Great "Character" Win

My theory still holds true - the Chaos raise their game to the level of the opposition. You've already done it twice already this season against Nanaimo and Richmond so it's not a surprise you did it today against a very strong Gordon Head team.

Despite the early kick-off everyone was ready to play today and it showed with some nice early touches and movement off the ball. Unlike the Gorge game where I thought we lacked desire and quickness of thought, today we got to the ball quicker and made better decisions. Our two goals were very different in composition, but both came from hustle and never giving up on the ball. Congrats to Camille for taking both of her chances well and to Robyn for her excellent cross on the first goal. We could have had a third but Miranda's breakaway shot went off both uprights and along the goal line before their keeper scrambled the ball clear.

In the second-half we fell back on our heels as GH took the initiative. Much like we had done in the first half, GH started beating us to the ball and anticipating the play better. As a result most of the play was in our end and our goal lived a charmed-life with a number of free kicks and shots from open-play grazing our uprights. But with an equal measure of character and luck we got through it.

Have a good weekend ladies and reminder that practice is 6:15pm on Monday as we're back acting as guinea pigs for the coaches course.

Saturday's Game

Our game this Saturday is set for 8:45am at Lochside Turf.

Please be there for 8:15am.

Gorge Game

Our game this Saturday is scheduled for 11am at Upper Hampton. This is a grass field so please wear your multi-studs and not your turf boots. Please be there for 10:30am so we can do a proper warm-up.

Goalkeeper Clinic

The club is offering another Pro-D Day Goalkeeper Clinic this Friday at both Tyndall and Lochside turfs. Tyndall sessions are 8:30-11:30am and Lochside sessions are 12:30-3:30pm. Cost is $30 and registration is available online at www.gkwars.com.

Trevor and Dominic are the two best goalkeepers to come out of Victoria over the past twenty years so the training will be excellent for any aspiring keepers.

Same Again in Two Weeks

I spoke with the head coach guy (Andrew Latham) and he was very pleased with the enthusiasm and skills shown by all of the girls. He has asked me if our girls could help him again in two weeks (November 2) so mark your calendars.

Practice as usual Wednesday at 5:30pm.

Tomorrow's Game

Reminder that our game against Peninsula is 10am and we're playing on Lochside Turf 1A.

Please try and be there at least twenty minutes before kick-off.

Monday Practice - A Slight Twist

Next Monday's practice will be a tad unusual for the girls.

Lochside Park is hosting a four-week coaching course starting next Monday and I've been asked to supply a team so that the LISA Head Coach can run drills. We'll need a minimum of ten girls for practice and it will last just over an hour starting at 6:15pm.

The practice will be on Turf 1A. Sounds like fun!

Wednesday Practice Cancelled

Just asking for more sniffles and coughs if we practice tonight. Hopefully everyone is feeling 100% for Saturday's game. Stay warm!

Tourney Final - Chaos 3 Richmond Rush 1

As soon as I got home I looked up the word "frantic" in the dictionary and low and behold there was a picture of our game today! Watching that game was like watching a VCR movie on permanent fast forward (VCR = video cassette recorder, girls you can ask your parents what those looked like :-). Back and forth, 100 miles an hour, no time on the ball for anyone to dribble let alone think, and collisions everywhere!

Just as I expected you raised your game for the final and in doing so looked far more like a "team" today than you did at any other time in the tournament. What a difference from yesterday when we seemed to be playing in super slow-motion, looking very much like the turkey most of us would be eating later that evening. "Running in treacle" is what an old coach of mine would have said to describe our effort against Lakehill. Today's game you got to the ball first, were solid in the tackle and kept your shape much better.

Our first two goals came something against the run-of-play but were excellent examples of simple, direct-soccer. Both goals were breakaways that came after long clearances from our defenders caught the Richmond defenders by surprise.I won't often ask my teams to play this style of soccer, but on such a small field it's hard not to. Both Lucy and Jadyn finished their chances well, not easy to do on a bumpy field under pressure, but credit also to Robyn and Erin on their long kicks. We've been emphasizing getting distance and power in our kicks so it was nice tos ee some results today.

We also defended pretty well today with Kathleen leading by example from her sweeper position. Of course defences always look better playing in-font of good keepers, and both Camille and Jadyn made important contributions between the pipes to help steady the ship. Then came a couple of miscues leading up to their goal followed by some tense minutes as we dillied and dallied on the ball. But like much of the weekend, the result was obviously never in doubt as Claudia chased down another long clearance and blasted home the insurance goal (with an exclamation mark!).

Congratulations on your first tournament win ladies, lets hope there are more of them in your future!

Thanks again to Naomi, Jadyn and Mckenna for playing for us this weekend. Hopefully we see you again real soon.

Monday Final is 10:15am @ Braefoot 3

Depending on results of the late game we will be playing either Juan de Fuca or Richmond @ 10:15am tomorrow. Regardless, our opponents will be very fast and physical and if we hope to win the game we will need to be far more focused and aggressive than we have been the last couple of games.

Friday Game Reminders

Our game is 7:30pm on Braefoot Grass Field, so make sure you wear your multi-stud boots and not your turf shoes.

I would like everyone to meet about 6:50 at the Braefoot Park concession. If anyone gets lost please remember my cell is 250-514-4194.

Sunday Academy

It was excellent to see so many of you out at yesterday's first academy session! Twenty girls is plenty but there is room for more if you're still interested.

Lakehill Tourney Schedule

Just released today. All games are at Braefoot Park.

Friday 7:30pm vs. Juan de Fuca
Saturday 3:30pm vs. Richmond
Saturday 6:00pm vs. Nanaimo
Sunday 3:30pm vs. Lakehill

Tournament Final is Monday 10:15am.

If you cannot make one of the games please let me know by Wednesday practice.

There is a small charge for the tournament. Each player needs to bring $5 to their first game.

No Running Clinic Tonight

So it will be practice as usual tonight but we will be practicing on grass instead of turf. So for those of you with both turf and multi-stud boots please bring both types.

Hopefully I'll have a draft of our tournament schedule to share at practice.

No game this weekend

Just wanted to confirm that we do not have a game this weekend.

However if you are looking for extra soccer please consider joining the Sunday Academy we're starting this weekend at Lochside Turf.

Sunday Academy Details

Here are the details on the Girls Sunday Academy at Lochside Park Turf. Start date is this Sunday - October 4th - and it runs for eight sessions until November 29th. Sessions run from 3:30pm-4:30pm and cost is $100. Sessions are open to any girls born in the years 1998-2000.

The instructors will be club technical staff led by Brett Hyslop and Steph Steiner. The focus will be on drills to improve ball-skills and passing and will include small-sided games and shooting. Please note that the Academy requires a serious commitment to focused training on the part of players as the emphasis is on skills practice, not game play.

To register please go to http://www.worldcupsoccercamp.com/, click on Training Programs, then select Fall Programs. Once on this screen you select "Click Here to register" which brings up a form you can print-off, complete and bring to the session.

We are still working on some extra "goodies" unique to the Sunday Academy and will have details on that this weekend.