Sunday, June 13, 2010

Sioux Falls Teaches Some Important Lessons

Macy's Moorhead Pumas finished their tournament today in South Dakota and I must say it was a pretty cool weekend. The team lost all their games (did I mention that our players are all eight and nine years old, but entered the tournament where the youngest teams are ten and eleven year olds?) and didn't score a goal.

That sounds terrible, but after a bad first game where the girls seemed dispirited in the immediate aftermath, they played their butts off in the two remaining games.

With about five minutes to go in the first game of the day the score was I-don't-know-but-it-wasn't-pretty to zero and the girls were visibly down. They lacked energy. The older girls on the other team were pushing them around and generally doing what they wanted. Then in the second half it happened: they got tired of being pushed around and started pushing back. Suddenly, it wasn't only our girls who were getting knocked down and tripped up. They put about eight shots on goal that half. None of them went it, but it was only because the other goalie was so incredible. Seriously, I think England may sign her for the rest of the World Cup. Against any other team we would have scored at least five goals.

The second game was played in the rain against a team that appeared to have several girls who drove themselves to the game. Seriously. Macy is the biggest kid on our team but the opponents had two girls who were a full head taller. Still, our girls went after them hard. Couldn't be prouder. When they get another year under the belts they are going to be dangerous and the value of playing in these tournaments against older competition is going to make itself obvious.

It was kinda sorta hinted to me before the season that they were looking for a coach, but the deal I made with MYSA was that I would sign Macy up only if I could sit on the sidelines and watch, so I suppose I should put up some pictures.












For more photos from the tournament, go here.

I have lots of video to edit, so that will be available later this week hopefully.

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