The Baltimore Sun: Trainer at Wilde Lake aims to reduce ACL injuries among female athletes

In what she hopes can be a model for the rest of Howard County, Wilde Lake athletic trainer Allison Hammond has launched a program aimed at reducing the occurrence of anterior cruciate ligament injuries for female athletes at the school.

The program, patterned after one developed by the Santa Monica Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Research Foundation, consists of about 24 activities performed by athletes at least twice a week in lieu of their normal warm-ups.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/highschool/bal-va.ho.notes11sep11,0,1830722.story

Girls Soccer Metro Top 20

You have seen the Baltimore area’s top 20 polls and you have seen the DC area’s top 20. But only Scholastic Sports Net offers the weekly Metro Top 20 which takes all of the top teams in the entire Baltimore/Washington area and ranks them against one another. Here is the 2008 preseason Metro Top 20:

1. River Hill
2. Quince Orchard
3. Urbana
4. Fallston
5. Eastern Tech
6. Bethesda-Chevy Chase
7. C. Milton Wright
8. Wilde Lake
7. Walter Johnson
8. Broadneck
9. Catonsville
10. Severna Park
11. Winters Mill
12. South River
13. Century
14. Centennial
15. Arundel
16. Loch Raven
17. Glenelg
18. Eleanor Roosevelt
19. Northern
20. Sparrows Point

Boys Soccer Metro Top 20

You have seen the Baltimore area’s top 20 polls and you have seen the DC area’s top 20. But only Scholastic Sports Net offers the weekly Metro Top 20 which takes all of the top teams in the entire Baltimore/Washington area and ranks them against one another. Here is the 2008 preseason Metro Top 20:

1. Magruder
2. River Hill
3. Bel Air
4. Perry Hall
5. Broadneck
6. Bethesda-Chevy Chase
7. Fallston
8. Marriotts Ridge
9. C. Milton Wright
10. Severna Park
11. Loch Raven
12. Liberty
13. Towson
14. Franklin
15. Arundel
16. Patapsco
17. Pocomoke
18. Poolesville
19. Bowie
20. Northern

Poll Results

Will River Hill repeat as Howard County Champions in both girls and boys soccer?
It looks like most folks think they will. Here are the poll results:

Probably - 37%
Definately - 25%
No Way - 25%
Unlikely - 12%

River Hill's Jake Pace to Play at Maryland

River Hill soccer standout, Jake Pace, has orally committed to play for the University of Maryland beginning in 2009.

Pace was the overtime hero for the Hawks, scoring on a header to win the Class 2A State Championship over Loch Raven 3-2. To watch Pace and the River Hill Hawks win the state title, click here.

Soccer Coaching Vacancies for Fall 2008

The following job openings still exist for the upcoming 2008 soccer season:

Centennial JV Boys Soccer
Contact: Jean Vanderpool 410-313-2865

Oakland Mills Boys JV Soccer
Oakland Mills GirlsJV Soccer
Contact: Chuck Struhar 410-313-6953

Howard County Soccer Ready to Dominate in '08

Is there a better soccer county in Maryland than Howard County? Well, it's tough to find one. Last year, four Howard County teams participated in the MPSSAA State Championship contests. 25% of the state championship participants came from Howard County. Two won, which again represents 25%.

In the state championships, River Hill boys held on to top Loch Raven in overtime 3-2. On the girls side, Glenelg shut out Sparrows Point 2-0. The River Hill girls took Eastern Tech to double overtime before losing on a corner kick put-in to give ET the 2-1 win. Wilde Lake was the big surprise participant, but played Urbana tough before losing in penalty kicks in what may have been the most exciting game of all of the state championships.

Point is, Howard County soccer is extraordinary. It was last year, it was before that, and it will be again this year and beyond.

Look back at last year's games, including every state championship game here: http://www.scholasticsportsnet.com/soccer.php