Hello Flyers!
We had a couple of weeks since the last update. All of our teams have seen a lot of action. We all need to thank Sam Gordon (father of Jon and Rebecca Gordon) for capturing some awesome moments in our kids games!!! Thanks!!
Here is a short recap of the last two weeks:
Academy: The academy team traveled to Lexington on Sept 21. Playing against LFC provided a challenge for all of our players. We won a couple of games and stayed close in the others. Coach Barnes found some areas that the team needs to work on. Player assignments and positioning on the defensive 1/3 of the field is difficult for young players. When an opponent is attacking, the instinct is to get the ball away. That is a good instinct, but usually only one of our players needs to do it. The other players need to cover. Coach Barnes will be working on the defensive aspect of the game in preparation for this week’s play date in Richmond. They will see action at Lake Reba from 11:00-1:00 vs. Adena.
U10 Boys: The U10 boys were in action last weekend at the Battleground Tournament in Franklin, TN. After dropping their first match 2-5, to the eventual tournament Champions, Eagle Express, the boys rallies to win their last two games. They easily handle Arlington ASA in an 11-2 win. Finally, they defeated TN SC with a score of 6-2. These boys demonstrated great ball control and communication. They are still working on player positions and player roles but are slowly turning into a cohesive unit. They also played a couple of strong games this weekend vs. Meade (5-1) and Storm (4-2). The boys are undefeated in KSSL play! Their next game is Oct 13.
U11 Navy: The U11 Navy team participated in the MidFest last weekend in Middletown Ohio. The competition was strong, but the boys held their own. Although we did not come away with a win, they worked hard and didn’t give up. They will play this weekend in Louisville against United.
U11 Gold: The U11 Gold team played three very good teams from TN, MS, and AL in the Battleground Tournament. Our boys fought hard, but did not manage to win a game. They also played vs. Storm on Sunday and came away with a 3-3 draw. They are still undefeated in KSSL play with 3 games to go. If they focus hard, the boys will be the first MUSA premier division team go undefeated and to win a premier league title. Their next game is Oct 19 in Winchester.
U12 Girls: The U12 Girls traveled to Middletown, Ohio last weekend for the MidFest Soccer Classic. The girls faced some stiff competition in the upper division of their age bracket. They came away with a tie and two losses. Not even bovines could keep the U12 ladies out of the win column. Sunday's journey to Louisville proved to be quite frustrating for those that made the trip due to an accident on I-64 west. Apparently, a semi carrying a load of approximately 80 cows overturned and the interstate was shut down for several hours. The players and coaches all had to look for alternate routes into Louisville. The game was supposed to begin at 3:00, but due to the fact that at 3:00 there were only three players present, DCR agreed to allow us to wait for more players to show. We began the game at approximately 3:40, in the rain to boot, and played the first five minutes down a player, playing with our seven that were present versus their eight. The girls held their own and eventually, by the time the first half ended, we had our full roster of 12 players and were sporting a 1-0 lead. Coach Adam Barnes came sprinting in right as the second half was to begin, and took over the job that Coaches Tuttle and Soard were doing admirably! Once we got to full strength, our girls were able to extend their lead and eventually won the game 3-0. Great effort by the parents to not give up in getting the girls to Louisville and great effort by Coach Barnes and the girls in notching another "W." They will have a game against CSC next Sunday.
U13 Boys: The U13 boys were in action last weekend at the Battleground Tournament also. The boys were playing out of a formidable bracket. Their first match was against the #2 rank U12 team from GA. Although they lost the game. They possessed and passed the ball for long periods. The teams second match was against LFC white (KY state runner ups). Once again the boys played with amazing heart and determination, and a bench of only 2 players. After a hard fight and a last minute goal, they fell 1-3. On Sunday, the boys played Collierville to a 3-3 tie. This was a physical battle and a nail biter to the end! The Flyers never stopped fighting and equalized in extra time. All of the boys played with great heart considering we played this tournament with only two subs and opened our tournament play with back to back games against National ranked teams.
This past weekend, the boys played a double header. They dominated both games. They out possessed in both games. Our boys are good! They won the first game and lost the second. This is their first loss of the season. Soccer is an interesting sport. Sometimes the dominant team doesn’t win. Our boys know they are great. We know our boys are great! Their next game is Oct 12 in Spencer County.
About ½ our teams will be taking a break from the high pace of fall soccer in the next couple of weeks. Please remember to get as many touches on a ball as possible. Set a new personal record for juggles. Work on your opposite foot. Develop a good chest stop. . . .There are a lot of individual things we all can be doing to become better players.
Have a great week!