Mexico) than the Red, White and Blue...Even though the U.S. will probably not be hearing as many cheers and Ole's...it will hope to keep a great home streak going...In home games (on U.S. soil) since 2000, the U.S. team is 8-0-1 against Mexico.
Hugo's Last Dance?
Mexico's manager, Hugo Sanchez, is on the hot seat. One of most legendary Mexican player ever, Sanchez was a LOUD critic of previous managers...saying he could do a better job and that Mexico should never lose to the U.S. However, he has yet to beat the Americans on U.S. soil...watch for him on the sidelines...he loves the camera and wears his emotions on his sleeve
Young Stars
Both teams have some very young stars that may play in the game. Mexico has Barcelona's 18-year old phenom Giovani Dos Santos as well as Carlos Vela, another teenager who plays for Osasuna in the Spanish 1st Division. And the U.S. will have Jozy Altidore , Freddy Adu and Michael Bradley to choose from...Let's see if the future is now for either team!
This will be a great match as usual...Check it out!
Sunday we had the Super Bowl, today is Super Tuesday...and tomorrow...the Super Clasico will complete the "Super Triple". In Latin-American soccer, when two rivals get together for a match, it is called a Super Clasico...there are many significant rivalries that carry this title...in Spain it is Barcelona vs. Real Madrid...in Argentina it is River Plate vs. Boca Juniors...in Mexico it is Chivas vs. Aguilas...
Super Clasico's have passion from both sides, a history of close and dramatic games, and usually a lot at stake. In the U.S., we would say that Red Sox vs. Yankees, Lakers vs. Celtics, Bears vs. Packers and others would qualify as Super Clasico's. Here at Utah we have a great rivalry with BYU...and any Utah vs. BYU event would definitely qualify as a Super Clasico (more on this rivalry some other time).
U.S. vs. Mexico - Wednesday, February 6 - 7:00 P.M. Mountain Time
TV: ESPN2, Univision
What is going on tomorrow (Wednesday)? Well, it's the U.S. vs. Mexico in men's soccer. And this rivalry has it all...these are the dominant teams in North America...they are close neighbors that have to constantly battle for precious berths in the World Cup and Olympics...Now, tomorrow's game is just a friendly but that is never a good description for this Super Clasico. Both teams have to start World Cup qualifying this summer and will want to get their year of to a winning start. Here is a quick viewing guide:
Home Field Advantage?
The match is being played in Houston, Texas...however, there will probably be more fans of the Tricolor (Mexico) than the Red, White and Blue...Even though the U.S. will probably not be hearing as many cheers and Ole's...it will hope to keep a great home streak going...In home games (on U.S. soil) since 2000, the U.S. team is 8-0-1 against Mexico.
Hugo's Last Dance?
Mexico's manager, Hugo Sanchez, is on the hot seat. One of most legendary Mexican player ever, Sanchez was a LOUD critic of previous managers...saying he could do a better job and that Mexico should never lose to the U.S. However, he has yet to beat the Americans on U.S. soil...watch for him on the sidelines...he loves the camera and wears his emotions on his sleeve
Young Stars
Both teams have some very young stars that may play in the game. Mexico has Barcelona's 18-year old phenom Giovani Dos Santos as well as Carlos Vela, another teenager who plays for Osasuna in the Spanish 1st Division. And the U.S. will have Jozy Altidore , Freddy Adu and Michael Bradley to choose from...Let's see if the future is now for either team!
This will be a great match as usual...Check it out!
Monday, February 4, 2008
Super Weekend
Well, what a super weekend it was. Let's see...
1. Giants over Patriots...and our favorite Super Ads
Exciting game...down to the wire...could have gone either way...and how about those commercials?!
Some of our favorites were:
2. Ute Women Defeat Colorado State
It was women's sports day last Saturday afternoon at the women's basketball game. All of the women's teams were honored at halftime by being introduced at mid-court.....volleyball and softball were there in full force along with our soccer team. It was a fun game as the Utes vaulted into first place in the Mountain West Conference with a 68-28 win over the CSU Rams. The team is now ranked #20 in the nation...They are 17-3 on the season and 7-0 in the conference...what a good start. Next home game is Saturday, February 9 at 3:00 P.M. in the Huntsman Center. Congratulations!
3. Ute Gymnasts Defeat Minnesota
Many of our players started the weekend on Friday evening by watching the #2 ranked Utah gymnastics team defeat Minnesota. The gymnastics meet are always a blast and the highlight last Friday was Ashley Postell's 10.0 on the vault. The crowd went nuts as the score was posted after what is called her "yerchenko half on, front pike with a half vault". Just saying it is difficult!
1. Giants over Patriots...and our favorite Super Ads
Exciting game...down to the wire...could have gone either way...and how about those commercials?!
Some of our favorites were:
- Will Ferrell - hard to beat Will as a basketball player plugging his favorite drink.
- Fed Ex/Birds - giant birds delivering cars and trucks...looks like an old Godzilla movie!
- Shaq wins the Derby!
2. Ute Women Defeat Colorado State
It was women's sports day last Saturday afternoon at the women's basketball game. All of the women's teams were honored at halftime by being introduced at mid-court.....volleyball and softball were there in full force along with our soccer team. It was a fun game as the Utes vaulted into first place in the Mountain West Conference with a 68-28 win over the CSU Rams. The team is now ranked #20 in the nation...They are 17-3 on the season and 7-0 in the conference...what a good start. Next home game is Saturday, February 9 at 3:00 P.M. in the Huntsman Center. Congratulations!
3. Ute Gymnasts Defeat Minnesota
Many of our players started the weekend on Friday evening by watching the #2 ranked Utah gymnastics team defeat Minnesota. The gymnastics meet are always a blast and the highlight last Friday was Ashley Postell's 10.0 on the vault. The crowd went nuts as the score was posted after what is called her "yerchenko half on, front pike with a half vault". Just saying it is difficult!
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