Thanks From Coach Brad....

Thank you girls and parents for an enjoyable season. This is probably my last post of this season - it won't be the last you hear from me - but, probably the last post on our website. I have enjoyed doing this, hope you had some fun reading it.

Soccer is a team sport and like playing the game, we can not accomplish anything without teamwork. Similarly, I couldn't coach you girls without the help of many people. So, thanks go out to ...

• our girls! What a great bunch of girls to coach. You girls are starting to understand what it is to be a team ... winning/losing as a team; no fault/finger-pointing; winning/losing with grace and sportsmanship; helping your teammates when they are down; celebrating the little things and putting the coach in place when he is wrong.
• our parents for driving, watching practises/games, standing in the rain, supplying oranges, helping out with club events, bringing me the odd coffee (no beer?), samosas, answering my emails, showing up early for warm-ups, helping when needed, cheering (vs. coaching from the sidelines), etc., etc.
• the girls for putting up with my strictness at the practises ... hopefully it did not get in the way of your having fun!!
• Gorge Soccer Association for the great support, infrastructure and flexibility. They really do it for the kids!
• Mafalda, Parma and Paul for being linesmen
• the parents for helping put the nets away (I hardly ever have to ask)!
• Denise for organizing us at the tournament ... you did a great job (you now have set the bar high for next year!)
• to Mike Carr and his team of girls for having joint practises and parties - it is stuff like this that makes the club more of a family and a real community for the girls.
• to Mafalda for putting up with me for another year! As you have noticed, Maflada's style is quite different than my coaching style (she much meaner :-)). I think the two styles work out great!
  

And, to each one of you girls...

• to Alanna, thanks for your smile, cheerful attitude, toughness and discovering your scoring late in the season. Our top scorer this year! Great season!
• to Jaymie ... you can run forever ("lung on a stick") and for playing beyond your years and putting up with my constant teasing.
• to Jennifer ... a great listener/learner at practise, always trying hard to please and working hard. You are one of our workhorses (that's a good thing!).
• to Joslyn .... the pitbull. When called upon, she will forecheck like no one else. A desire for the ball (and to score). Bright-eyed, smiley, happy, chatty and fun to be around.
• to Taylor for sticking with us through the season ... it is very difficult when someone comes into a mature team (one that has basically played togather for 4+ years) and she had never played soccer before. Great last game in goal!
• to Indy for always having a smile! You are also one tough player.
• to Lauren for trying soccer one more time (It wasnt too bad, was it?). You were a good addition to the team and a great defender. I owe you big time! What is it ... a cat? A dog? A Jack Skellington hoodie?
• to Katlyn H. for trying to use your left foot! It works! You were a pleasure to coach, you are a great athlete and your skills are improving every time you play.
• to Cara ... our speedy gonzales. Speed and power wrapped up in a small package!
• to Olivia for your smart playing. Olivia demonstrates to us that if you play smart (calm, steady and antcipate the ball) one does not have to run around crazy, wear ourselves out and kick the ball all over the place. Also, I am glad you had a speedy recovery from your fractured arm.
• to Kaitlin M. for your great year! You are a great dependable athlete & soccer player who I could always rely on for "getting the job done". We will miss you when you leave on your new adventure to Quebec (How exciting!). Enjoy yourself. Try to keep in touch. And, when you come back to Victoria .... remember, once a Gorge Girl, always a Gorge Girl!
• to Heather - Still learning positional soccer, but showing great improvement. The hardest tackler on the team! The Terminator!
• to Paige for playing the most "hated" and "thankless" position on the field (i.e. keeper) with enthusiasm and passion. We appreciate your dedication to being a keeper and I know the girls also like the fact they didn't have to play goal as much! :-). Also, thanks for trying to keep quiet at practises so I can get a word in.
• And last but not least .... to Erin for being the brunt of my frustrations most of the time. It is not easy being the coach's daughter - Our expectations are always higher for our children and we are always much more strict with them! I am sorry for singleing you out - you have probably put up with a lot! You also have discovered that you have the knack for playing striker/winger --> those brilliant streaks down the side of the field with great crosses into the middle. Way to go "Pea"!

That's it gang.

Have a great Spring! Have a great Summer! See you on the field!

Brad

Season Statistics

Here are the statistics for the season -they may be a bit off; but, for the most part they're correct.

