Summertime!

Hope everyone has a fantastic summer!

Keep checking the website for updates and we'll see you on the turf in August.

Great Game! Great Party!

What a great end to our spring league season. A spirited performance against a very talented select team and then a pleasant afternoon on the beach - all under clear skies and warm weather!

After watching the morning game between WCA and Langley I was a little apprehensive about how the girls would respond to Langley's physical play and fitness levels. I was also concerned about numbers, as I knew we would be missing Paige, Mia and Leanne from the regular Monster's line-up. As it was Olivia, Monique, Chloe and Sophie offered to play an extra game Sunday so that eased my concerns about players tiring in the midday sun. We had plenty of subs and I knew we would make use of them.

Then it became a question as to whether the Monster's could compete with our guests for seventy-five minutes. The answer to that was a resounding "yes".

We had a rocky first couple of minutes, but after that I thought we were the better team throughout. Our commitment to getting to the ball first was excellent, our decision making was good, we showed good patience when defending and we kept our shape very well. In fact many of you had your best games of the season against the very best team we played over the twelve games. That speaks volumes about your ability to raise your game - something we'll be looking for more of during fall-winter soccer.

Their two goals were of our own making - classic examples of poor-decision making which is natural for 11 and 12 year old soccer players. But when I look back, they were probably our only two real mistakes over the entire game. Beside their goals I cant remember any shots on our goal and I think the worst was when Margaret and Emma clashing knees and heads in the first-half.

At the other end of the field we definitely out-chanced them and 2-2 was the least we deserved. Both Chloe and Leah hit strong, low shots to the bottom corner that gave their goalie no chance. And in-between our goals, Annabel, Olivia, Marissa and Lily all had efforts saved or blocked where a goal looked likely.

In the midfield trenches I thought Leah and Lily both brought their "A" game. Leah in particular who seemed to be everywhere and thoroughly deserved her game-tying goal.

However being the soccer geek that I am, I was most pleased with one play in the second-half.

Our striker received the ball with her back to goal about half-way up the pitch. They then played the ball the way they were facing to our midfielder, who then passed back to our sweeper, who then controlled, moved the ball across her body and passed to her left defender who then passed upfield to the left forward, who then turned and fed a cross into the striker for a shot on goal. We didn't score a goal, but we kept possession, we kept play simple and kept the ball on the ground. No hit and chase, no panic, just good decision-making and movement off the ball. Awesome stuff!

So well done to the Monster's and a big thank you to Chloe, Monique and Sophie.

Now I hope that everyone gets a good month's rest and comes back raring to go in August. For those of you not quite ready to hang up the boots, WCA has a couple of excellent sessions in July for the very, very motivated. I believe Lily and Emma have already registered for another round of punishment but there's always room for more :)

See everyone in August!

Monster's End

A 4-1 thrashing of Sky Blue ends the spring league season for another year. Goals from Paige (2), Lily and Annabel seals our fourth win in a row and sixth overall. Overall our league record ends with 6 wins and 4 losses, with 22 goals for and 19 against. Not a bad record considering we were often playing against older players and trying to gel as a team at the same time. Paige takes home the Golden Boot as leading scorer with seven goals.

We certainly came a long way from our first game against Royal's where we looked disjointed and confused. That was probably the only game where we were outplayed and out-thought. Otherwise I felt we dominated most of our games, and our only real struggle was converting chances into goals. I can remember a number of games (Reds, Silver and Black) where we could have easily had 6 or 7 goals, but had to settle for one or two. And many of the games we lost could have easily gone the other way had we scored on even half the chances we had.

Defensively we were pretty solid, especially after the midway point of the season. We shipped 14 goals in our first five games - 5 in the last five. This may have had something to do with players coming to understand the "system" and the fact we became more comfortable playing with each other (that's the "team" part). However I also think each of you became better players individually. In particular I thought you all became more accustomed to the speed and the bounce of the ball on turf, something that should really help when we start playing U13 games on the new turf at Lochside Park.

In fact many of our games next season are going to be turf from as Gordon Head, Lakehill and Prospect lake will all have turf fields for next season. That is going to be way cool!

One more exhibition game to come and then the beach party. See you first at Finlayson Turf on Sunday. Kick-off is 12:30.

2008-09 U13G Team Formation

Thanks to all the girls for their attendance and efforts at assessments this past Thursday and Monday.

Players are reminded that they will be receiving a phone call over the next 7-10 days advising them which team they will be assigned to. Shortly afterward they will be contacted by their coach regarding practice schedule leading into next season.

In the meantime players or parents can call or email me if they have any questions.

For girls selected to the U13G Storm, practices are scheduled to begin the second week of August (11-15), location TBA. Tentative plans for August also include exhibition games and a tournament the Labour Day weekend. League play is expected to begin September 6.

Game vs. Langley Academy U11

Just a reminder to be at Finlayson Park for Noon next Sunday. Kick-off will be about 12:30.

You might want to come a bit early to scout the opposition as they play the World Cups Academy at 10:30. The WCA includes fellow Stormer's Holly and Kristina, as well as Emma and Lily.

