The Reflection

Evening everyone. Plenty to write about from this weird week, so let's get right to it. The week started a bit strange after I applied for a job. I got an immediate response looking for a Hangouts chat interview. Okay. First time for that but that sounded positive. The next day was the interview for this company called O&J productions. I started getting suspicious when I couldn't find any website or anything. Still, I went through with the interview. The person interviewing me asked some pretty generic questions, mentioned it would be a 20-40 hour a week $30.00 an hour freelance position. Okay then. Then it got super suspicious. They wanted me to purchase an entire "mini-office" list of supplies to set up at home which included a MacBook Pro, printers and a whole lot of expensive supplies. They said they would send a check for everything and I'd get immediately trained after signing a contract. Hell, no. Everything that I was suspicious about was confirmed. This "company" didn't really feel like a company and I wanted nothing to do with it. Luckily, I have people in my network that called BS when I explained everything. The next day, I e-mailed that I would terminate the contract and wanted nothing to do with the production company. I'm just glad I've got people in my life looking out for me.

Thursday we had our last soccer practice. Sadly, the conditions weren't the best and the field was a disaster. We couldn't really use the net for any shooting or goalie drills for Elia but the kids definitely had fun. Last match of the season was Friday. Going into it, I had a plan to release Olivia in the 2nd half and stick Elia in goal with a strong defense to keep her safe since she has never played goalie. 1st half, the Lazer Hornets (yes that's how they spelled it) got one up on us in the middle of the 1st half. Ryan picked up an equalizer before the end of the 2nd half. The girls were looking good and things were looking up. Remember, a draw would have secured us 1st place so all we had to do was keep it up. 2nd half, we started dominating the Hornets and Alice picked up a beautiful goal. 2-1. They got back into this and it was 2-2. 30 seconds left, Ryan took an injury to the face or hand and we subbed her out quick. Next thing we know, they got ONE more goal on Elia in the final seconds finishing the dramatic finale 2-3. Such a heartbreaker. These girls worked so hard all season and all of them thought we could pull this one off. It was such a major bummer. Both of us tied but they got 1st place only on GD. Ughh...

The good news was that they earned themselves 2nd place trophies. I couldn't have been more proud of these talented girls and I hope each and every one of them continue with soccer wherever they play next. Alice finished off the season with 14 goals, Ryan had 5. Linnea had 5.Alice was such a good team player and excelled every match. Ally wins my vote for Most Improved Player with all the skills and heart she played with every single game and practice. Olivia was a coach's dream as far as goalies are considered. Earlier in the season, she had a great kick save and in the tournament, she had a beautiful save that was heading over her head. She struggled in the 2nd half of our final match on the field when I pulled her out of goal per her request but couldn't stick to ONE position when I gave it to her, but what can ya do...She had an AWESOME PK save that had all of us holding our breath in the final match. The whole crowd went crazy when she saved it. Linnea was a warrior all season. She could attack and dribble with the best of them and I sincerely appreciated having this girl on my team. I fully believe if Ava didn't end her season 5 weeks ago with an injury, these kids wouldn't have been in this high-stress match but it happens. Elia was fantastic and always played with heart. Ryan was super competitive which didn't surprise me and probably always will be. Mia and Cecilia both made improvements and I hope wherever they play next season, they can work on their attack and drive. Playing with and against 4th graders certainly wasn't easy for both of these two but I think with a lot of off-season work, they can make major improvements. Lastly, it was awesome having Coach Kevin and Coach Jim this season helping out with the girls. Both had a great time and I'm thankful they joined me this season. I didn't get to watch the Chelsea vs Burnley match but saw highlights of them winning 4-2. Pulisic got a beautiful hat trick and will be one to watch this season now that he's getting into the starting XL.