Games Scheduled = 24 (includes games played at tournaments)
Games Played = 20
Games Cancelled = 4
Wins = 6
Losses = 9
Ties = 5
Goals For = 28 (1.4 Goals Per Game)
Goals Against = 41 (2.05 Goals Per Game)
Shut Outs For = 4

- Scoring...
Alanna B. = 8
Jaymie = 5
Kaitlin M. = 4
Erin = 4
Cara = 3
Joslyn = 3
Jenn = 1

Last Player Profile of the Season

Who Am I ?????
















Why Do You Enjoy Soccer: Because you get to play with friends and try new positions all at the same time!
Number of Years Played Soccer: 4
Favourite Position: Defence
Most Memorable Soccer Moment: When I scored my first goal
Favourite Colour: Pink
Favourite Movie: Steel Magnolias and Million Dollar Baby
Favourite Book: Madison Finn
Favourite Animal: Hippo
Favourite PopStar/Band: My Chemical Romance
Favourite Food: Pasta
Favourite Flavour of Ice-cream: Strawberry
If I had a million dollars I would ... Shop for anything PINK!.

Player Profile Reveal ... Alanna B.

Our last Player Profile of the week (dated February 21, 2006)
http://gorgeu11girls.blogspot.com/2006/02/player-profile-of-week-feb-21-2006.html
was Alanna B.

This seemed to be a tough one again as only 2 of the 8 votes guessed Alanna.
For our last one ... let try to do better this time girls (parents)!

Gorge Soccer Tournament - April 1 & 2

This will probably be the final post of the season ladies (and parents). As you may have noticed, I got a bit behind writing in our teams' blog. So I have tried to catch up a bit and written a few words even though alot of the details of the games are long gone from my brain.

Game#1 - Pennisula Typhoons
- We lost this one 2-0 because Pennisula outplayed us
- Mafalda figured their team was stacked a bit (i.e. not their regular team) - I don't know about this ??
- The highlights of this game was the good substitute goalkeeping by Kaitlyn H. and ?

Game#2 - Gorge (Jay's Team)
- We lost this 3-2 but it was actually a tie because one of our goals was not caught be the ref --> I have now told our girls to celebrate the goals a bit so the ref can see we scored. We also had a coupl eof blatant penalties not called in the 18 yard area.
- It was an even game and I think we should have one this game; the girls did not seem to have any energy left after playingthe morning game
- Keepers for this game were ... Cara and Jenn (?)
- Goal scorers were ... Alanna B. scored both goals --> one of them a brillian dribble through some players and a great shot over the goalies head into the upper corner

Game#3 - Lakehill Reds
- We won this game 2-1
- This was, I think, our best game of the season ... you girls were all over Lakehill!!!
- You were first to the ball each time, you pressed them up front and Lakehill hardly got a shot on net (the Lakehill goal was a very weak one).
- You communicated throughout the game and put together some lovely passing
- Keepers this game were ? and Taylor
- Goal scoreers were ... Alanna and ?
- I was proud of you girls and it was a great game to end the season

I am sure I will have one post left in me. I still have one more "Player Profile of the Week" to post. Stand by and I'll keep you posted.

Player Assessments

Player Assessments for Gorge Soccer Association U11 Girls

For girls currently in U11 and going into U12 the assessment dates are ...

Monday April 3 6:00 – 7:00
Wednesday April 5 6:00 – 7:00
Monday April 10 6:00 – 7:00
Friday April 21 6:00 - 7:00

Come out for the assessments even if you don't want to play gold level ... the assessments help the club see where are girls are at for skill level, etc. and see what we shoudl work on next year.

The assessments will be run by the Head Coach Dave Dew.

LISA U11 Tournament

Game#1 - Juan de Fuca - Lost 3-1
- Not sure where the girls were at in game #1 vs. Juan de Fuca.
- We should have been able to beat those girls
- Alanna was away skiing
- Kaitlin M. got our only goal

Game#2 - Bays United - Lost 5-0 (maybe more)
- What are they feeding those girls in Oak Bay? Thay were monsters!
- They were also very skilled --> I am sure this is Bay United's U11 Gold Team as this was not your average house team like ours
- On the good side of things ... I learned something from this game and made a change in the second half and they only scored one goal (perhaps they let up?!)

No worries, we had fun.

Gorge-eous Girls Get Together

Today all of the Gorge teams got together to play a bit of soccer at Rudd Park. We had presence from all four teams and someone fromt the U12 Gold team.

Nothing other than a bit of fun, good comraderie and some exercise!

Thanks to all the parents for showing up.

Home vs. Sooke

Gorge Canadians Outplayed by Sooke for a 5-1 Loss

Ouch!

Alanna kept her streak alive by scoring the only goal in this game.

U12 Gold Teams Recruit U11 Players

To assist in a weekend full-field tournament in Sooke the two Gorge U11 Gold Teams requested the assistance of some of the U11 players.

