Meet the Team

For those who are new to this site, we are using the nick names of the players at the parents request.

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TAZ

Simply put, Taz is the leader of this team.  He is one of our team captains.  Taz is a very skilled player.  He can dribble and shoot with both his left and right foot, though in my opinion he ignores his left foot too often.  He has a powerful right foot.  So much so, his old nick name was "the leg."  Taz plays in the midfield, center mid, so he is usually all over the field.  One issue Taz has is a tendency to play it safe at times.  Some refer to it as playing not to lose.  What Taz has to learn is that he is at his best when he is playing all out, going a hundred miles an hour with his hair on fire.

Taz hates to lose.  I have always said that I do not know anyone who hates to lose more than I.  I may have found that person.  Taz hates to lose at anything.  Taz will do whatever needs to be done to secure a victory for his team.  If he needs to score alot of goals for us to win, he will score.  If he has to set up other players to score, he will get the assists.  If the team needs him to shut down a player on the other team, he will lock down the player.  If he needs to play keeper, he can do that also.  But, he loves to score as much as any ultra competitive nine year old boy.  To his credit, he will accept whichever role gives his team the best chance to win.  

What I like the most about this player is that he plays hard.  Despite his skills, he is not a prima donna.  His teammates gave him the name Taz, because during a scrimage in practice he was all over the field causing as much havoc as he could.  He also plays with his head in the game.  For example, during the last indoor session, we were playing a travel team in our second game.  It was a hard fought game.  Our opponents took the lead in the second half, when Taz came out with leg cramps.  Taz reentered the game and scored the tying goal.  As the second half progressed, there was alot of physical play.  On one play late in the second half, Taz passed the ball and got fouled.  The pass went to Sonic who passed to Izzy who shot and scored.  Just as Izzy took the shot the whistle blew, no goal.  The referee called the foul commited on Taz.  While everyone on the field, in the stands, and coaching (including me) were yelling about the call, Taz ran over, picked up the ball, and asked the ref where to place it.  The ref signaled for the direct free kick.  Before alot of people even realized what was happening, Taz scored  the game winning goal.  He had his head in the game even when his coach did not.  

To be fair, I should also mention that Taz is the coach's son.  As his coach, my opinion of him is biased.  But even to an unbiased eye, Taz is a very good player and a great kid.  As the coach of this team, I know he is an intricle part of this team and our success.  As his Dad, I cannot wait to watch him play in Florida.  As both, I only hope he plays a hundred miles an hour with his hair on fire.

Continue to log on and follow Taz and the team.  Check out our up coming fundraisers.  If you would like to make a donation, please send it to U-10 National Team, 315 North Street, Paw Paw, Michigan, 49079.  Please make any checks payable to: AYSO Region 250.

Go Crushers!

Meet the Team

Please remeber that we are using the players nick names at the request of their parents.

The Wall

One of the great stories from this team is how the Wall got her nickname.  In the beginning, the Wall played midfield.  I started her in that position because despite being a big kid, she can run.  She also started the year with good ball control skills.  When we started scrimmaging other teams, it became evident to me that we needed to make a change at full back (defense).  I decided to try the Wall at the position, in our second to last scrimmage.  She did a phenomenal job.  No one from the opposing team could get around her.  The team we played was an all boys team.  The wall kept knocking down opposing players and gigling when she did it.  At the end of the game, I was talking to the opposing coach.  When he commented on how well she played, he said, "She is a %$^#*^@! wall, no one gets around her."   The Wall had her new nickname.

The Wall is one of those kids who is always smiling.  She smiles so much, her first nickname was Smiley.  She always shows up to practice with a smile on her face and full of enthusiasm.  The Wall is not only fun to be around, she is a very good player.  If you ask any of the players on the team who the toughest player is, they will all tell you its the Wall.  There are players on this team who will not back down, but when the Wall is playing at her best she is the one who initiates the physical contact.  She also possesses a great sense of where to be on defense in just about any situtation.  She is aggressive to the ball.  Her size and speed combine to make her a very formidable defender.

As I described in a previous post, we will be alternating players from full back to midfield throughout the upcoming games.  In preparation for this, the Wall played some midfield during our last indoor session.  While it is taking time for her to learn how to play that position, I have been very impressed with her ball control skills.  We took the second indoor session off from league play.  We spent eight weeks honing our ball controll skills.  The Wall is one of the players that most benefitted from this training.  The Wall is one of those glue players.  Some people call them role players.  She may not score alot of goals or draw alot of attention, but she does the small things right.  She does the things that have to be done for a team to succeed.  If we enjoy any kind of success in Florida, it will be due in no small part to her play on the field.