Later, Mia went tick or treating in the downtown Waukesha businesses picking up some candy while dressed in her soccer attire, complete with her new trophy. Most of the day, she never let it go. We attempted to do some Spiderman/Spider Gwen pictures at Jill's studio but Mia HATED the costume. We got a few before I send it back this week to Amazon.  My parents came over later to carve pumpkins with us before we called it a night.  Today, we started our day with a visit to the zoo. I had informed the diva that the weather was perfect for the red pandas to be out and about. What do you know, I was correct. Kiki, Dr. Anne and Dash were roaming around. Mia watched them for probably an hour. They were so cute playing, yawning and eating. When we got back, Mia dyed her hair and it looks pretty rad. After washing it out, we got ready for our family trick or treating. My sister handed out treats as my parents, brother, sister-in law and nephews plus Jill and Mia ventured out looking for fun and treats. The older these kids get, the longer they last trick or treating. On top of that, the weather was close to perfect for the end of October. When we got back, everyone split and we made spaghetti before Mia and Jill went off to sleep. This week, I'll try to get some good edits of the Spidey photos and Mia's trick or treating Thursday in Waukesha. Friday, Jill and I are helping out at Mia's Fall party. Should be a lot of fun. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Gutted But Not Out

Evening everyone. It's totally weird being off on a Sunday, but we'll get back to that later. The week was a rough one at work with almost daily someone calling in sick but we somehow got through it. Thursday, I took some time to attempt to write a drum part to "This Is Halloween". It's a really fun song to drum to, and changes tempo and time signature often. All in all, really fun afternoon playing drums again. I really don't get to drum often so anytime I have that chance, I try to make the most of it creating covers and drumming to fun songs.

 Later, we had practice. Despite being short Alice, we had a pretty solid scrimmage which would showcase seriously good communication. The kids looked ready for the big tournament ahead. Saturday morning, I watched Chelsea beat Newcastle which gives them 3 big wins in a row. Things are looking solid so far for the Blues. Next was our first match of the tournament for the Ice Breakers. Was it the long obnoxious break in between games from poor field conditions that through the girls off the first half? Perhaps. Was it the fact we were short a crucial member of our team due to a broken toe from 3 weeks ago? Most likely. Where the refs missing way too many calls? 100% yes. Whatever it was, our poor girls were struggling and were trailing 0-3 at HT. I saw something I haven't seen for the first time this season. A group of seriously pissed off kids. Olivia through her goalie gloves frustrated that she didn't want to play goalie anymore. Cecilia was visibly angry and all in all, we just needed to get back into the game. The girls needed to focus big time. 2nd half was a glimmer of hope. They started strong and Alice got us back in the game with a quick goal. Ally, Ryan and Alice were giving it their all and with every chance they had, they just couldn't bang in all the goals needed. Linnea put a 2nd one in giving us a little more hope. It's 2-3 and the tension was growing. Girls were pushing hard on both sides. Mia was struggling with keeping up with the pace but her and Cecilia were still digging. The last few minutes, we decided to push our defense forward and then Olivia from goal. Cecilia's Dad thought "we've got a minute or so left, let's give her a chance. They caught us and despite Olivia making it back in time to dive on the ball, the ref (who wasn't shy of making horrible calls) gave the goal to the Panthers. One more goal from the light pink team sealed the unfortunate loss to the Ice Breakers knocking us early out of the tournament. The refs for some reason, didn't pay attention to the game time and it extended another 4-5 random minutes. We had some seriously upset girls and tears from Linnea who was great in defense and her goal was sick. They couldn't believe we couldn't pull off the win, but we still have a title to play for next weekend against the Lazer Hornets (yes, that's how they spell it) who would play against Mia's friend's team next after our game. Apparently, that game got out of control and after two overtimes and a shootout, the Pink Panthers beat the Hornets. The coach on that team lost it at his kids and the parent supporters were yelling at him to relax. Can't wait to play them next weekend.  Normally, I would have some photos to post from the match, but Jill wasn't feeling great and none were taken with the exception of one I snapped from the side lines and one my sis got. Oh well.

