The bus will be leaving this afternoon around 1:20. The student athletes are excused from school at 1:05. JV will be playing first at 4:00 followed by Varsity at 6:00. Because of the late start and both games being played a full 80 minutes. We will be returning late. Probably around 11ish. Tammy Call will be bringing treats that will be eaten either before or after the game for the players. If you can, send your boys with a snack to take to the game. We will be eating right after the game and then returning home. The game is being played at Juan Diego High School on their turf field.
We have had two great practices in a row and the boys are working very hard. We are swinging the ball around very efficiently and doing a much better job talking to each other on the field. I am excited for another opportunity tonight to see where we are as a team. To see what we are doing well and to see which areas we can continue to improve on. Juan Diego has made it to the finals of 3A championships several times over the last few years. They are an excellent program and we are grateful to them for allowing us to come down and play them on their field.
Back in 2009 we opened the season with a win over Park City. We worked them pretty good and ended up beating them 3-0. They were a great team and we set our goals high for the season. The next game we were to face Alta on Alta's field. Alta is a 5A powerhouse coached by one of the greatest soccer coaches in state history. I felt that if there was ever a time to play them and put up a good game, now was the time. We had an experienced Senior class and we truly believed we could beat them. We got off the bus realized we were playing on a grass field instead of a turf field and should have gotten right back on the bus. Alta outclassed us in every aspect of the game. They ended up beating us 6-0. We were distraught and were wondering what had just happened. Were we that bad or was Alta that good? Our team was down and we went right back to work. We focused on what we needed to do to get better and what we could learn from the Alta game. The next game was Mountain Crest and we ended up beating them 1-0. By the time the we got to the Championship game we had won or tied 16 straight games. Over that span we went 14-0-2. Imagine that a team that had been destroyed 6-0 ended up going to the Championship game and eventually losing in Overtime to Park City. I was proud of them and I am proud of you.
Someone once told me that the Future is unknown. That we don't know what can happen. Each day is a new day. Each practice is a new opportunity to improve, work and have fun. The past is gone, all we can do is learn from it. We can overcome and make changes from our past. Regardless of whether it is soccer related, grade related or life related. Your past does not define you. What you do with the present and the future is what will define you. Work hard and lets continue getting better each day, each hour and with each decision we make on and off the field. I can't predict what will happen with the next 16 games or even tonight's game, but I do know that we are better going into tonight's game then we were going into our first game. Play hard and Have fun and lets find out what the future holds for this team.
