Youth soccer club

[TU_BLA]

I’m not sure fields 2-4 are that much better. The good news at south is they are slowly getting lights on more fields. We play the 2009 FCL Girls tonight at 6 on Titan South Field 6. If you’re out there come by and say hi. I will be wearing a white ball cap.

We made the switch to a 3-5-2 about a month ago. Has worked really well for us thus far. Our three backs can flat out fly.

I should be out there between 5:30-7:00 on field 1. The boys will be training. I'll come check it out. You are probably playing Mark Wilson's 09G and I think our friend's daughter is a part of that team.

Anthony is trying to force the 3-5-2 but the outside wingbacks are struggling with their defensive responsibilities and we don't have any natural CBs. Our issue always ends up being too much space between the CBs and runs that exploit that space (hence my son faces a lot of 1 v 1s...he's gotten good at recognizing this weakness in the defense and is quick to come out and challenge off his line).

 

[TU_BLA]

Lawpoke, we'll be on field 5 tonight from 5:30-7...so I should be able to swing by with ease

 

[lawpoke87]

Lawpoke, we'll be on field 5 tonight from 5:30-7...so I should be able to swing by with ease

Perfect. Looking forward to meeting you.

Curt

 

[TU_BLA]

Perfect. Looking forward to meeting you.

Curt

How'd that game end last evening? I think when we left it was still scoreless. I know the parents on the other team were a little shocked but surprisingly pleased at how hard their girls were playing.

 

[lawpoke87]

How'd that game end last evening? I think when we left it was still scoreless. I know the parents on the other team were a little shocked but surprisingly pleased at how hard their girls were playing.

The 2009 girls played hard …. Very hard. I was impressed with their effort. Game was scoreless at halftime. We went back to our normal lineup at half and pulled out a 2-0 win. All the credit to those 2009s. Great meeting you btw. Need to give you my cell # so I can catch one of your son’s games.

 

[TU_BLA]

2 FCL games this weekend versus McAllen Youth SA and Barca Academy-Austin. Lost 5-0 and 3-1. Coach made some changes and put our 6 as one of the 3 CBs and it helped (change was made at halftime of 1st game). Didn't generate much offense in game 1 as the McYSA was a good team with good possession. My son played pretty well in that game.

Game 2 versus Barca was one of the better games my son's team has played at the FCL level. Decent spurts of possession and some really good ball movement and control on quick counter attacks. Probably made the Barca keeper have more touches on balls our team played rather than only touching the ball on pass backs. TSC did break the ice on the scoring which was a first for the boys this season. Son made some really good saves and interventions. 2nd half, Barca got on the board with a screamer from outside the box that probably should have been handled by my son. He misplayed it trying to pop it over the bar and he mistimed the push and actually whiffed it. He's tall enough and athletic enough now where he should have tried to catch it. I've had several GK coaches who are frustrated at all levels because keepers today would rather parry a ball away over catching and controlling it.

The other 2 goals came off a 1 v 1 after a misplay/nonplay of a punt by TSC's CBs and a freekick that got flciked/redirected into the far corner.

If you've never been to the Wendell-Whisenhunt Sports Complex in OKC (west side near the airport)...don't let looks deceive you. The fields and complex look nice. The perimeter fences are way to close to the ends and sides of some of the fields and we probably lost 1/2 soccer balls this weekend on SW 29th or I-44 and in a private business truck yard that had a barbed wire fence topping. The brand new concession stand and bathroom building looks great from the outside. Concession stand was not open this weekend and the bathrooms were not stocked with soap or toilet paper. No one came and removed the trash from the barrels after Saturday's games so by Sunday there was trash literally everywhere. Telling our boys to pick up the plastic bottles around the bench area and they had to just put them on the ground near the trash cans because they were already overflowing.

 

[TU_BLA]

OPL Match last night vs Blitz. Win 3-2. My son made a couple of really nice saves on 1 v 1's. First goal against came on another 1 v 1 when the defender got lost and let the wing free down the right. Other CB comes out to challenge, nice ball into the box and a one time liner into the upper part of the net. 2nd goal came off a ridiculous free kick from about 20 yards out. A 5' nothing kid just neatly tucked the ball into the near post over the wall. My son did everything he was supposed to in setting up the wall and positioning himself. Sometimes kids on the other team make really nice plays too.

