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This FALL season we are playing DIV III due to several factors:
  • new players
  • not having enough players for DIV II
I was unsure whether or not it would be an good experience for the boys.  Last season we did not win any games, but the kids played very well.  I did not want to play DIV II again with new players with little experience.  So far this season we have:
1 Loss against U14 (we are a U13 team, I was afraid that this season would be a repeat of the last season)
1 Tie against another U14 team.  In the last 5 min of the game the other team made a gol due to our goalies mistake.  This game was encouraging because the kids played better and they were not afraid of the bigger team.  There was a big improvement from the first game.  I also adjusted the lines of the team and it seemed to have helped them improve.
2 Wins
The 3rd game was against U13, same age as our team.  I finally got to see how our team plays against kids their own age.  It was a very good game for the Arsenal.  We completely dominated the game in the first half, we were taking many shots at the goal, about 10 shots.  The other team was not reaching our goal due to our strong defense.  Topi started to learn how to play the midfield position and eventually he will be a good midfielder.  He gave good passes, communicated well and began to control the ball in the air.  Our left and right wing was approaching, shooting and sometimes crossing the ball.  It was just a matter of time till the ball went in.  The most exciting thing was that in the 2nd half the opponent team reached our goal twice and scored twice, the score was 2-1, then 3-1 and I thought at that moment that the Arsenal were going to give up but this is the first time that our kids did not get demoralized by the score and they began to play harder and overcame the opponent 5-3 but the ref did not count one goal so the score was 4-3. 
Our 4th game was a rainy, cold game.  Our opponent had to forfeit because they did not have enough players and their coach was not there.  They also were a U14 team, they were bigger and faster but they did not know how to play.  We only had 6 players and 30 minutes later the rest of the other team arrived and we decided to scrimmage.  They had 8 kids on the field and we had 6, I also decided to play with my team to even the things out a bit.  Our kids were communicating, passing the ball and we were reaching the other side and shooting the ball.  Max Lerma, right defender, began to move all the way to the forward position and making himself open, he did this several times so I passed the ball to him, and he shot the ball exactly the way we practiced and hit the goal post once or twice.  Topi was also moving up from mid filed position but the ball was taken from him pretty easily since he is slower.  He did get open 2 or 3 times and got some good shots at the goal, he figured out that he needed to be faster.  He did score once but the ref did not count it.  I am begging to see the confidence of the new players and the kids are starting to know each other and they are playing much better soccer than the other teams we have played so far and I am very happy for that.  The score was 2-0.


S.A. Arsenal Youth Soccer Club