game 4: 2-0 over the Great White Sharks

Antonio boots one--it looks like right into the behind of our "loaner" player! (ouch)

Adrian gets one past a Great White Shark...

Antonio takes the throw as Adrian moves to get open.

Tyler moves to the ball (while everyone else stands and watches!).

Adrian and Tyler in action...

Tyler and our "borrowed player" (Jordan, I think) get ready to win a high ball.

The Jedi Knights did it again! It was a bit of an odd week--Ceser, Daniel and Sean were all out of town, so we had only 6 players (the games are 7 v. 7). Our opponents, the Great White Sharks had 11 players, and so rather than "play down" at 6 v. 6, they offered to supply us with a different player each quarter--that way more boys got to play, and it seemed to work out well for everyone. The Sharks on our team all tried their best...and did a great job playing against their own team(!). And all of the Knights played the whole game, on a very hot day---they hung in there, drank a lot of water(!), and really worked hard. In fact, many of their best plays came late in the game. I couldn't even count how many times we hit the post in the 4th quarter! That says a lot for the great effort they put forward--once again, we were very proud of the way they played.

Poor Alex has cut his knee badly, and so wasn't able to play anywhere but goal. He played in the nets all 4 quarters, and did a spectacular job, making a couple of excellent saves!! Jack and Sami were our defenders today, along with the "loaner Shark." They alternated playing sweeper each quarter, and both did a good job of staying back and playing tough "D." Sami really started pushing forward toward the end of the game and had a couple shots that nearly went in. And Jack did a great job keeping up with(and occasionally chasing down) a couple of their quick forwards, preventing them from taking many shots. And those they did, Alex was there to grab!

Tyler, Adrian and Antonio had a lot of fun on the attack. Tyler and Antonio were our goal scorers today--it was Antonio's first goal of the season, he was hustling so hard all game that he really deserved it. Tyler took a ton of shots, many that hit the post---he was a real force at forward today, and with a little luck the score could have been a lot more lopsided. And Adrian worked hard as always, getting a couple of shots off himself. He tended to drift into defense a bit--I'm wondering if perhaps he is more of a "natural" in the back?

All in all, it was a great game and the Knights are really starting to improve. They are staying more spread out, and starting to be more aware of each other. I think I saw at least one series of 3 consecutive passes--that brought a smile to my face!

Thanks again to Sylvia for her terrific photos--they really make the blog fun.

Next practice: Thursday, September 29. 6pm with SPECIAL GUEST COACH. Corey Woolfolk, former Stanford star who is just back from a season in Puerto Rico with an MLS "A-League" team will be working with the boys. (He's a good friend on John and Cindy's.)

Next game: Sat. Oct. 1, 8:00 a.m. (UGH!), Field B vs. Team 7. Please be there BY 7:45am.

game 3: 4-0 vs. The Scorpoins

Cesar suffering from a case of boredom in the goal! :-)

Antonio taking his turn as goalie, and looking almost as excited as Cesar!

All 7 Jedi Knights on the field in one picture! From left: Tyler, Sean, Sami, Alex, Daniel, Antonio, Cesar. Do you think we need to work on spreading out? :-)

Tyler, celebrating one of his two goals today!

Adrian in the net...looking almost as thrilled as Antonio and Cesar!

Antonio on the move, with support from Jack and Alex.

Sami give a thumbs up after Sean scored our first goal.

Jack clears the ball, while Antonio, Sean, Daniel, Cesar and Sami look on.
Did someone say spread out!?

Jack and Adrian sitting out 3rd quarter...

Cesar, Adrian, and Daniel chasing down another ball, with Sami just behind.

Daniel, Sean, Tyler and Jack hanging out after the game.

Cesar on his feet! :-)

Daniel turning the ball from an oncoming opponent.

Look at that form! Go Antonio!! (with Alex supporting behind...)

Tyler moving in for a tackle.

Jack on the move, with support from Adrian and Sami.

Tyler showing his perfect throw-in form.

Sean and dad, Tom.

The Jedi Knights ran into the Scorpions today, and for the first half of the game at least, played very well. The boys were passing, moving together, and playing tenacious defense. And they scored all 4 goals in the first half.