We had some dinner later and relaxed the rest of the night. I watched the Torrent beat DCFC in Detroit during the live feed. Despite the fact that DCFC already had the title, to see the Torrent beat them for the first time was awesome.  Later, Mia brought up that if Cecilia plays with her, she'd like to join SC Wave to insure she'd get to play more soccer. She's got a variety of friends that want to play as well. Ironically, I got an offer for an assistant coach role a team that would have 2 players leaving in the Spring. That would be a perfect option for Mia and Cecilia, but what about two other girls that want to play with Mia? Who knows. We'll cross that bridge come December when Spring sign up happens.

I had a hard time sleeping thinking about what could have happened if we did this, or didn't do that...Ugh. I talked to Mia the next day about being a good sport and going to the Championship match between the (dark) Pink Panthers and the (light) Pink Panthers. She brought along our DSLR Nikon to snap some photos at the match. This was a good exercise to learning how to handle a loss, while at the same time showing love and support when your friends can use it sports-wise. They were stoked she came to cheer them on and in the end, the BFF's team got the win 2-1. Great match despite a lot of heavy pushing, some profanity and losing reffing once again. It was super weird being on this side of the field, and honestly tough not to be giving advice, but it was a great time cheering with Olivia's Dad and Scarlett's Mom and daughter. In the end, Mia was excited for her friends and glad she came. On top of that, she snapped some great photos. It was her first time shooting a soccer match so it was fun to watch her in action. Seeing the girls with the trophies sparked a fire in her and gave her some motivation for our big match this coming Saturday. We'll need everyone 100% for this game and hopefully, we can grab the win and secure the title with a full undefeated season finish. I'm not going to lie, I'm totally nervous for our girls, but I'll do my absolute best at our last practice. Trick or treating this weekend as well. Speaking of which, Mia's made the decision to return her Spider Gwen costume. The material made her itchy and the mask made it hard to breath. Ugh. Oh well. That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Only Here To Disappoint

Greetings everyone. Another rainy damp week has ended so let's get right to it. The week started awesome with low 80's, but as the week went, the rain moved back in. Wonderful. Mid week, Jill and I photographed at a school in the morning. Man, 3 year olds are difficult to get to sit still for pictures!
As I was preparing for our match this week, I got word that two more players wouldn't make our match. Linnea came to practice late telling me that she was out of town, like Ally. Myself and Coach Kevin were in shock thinking "how are we going to handle this playing 6 girls with zero subs?" Practice was okay. The girls were a bit squarely, and it was raining a bit. Mia was having a rough practice and her heart wasn't in it. She hurt her leg a bit and couldn't shoot as hard as she normally does. Before practice, she was fine but they were all yelling and she was pretty upset. Later, I started thinking of ideas of Alice playing a sort of sweeper role where she could move freely from striker to defense. Made sense.

The rain cranked up Thursday evening, and I kept thinking "If enough rain comes in, will they cancel our game AGAIN..." Well, it kept raining Friday and by the time it stopped, it was enough rain to cancel all games Saturday. All fields had standing water. Talk about a big disappointment. For me and the coaches, it was a blessing in disguise. Not that we didn't have faith in the girls that were available to play, but I knew that not having subs would have sucked for them. Alice and Ryan looked like beasts that could have easily lit up the field, Elia and Cecilia would have been solid in the back but Mia was nervous with not getting a break. In the end, all of that didn't matter because the match could possibly get rescheduled and we'll have a full roster by then. Well, hopefully Ava. We'll see what happens.

Since Saturday was a bust and there's an EPL International Break (which means no Chelsea) we went to the movies at the new Movie Tavern at the mall. Mia wanted to see the new Adams Family animated movie. It wasn't too bad and she dug it. The new theater is nice as well. Later, the girls made macarons while I went to the final Torrent match of the season. It was a Halloween Night so we decided to have fans join us in costume. The Torrent pulled off a great 2-1 win. It's been a rough season at home, so it was great to see them pick up the much-needed win. They have two road matches left before the Member's Cup is complete. Not the most positive season, but a significantly better team overall.

