A Great Weekend Of Soccer!

The 2012 Cedar Valley Cup is in the books!!  We just finished a fantastic year of soccer, that culminates in this annual weekend tournament for all the recreational teams in the Cedar Valley area...

I had the good fortune of coaching two great teams this year!

I really, really love being a part of my kid's lives - and being a soccer coach for them has been one of the best "Dad/Kid Experiences" I have had so far.

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"Team S.A.L.A.D" - The "Super Awesome Laser Astro Dragons" (great name, huh?) - was Joel's U12 Boys Team.  We had a great mix of boys - and every single one of them improved tremendously over the course of our season.  The hallmark of this team was a VERY strong second half of our soccer year.  After 4 losses in the Fall - we were undefeated in the Spring!  We played a couple of "buzz saw" teams to start off The Cup - but we still managed to qualify for the bronze medal game.  Ending up in 4th place is perfectly OK with me!!

The "Purple People Eaters" was Lydia's U10 Girls Team.  What a sweet bunch of girls - until you had to play against them!  They lived up to their name almost perfectly on the soccer field.  In 12 regular season games, we only lost ONCE!  I am proud of the fact that they were really playing soccer - and not just "clump ball".  They understood how to play our field positions - and by the end of the year, every girl seemed to find their best spot(s) to best help the team.  We never took it for granted - but I was not surprised at all by the Gold Medal they won in The Cup!

Below are a few pics and a vid to remember what was a fun and rewarding 2011-2012 CVYSA Soccer Season...

A special thanks to Coaches Bill & Mark - for helping so faithfully this year - especially during the weeks I had to be in Mexico in the early Spring.

And thanks to the parents of both teams - for being so helpful and supportive throughout...

"Team S.A.L.A.D."

Back Row: Coach Bill, Chimzim, Benny, Jacob, Garret, Casey, Coach Q.

Front Row: Joe, Christian, Zach, Joel, Gavin.

The requisite "Somewhat Silly Pic" at the Medal Ceremony

"The Purple People Eaters"

Back Row: Coach Q, Elie, Mallory, Josie, Coach Mark.

Front Row: Lydia, Lindsey, Annie, Lakin, Bella.

The "Really Silly Pic" of the girls!

The "PPE" Gold Medal Ceremony!

That's Me: "A Soccer Pioneer!"

Whadda ya know!  I found this (mostly by accident) on the Athletics webpage of my Alma Mater - Valparaiso University...

Click on the link below - it will take you to the "VU All-Time Soccer Roster" - scroll to the second page - go to the "O's" - and there I am!!  I am a first year/charter member of our Valparaiso Varsity Soccer Program.  The year was 1983!  (Sorry - no pictures - hahaha!)

Valpo / All-Time Men's Soccer Roster

BUT - that was the SECOND year I played soccer at Valpo...

The FIRST year I played for VU was 1982 - was when all we had was a "Soccer Club".  As I look back, I am FAR more fond of and proud of THAT year...

1982 - my freshman year - was a WONDERFUL year of soccer (among other things)!  As a "Soccer Club" all we really were was a rag-tag group of guys that loved to play a sport that was just beginning to catch on in the USA.

We were not that skilled or that good - we were fair to partly sunny -- but we certainly had PURE passion to play!  We did have a strong desire to make it work - against a good handful of odds!!  We coached ourselves, organized ourselves, ran our practices ourselves - and even though we had a little support from the Athletic Dept. - we were able to piece together a season/schedule of games playing against other schools in the immediate area.  Individually and collectively, I remember everyone working and trying HARD - and having FUN!  LOTS of "extra miles" were given by just about everyone on our team that year...

There was a special camaraderie with that group of guys - there was a real sense of TEAM!!  I still really cherish those memories today...

Over the winter, a few of us successfully met with and lobbied the University AD - and lo and behold - they honored our request to become a Varsity Sport!!  Wahoo!!  What a thrill!!  Soccer was "legit" now at VU!!  We would now have some budget for gas and for small meals on our road games.  We would also have $$ for new nets and field paint and uniforms...!!  AND - we would have a real paid COACH!!  Boy, were we pumped for next season!!  I remember feeling like we were ready to qualify for the World Cup...!!

BUT- I wish I could say that 1983 was an outstanding first "Varsity" year...  It was, well -- a rough transition...  As I look back - I think it was really more of a loss of innocence...

I don't want to blame the Coach that year - but he did usher in an era that was radically different than what we had experienced before.  When our first "official" season started that fall, we seemed to be playing and practicing and working in a vastly different culture.  For lack of a better term - we started to suffer from what I will crudely call "Jock Syndrome".  Not sure how do exactly define that - but it felt like the Individual started to mean more than the Team...

All of a sudden, everyone was worrying about who would be a "starter" and who would be a "sub"- that was something we had never really worried about before.  The simple passion and joy for playing soccer began to vanish somewhat - it was more "business-like" now.  We now had more tough-minded competition amongst ourselves - "thumbs up" encouragement was a bit more scarce.

In '82, those that practiced hard and made it to most of the practices usually had an inside track to play a few more minutes during a game.  But now, there was some budding resentment: There were guys that skipped several practices - yet ended up being starters and playing the full 90 minutes.  I remember the coach explaining - in his rough Romanian accent - something to the effect that, "the best players will play".  The translation seemed to be:  It won't matter how hard you work - or how much you selflessly pour into the game and the team:  "If you are good, you will play."

