$660,000 soccer fields being built in Mandarin for Art Shad's son

[copperfiend]

And Shad also claims the fields will last for 15-20 years and the company rep clearly says the lifespan is about half of that.

[Ajax]

Ajax, you are correct. The Jaguars are completely renovating their fields this summer with help from the city. Definitely much needed and will hopefully bring back any players or coaches the club lost.

I know when I played there in the late 90's and my brother in the early/mid 00's, the Jaguars were on their way to being the dominant club in Jax for elite players. My team and the team below me were both Final 4 caliber teams and my brothers made the state title and was ranked in the top 10 or so nationwide.

I don't know what the current situation in club soccer is, but the city needs an elite club for college caliber players. It is much easier to be seen by scouts this way. Heck Eddie Johnson (of National Team fame) used to drive from Flagler County to practice with us and I'm pretty sure guest played with the team below me.

JYS has lost a lot of its mojo and does not need $600,000 for a field that won't even be much of an upgrade. Hopefully the rest of the council will throw that pork sandwich in the garbage.

Hey, that's pretty cool about Eddie Johnson - I didn't know that.  Yeah, the Jaguars were the shiznit back in the day...

[Ralph W]

You guys should have had the privilege of playing ball 45-50 years ago , as I did. There was no such thing as artificial turf. There was grass - on most of the pitches. Level? Hah! Depending on the location I played, we had sections of the field that held 4 inches of water when it rained, snow late in the season, or 50/50 sand/grass. Semi-pro was the most I was ever beat up, some of the Puerto Rican teams we played in the Air Force would put any pro team to shame. It took an injury in college to cut me off at the knees but after that the best time I had was coaching youth soccer. Those little kids could run your ass off if you were out there in the middle doing your coaching job.

[CityLife]

Hey, that's pretty cool about Eddie Johnson - I didn't know that.  Yeah, the Jaguars were the shiznit back in the day...
[/quote]

Yep, the Jaguars 01's had a couple really, really good players (ODP, National Pool level) from Flagler and Eddie would come up with them occasionally and practice. Pretty sure he guest played with them a few times too. I know their coach told me he was going to when he tried to get me to guest play in a tourney with them. Eddie has turned into a huge bum though. Kid didn't develop at all after the age of 21 and is probably worse now than he was when he was 18.

[Garden guy]

Just one more of the many examples of the wealthy taking advantage of their power and basically telling us all to kiss his ass...sounds like a typical goodole boy republican to me....

[danno]

Eddie was on loan to the team I support in England.  Preston North End FC, I lived there for 6 years.  

He was there for a few months and had a good run.

[CityLife]

Eddie started 15 games for Preston and didn't score a goal. That is pretty awful for a forward. Especially in the 2nd Division. He also hasn't scored in 19 appearances for Fulham.

He's had a very disappointing career for someone who was starting on the national team at 20 and was a phenom in his teens. Heck I quit soccer because I thought I'd never have a chance of making it in the pros having to compete with guys like him. Wish I had known he wouldn't improve at all.

[danno]

Preston had a crap side this year.  I saw him play in person 4 times for Preston and he got zero service.  But this thread isn't about Eddie.