Perfect Day.

      Obviously the weather couldn't have been better.   These early Fall days that start out crisp and then finnish warm always feel like a gift.  An Italian girl I knew in college said that days like this were "like champagne".  Exactly.
     Dave and I showed up early as usual and we got the whole field set-up done in time so that we could have some coffee and talk a bit about how the session had gone as the sun rose higher and the refs started arriving for their assignments.   You can't coach more than one team, as Dave and I both do, and not eventually start to know most of the players in the league by name and so we were able to compare notes on which kids had really taken strides and which ones had the same old bad habits;  this kid was getting to be as good with the left as the right; this kid had suddenly found some speed and confidence; that one was still swinging his elbows harder than he could kick the ball; that one was still a goof ball in practice but was clearly in love with the game.  By  quarter till nine it was comfortably warm and players were arriving.  Time to get to work.
      It was a long day.  I coached four games.  I refereed one.  I watched two more games, the championships in our U8 and U11 divisions, and then handed out the awards to the winners.  At the end I felt like it had been as good a day as I could want, both as a Coach and as a league Administrator.  I saw a lot of great soccer and a lot of good sportsmanship and camaraderie both from players and from parents.   And as for my teams... They were great.  Each game had many moments where I could see things the kids had worked hard on in practice suddenly getting put to use on the field.  So many of the kids played their best game ever on this last day, putting together all the pieces we'd worked on throughout the season.  They were brilliant and joyful, the parents were cheering like crazy.  The sun was shinning.  And when it was over I was, honestly, a little giddy.  This day was a gift.  It was like champagne.

   

     In the Thunder game we were short a few players.  Anna was out due to a medical procedure.  Zychik was at a class learning his father's native Russian.  Logan was on a surprise trip to Disney.  Abie was sick.  That meant that the rest of the team had to play some extra minutes and they were up to it.  We have worked at practice on our basic change of direction moves until I'm sure the kids are sick of it but in this game it suddenly became reflexive to many of them and their play was beautiful.  Parker and Mya were especially sharp and made some great moves and some great runs to the goal.  Maddie was solid in goal, as ever.  Molly was all energy and speed.  Juan was all grace.  While I was thrilled with all the kids I have to say that watching Alex and Christian have such good games and be so engaged the whole time was just wonderful.  Thank you Thunder for a great season.  I'm very proud to have had the honor of working with these kids.  They're great players and I hope to see them on the field again soon.

     The Sharks were like a thoroughbred.  Powerful and graceful and in complete command of their capacities.   Here is the real highlight of the game:  I put them on the touch line for their customary warm-up jog.  You know how that frequently goes; I lead and they mostly stay in line and run but there is frequently a pile-up at some point.  On this day I asked them to make the run themselves with Sam E. in lead.  I said "I can trust you, right?"  They ran like Marines they were so disciplined.  That was just amazing and if I were the Coach of the other team I'd have been thinking "Uh, oh."  They have, as a group, gotten to be so attentive and able to execute what Coach Mike and I ask them to do.  On this day I asked the first group in to be sure and move laterally a lot and stay well spread to keep the shooting opportunities open.  Sam E., Jackson and Elizabeth did just that and put in at least four goals in the first few minutes.  Samuel got his goal too by being in his usual perfect position.  He is so smart about getting in the right spot for a rebound or short pass.
     Trey and Jag were both cool-headed and tough in keeper and had great games.  Jag nearly had another goal too.  Diego got one and when he did his fists-up victory run you could hear the crowd going wild.
     When Austin came in I gave him one simple instruction:  don't worry about passing, just dribble and get around them then find the goal.  I wanted to see him get his chance to play in isolation for once and he did not disappoint.  His speed with the ball is crazy and then when he approaches the goal and gets the ball on his right his shot is powerful and sure.
     McKenzie was playing in the thick of things too and had a couple of good turns on the ball.   Then late in the game Luke made a simply brilliant move to recover a ball that was heading out of the other side.  He chased the ball down and without slowing down made a perfect cut to herd it back toward the goal.  He took a few steps dribbling then made a great forward pass that set Sam E. up for an easy goal.
     Sam A. started out in defense for us and was solid with one enormous clearing kick (he was pretty proud of that).  Later he came in as keeper but at that point the rest of the Sharks had the other team so tightly contained that Sam didn't face a single shot.  That was a shame because Jackson had, unprompted, lent Sam his keeper gloves and offered him his shirt.
     One last highlight.  Late in the game Jackson was in as keeper and he made one enormous punt that cleared the half line.  Coach Mike was calling out to him that he had to be sure he had a target on those outlet passes and I was thinking, jeez, he just kicked it halfway down the field, I'm pretty okay with that.  Well, Mike was right to point that out because on the next punt opportunity he got, Jackson actually faked a big kick down the center but then made a delicate little chip to his left to find Elizabeth wide open.  And of course as he's doing this he looks anything but tense.  I was standing close by when he made that move and he looked at me once Elizabeth had the ball and all I could say was "Dude, that was sweet."

