Happy Holidays from CSM

I hope everyone had a great holiday. My Christmas went well. On Christmas Eve my family (Darci, Alex and Kenzie) went to Modale, Iowa and had Christmas with my wife's side of the family. Darci (my wife) has 4 sisters and 2 brothers. They all were there except her brother Doug who lives in California. The highlight of the evening was when Darci gave her sisters a beautiful picture of all the sisters when they were younger. They all got choked up (and so did I.)

On Christmas day we went over to my sister's house (Linda) to have Christmas with my side of the family. I have 2 sisters (Linda and Sandra) and they have lots of kids (Brian, Michelle, Tara, Evan, Jack, Kyle.) Dad and and his wife Nelda were there too (we lost my mom in 2004 to cancer and my Dad got remarried to a wonderful woman named Nelda.) The highlight of Christmas day was when Dad told a joke about how the tradition of the angel on top of the Christmas tree came to be. It was funny (you'll have to ask me about it later.) The food was also good (I do love food.)

Iowa Western Soccer Player Signs with CSM

On Wednesday afternoon, the CSM soccer office was the site of the signing of Courtney Pearcy, a forward and midfielder from Iowa Western Community College. Courtney is a current sophomore at IWCC and she has been an integral part of the phenomenal success of the IWCC soccer program. IWCC made it to the final game of the National Championship tournament for junior colleges in 2006 and 2007(unfortunately they came in second both years.) At nationals this year, Pearcy scored 2 goals to help IWCC make it to the championship game.

I'm very excited have Courtney as part of the team--I think she will make a great contribution to our fantastic tradition of success at CSM. She went to high school at Lewis Central in Council Bluffs with our current keeper Mandy Saar. As a matter of fact, Courtney's boyfriend (Luke) and Mandy's fiance (Billy) are very good friends.

We have a great start to our 2008 recruit class!

Plattsmouth, Nebraska Soccer Player Signs with CSM

Last week KaSie Bergland put pen to paper and signed with the College of Saint Mary soccer team. KaSie plays both midfield and forward and is known for her blazing speed and great attitude. She signed her letter of intent at her high school (Plattsmouth) in front of her college coach (me) and her high school coach (Colleen Ksiazek) as well as her wonderful parents. Isn't it a phenomenal picture? It was taken with my camera so I can take some of the credit.

Here is an exerpt from the Plattsmouth Newspaper about KaSie:

Bergland signs with College of St. Mary soccer program
By Brent HardinThursday, Dec 13, 2007 - 02:59:44 pm CST

PLATTSMOUTH - Spending one day with College of St. Mary soccer players this fall helped KaSie Bergland decide to spend four more years with the team after high school.

The Plattsmouth High School senior signed a letter of intent Wednesday morning to join College of Saint Mary’s soccer program. Bergland practiced with the squad during a campus visit earlier this fall and she said the positive attitude of her future teammates sealed her decision to attend the Omaha school

"When I went up there everyone was really welcoming and I felt really good about it," Bergland said. "It was a pretty easy decision after that.".

KaSie's mom told me at the signing that KaSie decided to come to CSM right after playing with the team. Way to go team! I remember KaSie working really hard that day and having a good time with the CSM players.

I am looking forward to coaching KaSie in the fall!

Recruiting Nebraska Soccer Players: CSM Soccer Coach Attends Great Workshop

Just got back from California where I attended the "Selling for Coaches" recruiting workshop. Dan Tudor, a recruiting "guru" gave us first-rate information that we can use to help us with our recruiting at the College of Saint Mary. Dan is a very knowledgeable individual and I learned a lot. It was very intense and I took a lot of notes. It will take me awhile to digest. I really believe my workshop experience will help us get a terrific 2008 recruiting class.

It was held at a place called "Coconut Joes" which was an island themed party room. One of the more humorous moments of the worshop was when one of the coaches (Lindsay) asked Dan if we could turn on the disco ball. He did. Dan did not disco dance (thank goodness) but we did finish the workshop "under the lights," so to speak.

A very practical piece given to us was a study Dan did called "Inside the Mind of Your College Prospects; a survey that really gets into the mind of what college recruits want and need. Useful, practical, wow. Fantastic job Dan!

See dantudor.com