Thanks for logging on.  Check out our up coming fundraisers.

Go Crushers!

Meet the Team

Izzy

Izzy is one of the guys on the team.  He is the only player on the team who never played organized soccer before this year.  Despite his lack of experience he is one of our better players.  Izzy is a big strong kid.  While Izzy is not a fast player, what he lacks in speed he makes up for with ball control.  The only way defenders can keep the ball away from him is to beat him to the ball.  Once Izzy has control of the ball it is very hard to take it away from him.  Izzy also possesses a potent right leg.  He can kick the ball with power and precision.  Izzy has played alot of different positions.  In fact he has started at every position except keeper.  At forward, I believe Izzy has found his ideal position.  It maximizes his strengths, power and control, and minimizes his one weakness, lack of speed. 

As a forward, Izzy is able to get into position and take possession of the ball.  Like Sonic, I wish Izzy would shoot more often.  He, like so many other players, wants to dribble closer to make a good shot, a good scoring chance, better.  The delay caused by the dribble only gives the defensive players a chance to recover.  Before you know it, that good scoring opportunity is gone.  The more shots he takes and the more passes he makes, the better our chances of winning become. 

Izzy got his name from one of our former assistant coachs.  It seems she had a cousin or some family member that she called Izzy.  For whatever reason, our Izzy reminded her of this family member.  I know I spend alot of time talking about these kids as players.  I can drone on and on about their individual strengths and weaknesses.  But the truth of the matter, is these are all really good kids.  They are good hearted, hard working, and motivated to win.  While they strive to win, they are gracious in defeat.  No player embodies the team's approach better then Izzy.  He is an easy going guy who tries as hard as anyone to win, but takes it in stride when things don't work out the way we want.  I have learned a little from Izzy about how to better behave in defeat.  Izzy is a good player, a better kid, and pleasure to coach.


Please continue to log on.  Check out our upcoming fundraisers.  If you would like to make a donation, please send it to: U-10 National Team, 315 North Street, Paw Paw, Michigan, 49079.  Please make checks or money orders payable to AYSO Region 250.  Thank you for joining us on our adventure.

Meet the Team

Pink

Pink, one of the ladies on the team, is a very energetic and opinionated extrovert that has no problem telling you what she thinks. Anyone who knows me, will know why I love those qualities in a player. For example, Pink is the player that started the nick name tradition on our team. I showed up to one of our first practices and Pink had died the lower third of her hair bright PINK. After a little teasing, I told her I was going to call her Pink from then on. She informed me in no uncertain terms that it was fine with her because her favorite singer was named Pink. She then proceeded to tell me all about Pink, the singer, was assuming all along I had no knowledge of the person.

Pink has all the skills and qualities to be a great player. As I have said before, the most skilled player on the team is Taz. Pink has the same ball control skills as Taz. I have seen her dribble through three defenders and put a beautiful shot on goal. I have seen her fend off a defender in the middle of the opposing team's goal box and blast a pass in the back of the net. She is a natural leader.  Pink was voted one of the teams two captions by her teammates.  She is a good athlete and a smart player.  She has all the skill and qualities, ie. the intangibles, to be a great player.

Unfortunately, Pink has not put all these elements together, yet.  Her challenge is to trust hers skills and personality traits when she plays in a game.  She needs to stop thinking and just play.  She needs to just turn it loose on the pitch (field).  Pink needs to play a hundred miles an hour with her hair on fire.  If she can learn to play with a little reckless abandon, she will be unstoppable.  The only way I know to fix this problem is to play in games. Pink just needs to play.

The good news is I am seeing improvement, real improvement. Pink broke her arm and missed our last indoor season. Since getting her cast off, Pink has become more aggressive in practice. She is more willing to mix it up with other players. In our last scrimage against one of the AYSO U-10 boys teams from our region, Pink started playing like I knew she could.  She was taking on players and winning the ball.  She started using all the ball control skills that I have seen in practice.  She made plays that lead to scoring chances.  If she continues to let her natural personality and skills take over on the field, then our chances of success in Florida increase dramtically.

Log on and follow Pink and the rest of the team through the spring season and on our trip to Florida.

Go Crushers!

Meet the Team

Socks

Socks is one of the free spirits on the team.  She got her name because she wears the most outlandish socks to practice.  For those who do not know, soccer players wear long socks to hold their shin guards in place.  Most kids wear white or black.  Those who have been playing for a while will have socks the color of their old teams.  Our Socks takes pride in wearing some of the oddest soccer socks I have seen.  There have been striped pairs, floral patterns, and some very brightly colored pairs.  I told her I thought they were just knee high socks, but she assures me they are soccer socks.  When she is forced to wear a normal pair of socks, she mixes and matches colors.  She will wear one blue and one pink, or one green and one yellow.  She loves it.

