The First Signing

Hey guys, before I wrap up my last blog post I just wanted to thank all of my followers and each person that I have been able to feature throughout the semester. The Lancer Men`s Soccer Team is in full stride heading into the spring season beginning with their first formal outdoor practise this Friday night.

Before we continue with this post I want to wish Brett all the best and a speedy recovery to his head injury that took place this weekend on the pitch. He`s a rookie Lancer who works hard to win every ball and unfortunately he has needed to undergone surgery for this injury and the whole team sends their best wishes!

As mentioned earlier, some University of Windsor varsity athletes have decided to sign under the Windsor Stars organization, which plays in the Canadian Soccer League during the summer and one of those players, Michael Watson, was featured in their year`s first newsletter.

If you want to see who else signed for this professional soccer team, feel free to come to the Season Opening Press Conference which will be taking place at Mezzo Restaurant on  March 28, 2012 at 7:00 pm. Keep checking back for more updates because there`s always something new going on in the soccer world. Cheers!

Michael Watson (current University of Windsor Soccer Player) signs for the Windsor Stars.

Pre-Season Ideas

Greetings!!!! This will be my first post in the month of March and I'm pleased to announce that today I have some positive news! The "word on the street" is that the team will be taking a trip to Montreal for their pre-season competition before the regular season of the OUA starts in early September. Taking on teams from that region should prove to be the Lancer's most successful pre-season yet, as those teams are highly talented and have experience playing at the national level. Gelling the Lancer's before the regular season against team's like that should give the Lancer's a strong advantage coming out of the gates early next season to achieve some early points in the standings.

It's official! Some of your Lancer's have decided to stay together and play competitively over the summer months in the CSL for local professional team: The Windsor Stars. The players that have signed contracts will be released to the public in the upcoming weeks, so until then you'll just have to wait and see!!!!!!

In terms of club soccer, the Indoor Local Premier League is coming to a close as Teutonia F.C. is sitting in first place featuring top goal scorers like Erik Cirovski: @iamcirovske. Some players, like Erik, are University Lancer Varsity players who strive to maintain their skill level over the winter and spring months. He is our featured player of the week and I'll be sure to get more information on him in upcoming posts!

Erik before the quarter-final game of the Indoor Premier League. Teutonia F.C. defeated Hellenic S.C. 1-0.

Anyways, that's all for now so get ready for a couple of huge news releases and don't forget to post your comments if you have any questions! Cheers!

March Madness

Hey guys, we're back to the grind following a nice week off from formal classes and training periods. I hope everyone managed to stay safe while they enjoyed their time with friends and family. Reading week is a great time for university athletes far and wide because it gives both in-season and out-of-season teams a chance to really relax and take a break from early morning workouts and fast paced games and competition.

However, for most of your Men's Varsity Soccer Team, this past week was no different, maybe even more intense than average off-season weeks. In addition to club soccer games, some of your Lancer Men have been trying out week after week for newly constructed local professional team The Windsor Stars. Let's add it up: On top of a couple hours a week with club games, add the 4 weightlifting workouts, add a 30 minute run, add Sunday morning tryouts at the fastest pace the country can offer, that equals A LOT of soccer for any player to undergo in their "off-season."

As March comes into sight, players are beginning to get focused because the next few months of their game play will directly reflect their chance of making next year's squad as the Lancers will strive for a division title. Players are striving to play at the highest level possible over the spring and summer months because at the OUA level the difference between one player making the team versus another could come down to one attribute, strength, or weakness. Without the University team's supervision, it is up to players to stay disciplined and be accountable for how they conduct themselves until the team meets again in August.

I am personally excited to see what next year's team has to offer because over my 4 years here on this wonderful team, I truly believe next year's team is the best group of soccer players to bare the Lancer logo in many years. But training for that championship doesn't start when the team officially meets in mid-August, that training starts today. I wish luck to anyone coming to tryout and to returning players attempting to hold their current position because next year is going to be big, prepare yourselves. Cheers.

Reading Week Workout Video

Happy reading week everyone! While I'm sure you all have been taking advantage of the free time to relax and sleep-in, I have been doing working on my video. I was able to catch some of the Lancer Varsity Soccer players during their mandatory workouts and some of them stayed after to kick the ball around a bit.

We had a lot of fun making this video so please feel free to comment or Tweet me questions and ideas of what you would like to see next. The team is doing well as we progress towards our own club leagues for the summer period and some players are even thinking of playing in the CSL together which is the highest stage of soccer that Canada offers. Stay tuned for those details as it could act as one of the turning points for the future successes of this program.

Anyways, I want to extend special thanks to Erik Cirovski (@iamCirovske), Mike Pio (mikepio9), Tony Falkestajn, and Joe Camaj for helping me make this video. Have a great weekend and I'll keep you guys updated with more team action. Cheers!

Lancer Soccer Podcast

Hey guys, attached to this week's post is my podcast where I had the chance to interact with some returning senior members of the Lancer Men's soccer team and a newly appointed assistant goalie Coach. We discuss the strengths, weaknesses, and forward-looking information of the team and mix in a little fun with it. I got the chance to discuss new players, returning players, and other things that viewers would want to see.

 Don't forget to follow my blog so you see an upcomming video if these players in action.

Feel free to comment and even add these guys on Twitter:
Daniel Mendonca - @DScottDaily
Erik Cirovski - @iamCirovske
Chris Hakim - @Dirty_Stutters

I hope you enjoy the podcast and feel free to add your own comments or things that you want to see posted on future uploads. Have a good week, CHEERS!

