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Mr Play wrote:Tuesday’s game was postponed for wet fields, so we had our final game last night. It was against the first team we played all season, so it was a good measuring stick for both teams. The Pirates have come a long way since that first game!

We had our soccer party between tournament games last weekend. Here’s a picture of the cake I had made and the plaque the parents gave me.





All of the players are planning to return in the spring, and some are interested in playing indoor soccer in January and February. That will be good experience because we’ll be playing against teams from other districts around the area.

Go Pirates!!!

I was trying to figure out why your plaque had the wrong name on it

That's soooo kewl, Bill!!!

Go, Pirates!! Go, Bill! Congrats on a fine season.

If the weather holds we're having our first practice this Saturday, and the spring season starts at the beginning of March. So far I think all but one player is coming back this season - Colton's cousin Isaac wants to try t-ball instead.

Go Pirates!

Go Pirates!!!

We played our first game on Saturday. We got down 2-0 early but came back and barely lost 5-4 (I think that's right, we don't keep score yet). The boys had a couple of listening issues, but they did pretty well for the first game.

One of the coaches with FC Dallas gives open clinics for our soccer association. He agreed to coach the Pirates for 2 private sessions on 3/9 and 3/16 - free of charge!!!

Mr Play wrote:We played our first game on Saturday. We got down 2-0 early but came back and barely lost 5-4 (I think that's right, we don't keep score yet). The boys had a couple of listening issues, but they did pretty well for the first game.

One of the coaches with FC Dallas gives open clinics for our soccer association. He agreed to coach the Pirates for 2 private sessions on 3/9 and 3/16 - free of charge!!!

Go Pirates!!!!

GO FC Dallas!!!!

This will be our third season and we had our first practice last weekend.
All of the players are back from last season, which is cool.

This brings back so many memories. My son played club and school soccer at the same time for 14 years. And part of the time, he played indoor also. Enjoy this wonderful time--it passes by so quickly.

That sounds like SO much fun!!!! Enjoy yourself

We had our first game of the third season today. The league moved us up to Division A this season, and I was a little nervous since we hadn't played the other team before. The boys pretty much picked up right where they were at the end of last season, and they played really well. I'm proud of how far they've come in a year of playing together.

Go Pirates!

One of the parents forwarded an email to the team last week, with a really nice note about me. I think the email is great so I thought I'd share it here;

With Fall here and millions of youth ages five to teenhood flooding our fields, courts, and rinks, it's a good time to ask: Are youth sports about winning? I suspect that not all agree, but as a father of seven children who has been to countless sporting events and also competed as a wrestler "back in the day," I am convinced of this:

Youth athletics are not about winning.

Now I didn't say that every child should get a gold trophy at the end of the season just for showing up or that we should, as was so well stated in the movie The Incredibles, "create new ways to celebrate mediocrity." What I am saying is youth athletics exist for these purposes:

Aerobic exercise for kids today who need it badly (since nobody really walks anywhere anymore!)
Team building. Critical lessons in collaboration: Co-labor = Working together. An excellent ability to possess.
Fun. Pure fun. It's still true and always will be: It's fun to have fun.
Commitment. Disciplining oneself to stay with something even when it's not easy is a good thing.
Skill development. It's healthy to learn to run, hit, kick, swing, shoot, pass, and catch correctly when young.
Relationship building. Making friends is always worthwhile.

Notice that winning is not on the list, not even at the bottom. Why? Because when that becomes an objective, I'm afraid we fail to build the character in youth that we desire. The "Winning is everything!" mantra seems to bring about bad stuff. Maybe you've witnessed some of this too:
Adult coaches become children again throwing tantrums that would embarrass a toddler.
A soccer mom instructs her nine-year-old son at half-time, “Tell your coach he shouldn't have you on Defense, you're a Forward.”
Parents scream at referees, and sometimes those refs are only teenagers themselves.
Coaches model excuse-making by blaming losses on field conditions, weather, officials, and cheating opponents.
Superstars are allowed to break team rules or not meet certain standards because, well, they're the superstars.
Parents and participants, especially when losing, fail to applaud the accomplishments of their competitors.
Basketball dads bellow loud enough for all to hear, "Come on, you can shoot better than that!!!"—at his own daughter.
Teammates treat each other poorly during competition with mean-spirited and "bossy" behavior, while coaches look the other way.
Weekend tourneys become so essential that holidays and Sundays—family and church time—are devalued.
Obsessed grandparents bark from the sidelines, "How can you be tired?! You're not tired! Get back out there and play harder!"
Less talented kids don't get to play much. And to be honest, some kids never play. Now that is a sad sight to see.
Coaches bawl the youth out post game causing them to lower their heads in shame.
Find me a coach that cares for the children's mental and emotional health, allows each team member equal playing time regardless of ability, shows no favoritism, teaches skills during the practices but encourages during the competitions, instructs the youth to honor adults and peers alike, and models life-success principles such as fairness, kindness, integrity, servanthood, accountability, forgiveness, and joy in all things, and I will sign my kid up immediately for this Dream Team.

My dad, Jimmy Miller, was a champion wrestler at Cornell University in the 1940s and coached the team from 1949-1975. I can still picture him in the late 1960s, when I was a boy, kneeling at the edge of the mat with both hands cupped around his mouth like a mini megaphone, encouraging his wrestlers with, "Come on, Peter!" "You can do it, Dick!" "Let's go, Buzzy!" If those young men lost that day, they still knew one thing: Their coach loved and accepted them just the way they were. Those athletes are now successful men in their 60s, and all speak highly of Coach Jimmy. I know that for him, when painfully watching his youngest son (me) flailing and failing on the mat, it wasn't about achieving a victory that day. It was about becoming victorious in life. That's the kind of coach I would want. Come to think of it, that's the coach I had.

Now that's winning.

John G. Miller, Author of QBQ! and Flipping the Switch
Edited by: Kristin Lindeen

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO PIRATES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Best of luck for a great season Bill!

That email is great and right on the mark!

I am sure not matter win or lose the kids on your team will have a great time and learn a lot!

Go Pirates!!!

We went from F Division up to A Division this season. Last night we played the toughest team we've faced in 3 seasons, and I am really proud of how we played. We didn't win, but we played them tough the entire game. We did score a couple of goals, with another 3-4 close misses that would have put us right with them on the score.

GO PIRATES!!!

Here's the team picture from last season;

Mr Play wrote:We went from F Division up to A Division this season. Last night we played the toughest team we've faced in 3 seasons, and I am really proud of how we played. We didn't win, but we played them tough the entire game. We did score a couple of goals, with another 3-4 close misses that would have put us right with them on the score.

GO PIRATES!!!

Here's the team picture from last season;

Great Pic.. Best of luck.. Go Pirates!!!!

I think we played the best game we've played in 3 seasons today. They're starting to work together and use some of the plays I've been teaching them in practice, which is cool. Go Pirates!

Way to go, Coach Play and the Pirates!

Bill you rock..


Have fun!!

It's hard to believe we're in our 5th season already! This is our first season on a bigger field with bigger goals and a goalie. We play 6 at a time and I only have 7 on my roster, so everyone is getting plenty of game time.

The other teams have 9 or 10 players, but we're holding our own with all of them. We don't officially keep score yet but unofficially, we're 5-2 with 3 games left to play. The boys are really coming along and working together as a team instead of just hogging the ball. I rotate everyone at goalie and they're all doing fairly well there too.

6 of my 7 players have been with me the whole time, and it's amazing how far they've come. I never set out to be a coach, but it's one of the most rewarding things I've ever done.

Go Pirates!