In a week when basketball bracket-mania is sweeping the area, one Southern Indiana soccer player has already booked his place to a Final Four.

Jeffersonville's Vincent Straight will be part of an Indiana team playing in the Olympic Development Program National Championships in Frisco, Texas this week.

Straight has already played a part in the Hoosiers’ Midwest Regional success, when they beat Ohio North in the final last July. The win set them up to play Oklahoma on Friday, with the winner advancing to Sunday's championship game to play the victor from the Virginia/California South clash.

The attacking midfielder plays with Southern Indiana United’s U15 Mavericks, and the freshman was also named Newcomer of the Year at Jeffersonville High School, starting every game for the Red Devils in the fall.

His coach at Mavericks, Mike Vejar, said he is very proud of Straight, who he has mentored for seven years.

“It is a very talented group and for Vincent to have made it was a huge accomplishment for this young man,” Vejar said.

Straight’s ODP coach, Idowu Ikudabo, told the family in an e-mail that it was a ‘blessing’ having Vincent on the team.

“Vince was an impact player on the 93 squad that won the Region II championship game,” he said. “We are very proud of him and his teammates.”

Straight's dad, Scott, said the achievement is even more noteworthy for the fact that, other than one player from Evansville, all squad members are from Bloomington and north of the state.

“Just like in other high school sports in Indiana, it is very hard for boys close to Louisville and so far away from Indy to get recognized at the state level,” he said.

The US Youth Soccer ODP was formed in 1977 to identify a pool of players in each age group from which a national team is selected for international competition. Each state association holds ODP try-outs on an annual basis.



Another player dies of MRSA

The Kentucky soccer community was shocked last week when one of the state’s top youth players, Ryan Robinson, passed away at the age of 17 after being diagnosed with MRSA.

Robinson, a junior, was a key member of Jessamine Storm 1992 and West Jessamine High School, and he represented the Kentucky Youth Soccer ODP 1992 boys’ team for the past four years.

He is the second player in central Kentucky to have died from MRSA — a strain of staph that is aggressive and hard to treat — in the past seven months. McKenna Brooke Hatchett, 14, of George Rogers Clark High School in Winchester received a bruised hip during soccer practice and later died from a blood-borne staph infection. MRSA is a deadly bacteria that we all have on our skin already. If it enters an opening in our skin like a turf burn or small cut, it can kill in a matter of a few days.

It used to be largely confined to hospitals, but has increased among the general public — including athletic teams — in recent years. Doctors say athletes are now at risk because they are more likely to be in a crowded condition, and are also more likely to have abrasions, cuts and scrapes. They are also more likely to come into contact with shared items such as towels, razors or practice jerseys.

Although it is not known how Robinson contracted the bacteria, local clubs are advising their players, coaches and parents to take a number of measures in a bid to prevent any similar deaths in the future.

It is recommended that training vests and other shared clothing is washed after each use, and that no equipment is shared unless it is clean.

Players are also being advised to bring their own water to practices and games, to refrain from spitting on the field, and to always check for cuts and openings after training or games. If there are open wounds, you should clean them as soon as you can with peroxide or antibacterial soap, then bandage.



Surfers United

It’s not been the greatest of weeks for English Premiership giants Manchester United after being annihilated 4-1 by Liverpool, but one nearby United just held a successful tournament which brought good luck for some of our local girls.

United 1996 of Louisville, that is, and the club's tournament saw Net-Surfers’ U14s beat Crew Junior Gold from Columbus on a penalty shootout to take the first division title.

Despite losing 2-0 to Swanner Athletic, Errol Morgan's charges thumped United 1996 by a 7-0 scoreline and beat KFC Crush of Knoxville 3-0 to progress to the final.

Congratulations to the girls on a great start to the season, one which will see them participating in the Indiana State Cup.

And while we're on the subject of niceties, a Happy St Patrick's Day to you all.