My son's team immediately scored off the next kickoff. Played the ball back to the 6 off the kick off and he immediately hit an over the top ball to the 9. GK from Blitz was indecisive and when he saw he was going to be out of the box, decided to stop at the top of the 18. 9 took a neat touch and chipped it into the goal. Probably about 5 seconds from kickoff to scoring. 3rd and final goal came about 3-4 minutes later. Free kick from about 40 yds out and the back hit a nice ball to the top of the 6 and the far post. Defender got lost and the 9 ran onto it and headed it over the GK who made a late decision to come off his line. The team was excited and the first time they've shown an ability to come back and score when they absolutely needed it.

This weekend 2 FCL games in Houston. We'll be playing with only 13 players traveling. And it's supposed to be hot and humid. And they're playing on turf.

 

[lawpoke87]

Good luck and drive safe. The Houston trip is the one I’m dreading next year. Long trip for two games.

 

[TU_BLA]

Good luck and drive safe. The Houston trip is the one I’m dreading next year. Long trip for two games.

We're flying. FCL does a good job of trying to schedule games at times that take the travel times/distances into account. We play at 4pm tomorrow and at 10am on Sunday meaning you have a reasonable chance to get home at a decent hour if you do drive. I know at least half the kids and a parent will be flying tomorrow. Our flight is at 9am and gets in at 10:35. A couple of the others are leaving slightly after that. Time to find lunch, check-in get ready. We do have a few that are driving...they get to bring all the sideline crap for everyone else. Canopy, team benches, etc.

 

[lawpoke87]

Are rental car prices still outrageous? We were going to fly to a tourney in Denver this past June but rental care price and availability were both problematic

We’re playing in an Arkansas tourney this weekend we shouldn’t be playing in. Maybe our offense can figure some things out.

 

[TU_BLA]

Are rental car prices still outrageous? We were going to fly to a tourney in Denver this past June but rental care price and availability were both problematic

We’re playing in an Arkansas tourney this weekend we shouldn’t be playing in. Maybe our offense can figure some things out.

Not awful. I'm paying about $120 for a day and a half after Houston adds it's $40 in taxes and other fees on. And I got it late. Maybe a little higher than pre-COVID but it's a lot better than even in late July when we rented a car for a week in MA. The scam now is saving money by prepaying the amount. If you wait until you get to the counter and return the car it's 10-15% higher

 

[TU_BLA]

Are rental car prices still outrageous? We were going to fly to a tourney in Denver this past June but rental care price and availability were both problematic

We’re playing in an Arkansas tourney this weekend we shouldn’t be playing in. Maybe our offense can figure some things out.

What tournament are you all playing in? Is this the one in the Bentonville/Rogers area at Sugar Creek?

 

[TU_BLA]

This FCL league is a disaster. Not sure TSC really understood what this league was or how other clubs treated it. My son's team lost 7-0 and 9-0 this weekend...and this was with my son actually playing pretty well in goal. Only 1 sub because we were in Houston and 2 kids didn't make the trip and we had 2 others out with injury. 90+ degrees and sauna level humidity. Found out that the team we played on Sunday had 7 kids who were recently cut from the Austin FC MLS academy side. FC Westlake has an elite program that is separate from their competitive program. The same 6 coaches coach all of the boys in the elite program. The 03/04 TSC boys lost 11-1 to their equivalent team.

Coach Smith said the ECNL boys at TSC would have a tough time in these games and that the RL side likely would not be competitive. He said all these teams are better than any of the NPL teams his team played last year. At what point did TSC think it was a good idea to send their 3rd teams to this and did they do any research at all as to the quality of this league? I'm all for playing up and challenging the boys as that's how they will improve but there is a fine line between not winning games because the other teams are a level above and kids wanting to quit playing soccer because they are completely demoralized (and so are some of the parents).

Good news is we are done with playing teams from TX. We have 2 FCL games with OK teams that we should be competitive with and 1 against a Sporting OK team who I have no idea about. They haven't won many games in FCL either but they've been more competitive. OPL seems to be the place we should be playing and maybe NPL if they wanted to do a regional league for this team. OPC would have been stupid. No one wants to play 8 WSA teams in their league and that's pretty much what OPC has turned into.

