So how was everyone's fall season?

1,223 Views | 8 Replies | Last: 2 yr ago by Ags-R-Better
Jim01
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AG
At the beginning of this season in a thread about Texas soccer I mentioned I hadn't heard of any of the clubs you all were talking about and how I thought it was a Houston thing. Someone replied maybe it was a Jim01 thing. And after this fall I can report you were right.

My daughter's D1 team got a new coach and 5 new players and it was a huge difference. We went from maybe winning 2 games all last year, to being technically undefeated this fall. Technically because we did lose one game 3-0 but one girl didn't have a player card so it was a forfeit. However that same team beat us the end of last season like 13-0 so it was a great measuring stick of how far the team has come.

The new coach moved her from wing midfield to center mid which she didn't like, but I told her it was a vote of confidence. Center mid is the heart of the team. You have to be able to do it all, box to box, sideline to sideline. She's adapted well but she's fast and she misses running free down the sideline.

On top of that she got asked to guest play on the Girls Academy 2 team (the second highest level in Dash) and played like 75% of their games with them, practicing with them once a week. This is where my knowledge grew. Made trips to Austin and Dallas, played against Lonestar, D'Feeters, Dallas Texans, Solar, etc. Played in the DKSC Thanksgiving Showcase. Got to know a lot of the Texas soccer landscape and meet a lot of players across Houston.

She also guested on a couple 07 teams.

Coming from basketball growing up I feel like it's easier to tell who is really good in basketball, because there are less players and one player can really dominate a game. Soccer has become my favorite sport but I still find it hard sometimes to recognize a great game. I don't have rose colored glasses just because it's my daughter. There are times she doesn't have a good game, like anyone, but her new D1 coach, the Girls Academy 2 coach, and the 07 coach she guested with all seem to really like her.

Most importantly she continues to love it, and so do I!
380Ag
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AG
Mixed bag.
Only got five games in classic league D1, while most teams got 8-10. Looking at the table we played the top five teams, no wins, 3: losses and two draws.
In the ecnl rl, or whatever the hell it is, they did much better.
Just need to figure out a way you add one more goal a game and they'll be fine.
carl spacklers hat
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First fall I haven't been in the stands or on a sideline since 2002.
People think I'm an idiot or something, because all I do is cut lawns for a living.
Ghost of Andrew Eaton
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Daughter moved to a new "club" and the coaching is significantly better. I say club because the coach has only one team and is trying to build the club. Daughter is now playing CM and it's made her better but it's tough and she's out of position at the moment. The team didn't win a game last year but this year we've won a few and been competitive in all of our matches but one. She's gotten more confident as a player, actually feels like practice is worth going to, and it didn't hurt that her current team tied her old team.
If you say you hate the state of politics in this nation and you don't get involved in it, you obviously don't hate the state of politics in this nation.
jeffk
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AG
I got roped into coaching my son's U9 rec team (if someone doesn't step up and coach, the team will have to be abandoned - get's me every time) and we did fine.

Bunch of new players and a lot of learning and laughing. Coaching rec is always an adjustment for me - reminding myself to not take the score seriously (we don't keep it, but I always know what it is anyway), trying not to get frustrated and "coach" the officials, trying to not be sarcastic with the other try-hard coaches who do take it way too seriously and act a fool. All in all, it was a lot of fun to do it with him and we made some good friends in the process. Being outside on the fields again and working drills with kids who are only just beginning their soccer journey is exciting. A lot of them may never be amazing players, but I think they had a good experience with the sport this fall and that's important.

Got to know a few of the guys at the local club and the local ref chapter, so that was good too.
Rudyjax
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AG
Daughters team ECRL and Classic league. Too half of the table in both.
Ags-R-Better
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My youngest daughter stepped her game up this fall from Katy Youth, where she's played the last 5 years, and joined an independent club team playing in the Dash League. We quickly realized how behind she was skill development wise but her coach is awesome and she has grown immensely in the last 6 months. She has a natural gift of amazing speed and drive, and this experience dramatically increased her love of the game. She's a 2010 birthday, and her team is half 09's and half 10's, but they are playing up in the U13 league. They did really well and won their league with an 8-0-2 record; she played striker and scored 15 goals. It was exciting to see her play tougher competition with teammates of equivalent skill and seeing her excel.

I guess we've been pretty ignorant about the club soccer scene in Houston because, while knew about club soccer, I had no idea how big and competitive it really was and still feel like I'm scratching the surface with how deep this thing goes. Our daughter was actually scouted and asked to join Albion's ECRL team which seems like a pretty cool opportunity. She's a little hesitant to jump because she just joined this team and really likes the other girls and her coach…Seems like we went from Pee Wee to the "Pros" real quick and we want to put her in a position to continue to grow and develop and still love the game. We'll see what we do moving here in a few weeks.

My middle daughter plays U14 at Katy Youth soccer and had a good season up until she tore her ACL and Meniscus in her school volleyball game. She loves soccer and is rehabbing and hopes to be back on the field the fall.
Teacher_Ag
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AG
As a teacher I hear 16 year olds who've been playing club ball for years and it's essentially their life. Some really regret it. Make sure this is them wanting this and not you.
Ags-R-Better
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Teacher Ag - this is for sure my youngest daughters passion. Only thing we pushed any of our kids into doing was trying different sports; if they like it they keep playing, if they hate it we move on. Like most kids though, they sometimes need a push to see what they are capable of and we don't want her to regret not trying something. She was hesitant to go to club because she didn't want to move away from her friends, so we compromised and played both leagues in the fall. She quickly realized that her rec team was only holding her back, so she doesn't want to play there anymore and only wants to play club which she is doing in the spring.

Now with this new opportunity with Albion, she is hesitant because she just joined this club team and really likes her coach and teammates. We scrimmaged this Albion team a few months ago and saw a huge difference in the talent level, so the only thing we are encouraging her to do is to be open to the opportunity and give it a try…. She loves soccer and has great athletic ability but with still pretty raw skills; we want her to continue to love the game and have fun first and foremost, but if this is something she wants to pursue long term (which she says she does), she will need to continue to play with (and against) better talent.
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