Soccer, kids and life... A little perspective...

This was a reply I posted on TurfMonster. Basically, I had posted a score of our game on Sunday, and someone, probably someone I know (lol), called me out for being consumed by soccer/TurfMonster/internet/what have you...

I didn't realize I was being this profound, but it sums up a lot about me and my view of life, in general... Enjoy!

whether the dd plays later in life is moot... we both love soccer; we are fans of the sport and she's a big fan of Chelsea, esp. Michael Essien. she also likes the keeper from his home country of Ghana, Richard Kingston who plays on some team in the UK. don't know why, probably from our days with the Tornadoes. whatever happens, we will both have this time to cherish for the rest of our lives. she plays for fun with hopes of playing at higher levels. if it happens, great. if it doesn't she will have given it her best shot and i will support her no matter what. i have an older son who gave up baseball and we moved on. he had just as good a shot at playing at least college ball. it didn't happen; i don't love him any less. it's life and everything happens for a reason... find the value, learn something and move on...

LHGCL Qualifier update...

Crazy weekend of soccer that began with a heartbreaking loss. I say heartbreaking only because the girls played well, but just got tired with only one sub on the bench. My daughter and the other starting mid were beside themselves; they so wanted to play and help their team. Maybe there was a little purpose to putting them on the bench... by the time the game was over, they were asking the coach to let them play the next game! As parents, we had a real decision to make since the next two games were do-or-die situations. We had to weigh the potential risks to our daughters' health versus the reward of winning a couple of games, or at least having a better chance to win, and advancing to the next round of the qualifier. My initial thought was that it wasn't worth the risk, especially with three girls out on trips/vacations. I didn't feel it was right to expect my daughter to risk further injury when those parents knew we were playing this qualifier these two weeks. EVERYONE knows you don't schedule anything for these two weeks! /rant off

As it was, we taped up the injured players, including our daughter, and put them out there as the first subs off the bench. Needless to say, we were a completely different team... well not completely different, just more "complete". More parts and more combinations make us a lot better. It was also a psychological lift for the girls to have the injured players back! We came out and maxed our points by beating the #2 seed in the bracket 3-0. We were supposed to face the #3 team, who are actually leading the bracket, later Sunday evening but weather forced a postponement. We will have to make that up this week but we have a little secret weapon... I'll save that for later! It was both a blessing and a curse to not get to play the second game. Blessing because we can get some rest and the injuries can heal a little more; curse because the girls were really up from that first game of the day and their confidence was very high. I'm sure that the other team is thinking the same thing... The team just has to play their game, learn from their mistakes and get better in the process. Just make it to the second weekend of the qualifier and your chances go from 43% just to advance to 81% to actually qualify for the league!

More to come... GL&HF!

Go Sting!

Tough week...

Tough week of no soccer, since the daughter is injured. The schedule and seedings for this weekends first round of the LHGCL Qualifiying tournament were released Tuesday evening. It's not a bad draw, but it could have been a lot better. They basically seeded us a new team, which it is not.

Wow, I just realized, as I write this, that that may be the problem. WE ARE SEEDED AS A NEW TEAM!!!! Thus, the horrid seeding...

Of course, the daughter is still hurt and we have so few players it may be moot... We were sooooo looking forward to playing the qualifier this weekend.

Another issue that seems to have come up is league participation. Basically there are two leagues to choose from if your team does not make LHGCL, those being Plano Premier League and Arlington Premier League. Based on the way the teams were seeded and participation, it appears that Arlington is not highly thought of. There are only three teams from Arlington trying out for LHGCL this year and the seedings were not very favorable. Of course, if I am right in my previous assessment that we were seeded as NEW team then that makes it less suspect. Even though the team played in Arlington last year, almost half of the team played on teams that played in Plano last year. I don't know how that could have been taken into consideration, but it is fact...

Life is full of lessons, sometimes we just need to find the value...

Weekend soccer update...

After a couple of good weeks of hard practices and a decent scrimmage, this weekend went nothing like we had hoped for. We played well on Friday night, not great, but well, and we were lucky. Then Saturday came and so did the injuries, including my daughter re-injuring her ankle and it's not looking good. The other starting mid-fielder also went down with an ankle injury. We were already down 5-6 players so the rest of the tournament was pretty much a debacle, including a melt-down by our coach after the last game on Saturday night; an event we were not privy to since we were home tending to our daughter's injury.

