Go Fireballs!

My kids have been playing soccer for 4 years now. Each year they play in the fall and the spring. It is a "non-competitive league", which just means there is no official score and no standings at the end of the season. Once the boys get to the U10 (under 10) level, they do have regional playoff games at the end of the season to rank the teams. The top three teams go to Area Playoffs.

Two teams per year, two kids, we have encountered a lot of coaches......14 so far. Being an all volunteer league, we've been fortunate to have some really wonderful Dads coach the boys. There have been some that were more skilled at coaching than others, but all in all, we've enjoyed the parents, kids and coaches over the years.

That said, this fall was absolutely over the top! Coach Henry has gone over and above with the boys this season. We lucked into a great mix of a committed coach, a group of boys that had a great attitude and heart, and parents that showed unlimited support of their kids. Mix that together and you get a team of 8 and 9 year old boys who played some REAL soccer!

I really can't say enough great things about Coach Henry. My younger son had him as a coach last spring and when I got the email in August that N was on his team I was jumping for joy. Henry is kind, yet expects the boys to pay attention and be disciplined. He is former military, and also used to be a conditioning coach for a women's soccer team when he was in college. He never yells at the boys, and also never lets them get away with not putting forth their best. He insists they work as a team.....and if you know young boys, you know how hard that is. They tend to be very egocentric which can be a hindrance in a team sport such a soccer.

He has not only taught the boys skills, he has conditioned them so that they can out run the other teams. They never seem to run out of energy and if you could see some of the little guys run, you'd be amazed. Imagine big kid on opposing team dribbling the ball up the field getting ready to take a shot when out of now where come this little punk from the back of the field to get in his way. Our forwards run like the wind and manuever in and out of the larger kids on the other teams. I equate it to a bunch of little gnats that just keep getting in your face.

Over the season, the boys only lost one game: they had 3 teammates that were out of town or sick that weekend and had to play the field with one man down and no subs. It was torture because the team they played that week was the only undefeated team in the region. But guess what? Last weekend, they play the same team again and held their own. The game was still tied at the end of overtime and had to be decided by goal kicks. It took a few kicks, but the opposing team finally won. The Fireballs took second place in the region.

So this past Saturday was the area tournament. The Fireballs had an early game Saturday and another at 1. It's been a beautiful fall here in Vegas, but Mother Nature changed her tune on early Saturday morning. A cold front blew in and it was miserable! The wind was blowing with gusts up to 60 miles per hour, it was cold and the whirlwinds picked up dirt, leaves, grass and garbage spewing it across the soccer fields. The kids had to wear shorts with a long sleeve shirt under their soccer uniform. They were freezing!

They played their little hearts out! But unfortunately due to a couple of bad calls and the power of the wind, they lost 2 to3. The afternoon game fared better and they won 2 to1.

Sunday morning we woke to 29*. Yes, 29* in Vegas. It was clear and no wind and by the time we got to the fields, it had warmed to a muggy 41*. Much nicer than the day before, being that there was no wind.

The teams met on the field and sized each other up. How do I describe the scene? Our boys tend to be smaller than average....other than my son who stands at least a head above all but two of the boys and is still a few inches and 20 pounds bigger than those two. The average kid on the opposing team was the size of my son. On top of that, we heard that this team was ranked first in the tournament. Yikes!

The whistle blew and play began. Our boys ran the field twice as fast as the opposing team. They passed the ball, they made plays, they marked their man, they two touched and controlled the ball. These little guys played the best soccer they've played all year and WON 2 to1!

After the game, a referee cam to talk to the boys. She told us she was also from Bullhead City, where the team they just beat was from. Apparently this team had never lost a game and generally wins by many points. Just the day before, they won a game 7-0. She congratulated our boys on such great play!

Coach Henry came to the boys with a good news/bad new scenario. The good news is that they were the highest placing team in Summerlin (placing above the team they lost twice to in our region)! The bad new is that they did not have enough points to move on to the final game.

The boys didn't seem too disappointed. They wanted to know what time practice was on Tuesday. (Season's over guys...sorry). They persisted....all the boys wanted to have practice!

Coach Henry suggested that after Christmas, we have a parents' vs the kids game. That will be a ton of fun.

I'm really sad to see the season end. The boys have had a wonderful time and we've met some really nice families.

Go Fireballs!!!