November 13th, Week Three

The U4 Bluejays had an excellent game with goals coming from every direction. We had goals from Samuel, Ethan (at least two for him), Diego, Dominic, Austin and Eileen. That was Eileen's first ever! Wyatt had a great game too. They all played with great enthusiasm and energy. I was also very impressed with the way the kids were playing spread out on the field. I was trying this week to work with them on being in the right position when they don't have the ball and everyone responded to that very well. You saw Samuel, Dominic and Eileen all have success by positioning themselves to get a shot on goal rather than simply chasing the ball around. That's a big first step for them that will lead to some real team work. There was also a lot of patient ball handling, especially from Ethan, which would explain his goal scoring.
Thanks to the Dressmans for the snack this week. The Estradas have snack next week and our game is at 10:30 (what luxury!) on field B.

The U6 Strawberry Shark Shakes (they keep changing the name)were an unstoppable force this week with the most balanced attack that they've managed yet. Luke and Austin anchored our defense again and did a beautiful job. Sam lead our offense early with some amazingly cool headed ball handling. That seems to be becoming the style of our team as Elizabeth and Jackson seemed determined to try carrying the ball through the other team's defense rather than just blasting the ball. Elizabeth still does have a visciously powerful kick though and she showed it off a few times. Jackson's improvement in ball handling is remarkable and he told me that it is a result of him practicing at home "in the garage". Karolyn and Kendall both had good turns in goal for us. Collin came on strong in the last quarter and definitely saved us a goal on one defensive stop he made. Noah S. was tearing around the field as usual but was definitely showing more of a sense for the field as he ran ahead of his teammates on two occasions looking for a pass. Noah R. capped off the day for us with a beautiful goal from the top of the key. After taking a shot from the right side of the goal Noah continued across the goal to the left and picked-up his own rebound, blasting in a beautiful left-footer that actually curled a bit to find the low corner of the goal. Awesome stuff. If the team's ball handling prowess continues to develop we might want to try another name. Forse possiamo cambiare il nome della squadra di nuovo al Azzuri.



Thanks to Noah R.'s dad, Pat, for the snacks this week. Sam's folks have snack next week and we play at 8:00 AM. I'll be here by 7:30 if anyone cares to show up for some early practice.