4-person skill training...

...for next week (Dec. 7-11)

Monday and Thursday:

*250-330 PM = Sydney Grady, Joslyn Blood, Sarah Baker, Jenna Brunger

*330-4 PM = Aaron Polet, Dylan Guillozet, Chelsea Adkins, Kassi Aalderink

*4-430 PM = Shelby Reaume, Emily Grady...??

We'll meet in the carpeted area just above the cafeteria. Have indoor wear on...and be on time! Also, the latter two groups should be warmed up, stretched, and ready to jump right into training at the scheduled times above.

See you soon!

OFF SEASON TRAINING

Gentlemen, anyone who's interested in a bit of off season (non-summer), small group ball work and training, please let me know when you get a chance. I will be coaching JV girls soccer come early March so any time you'd like to schedule something beforehand, i'm here to help.

Also, don't forget to sign up for the winter break 5 v. 5 tournament if you're interested.

Get a hold of me! And remember: the off season is when real players are made.

Good luck to all of you playing a winter (and/or spring) sport!

Congrats to the SENIORS!

JACOB SWARTZ: Academic All-State, winner of the Travis Hulsman Character Award

HUNTER TOWNSEND: All-Conference (OK Green), All-District

MICHEAL PANDO: Honorable Mention All-Conference

MITCH GAGE: for a GREAT performance as the lead in the school "Fools" production!

Way to go, guys! The hard work definitely paid off.

Program-wide BANQUET

On Monday, Nov. 2 at 7 P.M. in the high school cafeteria, we'll honor the J.V. and Varsity players and their families.

Please bring a dessert to share with the whole group as well as personal beverages and utensils for your families. DINNER IS NOT PROVIDED.

Dress for players is "business casual"; that is, no jeans or t-shirts!

See Coach Stieper or Coach Robinson with questions and/or concerns.

"Soccer Cleat" WINNER

Congratulations to Dylan Guillozet for the "new beginning" he exemplified in the past few weeks. His inspired play out of the back earned him a narrow victory over newcomer Aaron Polet in a team vote.

No Regrets

Gentlemen, you should feel no regrets this morning as you reflect on yesterday's District effort. I know it's not the result we were looking for, but we as coaches are very proud of the overall effort you displayed...and (it may take time) you should too.

Overall, a job well done this season, guys. We really came on at the end of the season. Plus, all you can ask for is improvement (team and individual) over the course of a given season, and I think we can all agree that said improvement took place.

Keep your heads up! Now, the most important part of next season begins today: THE OFF SEASON...WHEN INDIVIDUAL IMPROVEMENT MUST TAKE PLACE FOR US TO HAVE SUCCESS NEXT SEASON! Thank you to the 3 seniors who battled for us and represented us well all season.

We'll be in touch.

Reminder: We have a meeting in my classroom right after school tomorrow (Thursday). Please bring all of your soccer items to turn in--warm-ups, backpacks, white/black shorts and jerseys...don't forget!

LAST TEAM DINNER:

...at the Townsend's on Monday, Oct. 19 (7 P.M.)

**Freshman/Sophomores: fruit and veggies
**Juniors (minus Zach and Cam): main course
**Seniors (plus Zach and Cam): bread and beverages

DISTRICT reminder:

1st round of Districts: Home on Tuesday, Oct. 20 vs. Zeeland West at 5 P.M.

The winner moves on to play the winner of the Byron Center vs. Zeeland East match in the lower half of the bracket. The other side of the bracket includes Middleville vs. Wayland and Holland Christian vs. Unity Christian.

OVERACHIEVERS

Gentlemen, doesn't it feel good to raise standards and expectations and strive to meet them...SUCCESSFULLY? Tonight, you guys did exactly that. Job well done vs. Park.

Once again, it matters more how we end the season than anything before. Today (and vs. B.C.), we really did have a "new beginning" of sorts...let's keep up this momentum!