 

[lawpoke87]

What tournament are you all playing in? Is this the one in the Bentonville/Rogers area at Sugar Creek?

Yes. That’s the one. Went about like I figured. We didn’t allow a goal the entire tourney. The Arkansas team we played twice on Sunday brought a couple of girls in from their 2009 ECRL team so at least the games were somewhat competitive.

I’ve heard the same thing from a number of TSC coaches regarding the FCL league. Texas teams are just so deep. The club at the academy level left the OPC and are playing OPL this fall. The teams which qualify for FCL will be playing there in the spring. Assume almost all teams will qualify fwiw. The top teams in each age should be fine. The lower teams will struggle much like we’re now seeing with our older teams.

We just signed up for the Blitz tourney next weekend. Energy is suppose to be there as well. Nice to see the local teams play in each other’s tourneys. Hoping Blitz and Energy reciprocates with ours. WSA dodges everyone so…..

 

[TU_BLA]

Yes. That’s the one. Went about like I figured. We didn’t allow a goal the entire tourney. The Arkansas team we played twice on Sunday brought a couple of girls in from their 2009 ECRL team so at least the games were somewhat competitive.

I’ve heard the same thing from a number of TSC coaches regarding the FCL league. Texas teams are just so deep. The club at the academy level left the OPC and are playing OPL this fall. The teams which qualify for FCL will be playing there in the spring. Assume almost all teams will qualify fwiw. The top teams in each age should be fine. The lower teams will struggle much like we’re now seeing with our older teams.

We just signed up for the Blitz tourney next weekend. Energy is suppose to be there as well. Nice to see the local teams play in each other’s tourneys. Hoping Blitz and Energy reciprocates with ours. WSA dodges everyone so…..

I looked at the OPC standings for our age group just to see how things were going. Out of 9 teams, 6 are WSA teams. Only 2 of the WSA teams are actually competitive with the other 3 non WSA teams.

My son's team played in that Arkansas tournament 3 years ago. They made the semi's but the format was stupid. And I didn't like the Sugar Creek fields. Grass was way too long. That weekend ended up being horrible for us. The family we left our dog with somehow let her out and she got hit by a car. My son played the entire weekend with that on him and he broke down every time he finished a game but somehow managed to stay focused during the games themselves. They played an NWA team and we swore 2-3 of their players rode up on their own motorcycles. It was a little insane. In the semis, we scored 1st and took the lead to half time. They scored an equalizer after some chaos in the box and then they put together a really nice counter and the kid beat my son far post on a 1 v 1. Kid rips his jersey off and sprints to their fans....one of the parents did the Univision "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL" scream for 30 seconds. It was unreal. Somehow my son's team regroups and starts putting pressure on them again. About 1 minute left, there's a scrum in the attacking box and one of our players goes up for a header and gets absolutely crushed with a forearm to the back of the head. Blatant blatant blatant. No call. Mild mannered coach is ripping the ref a new one...like we had never heard him say anything to the refs or the linesmen before that moment. I try to dissuade our coaches from going back there

 

[lawpoke87]

My wife and daughter swear they will never go to another tourney venue which doesn’t have a bathroom. I politely told them they will go to wherever the club tells them to go . We certainly got “home town” on Sunday but the opponent wasn’t good enough to matter. Probably no worse than what we get in Dallas when we play a local club there to be honest. The club we played twice on Sunday had 17 girls on the bench with the addition of those ecrl girls. If I’m a parent watching my kid sit for the finals after playing the day before and earning that spot I would have been pissed beyond words. Oh well…gotta love club soccer.

We’re off this coming weekend unless my kid is asked to guest with the 09 ecrl or ecnl club. Guess we will know by Thursday.

 

[TU_BLA]

My wife and daughter swear they will never go to another tourney venue which doesn’t have a bathroom. I politely told them they will go to wherever the club tells them to go . We certainly got “home town” on Sunday but the opponent wasn’t good enough to matter. Probably no worse than what we get in Dallas when we play a local club there to be honest. The club we played twice on Sunday had 17 girls on the bench with the addition of those ecrl girls. If I’m a parent watching my kid sit for the finals after playing the day before and earning that spot I would have been pissed beyond words. Oh well…gotta love club soccer.

We’re off this coming weekend unless my kid is asked to guest with the 09 ecrl or ecnl club. Guess we will know by Thursday.

