Hawkeyes News Cornerstone Upward Soccer

http://exit137.org/upward

October 10, 2012

Dear Hawkeye Parents,

I am a bit late in sending this note, but I want you all to be informed of the changes we’ve made to the program. I

have taken over the Head Coach role of the team and will be assisted by my son, Matthew who is an Upward

Alumnus and is currently a Referee in the Primary division. We hope that we can be a positive influence in the

development of your child’s soccer skills while at the same time foster their spiritual growth. I am grateful for the

opportunity to serve in this role and will, at the same time, continue my role as League Director.

Saturday’s game was my first opportunity to watch the Hawkeye kids play for any length of time. I was impressed

by everyone’s effort and the many individual skills and talents they bring to the team. We played well defensively,

holding the Jays to 2 (they have a well-developed team with several veteran players) so this is no small feat. Our

practice last night focused on playing well as a TEAM. We discussed the example of a picket fence and how it’s

made up of many individual boards that are strong and useful by themselves. But when you place them together,

they become an even stronger barrier to protect us. The same goes for our team. We all have talents, but we are

strongest when we work TOGETHER. This means communicating with each other, manning our positions, and doing

what is best for the team.

Our drills focused on offense – we can’t score if we don’t shoot. We began with learning to FOLLOW THROUGH on

our shots. Once we kick it, we chase it, following the ball all the way to the goal. I saw a lot of kicking and stopping

on Saturday. This gives our opponent the opportunity to take the ball from us.

Next we worked on TRIANGULATION. This is an offensive strategy that positions

players in a triangle giving the ball handler TWO passing options. This shuts down

man-to-man defense because it’s hard for your defender to block both sides of you.

We will work on continually repositioning ourselves to form a triangle each time the

ball is passed.

We are in week 5, so our scripture verse focused on the virtue of OBEDIENCE. We

discussed how to apply Hebrews 13:17 “Obey your leaders. Put yourselves under

their authority” to our daily lives. We reviewed our pervious virtue of GRATITUDE

by giving thanks in all circumstances. I heard some pretty impressive opinions from our kids on how we can deal

with these topics.

I share this information with you for a few reasons – you should be informed of what we do as a team and I

encourage you to reinforce our practice points at home. Reviewing skills and drills in the yard is a way to spend

valuable time with your child doing something they are interested in. I also encourage you to discuss our devotion

topics with them as well. They look to you, Dads, Moms, Grandparents, and older Siblings, as spiritual examples in

their lives. This is a great opportunity to grow closer together as you grow closer to God.

I love being your Coach!