Mark Pennewell has decided to step down as the Piner High's girls' soccer coach. But he won't be entirely out of the Prospectors' picture. He will remain on as a volunteer for the program.
In those duties he will help with Piner's youth camp fundraiser (Aug. 3-7) and also with the Lady Prospector Tournament (Aug. 22) at A Place To Play.
"The daily grind of practice, the economy and life in general has changed my work flexibility. I just wouldn't be able to do a good job coaching," Pennewell said.
Pennewell also plans to help, if he's asked, on a volunteer basis with the new varsity and junior varsity coaches at Piner.
Mark deserves a huge thank you for the time and effort he has put into local high school soccer the past few seasons.
Thanks, Mark.

Sonoma Academy announced Thursday morning that Ben Ziemer will be its new boys soccer coach this fall.
Don't now where he'll find the time, but Ben will now be an assistant to brother Marcus at SSU and then coach under his brother Chris (SA's athletic director). All that in addition to running the NPSL and being the head coach of the Sonoma County Sol.
Hopefully, he'll be able to remember all the players...

Here is the official SA press release...

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Santa Rosa, CA, Thursday, June 4, 2009- Benjamin Ziemer, one of the top soccer coaches in Northern California, will join Sonoma Academy as head coach of the boys' soccer program, the school has announced. He will replace Mike Peller, who is moving to the East Coast.
Ziemer currently coaches the Sonoma County Sol in the National Premier Soccer League and also assists his brother, Marcus Ziemer, who is head soccer coach at Sonoma State University.
He also helped organize and currently manages the Nor Cal Premier Soccer League, which provides programs for soccer clubs throughout Northern California and is considered one of the most progressive soccer organizations in the United States.
Sonoma Academy Athletic Director Chris Ziemer, also a brother to Benjamin, said Ziemer will be a "great asset" to Sonoma Academy's soccer program. "His coaching experience at college and semi-professional adult levels will definitely enhance our program, plus his extensive background in coaching youth will be key here at Sonoma Academy. I think it will be exciting for the boys to work with someone who coaches teams playing against Stanford or the University of California San Diego in the morning, then works with them in the afternoon. The boys will enjoy playing for him. He will create a challenging, positive and fun environment where the students will grow both as athletes and people."
Ziemer played youth soccer and high school soccer in Sonoma County and began his collegiate career at Fresno State and Santa Rosa Junior College before playing his last two seasons at Sonoma State University. While at SSU, he earned All-Conference and All-Far West honors before moving to Germany, where he played professionally.
In addition to coaching several Sonoma County soccer teams, Ziemer coached the Olympic Development Program state teams. He has been a Hoek Method Camp coach for more than eight years and has directed more than 150 Ziemer Brother camps in Northern and Southern California, Oregon and Nevada. He currently holds a USSF "A" coaching license and a German "B" license.
Sonoma Academy, located at the base of Taylor Mountain in south Santa Rosa, is an independent college preparatory high school serving students in Sonoma, Napa and Marin counties.

We tried this once before and we'll keep trying...

Would you like to prove that you care more about the game of soccer and the kids it benefits rather than spreading idle gossip and being destructive instead of constructive?

Here's another oppotunity. June 13th at the Santa Rosa Odd Fellows Hall the SRJC men's soccer team will hold "Corner Kick III" to benefit the SRJC men's program, the Pat Kinahan Scholarship Fund and the Hanna Boys soccer program.

For $50 you get into the dinner/dance and you can also participate in the live and silent auction. All of the proceeds go for "the good of the game."

For information, contact SRJC head coach Marty Kinahan, 524-1814

The Sonoma County Sol continued to roll along - literally and figuratively - over the weekend.

First up was a date against the Southern Oregon Fuego in Medford, Ore., on Saturday night where they won, 3-1, to remain unbeaten (7-0-2) on the season. Sol got goals from the Brothers Hurst (Trevor and Tyler) and Brandon Boone in a rather dominating effort.

They they hit the road again and headed to Hayward when they were to face the Bay Area Ambassadors Sunday afternoon at Chabot College.

While still trying to figure out how Messi got high enough to score Barcelona's second goal ....

- They estimated the world-wide TV audience at 200 million for today's Champion League final. Heck, that's twice as many folks as voted on the American Idol final...

- Once again, and it almost always happens this way, the winning soccer team is the one that can control the ball. That means they control the ball by passing it, not playing with it. Barca was so skilled, one-, two-touch and pass it and move. That's why they call it the beautiful game.

- How frustrated was Christiano Ronaldo? One a 1-10 scale I'd put it at about an 8.

- The refereeing was pretty good, overall. And there were a fair share of dives on the pitch.

- And just think that was only a prelude to the World Cup in a couple of years. The ratings on this Cup ought to be off the chart!

- P.S. Not a bad prediction in the previous post ... he said while patting himself on the back....

All right, we are about three hours from kickoff. Who wins in this titantic battle of soccer $$ vs. soccer $$?

This won't be just another game on the pitch. Manchester United and Barcelona have millions of bucks at stake here. On this side of the pond, where we are still pretty much considered the Little Leagues of soccer, we just don't get the interest in such a match.

Oh, maybe we do a little more than we did five years ago. But then, Game 3 of the World Series probably doesn't cause much of an uproar on the streets of Madrid either.

Prediction: Barcelona 2, Man U. 1

Your thoughts ...

Here's the really good news about the Sonoma County Sol - their 26-man roster consists of 17 local players. That's the way it should be. There is more than enough talent floating around Sonoma County to make a couple of competitive teams.

The bad news? Just curous, but how much playing time are these guys getting when there are 26 guys out there on the pitch? Granted, they all probably work a "real" job and don't show up for every game, but still ... 26 on the roster?

Next up for Sol is a trip to Oregon where they'll face the Southern Oregon Fuego on Saturday night. Pack up the cars boys, we're headed north.

Next Sol home game is June 6th vs. Salinas.