Carli Lloyds path to coach James Galanis started with a humble plea from her dad: My daughter needs you.It was 2003 and Lloyd was having what could best be described as a career crisis. A talented midfielder who had excelled since she was 5, shed been cut from the under-21 U.S. national team. She decided to play out her senior year at Rutgers and then move on from soccer.Then she met Galanis. In the 13 years since, hes been her coach, mentor and even psychologist as shes risen to the top of the game.So after Lloyd scored her hat trick to lead the United States to victory last summer in the Womens World Cup final, she thanked Galanis. When she was named FIFA World Player of the Year in January, she thanked Galanis.Its his demeanor and his knowledge, and the way he says things. It was just this kind of instant respect that I had for him. He said to me: `This has to become the No. 1 thing in your life, and I was willing to do it, Lloyd said. And from that point on, from the minute we started together, everything that hes asked of me, I would do it every single day and Im still doing it today.Galanis is brutally honest about what he found when he first started working with Lloyd: a gifted player who had been coddled by coaches and who wasnt willing to put in the work to be great.She was just cruising by on her talent, he said. She was so much better than everyone else, but I knew that someday she was going to meet up with the rest of the Carli Lloyds, and because of her inconsistency and her lack of fitness she was in for rejection at some point.Galanis was a player himself back home in Australia. He came to the United States in 1997 and saw potential in training high-level soccer players for professional careers. In 2000, he founded the Universal Soccer Academy in Lumberton, New Jersey.James told my dad, `Look, Im going to train your daughter for free. Im going to get her on the national team. And all I ask in return is that she be as dedicated as she can be, Lloyd said. That was it.Galanis employs what he calls the Five Pillars: physical power, mental toughness, character, technical skills and tactical awareness.Both Lloyd and Galanis acknowledge the mental piece was one of the biggest obstacles, but she dutifully attacked the tasks he gave her.She sees that Im there for her. She sees that Im always working to make her better, Galanis said. And I see that shes fully dedicated and shes all in 110 percent with this. We both respect each other and support each other. So, yes, we know its special. And we knew it was special right from the beginning.Lloyds success wasnt magic; it was both a process and hard work, Galanis said. There were also setbacks: Lloyd was benched before the 2012 London Games by then-coach Pia Sundhage, who liked the combination of Shannon Boxx and Lauren Holiday in the central midfielder position. The demotion didnt last long, however, because Boxx was injured in the opener.Lloyd started the rest of the way and scored both goals in the gold-medal match against Japan at Wembley Stadium. Shes the only player to score winning goals in consecutive Olympic finals: At the Beijing Games in 2008, she scored in overtime for a 1-0 victory against Brazil.Her biggest moment came on the games biggest stage. She scored three goals in the first 16 minutes last summer in the World Cup final against Japan in Vancouver. Vice President Joe Biden was among the U.S. fans in attendance.One person who wasnt there was Galanis, who was vacationing with his family in Greece. Lloyds family stays home during big tournaments so she can focus, and likewise Galanis doesnt attend all of them, instead encouraging her from afar with texts and emails. Lloyd called him afterward and he asked what she was doing.Winning World Cups, he recalled her saying nonchalantly.Galanis has worked with other national team players, including goalkeeper Hope Solo and former defender Heather Mitts. More recently he has worked with Yoreli Rincon, a promising 22-year-old midfielder who plays for the Colombia national team.But none has been a full-time job, except Lloyd.After a pair of exhibition matches this month, Lloyd and the rest of the U.S. national team heads team to Brazil for the Olympics, opening with a game against New Zealand on Aug. 3.The United States has the last three gold medals in the sport. No team has won a World Cup then the Olympics in consecutive years.After the Rio Games, Lloyd will marry her high school sweetheart, Brian Hollins. And her book, When Nobody Was Watching: My Hard-Fought Journey to the Top of the Soccer World, which details her relationship with Galanis, is set for release at the end of September.She loves it when something big is sitting there waiting to be taken -- she wants it to be hers, Galanis said. Other people fold under pressure. Carli thrives under pressure. Wholesale NHL Jerseys . Rob Manfred, baseballs chief operating officer, testified last week during the grievance filed by the players union to overturn Rodriguezs 211-game suspension. A person familiar with the hearing, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press on Saturday that Manfred testified the sport wasnt concerned whether Bosch distributed performance-enhancing drugs to minors because MLBs interest was his relationship with players under investigation. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. https://www.chinanhljerseys.us/ .35 million, one-year contract that avoided salary arbitration. Plouffe batted .254 with 14 home runs and 52 RBIs in 477 at-bats last season, his second as a regular in the lineup. Wholesale NHL Jerseys China .C. -- Kemba Walker and the Charlotte Bobcats got off to a fast start, and the Sacramento Kings were never quite able to catch up. Discount NHL Jerseys . Louis Rams wide receiver Stedman Bailey last Sunday. The fine is the fourth this season for Goldson. He was fined $30,000 for a hit on the New York Jets Jeff Cumberland in Week 1. SAN FRANCISCO -- Rookie Ty Blach will seek to avoid becoming the next Salomon Torres in San Francisco Giants lore when he pitches a critical game Saturday against the Los Angeles Dodgers.Torres, then a 21-year-old rookie, was called upon by Giants manager Dusty Baker to pitch the final game of the season in 1993 when San Francisco and the Atlanta Braves were tied for first place.The Los Angeles Dodgers bombed the youngster in 3 1/3 innings of a 12-1 thumping that relegated the Giants to second place at a time when baseball didnt have a wild-card entry into the playoffs.The Giants cant be eliminated from playoff contention Saturday, but itll be up to Blach to help the team retain its one-game edge over the St. Louis Cardinals for the last playoff spot in the National League.The Giants (85-75) will begin the day one game behind the New York Mets (86-74), who currently reside in the top wild-card position. The Cardinals (84-76) need a win Saturday and a Giants loss to forge a tie entering the final day of the regular season.Blach did not respond well to his first major-league start under playoff-race pressure last Sunday in San Diego, allowing two runs, four hits and three walks in three innings in a 4-3 loss.The 25-year-old did shut out the Dodgers in a previous three-inning relief stint, but that was after LA had built a 9-3 lead and was coasting.Giants manager Bruce Bochy has faith in his second-time starter, who got the nod oover more experienced right-hander Albert Suarez.ddddddddddddI have a lot of confidence in Ty, the veteran skipper said. Hell handle this just fine. Hes a tough competitor.Blach will be up against Dodgers ace left-hander Clayton Kershaw, who will be making his final playoff prep.Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pulled his No. 2 starter, Rich Hill, after five innings Friday night, then watched the Giants rally from a 3-2 deficit to win 9-3.Kershaw is attempting to work his way back into top form after having missed 10 weeks with a back injury.The standout has progressed from three innings to five, six and seven in his four starts since returning from the injury on Sept 9. The six-inning start came Sept. 19 against the Giants, a game the Dodgers won 2-1.Kershaw didnt get the win in that game, but nonetheless has posted an 18-7 record and 1.58 ERA in 34 career starts against the Giants.He will have five days off before starting Game 1 of the series against the Nationals.Roberts believes the Dodgers, who clinched the NL West last weekend, are benefiting from playing the Giants on the eve of the postseason.Thats a very good ballclub, he said. They fight, they compete and theyve won. Theyre fighting for their lives over there, so its good for our guys to play a team like that, especially in this environment. ' ' '