SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Boys Varsity Soccer Lakewood's Sportsmanship????

"none of those people that complain are the teams that are getting beat by 10+ goals."
-benp

for those of you who didn't want to read my lengthy post, know that i said
"to my knowledge" before what he said i said...

Spoken there, sir, like a gentleman. Oh, but don't misread...we didn't win that game last night, Wando won 3-0...can't claim credit for beating them just yet--although we're still working on it! We still have a lot of work to do. Even so, I couldn't be prouder of my team and their progress.

The "miracle," as you call it, is theirs, not mine. I have seldom seen a group of young people with so much heart, character, and desire to become better. They bring out the best in me. The first request I got from them when I agreed to take the team was, "Push us." I have players who come to me individually after every game to ask, "What can I do better?" When we play well, they are proud of themselves but still recognize they need to get better; when we are inconsistent, they kick themselves much worse than I ever would because they are not willing to settle for low expectations.

I guess that's why I am so quick to their defense...they have earned my respect, and they are only a little confidence and hard work away from winning the respect of many more. Sure, we'd be better if we HAD a rec or club team feeding us (or even a JV team for that matter), but there's a lot to be said for coming up through the school of hard knocks. I still see the looks on their faces every time they accomplish something they didn't know they could...and I wouldn't have that taken away from them for anything.

yea i should have put that part in there sorry for miss quoteing you benp

Coach Chass: We were up at your place early this season and won our game 10-1. Your boys team faired little better. But I really believe that will change. I was really impressed with the level of participation. There must have been 18-20 kids on your team. Team morale was high and your players were obviously having fun. Your team will get better and better, and if you stay, could very well become a power in your region. If the kids are having fun and learn to love soccer, they will do the work necessary to develop their skills. You need to provide year round opportunity for them to play and develop. We have several girls on our team that drive two hours to Charleston twice a week to play on premier teams. I would love to have you coach my kids as I'm sure most parents would. Wins and losses are important, but not the most important. Through the years, rec club and school, my kids have endured losing seasons on bad teams with bad coaches and enjoyed winning seasons with good and bad coaches. They have learned and grown from all of it. Soccer is one of the best influences my children have had. My hat is off to you because I know you are doing things right in Moncks Corner!!!!

side note.

Coach, you assume alot by saying "a good man let his infamy get to his head."

That makes it seem like i was once a good man (or..atleast a good kid)

OldRef,
Thanks...that means a lot! We knew we were in for a run against your team that night...HH is not a team I wanted to face with my starting keeper in Colorado snowboarding and a starting defender in goal, where she'd never actually played in a match before. Talk about a trial by fire for her! All part of the twists of the game, though; you brought us a great team, and they did just what they were trained to do--I expected no less! I told the girls just to hang on, learn from every moment, keep their spirits up, and play 80 no matter what the scoreboard said, and they did just that.

My starting keep, of course, wound up in a Colorado hospital with a snowboarding concussion(hey, it's just a weekend trip, what could go wrong?)--took her a bit to get back steady. She took another accidental knee to the head against West Ashley, wound up seeing double for most of that game, and missed two more games in goal against Timberland and Stratford. Hey...what's a season without challenges?

My thanks to people like you for recognizing effort and love of the game even when the chips are down. Encouragement from other, well-established sources helps give our girls incentive to keep working, keep improving, and keep closing the gap. Thanks again, and best of luck to HH in the battle for Region VIII-AAAA! Looking forward to seeing the report from HH/Summerville on Friday--should be another awesome game, boys and girls!

Oh, and benp...call it a long shot...but I stand by that assumption... ;-)

Coach Chass:
Great to see you have retained the attitude and morals you had as a child. It was my honor to coach with you in the past and I know you have left and will continue to leave such a positive impression on your players. Keep up the good work and the wins will come. I know your players will be winners in life because of the life lessons you teach them in your daily contact.

There's no more to say about this, 28-0 speaks for itself.

congratulations on your victory Lakewood!