This is a select team so the competition should be stiff!

Second Assessment Date - June 16

Good work-out tonight ladies! Everyone came with an excellent attitude and it was cool to see how much you've improved since the end of the winter season. Now if we could only do something about that goat pasture the school district calls a soccer field! No matter, we'll have turf soon enough.

A gentle reminder that we have scheduled another session for Monday June 16, 6-7pm at Claremont Secondary. This replaces the session that was cancelled this past Monday. All 1996 and 1997 players are invited to attend.

We're also on the lookout for more soccer players. So if you know any Grade 6 or Grade 7 girls who might be interested in playing soccer, let them know they're welcome at Cordova Bay. And remember that anyone who recruits a new player gets $20 off any club gear (e.g. t-shirts, hoodies, track suits, etc.). Cool huh?

June 22nd Game

A slight change to plans for our Beach Party on June 22.

We now have a game 12:30pm @ Finlayson Turf against Langley Academy U11. After our game is finished we will head straight for Parker Park for the beach party.

Please let me know if you cannot attend the game and/or party.

Rockem, Sockem Soccer!

Did any of you play with toys like this when you were younger? Perhaps some of you had older brothers or even dad's that did? If so, don't you agree tonight's game left you with the feeling like you just finished a boxing-match? That wasn't one for the faint-of-heart, that's for sure! I also can't recall a game where so much of the play was along the boards with players holding onto the fence and kicking for dear life!

OK, I'm guessing (and hoping) not many of you have actually been in a boxing match, but that's how it seemed to me. Two of the best Spring League teams having a good go at each other - a "grudge" match!

We didn't play much "football" tonight, but it was never going to be one for the purists when you put sixteen players on a field as small as "The Cage". The Royals are a fast, physical team, and we rarely got more than a nanosecond on the ball all game. But we matched their physical play and won more than our share of 50/50 challenges, which is what playing in the cage is all about. Getting to the ball first, winning the ball, moving the ball and getting forward.

The Cage is always an exciting game, but so is our team scoring race! With two goals each tonight, both Marissa and Lily move within touching distance of team leader Paige. Looks like next week's game vs Sky Blue will determine who takes home the Golden Boot as scoring champion. And still one more opportunity for several others (not naming names) to get their first of the season.

No POG tonight (not again!!!!) as play was far too frantic and I spent far too much time substituting players on and off. Still, there wasn't a weak performance on view so everyone should be very happy with their contributions to the win. And thanks to Olivia for her guest appearance. And remember Olivia, no goals = no appearance money!

PS. Paige, I actually wont have a Golden Boot to give away so don't obsess about it :-)

Summer Soccer Camps

There are a wide variety of soccer camps available to choose from this summer. Here's a sample of the summer soccer camps available in July & August:

• World Cups Academy; July 14-18 Gold-level only featuring Jorge Raffo (professional coach from Argentina).
• World Cups Academy; July 28-Aug1 @ Royal Oak Middle School
• World Cups Academy; Aug 11-15 Girls Elite @ Finlayson Park

In addition both Soccertron and University of Victoria offer excellent soccer programs.

For more information on these programs please consult the links on the right side of the blog.

Any players anticipating trying-out for a Gold team should consider attending one of these camps. Gold team evaluations will be conducted in mid to late August.

Busy Week of Soccer!

A busy week of soccer for the girls. 2008-09 player assessments are Monday and Thursday, 6-7pm at Claremont School and Tuesday is our next-to-last Spring League game - 7pm in The Cage. Let's hope we get some summer weather - soon!

Beach Party!

Our annual season-end Beach Party is planned for Sunday June 22nd, 1pm at Parker Park (end of Parker Road). All Storm, Hornets, and Monsters players are invited to attend.

Drinks and hot dogs will be provided by your hosts. Please bring munchies and treats to share with everyone.

Please let me know by next Tuesday if you're able to attend. I'm told we may even have some trophies and other goodies to hand out!

Monsters 1 Whites 0

A good team performance combined with Leanne's second goal of the season was enough to seal our second consecutive 1-0 win. It was a bit scrappy, but I thought our commitment in the tackle was pretty good and I saw flashes of the pass and move game I want us to play. I also heard you talking to each other more, and that's awesome. When we keep our play simple, do our jobs defensively and communicate with each other, we are a very hard team to beat. Overall I would give our team efforts a 7 and our opposition a 3 on a scale of 1-10.

Once again there were no shortage of candidates for POG. This time I'll plunk for Lily and Paige, with honourable mentions going to Leah, Annabel and Leanne (I'm in a generous mood :-) Lily and Paige have both been doing extra soccer this spring, Lily with Brett Hyslop's Academy Team and Paige with the Island BC Summer Games Team, and it shows in how they read the game, their positional play and their fitness levels. Leah, Annabel and Leanne also had strong games - winning and keeping possession of the ball and making the correct decision more times than not.

Next up are the Royals, the team we lost to 3-0 in our first game. I'm sure if we come-out with the same attitude and commitment we've shown in our last couple of games we'll continue on our winning streak. Game time is Tuesday 7pm in the Cage.