Game 7 - Good win, 1 Game to Go

Good game tonight. The boys are still playing well and the improvement over the beginning of the season is impressive. The last few games we haven't been tested too much and has in some ways forced us to play below what I think our capabilities are.  Hopefully we will see more ball movement come Saturday and the boys looking up for opportunities other then just taking the ball all the way down the field, but we'll work on that come Thursday.

Thanks to Gemma for recording the game, I hope you all enjoy the video and don't forget to let all your family and friends know to come out and cheer on the Fire, Saturday at 11:15am.

Game 6 - Thomas' First Goal

I just can't say enough about how well these guys are doing. Hopefully your taking the opportunity to share the footage of the game with your families because this team is getting really enjoyable to watch. Maybe we can try to get a rematch with the one team we lost to so far, I think the improvement over the last few weeks has just been tremendous.

Last night everyone played great, good ball control, good movement, good passing at times and Thomas got his first goal ever. Great job Thomas, boy could you see the joy in his face.

Special thanks to Nora for filming the game, please feel free to share with your family and tell them boys to keep up the good work. 

We're Clicking Now!

Sorry your just now getting this post, it was supposed to go up last Wednesday but I got tied up in too many things.  Hopefully you have had a chance to view the video that I uploaded from the game last week, it was awesome!  We didn't play the strongest competition, but they did play great.  I just enjoy watching them out on the field and again on film each Tuesday evening.  Just in practice tonight coach Jeff and I were talking about how great these guys are doing and the improvements each one has been making week after week.

Anyways, enjoy the video of last week's game if you have not yet viewed it, there were a ton of goals and we'll see everyone for the next game,Tuesday night at 6:45pm on field 2 against the Heat.

Game 4 - These Guys are Good!

Great game guys, I watched the film last night and I am getting more and more impressed with the improvement you all are making this season.  Patrick Bernard was ripping shots from half field, Eli was getting knocked down and back up again without batting an eye and Thomas, with as little of legs as he's got, was working as hard as anyone out there.

In the last game or two, I've noticed that I am even yelling less, which is making me think that they are either beginning to do more and more of what I am asking them to do, or I've just gotten too tired of doing so. I'm pretty sure it's the former.  There is a visible difference they are showing in regards to the simple understanding of the game and where they need to be. Though we certainly have got a ways to go, and much further improvement is needed, they all played great last night, and I am very proud as I am sure all you parents were as well.

I hope everyone enjoys the video and don't hesitate to pass it on to the family members who weren't there tonight. Thanks for cheering them on, they certainly deserved it.

Let's keep it up,

Game 3 - The Fire Wins 6-0

Good game last night boys, we didn't play the best team out there so we were not tested to play to our full potential, but we did played well.  One thing I assure you, we will be working on our sportsmanship over the next few weeks.  But you all played well, good win and enjoy the video.

As a reminder, we have practice Thursday and Monday nights for the remainder of the season at 6pm unless you hear differently. I hope all the family had a good time last night, and continue to come out and support the Fire, I know the boys appreciate it.

Have a great rest of the week,

Game 2, Tough Loss - Late Night

We had our first loss last night against the Spiders 2-3 in the latest game we played so far, about a 7pm kickoff.  The boys played well and came close to scoring about 5 more goals, but in the end, between the heat, a game just played on Saturday and the long school week, I think our 7 was just outmatched by the 10 players on the other team.

The Spiders seemed to have more energy than we did down the stretch and with multiple boys on the Fire getting injured, it was just not our night.  I hope you enjoy the video because I'm noticing great improvement in their skill level and I think you will as well.  I think that if we can get our energy back for future games and keep everyone healthy, we will have a great remainder of the season.

Thanks to Gemma Bernard for the great video of last nights game. Keep your heads up and enjoy the season, for as Patrick Bernard stated at the end of the game and you all know is my motto, "it's not about winning or loosing, it's about having fun".

Great Start to the New Season

What a good start to the fall season we had today.  All the boys played great! I was very impressed with the improvements they have all made in the last few months since the spring season.  They are starting the season out with much more control of the ball, talking to one another a little better, envisioning what options they have with the ball and beginning to make quicker decisions.  

I just finished watching the film and I couldn't take my eyes off it, the game in review was awesome. There were some technical difficulties with the film in the second quarter, so I'm not sure if we won 5-2 or 6-2, but either way, it was a great game and a great win. Special thanks to Nora for recording the game. I hope you all enjoy.

Way to go Fire!

