Wreckers Announce 2012 Regular Season Schedule

A home opener against Harding; a Saturday morning “Alumni Day” game versus Wilton; a home Columbus Day match with Greenwich — and a killer stretch in October of 4 very tough opponents — highlight Staples’ 2012 FCIAC boys soccer schedule.

The Wreckers have 8 home matches, and 8 away. Their lone Saturday contest — September 22 — will be “Alumni Day.” A very tough part of the slate starts October 1, with an away game in Norwalk. Trumbull (away), Greenwich (home) and Darien (home) quickly follow.

The season ends just as brutally: with Westhill (home), New Canaan (home) and Danbury (away), in the span of 6 days.

“Of course, this is the FCIAC — every game can be a killer,” says head coach Dan Woog. “Right now, our goal is to be ready for anything when the season starts on September 11.”

Because there are 19 league teams, but the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) allows only 16 regular season games, the Wreckers miss 2 opponents. This year, those teams are Stamford and Bassick.

To view the entire schedule — including pre-season — click here, or select “This Season” from the tab at the top of www.StaplesSoccer.com.

Noah Bender -- and his teammates -- must be in top form by September 11. (Photo by Carl McNair)

Rob Millock Offers Soccer Lessons And Training

Rob Millock did not graduate from Staples — but, after playing for years in the summer Super Watermelon Liga — he’s an honorary Wrecker.

Rob Millock

Rob Millock

Igor Pikayzen ’05 Presents Recital At Yale

Music-loving soccer fans: Mark Saturday, January 28 (8 p.m., Sprague Hall, 470 College Street, New Haven). Igor Pikayzen ’05 stars in a special violin recital at Yale.

Let the striker and Watermelon Cup stalwart describe it:

Igor Pikayzen

Please join me as I celebrate my 3rd and final year at Yale (pending approval of the orchestra and dean’s offices) with another lengthy and pretentious recital!

Following Handel-Thompson’s “Passacaglia,” which is unfamiliar to all those who are not violinists from the USSR, you’ll  enjoy the rather popular Beethoven “D Major Sonata,” and the much maligned Bach “A Minor Sonata” for violin solo.

For those arriving after intermission, the menu consists of 3 Paganini caprices, the gorgeous “Poème Élégiaque” of Ysaye, the charming yet ominous Shostakovich preludes, and the dashingly brilliant Wieniawski “D Major Polonaise.”

All above-mentioned adjectives are a direct result of my 7 years of top-quality college education. In lieu of flowers, imported beer will be accepted. Hope to see you there!

Wreckers Hold 1st Octathlon Of Champions Event; Ryan Petersen Leads

The Wreckers kicked off the 1st-ever Octathlon of Champions — an 8-month, 8-event competition — today with bowling.

The Octathlon — open to all returning varsity players, as well as juniors on last fall’s JV team — features a different event every month. Each competition is designed by a different junior. Upcoming events include a 5K race, paintball and fishing.

Walker Marsh was in charge of bowling. He chose the venue (Rip Van Winkle Lanes), and designed the format (2-man teams; 3 games each) and points system (awarded for the team with the highest total score and runner-up team, plus individuals with the highest game and most strikes).

Ryan Petersen was the big winner. He and James Hickok amassed the highest 3-game score (632); Ryan also had the highest individual game (120) and most strikes (7).

Finishing 2nd were the team of Walker Marsh and Jon Denowitz.

With players receiving 1 point for competing, the totals after 1 event are:

Ryan Petersen: 21
James Hickok: 11
Jon Denowitz: 2
Walker Marsh: 2
Noah Bender: 1
Ethan Bradeen: 1
Joe Greenwald: 1
Tucker Rizzi: 1
Jack Scott: 1

The Octathlon of Champions bowling event included (from left) Jon Denowitz, Ryan Petersen, James Hickok, Walker Marsh, Joe Greenwald, Jack Scott, Ethan Bradeen and Noah Bender. Also competing: Tucker Rizzi.

Wreckers Release Pre-Season Schedule; 5 Big Dates Set

Staples’ 2012 pre-season combines traditional rivals with 2 intriguing new match-ups. The schedule — 4 games, plus an always- popular jamboree — provides a challenging warm-up to next year’s season.

Tryouts begin on Saturday, August 25. Four days later — on Wednesday, August 29 — the Wreckers host Newtown. The SWC powerhouse was penciled in for 2011, but the match was canceled in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene.

Two days after Newtown — on Friday, August 31 — Staples hosts Wethersfield. That game — a kickoff to Labor Day weekend — is an annual, and much-anticipated, event.

On Tuesday, September 4, the Wreckers travel north to always-tough Glastonbury.

Thursday, September 6 brings Fairfield Prep to town. Though the 2 schools are less than 5 miles apart, they have never met. The Jesuits made a strong run through the state LL tournament last fall, and return most players.