Wednesday...CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT:

Our game tomorrow (Wednesday) is at 5 P.M. (JV) and 6:45 P.M. (Varsity). The bus will leave at 3:45 P.M. Food and beverages are currently being arranged by parents for the varsity team.

Wear your warm-ups to school and dress warmly for the game!

POTENTIAL

That's the one word that comes to mind as I reflect on the 3-1 win tonight vs. Byron Center. I loved that everyone, even our new arrivals, played a part in the win despite the fact we were missing a key starter.

It was a job well done, guys, but an even bigger challenge awaits on a tough field vs. an opponent who took it to us not too long ago.

Let's keep it up!

Last Team Dinner:

Gentlemen, the last scheduled team dinner at the Townsend's has been changed from this Sunday, Oct. 18 to the following evening (Monday, the 19th) at 7 P.M. (still at the Townsend's). We play in our home district game the next day.

Here are the dinner responsibilities:

**Freshman and Sophomores: fruit and veggies
**Juniors (minus Cam and Zach): main course
**Seniors (plus Cam and Zach): bread and beverages

Monday:

Gentlemen, a few items:

*We will be a bit short-handed up front for the game (and most likely beyond) what with Pando's dislocated shoulder in the football game last night. It's time for some guys to step in and step up (including the new guys). Turn a new leaf!

*We will "dress up" in school.

*We will meet in my room at 3:30 P.M. for a quick snack and meeting.

*Ball boys for the J.V. game are A.K., Julio, and Polet.

*Check the weather tomorrow, but right now it's calling for chance of rain and low 50's...dress accordingly.

*Yet again, it's a NEW BEGINNING on Monday and a chance to prove that our previous B.C. win was no fluke!

*Have a good weekend and enjoy what little sun we have!

2nd round Conference Game:

Monday, Oct. 12...#6 seed Hamilton vs. #7 seed Byron Center...at Hamilton...JV at 4 P.M./Varsity at 5:30-ish.

Zeeland East thoughts...

Guys, yet again, it was another hard-fought effort on your part. That characteristic has never been doubted in your play. Now, what continues to bite us is our inability to make plays in clutch situations...on offense, on defense, and in the net. We need to change that quickly...a new beginning once again...before this season ends! No regrets, guys.

It's time for a Byron Center rematch!

This Wednesday vs. Z.E.

The game is at Zeeland East...J.V. will start at 5:00 P.M....varsity follows at 6:45 P.M....bus will leave at 3:45 P.M....stay tuned for food details for that game.

Go State!

Go State!

Theme and Quotation of the upcoming week:

Guys, tomorrow (Monday) truly marks a NEW BEGINNING for us as a team; that is, 'tis the (post) season! It's time to forget about all of the mistakes--physical and mental--of the recent and more distant past, re-energize ourselves, and look ahead at the great potential for team and individual success. As far as we should be concerned, our team record right now is 0-0...clean slate. Now, let's do our best (in practice, warm-ups, and games) to re-invent ourselves in a way and truly make every effort to play to our potential!

In honor of this theme ("new beginning"), here is a quotation from then-prominent author Anais Nin that you should respond to with thoughtful words by this Wednesday at 7:30 A.M.

"Life is a process of becoming, a combination of states we have to go through. Where people fail is that they wish to elect a state and remain in it. This is a kind of death."

Wayland

Gentlemen, we all need to take a bit of the blame for yesterday's defeat--offense, defense, and coaches. It simply wasn't a good enough effort to win, especially in the mental department. We need to eliminate the sloppiness out of the back and start finishing more of our chances.

Let's put this behind us, and look ahead positively to our "new" season...time for post-season success!

"Soccer Cleats" WINNER

Congrats to Hunter Townsend for being the most CLUTCH PERFORMER in matches this week. It's certainly a well-deserved honor.

Now, we need every single player on the team to step up in his own way (i.e. remember the soccer guides from our team meeting the other day!) for our remaining regular season game vs. Wayland on Saturday and then into our post-season matches.