Socks is also our remaining alternate player.  The National Games only allows U-10 teams to carry ten players.  We started with 13 players last August.  We have lost two along the way.  I have asked for permission to have 11 players play, but Nationals may not allow it.  Socks knows this but you would not know it to watch her practice and play.  She works as hard as anyone at practice.  She never misses practice or a game.  Our team will play in a local tournament in June.  The KASI tournament also limits U-10 teams to ten players.  Socks is guaranteed a spot in this tournament.  Again we have asked for an exception.  If the KASI people will not allow 11 players, we will draw a name to see who sits.  It helps that, Greta, one of her teammates, is also her cousin.  It also helps that before the National Tournament starts there is a day where players are mixed up and placed on teams other than their team.  The goal is to let the players from around the country  meet each other.  Socks will get to play in these games.

As a player, Socks has a split personality.  When she is on, she is a good player.  She is aggressive and fast to the ball.  She has improving ball control skills and looks to pass better than anyone on the team.  When she is distracted, she is distracted.  This is when my wife usually reminds me I am coaching 8 and 9 year old kids, not world cup players.  Whichever version of Socks shows up, she is a joy to have on the team.  No matter what else is going on, she always manages to find a way to make me laugh.  I really hope they let her play.

Thanks for logging on.  Don't forget to look at our up coming fundraisers. If you would like to make a donation, please send it to U-10 National Team, 315 North Street, Paw Paw, Michigan 49079.  Please make any checks payable to: AYSO Region 250.

Go Crushers!

Meet the Team

For those who are new to this site, the parents of the players asked that I use the nicknames of the players on the blog.

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Sonic

Sonic is one of the young men on the team. He is the other speed merchant on our team. Unlike Dallas, who is a long strider, (Dallas is the other speed demon on the team) Sonic's speed comes from quickness and high RPMs. Unlike so many players on the team, Sonic is not afraid to get in there and mix it up with other players.  He is not the biggest guy on the team, but mess with him at your own risk.  In addition to being a great soccer player, I have been told he is a gifted martial artist. When a foul gets called against our team, it is usually Sonic. It's a good thing.  He brings a much needed toughness to the team. Sonic got his nick name because of his speed and hard nose playing style. Besides, I think he kind of looks like Sonic.

Sonic is one of those players coaches love. He doesn't say much and does not mess around in practice. To borrow a line from another coach, "he just gets on with it." He can play any position on the field. He always plays hard. He and Dallas are the second leading scorers on the team. The only problem is that he runs himself out. He needs to learn to pace himself.  Not a bad problem to have. Simply put, Sonic is one of the players that makes this team go. The best part is when the team started last summer, Sonic was one of my two seven year olds.  Now if I could only get him to put more shots on goal. 

Keep logging on and follow Sonic's journey with the rest of his teammates.

This is the commercial portion of the post. Please check out our up coming fund raisers. If you would like to make a donation to the team, please send it to: U-10 National Team, 315 North Street, Paw Paw, Michigan, 49079. Please make checks payable to AYSO Region 250 and we will make sure the money is deposited into the correct account. Thank you for your generosity.

Go Crushers!

Meet the Team

Just a reminder, the parents of the players have requested that I use their team nicknames on the blogs.

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Terminator

If you watch ESPN enough, you will hear the commentators talk about a player who doesn't have the great "numbers" but can just play the game. You also will hear them discuss a player's "intangibles." If you married those two conversations together you would be talking about the Terminator. She is not the biggest player on the team. She is not the fastest player on the team. She does not have the best ball skills. When you put her into a game, she just plays. She is easily one of the best ball defenders on the team. She is smart. And she shares one quality with Old School in that she doesn't back down from anyone. Terminator is one of those kids you love to coach. She works hard and absorbs new information like a spunge.

Terminator got her name the morning she showed up for practice with her sports glasses on. The name also matches her hard nose, take no prisoners approach to defense. Terminator is one of my starting full backs. She starts the game paired with Old School. Old School usually attacks the ball while Terminator covers the middle of the field. This is exactly how I want it because Terminator is like a defensive coach on the field. She tells her teammates where or how to play and they actually listen to her. The best part is her instructions are almost always correct. There is only one other player on the field with the confidence to order other players around and who is respected enough by his teammates that they actually listen. Most coaches hope for one player who can be their coach on the field, I have two.

