Saturday June 27:

8 AM vs. Iroquois on Field 2B

2:30 PM vs. Rutland on Field 2B

Sunday June 28:

10 AM vs. Chazy (NY) on Field 7

Please be there 45 minutes prior to game time unless told otherwise.  

...we have one more to go and then two weeks to prepare for our final tournament.

I'm sure those of you who were there last weekend would agree that we played two fantastic games.  It was disappointing to lose to Browns River, but we definitely outplayed them and dominated the game.  They got one lucky breakaway, and we just couldn't seem to find the net because their defense played so far back.  But that's the way it goes sometimes.  I was more than pleased with how the girls played; everything is really coming together now.

Our second game against Burlington just goes to show how much heart our team has.  We trailed twice in that game, but both times the girls kept on fighting and playing as hard as they could.  I thought they played extremely well once again and they absolutely deserved to tie that game, if not win it.  

We have one game left of the regular season on Sunday, and then the Essex United tournament two weeks later.  With the way things are looking now, I think we will do very well in both.   

Some of the players told me they got a chance to watch at least part of the USA vs. Honduras match that was played Saturday night, which is great!  It is always good for kids to see what soccer looks like at the next level to motivate and inspire them.

For those of you that missed the game, or caught it and want to see more, the men will be going to South Africa next week for the "Confederations Cup," which is a bit of a practice World cup for the #1 team in each region.  The USA won a tournament last year to earn them the top spot in the North America/Caribbean region, and so they will be playing the world's greatest teams starting on Monday, June 15.  It will be an incredibly tough tournament as two of the three teams they play are currently ranked as part of the top five teams in the world, including Italy, the last World Cup champions, but it should be fun to watch.

 I have updated the team calendar with these game dates/times in case anyone wants to see them.  They're not at very convenient times, but the girls will be out of school, and you can always tape them!

GO USA! 

It looks we will have a great mix of opponents in Rutland next weekend! We will be playing Mad River's A and B teams, our good friends from Milton (who we played against in 7v7), and Plattsburgh, an always tough club out of New York.  Click on the "Rutland" tab in the games section for the exact schedule. 

Tournaments are never easy, especially when you're not an "A" team, but I am sure this will be a great weekend for everyone and we will gain some important experience and confidence.  Look for more information from me at practice on Monday, and don't forget to turn in your waiver form! (Additional copies of the waiver can be found in the Handouts section)

After thinking about this for months, we are ready to put our mentoring program into action! Starting today, each player will be paired up with a U-16 player who will be their "big sister" for the season.  The older girls will be coming to one practice every other week to work with the girls, encourage them and be a positive role model for our girls to look up to. They will also come to one of our home games to cheer us on, and we will all go to one of their games as well.

Half of the girls will meet their big sister today; the other half will meet them at practice on Monday.  Now it's even more important than ever to let me know ahead of time if anyone will not be at practice so that we don't have our wonderful U16 volunteers show up and not have their little sister there to work with.   

Nothing like this has ever been attempted within the club as far as I know, so this will be a trial experience, but I have confidence that it will be a fantastic experience for everyone.  

The roster is updated with the name of each person's "big sister."  Just click on a player's name to see it.   

Another strong performance against an "A" team behind us...

Despite the score, I think the girls played exceptionally well yesterday.  We started out shaky, but I think that once we got going (and got over the fact that the opponents were so big!) we really played very well.  Our goalkeepers both did a phenomenal job, and really kept us in the game at our weakest moments-- which is the sign of a great and dependable goalie! Our forwards/midfielders also had some beautiful passing combinations toward the end.  (Coach Gratton even told them that they passed better than his U16 team did during their first game!) And our defense did a nice job of containing in the second half, which we have been working on in practice.  

Giving credit where credit is due, I must say the last two goals that Colchester scored were nicely done-- there was no stopping the last one.  I also think their strong kicks are what beat us, but without that, I believe we were the better team.  However, one of the beautiful (and often torturous!) aspects of soccer is that anyone can win on any given day, no matter how weak or how skilled.  

Now on to the jamboree!  I'll see you bright and early at 8 AM!  We will also have a team meeting with players/parents/coaches after the  first game. 

What a game we had last weekend!  It's always tough to be prepared for your first game-- especially when you're playing up-- and I thought the girls handled it fantastically.  We played a pretty good team, but the girls worked well together and did a great job considering the circumstances. Most teams would have given up when they were down by three goals, but they really pulled together and worked hard through the full time as evidenced by that well deserved goal right at the end.  

