Saanich Fusion U16 Girls Gold

Salt Spring Game Cancelled

2012-02-02T11:52:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately Salt Spring has forfeited the game due to a lack of players. Must have been a tough decision for them and I feel for both their players and coaches.

I have a couple of irons in the fire for exhibition games on Saturday afternoon. I hope to have details confirmed this afternoon in time for practice tonight.

Tournament Update

2012-01-31T23:12:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who voted on the tournament poll. The final tally was 12-2 in favour of the Umbro Challenge Cup in White Rock, May 18-21.

I will complete the application forms and we'll confirm who's all going in a month or so.

World Cups Tournament

2012-01-31T23:07:00.000-08:00

http://www.saanichfusionfc.ca/story/urgent-note-all-teams

This week's poll is a quick yes or no whether we want to organize and manage the Easter World Cups Festival as a team fundraiser. Tournament proceeds will go the team or teams that volunteer. Last year the tournament raised $7500 so that gives you some idea of the potential funds available.

My guess is two teams will be chosen - do we want to be one of those two teams?

Fusion Scarves

2012-01-30T10:32:00.000-08:00

The new club scarves will be available next week. I think they are extremely cool and will sell very well.

Fusion 0 Peninsula 2

2012-01-28T16:46:00.000-08:00

Not our strongest effort of the year, but a good run out and a good experience to draw from as we enter the cup play-downs.

Both goals were bad giveaways, but these things happen. It's frustrating, sure, but always important to take a longer view of things. We looked like a team who hasn't kicked a ball in anger for a while and didn't have anything to play for. Sometimes fear is a good thing and I think we lacked that today. Saying that we did have 2-3 very good chances at 0-0 and 0-1 that we didn't take.

So we re-group Tuesday and prepare for Salt Spring.

Canada Going to the Olympics

2012-01-27T22:39:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Christine Sinclair. Such is her importance to this team that when Canada scored to go 2-0 up against Mexico the camera focused not on the goalscorer but on Sinclair writhing in pain after a nasty tackle. Had she gone off injured I'm pretty sure Canada goes on to lose that game. She is clearly carrying this team to London.

Otherwise Canada is, with some notable exceptions, slow and cumbersome.

Their centreback Chapman is decent, but her partner (#2) is a liability. The fullbacks looked good against Haiti and Costa Rica because they didn't have to defend, but they looked far less assured against tricky Mexican forwards. Slow to turn and seemingly unable win a header against 4'5" Mexican forwards, I think Canada needs to find better fullbacks or they're in trouble. Their goalkeeper made a mess of the Mexico goal, but she's a decent shot stopper as she showed ten minutes later after defensive miscues allowed a clear shot on goal. She needs a better hairdresser though.

The midfield is well-anchored by Scott, who does a good job of stopping the other team playing and keeping possession of the ball. She was probably the best player in red behind Sinclair. The other midfielders did a good job of running around, but didn't impress me with their decision making or positional play. A couple of them looked more interested in their hair than winning a tackle or making the right pass. The diamond formation Canada plays requires a good holding midfielder and inside forward/attacking mid, which they have in Scott and Sinclair. Now their coach needs to sort out which players make up the remaining two positions. Perhaps they had off games tonight but #15, #6 and #13 didn't do it for me.

As for the forwards Tancredi made her goal look easy, but also missed a sitter. I cant even tell you the name of the other forward (#10) as she contributed very little all game. I think her best move was being subbed for Timko who actually looked like she wanted to be out there playing.

Good thing Christine Sinclair has broad shoulders because she will need to continue carrying this team if they hope to have any success.

Umbro Challenge Cup - May 18-21 in White Rock

2012-01-27T13:11:00.000-08:00

http://challengecup.southfraserfc.com/

Another tournament has popped-up on the soccer calendar, this one in White Rock/South Surrey on Victoria Day weekend. This is the same weekend as the Kamloops Slurpee Cup and equivalent in terms of hotel and entry fee expenses, but travel time would be significantly better. I expect the level of opponent should be higher than Kamloops, certainly if more Lower Mainland Metro-Select teams enter.

A tournament in mid-May is ideal and I suppose Bellingham is only a short-drive away. South Surrey Athletic Park is one of the premier soccer facilities in the province so that is a plus as well.

Should we go for it? I'll put a poll up on the blog.

Update on the Upper Island Tournament that I was contacted about and briefly discussed at practice last night. The tourney is set for Courtenay the weekend of March 30/April 1st - the same weekend as District Cup Finals and (possibly) first round of Coastal Cup. I think we'll adopt a wait and see on this tourney. Thoughts?

Latest Poll Results

2012-01-25T22:56:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone for contributing to the last couple of polls.

The most recent one yielded somewhat anticipated results - effectively a dead-heat between yea and nea to a spring-summer-fall soccer season. I see the benefits of both our current season and the one being adopted by the HPL. I happen to believe it's too late for our age group anyway so I am in no mad rush to change seasons. In many respects it's of no consequence to our age group anyway. After all there isn't even an 1996 girls HPL team. It might need to be something that gets phased in with younger age groups over time.

The earlier poll on whether you agreed with pooled teams was always going to provide a lopsided result. However it wasn't rhetoric (OK, maybe a little) as much as it was a desire on my part to advise everyone about plans to rip apart club soccer and how those plans might impact our team and plans for the future.

UPDATE: Subsequent to my posting on the blog the VIPL zonal team proposal was put to LISA Club Presidents for a vote. Rather predictably Juan de Fuca, Peninsula and Bays United voted in favour of the mayhem, while Gorge and Prospect Lake abstained from the vote. However because of the lack of broad support for the proposal LISA has apparently refused to implement the plan. Not yet anyway. I'm sure there will be another attempt in the near future.

Only ourselves and Lakehill voted against. As usual I might add. For despite our sometimes overheated rivalry with the Braefoot bunch they remain one of the very few LISA clubs who share our clubs thoughts and desires for youth soccer. Over the past ten years (at least) it's always been the same clubs - Gorge, Lakehill and ourselves - that have been the most vocal critics of boundaries and protectionism, and the biggest advocates of choice for players, parents and coaches.

Peninsula Game this Saturday

2012-01-23T17:15:00.000-08:00

Game is set for Lochside Turf @ 2:15pm. Uniforms are WHITE-NAVY-WHITE.

See you at training tomorrow. Bring runners.

B Cup Draw

2012-01-20T16:50:00.000-08:00

We've been drawn away to Salt Spring on February 4.

New Poll - Should we align Tier 2 Season with HPL Season?

2012-01-19T22:18:00.000-08:00

A number of years back there was a push from BC Soccer for season change. Basically the belief was we needed to align our season with the rest of Canada which played from spring into the early fall. It was also seen to address problems with poor field conditions and subsequent field closures and game cancellations. The other benefit was increased participation due to the better weather. Season change was championed by LISA but was not popular with LISA Clubs. Conflicts with other sports (baseball, softball) and lack of access to fields (same sports) were cited as the main reasons season change wouldn't work so the idea went away.

I wasn't sold on the need for season change at the time. Our club had recently invested in two turf fields, Lakehill's was a matter of months away and it seemed a new turf field was being built about every other month in the CRD. So in my mind that solved the field closure problem (and I believe it has). And I wasn't sure we would see improved registration numbers as I've always viewed declining registration more a reflection of demographics and the abject manner in which some clubs treated their members (no names, but some clubs are run like daycares).

However once the BC High Performance League made the move to change seasons I've thought it natural that Tier 2 move seasons as well. The HPL season starts in February and ends in November, with a break from about mid-July to the end of August. They've yet to even begin their first season so it will be interesting to see how their season will be received but after coaching Super Y there's no reason to think people wont play soccer during these months. Many Tier 2 players play year round anyway, playing for academy teams once their club team season is finished. The better question is will the best players be interested and available to play. Dual-sport kids are extremely common, especially on the girls side where good athletes are coveted by all coaches.

So should Tier 2 (VIPL, MSL) follow suit?

I think it's worth considering, if for no other reason than if we're truly sincere about long-term player development then it's important that the top two levels (at least the top two) play at the same time of year. At present try-outs for HPL happen two-thirds of the way through the Coastal season and just prior to cup play. What coach or parent wants a situation where they have to change teams mid-season? And what player wants to leave their team mid-season?

What would be better for the game was if HPL teams were selected in January/February and Tier 2 teams shortly afterward. This is better for all parties - HPL, clubs and especially the players. It would provide certainty that is lacking now. It would also allow the consumer to make more informed decisions.

This would create synergies between HPL and Tier 2, the same synergies we felt VIPL would offer but hasn't (yet). The reality is there is very little movement between VIPL and HPL because their seasons conflict. But if played contemporaneously (say HPL on Saturdays, Tier 2 on Sundays) you might actually see easier player movement (up and down the ladder) and better player development over the long-term.

Your thoughts? I know we have several multi-sport families so I appreciate it would make for hard choices. But soccer in Canada needs to make hard choices and one of them might be making the sport more attractive for players by playing when the weather is warm.

Look out your window tonight and let me know if that white stuff on the ground doesn't away you at all. ;-)

PS Season change wouldn't necessarily impact cup play. We could leave A Cup where it is now - July - or move it to October. National Championships are held in November.

Lakehill Field Closed - No Game this weekend

2012-01-18T11:57:00.000-08:00

Saanich has closed all of their grass fields until next week so our game against Lakehill at Reynolds Park is off.

Snow Day

2012-01-17T18:12:00.000-08:00

Apologies for the late confirmation on practice cancellation. I assume everyone speculated correctly - or checked the club website.

Next Saturday's Game

2012-01-15T20:01:00.000-08:00

The Salt Spring game Saturday marked the end of our third round games. At this time of year the most important games are those that actually count toward the final standings so it's possible we may play our first round makeup game against Peninsula instead of the scheduled game versus Lakehill. I should know for certain Tuesday.

I believe Tuesday is also the date for the B Cup draw. The first round is February 4.

Match Report

2012-01-15T09:14:00.000-08:00

Lots of girls talking about yesterday's game were using adjectives like "embarrassing" to describe the game. I wouldn't quite go as far to say we should feel embarrassed. Uncomfortable maybe. You never, ever want to win a game in such a lopsided fashion - it's really no fun for either team. Fortunately I thought both teams played the game in great spirit and the referee was amongst the best we've had this year.