The Season Begins Tomorrow

Just a reminder that the first game of the season is tomorrow at 11:15am on Field 3 at the Y.  Make sure you're there early, 11am to warm up and have the boys drink plenty of water before hand. We have a great team this year with one new addition, Thomas who is already beginning to prove that his game is much bigger than his size.
Bring all your friends and family out to cheer on The Fire, it should be a good one.

Great Way to Finnish Up the Season, Fire Wins 2-1

What a game these boys played yesterday.  Coming off our first loss of the season, these boys came back and played an excellent game with tremendous heart and determination.  I let them know before the game began that I thought they were the best team out  here this season, but they certainly have not been showing it in the last few games and needed to prove it here.

They came out on fire, with Josh taking several big shots early on that just missed the netting. At the end of the first half, we were still tied, nil/nil but were knocking on the door knowing it was just a matter of time.  In the 3rd quarter, Patrick Bernard had a spectacular cut back with his left foot along the end line to bring it in front of the goal and take a well placed right footed shot to give us the 1-0 lead.  A few minutes latter, Sean had a great strike from about 15 feet out to stretch our lead to 2-0.  The Spiders kept trying to come back and a few times it looked like they might, but with our defense, we maintain to give up their lone goal with no  time left and held on to the victory.

This season has been a great one and I  hope you all enjoyed watching these boys develop, interact and have a great time playing as much as I did.  Thank you to all the parents who trusted me with your kids and encouraging them to work hard.  I hope you all have a great Summer and I look forward to  the Fall season.  Until then, keep that ball at your feet and I'll see you on the pitch.

Game 7 - Our First Loss of the Season

Tough game tonight, we had our first loss, yet it's due to be our last. The boys played well, but at practice on Thursday we've got to get back to some of the basics along with the simple throw-ins and goal kicks which both played to our weakness tonight ending with a 1-2 loss.  

Immediately following the game, Eli came up to me and asked, "coach Kyle who won" to my reply, "they did" and Eli answered, "ahh man, that means we don't get a trophy".  That's right boys, Win good, Loss bad.

A few more days before the season is over, let's use these next few days to work on simple dribbling, left to right, back and forth, keep your head up and look to Saturday's match, it ain't over yet.

Enjoy the videos, I'll see you Thursday at practice.

Game 6 - The Fire Wins 2-0

Sorry about the delay and no post or video uploaded from last weeks win.  This week we played the Bulldogs and the boys did much better then last week.  Last week, although we won, played one of the least organized and motivated games I've seen us play all season, but this week we made dramatic improvements.  We now have one more week to keep it together and show everyone the skill and improvements that these boys have been making.  Monday's practice was one of the best practices we had all season, we just need to keep it up and move their focus from the practice field to the game field so we can finish strong.  We have practice tomorrow and Monday, same time and place and the final 2 games next week (Tuesday and Saturday).  Enjoy the videos.

Half Way Through the Season - Still Undefeated!

What a game, what a game.  The boys made for a tremendous comeback last night to salvage a 1-1 tie in the last 2 minutes of play.  We played a mighty tough team "The Tigers" and some mighty tough players.  We had two injuries, Patrick B., who took a shot to the ribs and Vinson received a ball to the face late in the game.  Fortunately, neither injury was too traumatic. I think both players will have a full recovery before next week's match.  We were even able to turn the last injury and a very fortunate decision by the referee giving us a free kick, which enabled Josh to score a beautiful goal in the lower 90 that allowed us to maintain our undefeated season. 

The Augusta Fire is playing much tougher and with much more skill and control than they have all season.  Their acceptance to take direction and to follow that direction has been much improved.  Everyone's foot work and vision for the ball, is getting better and better. Great work last night guys! This next week we will work a bit more on passing and leading your teammate with the ball.  Rest up, you certainly deserved it, but don't get too complacent, we still half half the season left. 


Next practice is Thursday night, 6pm at the baseball field by Warren Road school. See you then.

Game 3 - Great Heart, Great Win! 3-2

Last night the Fire played one heck of a game.  It came down to the minute and these boys hearts, pulled it out.  There were several moments in there that the Comets almost got the best of us, but we finished with the win. Great game to all! Thank you to all the parents, grandparents, siblings and friends that came out to cheer us on.  We certainly needed it last night, and it helped. We've got practice tomorrow and next Thursday with coach Jeff, as long as the weather holds out for us.  Keep working on those ball skills, our next opponent isn't until April 12th. So until then, stay sharp and keep practicing.