Bear Branch sportsfields in Houston are a nice facility (not Scheel's nice though). Turf fields, nice restroom and concessions, ample parking. It was a weird crazy configuration though. Our field ran north south and there was an east-west field that t-boned the west side touchline. Literally the back of the goal was 2 yards off the touchline. Why they didn't put up a net along that side to simply keep the balls off of our field would be a question I would ask. They don't allow seating or benches on the turf area...which is fine. They had canopies and small bleachers for the teams. There were a number of park benches under shade trees at either end of the field and that's where most of the parents sat.

The turf was weird, almost like they didn't do regular brushing and rolling of it to maintain it. It had some really spongy spots and the seems were easily noticeable.

I agree with your wife on having actual physical restrooms available (except Norman, those are nasty). I have noticed that the port a johns at Mohawk always seem to be well kept and clean (on that downhill east side).

 

[TU_BLA]

I hate the referees my son's team seems to get stuck with. Today's referee didn't use proper mechanics and the far side AR was lazy. She never made it to the goal line as the play was moving. There lack of caring about doing a good job resulted in a physical and somewhat dirty game. My son got cleared high on his leg after clearing a pass back and the attacker taking an extra 2-3 steps to make the contact. Referee decided he didn't need to watch the actual play to completion. He stayed down because it was a pretty good knock and the parents of the other team were laughing. I sort of lost my and confronted them in a very loud way.
My son also got hit 2 other times after securing the ball. It was intentional.

ADDED: So my son's team had practice last evening and I was talking with some of the other dads. 4 of them said their sons told them that a player on the other team called them a n----r. We don't have any black players on our team and 3 hispanic kids. The boys called this were white as snow. One of the hispanic players on their team called another player the word that gets Mexican fans in trouble with CONCACAF and FIFA. This kid was called out by one of the hispanic players on our team. And apparently Coach heard some of the crap and called their coach out on it. I'm all for boys talking smack during games but using slurs and derogatory names directed at players is way out of line. (And I thought my reaction to their parents laughing at my son was inappropriate...it pales compared to what was being thrown around by the players).

 

[lawpoke87]

We played in the Blitz tourney this past weekend. Pretty decent field. WSA 09 ecrl rl, TSC 09 ECRL, Blitz 2009-2010 (my daughters old club) and us (TSC 2010). We beat TSC09 ECRL 4-0 in a really well played game by the girls. We then beat Blitz 4-1 in the finals. The Blitz win was especially satisfying. We play the top Energy 2010 team on Saturday. They haven’t beaten us in awhile so they should come out aggressive. Looking forward to the game.

 

[TU_BLA]

We played in the Blitz tourney this past weekend. Pretty decent field. WSA 09 ecrl rl, TSC 09 ECRL, Blitz 2009-2010 (my daughters old club) and us (TSC 2010). We beat TSC09 ECRL 4-0 in a really well played game by the girls. We then beat Blitz 4-1 in the finals. The Blitz win was especially satisfying. We play the top Energy 2010 team on Saturday. They haven’t beaten us in awhile so they should come out aggressive. Looking forward to the game.

Nice. We had a game scheduled for last Saturday and the other team didn't show. Turns out they were playing in the Blitz tournament but never mentioned that to us. refs said the game was a forfeit. Since I've been trying to communicate with them in a variety of ways and get no response, I'm OK with that.

Game vs Energy 06B Navy this weekend. We played them to a 2-2 draw last November but I know they've lost 2-3 of their top players to the upper team and a couple moved on to other clubs. The lower level Energy teams seem to be struggling (I've heard Sporting OK took a few of their players) like the lower level TSC teams are. TSC is sort of destroying themselves. The notion that playing FCL would attract players from other clubs obviously was a horrible miscalculation. They can call themselves the "premiere club in Oklahoma" all they want and the Soccer America rankings of the best youth clubs have them in the top 100 (only Energy comes close) but locals see the $$$ and the crap fields and crap communication from the club and they pass.

 

[lawpoke87]

Hoping the fields improve by the summer with the new maintenance company. They frankly can’t get much worse. Neither TSC or Energy have the depth to play with those top Texas clubs in the lower levels. Not sure how long either of those clubs will continue in the FCL. It’s certainly not good for the kids to not be competitive in games. The academy teams start FCL play this spring btw.