 We still have a lot of work to do and a long way to go as a team, but a lot of good stuff came out of that game.  I now have a much better idea of where everyone can best help the team on the field, and the girls proved to themselves that they were capable of playing with an "A" team-- after all, we did score two goals against Middlebury! 

 And of course, my apologies for being so late to the game!  At least we all know now that Andrea is terrible with directions!!! Thank you SOOOOO much to Mark Scribner for covering for me at the last minute.   

We have THREE games this week (Friday @ 5 against Colchester and two games Sunday morning for the jamboree. Check the calendar and updated directions to Colchester.) so we should have lots of opportunity to continue to improve! 

 Finally, I hope to make a special announcement this weekend, so stay tuned for that! 

I'm very excited to see the girls play in their first outdoor game this weekend!  The game begins at 1:15 PM, players must be there no later than 12:30.  Wear blue, but bring yellow.  Directions to Middlebury Rec Park are here on the site.  Just hit the directions link on the left.  See you there! 

Next week (Thursday 4/30) I am running a training session on goalkeeping with Cheryl Bowers' U-10 girls team.  We will be working on the very basics, so any of the girls on our team who are even slightly interested are welcome to come and work on their goalie skills or learn a little more about the position.  

The practice will be behind Hiawatha school from 5:30-6:45 PM.  Let me know if your daughter is interested in going.   

The jamboree schedule has changed as well.  We are no longer playing Georgia and Milton.  Instead we will be playing two teams that we haven't seen before and won't see again during the regular season: Charlotte and Addison.  The first game has also been changed from 9:30 to 8:30. Calendar and handouts have been updated again.  

For those of you who are new to the club and might not know, the jamboree was originally intended in the past to be  a preseason event so that teams could play together (since most teams don't have the opportunity to play indoor) before the regular season starts.  This year it won't occur until after our first game, but it will be a great opportunity for the players to spend some extra time together and for the coaches to move players around and see where everyone fits best on the field.  

Congratulations to the team for winning a decisive 2-0 game against a mix of Milton's A and B team players and then defeating Georgia in sudden death PKs to win the Nordic Indoor Session III Championship!  Everyone put in their best effort, and the win was well deserved.

We have improved leaps and bounds since our first indoor game, and I know we continue to develop even more when we get outside!  Ironically, we will play both Milton and Georgia again in the Jamboree on May 10.

With the snow nearly gone and the weather getting warmer, now is the time to start thinking about summer!  

As a kid, my favorite part of summer was going to my dad's soccer camp every year.  Now my favorite part of the summer is working at soccer camps!  Soccer camps are a lot of fun, and a great way to keep working on developing skills.  

With that in mind, I have compiled a list of local soccer camps for you all to check out if you are interested.  The list can be found in the "Handouts" section of the site.  Some camps are much more serious and competitive than others while others are a bit more relaxed and more focused on fun, so if you'd like any suggestions or feedback on any of the camps, just ask!

What a great year this is for professional soccer!  I just wanted to alert you of the many, many opportunities there are to catch a game on TV...

Our very own Men's US National Team has already begun its quest to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, which will be held in South Africa next summer, with a 2-0 win against Mexico a few weeks ago.  (Did anyone see it? It was a GREAT game!!!)  They will be playing in nine more qualifiers this year, and I have posted on the team calendar the ones that will occur during our season.  Click on any of the matches to find out what channel you can catch it on TV.  Hopefully you will have a chance to watch at least one game and cheer on the USA!

Women's soccer is also making a comeback this year with the return of the women's professional league-- now called "Women's Professional Soccer" or WPS-- for the first time since 2003.  Starting March 29, you can catch a match every Sunday night on Fox Soccer Channel.  Cheer on on our "local" team, the Boston Breakers, or find your own favorite team to support!

My apologies to those of you who came out to practice Monday only to be turned away when we found the gym was in use for a basketball game!  In order to make up for this mix-up, Essex Alliance is providing us with free gym use for an extra week- which means our indoor schedule will be extended until April 6.  Thanks for being flexible! 

If you need an extra account beyond what I gave you, or you are not a player/parent on this team but would like access to the website, you will need to do the following:

 1. Go to http://www.eteamz.com/login

2.  Create a new account

3. When you are logged in and visit a restricted page on the team site you will be given a form to fill out for me to grant you access.  Please let me know your connection to the team/club.