So much for an abbreviated warmup and short bench! We scored some nice goals and witnessed a couple of decent saves from our stand-in keepers. I liked how the girls reacted to our half-time instructions. We played it across our back four pretty well, perhaps not as quick as I wanted but the thought was there. Switching the play and point of attack takes thought and I really felt by the end of the game we were looking to do this instinctively. Still looking for improvement in communication, better angles in support of the ball carrier and showing for the ball with the correct profile to the passer.

Overall a good start to 2012 and on to the game against Lakehill next Saturday. Hopefully the weatherman is wrong and the snow stays away.

Saltspring

2012-01-12T23:06:00.000-08:00

We will take the 1pm ferry Saturday - let's meet there noonish. Assuming the ferry is on schedule it means we'll get into Ganges around 1:50pm so hopefully we can get a slight break on the kick-off. Regardless we'll need to be doing our car stretches on the way there.

Weather looks a bit sketchy Saturday so check the blog Saturday AM for updates on field status. They're calling for rain or snow.

Uniforms are navy-white-navy.

Are pooled teams the future of youth soccer?

2012-01-11T01:09:00.000-08:00

I've put a poll on the blog asking players and parents for their opinion on a proposal from Lower Island Soccer Association (LISA) that would see clubs form pooled teams from next season to compete in the Vancouver Island Premier League (VIPL). Assuming the VIPL is extended to U17 and U18 age groups for 2012-13 this proposal would impact our team. Destroy is another adjective one might use, but then one definition of impact is a collision of a meteoroid, asteroid or comet with Earth.

The rationale is that the VIPL, limited as it is to four LISA teams (and two from Upper Island), precludes certain players from playing at a level of play commiserate with their skill or desire. There is a belief that under the current environmen LISA clubs cannot provide enough opportunity for all members to play VIPL. The corollary is clubs are now being asked to form joint-teams for the good of soccer and individual players. According to the proposal SFFC would pool with Peninsula and Salt Spring. Other pooled clubs (they refer to them as teams, but who is kidding who, they would be clubs by any other name) would be Lakehill/Bays, Gorge/Prospect Lake/Cowichan and Juan de Fuca/Sooke. Basically the best players from each "zone" would be invited to try out for their VIPL team, clubs would get together to select coaches, practice and game fields, uniforms and playing philosophies.

Needless to say I am extremely unmoved by this proposal. I don't believe zonal teams is the way forward, moreso a move backwards. For several years Cordova Bay had a pooling arrangement with Prospect Lake. I was on the Board during much of this time and President when the arrangement feel apart. Youth soccer is in some disarray and self-inflicted wounds are something of a speciality within LISA, I can assure you if we truly want to kill both the sport and club soccer then pooled teams is the way to go. It was extremely political, unstable, un-wieldly, and a waste of both volunteer resources and energy. There were some successes to be sure, but overall it eroded club identity and whatever community had been established to that time. Is club identity and community important, apparently LISA doesn't agree.

The awkward truth is some LISA clubs have failed to provide the appropriate programs their members seek. This leads to players leaving the club, or if unable to do so, leaving the sport altogether. Is Saanich Fusion one of those clubs? I seriously doubt it, but there are certain to be age groups where a coach or a situation has become unacceptable and players have left for greener pastures. That's unfortunate, but it happens in volunteer organizations (especially ones that are poorly managed). No, the real problem is clubs who operate as if players are property, a local soccer authority which operates as a cartel, Dickensian rules (such as boundaries) that impede excellence, reward larger clubs but rarely the player, and a largely uneducated consumer. Quite how adding another level of bureaucracy betters the soccer experience for local players is beyond my grasp.

Or perhaps I am wrong. Perhaps as a long-time board member and club coach I am part of the problem and can't or won't recognize my blind spots. Perhaps clubs like ours really are the problem. Perhaps we are incapable of developing programs and teams that provide the right opportunities for local athletes. Perhaps we really need to be saved from ourselves.

It's a complicated situation (unnecessarily in my view, but that's really water under the bridge), difficult to summarize or digested quickly, but I am really interested in what Fusion parents and players might have to say. I've spent almost a decade volunteering in support of what I strongly believed were player-centred development philosophies and I sincerely hope that time hasn't been wasted.

If you want to see the proposal in full please let me know. LISA is presenting the proposal to club Presidents next week and the VIPL Implementation Committee soon after that.

Bottle Drive Results

2012-01-07T20:03:00.000-08:00

Final total from today's bottle drive was $6500. Not as big as last year, but pretty good considering all of the other bottle drives we had to contend with this year. The tree chipping raised $2400 so that's nearly $9,000 raised between the two events.

Excellent representation from the "Fusion" as well with at least 25 players and parents helping shift and sort the bottles and cans.

Bottle Drive Saturday

2012-01-03T22:45:00.000-08:00

The annual bottle drive is this Saturday. No collection route for us this year but we've been asked to help sort bottles at Lochside Park anytime between Noon and 4pm.

The bottle drive is a good opportunity for families to get their volunteer hours done. And since all money raised from the bottle drive goes toward the loan for the turf it's also great sweat equity for the players ;-)

Sunday's Game

2011-12-18T15:31:00.000-08:00

Pleased with the run today. Plenty of effort and endeavour, just no end product in front of goal. I thought we did a good job of closing down the ball at both ends of the field and made it difficult for the boys to play in midfield. A little bit more composure in the attacking third and I think we walk away with both a goal and a draw.

Good to see Dallas, Emily and Sophie back on the field and thanks to Nick and Olivia for playing for us.

Team Party Remainders

2011-12-18T15:24:00.000-08:00

Park/drop off/pick up will be from the Knight Ave parking lot (near Richmond). The building under Ave of Knight Ave is where we'll be! Upstairs for pre-game pizza and ice cream (obviously straying somewhat from the girls traditional pre-match diet) and then the game.

Looking forward to another convincing Parents win in our annual indoor soccer game. Hopefully the Fusion Ladies give their parents more of a game than last season's poor effort. We just might have to change the rules to give the girls a better chance of winning.

Don't forget to bring non-perishable food items for donation to Mustard Seed.

Sunday Game

2011-12-15T20:04:00.000-08:00

Noon vs. Boys U15 @ Lochside.

White jerseys.

Tuesday Practice Cancelled

2011-12-12T19:23:00.000-08:00

A night off for everyone. Thursday practice as usual, assuming any snow disappears by then.

Two Grumpy Old Men

2011-12-11T22:26:00.000-08:00

Having had 24 hours to digest the game I'm struck by how similar the game was (style of play, tempo, etc.) to the 6-1 win a month ago at Hampton. The unavoidable truth is we didn't play particularly well in either game, but we took most of our chances in the October game. Yesterday we left far too many goals in our boots, especially considering we had upwards of seven breakaways. Not a criticism, just a comment on what some might put down to luck and good goalkeeping. Or is it complacency? Each game is presenting different challenges for us and I cant help but think Saturday we were fighting our selves as much as our opponents. Christmas??

As for our opponents, I thought they were easily our equal in terms of effort and intensity. That was a real Gorge team we played. We must come better prepared to battle the next time for loose balls. And headers. Yikes, did we have an off day in the heading department (outside of perhaps Lily and Emma). And we'll have to spend more energy on our next "kick-long" practices :-). Too often our clearances hit someones backside instead of our forwards feet or the corner flag.

Still, we out-chanced them and missed several glorious scoring opportunities. When Sydney scored fifteen minutes in I thought more would follow but our finishing was probably the weakest part of our game. Needless to say we need to be more ruthless in future games.

Check back for info on this week's practices. The weather is threatening to turn nasty so it might be a late decision on practice status.

Cam - this link is for you ;-)

Conclusive Win

2011-12-03T23:58:00.000-08:00

Good performance today ladies. After the intensity of last weeks game it was always going to be tough to find the same performance levels, but i thought we did pretty well - especially in the second-half. We were helped by some uncharacteristic lapses by the Cowichan keeper early-on, but even then the nature of the goals left us somewhat bemused. That said, the keeper made a brilliant double-save from Olivia and Sydney to keep the scoreline respectable. It was really nice to see both sets of fans give her such a big cheer - I think both her confidence and the game needed that moment.

I don't think we needed to give up a goal but we can have few complaints when we a) give up a lazy foul in a dangerous area and b) do a pretty poor job of marking-up and clearing our lines from the resulting cross (and I'm being kind to call it a cross because it barely got above chest-height). On the positive side of things I think it's instructive that no matter what the score we can't afford to switch-off at the back.

So 5-1 at the half and a brace of goals for Natasha (the 2nd a fantastic finish to the far post), and singles from Brianna, Sydney and Emily (an excellent left-foot finish). What I liked about Tasha's first and the opener from Bri was both times we followed-up the shot and finished the rebounds. Sydney would probably have preferred to score the one she missed in the second-half but you have to shoot to score.

Our play at times in the second-half was excellent and I really liked the movement off the ball and passing. Where we kept the ball moving and kept our play simple I thought we looked a very good side. And many of our best moves of the second period came when we showed some composure, kept the ball on the deck and played our way out of defence. I thought Tessa, Emma, Shelby and Lily all excelled at this in the second half. I was also pleased with the play of Alisha and Katherine playing different positions in a very experimental lineup and Shelby's brief cameo at attacking mid.

Brianna (with a pair of sniper's goals) and Sophia (with a left foot chip shot) rounded-out the scoring to give us our biggest win of the season. I had the scoring chances at about twenty for us and two for Cowichan (BTW nice finger-tip save in the first half Colleen). Still too many shots going directly at the keeper so we'll work on that this week.

Don't forget to vote on the poll. We should have all the details on the Christmas Party this week.

Cowichan @ Lochside Grass

2011-12-02T21:54:00.000-08:00

White-Blue-White uniforms tomorrow. See everyone at Lochside around 1:30pm.

Remember your multi-studs.

Practice Cancelled

2011-11-29T15:38:00.000-08:00

Tonight's practice is cancelled. Hopefully this gives our sick and wounded another night to rest up.

See you all Thursday.

Peninsula 0 Fusion 2

2011-11-27T20:18:00.000-08:00

First thing I have to say is what good shape Iroquois Park is in. That's my first game back there since about 1989 and I have to say it's a much improved surface. Considering it was the end of November the pitch was in great shape.

