We will NOT be holding a practice this weekend. The schedule doesn’t work well with all of the prior commitments. We WILL hold a zoom meeting Sunday night at 7:30 PM. Link to be sent via email this time with certain measures in place 🙂

Districts await! Our men of the match today are:

1. Alex – he came to run balls and found 4 more in the woods. Thanks Alex. That is worth so much to the team and is wonderful character.
2. Lucas Parada – Lucas donated his shirt so Eduardo could wear it. I never had to ask.
3. Dillard – well he scored 4 goals and assisted in others. He worked very hard too.

There are many ways to win every time you play. Respect your opponent, play with grit and grace, and love each other. Those actions above showed that.

Here is the lineup:

We are rewarding some guys who watched video (practice Wednesday) and have been working hard to earn minutes. For the second half – we will roll out a line-up we hope to be in for Monday and our district run. Players arriving after 8:20 unfortunately cannot play but please support the team.

If you have not YET watched the video and provided your reflection to me, please do so for the team. We need you!

Tactics:

1. Do not hold on to the ball long – let the ball do the work and let’s move it quickly and NOT give them time to react.

2. Be VERY strong in the air. You must work to WIN every aerial ball… and pressure the ball when the opportunity rises.

3. Work triangles throughout BUT be careful in the back (Sometimes we just have to clear it) and in the attacking end, look to slide that ball into Dillard and let him run onto it. LIMIT the number of hopeful balls we play in – remember – a turnover to the goalie is still a turnover.

4. No finger pointing. Positive Positive Positive. That starts with the line-up. Read this and support who’s names you see and then warm-up well and when your time comes – SHINE for the team

5. Think about your positioning and your marks and how you can support each other. If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

Thanks for the picture Jefe! We are so blessed to have you guys on both teams. Really well deserved…couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of guys too.

Congrats Coach Browne too!

I have sent a video to you on email. Please watch and respond to me with an email/text etc. listing three or four things you see that stood out to you. Get as much out of it as you can and have a response that reflects that! Have fun with it!

Our scrimmage Friday will be at 3:30 PM at WAIS – Boys report by 2:45 PM

Monday our opponent will be Pottsville.

There will NOT be an on-field practice today and we will not be meeting in person today together as a group. Instead, you will be resting up and recharging and recommitting to the task ahead which is to win every game we play from here on out. That will:

1. Start Today with EVERYONE watching the video I post today. (I may put it in edpuzzle format to get some feedback from you at certain points)
2. EVERYONE attending practice tomorrow that is DOUBLE ROSTERED and VARSITY and pushing to have a great mature practice. Boys to men.
3. Scrimmage Friday against Pen Argyl to work out our look for the playoffs. We want to not change anything if we can and have consistency for this stretch.
4. Rest over the weekend with Sunday evening meeting – in person or online TBD
5. Monday – Smash Pottsville
6. Tuesday – Practice and Recover
7. Wednesday – Smash Southern Lehigh

Win the Final and go to States. It can happen. Make it happen!

Look for the video post. I am booked all day so it will be this afternoon I post it.

I will update calendar later today. Our state run starts now! See you there!

More announcements to come.

Things I love about our WABS:

Eduardo – he persevered to get eligible – navigating a new school, new country, and StudentCentral is not easy and he did it. I’m so glad he did. His defensive abilities helped JV a lot this year.

Adam – Adam was a fixture in our off-season. He is quiet and kind and a wonderful listener. He dribbles well and knows the game. He will be an important part of our future.

Rashad – Rashad kept getting better and better. I miss him now the last few practices. He would email asking how to get better – always blamed himself before others. I admire him.

Big Luke – no one is quicker to smile. Never lose that Luke. I should do it more as should the world. I was so happy to watch you score against Jim Thorpe

Barbed Wire – I subbed in for Steve for just a few minutes yesterday at practice and I was totally gassed. Steve does so much for us. He is quiet and listens and is a complete player – on the ball, off the ball, defending and attacking.

Killer B – Braden has 14 goals on the season and a lot of assists. He has a wonderful touch on the ball and wins a lot of balls back for us. He is tireless and passionate. In addition to that, he works really hard on his academics and last year – had the best GPA on the team. These are all things to respect. He also ALWAYS chases the ball when his misses a shot.

Roll The Bleice – Good natured by nature, Andrew is the guy who says “I’ll play wherever you need me”. He has had some truly outstanding games – Moravian and Southern Lehigh – it seems like the better the opponent, the stronger he plays. I have fun talking to him in study hall. His corner kicks are top notch.

Still looking for pics of Big Luke, Rashad, and Eduardo. If anyone finds some, send them to me!