About the Authors: John Fraser and Dirk Moore
John Fraser has a background in soccer that goes back almost forty years to the point when youth soccer was just getting started in the United States. Growing up in upstate New York, outside of Rochester, he was a part of one of the first organized soccer organizations in the U.S called Little Guy Soccer. It was these types of community youth leagues that were started in the 60s that provided the foundation for the explosion of soccer in the US over the last four decades.
John’s high school team won the Western New York Sectional Championship in 1974. John then played for two years at Division III power Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois for Coach Joe Bean, who ranks near the top in total wins in college soccer all time. In his junior and senior years in college, John played for his dad, who was the coach at a top NAIA school in Rochester, Roberts Wesleyan College. In his senior year, 1979, Roberts Wesleyan made it to the NAIA nationals, and John’s dad received numerous Coach of the Year awards.
After college, John moved to Southern California and became involved with the North Huntington Beach Soccer Club and worked with 13-18 year old club players and teams from 1986-1990. He led the North Huntington Beach Terminators to a California State Cup Championship in 1989. During these years, John was also able to learn from a number of great coaches who were involved with the NHB Club. The club produced over fifty Division I players during those years, and a number of them went on to play with the US National and Olympic Teams, and in the MLS and Pro Indoor Leagues.
Dirk Moore was a multiple sport athlete growing up. He played football, basketball, golf, and ran track in high school, but did not play soccer. He had the opportunity to play college football and was invited to walk on for the University of Nebraska football team, but realized the Husker teams of the late 70s and early 80s were going to be fine without him.
After college Dirk took up team handball while living in northern California. If you aren’t familiar with team handball, it is played on a basketball court, the ball is about the size of a volleyball, it is dribbled like a basketball, and you attempt to shoot it into a goal half the size of a soccer goal. It is an extremely physical game like lacrosse except there are no sticks, which is good and no padding, which is bad. Dirk’s club team competed in the national championships held at the US Olympic training facility in Colorado Springs, CO, finishing 6th. Dirk competed against nearly every member of the US 1984 Olympic team.
Dirk has coached football, boys and girls basketball, and softball at the junior high level and co-ed soccer at the U-10 level.
