New Year's Resolutions for Force Dad

I was delighted when my daughter named me "Most Improved Soccer Parent of 2011" -- mainly for not talking about the game at all after a game. Inspired, I have created some resolutions so I, too, can go to the "next level."

New Year's Resolutions for Force Soccer Dad:
1) I will commit the difference between the "ITC" park in Novi and Independence Park in Canton to memory. Or is it "ITC" in Canton and Independence Park in Novi? For that matter, I will learn the difference between Canton and Novi.
2) Having gotten over the frustration of using a whole can of "Goo Off" to get my Force sticker off the back of my old Ford Flex I will get a new Force sticker to go on my new Ford Flex. This is critical: other parents look for stickers ("oh, follow them!" or "we are at the right field!") so I can lead other parents astray coming out of an unfamiliar parking lot.
3) When discussing the connection between 12 year old travel soccer in southeast Michigan and the Olympics I will do so without (visible) irony.
4) When driving the Flex forty miles there and back to my daughter's soccer games I will use only "Klean Canteens" for water and not plastic water bottles -- therein limiting my carbon footprint.
5) I will stop referring to the Hawks as Wolves even though Hawks are clearly gendered male in every bit of iconography going back to the ancient Egyptians.

6) I will stop clutching my head in pain whenever Lauren heads the ball.
7) Should the Force Golf Invitational take place again in 2012 I will bring 3 ringers, and 1 disaster -- not the other way round.
8) I will not think at all on "match" or "tournament" days....I will just follow Alice's instructions to the letter.
9) I will make more productive use of my time (grading exams, doing taxes, etc.) while waiting for Coach Cookie to finish his postgame talk.

10) I will limit my comments to the officials .... to when we are playing the Novi Jags.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/22/sports/soccer/in-england-star-players-accused-of-racist-comments.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha27

Click on the NY TIMES link for more on racism in European soccer. I posted a few weeks ago about this. I post with a certain schadenfreude, of course. Euro relatives and colleagues never tire, it seems, of recounting America's racist past and hold up the "cosmopolitan" nature of major European cities as some sort of counter-example to provincial (and racist) America. Certainly one never wants to deny continuing problems of racism in America today -- but Europe as a model? London? Paris? Berlin? Amsterdam? Really? Certainly the kind of racist sports incidents cited here are unthinkable in the NBA or NFL or Major League Baseball. Can you imagine? History matters. Europe is a place where people immigrate away from, not to...and it is only recently that that pattern is changing. Old habits die hard.

Year end blog review

"It is all about the kids."

The post that received the highest number of hits for 2011 was *Hope Solo and Dancing With the Stars*

Briana Amat, the Pinckney placekicker named Homecoming Queen, came in number 2.

1-1 tie! December 17 carving the roast beast!

It was like the Grinch himself tied on a pair of cleats and popped on to the pitch when, late in the game, the ball popped over the heads of Force center defenders.



And there, like a grudging but still loyal Max the dog, was a RSC forward to grab it and streak in on Kate alone to tie things up 1-1 with 2 minutes left. Indeed, the Force's own "Cindy lou Who" (albeit a Cindy lou Who with the bone density of Thor the Thunder God), Jill, had just left the field after an impressive 10 minutes turning back RSC attacks. Timing is everything.

But, in the grand scheme of things, Christmas still came on time. A 1-1 tie for the U12 in 2011 is a reason to celebrate (and celebrate we did, hence this late posting -- the author was in a dispute about a bar tab). The girls played very well and controlled the game despite playing without Annabelle, Grace, and Lauren.

Ellie, in good sisterly mode, stepped in at defense and provided several long balls to shift field position. Zoe was a distinct presence in midfield. Anastasia, Sawyer, and Christina put together nice combinations all night. And Sophia played one of the best defensive halves of the season, chasing down forwards, winning balls at midfield against bigger opponents, and sending beautiful balls up the sidelines for Force Forwards.

At one point the giving spirit of Christmas threatened to overwhelm the Force when -- seeking to continue their Barcelona style -- the girls passed on shots in front of the RSC keeper to give teammates a chance. Kyra, however, restrained her charitable impulses just enough to drive home what looked to be the game winner with five minutes left....but, then, the Grinch!