 

[TU_BLA]

Hoping the fields improve by the summer with the new maintenance company. They frankly can’t get much worse. Neither TSC or Energy have the depth to play with those top Texas clubs in the lower levels. Not sure how long either of those clubs will continue in the FCL. It’s certainly not good for the kids to not be competitive in games. The academy teams start FCL play this spring btw.

Our last FCL game vs FC Westlake featured 7 kids who were in the Austin MLS academy as of August and had been recently cut. I spoke with Barry and he feels OSA lied to him about the quality and level of play that FCL was. I'm pretty sure most of the teams my son has played against would probably smoke the 06B RL team. Interesting that on Monday my son's team basically scrimmaged the 07 ECNL side and just dominated. The ball movement was better and quicker than I've ever seen it, movement off the ball was excellent. It was also interesting that they boys seemed to be out there just having fun and playing the game without the pressure of it being an actual game. (BTW, the 07B ECNL side is really really good. They're 6-1-1 on their ECNL season. Actually all the ECNL teams seem to be doing quite well. There's a significant drop off to the RL sides and their success and then the FCL sides (although the FCL teams seem to be doing well in OPL leagues).

 

[Li'l Eric Coley]

Wow. Sounds like a trainwreck playing club ball these days. I’d rather have some beers in the parking lot and play rec ball at 16 or 17. Parents wouldn’t show either.

 

[TU_BLA]

In Kansas City this weekend for the Heartland Invitational. My son will actually be playing for the TSC 05 FCL team this weekend because that team doesn't have a GK. His 06 team is playing in KC as well but the tournament's rules don't allow players to be rostered for more than 1 team even if they're in different age groups. There is another GK on that team (weird story, he plays GK at Union with my son, but plays F/MF for the club team). We'll see how it goes. Supposed to be brutally cold.

ADD: And by brutal, in the 40s. And the first game is at o'dark thirty on Saturday AM.

 

[lawpoke87]

Good luck in KC. I’ve always enjoyed playing up there. Great facilities. My daughter guest played for the 08 ECRL club last weekend. I always hold my breath when she plays two years up due to the size difference but it was a really good experience for her to see bigger and faster girls.

Not much else going on with the girls side. Started futsal this weekend. Interested to see how the new academy plays out. TSC tourney next weekend. All the teams in U13 Gold are out of state. Looking forward to playing some new faces.

 

[TU_BLA]

0-0 tie at o’dark thirty and 29 degrees. To boot, I got to run an AR because they were short. (I am certified now). TSC really controlled the game But couldn’t find a goal. My son had 1 save and not much else to do.

 

[TU_BLA]

2nd game was a 2-0 win. Again, my son didn't have much to do. I think there were a total of 10 yellow cards given and one parent asked to leave. Ref was feisty.

06s lost their 1st game 1-0 despite 20+ shots and dominating the play. Won the 2nd game 7-0. They had fun.

 

[TU_BLA]

Son's team lost their final game of the tournament 2-0 to the #4 team in Iowa. Couple breakdowns in the back sent players 1 v 1 with my son. First one was an absolute rocket from 5 yards. 2nd was a nicely placed shot to the far post. It's also hard to play with teams if you don't shoot.
my son's actual team won their final pool play game 5-1. They finished 2nd in the pool because they couldn't find a goal in their first game despite having scored the most goals and having the best GD of the entire bracket. Good confidence booster for the boys though. It will be interesting to see how they play against a little tougher competition next weekend

 

[lawpoke87]

TU did send coaches to the girls ECNL national showcase in Florida last week. Nice to see. They haven’t sent them in the past.

 

[lawpoke87]

Just sat through TSC - Solar in Dallas. 34 degrees. 45 mph wind. Snowing. Was fantastic.

 

[TU_BLA]

Just sat through TSC - Solar in Dallas. 34 degrees. 45 mph wind. Snowing. Was fantastic.

We're supposed to play in OKC tomorrow. We've had minimal snow in Tulsa and OKC may have saw some flakes but it's not sticking to the roads and I've already got parents griping the game hasn't been canceled yet. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and 45 and our game isn't until 4:30 so the roads will be just fine. It's more like the parents don't want to drive down the road and have to sit in the cold.