Helping Miles/John's team was
- Olivia S. from Jay's team

Helping Val/Wayne's team was ...
- Erin H. from our team
- Alanna B. from our team
- Kathy F. from Roy's team
- Soraya R. from Roy's team

Val & Wayne's team ended up tieng both games: 1-1 against Peninsula (thanks to some stand out goaltending from their keeper) and 0-0 against Lakehill (I think the cold and the conditioning of the U12's caught up with our U11's). From what I saw the girls did a great job helping the U12's on short notice (only one practise with the team under their belts) and in a lot of cases were very instrumental in some of the defending and attacking.

Some photos can be found at ... http://www.flickr.com/photos/gorgegirls/

Good work girls and thanks to the U12 Coaches and their players for inviting the girls and making them welcome and comfortable.

Home vs. Cordova Bay

Parents Spank Daughters - Gorge Canadians Lose to Parents 4-1

Due to a mix-up on the part of the Cordova Bay team - the Gorge Canadians did not play this usually tough team. However, the girls most formidable opponent to date, stepped in at last minute to give the girls a lesson (schooling) in soccer.

With no practises under their belts the Parent Team consisting of ...
- in net Grandpa Steve
- defence Denise C. & Rob T.
- midfield Brad H., Clare M. & Paul D (actually playing every where)
- attackers Sue B., Maureen M., Shannon M., and Hugh H.
... banded together to show the girls how to pass and move the ball around.

The girls (with the help of some siblings) were having so much trouble penetrating the Parents end that they drafted Coach Mafalda to play for them.

Some highlights of the match...
- the teancious, "take-no-prisoners" defensive play from Rob T. (now we know where Heather get's her fearless tackling skills)
- Denice C.'s passing brilliance (or is that "passing out"?)
- the "cougar line" of Sue, Maureen and Shannon --> these women were tenacious in their desire to score (and score they did)
- midfield dominance by Clare and Hugh
- and the roving athletics of Paul D. with one cannonading shot on his own son in net (we think it was pay-back time for driving him to hockey early in the morning)

The girls are calling for a rematch at the end of the season ... we'll see if the parents can recover by that time!

Fun was had by all!

Player Profile of the Week Feb. 21, 2006

Who Am I????














Why Do You Enjoy Soccer: because I play with most of my friends
Number of Years Played Soccer: 6 years
Favorite Position: center forward
Most Memorable Soccer Moment: when I scored 3 goals in 1 game
Favorite Colour: red
Favorite Movie: Harry Potter #1, 2 and 3
Favorite Book: a series of unfortunate events
Favorite Animal:
Favorite PopStar/Band: don't have one
Favorite Food: apples
Favorite Flavor of Ice-cream: cookies and cream\ chocolate chip cookie dough
If I had a million dollars I would.... buy myself a mansion

Player Profile Reveal .... Katlyn H.

Our last Player Profile of the week (dated January 11, 2006)
http://gorgeu11girls.blogspot.com/2006/01/player-profile-of-week-january-11-2006.html

was Katlyn H.

This seemed to be a tough one. as only 2 of the 8 votes guessed Kaitlyn.
Let try to do better ths time girls (parents)!

Away vs. Juan de Fuca

Gorge Canadians Outplay Juan de Fuca to a 5-0 Win

It was a cool but sunny day today at Sangster Elementary field in Colwood. So cool, the ground remained frozen for the whole game. I am not sure whether the game should of been played/cancelled because of this - there were some timid players out there today, some slips, some falls and hurt knees. And what can you say about that crazy keeper of ours ... the frozen ground was not going to stop Paige from diving and scrambling around for the ball.

Today's game we were missing our stalwart defender Heather and our speedy forward Cara. The first half of the game was slow, as I said above, I think the girls were very timid and were trying to get used to the field and their footing. We definitely carried most of the play in the first half (~80%) but only came away with one goal ... a "weak" shot by Joslyn that got through the keeper.

After a half-time talk by Coach Mafalda the girls came out with a renewed energy and started moving the ball around better. Because of this, more and better chances came for us. Four unanswered goals were scored (see below). We also tried a few lines changes that we normally wouldn't do - some girls played positions they are not "comfortable" with (or don't like). That said, we controlled the ball in this half.

Some good things I saw today were...