PTA Soccer

As it turns out, some of your varsity male (and female) soccer players are taking part in the Practise, Theory, and Analysis of Soccer, which is a legendary course offered in the Human Kinetics realm. Aiming to prove soccer superiority amongst their peers are myself, Massimo Megna, and the team's poster-boy: Erik Cirovski!

So far we've learned that we are not as smart as we thought we were when it comes to the rules and regulations of the game, AND Erik Cirovski may have the attention span of an 8 year old. He's lucky that he's dashing or he would definitely be lost! To quickly recap, the class has us split up into separate teams and although the Red Rockets (Massimo's team) got off to a great start, Team Leo has over-thrown the standing table as they lead the class in points. Oh yeah! I'm on that team. SHAZAM!

In real soccer talk, several of the varsity male soccer players are looking to take their game to the next level this summer by signing as amateurs for a professional team so when that I get more information on that, I will vbe sure to update my huge follower base.

Make sure you leave some time to check out this blog next week as we are going to podcast Erik Cirovski on the life and times of a player both in and behind the scenes of Lancer Soccer. Stay tuned because ladies . . . you might just get a phone number out of it. Cheers!

Erik Cirovski - GAME FACE!

Dont forget to click this link to get more stats on your favourite players at the Lancer Men's Soccer HomePage!

Fitness Testing

Today is January 31st, 2012 and it happens to be 10 degrees in good ol' Windsor, Ontario. For most residents in the area, it is a nice day to open the windows and air out their house but for soccer players, it is the perfect weather to get outside and kick a ball around on a surface that isn't artificial grass!
However, business will go as usual with the Windsor Lancers Soccer team as players continue with TRX training, 4 workouts a week, weekly practises, and weekly runs to improve from the week before. In fact, this weekend, your Lancer Men underwent fitness tests facilitated by a group of HK undergrads to start measuring our abilities and set improvement goals for the months to follow.

Let's reflect and see just what Lancers were superior in each event:
Squat Champion: Sam Atkin
Vertical Jump Champion: Erik Cirovski
Bench Press Champion: Chris Hakim
Funniest Looking Jumper: Mike Pio
Overall Strongest Beast: John Bahdi
Best Looking Player: Chris Lanni

John BEASTLY Bahdi and Chris Lanni are representing the great fashion sens

e of all the varsity athletes.

 Stay tuned for an upcoming podcast as we prepare to interview a few of the players and get in touch with their personal lives outside of the soccer stadium! Cheers lads.

The Windsor Lancers are all business before a big game!

Lancer Charity

OK! OK! OK! We're back to the grind and I think everyone in Windsor was upset to see that snow blizzard except for your Lancer soccer players. Coaches sometime feel that if there is no snow on Alumni Field in the middle of January, then it is perfectly fine to hold Sunday morning practises OUTDOORS! Thankfully, we've been staying inside, away from the frostbite winds, and on the mondo-floor that makes your knees ache for days to follow.

On a serious note, our soccer team is taking part in a charity where players and coaches are bringing in used indoor and outdoor soccer shoes to be donated to an African relief group where they will be distributed to children who may not be able to afford soccer shoes. The Lancer Men's team is MORE than happy to help with a great cause and I'm sure it will be a success with the amount of shoes that the stadium field turf makes us go through!

In player and coach updates, our coaching staff has recently decided to set their sights for the world of Twitter and although they have no CLUE what they are doing just yet, it's still a lot of fun to keep updated with all of our action! If you've already followed @iamCirovske then make sure you follow @LancerFooty for double the soccer excitement that your University of Windsor Lancers Men's Soccer team is sure to post.

Injury Report: Right now the team seems to be holding up well with injured players slowly returning to game play. Our workouts are going well, as John Bahdi (@thebahdiswag) seems like he is ready to be in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, centre-fold, February swimsuit edition. I'd say the same about Chris Lanni and Dave Salinitri, but, unfortunately they have already been swept off their feet by 2 lovely lassies, so posing in magazines isn't in their best interest.

That's all for now so I will be sure to post as the news comes in. Cheers.

The Beginning of Winter Training

It's that time of year again: the holidays are over and the Lancers are back in action preparing for their Spring trip to Florida against international competition. As we pull out our indoor turf shoes from the depths of our closets and aim to get back in shape, it's business as usual for the blue and gold returning players. With workouts ranging from weight lifting to TRX training at all ridiculous hours of the day, we're focused and driven by the goal of an OUA championship - the first soccer title in the history of the University of Windsor, and it all started this past Sunday.

Regardless of age, hometown, or position, Lancer players from all over the globe finally got back together on Sunday in the St. Denis to shake the dust off and start preparing for upcoming games, the season, and for new recruits to come in and try to mold to our way of play.

Creating good chemistry is the focal point of our team and it all begins with the history and goals of each player. Throughout the course of the semester I am going try posting small biographies on our returning players by starting with the seniors, and working down to the rookies.

Firstly, every single senior on this team have been my club teammates and close friends since I was 14 years old. We all came to the University together and it's exciting knowing that we'll finish the same way. Erik, Chris, Sam, Dejo, Gregger, and myself have all been there for each other through 2-a-day practises in the hot August weather, beep tests after a long night of "dancing," on the bus ride to other schools, on the plane to other countries, and most importantly, in the change room during halftime of the most important games of the season(s). However, through the last 4 years we've made it, and have been able to brush some words of wisdom onto the younger lads on the team, which is always a plus.

Before I end my post for the day, I better give a special shout-out to Erik Cirovski (@iamCirovske on Twitter) who has been my roommate for 99% of all soccer trips for the past 5 years (the other 1% is when coach split us up for staying up too late! But no worries, we wore the coaching staff down to putting us back together immediately!). C ya!