Well, sorry for the long, long lag in work here. I've been a busy beaver. Soccer took a lot out of me this time around. I started coaching the regular fall season in August and having a very successful season, decided to coach All-Stars which just ended a week ago. That's a lot of friggin soccer. My regular team, the Panthers, had a great run. We only lost 1 of ten games before play-offs. Our 1st playoff game was against a team that we had played twice in regular season. Once was a 1-0 win and the second time was a tie, 1-1. This team was great, we were nervous... we played a whole game with 0-0 score. Overtime, still no score, penalty kicks. We scored one more than them and won. This meant we would move on to play 2 more teams before semi-finals. We won our game 5-1 and then played the championship game and won that 6-1. It was epic. We took the championship title and went on to play in the Area play tournament that included 9 cities. We placed 3rd, again going into overtime and penalty kicks. It was pretty awesome and unfortunately we lost to a Santa Barbara team so the 1st and 2nd place teams went on to the state tournament, both Santa Barbara teams... not a fan of Santa Barbara's soccer... I have decided to win again this season and give them a good beating. If it's meant to be.
I coached an All-Star team for the 1st time ever and it was all the work and time dedication I expected it to be but was so worth it. We didn't play incredibly strong but we did take home a 1st place trophy in our very first tournament. It was a "sportsmanship" tournament so winning games and scoring goals wasn't important. How your team, coaches and parents treated the opposing team was the way to win. We got our full point potential for every game we played and the referee's loved us. It was quite an honor to have a representative come up to me after our last game and pull me aside to give me the good news. That particular game will live in my mind forever... we had tied our 1st game, lost game 2, lost game 3 and the 4th game wasn't looking very promising. My assistant coach and his son, my goalkeeper, had a Chargers game to go to so I was short him and 1 other player. The other team was Beverly Hills and they were huge, watching them warm up had us all very nervous. We all kept joking that they probably had personal trainers for each player and their coach was a professional hired by all the "Ritchie Rich" parents. These U12 boys looked like they were U21, they had beards. There was a game on the field we needed to play on so we really had only a couple of minutes to get ready, all my boys had just come from lunch so we were all sluggish. My keeper was out so I had to put my own son in the box for the 1st half, he's not usually a goalie so he was very intimidated. The first goal hit that net like a torpedo, second shot bounced of the post but literally shook the ground. My kid looked like he was gonna either shit his pants or turn and run. It was awful, he didn't cry though, he stood there and tried to stop these gargantuan boys from taking his head off with a soccer ball. By half time, we were down 0-3. All the my kid's dads (who are all coaches, their kids were picked by me and my assistant during the regular season) stood behind me mumbling about what I should do and how I need to reposition etc, etc... I had to finally turn around and tell them to let me coach because here, it's my job. It was pretty stressful. We were getting pummeled. The boys were looking very defeated, every time they got the ball, someone stole it back, the other team had code words and secret plays, it was obvious that they had played together for years (I later found out, they are an "extra" team and have played together for numerous seasons). 1/2 time speech I knew I had to make some changes and give some sound advice. I put one kid on #14 (I'm pretty sure this kid drove himself to the game), and pulled another boy back to protect the keeper, pulled my son out of the box and replaced him with another goalie. I let these boys know that no matter what happens, they have the power to win if they try really hard and don't let the missed shots drag them down. My assistant always tells them that 90% of the game is in your head and if you can keep your head in the game, you can do anything. We rallied the team, one of my boys got a goal and that was all we needed. This other team thought they were gonna beat us bad but we got in their head and shook 'em up with that 1st goal in the 2nd half. I'm not exactly sure what I said on that 1/2 time break but I know that I got them going and I let them know how proud I was of them and how confident I was in their ability to shut this team down and not let them score any more. They came out onto that field looking like rock stars. They were passing, communicating and making spectacular plays. I called out to Nick, one of my players, asked him if he was tired and wanted to sit out. He said no, he was fine and I promptly ordered him to score one more and BAM! He turned around and shot one in like a rocket! The boys started getting pumped up, the parents started cheering. I ran up and down the sidelines and started shouting out at them! It was awesome! Third quarter started and we were still losing 2-3. We were still keeping the ball on the right side of the field and still holding them back. Finally we were down to the last few minutes and there was a foul called almost to the half line. We were awarded a free kick. It was in a spot that was almost impossible for anyone to make. Off to the side, too far really to go right in with power and the kicker would have to be very talented to make this shot. We, luckily, had one of those types of kids. I shouted out to let David kick it. We held our breath, ref backed up, David backed up and in slow motion (or so it seemed), he shot that friggin ball right into the goal!! I think I had a small heart attack, the parents behind me screamed and jumped up and down and we had this "elite" super human team tied, we tried our best to get one more for the win but the ref blew the whistle and we ended in a tie. It was one of my proudest moments as a coach, my boys ran off the field and we all cheered and I think I started to get teary eyed. The other team looked like they had no idea what just happened and their coach took off his hat and threw it to the ground. It was both hilarious and sad. Even though we didn't win, I will always remember that game as a perfect example of why you never, ever give up. Fight on until the whistle blows because you never know what your capable of until you are put to the challenge.
After the game a lady whispered in my ear that we were to meet in another location to receive our trophy and medal for placing 1st in sportsmanship. She asked me not to say anything because it was supposed to be sort of private to not make any of the other teams feel bad about not winning (that is crazy if you ask me because I want everyone to know I'm a winner). We drove a few parks away and were presented with a trophy and medals for the boys. Some teams were still playing but based on our perfect score for sportsmanship, no other team was even close to winning. Very cool. We went on to place 2nd in a Lompoc tournament and 2nd in an unofficial mini tourney and unfortunately didn't get to go on to state because we lost in penalty kicks for one of our last tournaments. I ended up having 4 games decided on penalty kicks last season. 2 from regular and 2 from All-Stars. That is also a VERY stressful situation to be in, we won 2 out of those so hopefully, this season, we will win them all. Those are a result of again, not giving up. Holding some of these teams to a tie is sometimes all you can do when they are bigger and more skilled. I am truly happy when I am coaching and enjoy every stressful minute of it. Spring this season was also fun and the 3 months when I'm not coaching always turns into anxiety as I wait to see who I get to influence in the new season. I'm not exactly politically correct and I sometimes set a bad example by swearing or saying slightly inappropriate things when I'm angry but I know for a fact that I make a positive impact on these boys and I love them all as if they were my own. Trying to get 10-12 boys to listen and behave is not an easy task but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I am very lucky and very thankful.
oh and i'm getting old so i have to post this shit in a bigger font... sorry about that...