I am not naive: I "get" this line of thinking in sports.  Especially if you want to "win".  However - as I look back, I do feel a twinge of disappointment.  Yes, we WERE happy to have our sport make it to the "College Big Time" in '83.  But we found out - there was a cost that we didn't expect.  It felt at the time like a less-than-fair trade.  I understood it.  Those on the '82 squad did too.  But we weren't exactly all that trilled at what we traded away for...

Yes - I got to be a starter in '83.  It actually came about because someone got injured.  I remember I felt very badly for a few of our loyal "Club Guys" - particularly 2-3 that were VERY instrumental in helping soccer make the "Varisty Leap" at VU.  They hardly played the minutes that most of us felt they deserved.  I got asked to come back in '84.  I said no.  Two years were enough.  It wasn't the same.  It didn't feel right.  Time to move on...

Yes - I am STILL VERY PROUD to be a charter member in the history of Valpo Soccer - but it was my first real taste of what happens when something "organic and passionate" becomes "institutional and professional"...

I am a Church Worker.  A Professional one.  There are insights here that are very, VERY relevant - but that will be a discussion for another day...

Today - I am coaching my 11th year of children's soccer - in our local "Recreational League" - NOT our "Competive League".

Hmmmm...  I wonder why that is??

A Soccer Dad on "Healing": A Lopsided Approach?

Josh played in the State Soccer Tournament in Des Moines over the weekend with the Cedar Valley Select Team that he is on.  They played two games before being eliminated.  They won on Saturday 2-1, in very exciting double over-time.  (They played most of that game down a player!)  Sunday they lost in regulation - with a full squad.  And they lost - by a lot - something like 0-10.  The team they played was very, very good!

Two things happened to Josh:  

1) He got pummeled physically - bad enough that he had to come out of both games.  -- The first game he got a “nerve stinger” after diving for a ball - and was not able to keep playing.  He needed medical clearance (from someone other than his physician mother) to be able to play again on Sun.  And in that game he got his foot stomped on to the point where he couldn't walk straight - and again had to leave the playing field.

2) As a goalkeeper - he got pummeled at his position.  If you follow soccer at all, if you are down by 2-3 goals, that means the margin of defeat is pretty significant.  Losing in a double-digit shut-out?  That hurts too.  Uggh...

I gotta say it:  As his Dad watching from the sidelines - BOTH "beatings" were hard on ME too.  You think I'd be MORE worried about how his body got banged up, right?  But the goalie shellacking he was taking "under the posts" was not much fun to watch either...

 

**Big Sigh**  (Of the "Soccer Dad" kind...)

I have been reflecting about the weekend all morning...  

I am finding that a prayer has been emerging around both "health" scenarios - and my son Josh...  

Yes - I know he can get hurt physically.  Anyone that is involved in athletics might have to deal at some point with broken bones, concussions, sprains, etc.,  It comes with the territory.  I get that.  I played soccer myself for two years in college - and I remember playing with a slightly fractured big toe and trying to "outsmart" a quad strain.  

But I also know he can get hurt beyond the body - in his soul.  Scars can linger from bad emotional experiences in the athletic world that can also potentially "cripple" a young athlete - sometimes for life.  How many of us can cringe and groan - right now in this very moment - over a blunder, a shameful sports blooper or a bad performance of ours from several years ago?

I think my "Soccer Dad A-Ha Moment!" this Monday morning is that a healing perspective is often needed - in both areas.  But isn't this tricky?  A broken bone is much easier to diagnose than a broken spirit.

I feel led to PRAY this:  That I might be the kind of Dad that can truly pay attention to healing that my children might need - in BOTH the body and the heart. 

Have you ever been a "lopsided" parent?  Maybe you've been the loud "just suck it up!" parent - or the overly worried "they are playing so rough!" parent.  Or worse - you haven't noticed ANY need for stepping in with your care and encouragement.  Whatever the case - I invite you - if you are a parent - to seek a more invested AND balanced approach toward the well-being of your children.

But remember:  If any healing is needed - it's not about focusing on YOUR physical or emotional issues here.  Tell me THAT doesn't happen, huh??  Pay attention to the needs of your kids.  Your needs can be focused on too - but at another time, please...

I should wrap this up:

No doubt, Josh was banged up in both areas - but God made it easy for us last night.  I marvel at how He seems to arrange all real healing...   

Not by "accident" - Josh had a "Fan Club" yesterday!  Myself, Martha, Joel, Grandma Sally and his girlfriend, McKenzie - we all came down to watch him play in Des Moines.   

This was NOT my idea - I think it was his little brother that suggested the following:  Instead of driving straight home, we went to Hickory Park Restaurant in Ames after the blow out game - and together we had a great meal and some ice cream.  We all sat together and chatted and ate in a big noisy booth...  

Yup - I noticed he was still limping a bit to and from the restaurant - but less so than before.  I also noticed the relaxed smile and demeanor Josh had after his big chicken and ribs dinner and caramel apple sundae.  It gave me an impression that I am able to translate just now - a day later:  

He's going to be fine.  He's healing up in both...