Opening Day

The first day of the session was a great success and there are many people to thank for that. Thanks to Andrea Sipple, Tod and Stacy Kielborth, Tim Cahill, Lori Thomas, Dave Schaffer and Tim Sutter for getting the fields set up for game day. Also my personal thanks to Ben Lighthall, Roz Forshe and Chris Michels for their help in managing the teams. And thanks parents. All of the kids showed up ready to play and all three games were great fun.

U4 I was thrilled with how much of an actual game this turned out to be. The kids were really moving the ball all over the field. Karolyn Lighthall had an especially good game and showed some real toughness and determination. Noah Roach showed some amazing skill and enthusiasm and Jill Riedmatter would have played the whole game if I'd let her.

U6 I feel lucky to have a group of players this strong and I'm hoping that playing together will allow all of them to develop rapidly. Kendall and Kendra, our youngest players, were completely engaged in the game and I see them improving with every game and practice.
It was great to have Ethan back on the team and despite some head gear problems he was in the thick of things all the time.
Kaleb had a breakthrough game in that he had a greater focus and determination to get to the goal than we've seen before. His goalie skills didn't get tested much but he took his opportunity on offense to shine.
Alex's goalie skills did get tested and he showed his quality repeatedly. The dude can play that position! And can he throw it!
Justin was strong in the field with some big kicks and throw-ins, and at least one assist.
Owen had a good game too and showed grace and endurance. He had a lot of shots on goal that were blocked but he did get an assist on one of Nate's goals.
Which brings us to our star, Nate Griffith. This little guy loves the game and he goes at it full tilt, taking on bigger kids and driving the ball right through them.
Great game all around.

U10 This was such a good game with both teams playing really well. I was most impressed with how the kids dealt with the heat. They all showed great toughness. Olivia and Lauren were very impressive despite having been away from the game for a while. Erin was her usual strong self with a pair of goals and an assist on Avery's beautiful goal. Helen had a great game with one especially thrilling drive to the goal. Justin came on strong in the second half with two good attempts. And William has developed into a great (and tireless) player since the last time I coached him.
The stand out player of the game was Maddie Griffith who played her usual energetic midfield despite the heat. Just so you know, Maddie is playing up a division. She could be in U8 but Avery, Erin and Helen couldn't play without her so she had to move up to U10 with them.