Game #3 Tomorrow, Don't Miss it!

All the rain today put the practice fields underwater. So, hopefully everyone spent the evening working on their ball handling skills in the living room.  We'll see how well prepared we are tomorrow night.  Can't wait to see you all there.  Make sure you tell all your family and friends to come out and cheer on the Fire!

See you then,

Game 2, The Fire Wins 3-0

Great win last night for the Fire! Still some things to work on, but the boys are getting much better.  I hope everyone enjoyed the game that could make it and will join us next Tuesday night for Game 3.  Until then, the next practice is on Thursday at 6pm on the First Baptist's fields.  Enjoy the videos of last night's game that are on the blog and feel free to direct your family and friends to view them as well.

Game #2 Tonight

I hope everyone is ready, the Fire has another tough opponent tonight, the Sharks. And if you were at the game on Saturday, you are not going to want to miss it.  Come help cheer on the Augusta Fire, field 2 @ 6pm.

Great Win for Game #1

What a great start to the season!  The boys played great, we got off to a fast start with Kegan scoring 2 goals in the first quarter. Then in the second half, the Badgers came back  with a goal of their own.  But the Augusta Fire refused to let them back in it as Vinson scored our third goal and Patrick McArdle topped off the end of the game with our fourth. 

They all did such a good job staying in their positions (as much as they could) and listening to coach. From the strong defense, to our fast middle and our penetrating forwards, I could not have been prouder of how everyone did along with the improvement and progress we are making. With that said, we still have a long way to go.  Next step is to begin preparing for Tuesdays game and that begins with practice on Monday at 6pm at the Y.

We will not be practicing at the same field due to games being played, but we will try to find a spot to place some cones down and work on a few things.  The plan is to practice on a field directly to the right of the roundabout in the Y's parking lot.  If anything changes, I'll let you know, but feel free to call me if have any questions.

Great start to the season, let's keep it up.

Big game tomorrow!

I hope everyone is ready to cheer on the fire. We had a good practice yesterday and the boys are excited. The game starts at 9:45 on field #2, but make sure you get there early so you don't miss it. The team needs to be there by 9:30. See you all then.

No Practice Tuesday 3/8, Final Pre-season clinic Saturday 3/12

Great start to the season! The boys are really improving and it seems like everyone is getting excited about soccer again.  We had a very good practice tonight, and will not be practicing tomorrow, Tuesday March 8th and will in place of that practice, plan to attend, for all those that can make it, the soccer clinic this Saturday at the Augusta Arsenal Soccer Park from 11am-12:30pm. 
So, for the rest of this week, we have practice Thursday, same time, same place and the clinic on Saturday at the Arsenal Park.  I hope you all have a great fat Tuesday tomorrow and look forward to seeing you at the clinic.

(1/2) Kyle McArdle (@kmcardle) has shared a Tweet with you:

"kmcardle: The Augusta Fire u7 soccer schedule is posted http://t.co/8eF06Ds"
--http://twitter.com/

Spring Season 2011

Welcome all parents, families and fans!  We are beginning a new season for soccer and I am very excited.  I attended a coaches meeting this evening and wanted to get a head start on pumping everyone up for the great season we are certain to have.  Hopefully the boys have been working on their skills during the off season because we will be getting right to it, in about 2 weeks (Monday, February 28th).  Let them all know that soccer is about to begin and if this beautiful weather holds up, encourage them to get out in the yard and begin dribbling and passing the ball around.

For the first few weeks, practices will be Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at 6pm on field 2B (between the concession stand and the pool), then after the first game which will be Saturday, March 19th, the games following will be held on Tuesday evenings. I will update the calendar on this blog once I receive the complete schedule from the Y. In the meantime if you have any questions, concerns or other thoughts, don't hesitate to let me know.

Finally, there are a few free clinics being held by the Augusta Arsenal Soccer Park for all YMCA soccer teams this season.  They will be held Feb. 19, 26 and March 12 from 11am - 12:30pm at the Arsenal Soccer Park. If you are able to make it, these clinics should be a lot of fun and provide some good training for the kids. 

I hope the boys had a great winter off and are ready to strap back on their cleats and shingards for some hard work and a lot of fun.  Last year we were one game shy of .500 and thankfully the parents gave me another opportunity to coach these superstars.  After soliciting the help of this years assistant coach Jeff, I anticipate many more Ws. So until we meet up February 28th for the first official practice, keep that ball close to your feet and your eyes straight ahead.