Fall Soccer is Fast Approaching

I hope everyone is having a great summer and hopefully that soccer ball has seen a little use since the end of the season. I just wanted to send out a reminder that the Y's early registration is going on now, but I believe it ends on Sunday. So, if you are planning to enroll your child for Fall 2012 soccer you may want to go ahead and do so this week.
Also, if you could send me an email or reply to this post as to whether or not your son will be playing this season, I would appreciate it. We are begining to get requests for other kids to join the team but before I tell those parents yes, I want to make sure all those who were on it last season get a spot.

Thanks,

Kyle P McArdle
mcardleclan@gmail.com

Soccer clinic tonight and Thursday

Just an FYI for anyone who is interested. There will be a free clinic at the Arsenal park tonight and Thursday from 5:30pm - 7:15pm

Kyle P McArdle

The Fire Remains Undefeated

I hope everyone enjoyed the season. The boys played great and greatly improved from beginning to end. We had a very good game Tuesday, closing out the season with a 6-0 record. Great job all around!
I want to especially compliment Vinson and Kolbe regarding the improvement that was made. By the end of the season, these two boys who were a little unsure about playing, running hard and even sweating at the beginning of the season, were focused and determined to play as well as anyone else by the end.
But all of them, Patrick B., Clark, Patrick Michael, Augustine, Thomas, Keegan, Josh, Eli, and Sean all played great and improved much throughout the season. Coach Jeff and I were both very proud to be your coaches this year. Thanks for the great season, and don't let that ball collect dust over the Summer. Make sure to get outside and practice juggling, dribbling and shooting at something so we can have another great season in the Fall.

For all who will be at the Bi-Annual Augusta Fire, End of Season Cookout, we'll see you on Saturday. For those who will not be able to make it, we'll see you next season.

And last but not least, the video is up, and once again Gemma did a great job with the video directing this week. Thank you to both Gemma and Nora for the recording of the games throughout the entire season, you two did a great job and we certainly wouldn't have had these games available for the family and friends to view without you.

Have a great Summer,

Win # 5 with 1 to Go!

Great win today guys! The first half especially, may have been the best I've seen them play all season. Everyone contributed, 4 different players scoring (Clark, Patrick, Kegan and Kolbe) and just a great game all around. The video is uploaded to the blog,  hope you all enjoy. And remember, we still have one more practice and one more game to finish out the season. Let's make sure we finish strong.

Have a great rest of the weekend,

Game 4's Another W and Going Strong

Good game last night boys! We did play a team that was much younger then us, which certainly played a part in the blow out that was last night. We were however able to work on stringing some passes together, moving the ball around and playing a few different positions.  We've got two more practices (Thursday and Monday) and two more games (Saturday and Tuesday) left of the season. Let's keep up the good work and keep moving forward.

Enjoy the video that is now uploaded, a little shaky this go round, but thanks to all those who contributed to the filming.

See you all tomorrow,

Half way through the season, still a long way to go!

I'm a little behind on this post and uploading the video to the blog. I've still yet to have a chance to view it in it's entirety myself. But "it's better late than never" as they say.

Tuesday's game we played very well, although we did play against a much younger opponent. But the boys did great and they are continuing to get better week by week. We're keeping our positions a little better, looking for the open man (some times) and beginning to understand the game better as a team. All this in addition to the ball control getting better each week, we are bound to have a great rest of the season. Let's keep it up, we still have half a season to go.

Special thanks to Nora Bernard for filming the video. I hope you all enjoy.

Game 2 - Much Better

Good game last night guys. It seemed we were a little less bunched up and held our positions much better. Coach Jeff even pointed out how he actually heard some of you talking to each other.

We got off to a quick start in the first quarter with Kegan scoring a goal to give us the lead. Clark was then able to stick two more in the back of the net to extend our lead to 3-0 by the end of the first quarter. As the second quarter lineup came on the field, you could tell the Bulldogs were no match for us. Patrick Bernard scored another goal and by half time we were up 4-0. And that was all we needed.

The second half we came mighty close to giving up a few goals, but in the end our defense prevailed.  Great work all around, let's keep improving for the remainder of the season. Special thanks to Geema Bernard for filming the game which is  now posted. Hope you all enjoy.

Good Start to the Season But a Long Way to Go!

Good start to the season boys. We looked a bit shaky at times throughout the game last night and we've got some kinks to work out with the new lineup of 5 a side, but all in all it was a good start.

Tonight's game started off fast, by halftime with several shots having just missed the netting or hit the posts, we remained tied 0-0.  In the third quarter, Clark Jackson was finally able to get us on the board with a great strike in the back of the net to lead the game 1-0. Then at the beginning of  the fourth quarter, Patrick Bernard, like only Patrick B can, extended our lead with a great goal to put us up 2-0. And with our defense holding up strong, we maintained that lead to the end.  Great job guys, though we have much work to do, good start and good win.

A special thanks to Nora for recording the game. I hope you all enjoy the video, please feel free to pass the link onto your family and friends.

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.