Onto the game. Territorially the first half was pretty even and good scoring chances for both teams were scarce. We had some decent phases of possession in their half without delivering the cross or shot that really troubled their backline or keeper. We also didn't use the width of the field as well as we should have, but there were some decent passing and a couple of good overlaps. Defensively we were pretty decent and generally made the tackle or interception when we needed to. Twice they struck good diagonal balls between our centrebacks and fullback that cut us open too easily and a couple of balls over the top weren't dealt with as well as we can. But I thought 0-0 was a fair reflection of the game at half and I was pleased to be going downhill in the second period.

Second-half I thought we had the best of both the possession and the chances in the early going. Emily was our main outlet and I thought she did very well to keep their defenders occupied with her dribbling and pressure. She was also a little unlucky witha couple of efforts that squeezed past the post. Our midfield (Lily, Dallas, Tessa) started to win and keep the ball higher up the field and this allowed us to shrink the field and put more pressure on the ball.

This paid off with twenty minutes gone when we won possession wide left and after an exchange of passes between Ali and Natasha, Natasha made a great cross (yes, with your left foot...)that found Olivia wide open for a header. It probably looked easier to score than miss, but nonetheless I thought Olivia did a great job to direct the ball into the net. It wasn't a far post header, but credit to Olivia for reading the play and attacking space.

After this Peninsula had their best phase of the second-half and for 2-3 minutes I thought we looked a little tired and needed some adjustments. Katherine had to do very well on one occasion, choosing the perfect angle to prevent their dangerous forward a scoring opportunity. So it was a welcome sight to see Bri slot home after skipping through their eighteen and finishing-off her own rebound. I really thought their keeper was favourite to get to the ball so credit to Bri for her effort. On a slick field like that it's always the forward that benefits from aggressive play and that was exactly what Bri did.

From there we had to deal with a couple of corners (one in particular from Dallas was noteworthy - up and out in some style) as well as some tentative play clearing the ball when the Keystone Cops would have been impressed (ask your parents or grandparents or Google if you want to know. But I thought we looked comfortable at the final whistle with the ball in their end.

Cowichan next up and I believe it's a grass game at Lochside.

Dates to Remember

2011-11-27T00:13:00.000-08:00

Dec 20 - Christmas Party @ St Michael's University School (details to follow)
Jan 7 - Bottle Drive @ Lochside Drive (same route as last year or do we want more hills and long driveways?)

Uniform Reminders

2011-11-24T21:18:00.000-08:00

White-Navy-White for the game this Saturday.

Also a reminder to bring your $40 for those that have not yet paid for the jerseys.

Iroquois Park

2011-11-24T21:16:00.000-08:00

Our game against Peninsula has been moved to Iroquois Park in Sidney.

Directions

Drive north on the Pat Bay Highway. Exit the highway at the McTavish Rd interchange and take the Lochside Drive off the first roundabout. Proceed north on Lochside towards Sidney. Turn left at Ocean Avenue and the park will be on your left.

Scarves, anyone?

2011-11-21T21:27:00.000-08:00

OK, so this is pretty cool. Soccer City has provided us with some sample scarves for the club and we're looking for some feedback on which styles might be popular. Personally I like #1.

Spring Tournament

2011-11-19T21:06:00.000-08:00

Poll results are in and a trip to sunny San Diego in July holds the most appeal. Gee, what a surprise!

The first purpose of the poll was to establish interest in spring soccer. Even allowing for Alisha's ballot-stuffing, I think we've established a spring soccer tournament is a popular idea. The other purpose of the poll was to get a sense of destination preference. Judging on ballot results there was broad support for all options - BC Interior, Washington State and farther afield (and presumably good shopping, warm ocean and a sandy beach).

So what next? Although not our only options, I tend to believe the Kamloops, Bellingham and San Diego tourneys represented the best tournaments for each month May-July. So I think it's best we circle those particular tournaments and discuss at an upcoming meeting - perhaps a Christmas function somewhere (hint, hint Cheryl :-).

In the meantime I suggest we consider some of the feedback I received. Baker Blast falls the weekend of June 22-24 which is the week of Provincial Grade 10 exams in Science and English. This is a significant conflict for several of the girls, but we'll need to determine whether it's a show-stopper. For instance, if someone has a helicopter we can fly the girls across the Salish Seas (really, the Salish Sea? when did that change?). Similarly the Kamloops and San Diego tournaments would appear to conflict with softball tournaments, which is an issue for Jenna and Sydney as the fastball team they play is totally awesome.

What say you? Parents meeting in December at SMU?

Fusion 1 Lakehill 0

2011-11-19T18:53:00.000-08:00

A bit of a sloppy game, not aided by the wind or the cold to be fair, but sloppy nonetheless. Lakehill did a good job of disrupting our play and getting in our faces, so credit to them on that. But outside of 5 or 10 minutes at the start of each half I didn't think we (collectively) looked as interested as they were. Our minds seemed elsewhere. There were good performances out there and some good moments but too few to get me too excited.

Our goal was top drawer however and one of the best of the season. The goal started with some decent passing out of defence from Emma and Alisha, and further contributions from Lily and Dallas in midfield before a very tidy pass (Sydney, Bri?) put Natasha in on goal. The finish was as excellent and every-bit as good as the approach play. Passing was simple, quick, crisp and direct. Unfortunately it was really the only highlight of our game and as such serves to illustrate (to me anyway) just how unmotivated we were for vast parts of the game.

Like I said at halftime, when Lakehill gave us the ball we looked good, but we didn't dictate play anywhere near the way we can so that makes it a glass half-empty kind of day for me.

Tuesday will be fitness - speed work or core work, depending on the weather. Bring runners either way.

Blue Jerseys Tomorrow

2011-11-18T19:38:00.000-08:00

Blue-White-Blue jerseys tomorrow, but bring both sets just in case.

Could be very nippy tomorrow so remember to wear some under armour and bring gloves to wear so that you keep your core temperatures up.

Reminder that we will meet in the Tyndall south changeroom around 1:15pm.

Dress Warm!

2011-11-17T15:48:00.000-08:00

Bit chilly and damp tinight way out here in Cordova Bay so bring your woolies!

Meh!

2011-11-12T21:11:00.000-08:00

Short write up today because my fingers still haven't warmed up. That was officially the wettest and coldest game of the season (so far, I'm sure mother nature can and will do worse!).

Not a completely convincing performance. Yes the effort was there and we scored some nice goals BUT we'll need to be sharper in all departments in our upcoming games. In particular I thought we tried to do much with the ball when we needed to keep the ball rolling. That said the Salt Spring goal lived a charmed-life at times and we probably could have scored three or four in the first ten minutes alone. Credit to the SS keeper for a strong outing.

Pick of the goals for me were our first two from Sydney and Dallas, but the funniest was clearly Natasha's. Natasha also had the miss of the day but at least the ball didn't leave the park. In between Emily scored another of her high-energy, constant motion goals, Alisha had another of her "Cowichan" moments and Kaz finished calmly pouncing on a defensive miscue.

No injuries. Cool. Hopefully we welcome back some players next week and get closer to 100%.

Uniform Reminder

2011-11-11T14:06:00.000-08:00

Blue shirts, white shorts, blue socks tomorrow.

See you at Lochside for 1:30ish.

Tournaments

2011-11-09T16:08:00.000-08:00

Fusion players and parents need to give some thought to what, if any, tournaments we want to participate in this spring/summer.

The choices can be narrowed into three categories - local (i.e. BC), Washington State (Bellingham, Seattle) or International (Southern US, Europe). The biggest and best spring tournaments in BC are held in May and June in Kamloops or Kelowna respectively. I've heard very good things about the Slurpee Cup in Kamloops and I know Peninsula played in the Kelowna tournament last season. Both tournaments should be decent weather and decent competition, but mostly BC teams.

There are several spring and summer tournaments in the Puget Sound area. Memorial Day (May 26-28) is a popular time with several tournaments in Seattle and Tacoma. The Skagit Cup is held in Burlington, just north of Seattle, and both Crossfire Challenge (Kirkland) and Rainier Challenge (Tacoma) tournaments are held this weekend. There is also the Starfire Memorial Day tourney that weekend. I've done this tournament with Super Y and it's a decent tournament.

The Baker Blast is the closest tournament and is very popular. We did this tournament last year with the 1998 girls and they loved it. It was memorable for the parents as well and renting dorms at Western Washington University was affordable and social. As with other Washington State tourneys most teams are from the US, but there are always teams from Canada as well.

One thing to consider about USA tournaments is we would be playing up an age level. This is because US age levels are based on the school year (Aug-July) and not the calendar year (Jan-Dec) as is done in Canada. This would mean we would be playing against players born between Aug 1, 1995 and July 31, 1996. I don't see this is as a big issue, but it's worth consideration.

The last type of tournament is what I would call the "International" tournament. These are larger, more prestigious tournaments held in places like San Diego, Sweden, Denmark or Spain. These tournaments involve teams from all over the world so it's not just the soccer experience that's cool, it's also a cultural event. They are also more expensive (e.g. travel, accommodation, entry fees, etc.) so would require more long-term planning and substantially more fund-raising. They also generally take place in mid-late July so might conflict with family holiday plans or other sports (i.e. fastball). I would love to do one of these tournaments, perhaps we can look at something for our U17 or U18 season?

Anyway, we need to start wrapping our heads around this as depending on which tournament(s) we would like, planning would need to begin before Christmas. Certainly any decisions would need to be confirmed by January at the latest.

There is a poll on the blog with a sampling of potential tourneys - feel free to pick one or more.

PS The Jamboree (or whatever we end up calling it) will be in late April, probably the last weekend of April. We didnt do it last season because of conflicts with Coastal Cup but we're trying to schedule the Jamboree around Coastal Cup dates this season.

Gorge 1 Fusion 6

2011-11-06T17:24:00.000-08:00

First off, congrats to Natasha on her hat-trick. Three quite unstoppable shots but the pick of the bunch for me was the first - coming from a give-and-go after a quickly-taken short corner with Ali and hitting a laser to the top corner. Not quite like we've practiced but it worked out in the end. The other two weren't too shabby either. Welcome back!