In AYSO games you can only insert substitute players four times during a game. To keep my midfielders fresh, this spring we will switch midfielders and full backs during the game. We will be playing in Florida in July after all. In preparation for this idea I have been playing my full backs at midfield during the last session of indoor soccer. Faced with the new challenge, Terminator took the same approach she has taken to everything else, she just played. Of all the full backs, she looked the most comfortable in the position. She did a very good job. The girl never ceases to amaze me.

Continue to log on and follow Terminator and the rest of the team. Check out our fundraisers.  If  you would like to make a donation to the team please send it to 315 North Street, Paw Paw, Michigan 49079.  Please make any checks payable to AYSO Region 250.  Thank you for your generosity.

Go Crushers!

The Professor

Remeber, the parent of the players have asked that I use the players nicknames on the blog. The kids seem to prefer it that way.

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The Professor plays keeper or goalie. It is very unusual to find a player at his age that excels in this position. Most kids do not want to play keeper. Who can blame them. Keepers stand in net while other players kick a soccer ball as hard as they can at the goal. The keeper is suppose get in front of the ball. When they are not facing down rockets, they are diving on the ball while players on the other team are trying to kick it. When I was a player decades ago, I had a coach who said keepers had to have good hands, allot of confidence, and bravery. I would say the first two are correct. As a former keeper, I can tell you that you don't need bravery, you need a lack of common sense.

Having said that, The Professor is an excellent keeper. We call him the professor because he looks like a professor when he is not playing soccer. The Professor wears wire glasses with circular lens. He has a very quiet unassuming personality. Like I said he, looks like a professor.

But when he puts on his sports glasses and goalie gloves, he becomes the Keeper. Almost like a super hero. Clark Kent, Peter Parker, the Professor become Superman, Spider man, and the Keeper.

Simply put, the Professor keeps us in games. Our team has been working hard on learning how to play team defense. As happens, there have been break downs and mistakes during the learning process. When these mishaps occur, the Professor is there to stop the other team. He regularly faces runs or breaks aways when one, two, and sometimes three players from the other team are racing at him with no one from his team there. More often then not, he made the save. He routinely makes saves when the other team should have scored. The Professor not only makes the spectacular saves, he very rarely misses the routine saves. He is an excellent keeper. He is so good in fact, I have had other coaches stop me to tell me how impressed they are with his abilities. With the Professor between pipes, I like our chances in Florida.

Check out our fundraisers and continue following then team. If you want to make a donation to the team to help pay for the trip, you can send it to U-10 National Team, 315 North Street, Paw Paw, Michigan, 49079. Please make ckecks payable to AYSO Region 250. We will make sure it goes into the team's account.

Thanks for logging on and GO CRUSHERS!

Meet the Team

As usual, I will start off explaining that the team parents decided to use the kids' nicknames. Some were worried abouti putting their pictures on the net with their personal information . So a compromise was reached.



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GRETTA


Gretta is the nicest player on the team. Simply put, she is a great kid who always has a smile on her face. Gretta got her name because she is so nice, too nice. Gretta was simply too nice on the soccer field. So I tried to think of analogies or ways to explain to her that it was okay not to be so nice during the game. Last Halloween I used the example of Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde. I told her I want her to be nice like Jeckyl off the field, but aggressive "mean" like Hyde on the field. Now Gretta's real name starts with the letter G, so I wanted to find a female name starting G. I wanted two names, one for the nice girl and one for the tough soccer player. One of my favorite shows at night is Gretta van Susteren. It is a news show that bears the name of its host. Gretta is one tough lady. So, Gretta it is.


As nice as Gretta is, when she came to our first practice last fall, she was the least skilled player. The only reason I mention this fact is to put the next fact into contex. During our last indoor season, Gretta was the third leading scorer on our team. Gretta has gone from being the first player to give up, to a player who gives everything she has. One of my favorite examples of Gretta's new found confidence and determination occurred in the first game of the last indoor season. We played a team comprised of players from our region. It was a team of all boys. Before the game started, the boys on that team were making jokes about playing girls. I used this as a motivational tool during our pregame talk. When Gretta got into the game, she challenged a player on the other team for the ball along the boards. Gretta put a check on that poor boy that would have made hockey fans cheer. He was not laughing about playing girls while he was picking himself up off the ground.





Gretta was recently moved from full back to forward. Our team plays 7v7 in outdoor: one keeper, two full backs (defense), three midfielders, and one forward. The forward's job is to live in the goalie box, harass the keeper, and kick any ball that roles across the front of the goal into the net. Gretta has taken to her job. She has scored all her goals while in the box, harrassing the keeper, on balls that were kicked across the front of the goal. Gretta is one of those players that needed to find her niche in the sport. She found it. I am looking forward to big things from her in Florida.


