Matthew: A trip to Grand Rapids for the final game of the year. We play Ole, the huge giant of a team that we have never had any success against. Making P1 in the spring most likely means we need to get a point out of this game.
We don’t. We lose 8-3.
This is the third season in a row that I (and others) think this team has underachieved. As always, you can find a bunch of excuses but I think the coaches have to step up and take a hard look at what they are doing. Because it isn’t working.
This picture sums up Matthew’s day pretty well…he was always battling. The other team’s size doesn’t seem to bother him like it bothers some of our kids (who don’t seem to put up a fight and let the other team overwhelm them). He may not win as many of the physical battles BUT he is always in there battling. For example, there is this fifteen second video highlight below, showing Matthew doing what could have earned him his first yellow card BUT most observers think is a foul that you absolutely have to take.
I’m not a fan of not playing the ball and fouling kids. But if you are going to do it a) do it and get it done, b) don’t try and do it cheaply and hurt the kid and c) do it where it isn’t going to hurt your team. Matthew did all three.
You can click on the picture below for the highlights. Such that they are.
(not a lot of Matthew in this video. We talked about this play; he shouldn’t be backing in, turning, and sticking his foot out like this. Not a great moment BUT there are a lot of his teammates who did much worse on defense)
No Game Report. Not thrilled that the coach isn’t doing them…seems to be a trend when he feels there is no point (hey, that might be part of the problem). I think I’ll vent on a few soccer things in a future post.
Cpher: Lost 18-14 to Haslett; we were in it, we could have won, but man were we a turnover machine. I need to look at the video and see if there is anything Cpher worthy to post….he did get in on defense in the fourth quarter and it left me wondering “why in the world don’t they have him in there more?”. Had one tackle but more importantly he just took up a lot of room on the defensive line.
