Tri-Cities girls soccer team meets World Cup players

A good girls soccer team has plenty of opportunities to enter and possibly win a tournament. But how often would those players have a chance to meet and chat with members of our USA World Cup championship team?

That was the equation facing Victory United Storm Premier coach Jeff Williams of the Tri-Cities Soccer Association.

As his team made its way to the final playoff rounds of an indoor soccer league in Naperville, he was corresponding with the agent of World Cup goalie Hope Solo and forward Christen Press to check on the availability of the players, who were scheduled to appear March 18 at the Fanatics Authentic Sports Spectacular in Rosemont.

Hoping the players could somehow meet these super stars, Williams finally got it set up - for the same time the team was to play in Naperville.

He chatted with some of his players and it became clear they were willing to forfeit the tournament for a chance to see their heroes.

"Those players really made an effort to spend time with our girls, and Hope Solo even said she would try to come see one of our games if her club was playing in this area," said Williams, who has coached in the Tri-Cities Soccer Association for 11 years.

He took his players from the 12 and under and 14 and under squads, but it was the 12 and under team that let the tournament championship wait for another day.

The experience was "way above and beyond" what the team was expecting, said Williams, who had two daughters among the group.

"We were hoping to catch a glance of the World Cup players, but when they heard we had given up the tournament, they spent 15 or more minutes with the girls, trying to get to know each player."

It's just nostalgic:

The news about the Kohl's store in Charlestowne Mall closing soon didn't affect me. My wife takes me to Kohl's in Batavia when she has a purse or smartphone full of coupons. So that works for us.

And the closing in St. Charles also doesn't bother me from the standpoint of seeing another spot in the near-empty mall going dark. It's been "dead mall walking" over there for many years now.

Other than hating to see people lose jobs when retail sites close, it's really just about nostalgia for me.

My family spent a fair amount of time in that mall during its best days, and I rang the Salvation Army bell just outside the Kohl's indoor entrance during the holidays for at least 15 years.

Plenty of smiling people lugging shopping bags would stop and plunk a few dollars into the red Salvation Army bucket.

The fellows envisioning some sort of resurrection on the mall property put a positive spin on it, saying it now gives them the opportunity to move forward with some plans that Kohl's was somehow making impossible.

Think of the perplexed face of Stan Laurel when he was confused about something. That's my reaction when hearing about redevelopment of the mall.

A quick reopening:

It's always been one of the busiest gas stations in the area, so it seemed odd to see the large Citgo station at the corner of Fabyan Parkway and Route 25 closed for a short time.

The station reopened under new ownership last week. Regardless of what was troubling the past owners of this station, most have a key challenge next year as they have until 2017 to convert their pumps to accept the new EMV chip credit cards or else become liable for fraudulent transactions at their stations. It's a costly endeavor some won't want to undertake.

That disposable income:

When we see businesses close, we ask a simple question: If the economy has really been better, and many indicators say it has, why are places still closing?

My theory? Consumers may have some disposable income, but that money is going into $600-plus smartphones every year or two, or into covering what everyone seems to also have now - a really high deductible on insurance policies.

That's all money that used to go to other stuff, like clothes and food and going out to eat. So what's closing in the meantime? Department stores, grocery stores and restaurants.

Don't miss this"

If you haven't had a chance to catch "West Side Story" at the Paramount Theatre, you have until April 24 to do so.

We saw this great play last week. It is no surprise that Daily Herald entertainment writer Barbara Vitello gave it four stars in her recent review.

It's a much different take on the modern "Romeo & Juliet" tale than, say, the 1961 movie version. But, hey, that movie was good enough to nab Best Picture honors that year.

The key difference is when someone gets hit or cut with a knife from a rival gang member in this play, there is plenty of blood shed.

But the soundtrack remains the same and sticks with you, especially when excellent leads Zoe Nadal as "Maria" and Will Skrip as "Tony" belt out "Tonight."

dheun@sbcglobal.net