This weekend is the LHGCL qualifying tournament and we will not have very many of the girls back. I think we will have 12-13 girls again for the most important tournament of the year. It is an opportunity for the rest of the girls to step up and make things happen for themselves and their team. We can only hope that they pull through. Two girls on crutches, three girls out of town... doesn't really look all that good right now. All we can do is hope for the best and trust that everything happens for a reason.

GL&HF Sting West 94!

Very good week of soccer...

My daughter's new team (Sting needs to update these web-sites, BAAAD...) has been going through two-a-days for the last week and we just had our first scrimmage on Saturday. The team is coming along nicely and the girls are working hard with little complaint, other than the aches and pains associated with a lot of physical work. This week we prepare for the Puma Cup tournament. Then the real work begins as we look to qualify for LHGCL... that's when the real season starts!

One of the things you should look for in a team is parental commitment and involvement. As girls get older, you should also look at accountability and level of commitment from the child. This team has demonstrated that the families and the girls are all very committed and that's refreshing. Our last team had commitment, but only to a certain degree... in other words, as long as it didn't interfere with this family/social activity or that family/social activity it was ok. I realize we all have obligations and lives outside of soccer, but if you're paying for the "privilege" to play select soccer, you better realize there are some of us who are, relatively speaking, "paying" more than you. We want to get the most out of the time that we can.

Although we didn't "win" our scrimmage, I think we surprised the opponent because our talent level has increased dramatically from the last time they saw this team. Actually, a lot of our girls, including my daughter had worked with that team earlier this summer. As I mentioned then, they turned away a ton of talent and a lot of it ended up on our new team. Funny how things tend to work out. I think I've said that before...

Quaking in my boots...

I play Quake 3... my wife would say I play too much, but it's really the ONLY game I play on the computer. I would say that there was a time that I played a lot of different computer games, but honestly, I haven't bought a new game for myself in over a year and that was Quake 4 and before that Doom 3. Here's the deal: Quake 3 is over 7 years old! There have been updates, but mostly those were cosmetic. The basic game-play has remained the same for all these years and it's still fun and exciting! Of course, it probably helps that Quake 4 pretty much sucked...

There is small, but dedicated community of players still playing this game and every night there is always a couple of servers that are hosting several players. I have actually met a few of these people in real life in my travels about the country for my company. That's always an interesting time when meet people you only know through a game.

There are not many games that are still being played, loyally, seven years later. That has to account for something when the various gaming mags go looking for the "Top xx Games of all Time" articles. I have seen Quake 3 show up in these articles from time to time, but I just don't think it has received the recognition it deserves for it's longevity. A lot of that is owed to the Quake 3 community that continues to play the game despite it's age. In that vein, here's a bit of a shout out to some of the diehards:

• Harley and Joker
• The Ohio connection - UncleSid, RogerX, Kroy, Chasin
• Crazy Canucks - Spl1ff, RoadRunner, Wammo!, BL
• Spook, Doc, King, Potz
  
• Jub and Galvy
• Requiem and Ace
  
• Diz, PunkPrincess, Maiko, Panda
• Krim, Bob, Ensign Hermanator
  
• and so many, many more...

As usual, GL&HF!!!!

Superstar! UT-ex Young loosening up Titans

A star in the making... no, wait a SUPERSTAR in the making. Vince (heh, like I know him...) has what it takes to be the next superstar in the NFL. Move over LT, step aside Payton Manning... there's a new sheriff in town.













Now if they could just get him some more help... but that's a different story!

UT-ex Young loosening up Titans | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | SportsDay: Colleges: Texas

5, no wait, 6 things to do or be aware of on your new team

Well, you've made the big switch and your child is on a new soccer team. Now what?

If you've been following my blog, you know I have been chronicling our decision to find a new home for my DD (darling daughter, in turfmonster.com speak) here, here, here, again here... And finally here... I started this series of somewhat related articles with this article on decisions to make about leaving a team and looking for a new team. And you know we now have a new home with Sting West 94. The search is over, but the journey is just beginning.

