BBQ June 30
Somebody was invited to a formal party!
Hummmmm.
Dylan's blonde jokes:
Mr. Elegance himself:
Water bill: $1,200.00
Video:
Hummmmm.
Dylan's blonde jokes:
Mr. Elegance himself:
Water bill: $1,200.00
Video:
Practice June 30
In today's practice we did a fitness workout and assessment. The players went for a short run of 3.46Km.
Here are the finishing times in order:
- Francois 16:50
- Dylan 17:30
- Peter U12 18:30
- Gustavo 18:52
- Alex 18:53
- Noorullah 20:25
- John 22:30
- Gabriel 22:45
- KPaw 22:50
- Noah 23:10
- Ryan U12 23:13
- Massimo U12 23:15
- Shar 23:37
- Philip 24:10
- Francois 4:51
- Dylan 5:30
- Peter U12 5:20
- Gustavo 5:27
- Alex 5:27
- Noor 5:54
- John 6:30
- Gabriel 6:34
- KPaw 6:35
- Noah 6:41
- Ryan U12 6:42
- Massimo U12 6:43
- Shar 6:49
- Philip 6:59
Congratulations to Francois, amazingly lapped everyone except Dylan. The top three finishers received a small prize (shirts or a vinegar-fueled rocket ship).
This is Gustavo's data, as per GPS (start/stop exact times differ slightly):
Match OISC June 28
Today the coach was hoping to keep quiet and let the kids figure out the game. It was not to be. Sometimes they enter a slow/sleepy mode from which they have to be taken out. The coaches are scratching their heads today, it wasn't a performance to write home about, but in the end they found a way to win.
In the beginning some players were saying that the opponents were in last place or that we had beaten before in the tournament, or whatever. These are dreaded comments. Well, this is what happens.
You always have to play hard and play your best. Regardless of opponents.
On the plus side, it was a solid performance by our back 4, Gustavo, Adamo, John, and Dylan, and very good performances by Shar and Francois. Venance missed a few but still scored 4 goals: he creates things and makes things happen. A shutout for Daniel too, his 1st.
Daniel also played as gk for the U15 on Tuesday and was commended by coach James:
"... it was a game well fought. Daniel played really well. One of the things he has done well is that he communicated precisely and timely with the back 4... Something that my keeper is not doing even at this point. The only thing he has to work a little bit more it is catching. Other than that, I am satisfied with his performance and thanked him for his energy throughout the game".
Today we tried different formations with different players, nothing really worked, with individual exceptions. . The other team was also clogging the field and playing defensively, had a great keeper; it was warm, refereeing was bad, but these are just excuses. A winning team should play hard always, then it does not matter if they win or lose.
This, however, is priceless:
Enjoy this for now, but as you can see there are formidable opponents yet to come late in the season.
Libertadores Cup
While the Euro cup is reaching the final stages, the top soccer event in the world (IMO), the most emotionally charged for sure, is going on in South America: the finals of the Libertadores Cup. Yesterday, leg 1 in Buenos Aires, Boca Juniors vs Corinthians (Argentina vs Brazil).
Romarinho, the "Iluminated One", is subbed in and scored on his 1st touch on the ball, at 40 mins of the 2nd half. Watch the play develop, and how players position themselves (how they play without the ball), and what a lovely touch:
Or if you prefer listen to the Argentinean version :-)
Look for Maradona in the stands!
Fast 5.5K Run
A really fast 5.5Km run with the boys today, and easily talking while running (meaning the runners are in great shape).
Wow!
The coach's heart, pretty good too, low bpms for the speed:
Fitness Report
Only a few players have been going for the weekly 5Km runs, with only Francois, Gustavo, and, to a lesser extent, Trevor having done any meaningful (and fast) runs.
The team's fitness, which was one of our advantages, has declined considerably. This was seen in our run last Saturday when several players were clearly in poor shape and struggling at the end. The coaching suffers as we are forced to take time away from coaching skills to working on their fitness.
Equally important, individually, the player's soccer abilities are also significantly reduced by this lack of fitness and commitment to improving.
Attendance
Only one player remains with a perfect attendance of 100%: Gustavo. Note that Gustavo has been given the option to rest as he is also very active fitness-wise, being involved in multiple sports activities, and doing long runs. He still chose to attend all soccer practices.
