Thomas Friedman’s article on government and VC partnership

When I was reading TechFlash this morning, I was directed to a Thomas Friedman article regarding government investment in VC firms. I have always listened to Friedman with great interest since my first semester in college, when I was introduced to his book “From Beirut to Jerusalem”. What Friedman sets forth in this op-ed is an intriguing idea. His rationale is that government should be using their money to be innovative, seeking out the next Google, rather than give life support to a dead corpse, such as GM. As an entrepreneur myself, I would welcome any monetary help to push my ideas forward. The issue I would be most concerned about, would be the extent of oversight and governmental control needed in this situation. If private innovation is using public money, there will be rules, and more rules, and more rules, for everything we do.

The start-up community is a collection of dedicated individuals with ideas. We work tirelessly to resonate our idea with the buying public. There is no book on how to accomplish this success. Each case is different. Each individual and each business idea differs from the other. Restrictions, guidelines, and policies would have to be thrown out of the window. VC firms and entrepreneurs must be allowed to let their creative juices flow, without bureaucracy looking over their shoulder if anything like this were to ever work.

Enough of my baffling. Here is the link to Friedman’s article -

www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/opinion/22friedman.html

The end has come…..

I am coming to the end of my first week of retirement, and I’m only 29.

Last week, following my release from Sounders camp, I decided to retire from the game. It has been a long and difficult few months with many ups and downs, and my decision was smothered with doubt and resistance. Soccer has been the corner stone of my life for as long as I remember. But I am settled in Seattle, getting married this year, and have a deep desire to begin something new and exciting. I will always be involved in the game. To what capacity, I don’t know. But it will always be a huge part of my life.

Taking the recent past away, soccer has given me nothing but great memories and great friends. I have developed character traits that would never have evolved if it wasn’t for the game of soccer. I now hope to use my experiences and skills in the wider world, and give a little back. I was fortunate enough to have experienced many great things, and I think it is vital that up and coming athletes have the same opportunity to prosper and enjoy whatever sport they love.

Thanks to everyone I know for all your support over the years.

Blog moving…..

Sorry for the complete lack of blog postings – identified by Rich Hawks – but I have been working on my new business, 1to1 Soccer, and really focusing on the soccer season which has just come to an end. We have delayed our launch due to the soccer season, wanting to focus my efforts on our initial launch once we go live. We are planning to go live once the Sounders return from Argentina.

I have been preparing my new blog, connected to 1to1, for a while now. I will notify you all of the exact address and location once we launch. This blog will be updated and added to on a regular basis, covering soccer, sports, business, high tech, and of course – 1to1 Soccer.

Thanks for your patience….

Teachstreet launches……

Teachstreet, a local Seattle company, launched their service this week. Teachstreet provides open profiles of people in the area that provide classes on a range of different things. Their mantra is ‘Find Local Teachers. Learn New Things’. They trawl the web, and create profiles for individuals. These people must then come to the site and claim their profile, and fill in relevant information. The service caught my eye when I first heard about it at the beginning of the year, as it offers a similar service to what we are creating. It is a nicely designed site, and it will be interesting to see how their service evolves…..

For more information, read John Cook’s Blog entry -http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/venture/archives/136823.asp

Season kicks off….

Our first game of the season kicked off last weekend, and ended in a 0-0 tie against the Charleston Battery in South Carolina. It was a tough trip, with 4am starts on Friday and Sunday. We fell behind at the half hour mark, when a 25 yard shot fired past Chris and into the back of the net. We fought on, and the game began to open up a little in second half as we pushed for a goal. It came, in injury time, with a low shot through traffic by Kenji. It felt like a win, and proved that persistence pays off. We never gave up, and even after riding a bit of luck, we nicked a point. We have preparing all week for the game against Portland tomorrow. A local derby that should be intense and exciting. We hope to get our first win of the year.