I went home, changed and drove to a friend's annual Halloween party dressed as Spiderman. Super fun time catching up with friends like always. Made it back home around 1:45am. Today, we all slept in a bit, made some pancakes and we helped Mia with her homework before I went to work.

This week, I'll work on some drills for practice Thursday so we can prepare for the tournament over the weekend. This will be Mia's opportunity to win her first trophy with these incredible teammates. Exciting, right? That's all for now, thanks for reading!

The Pain of Rain

Greetings everyone. Let's dive into the week, eh? Okay. The first three days were utter crap with a pile of rain and a tornado touched down briefly in Wales where I grew up. hearing about the tornado brought back crazy memories of the late 80's with the tornado ripping down our street. My Mom carrying my sister and I in each arm while pregnant with my little brother. What a crazy time that was. Luckily, the tornado didn't head our way and there were no fatalities. Phew. Mia had a fever on one of the days early this week at school. but luckily after a day of rest, was good to go again. Thursday, I joined Mia and her buddies for lunch. I swear, they get way more hyped when I show up than Mia :P They all asked "So, are you staying for recess?" Of course I am. They always love it, no matter what they plan on doing.

Recess turned into a full on game of street soccer with any and every girl that wanted to play with us. A handful of Mia's teammates including Ryan and Cecilia played so it was fun. Mia picked up a couple goals and Ryan had a great time attempting goalie again. I said my goodbyes and had to split. Unfortunately, we had to cancel practice due to the back fields being totally under water. I was having inner struggles that maybe we should have practiced. The temps had warmed up, but the fields were still terrible. I eventually made peace with it and that was that. Friday, it finally didn't rain and I thought that just maybe the game fields would possibly dry out. Sadly Friday night, I got the text from one of my assistant coach they cancelled the Minors, Juniors and Majors matches. Total bummer. Picture Day was still on so we still had to be there for photos at 7:45AM. Talk about a total bummer and tease for the kids. "Hey, get in your full uniform for photos, but no game". On top of that, they didn't allow cleats in the building. Ugh. Mia wasn't a fan of it at all. After photos she kicked the ball around with Alice and Ally while Ally's Mom talked to me about how the season has been going. She explained how proud she is of her daughter and overall how the team has bonded and played throughout the year. As a coach, I never really know how I'm doing but when I hear little random things like that from parents I have barely met, it's really humbling and always nice to hear. I also ran into old players Jana, Charley and Ainslee. Ainslee's Mom told me she'd really like to get an early request to have me coach her when she gets into 3rd grade next year. Talk about sweet eh? She was a sick goalie last year and I'd love to work with her like I have with Olivia. Olivia has been very patient playing mainly goalie, and with Ava out with an injury, I don't know if I can convince anyone else to play in net. I hope she can play in our final game on the 26th against the 2nd place team. If we win this upcoming match and the 2nd place team loses, we take the league title.

The rest of the day, we hung out with my in-laws for a belated birthday celebration with Tommy. Friday night, Mia made an impressive 8-layered cake for her Uncle. 8 layers of 8 different colors. Unreal. Sunday, I watched the Chelsea vs Southampton match. Blues got the big win 4-1 and are moving up the table right before the International Break. We later went to the zoo in pursuit of the baby red panda. Sadly, the red pandas weren't out either so Mia was pretty disappointed. She enjoyed the polar bear being cute laying in the sun as well as the river otters playing in the water.

This week, Mia's off tomorrow and hoping to find friends to hang out with. Hopefully, we can hold a practice Thursday before our 2nd to last league match. The Torrent have their final match of the year so possibly I will attempt to make it. They had a game over the weekend that I really wanted to go to, but I wasn't feeling that great Saturday for a while, and it was pouring out.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!