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!