These players' commitment to attend practices is very appreciated by the coaches. Thank you.
On the opposite side, 5 players are unfortunately below the minimum 75% attendance. One player even has an attendance record of 55%. These players who do not come to practices do not know how to play on a team, they do not know how the team plays. Their poor attendance affects everyone.
Players signed a code of conduct stating they they must attend a minimum 75% of practices and matches with possible loss of playing privileges as a result.
Club House Practice June 26
It was wet, noisy,... and fun!
Regaining the calories:
The brothers are foosball pros!
Raul/Adamo defeat Stefano/Alex
Raul/Stefano defeat Adamo/Alex
Stefano/Adamo defeat Raul/Alex
Saturday and Sunday Runs
Saturday's 4.3Km run to Mud Lake and the beach:
10K run Sunday AM (59 minutes elapsed, with a 4 minute break)..
Soccer Player Does Piano
This is Victor playing yesterday at the Ottawa Jazz Festival 2012 (Victor plays soccer with us once in a while, summer and winter, and plays soccer in the Kanata Sunday mornings group).
Super Practice June 23
All players attended practice today, except one. Our average attendance is now 82.6% Two players remain at 100% overall attendance.
The fun game ended 5-5 and went to pks, which the white team won handily, excellent refereeing too ;-). A spectacular performance by Shar today, and a cow move applied by Gustavo during the match!
Our new friend big bird was still on the same tree waiting for us. He waited all week for us.
As a player said, lots of "chicks".
Some soccer happened too!
The video, bloopers included:
The races:
Free Fitness Membership for Teens 12 to 17
For the fitness-oriented teen, aged 12 to 17, GoodLife offers a fully free membership to their clubs. This includes fintness classes.
Not bad. Read more here.
P.S. Not a member, and not on commission (it's $0 anyway).
Sign up online, print form and follow instructions.
Love.Futbol; Donations
We can only dream of this in Ottawa.
love.futbol employs an approach they call “Community-Driven Development,”, providing the means and support for communities to engage in and direct their own development projects. The organization supplies the raw materials and technical, project management knowledge to local citizens who build soccer fields for their community. The process itself strengthens the community and the resulting field serves a purpose similar to a city center or a common public space. Both boys and girls of all ages are engaged in play and competition and community members gather around the field to observe, converse and enjoy each other’s company. The community takes pride in the upkeep of the field and surrounding area. It’s easy to imagine the multiplier effect across a wider population and the local environment.
Some kids (perhaps most kids in the world) don't have *any* field, shoes, or even real balls to play.
(note: Xejuyu is in Guatemala)
Please note that I collect used uniforms to donate. If your son has a uniform (shorts, jerseys, socks, cleats) in very good condition and that are too small now, feel free to give it to me and it will be put to very good use by another child (no balls please)
Great Practice and Match June 21
The boys had a number very good experiences today, on an unusual day:
1. they had the opportunity to see the U21 Premier team playing.
2. they played against the U15 Premier team.
3. they played in our new home field
4. they played in two fields on the same day traveling back and forth
5. they exercised democracy
In addition, those who came were awarded a lot of playing time.
Our players voted (themselves only) to go back to FP at 8PM and play against the U15 (an option that had been communicated to the parents that were at FP). I can attest that those who lost the vote played very hard too. This was great, they stuck for each other and followed the team's vote.
The 40 min. match against the U15 was very useful and achieved our goals. The U15 played well and fair. In K'paw's words, this is what he saw on the U15 team:
- the players speed (they were really fast, and most were not big kids)
- they won every single ball
- they passed the ball and they knew where to be
K'paw also said it was not too warm to play (indeed), that is why we had moved the practice to a later time. It was a great fun match with no points to lose. The kids played until dark, just the way it should be.
Kudos to Shar who was outstanding once he went in net and did not get scored on!
Another thing that was great for our kids: No team in our league will be as good as the U15.
In addition, the U15 coach was very grateful as they needed the practice.
An excellent and productive day.
U21 (Philip's brother is the keeper), St. Anthony's won 5-1 vs Royals.
Our fabulous boys:
Vs U15:
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