Congrats as well to Emily on her two goals. Her first was the more important of the two as it got us on the scoreboard, but her second was a very composed finish after an excellent run with the ball. The pass leading to the goal was good, I think it took a flick somewhere in midfield after Tessa's free kick, but Emily still had both the defender and keeper to beat and she made it look easy.

Sophie finished things off with a nice free-kick that threaded its way through the Gorge wall and into the bottom corner. Felt for their keeper on the day as she had very little chance on any of the goals.

Their goal was a comedy of errors and easily the worst goal we've conceded this year. We had three or four chances to clear the ball and made a worse mess of each and every attempt. To be fair to Emma and Shelby they weren't getting much protection from our midfield. As Cam said at half-time, we let more balls drop in the midfield today than our previous five games combined. We were much better in the second-half.

Thought the ref did a good job today. He really needed an extra pair of eyes to see what was going-on after the ball was cleared and thankfully Karen helped him out. For a young ref he handled himself quite well and made some important decisions, including the yellow card to their striker (more of a cumulative yellow considering some of the earlier cheapshots on Emma and Natasha) and the direct free kick after Kaz was flattened. I'm sure Kaz won't take any joy from us scoring from the direct kick, but nonetheless I was impressed he made the right decision.

We've recently seen several LISA coaches and teams in trouble for abuse of referees (both verbal and physical assault) and a renewed warning to parents to tone down the rhetoric from the sidelines. Perhaps similar efforts can be made to dissuade coaches, parents and players from all of the completely unnecessary blows to the head and verbal intimidation.That's the third game in a row one of our players has received a head shot and I am fast becoming convinced the blows are intentional. There's absolutely no justification to using the elbow or forearm against someones head. Zero. Zilch.

I really do wonder whether some parents are aiding and abetting this behaviour, or at least tolerating it under the guise of playing "competitively". If so, it's a pretty sad indictment of societies values these days that intentionally injuring another player is deemed acceptable so long as the referee doesn't see it.

Cowichan 0 Fusion 6

2011-10-30T23:26:00.000-07:00

Not sure where to start.

The game itself was excellent. We played very well and fully deserved our win and some of the goals were of the highlight variety. Even better, six-different goal scorers. The only downside was the injury to Colleen (please tell me that wasn't an intentional elbow to the head) and, I suppose, the long drive/wait to get home. Even then many of us used the opportunity to partake in some extra-curricular activities.

Ali really enjoys playing in Duncan. What's that - four goals in three games? We had been pressing for ten minutes and couldn't find a way to goal so Alisha decided a cross/shot from thirty yards was the surest way to score. Can't really argue with the outcome can we? I think Ali even won the bowling, so it really was her day.

Bri was next on the scoreboard about 5 minutes later slotting home after a nice pass from Sophie sprung the Cowichan backline. Then Milly added her name to the scoresheet with a fantastic effort from long-range after Cowichan just-about cleared a corner. Those are a dream to score (not that I ever did it). Our fourth was also a bit special, Colleen with a glancing-header after good work and a nice cross from Ali.

Second half we changed things up a bit and seemed to take our foot off the pedal slightly. Part of this was down to the excellent play of their #28. That's the second game this season I thought she was the major reason the scoreline was respectable. At Tyndall it was her saves in goal, on Saturday it was her play at the back with last minute tackles and winning headers. I don't recall her giving up on anything. Good stuff.

We dodged a bullet about fifteen minutes in when Jenna had to be alert to stop a deflected cross, but normal service was restored when Dallas nodded past the keeper after a good corner from Katherine. The last goal was a bit special as well, Sydney finishing with some style after Milly's outswinger found her on the top of the eighteen. The quality of the cross and Sydney's presence of mind to head the ball to herself before shooting was a nice way to end the game.

The post-game Tim Horton's and Duncan Lanes was good fun. Shame about the circumstances, but I think we made the best of an unfortunate event. Have to say those Fusion jerseys looked awesome in the neon light of the bowling alley. Pity about some of the gutter balls and grandma throws (no names, Georgia).

PS Emily - did you make your Halloween Party?

PPS Colleen - get better real soon.

PPPS Happy Halloween! Be safe out there.

Pathways to Your Goals

2011-10-27T09:39:00.000-07:00

http://www.theprovince.com/sports/There+more+than+pathway+goal/5608040/story.html

I thought this might be of interest. Thanks to Rob K for sending me the link.

Peninsula Recap

2011-10-22T22:41:00.000-07:00

That was one heck of a game. And a bit of a gut check. Played at one hundred miles an hour and full of incident, I honestly can't remember a more eventful game against Peninsula. Missed penalties, crossbars struck by free-kicks, fouls, breakaways, the lead switching back and forth, and a winning goal in the last couple of minutes.

And for a change I thought we got that bit of luck (or spark) when it mattered most. I thought we were brave in the tackle and our passing was very direct with several very nice balls into space. Some of our shooting wasn't too clever, but we weren't shy to hit it. I wasn't at the Lakehill game but I'm sure if we played with that much heart and energy last week we wouldn't have walked away with a draw. If nothing else, today's win nicely finished-off a good week of practices and match preparation. Hopefully we learnt something about ourselves in the process. More discipline and application like today and we will only get better.

Goals today came from Sydney (in the right place to finish-off good work from Colleen), Colleen (as much as I was impressed by Colleen's finish I thought the pass from Emily was every much as impressive) and Natasha (again, a great diagonal ball played behind the defenders from Sophie). In between we missed a couple of penalties. Undoubtedly the shooters will want do-overs, but today it didn't hurt us. In fact I thought the second miss was the turning point for us. I challenged you to win that game and you responded. Kudos.

Tuesday will be another longish practice. I thought our energy in the last ten minutes today was excellent so we will continue with our fitness work. If it rains, we'll pop upstairs for some core work.

Lakehill Game

2011-10-19T09:50:00.000-07:00

Match reports received tend to indicate we came out a bit flat, didn't move the ball quickly enough, missed some scoring opportunities that would have changed the result and perhaps had one too many players below par. So overall a little unlucky, but also a tad unfocused.

The good news is most of these things we can control. So we learn from the experience and move on to the game against Peninsula.

Lakehill Game Reminders

2011-10-12T21:39:00.000-07:00

Game is Reynolds Park at 2:15pm. Please be there for 1:30pm. There isn't much space to warmup (there is a 12:30pm game immediately prior) but the recommendation is that we warmup on the west side of the field (nearest homes).

Blue is the colour so we'll wear our Navy-white-navy jerseys.

Salt Spring 0 Fusion 5

2011-10-08T22:09:00.000-07:00

First, I want to give credit to our hosts on a hard but fairly played game. SS competed extremely well considering they had only 11 players and they played the game with the right spirit and intensity. Thought the refereeing was top-notch as well.

We used the ball well today. Outside of some portions of the first half when we struggled with the weight and timing of our passes we generally made the right pass at the right time, slowing play when necessary and attacking space quickly when they were off-balance defensively. Second-half witnessed some good overlaps (extremely cool!) and good decisions when to switch the point of attack from one flank to the other. Defence was very solid throughout and distribution was excellent. A couple of times we could have been more direct, but we stuck to our passing principles so no complaints from me.

Our goals weren't too shabby either. Congrats to Katherine (35 yarder from touchline), Dallas (good run into their box, simple PK finish), Natasha (looping shot over keeper), Sophia (mazy run and toe-poke to far corner) and Georgia (left-foot belter from 20 yards) on their finishes - not a simple tap-in amongst them. Still need some work on our corners but at least one was good comedy value. No naming and shaming, right Ali? :-)

Thought several players had their best game of the season - Colleen and Brianna for their contributions up-front - and Katherine, Alisha and Olivia out of fullback. To be honest I can't think of anyone who didn't have a good game, which is what every coach wants for their players. Even Emily was having a stormer , although she'll probably not remember much of her five minute cameo performance. Still, I think she tucked-away a pretty decent-sized burger at the Fulford restaurant so while she might be feeling a tad woozy, she wasn't going home hungry!

Lakehill next. They've added several players since our first encounter so it promises to be another competitive and lively encounter.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving and we'll you all at training Tuesday.

Saltspring Saturday

2011-10-05T15:58:00.000-07:00

Our game is 2:15pm at Gulf Islands Senior Secondary which is the field just north of downtown Ganges. Address is
112 Rainbow Road for the GPS crowd. GISS is a grass field so bring your multi-studs.

We need to catch the 11am ferry which gets us into Fulford Harbour around Noon. There is a 1pm but that wouldn't leave us anytime to warmup before the game. Return ferries are 3:50 and 5:50pm so hopefully we can kick-off around 2pm so that we stand a decent chance of making the 3:50pm. Otherwise we'll probably stop for a bite somewhere. We can discuss travel arrangements at practice Thursday.

I think we should wear the white jerseys again but bring your blue jersey just in case.

Problems with Girls Soccer - Excellent Read

2011-10-05T14:01:00.000-07:00

Link below is to an article on what ails girls soccer.

Gregor Young

I had the opportunity, along with Doug Noel and Steph Steiner, to meet with Gregor this summer. Our meeting was more about Gothia and torunaments, but we did discuss girls soccer, the HPL, metro, etc. Gregor is the Technical Director at Point Grey (now part of Vancouver United FC - a super club that makes our amalgamation look like small potatoes - which in the scheme of things it was!) and coaches in Super Y (yes, he and I have exchanged pleasantries ;-)). He is a very good coach and very well respected throughout BC Soccer community.

Gregor has a blog and it is also very well respected and widely read. Hist thoughts in this article just about sum up my experience coaching girls soccer. Too much emphasis on the physical aspects of the game, too much emphasis on results over skills development (unless its hoofing a ball 50 yards down the field and chasing it), too many parents who equate success with winning at all costs, and not enough confidence or forethought from coaches to work on the technical and tactical aspects of the games.

I'd go so far to add that there aren't enough coaches that respect girls enough to demand and expect the same as they would for boys. Too often expectations are lowered or surrendered and it drives me crazy. I'm seeing it unfold at several age levels at our club and I'm frustrated we're not doing more to address this problem. Girls like to be challenged every much as boys do, they just like the challenges presented to them slightly differently!

Anyway, hopefully the article stimulates some conversation in your household.

New Fusion Online Store

2011-10-04T21:07:00.000-07:00

Checkout the new club gear available from the equally new online store.

Saanich Fusion Online Store

There is more stuff coming after Christmas, including dry fit tech wear, compression shorts, new hoodies, etc.

Excellent Article on Overuse Injuries and Overtraining

2011-10-02T21:57:00.000-07:00

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/119/6/1242.full

Particularly important read for the Reynolds CSE folks and the more serious multi-sporters on the squad.

Fusion 4 Gorge 0

2011-10-01T16:42:00.000-07:00

Extremely pleased with our game today. We were solid at the back, very competitive in the middle and sharp up front. Once we started winning their long kicks and started to play we looked very good. Some good passing and movement lead to two or three excellent chances before we scored. And we scored goals from crosses, just like we've been practicing, which is absolutely awesome! There is nothing more emphatic than a header-goal - the ball has so little distance to travel it almost hits the back of the net immediately.

We didn't back down either which is why our fourth goal was the best response possible. I may have over-celebrated the goal somewhat ;-) but that was as excellent an example of karma as your likely to witness. Good free kick, good knock-down, good finish = good answer.

If I'm being picky, I still think we didn't get the ball to the far post enough and our final pass was too often north south, and not a diagonal ball behind their defenders.

Congrats to Sophie on her bullet-header and Sydney on the great cross. Second goal was almost a repeat but I think the final touch was a Gorge player so I'm guessing Sydney will claim that one. We almost scored a third immediately afterward from another good cross. Third goal came from decent patience and good buildup with Lily finishing high past the keeper. I think we worked the ball from a wide position into the top of the eighteen. Fourth goal was a tidy finish from Kaz after a long freekick from Katherine caused trouble for their defenders.

Dallas and Tessa didn't get their names on the scoresheet but both were excellent in the middle alongside Lily. It's always important to win the midfield but I thought we did a better than average good job there today. And we showed good intensity from the start.

Saltspring is next. I will have details on ferry schedule later this weekend but everyone should anticipate a late morning ferry ride.

White Again

2011-09-30T08:19:00.001-07:00

Reminder that we're wearing the white jerseys for our game against Gorge.

As always, bring both sets just in case.

Great Game, Great Party!

2011-09-26T22:14:00.000-07:00

We've had a bit of a stop-start to the season with games cancelled and uniforms delayed, so it was nice to get back on the field for an actual soccer game.

It was a good game too, we dominated possession, created a number of excellent scoring opportunities and generally looked more cohesive as a team than our first game against Lakehill. I thought the Cowichan keeper had a very strong game, but I think everyone would agree we didn't really do ourselves justice in front of goal. Our approach play was very good, now we need to make more of the chances we're creating.

Kudos to Emily on her first two goals for the team. I was especially with her second goal, finishing-off a nice angle pass from Dallas with a tidy far-post finish. Emily paid the price too because the Cowichan defender was never playing the ball on that tackle. The first goal was more of a poacher's effort after contributions from Georgia and Colleen. At least I think it was Colleen - Cowichan often had eight or nine players in their penalty area so it was tough to see!

Great party afterward as well. With all the players, parents and siblings we must have had sixty people enjoying the food and drink. My thanks to everyone for making it such a huge success.

Yellow Jerseys

2011-09-26T21:53:00.000-07:00

Please bring your yellow GH jerseys to practice tomorrow or Thursday. Now that we have both sets of SFFC jerseys I'll be returning the yellows to the club.

White Jerseys for Tomorrow's Game

2011-09-23T16:49:00.000-07:00

The Navy shorts arrived today so I will bring them to the game tomorrow along with the white socks and shirts.

See you all tomorrow.

Tailgate Party Moved to Saturday

2011-09-21T08:26:00.000-07:00

Seeing as we have a game Saturday we should probably move our tailgate party as well.

Hopefully the weather holds, if not we'll use the Tyndall Clubhouse.

Where: Tyndall Park Clubhouse (or parking lot, depending on weather)
When: Saturday September 24 @ 4pm (after our game)
Why: Meet and greet for new parents and players
What to Bring: Burgers, weiners, buns, condiments, salads, fruit, pop, water, chips, plates, forks, etc.

New Uniforms

2011-09-17T09:31:00.001-07:00

Ready for pickup from Tyndall today from 1:30-3:30pm.

Saturday Game Cancelled?

2011-09-16T08:16:00.000-07:00

I understand that Bays United has folded their U16 Gold team. Nothing official yet, but I expect to get an email sometime today with the news.

This means a couple of things. First our game Saturday is cancelled. I am scrambling trying to find a team to play but am not optimistic at such short notice. However I should have the new uniforms later today so unless you hear otherwise we'll meet at Tyndall to hand-out uniforms.

Second, Bays folding means a new GGU16 game schedule. We will now have a six team league which means no byes (this is good). Let's hope no other teams fold. I expect the new schedule will be prepared over the weekend but be prepared for a game on September 24. And don't be surprised if it's an away game!

This is all very unwelcome and makes for an uneven start to the season. I feel for the girls at Bays who may know have no other option but play Silver or quit soccer altogether. This is one of the unfortunate realities of U16-U18 soccer - fewer teams, fewer options and, as a result, fewer players. I am told there are girls who have decided to train with the Highlanders (no games) rather than play club soccer.

I am sure if they were to open the boundaries up and permit all players to play where they want we would have more and stronger teams. Keeping teenaged kids engaged and interested in team sports is hard enough, so it's pretty sad when neglect and club politics sabotage things.

Homework!

2011-09-11T23:40:00.000-07:00

Everyone should check their virtual mailbox (email) for some light reading.

Consider it homework. There will be no written test, but there may be some pop quizzes at upcoming practices.

Good Start

2011-09-10T23:09:00.000-07:00

Always nice to start off the season with a win. Thought we had decent energy (especially considering the heat) and we strung some decent passes together. There were times when we looked the part and other times it was pretty clear it was our first game back after summer holidays.

Congrats to Sydney, Brianna and Natasha on their goals. Pick of the bunch for me was Nat's - good finish, good through ball (Dallas), good awareness (Lily), good run to create space (Georgia) and good composure (Brianna). The build up was excellent and the finish was clinical.

The emphasis Tuesday will be fitness and core training. Runners are optional for the running component. Remember to try and be there for 4:45pm if you can.

Season Opener

2011-09-09T16:05:00.000-07:00

Kick-off is 2:15pm @ Lochside Turf. Please be there for 1:30pm. Remember to hydrate properly tonight and tomorrow.

And we're wearing the GH jerseys, not the "Fusion" jerseys, blue shorts, blue socks.

See you all tomorrow.

Labour Day Game

2011-09-04T17:25:00.000-07:00

Reminder that kick-off is 10am so pPlease be there for 9:30am.

I will have jerseys for everyone (no, not the new jerseys).

IMPORTANT: Tuesday Practice Change

2011-08-29T23:44:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow's practice has been moved to 5pm at Tyndall Turf.

Sorry for the short notice. Hope everyone can be there.

Club Logo

2011-08-29T09:02:00.000-07:00

Here it is. Uniform samples will be here this week and we will do sizing at the team meeting Thursday.

Practices Next Week

2011-08-26T21:22:00.000-07:00

In response to overwhelming demand from the girls to practice earlier in the evening, next week's practices will be 5:30pm @ Lochside. Let's hope for continued hot and sunny weather ;-)

This means our team meeting will be 7:00pm on Thursday. I will bring some chocolate milk if others will bring some fresh fruit (watermelon, grapes, pineapple, anything with high water content).

Remember to bring your runners Tuesday for a short run on the Lochside Trail.

Next Steps

2011-08-19T07:44:00.000-07:00

Congrats to everyone on their efforts last night. Each of you should be very pleased with your contributions to a well played game of soccer. You have left Brett Hyslop and myself with some very difficult decisions.

At the end of the game tonight I explained the process from here. I wanted to confirm in writing so that there is no misunderstanding:

On Monday evening I will contact all players by phone advising of their status.
16 (sixteen) players will be selected to the Gold team.
16 is the maximum number of players I am permitted to select at this time due to uncertainty over final registration numbers at this level.
An additional one or two players will be told they have been placed on a reserve list. These players will be invited to continue training with the Gold team in anticipation of their be added to the team.
Players not selected for the team will be invited to play for the U16 Silver team coached by Tom Lee.
Additional options may be presented.

I know some players may be puzzled as to why only 16 players are being selected when we carried 18 players last season. The primary reason for this is the club has enjoyed a significant increase in registered players over last season and there is the possibility we may have enough players to form three teams at U16. Club policy requires that we make the number of players assigned to each team as balanced as possible so that no team is at a disadvantage. (e.g. 16 players on each team). So until we know that our choosing more players does not compromise the club's ability to form a third U16 team, 16 players is all we are permitted to select.

I apologize for any uncertainty this causes. I had hoped to have the team selected much earlier in August. Hopefully the situation will be cleared up very quickly, however it might be the end of August before we can be 100% certain how many players can be selected.

Trust this helps.

Tryouts Next Week

2011-08-13T21:18:00.000-07:00

I know there are some questions about tryouts so here is a brief overview of the process.

Tuesday and Thursday are the final tryouts for the 2011-12 team. The tryouts in May were used to confirm the first twelve players for next year's team and identify a pool of players (8-12 players) who would be considered for the final spots on the team. Tuesday's is 7pm at Lochside and Thursday's 7pm at Tyndall.

Tuesday will consist of some ball work and a scrimmage while Thursday will be a game against the U17 girls. Tuesday will have more of a practice feel but Thursday is a game where players are being assessed by Brett, Steph and myself so there will be very little coaching.

The first sixteen players selected for the team will be announced on Monday August 22. One or two additional players will also be tentatively assigned to the team at that time. Their place on the team will be confirmed by the end of the following week. Players not being selected for the team will also be contacted on Monday. These players are likely to have a couple of options and I will discuss these options with the players.

Thursday Kickaround

2011-08-08T08:19:00.001-07:00

Reminder that we're having a kick-around Thursday 7pm at Lochside. Anyone and everyone is welcome.

And the new club name is....

2011-08-04T16:19:00.000-07:00

Saanich Fusion FC!

As if there was any doubt ;-) Logo will be available next week.

BMO Team of the Week

2011-08-03T08:40:00.000-07:00

Please vote for the club by voting for the Impact! If successful the money would go toward turfing the gravel field at Tyndall. Each family member with an eamil can vote each day. We're well behind in the votes so need to catch up as quickly as possible.

http://community.bmo.com/soccer/content/cordova-bay-impact-100

2011-12 Fusion Tryout Update

2011-07-23T01:29:00.000-07:00

Final try-outs for the 2011-12 Fusion will be held Tuesday August 16 at Lochside Turf and Thursday August 18th at Tyndall Turf. Both sessions begin at 7pm.

The 16th will be an intra-squad game and the 18th against the Girls U17 Gold. The purpose of these games is to confirm the first sixteen players and identify the candidates for the remaining spots on the team. The final number of players selected for the 2011-12 team will not be confirmed until late-August when the final Girls U16 registration numbers are known.

If you are unable to attend one or both try-outs please call or email to let me know.

I have also scheduled an optional kick-around for August 11, 7pm @ Lochside Turf.

Pictures, I need Pictures!

2011-07-18T10:56:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately I forgot to take shots of the games while I was screaming at the top of my lungs ;-)

Anyone have pictures they want to share?

Provincials Recap

2011-07-18T02:02:00.000-07:00

Now that we've all decompressed from the car chase down the Fraser Canyon, here are some thoughts on our games at Provincials.

Overall I would say this year's tournament was of a higher-calibre than Richmond. It's always tough to compare when so many teams were different, but watching West Van and CMF I was struck by how physically strong thos teams were. In terms of our results I think the difference was a combination of luck and injuries. We were very lucky last year to win with fourteen players and avoid major injuries. However this year I never felt we were completely healthy going in to the tourney and the result was in key moments we didn't quite have enough experience on the field to see us through. The Coquitlam game was the key match and CMF's expertise at set-plays was the separator. But do we score five or six or seven against Kootenay South with a full line-up, enough to beat CMF on goal difference? Food for thought for next season, but it shows the fine margins which divide the winners from third place.

THURSDAY: Fusion (2) 4 Kootenay South 0(0)

It might have been 4-0 after ten minutes! Complete domination of our opponent with nothing to show for it but a disallowed goal. Why didn't they have goal line technology at 100 Mile? Where was Sepp Blatter? Bri's quick shot on the turn looked to have bounced off the bar and in behind the keeper but the referee was never in a position to see it. And as we were about to learn, the AR's weren't exactly in position to make the call (even if they were looking, which is doubtful). Anyway we eventually did get two goals before half to calm the nerves with Olivia and Colleen both finishing very well from six yards. Milly and Shelby both added markers in the second half, both tap ins from close range. What? Oh that's right, Shelby's goal was from a little farther out, say...fifty yards. Can't recall if it was a one-bouncer or two, but the last bounce caught their keeper off her line and it was light's out from there! The game reminded me of our first game last Provincials - nerves and bounces finally getting under control.

FREEZER DAY: Fusion (0) 2 Coquitlam Metro-Ford (1) 2

Crikey it was cold that morning. Felt more like November in Sooke. With Sophie and Emma out we had to make changes to personnel and several players were played slightly out of their comfort zone. These changes had us on the back foot and CMF had most of the early play and went close a couple of times. We battled back and forced their defenders to give us some respect (until then all we had was their elbows to taste). But just when we looked to have got to half all-square CMF played another long ball over top for their forwards to chase (does anyone in Van play to feet?) and despite Lily and Shelby's best efforts the CMF forward nipped in and slotted home. It was a tough time to give up a goal and I didn't like our odds without some luck.

Second half we came out very strong and had most of the play. Colleen's solo goal might have been the best we scored in the tournament, her dribbling causing the CMF backline fits before she pulled it on to her left foot and finished calmly. At 1-1 I thought the scoring was done. But with five minutes to go Natasha made a great run down the left side and just as she entered the penalty area she was chopped-down. Wow, a challenge on Natasha gets called! This was a dead-cert penalty, but then so too was the two-handed push in the first half. Up stopped Colleen to make it 2-1 and all we had to do was hang on. But we didn't. And regardless whether the referee made the wrong call or not, a corner was awarded and we didn't defend it properly and they scored. CMF had threatened off their corners all game (IMHO the best girls team at attacking the ball in the penalty area we've ever played) so it wasn't a shock when they scored. A huge disappointment, yes. Shock, no. The full time whistle followed within thirty seconds and we knew our fate was out of our hands.

I was extremely pleased with how we battled back in this game and the second half was our best soccer of the tournament, proving again that we play our best when we're challenged. I don't think CMF had faced a forward line with our energy and talent-level and I know they were might relieved to get the draw.

SATURDAY: Fusion (5) 9 100 Mile House (0) 0

This game was all about scoring at least five goals and keeping a clear sheet. It was five-bagel at half-time and we cruised through the second half. Natasha with a hat-trick (was it a natural hat-trick - three goals in a row - I cant remember), a brace from Colleen (one a nice assist from Sophie, the other is a blur!), Sophie (back from injury with a brief 10 minute cameo and a scorcher from inside the area), Sophia (her first, side-footed after a great pullback from Brianna) , Abby (penalty! calmly dispatched after she was fouled in the box) and finished with a breakaway goal from Bri (a lungbuster of 50 yards which as I recall pretty much began in our half!). It might have 15-0 for some misplaced shots and brave goalkeeping. Credit to 100 Mile, I don't recall any really cheap fouls (but they did have a player who must have stolen Natasha's eyeliner ;-)

Afterwords we decamped and made our way to the next field to watch Kootenay South play CMF. We needed CMF to win by fewer than 5 goals to make the final and at times it looked like our prayers were answered. But in the end the 7-2 scoreline was enough to see them through to the final instead. Along the way many of the girls got a lesson in expletives from some CMF players (classy!) and witnessed a gutsy performance from a Kootenay team that played their hearts out in hope they could get us the result we needed. And they nearly did! The girl with the broken wrist almost scored at the death, a goal which would have seen us in the final. It was really that close! Hopefully we will see Kootenay South again next year. Perhaps even at our Jamboree - I'll make sure they get in for free! they were alot of fun and great credit to themselves and Rossland.

Saturday night was our BBQ and what an excellent spread from Marc, Yvonne, Collin and Brett. Volleyball (with the boys!) and horseshoes followed until the bugs came calling.

SUNDAY: Bronze Medal Game - Fusion (1) 1 Kelowna United (0) 0

It wasn't the game we wanted to be playing, but we raised our game just enough to see-off the challenge from a Kelowna hell-bent on evening a score (they don't like anybody, I'm told, so it's nothing personal). Brianna scored the lone-marker just before half-time kneeing-in at the far post after a great corner from Olivia. Colleen had a chance to make it 2-0 with a late penalty but her first effort bounced back off the post and even though she slotted-home the rebound, the referee correctly (if belatedly) made the right call and disallowed the goal because no other player had touched the ball. Tough way to learn a fairly obscure rule of the game. Ironic because it was probably the referee's best call of the tournament - certainly it was the best he made in our game ;-). Oh ya, the AR's were excellent in this game. Ahem. Jenna was stellar for us in this game and we escaped a late corner for the win.

So we didn't come home as Provincial Champions. However we won three games and tied the other which means we remain unbeaten at Provincials! (there's that silver lining!). And we scored 16 goals against 2 allowed. I can't imagine many teams have left Provincials with those kind of statistics without the championship trophy. But we medal (which isn't too shabby), we learn more about ourselves and what it takes to compete at the highest level and we live to play another game (or two).

Some thoughts on each player's week:

Jenna - solid throughout the tournament, with excellent handling that didn't leave any forwards with rebounds. Made strange noises during a board game. I think she was sleep-walking but I was told not to wake sleep-walkers (or the dead). Strange.

Shelby - played her best soccer of the year in 100 Mile House, which is saying something because Shelby was a revelation this season at centre-back. Not a morning person but likes waffles.

Lily - another commanding week from our vice-captain; didn't get as much time in midfield and we missed her composure there against CMF. And we missed her at the hotel as she decided she needed some mental health time with her family.

Emma - a week she'll prefer to forget as she played only a handful of minutes due to her sprained ankle; the CMF game might have looked a bit different if we had Emma and Sophie in the lineup that day. Enjoyed her sister's company, sort of.

Alisha - ended the weekend with an excellent performance against Kelowna; didn't really have much chance to impose herself at forward but was a studette at horseshoes. Who knew?

Milly - scored a beauty goal from a great pullback from Sophie in our first game, but was also amongst the wounded warriors (it's hard to tape a headache!); another favourite moment for Milly was when she threw herself onto the floor after being frightened by noises from outside her hotel room sliding glass door ;-)

Olivia - also her best soccer of the season and an auspicious time to do so; great first goal got us on our way. Actually saw Olivia get excited after her cross lead to the winner against Kelowna. And a high five! Again, who knew?

Brittney - almost added her name to the scoresheet with a curling effort against 100 Mile. Made her mom ride in the back of the pickup, tisk, tisk :-(

Abby - a first goal for our Abbster, the whole team was going crazy when she slotted-home the penalty. A real party animal who kept everyone awake at the hotel.

Sofia - played in a number of positions, but was most effective up-front where she opposition defenders got acquainted with her knees. In their backsides. Spent alot of her free time golfing, or at least running after boys on the golf course at 108 Mile.

Tessa - had her best game of the season in the game against Kelowna where she won everything in the air at centreback and looked like she had played there all year; also on the injured wagon for some key moments and fairly low-key at the hotel. Which makes me wonder.

Georgia - combatitive and opinionated (especially about referees), always popular with the opposition (the CMF girls love you!), our Georgie covered every blade of grass at 100 Mile. Apparently someone gave her my email so I also discovered Georgia is good at that too.

Sophie - wounded along with Emma, Sophie still had enough in her locker to score a goal and make a couple more over two games; between the two of them they almost went through all the athletic tape I brought! Kind of mopy at the hotel, perhaps still getting over the shock of her parents behaviour at WWU?

Kaz - got up close and personal with the grass turf as she spent the game almost permanently under the legs of one of the Kelowna giants. Scored a nice goal and made some others despite getting knocked all over the park. the bugs liked her so much one tried to catch a ride back home to Victoria - in her ear! How was the hospital in 100 Mile, Kaz?

Colleen - another Provincials, another five star (goal) effort! Left more defenders guessing and gasping for air than she did in Richmond! Now we need to keep her free of injury for league play! When Colleen wasn't playing soccer she went paddling with her dad, swam 5 km, ran for another 10km and leaped some tall buildings.

Natasha - probably the most fouled player at the tournament (I think we should copyright that) and plenty of bruises to show for it. So we know it's not just Victoria refs that won't give Nat the protection she deserves. Four goals to show for the week and hugs and kisses (and arms, shoulders and cleats) from the CMF defenders ;-) was noticeably absent from the shenanigans at the hotel. Which makes me wonder.

Brianna - worked extremely hard all week and ended our tournament with the winning goal; surprised Brianna's arms are still attached after the CMF defenders practically pulled them off her body! Complaining about the referees? Who, me? Most commonly seen with Kaz, plotting to take over the world I suppose.

Thanks to Brett and Karen for suffering through my moodiness on the sidelines. And to the players for the beep test (my heart).

Thanks to 100 Mile for the hospitality and the 108 Mile for the mosquito bites. Bye bye!

Provincials - First Quick Thoughts

2011-07-11T08:55:00.000-07:00

It wasn't the medal we wanted, but to win the bronze is a great achievement and something we should all celebrate - players and parents. We came remarkably close to repeating as champions and we remain unbeaten at Provincials, both of which are testimony to the character and will of this team. Some great memories were created in 100 Mile House and I'm sure all of us will look back very fondly on our experiences both on and off the field. And hopefully we will learn from them and return next season with renewed purpose and energy.

My thanks to everyone for a great time in 108 Mile, but especially Mary Lynn and Cindy on getting us the accommodations, Marc and Yvonne for organizing the delicious BBQ on Saturday, Brett and Karen for their efforts on the sidelines, and all the players for their efforts and off-field behaviour. The camaraderie the girls formed with the Kootenay South team might have just been the highlight of our five days and the girls were always a credit to our club.

And of course, our cheering section! Whether it was at the opening ceremonies or at the games, you dominated the opposition and gave the girls some needed extra energy. I can't believe another coach has ever been warned by a referee that his teams parent's are "cheering too loudly"!

I'll do a write-up of our games in the next day or so. In the meantime please send your pictures (games, 108 Mile, etc.) and I'll get them on the blog.

Hope everyone arrived safe and sound!

PS Wasn't it nice last night to get a sleep without the fear of mosquitoes?

Inspiration for Provincials

2011-07-05T22:17:00.000-07:00

Thought you might want a reminder.

Fusion 2 Kelowna United 1

Let's do it again ;-) Have a safe trip up Fusion!

100 Mile House Road Trip - Exercises

2011-07-04T16:11:00.000-07:00

Back by popular demand...

Long road trips can put a lot of strain on your body so it's important that everyone performs some basic exercises on the way up to 100 Mile House.

Blood Circulation Exercises:

1. Contract your abs by pulling the belly button towards the spine without holding your breath. Hold for two seconds, release and repeat 16 times.

2. Place a pillow or towel between the knees and squeeze. Hold for two seconds, then release slightly. Repeat 15 times.

3. Hold a pillow between hands at chest level (or just press palms together) and squeeze for two seconds, release and repeat 15 reps.

4. Place palms on the ceiling of the car, shoulder-width apart. Press into the roof for two seconds, then release. Repeat for 16 reps.

Outside of the Car Exercises:

1. Reach your arms above your head toward the sky without lifting your heels. Hold for 20 seconds and release. Repeat as necessary.

2. Take a five minute walk around the area to stretch out the leg muscles and get your blood circulating throughout your body.

3. To stretch your neck, gently bend your head backward so that your eyes are looking upward. Stop when you feel the stretch and hold for 20 seconds. Return to the starting position and repeat five times

4. To relieve and stretch out the shoulders, clasp your hands behind your lower back, keeping an upright posture. Lift your clasped hands out and away from the body and stop when you start to feel a little discomfort. Hold the position for 15 to 30 seconds and then release.

Have a safe trip up everyone!

100 Mile House Weather Update

2011-07-03T23:00:00.000-07:00

http://www.theweathernetwork.com/weather/cabc0001

Not quite as hot as we might have feared, with some rain thrown in for good measure.

Tournament Preparation

2011-07-02T19:58:00.000-07:00

Here are some reminders and advice from last year on what to pack and wear.

What to Pack
- Fusion uniform + 2 pairs of shorts and 2 sets of blue socks
- black shorts, white socks in case we need to wear our CB jersey
- soccer cleats for both grass and turf, I expect the fields will be hard
- shinguards
- sunscreen, hairbands, pro-wrap
- bathing suit, flip flops for pool
- at least three changes of clothes, toiletries, any medication

What to bring to games
- wear your GHCB jacket over your jersey
- water and energy drinks will be supplied
- energy bars

What to Remember
We are representing GHCB and Vancouver Island so we need to be model citizens/athletes at all times. Remember the team Code of Conduct and behave yourselves at all times (especially in hotel hallways ;-)

Have fun ladies and make the most of your opportunity!

Canadian Goalkeeper Instant Hero!

2011-06-23T00:09:00.000-07:00

http://youtu.be/oBbrL0S_9fI

Canada scoring a goal at the World Cup is rare enough and a tie is the stuff of pipe dreams, but at the U17 Boy's World Cup we managed to do both - and it took a goalkeeper to do it! Watch the video, that's a nice one-hopper from the other side of the pitch!

I never managed to score a goal from open-play - hit the crossbar once or twice on punts and goal kicks and scored several from the penalty spot - so I have to say I'm jealous. This kid will be famous the rest of his life. Oh, and he was the backup goalie and was only playing because the starting keeper was injured. Too funny!

All that said, it was against England and the way the English defend it makes complete sense for us to score from 60 yards.

Two weeks to go!

2011-06-22T21:30:00.000-07:00

Here is a quick glance at the plans for the next two weeks:

Sunday June 26 - 7pm practice @ Lochside
Monday June 27 - team-bonding event (check Facebook page for more details)
Wednesday June 29 - 5:30pm game vs. EMS @ UVic Field #3 (this is the new turf field)
Sunday July 3- 10am practice/game @ Lochside
Tuesday July 5 - 11am light practice (set plays, PK's)
Wednesday July 6 - leave for 100 Mile House

No Practice Thursday

2011-06-21T22:08:00.000-07:00

A respite from practice this Thursday to allow recovery from exams and the waning focus that comes with the last days of school (and first days of summer).

We will re-group for a couple of games, possible as early as this Sunday against EMS. After that we have tentative games set for June 30 and practice sessions on July 3 and 4.

CSE 1 Fusion 1

2011-06-07T00:22:00.000-07:00

Very pleased with your effort today. We tired near the end and lost possession far too cheaply because of it, but for the balance of the 75 minutes I thought we gave as good as we got. I think it helped that a couple of girls (Tessa, Sophie and Milly) had a little bit of pride on the line. After a couple of months off it was nice to see the Fusion back together again (albeit missing some pieces).

The game had a decent tempo with some pretty robust tackles (reference Jaymie's tackle on Natasha) but that's why I wanted to play the game. Reynolds CSE are a good team that play a very up-tempo style of game and that suited my purposes just fine. You need to play more games in the heat against good teams so that we begin to acclimatize to the expected temperatures in 100 Mile House. For example average temps for 100 Mile in early July are about 25 Celsius - pretty similar to what we experienced today.

Good goal from Natasha. Proves the adage you cant score if you don't shoot. We had short phases of play where we had them on the back foot and created some half-chances, but I don't recall another menacing effort. Two or three times we had their defence off-balance with quick throws, but I still thought our forwards were too isolated from the midfield and their were a couple of occasions crying-out for a positive run onto a knockdown from our striker. We were also very right-dominant in the second half - very little going down Bri's wing or the left side of the field in general.

Defensively Jenna made some decent saves and Tessa didn't look out of place in the heart of defence, although she'll not want to admit it :P. The usual solid efforts from Shelby and Lily, particularly when you consider the speed they were up against. Midfielders and fullbacks allowed a bit too much space for their opponents, especially off throw-ins. I lost count of the number of times we allowed CSE players to turn with the ball and this is how their goal got started :-(. There were a couple of crosses that we didn't cut out that might have been converted on another day.

But all in all a good reminder of the focus, energy and execution we'll need to compete in 100 Mile House.

Reminder that there is no practice Thursday. Much of the team is off to Seattle for three games this weekend so we will regroup next week and begin preparation for our remaining exhibition games.

Try-outs reminder

2011-05-28T15:29:00.000-07:00

Reminder that players should be there for 6pm tomorrow so that they can get a proper warm-up.

Good game today from the Fusionistas on the WCA. Thought the girls had the better of Peninsula territorially and chance-wise in the second half and were unlucky not to get the draw.

It was also an excellent fitness exercise as many of you played almost the entire 80 minutes. That's three high intensity games in the space of two weeks and all of this is benefiting our preparations for Provincials.

See you tomorrow.

Reynolds CSE Game

2011-05-25T09:58:00.000-07:00

Our game against Reynolds CSE is set for Monday June 6, 3:30pm @ Braefoot Turf.

Please send me an email ASAP if you are not able to attend.

Practices - Earlier Start Time

2011-05-25T09:51:00.000-07:00

Starting this week, our Thursday practices will begin 15 minutes earlier at 6:45pm.

In light of the academy game against PSA on Saturday, this week will be more about ball work and shooting practice than fitness. Lucky you!

Check the game and practice schedule for more changes.

Super Y Game

2011-05-25T09:31:00.000-07:00

Good win for the Academy girls against the SYU14 girls. I thought it took about ten minutes for you to find your feet and bearings but once you decided to do the hard work battling for and winning the ball it was pretty clear you would win that game. Still looking for the fullbacks to get more involved in the attack and you playing through our midfield more, but overall a good showing with a sprinkling of excellent performers.

Congrats to Natasha and Georgia on their goals. Natasha had to work hard for her trio of goals, especially her third where she had to keep her balance to finish her strike after a hard shoulder charge from their #18. And congrats also to Colleen on her great run down the right and pullback for Georgia to slot home the fourth. That came after a great through ball out of defence - not sure who made that pass/clearance but it was excellent.

I've arranged another game against the SYU14's for the full Fusion squad. The game will be played mid-week in late June and I hope to have dates confirmed next week. I've also been contacted by Reynolds CSE and should have more details on a game with them tonight or tomorrow.

Next up for the Academy girls is Peninsula on Saturday. So not much time to rest up for what should prove a physical encounter. Hopefully Brett manages to find a "capable" ref ;-)

New Name for Club

2011-05-18T09:28:00.000-07:00

As some of you may already now, there is a contest (of sorts) to pick a new name for the club.

So if you have any ideas on a new name for the club please send your idea to ghcb.newname@gmail.com by May 28th, 2011. You should include your name with your submission so that the club can recognize your contribution if the club ends up selecting your name.

Please note that "Fusion" has already been taken. The merged Vancouver-Richmond HPL team chose "our" name for their new club. Smart people.

Provincial Practices begin Thursday

2011-05-16T15:41:00.000-07:00

It was good to see most everyone out at try-outs last night. A couple of players were away due to illness or ball, but otherwise everyone was accounted for. Last night's practice was a scrimmage, but I will be more involved in the next session so there will be more of a warm-up and skills work. So please come for 6:00pm on May 29th.

This Thursday we'll hold our first practice in preparation for Provincials. Practice will start at 7pm and we'll likely go for an hour or so. I am still working on some exhibition games that can fit in and around World Cups Academy schedule and I hope to have opponents and locations confirmed next week.

2011-12 U16 Fusion Tryouts

2011-05-10T23:39:00.000-07:00

The tryout schedule has been announced. Two sessions are planned as follows:

Sunday May 15, 6:30-7:30pm @ Lochside Turf
Sunday May 29, 6:00-7:30pm @ Lochside Turf

Any questions please feel free to call or email.

Fusion Wind-up Party

2011-05-10T23:36:00.000-07:00

Thanks again to Brett and Lisa for the burgers, salmon and cake at our wind-up party. And thanks to everyone else for all the other salads, desserts and fixings. Hope everyone enjoyed the party.

Have to say the Fusion v Parents game itself was a bit of a disappointment. Rampant cheating and fouls pervaded the game keeping the match official far too busy. It's a good thing he didn't bring his red cards or the Fusion could have easily been down to 14 or even 15 players by the end of the game. In the end the girls looked a bit rusty and undisciplined (not even wearing mandatory equipment like boots and shinguards) while the parents and siblings looked in mid-season form and ran away easy and worthy winners.

Highlights included John C's wonderful header goal, some great not falling over skills from various parents, and of course the main event - the Koehn sister's wrestling match. Good comedy relief in between some excellent passing from the parents and siblings (actually, mostly the siblings ;-)

Tier 2 Update

2011-04-29T08:28:00.000-07:00

A quick update on Tier 2 plans for 2011-12. Last night at the Tier 2 Committee the pilot age groups were selected and our age level (U16) was not chosen. Instead the U14 and U15 age levels were selected.

This does not necessarily mean the status quo for U16 (there remains the possibility of some form of inter-locking play with upper island teams), however I anticipate that the U16 Gold Division will remain single-year and game times will remain Saturday's at 2:15pm.

Changes coming to LISA’s Gold Level soccer.

2011-04-21T09:07:00.000-07:00

An update on Tier 2 discussions. What follows is the core of a letter being sent to all clubs and coaches over the next week or so. It provides a good summary of where we're going and when. It is especially important for Fusion parents as there is a good chance that next year's U16 girls division might be one of the pilot age groups.

Your feedback is welcome. James Darke and myself are the current GHCB reps on this committee.

*****************************************************************************************

On April 19, Presidents from all 10 LISA Clubs approved the following motions (the motions may not have been exactly as written below, but what's written below captures the essence of the decisions): "Pursue changes to Gold level soccer (Tier 2) using the 'VIPL - Boundaries Option' and fully implement the 'VIPL - Boundaries Option' in the 2012/1013 season".

They then agreed that: "The LISA Tier 2 Committee should work with Upper Island Soccer Association to implement a 'pilot' of the VIPL Boundaries Option prior to the 2012/2013 season by creating a VIPL League for 2 age groups (2 boys and 2 girls) in the 2011/2012 season"

What this essentially means is they want to slowly implement the VIPL Boundaries Option. Therefore we're going to implement a couple of age groups this coming season, then fully implement it across the other age groups and genders the following season.

LISA will now work with its Clubs and Upper Island to determine which 2 age groups/genders we should implement this coming year. Those discussions will start very shortly.

I encourage everyone to read the "VIPL-Boundaries" blog post (http://lisatier2.blogspot.com/ ) to get an overview of the current proposal. When you read it you will be able to understand which age groups will be included in a fully implemented VIPL and how the leagues below Tier 2 (Tier 3 = Silver and Bronze) will also benefit from this structure. The final implementation of the VIIPL may not be exactly as its written here, but this is the basis for our decisions.

Stu Hackett

Chairperson

LISA Tier 2 Committee

MMA at Tyndall Turf

2011-04-10T22:21:00.000-07:00

OK, so it was not our day today. It was instead a perfect storm of injuries, poor form, abject refereeing and an opponent absolutely committed to winning at all costs. Our U15 boy's team had a run-in with the same club a couple of years ago so I had been warned. But you have to witness the behaviour to believe it! Now I understand why the emergency at Royal Columbian and Surrey Memorial hospitals are so busy - it's because of all of the soccer injuries!

Soccer is a physical game for sure, but the head-shots and cheap fouls today were completely unnecessary. And the comments afterward by their players and parents were not in the spirit of the game.

So let's take stock of where we are. We are still going to Provincials, we are still committed to each other, and we are still the coolest team this side of anywhere.

No practices this week. We'll let school soccer take over our calendars for a while and we'll regroup next week sometime. In the meantime I will source some strength and conditioning sessions for May and June as we prepare for Provincials.

Our Coastal Cup opponents are....

2011-04-03T18:26:00.000-07:00

Langley FC K-OS. More information on our opponents will be available at practice Tuesday and Thursday.

Peninsula Game Recap - The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

2011-04-02T19:33:00.000-07:00

It was important we played a high-level team in preparation for next Sunday and I don't think they come any tougher at U15. So just playing the game was a positive. It helped us work off some rust and gave everyone a better idea of how far we need to go to get back to full speed.

As the title would tend to suggest, it was bit of a mixed-bag in terms of our performance. First the good. We created several excellent scoring chances and Colleen's goal was our first against Peninsula this season. When we got the ball down and played a bit we caused them problems. We probably had more clear-cut scoring chances but they did a better job of converting theirs. Jenna made a great save off their player in the second-half. When we scored our goal we got energy and dominated for 5 minutes and should have tied it up. You responded to some pretty scathing criticism at half-time. Finally, it was sunny, most of the time, and soccer is always a better alternative to the mail or texting on your phones. Or even boys, definitely boys.

Second, the bad (of the things we can control - we all agree the referee was bad but he's an example of something we can't control). We only scored on one of our chances. We need to be more ruthless in-front of goal (many of our shots went straight at the keeper) and make better, quicker decisions in the final third. Too often our final pass was the wrong one, such as when Natasha shot from an impossible angle when a drag-back pass to Brianna would have resulted in a goal. Not picking on ya Nat, but that was the best example. Defensively we looked like we were going through the motions and they turned with the ball WAY too often. We cannot afford to play with this lack of urgency, belief or focus if we hope to do anything in Coastal Cup.

Third, the ugly. We looked like we were running in molasses with 20 kilo weights tied around our necks. In short, we looked fatigued - mentally and physically. This is why I want to stress again how important it is for everyone (not just the school soccer players) to get a proper rest and diet this week. Our passing was ugly. Yes the field was bumpy, but you have to adjust to the playing surface and I think we struggled in that department today. Our shape was poor - forwards didn't track back enough, fullbacks didn't get forward enough, midfielders didn't midfield enough.

Hope everyone gets a good rest (breakfast in bed would be a nice touch from your parents) and we will recoup Tuesday. Tuesday and Thursday practices will be light workouts. Tuesday will have more fitness while Thursday will be set plays and shooting.

Panyee FC - a little bit of inspiration.

2011-03-31T13:43:00.000-07:00

Discovered this on the blog of Gregor Young - the TD for Point Grey Soccer Club in Vancouver. He always has interesting thinsg to show and say but this story is amazing. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jU4oA3kkAWU&feature=player_detailpage

A seriously good player!

2011-03-31T13:41:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwKGF6pbihY&feature=player_detailpage

Found a couple of good soccer videos on YouTube. The first highlights Matt LeTissier, who played for Southampton in England in the 1980's and 1990's. I had the pleasure of watching Matt play in 1989 - he was a genius but never got the recognition he deserved.

Outside of Dennis Bergkamp of Arsenal fame (I'll find a video of him later), who came along a bit later, I dont think I've ever seen a player who could score from a half-volley quite like LeTissier.

They don't make players like either of them anymore.

Peninsula Exhibition Game

2011-03-30T21:12:00.001-07:00

Our exhibition game against Peninsula U15 girls is confirmed for 12:30pm Saturday at Doug Day.

100 Mile House? Hold your horses!

2011-03-29T23:57:00.000-07:00

Unofficially, it appears we won't be going to 100 Mile House for Provincials. Instead BC Soccer is in the process of picking a new location after LISA (and perhaps other districts) complained about the lack of accommodation for teams. Gee, really?

So we wait to see where they land. They will likely stay in the Southern Interior, hopefully somewhere closer to home or nearer Okanagan Lake. Penticton is already hosting the other age groups so that might be the safe bet, but more likely we'll be going to Kamloops, Vernon or Kelowna. Of course they could send us further north to Williams Lake or Quesnel - this is BS Soccer after all and they had the bright idea to award it to 100 Mile House in the first place! Stay tuned, hopefully I know more by next week.

In the meantime DO NOT cancel your hotel reservation until we have a new destination confirmed by BC Soccer.

Exhibition Game Tomorrow

2011-03-25T11:39:00.001-07:00

We're playing the U14 Boys Gold team. Kick-off is 2pm at Lochside Turf.

See you there around 1:30pm.