Coach's Report

April 10, 2008

As we look forward to the upcoming season, it gives me great pleasure to represent the City of New Orleans once again in the Mid-South Division of the PDL for 2008. There is no doubt that the Mid-South Division is strongest league in all of the PDL. The Laredo Heat won the National Championship last year and our league has been represented in the final for the last four years running. Therefore, you can expect to see the best soccer and the best players striving for the Major Leagues.

The Shockers’ assistant coach, Steve McAnespie, and I have been putting a team together that we believe will delight the fans. Earlier this year, the team played in two exhibition matches against top class opposition, which produced very entertaining football and one excellent result against a top team in the CONCACAF region of world soccer. The Shockers defeated C.D. Victoria of Honduras at Tad Gormley Stadium and we lost a very close game to the Honduras U-20 Men’s National Team.  If we continue to produce the level of soccer that we did in those early games, we will have an excellent chance of winning a National Championship this year.  For our dedicated fans, I want to assure you that Steve and I are fully aware that you are owed a championship. We are doing our utmost to bring the best quality players for you this season. And, for the new fans this season, you will see great soccer with some of the best talent in the country and world wide.

This year’s team will include some local players and others originating from 6 different countries.  Stuart Hayers from England, our captain, and a graduate of Lynn University, will be returning.  Other English Players will include Lee Porter (a tremendously gifted midfielder), Jon Brooks (a fiery left winger), Jamie Davies (a force on the right wing) and Marc Young (a quality central defender form the London area of England).  Gabe Toboada from Argentina will be playing up front as well as Kenneth Vicuez of Costa Rica.  Other countries that will be represented in the squad are Scotland, Honduras and, of course, the good old USA. We will blend all of these influences into a very skillful and creative game.

Our first match is against Houston away on May 3rd. Houston have just re-entered the league after an absence of four years. The team returns home to face a very experienced El Paso Patriots on May 11th.  Both of these games are qualifiers for the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. I look forward to seeing you at the games. Your support is vital to us and is tremendously appreciated. In my next report, I will give you a run down on what to expect from our opponents this season. As I said before, this is the toughest division in the league. Every team brings something a little different to the table.  Fans should be prepared for a 'SHOCKERS' season!