Ah well. All's Well that Ends Well said the Bard (depending on how you read Bertram's acceptance of marriage with Helena -- but we can argue that point at the next Tech Training).

The bar tab dispute? Dear reader: I married her.

Happy holidays and looking forward to seeing you all on the road to the Olympics in 2012!!!

Saturday

Game time 6:00 please arrive by 5:30 wear BLACK, Field 1,  RSC 99 Blue

Holiday Party immediately after the game.  Blue jeans/team uniforms are perfect and siblings are welcome.  Please park in lot and walk up stairs to the Grill.

The girls will do their Secret Soccer Star gift exchange that night.
Last chance for a win (or tie) in 2011!!!!!!!!!!!!!! May the road to the Olympics and the Professional leagues be smoother in 2012!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Weekly Update from Alice, week of December 12

Hello All,

Tuesday

Aaron Byrd 4:30-5:30

Thursday

Practice 6-7:30

Friday

Technical Training 6-7:30 Mini Dome

Saturday

Game time 6:00 please arrive by 5:30 wear BLACK, Field 1,  RSC 99 Blue

Holiday Party immediately after the game.  Blue jeans/team uniforms are perfect and siblings are welcome.  Please park in lot and walk up stairs to the Grill.

The girls will do their Secret Soccer Star gift exchange that night.  If you are unable to attend, please send your gift to practice on Thursday and I will be sure to pass it out Saturday. 

If everyone could please RSVP to me for Saturday night I would appreciate it (I know some plans have changed for people so that is why I am asking for another RSVP).

Force 00 Purple U13G Div B Winter 1 2011

U13G Div B Winter 1 2011 Standings

GP   W   L   T   GF   GA   PTS   GD   WP  BASC Shock Elite 5 5 0 0 15 0 15 15 1.000 Waza 00 Royal 4 4 0 0 12 0 12 12 1.000 LOBOS 00 Red 5 2 1 2 6 5 8 1 0.400 B-United 99 W 5 2 2 1 4 4 7 0 0.400 MI Impact 00 White 6 2 4 0 4 13 6 -9 0.333 PSG Gators 4 1 1 2 2 5 5 -3 0.250 RSC 99 Blue 5 1 2 2 2 8 5 -6 0.200 Renegade 99 Girls 5 0 3 2 2 5 2 -3 0.000 Force 00 Purple 5 0 4 1 2 9 1 -7 0.000 BLOCK 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000

Force 00 Purple's Schedule

Date Home   Away Time/Status Venue Game Type Officials Sat-Oct 29   BASC Shock Elite 3 - 0 Force 00 Purple Complete Field 3 11v11 Regular   Sat-Nov 5   Force 00 Purple 1 - 1 Renegade 99 Girls Complete Field 3 11v11 Regular   Sat-Nov 12   Force 00 Purple 0 - 1 PSG Gators Complete Field 1 11v11 Regular   Sat-Dec 3   MI Impact 00 White 2 - 1 Force 00 Purple Complete Field 3 11v11 Regular   Sat-Dec 10   Waza 00 Royal 2 - 0 Force 00 Purple Complete Field 1 11v11 Regular   Sat-Dec 17   RSC 99 Blue  v  Force 00 Purple 6:00 PM Field 1 11v11 Regular   Sat-Jan 7   Force 00 Purple  v  PSG Gators 6:00 PM Field 3 11v11 Regular   Sat-Jan 14   Force 00 Purple  v  B-United 99 W 5:00 PM Field 1 11v11 Regular   Sat-Jan 21   LOBOS 00 Red  v  Force 00 Purple 3:00 PM Field 1 11v11 Regular

Weekly update from Alice!

Hello All,

Tuesday

Aaron Byrd tonight 4:30-5:30.  It will be a smaller crowd because a few of the girls have a swim meet tonight.

Thursday

6-7:30 Practice, please see the note below from Steve.

Friday

6-7:30 Technical training in the Mini Dome

Saturday Game

Game time 3:00 please arrive by 2:30 Field 1, wear BLACK, WAZA Royal 00

Let’s have the girls wear their matching head bands again, to “Band Together” for a win.

