Coach's Corner

11/10/11: The season has been over for a few weeks now, but I want to thank all the parents and families and friends who supported us loyally from pre-season through to Sectionals. You helped make the season so positive and rewarding for the whole team. So thank you again!

10/21/11: Congratulations on an exciting and well-earned victory last night! If we play like that on Monday and in sectionals, we 'll be all set. And congratulations to all of our seniors for their contributions and achievements through the years. I will miss you guys next year.

On another note, anyone interested in watching a top-notch "game of the season" Division 3 men's soccer match should consider heading to Union College's College Park Field tomorrow at 2 pm to see Union play against Hobart. Hobart is currently ranked in the top 10 nationally, and Union is in the top 20. It should be a great Liberty League game, and will give you a great perspective on the level of play that high-level Division 3 teams play at and what you can expect if you are trying to get a spot and/or playing time in a college soccer program.

Lastly, I'd like to express my admiration for the funkiness quotient many of you demonstrated today at practice! Where else could a teletubby, a wizard, a tourist in Hawaii, and a kid in a life vest play soccer together for 90 minutes and successfully combine humor and work ethic? Way to go!

10/19/11: Great practice tonight, guys - thank you. We're definitely ready for tomorrow's game.

Speaking of which, we would like everyone to know that tonight at practice we discussed Senior Night, which as you all know will be tomorrow night at our home game versus Saratoga. The seniors presented the case for having the ceremonies at halftime instead of before the game. Their reasoning made sense, so we've decided to change the timing and have the announcements and photos during halftime. I apologize for the very late notice, and I hope this will not prove to be an inconvenience, especially for those of you who are coordinating everything. Thanks in advance for your understanding, and as always, feel free to write or call if you have questions or concerns. Also, thank you very much for your support throughout the season. The players and I appreciate it a lot.

10/13/11: We almost had them tonight. Our experiment - the 4-4-1+1, with Scott marking Ballston Spa's main scoring threat - worked very well for most of the game. I'll take responsibility for the fact that we tried that out without any previous practice with it. Still, Ballston Spa were fortunate to escape with the win. And we almost had Shenendehowa on Tuesday. We played two very good games this week, coming from behind both times, and outplaying the other team for long periods. No points from either game, it's true, but we're heading in the right direction as we end the regular season and look ahead to Sectional play. I'm proud of the way you guys played this week.

10/2/11: Thursday's game against Shaker was one of our best so far. Congratulations on a great effort. With a bit of luck, we would have sealed the game in the second half (remember all those shots hitting the crossbar?).

Yesterday's game was a somewhat different story. For the first time this season, the opponent outplayed us for much of the game. Also, we had a bit of bad luck with the first goal, which should have been called back due to a foul. On the other hand, we played better and better as the second half progressed (credit also to the guys who came in off the bench). Now we just need to start each game with that level of intensity.

Tuesday's home game against Bethlehem is the last home game on our field. Let's use our practice tomorrow to get ourselves set to play our best soccer for 80 minutes.

9/21/2011: Most players are unavailable for the Nisky Fall Fun Run on Friday, so we won't be able to participate as a team. However, if you can volunteer or run, have a great time, but also remember that you are representing our team.

9/21/2011: Check out the info from CDYSL regarding the Senior Showcase games on November 11, 2011. It's attached to the e-mail I sent, and also on the CDYSL website.

9/20/11: The Coordinator of Community Programs for the Town of Niskayuna has asked us if we would like to volunteer at the 3rd Annual Nisky Fall Fun Run this Saturday September 24, 2011, which will begin and end at the Niskayuna Town Hall. Start time for the run is 5:30 pm. Set-up would be sometime beforehand. They are looking for volunteers (set-up, registration, food tent help, race marshalls, clean-up) as well as perhaps our team to enter and do the run as a group (in uniform, I would suggest). So far I've heard from three players who can't come, two who would like to run, and one player and one parent who can volunteer.

Please let me know by tomorrow if you are available and interested so I can forward the information to Lori Peretti of the Town. Thanks.

9/20/11: We had a great start to the game today, and a lot of very good individual performances. When our passing game was on, we looked great. The tie may feel like a loss, but now is the time to be resilient mentally and emotionally. With greater consistency, solid team unity, and a bit more poise, we will win games.

9/17/11: The pasta party last night was great! A big thank you to Habes and his family for having us all over. And thanks to all who organized and helped out with food and drinks. (Who won the FIFA tournament...?)

9/19/11: Practice on Monday 9/19 will start and end later. The new practice time is from 3:30-6:00 pm. This will enable us to have the full field for at least 30 minutes.

See you there.

P.S. Practice for Saturday 9/24 is listed as TBA. We'll probably want to take Saturday off and practice on Sunday 9/25 in the afternoon instead (3-5:30 pm), since we travel to Saratoga on Monday 9/26. We'll talk about it on Monday, but I wanted you to be aware of this probable change.

09/06/11 - Parent Meeting - Old Cafe 5:45