• Some good communication out there. Girls were calling for the ball and calling to give the ball. Excellent!
• Indy attacking the players aggressively - I think this was her best game by far this season.
• Taylor had the ball a couple of times today and was very good at shielding the ball and passing it to a teammate when they came to help.
• Kaitlin H. and Kaitlin M. controlling the midfield today.
• Jenn playing some good defence when we had some weaker line changes (Coach Brad tried a couple of different line combinations today leaving the defence to do a lot of work).
• Erin had some great assists today.
• Paige was called upon to make a coupl eof good saves and she also agressively controlled her goal area and got rid of a lot of balls that could have easily gone to the other team. Way to get to the ball first Paige!

Goals were scored by...

• Joslyns "weak" (her words not mine) goal --> Don't discount "weak" goals, they count as much as an excellent goal! The importnat thing is you are shooting!
• Alanna's two beautifully placed goals. The shooting practise last week must have helped. Remember, sometimes finesse is better than a hard shot.
• Jaymie goals --> both on strong shots. One goal was masterfully placed in the upper part of the net from a sharp angle.

Some things to work on ...

• Some of us are still bunching up (always send in one player)
• Some players still not playing their positions as good as they could
• We are still allowing some players to dribble the ball into our goal area - DANGEROUS!
• We are not clearing balls out of our own end especially when in the top center part of the goal area - DANGEROUS!
• Getting Juan de Fuca to set up the nets and field better :-) Was that a short and narrow field or what??!

It was a team effort today girls. You were talking, passing and playing positional soccer today! Good job and have a good week.

Gorge Soccer Registration 2006/2007

Register Now for 2006/2007 Season





Players pre-printed registration forms are available for pickup --> I will have them at practice Wednesday night. Return them either to me if you are submitting them early, or to the address noted on the form. They also have blank forms on the Gorge website.

We will also have a short meeting to discuss a number of items...
- Gorge Tournament
- Assessment process for next year
- other tournaments
- etc.

Home vs. Lakehill Reds

Gorge - Thwarted by Lakehill Keeper - "Share a Point" with 3-3 Tie
















All photos at ... http://gorgegirls.zoto.com/galleries/game20060211/

A brilliant day for soccer on the new turf field of Gorge's Hampton field. It was a little cool but clear and a great day to play soccer.

Right from the kick off the Gorge Canadians exerted pressure on the Lakehill squad. This pressure was finnaly rewarded after a few minutes with a powerful shot by Joslyn from inside the goal area. Gorge continued to pressure Lakehill, but our midfield allowed Lakehill's top player to dribble deep into our end - resulting in two unanswered goals. Alanna tallied the next Gorge goal after a great battle with their defender (almost twice her size!). Jaymie scored the third Gorge goal with some good personal effort to keep the ball in the Lakehill end. Lakehill answered this goal with a tieing goal with ~5-10 minutes to play. It was a good quality shot again on momentary lapse by our mid-field - we continue to let quality players come down close to our goal instead of closing them down further up the field.

Overall, this was great effort from the girls and it was nice to see them finally getting first to the ball, passing and getting a lot of shots off on goal. I would say that we held the bulk of the play (75%).

Some highlights...
- Alanna putting one in the back of the net for the third game in a row ... she deserves it.
- Kaitlin M. for her tireless two-way play in the midfield position.
- Midfield support for our attacking forwards by Jenn, Katlyn H. and Alanna.
- Olivia M. back from a broken arm for the first game ... it was like she never left. She continues to play smart soccer by anticipating the bal, jumping in to clear it from our end and using the sides.
- Heather T. continues to play tough defence ... she's the hardest tackler on the team.
- Some good dribbling and passing by Taylor and Indy today.
- Lots of shots by Cara, Joslyn and Jaymie.
- Paige was called upon to make a couple of good saves. Those goals that got by her today were quality shots at point blank range. We'll continue to train our defence and midfield to close down the space and shooting area.
- Lastly, kudos to the Lakehill team for a great game and special mention to their keeper! It is always nice to see some well played soccer.

Have a good week girls!

Coach Deano Recruiting for Gorge Soccer Assoc.

Congratulations to Coach Deano - New Dad!

Coach Deano was not at the soccer academy on Sunday because is is now the proud fatherof a 8lb 13oz baby boy about 7pm Saturday February 4th (Coach Jamie tells us ir was a super long labour ... his poor wife Tanya).

Contratulations to Coach Deano and his wife!

Away vs. Gordon Head C

Rain, Rain Go Away ... Come Again Another Day!














No soccer today ... the Gordon Head fields were closed due to standing water.
Soccer Academy tomorrow and practise Wednesday in the Cage or on the Turf.

Funny Soccer Picture of the Week - #3

Send me your funny captions for posting or add it to the comments of this posting or in the player Chatterbox.