What a great night for soccer: absolutely perfect.
The Fury ladies are now in the finals after defeating Washington 1-0. What a game! We sat right beside the Fury coach, so it was educational for all. The environment allows the spectators to follow the match and the players so closely.
The Fury girls are amazing, in skills, speed, team effort, and communications.
An outstanding night.
Update July 29, Big video:
This was the best match of the season. It is not about scoring goals or winning. It is about playing hard and fair. Today almost everyone played hard and fair, and nobody argued with the referee or made calls. Then again, we got the best referee in the league so far.
Mr. Paulo and Misha, the kid who refereed one of our exhibition matches and our tournament (whom I have known and play with since he was 8 years old), are the best referees I have seen in this city. Good referees are the ones you barely notice and don't call attention to themselves. Today's referee is an old (soccer) friend of ours and we even get to speak in Portuguese with him. We had quite a story with him last year in our first match - when he gave us a stern warning right off the bat :-). After the match yesterday when everyone else was gone we were still chatting about how he had to deal with the police at our last match. We won't forget that one forever (if you don't know the story, it was another wacko parent who caused it). (anyone thinks coaching "soccer" is easy?)
GOOD JOB GUYS! THANK YOU.
Great, awesome playing by the boys today, against some really big tough kids (I call these "anti-LTPD teams"). Those who know my history supporting with LTPD would take great pleasure that our much, much smaller, shorter, lighter players managed to beat them. Last night we had 5 2000-born players, on top of our several small 1999 players (small only in physical size - they are giants on the field). Isn't it amazing?
Stars go to everyone today, they all played hard. Gustavo saving a goal near the line with a header; Adamo saving some on the run against kids twice his size; Gabriel fighting for and winning balls; Hunter winning balls and running hard back and forth and on the left side, with blood to show and all; Peter playing amazingly hard;
and so on and on;
in the 2nd half Bonheur was asked to play side by side with V, as two high strikers, and delivered a goal, his 2nd at the U13 level.
Special MVP mentions to Shar for the many saves and for earning his 1st official shutout, and to Venance for several amazing and beautiful passes, and creating the goals. It's lonely up there, and he did his job, with patience and composure.
Olympics soccer matches have already started.
The Canadian women lost their 1st one 2-1, Brazil won 6-0.
* Link to form: (No email responses please)
It is still July and quite early, and we know parents haven't made final plans, but the coaches have bills to pay and registrations to make. Winter registrations
and bookings must be made in the next couple of weeks. There are a number of options available for our players,
and we'd like to know your son's interest. The responses to the form
will determine which activities we'd actually offer.
League Play:
Italy's Il Giorno Fulminante, was literally the lightning day in Ottawa, storms everywhere except when it was time for our practice, when the rain stopped and the sun shone, as it always does for us. The kids had a full practice, then fun at the club house once again. We are so lucky - the only club in town which can offer this.
As I have mentioned several times, the Brazilians (parents and children, and grandparents too) play on Sunday mornings. Maciej attended today and had this to say:
"I played with your fellow Brazilians, they are a fun bunch and the age span is from about 6-7 (little Gabriel) to about 65 (Roberto). That is what football should be all about, Roberto scored with an amazing lob, once Brazilian always Brazilian. At the end I said to Gabriel ‘you play like a Brazilian’ to which he responded ‘I am Brazilian’.
It was very humid today, tough conditions. Keep going and you can do it!
Beautiful canal course to Hogs Back.
As a prize for coming to today's practice, they all got to choose a car for themselves (François and Shar stayed for gk practice and ended up without a car :-( ):
A 3.5Km run today, bike path, river bed, and trail.
Where are they? Did I lose them?Look closely and you'll find them.