It is time for the commercial portion of this post. Please look at our up coming fundraisers. As I have said in the past, we have to raise money to take this trip. Any contribution is greatly appreciated. Please join us at one of our events or send a donation to: U-10 National Team, 315 North Street, Paw Paw, Michigan, 49079. Please make all checks payable to AYSO Region 250 and please indicate U-10 Team on the Check so it goes into the right account.

GO CRUSHERS!

Meet the Team

If you have missed previous posts or are new to this blog, I refer to all the kids on the team by their team nick names. Some of the parents had concerns about having their kids' pictures and information on the Net. So we came to this compromise. I get to post the pictures of the team, but use nicknames instead of real names. Yes, democracy at work. Too bad people in DC cannot figure it out.

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OLD SCHOOL

Old School is one of the young men on our team. He is one of those kids who will not back down from anyone or anything. He is definitely one of the tough guys on our team. In a previous post, I wrote that a girl named The Wall was the toughest player on the team. What I did not mention then was that Old School is an extremely close second. Old School is one of our full backs (defense). In today's lingo, he is our stopper. Since we play 7v7, we have two backs on the field during a game (1 keeper or goalie, 2 backs or defense, three midfielders, and one forward or striker). Nine out of ten times, he is the player that attacks the ball. When he is on, there are not many kids who can get by him. He also has very good ball skills. There are those who think that you put your best players on offense and your weaker players on defense. Nothing could be further from the truth. Old School could easily play midfield or forward because he has the skills. But Old School is the anchor of our defense.

Old School also has a great leg. Old School and another player, Taz, take most of our free kicks due to the strength and accuracy of their kicks. This is how Old School scores most of his goals. While he starts in a defensive postion, Old School has the green light to take possession of the ball in the defensive end of the field and dribble it into the offensive half of the field and initiate our offense. This is a new option for this player and he is growing into the role of attacker. He actually attacked in one of our recent games. While the opposing keeper made the save, his role as an attacker adds a new level or dimension to our offensive.

Finally, Old School got his name on a cold and wet October evening. We had a scrimmage against another U-10 boys team from our region. While all the kids playing were wearing sweat pants and Under Armor or fleece under their jerseys, Old School showed up in shorts and his jersey. Some saw him and said, "now thats old school." Old School had his name.

Keep logging in and follow Old School and the rest of the team. Don't forget to check out our upcoming fundraising events. If you would like to make a donation, please send a check to U-10 National Team, 315 North Street, Paw Paw, Michigan 49079. Please make checks payable to AYSO Region 250 and place U-10 Team on the check so it is placed in the correct account.

GO CRUSHERS!

Meet the Team

DALLAS

I should begin by explaining that some of the parents were leery about putting the pictures and names of their children on the internet. (No Aunt TeeTee, it was not me.) So it was agreed, we would use the players nicknames on the blog. The kids have all picked up nicknames over the last seven months. They become quite indignant when I call them by their given names. So, nicknames it is.



Meet Dallas. As I mentioned in a previous post, Dallas is fast, like Hussein Bolt fast. She is the fastest player on the team. Come to think of it, she is the fastest player I've seen on any U10 team. Not only is she fast, she is one tough player. Once she realized it was okay to hit the boys while playing, she has become a force to be reckoned with. Yes, there is hitting in soccer, but that is a story for another post.

Dallas is a quite player, she never says much. Dallas' mother promises me, Dallas is alot more vocal at home. Dallas got her nickname because of her love of the Dallas Cowboys. This is a point of contention between she and I because I am a lifelong Washington Redskins fan. Having lived a large part of my life in Buffalo, New York, I am also Buffalo Bills fan. So you can imagine how much I hate the Cowboys. While she does not say much, it is surprising how often she "happens" to wear her Cowboys gear to practice. Like I said, tough kid.

Dallas is one of our mid fielders. We put that speed to good use. During indoor season she has improved her ball handling and started scoring goals. I have great hopes for her at the tournament in Florida.

I should also mention that Dallas' mom is a proud member of the Chingalinga Tamaleros (damn tamale makers). Our most recent fundraiser was making and selling tamales. During this was an event, we made over 6,000 tamales. All of the families worked very hard to raise money for kids. Look for the next post on fundraising and read all about the Great Tamale Sale of 2010.

So, become a follower and keep up with Dallas and the rest of the team.

Go Crushers!