Home

News Detail

6

Oct, 2012

The Fireballs are Soaring!

We're halfway through the season and the improvement shown by these girls is amazing. In today's game, a game in which no goals were scored, you would think there wouldn't be a lot of highlights. If that's what you're thinking, however, you're wrong!

We were down a couple players today, but that didn't stop us. After our "1-2-3 Fireballs" chant the girls put on their game faces and took the field. I would say this is the first game where our players were on the offensive side of the field as much as the defensive side. This allowed Jazmin to finally be able to pick a flower or two (inside joke, parents). We also probably had more shots on goal than any other game, and a couple of very close ones.

Since we've reached the halfway point, I'm going to highlight some of the plays or players from today's game. First off, Bella and "Little" Sophie who are usually on the offensive side of the ball played a great defensive game today. They were quick to attack, get that ball and pass it up the field to the offensive players. They also did a great job when they were on offense!

Also on defense was DeDe. Now this Fireball seems to remember everything we talk about at practice and does it on the field. It didn't matter where I was on the sideline. Every time another player was coming toward our goal I'd hear her yell out that she was taking that player on, and then she would do it. Way to communicate, intimidate and attack, DeDe!

At goalie, Jazmin had two really great saves, one was a point blank shot with ten seconds left in the half. She dropped down and put a stranglehold on that ball just before the whistle. What a game saver! She also performed a great diving punch out on a shot that would have most certainly went in.

On the offensive side we have a player who I'm going to now nickname the "wounded warrior." Some of you know her as Julia (or Juliet/Julie if your name is Jazmin). It seems that in every game Julia is getting knocked around by the other team. However, she's always begging me to get back in the game when she's on the sidelines. Way to never back down, Julia!

Next up is Kayla. Now most girls on this team have never played with Kayla before, but those who have can verify that the Kayla you see now is 200% better than the Kayla from last year. Always the smallest on the field she was intimidated by the bigger girls, and barely got her foot on the ball in most games. Now, I never see her back down from a ball battle, especially with me yelling at her from the sidelines. ;0)

Also of note, is our trio of "bullets." Taylor was a machine last week and had some great runs toward the goal today, almost getting one blast past the goalie. We also experimented with two of our "I wanna play defense" girls, Bre and "Turtle." When they were put in the mid-fielder position in the second half they tore up the field. Bre almost had a few "nail-biting" scores in the third quarter and enjoyed midi so much she asked to play the position in the fourth.

Last, but not least, is someone I truly believe has shown the most improvement this week, Jordan. She played most of the game, and on offense. She ran to the ball, showing a lot more aggression than games past. With that aggression in full-mode she was able to get by some of the girls on defense and had some opportunities near the goal. Awesome job, Jordan!

The kudos are over, but I'd also like to highlight the "goal that almost was." The other coach was fired up about that double post banger, saying it was a goal. My wife, as some of you may know, sits at the corner. She brought it up to me and said it was the craziest thing. It literally hit the right post, stayed straight, never crossing the line, and then banged into the other post and out. Luck was on our side on that one.

To sum it all up, the girls did a wonderful job again! There was more communication, more passing, more opportunities, better defense and better teamwork! Next week we play the only team in the league that's undefeated and we're excited to see what will happen this time! See you on Monday, girls, and this time Coach Ron will be back!

P.S. A big thanks to "Turtle's" family for leaving to get snacks during the game. It turned out to be a misunderstanding, but we sincerely appreciate what you did!

Website Manager

Gilbert, Chandler, Mesa, Tempe and surrounding areas

News Detail

6

Oct, 2012

The Fireballs are Soaring!

National Partners

Contact Us

AYSO Region 688