 

[lawpoke87]

We're supposed to play in OKC tomorrow. We've had minimal snow in Tulsa and OKC may have saw some flakes but it's not sticking to the roads and I've already got parents griping the game hasn't been canceled yet. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and 45 and our game isn't until 4:30 so the roads will be just fine. It's more like the parents don't want to drive down the road and have to sit in the cold.

I would have killed for sunny and 45 today. We play FC Dallas tomorrow at 9am. Going to be cold.

 

[TU_BLA]

I would have killed for sunny and 45 today. We play FC Dallas tomorrow at 9am. Going to be cold.

Were these FCL games you all played in?

And the weather ended up being even better than the original forecast. 57 and sunny at kickoff. Boys played NWSC OKC Crew who enjoys playing their games at Putnam City HS. Nice field. Probably the largest pitch these boys have played on all season. Looked like a full 65 yds wide and 120 long. Game ended in a 2-2 draw. Son's team played without 2 of their 3 primary defenders. 1 GA came on a 1 v 1 after a whiffed clearance. 2nd goal came off a corner that my son blocked the initial shot in and the ball bounced around the box and fell to an attacker who was unmarked 4 yds from goal. My son also made 2 really good saves...1 was a 1 v 1 that I'd put up against any save in this age group for save of the year.
Should have 1 more regular season game and then tournaments for the rest of the Spring. HS soccer is about to get under way in February. Union's FR/SO team Has 11 games vs varsity squads (mostly 4A and 5A schools). They do play Edison's varsity side (Edison was runner up to BK in 5A last year).

 

[lawpoke87]

Games were played at Carpenter Park in Dallas. Nice complex with 4 full sized 11v11 turf fields with stands. Turf fields are surrounded by grass fields.

Played 09 Solar in the first game. Played the second half with ten due to a red card. Gave up a goal in the last few minutes for a 2-2 draw. Disappointing result. We were the better side even with ten players.

Played 09 FC Dallas on Sunday. They had beaten Energy’s top 2010 team the day before 3-1. They were probably the most athletic team we’ve seen. Big and fast girls everywhere. Girls played great soccer. Came out with a 2–1 win over a really good 09 club. All in all pretty happy to come away with 4 points for the weekend.

 

[TU_BLA]

Looks like we're headed to Little Rock this weekend for the Showcase of the South at Burns Park (a great great facility). My son will be playing with the 05s this weekend. Should be fun.

 

[lawpoke87]

Good luck. Let us know how it goes. We are in Dallas next weekend for the U90c Spring Classic. Playing in U13s. Lots of 09 ECNL and ECRL teams in the division. We should have our hands full.

 

[TU_BLA]

Good luck. Let us know how it goes. We are in Dallas next weekend for the U90c Spring Classic. Playing in U13s. Lots of 09 ECNL and ECRL teams in the division. We should have our hands full.

Thanks. In looking at the tournament web site it looks like the SLU men's soccer coaching staff will be taking in the showcase. That's a good deal. Looks like the teams my son's team will be playing are all on level in terms of the competition. This will be our 3rd time to this venue and an event organized by Arkansas United. I cannot tell anyone enough about how well run and organized these events are and how nice of a venue Burns Park is for soccer.

Good luck to you all this weekend as well. The step up in competition is always good (challenging, but good).

 

[TU_BLA]

So an 0-2-1 weekend with a bunch of missed opportunities. Saturday AM saw a 2-2 draw and a near brawl. It was an unfortunate draw as the TSC team out played the other team for the majority of the game. My son's team was leading 1-0 for most of the game and with about 5 minutes to go, the other team fouled in TSC's defensive 1/3 and for some reason I still haven't figured out, they tried to quick play and the pass went straight to the other team with TSC defenders out of position and flat footed and they sent a striker in 1 v 1 on my son who came out but wasn't able to stop the shot. About 1 minute later, TSC commits a foul in the defensive 1/3, other team sends a great service into the box, bounces around and an attacker hammered a shot home. My son was pretty sure the kid who scored was offside because he was behind everyone and it got touched by an attacker in the box. TSC scored on the very last action of the game on a corner that somehow bounced to a TSC player at the top of the 6 and the shot got hammered home.