     Our U4 Tigers had their best game yet against an opponent that was solid enough to make it an actual game.  I was glad to see Riley, Katie and Chad all make a real effort to get out on the field and play.  Rocco was there too for a few minutes and that's a good step.  Jenna had her best appearance yet and was on the field and in the action a lot.  That girl has got a kick!  Caleb, Austin, Bennett and Hunter were the workhorses for us and they covered most of the minutes.  Austin was making some great runs with the ball and showing off that great ball skill he has.  Hunter has a good sense of how to handle the ball too and was having a great game.  Bennett was the most defensive minded of the group and made some smart runs back into our goal to cover.  I'm really pleased with how quickly this team improved over that last three weeks of the session both in games and at our practices.  They went from being a very disorganized if energetic bunch to being a group that I could count on to show up at practice and actually get a bit of work done and have some fun.  It has been great to work with these kids and I hope they all continue on in soccer.

     The Polar Bears had a break-out game.  In the first quarter we had Ava in at keeper and she was fierce and awesome.  She got herself set in that "crab hands" ready position I try to teach them and she did not come out of it until the quarter ended.  And I don't mean that she kind of froze into that position.  She was really playing the position.  She made some great stops and some fantastic outlet passes.
     Ava's performance in keeper was bookended by Eileen's turn there in the last quarter.  I don't focus too much on Eileen's performance here as she's my own but I have to say that she was having one awesome game in there.  I was as proud as I could be of that girl.  She's tough.
     Ashley was fantastic in offense handling the ball and leading the attack.  She and Carson made some great runs and she was graceful in her control.  Sadie, Micah, Lincoln and Jeremy were all in the mix too, playing with great energy and focus.  Sadie had one good run that I thought would end in a goal for sure.  Landon had a great game too.  Carson was solid in his turn in goal.
     Noah was another of our good keepers in this game and, like Ava, he knows how to really play the position all out with near constant focus and determination.  He was great in the field too playing with speed and energy.  Finally, Mason was a revelation in this game, scoring two goals and barely missing on a third.  On the run that would have been that third goal he was running full out down the field and in controlling the ball he touched it at least twice with is left foot, like there's nothing to it, but when he got to the goal the ball was rolling out to his left.  At that point he forgot that he could use his left and tried to circle the ball so as to have the shot with his right.  Oh, well.  His two goals were beautiful shots and he played for the first time in the U6 division the way he used to play when he dominated the U4.  It was so great to see that break-out for him because Mason is such a good kid and such a fearless, tough player.
     Polar Bears families, thanks for letting Chris and I work with your kids.  We love this game and there is nothing better than sharing it with a bunch of great kids like yours.

     Thanks everyone for the great season.  I hope I see you all again during the indoor season.  Keep playing!