I would like to continue this series with list of things to do and look out for once your child and you are settled in to your new team and you can be ready for the "Now what?"

Keep in mind these should apply, for the most part, to both you and your child. So here goes:

1. Be prepared for anything.
   By this I mean, you and your child should be prepared for any and all requests that come your way. Whether the request is to do extra fitness work or volunteering, be prepared.
2. No cliques
   If your child is joining a team with other players from a previous team, make sure that he or she understands that there can be no "us and them" mentality. This is especially true with girls. Make sure that the friendships are spread amongst old and new players. It's also very incumbent on the old players to make the new players feel welcome. Whatever happens, in the end it's still a team and it will live and die by being a "TEAM".
3. Be flexible and open-minded
   Your child may be a stellar forward, but the needs of the team are at midfield. Be prepared to make that change in position because different coaches see different talents in players. Oftentimes the needs of the team will outweigh the needs of the individual. Also, keep in mind that a versatile player can be more valuable than a player that is "tied" to a position.
4. Be fit
   This should go without saying, but if your looking to qualify for the top league, in our case Lake Highlands Girls Classic League, the season starts very quickly. If your not committed by now to being in shape and ready to start a season, then it may be too late to help your team.
5. Be focused
   We all want lives and soccer should only be a part of it, but during training times, soccer should be the ONLY focus. There's a time and a place for everything else. Use the practice time wisely and efficiently. As parents, it is your duty to remind your child to stay focused and in tune with the coach and team during practices. Try to keep distractions to a minimum.
6. Finally, have fun!
   If you can't have some fun, then it's probably not worth doing. Parents have a tendency to take the fun out of things and soccer parents are no different. Ask your child if they are having fun. If the answer is no, maybe it's you. Don't be too proud. I see it everyday, you probably have, too. The overbearing parent can be a detriment to the child AND the team. Don't let it be you!

Well, I hope this was insightful and you find it helpful and useful. Please feel free to comment!

As usual, GL&HF!

Blog Drive-Bys for 2007-07-04 - Untwisted Vortex

RT, over at Untwisted Vortex listed me in his "Blog Drive-Bys" for today. I am honored and appreciate the nod!

Get on over to RT's site and see the other sites he has listed in his drive-by!

Blog Drive-Bys for 2007-07-04 - Untwisted Vortex

Happy 4th! Hope it's dry where you live...

When did we move to Seattle? The rain just will not stop... and when you're not used to it being this rainy, it can be a real pain. It's not like when it snows here, when EVERYTHING just plain shuts down, but it sure puts a damper on outdoor activities. But most celebrations are going forward, rain or shine. So hopefully, we will get out and see some fireworks this evening! Hope you do, too!

What is this... birthday 231? or something like that? It's too bad our best years are behind us... or so the pundits would like us to believe... Oh, well, I really don't see anyone else stepping up to be #1, except for the outside possibility of China. But can you really take a country seriously, that still has third-world tendencies? Maybe they win by sheer numbers... Besides, they had their chance back when the world was a much smaller place!

Well, GL & HF!

And so it ends... finally... and the rain has NOT stopped!

My daughter finally came to a decision yesterday, and we have decided that Sting West 94G is the team of her choice. Wow, this has been an experience. Often disappointing, but inevitably rewarding as she made some new friends and is going to play with some new and old friends. So it's been a positive experience for her. Although, I felt that either club was a good choice, I was leaning more towards FT. Worth FC Red for various reasons. But it was her decision and I have tried to make things like that for her.

I want her to be responsible and accountable for the decisions she makes for herself. All I did was provide her with information and guidance. I truly believe that the problems we have with kids these days is that we don't let them make real decisions and we don't hold them accountable for those decisions they do make. We have made it too easy for them to fail and no consequences for failing. All too often I see parents blame the schools, the teachers, the coaches, the team, the whatever and never hold their own accountable for their actions. I have always tried to see it the other way around with my kids and I think it has worked... Not always to my liking, but at least the kids know that mommy and daddy won't clean up their messes!

Good luck to all you family's still seeking a team for your kids... things have a way of workiing out for the best!

(and don't forget to have fun!)