Game 2 was a game dominated by TSC in terms of possession and attack...everywhere but on the scoreboard. 2-0 loss. Goal 1 against came off a PK...not sure what the PK taker did but he basically froze my son. 2nd goal came on a counter that somehow ended up a 4-1. My son made a really good save on the 1st shot but couldn't control the rebound and the attacker on the back post was able to tuck it in. I'd say TSc had a 65-35 advantage in possession in this one and maybe a 10-5 shots advantage although only 3-4 were on frame. The opposing GK stopped 2-3 shots on 1 v 1 breakaways as well.

Game 3 vs a KC Fusion team. This team was really good at holding the ball and I was convinced this game could get super ugly. My son's team looked like they hadn't fully woken up yet, legs were sluggish, etc. They had the TSC kids chasing the ball for the 1st 15 minutes. But they only scored once in that period (whiffed clearance, falls to the attacker for a 1 v 1, chipped my son who had come out to challenge). But then a switch went off and I'd say the last 60 min of game time saw TSC finish with a 16-6 shots advantage on the game. Still, not enough on frame and really on 3-4 testers for the GKs. The other 2 goals for the opponent came on another whiffed clearance and the kid absolutely hammered a shot into the side netting and the 3rd goal came late on a counter where a kid looked like Mo Salah beating 2 defenders who whiffed on tackles and a 3rd defender who was trying to shield him off and let the ball roll out after a heavy touch. Well, the kid somehow go around the defender and tip toed along the goal lone and beat my son on a near post thumper. It was one of those weird games where if you watched any 10 minute segment that didn't have any goals scored you'd be convinced the TSC team was winning. I will say the overall quality of play from both sides in this one was actually pretty good with just a couple of lapses.

My son didn't make any spectacular saves this weekend but also didn't give up any cheap or bad goals.

 

[lawpoke87]

Sounds like a good weekend despite the lack of “W”s. Playing competitive games is always preferable imo. Makes the kids better. Sounds like your son is playing well in net. What does the high school season look like for him?

Our U90c tourney in Dallas is looking questionable. They haven’t called it but haven’t released a schedule either. Schedule just came out. We are playing the #32 and #37 2009 teams in the country. We’re a 2010 team 😱😱😱

 

[TU_BLA]

His season will start around the 20th of this month. They're supposed to play in a preseason festival in Tahlequah but he's going to miss those games to attend a Scout banquet where he is being honored for achieving the Eagle award.

Initially he was told he would be one of the JV1 GKs and split time with a senior on that team. The senior will get most of the varsity backup duty (and not likely to see any action). But the coaches have reworked things. The varsity GK is the varsity GK, and the senior will back him up still but they've moved a FR to be the backup for JV1 and as my son put it, he's been told he won't play many minutes at all unless there is an injury or things get out of hand. My son and another SO will take the JV2 games and mostly split time. They were told the coaches wanted to do this to get them more minutes and against quality competition. Most of the games this JV2 team will be playing are against varsity squads from 5A and down. I know they have games against Edison(V) who finished runner up to BK last year in 5A, Glenpool, Poteau, Rogers, Regent Prep, Holland Hall, Metro Christian, Oologah, Tahlequah. They do have actual JV games scheduled against Owasso and Bishop Kelley which is good because he knows a bunch of kids on those teams. Bummer is this squad is not scheduled to play vs BA or Jenks and most of his club teammates play for those two schools.
Things always change though so we'll see. The senior GK has had injury issues in the past (he's broken the same finger 4-5 times apparently).

We'll see what Union does as a whole. They lost a lot of offensive production from last year but return every defender plus one, and they've got 2-3 Sophomores who look poised to take the scoring mantle. And from what I've seen so far is the forwards are incredibly skilled technically and creative when sharing the ball and setting up opportunities. They will need to put more shots on frame though. As always Union, BA, and Jenks are prohibitive favorites to win the state championship. You'll see teams on the west side with great records but when it gets to the playoffs it's easy to see they just don't play the same type of soccer. Maybe Edmond Memorial has a chance. Broken Arrow has a new coach who came over from BTW. I wasn't a fan of his style last year but that may have been forced based on what he had. BA is deeper and has players all over. Jenks has some quality but I don't know what they've lost and their coach seems to take some new players based on who they are and not necessarily their quality of play. I've heard this from several parents who have boys who made the team but know of other players who didn't and can't figure out how they were left off considering some of the other players who made the team. Maybe it's a position overload thing but they think it's other reasons.