1to1 Soccer update

We are in the process of working through some bugs and improving some features and content in preparation for our first beta launch. We will be focusing on generating a database of clubs and coaches, offering pricing incentives and early member packages. We are directing our efforts at the Washington state area to prove our concept and work through the kinks. It has taken us a little longer than expected, but with small resources and a desire to launch with a great product, we decided to wait as long as we needed. I will continue with updates as we advance ….

You can sign up for our newsletters at www.1to1soccer.com

Beckham reaches 100 caps

David Beckham was recalled to the England squad for the game against France today. He started the game, but more importantly, he made his 100th appearance for England. What a fantastic accomplishment it is. People may have different opinions of Beckham, but he has enjoyed an incredibly long and illustrious career, for both club and country. Soccer fans in the US should be proud to see him wearing a Galaxy shirt, and proud to hear him speak so passionately about soccer in the States. He is not only a role model for kids, but a great example of how to act in public and in private.

Woody scores winner as Tottenham lift trophy

We have been participating in some fitness training for the last few weeks, and the body is beginning to get back into the swing of things. We kick into gear next week, and will be pushing things quickly so that we are ready for the first pre-season game against Vancouver on March 22nd.

On another note, my friend and former teammate Jonathan Woodgate scored the winner for Tottenham in the Carling Cup final against Chelsea this past weekend. It was fantastic for Woody. He was man of the match, and after all his injury worries, he truly is moving in the right direction. I think a move to Spurs is the perfect catalyst to put himself back into the national and international spotlight. My old roommate Paul Robinson also played, after being restored in goal just before the final. Congratulations to them both…..

Sounders Season

We had our first unofficial pre-season practice yesterday, and to put it mildly, my body is a little sore today. We worked on core strengthening and a little fitness before playing a 7 v 7 game. It is great getting back into it, but even after an off-season of running and keeping myself in shape, there is no substitute for a ’soccer’ fitness session. And the sad thing is, it wasn’t even that hard – just working some muscles that haven’t been used in a while.

We are all excited for the upcoming season, and defending our championship. It will be an interesting year. I am sure the coaching staff are inundated with calls and resumes on players, all looking for an opportunity to play with the MLS franchise. The Sounder franchise has always been based upon great talent and an attitude to work hard. I just hope the players that come in buy into that philosophy, and don’t take this season as a personal showcase.

Personal awards come from team success.  I have never seen great players in weak teams get top accolades on a consistent basis. The team is the strength, and it is individuals who adopt the team mentality, and use their natural talents for the benefit of the team, who will enjoy the greatest success.

There is a long road ahead until September and October, but it all about laying the foundation for success, and we started on that journey this week.

New Hampshire Primary’s

Following the fascinating results in Iowa, the Democrat and Republican primary’s move to New Hampshire. Tomorrow could be a defining moment in the Presidential race for both sides of the aisle. Two major candidates need to show well and win. Mitt Romney has spent tens of millions of dollars on his campaign, outspending Mike Huckabee in Iowa by a margin of 20 to 1. Huckabee won convincingly, and moves to New Hampshire with a sense of purpose and energy. Romney needs to win to stay at the front of the race, and as a Governor of the neighbor state Massachusetts, if he doesn’t win, it will send shudders of fear down the spine of the Republican party. John McCain could spoil the party however.

On the Democratic side, the pressure is on Hillary Clinton. She came third to Obama and Edwards in Iowa, and must win in New Hampshire to maintain her claim that she is the most electable candidate. Obama has the momentum right now, and Edwards is tinkering on the outside, waiting for the primary’s to move to the South.

As previously discussed, I stated that both Huckabee and Edwards were the more interesting choices. They both performed well in Iowa, and they hold the ticket of intrigue in both party’s. Huckabee would appear to have the greater chance of sustaining his performance, and fend off some of the other candidates who are all struggling in their own way.

Commentators have stated in recent days of the feel good factor that some candidates exude. Huckabee provides this comfort to the voter, and it appears Clinton does not. Bush provided this sense in both his elections, playing against more formal candidates in Gore and Kerry.

Does America vote for someone they like, or for someone that professes the strongest political message?