Coach Cookie reminds all players to wear sneakers into the Silverdome and put on cleats inside. No running on cement and up and down the stairs.

Michigan Impact 2-1 loss on December 2

The Force U12 girls got back into game action tonite (10PM!!) after what seemed to be a long break (it was, in fact, only two weeks but such is the bizarre, continual cadence of travel soccer that a two week interruption seems "long").

The girls played well -- even without strong defender Emmi and playmaker Rhea -- but the results were all too familiar. The girls fell into last place with a 2-1 loss to the Michigan Impact.

This was a particularly tough loss as the girls put together nice combinations all night. Lauren, Grace and Annabelle made superb passes and Kyra outhustled Impact defenders. Surprisingly, though, with all this good ball movement, the first goal was something of a fluke: Christina scored from a wacky angle to put the Force ahead about ten minutes in. The Impact got one back on yet another misguided backpass.

The Force controlled play. Jill was simply brilliant, moving the ball from her left defender spot into an attacking position. Zoe played a terrific game on defense while taking a number of tough hits from an outsized forward. Sophie played well, too.

Soccer officiating remains something of a mystery to me. I simply don't understand how a single player can foul on every contact with the ball and continue with the game. But...

So it was tough when the Impact got the go ahead goal on a single defensive breakdown when the Force got caught outnumbered.

We do have July to look forward to.

Force Winter training distributed (apparently) Nov. 20

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November 20, 2011 Q&A from emails sent by club families     Q: Did the Force FC research other facilities? A: Yes. The selection criteria included: Geographic location. Training time available (both amount of hours available as well as day/time availability). Cost. Q: Is the per-player cost a winter training fee? A: It is a pass-thru cost to the Silverdome facilities Q: Do we expect upgrades at the Silverdome? A: Yes. We expect to see a comfortable place for spectators. We expect to see new turf. We expect to see more upgrades to the Silverdome's entrance. Q: Do we expect the Silverdome field-level to have higher temperatures? A: We know the temperature will not go lower even as the outside temperature goes down. But players would be wise to dress like they would for a cold, but completely dry fall practice. Training schedule 11/21 - 11/25  Monday night training at the Fieldhouse is ON (11/21) u12 boys - u12 girls white - u10 girls - u9 girls - u9 boys... Plan on coming to the Fieldhouse to have a great time and gain some extra touches before the holiday. 7pm - 8:30pm Monday.  Tuesday/Thursday:  No team training scheduled this week (11/22 + 11/24). Friday night training at the mini-dome is OFF  No Friday night "just play" training at the mini-dome (11/25). 11/27 -12/2: We resume our normal schedule (Mon or Fri "just play" training, Tues or Thurs team training) Did indoor training time actually double from last year?!!  The Force FC is proud of the steps taken to provide each player with more opportunities to play this year. The Q&A on the left will give you some additional insight to our fine-point focus on player development.    NOTE: When we first announced the indoor training plans this year, the "just play" Fridays and "just play" Mondays were not set-in-stone. We are pleased to announce that both nights will continue throughout the winter.  This completes a 240% increase from last year.                   It's about the game!

Game Saturday Dec. 3, 10PM v. MI Impact

U13G Div B Winter 1 2011    (October, 2011)

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U13G Div B Winter 1 2011 Standings

GP   W   L   T   GF   GA   PTS   GD   WP  BASC Shock Elite 3 3 0 0 6 0 9 6 1.000 LOBOS 00 Red 3 2 0 1 6 3 7 3 0.667 Waza 00 Royal 2 2 0 0 8 0 6 8 1.000 PSG Gators 3 1 0 2 2 1 5 1 0.333 RSC 99 Blue 3 1 1 1 2 3 4 -1 0.333 B-United 99 W 3 1 2 0 1 3 3 -2 0.333 Renegade 99 Girls 3 0 2 1 2 4 1 -2 0.000 Force 00 Purple 3 0 2 1 1 5 1 -4 0.000 BLOCK 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 MI Impact 00 White 3 0 3 0 0 9 0 -9 0.000