Pre-season competition concludes on Saturday, September 8 with Wethersfield’s annual jamboree, a round-robin affair that also honors 9/11 victims from that town and Westport.

“Pre-season is very important,” said head coach Dan Woog.  “We use it to figure out who plays well where, and in what combinations.  We see what we need to work on.  And our players learn that there are a number of good teams out there. I’m already excited. This should be one of our best pre-season schedules ever.”

Dylan Hoy will help lead the pre-season charge a few months from now. (Photo by Carl McNair)

Kyle Martino ’99 Gives Shout-Out To Staples At MLS SuperDraft

During today’s MLS SuperDraft, ESPN2 analyst Kyle Martino ’99 talked about a decision current college players never faced, but future stars will: whether to play high school soccer, or for an Academy team.

(Starting this fall, Academy rules prohibit players from also playing for their high schools.)

The former Gatorade National Player of the Year said that he spent his junior year at the IMG Academy in Florida, but returned to play his senior year with the Wreckers.

Kyle talked about how much the experience meant to him, noting: “All the people on The Hill cheering me on — and I loved the camaraderie.”

We look forward to welcoming Kyle — one of the Wreckers’ most loyal fans — back to The Hill this fall.

Eric Volckmann ’93 Announces The Birth…

…of his first child. Eric’s wife Ellie gave birth today (January 10) to Evelyn Mae Volckmann, at the University of Utah Medical Center in Salt Lake City, where Eric is a doctor.

She weighed in at 7 pounds, 3 ounces, and was 21 inches long.  Daughter, mom and Eric — along with grandparents Carl and Linda Volckmann — are all doing fine.

Evelyn Mae Volckmann

Wrecker Team Earns Academic All-America Honors

For the 8th time in 11 years, the Staples boys soccer program has been honored with a national award for academic excellence.

The National Soccer Coaches Association of America gave the Wreckers a Team Academic Award — one of only 3 boys soccer teams in Connecticut to be so named.

To qualify, a squad must have a 3.25 grade point average of all varsity players.  The award is given for the previous academic year.  In 2010, Staples’ 25 varsity players had an average GPA of 3.38. That was .01 higher than the previous year’s award-winning squad.

“I’ve always said that our players are some of the smartest and most creative people at Staples,” said head coach Dan Woog.  “We want our guys to be as strong in the classroom as they are on the field.  What’s especially gratifying about this award is that it’s won as a team.  I’m proud that the NSCAA recognizes our team as one that strives for academic excellence.”

The Wreckers are not only strong scholastically, of course.  The 2010 team won the FCIAC championship.  Woog said that the 2011 side — which reached the FCIAC finals — should also qualify for the Academic All-American honor.

WSA Spring Team Tryouts Set For January 22

High school players wishing to play on this spring’s Westport Soccer Association U-16 or U-18 travel teams are invited to try out on Sunday, January 22 (12-1 p.m., Bedford Middle School gym).

All high school students living in Westport are eligible to play.   Pre-registration is required (details below).

“The WSA has been a great partner with Staples soccer,” says Wrecker head coach Dan Woog.  “The coaching and competition provided each spring has been invaluable in preparing players for the next level.  Our guys have plenty of fun playing with their friends, too.”

The spring fee is $450 per player.  The season includes at least 1 practice per week (Thursdays, 6-7:30 p.m. — minimizing conflicts with other high school sports teams); approximately 8 games played against other town high school travel teams in the Southwest District league; competition in the spring Connecticut Cup tournament, and participation in the WSA WIN 2012 tournament (March 17-18).

Pre-registration for the tryouts is required.  To register, click here.

For further information, contact WSA travel director Bart Shuldman:  email bcs44@optonline.net, phone or text 203-247-5037.

2006 Team Wins Loeffler Indoor Tournament

The 2006 team — winners of numerous Watermelon Cups and other alumni events — captured the 2011 Loeffler Indoor Tournament last night at the Staples fieldhouse.

But it wasn’t easy.

It took nearly 10 minutes of overtime — beyond the original 12 minutes — for “Team USA” to prevail. Matt Lamb’s toe-poke was the only goal.

In addition to Matt, the victors included Greg Bachman, Brendon Cristobal, Keaton Cristobal, Nicky Hoberman, Eric Meyer, Dave Sharpe and Craig Wolgast.

The team that fell in the final was a great mixture of ages: Kurt Dasbach, Shane Dasbach, Matt Hendrickson, Trevor Lamb, Michael McCarthy, Chris Meinke, Dane Ostilly and Russell Oost-Lievense.

Nearly 40 players competed in a round-robin, followed by semis and finals. They raised $975 for the Loeffler Scholarship, an annual award of up to $3,000 named for the founder of the Staples boys soccer program.

The oldest player — Grayle Howlett, 51 — is a longtime friend of Staples soccer, who actually attended Staples High. The youngest was Shane Dasbach, followed by Jack Scott.

Trevor Lamb traveled the furthest to play: from China.

Click below for highlights of the final: