9/28/09 Practice

We had a really good practice tonight. Everyone worked really hard. We needed to work on fitness and ball control skills. We ran a bit late because some were not listening or giving their best. On a team, one player affects what happens to everyone else. Every player needs to focus and do their best.

Wednesday will be a hard practice as well. We have some issues to resolve before we can scrimmage with the girls. I am not sure if that will happen on Wednesday or not. The U12 girls are a good team and playing them benefits us. Friday we will take it easier. Saturday we have our big road trip.

9/26/09 Crusaders vs Medford Arsenal

Crusaders 0 vs Medford Arsenal 7 (at RSA)

Captain: William

It was a beautiful day for soccer. We were short a player with Sebastian sick, so we had eleven. Again, I thought we played well. It seemed more even than the score shows. We had our own chances to score but just could not get it in the net. Brodie played another great game in goal. The goals scored were just good shots. Being a goal keeper when we are getting scored on a lot is really tough mentally, and I want to commend Brodie for giving it his all right to the end. He is showing some strong character. In fact, the entire team showed that they do not give up. They played hard right until the end.

At the half, I decided to move a few players around. I plan to continue this. Nolan had some great efforts as a forward and almost scored!

We still need to do the basics....marking up on kicks and throw-ins. We also need to do better on our offensive throw-ins. We cannot just give up the ball. We are slowly making progress each game though. I was really pleased to see that Mark was able to remember what I had talked to him about in practice. He also played very well.

We will have a hard week of practice to get ready for Basin United. We know they are tough.

Great job everyone!

Alex gives a Medford player some grief.

Declan and Cooper team up to stop a Medford attacker.

Thanks! Austin steals the ball.

Maybe we are a bit bunched up here??? Six players together...

Brodie ready to make one of his many great saves.

9/13/09 Crusaders vs Medford Arsenal

Crusaders 0 vs Medford Arsenal 8 (at Medford)

Captain: Alex

Our first road trip! We got to play at the new US Cellular Park on turf. It is a really nice facility, though I would rather play on grass. We only had 11 players since Sivan could not make the trip. Fortunately, it was not terribly hot and there was a good breeze. We had a low key warmup to save our strength. Medford had some big kids! They were strong on offense but not that impressive on defense, but we could not get much attacking going. Again, the Classic level was new to half of the team. I knew it would take a game or two to get kids to realize the level of play. I thought we played decently. Brodie did as especially good job in goal. It is nice to have a good keeper. Medford just had some tough shots that could not be saved.

We had a good team meal at Abby's after the game. It is nice to see the boys becoming a "team".

Defending a Medford corner kick.

The Refs give their speech.

The Crusaders!

Kickoff.

Coaches give the lecture.

William challenges for the ball.

Declan says "That's my ball!"

Pre-game discussion.

9/12/09 Crusaders vs Ashland United

Crusaders 0 vs Ashland United 7 (at RSA)

Captain: Declan

The first game of the season! It was a really hot day in the mid to upper 90's. The sad news was that we found out that Mikel was too old for our team. He was allowed to play, but that was his last time playing for us. Good luck Mikel!

For the players who had never played Classic soccer before, it was a huge eye opener! Yes, this is not Rec soccer! We really struggled through the game and the heat just made it worse. The bright spot for the game was Alex. He played a strong game as defender, especially in the second half. He did not quit!

Plenty to work on this season!

9/19/09 Crusaders vs Basin United

Crusaders 0 vs Basin United 8 (at RSA)

Captain: Brodie

Basin United made the long journey over from Klamath Falls on Saturday. It was a perfect day for soccer with a bit of rain and the temperature in the mid-70's.

BU is the strongest team in the league this season, but we were ready for battle. I was very impressed with how we played today. The boys, all of them, stepped up a big notch from last week, and the game did not seem as lopsided as the score might indicate. Brodie was outstanding in the goal. He was really aggressive and made some great saves. Sivan really came to life and played as a very confident defender. We missed him last Sunday. Today we were missing Raymon, as he was sick all week. That left us with just 11 players, no subs, no water breaks, no rest, and the boys rose to the task.

Super job guys!

Declan makes a move.

Mark clears the ball.

Cole makes a pass and looks upfield.

Cole and Sivan keep the ball in Basin's half.

Austin takes the ball upfield.

Thank you Bev for the photos.

9/20/09 Crusaders vs Ashland United

RSA Crusaders 0 vs Ashland United 5 (at Ashland)

The boys played an outstanding game today! I do not care what the score was. Especially in the second half, we played on the same level as Ashland (they scored just 1 in the second half). We came close to scoring a number of times. I could tell at the end of the game that EVERY player had done his best and was happy about that, despite the score. I told them I was really proud of them.

Let's keep working hard to get better!

Sivan and Nolan contain an Ashland attack.

Pre-game. One last moment to relax.