Sean started us off--he really looked great in the striker slot, creating chance after chance, and he finally got one in. Tyler scored the next two, the second one a looping shot from quite a ways back--it was fun to see him challenging their goalie throughout the game. And finally, Alex snuck one in from his position in back. We know it was hard for him to play defender today, but he did a fine job, especially in the sweeper position.

Speaking of sweeper, Antonio started out there and held down the fort as usual. He does such a good job staying in position, and remains calm and tough to beat back there. Daniel also did an excellent job on defense today, particularly in the first half when he was almost unstoppable on the right side. He sent a couple of booming clears way up the line. Adrian worked really hard, as always. I think he and Cesar cover more ground during the games than anyone else--Adrian is a tough tackler, and did an outstanding job hustling to help on defense. And Cesar likes to push forward from the back--he seems to have a natural tendency to want to play up front. I bet he'll put one in the net before too long.

Jack, who was actually an attacker for today's game, once again stood out with his strong defensive skills. He does a nice job not only tackling, but actually winning the ball and getting off good passes to his teammates. And Sami was a real workhorse again today--he never gives up, and is always focused on the goal.

Adrian, Daniel, Cesar and Antonio were all a little bored in goal (as evidenced in the photos above)--the Scorpions didn't take a single shot, which says a lot for how the boys played today! Things got a little wild and silly in the 2nd half--they need to stay better focused for all 4 quarters, and we'll start to work on that. We'll also work on trying to stay a little more spread out--we are awfully bunched up out there.

I am proud of the way they played today and how hard they work in games and in practice. Way to go, Jedi Knights!

Thanks go to Maria and Randy for bringing the snacks, to Sylvia for sending more terrific photos, and to Tim for the excellent job as ref.

Next practice: Thursday, 9/22 at 6pm with John (Cindy can't make it)
Next game: Saturday, 9/24 at 12noon, Team A vs. Team B10

more photos, games 1&2

Team photo #1!

Sean, Tyler, Jack, Sami, Antonio, Adrian and Daniel waiting patiently before the "real" team photo. (I kinda like this one best!)

On the run against the Blue Thunder.

Team photo #2!

Team Photo #3!

Our great banner, thanks to Alex's dad, Rafael.

Tyler and Adrian waiting for action in our first game.

Tyler and Daniel await a Green Goblin kick-off.

Thanks to Tabatha for this batch of photos!

Game 2 photos

Sami getting into position after just missing a shot on goal...

WOW! Look at Tyler's form! Great shot Tyler(soccer), and great shot Sylvia (photo)!

Alex battles for the ball, while Adrian looks on and Cesar moves into position.

Antonio ready to go at sweeper--he looks tough back there, doesn't he? (And he is!)

Looks like it's Sami on the run...

We played the Blue Thunder (also in blue), so we wore the green pennies.

Anotnio looking sharp (and what a smile)!

The Jedi Knights, minus Alex and Cesar.... Bottom row, from left: Antonio, Jack, Tyler, Sami, Adrian. Top row: John, Sean, Daniel, Cindy, Valerie (team sponsor). Saturday was team photo day.

Another of Antonio. (Hey, his mom is the photographer, what do you expect?!)

Thanks again to Sylvia for taking these great shots! Other parents, if you have pix, you can email them to me to post, or I can add you as a member to the blog and you can do it yourself. Just let me know. I think the photos make the site a lot more fun.
~cindy

Game #2: 2-2 vs. the Blue Thunder

We ran into the storming Blue Thunder today--and they were tough. But so were the Jedi Knights! The evenly matched teams held each other scoreless in the first half, though each team had several good chances. Then the Blue Thunder picked up two goals in the 3rd quarter. But the Knights didn't give up. They continued to fight back, scoring two goals of their own to tie the game.

It was a much harder game than the first, and the boys did a super job hustling and working together. They took lots of shots, and scrambled back quickly to get on defense. Several parents mentioned that they need to learn about positioning, and that is something that we will work on in the coming weeks.

Highlights of our second game included:

• Welcoming Cesar to the team (replacing Reed). Cesar has been playing on a U6 team (he's still only 5!), but showed today that he is certainly ready for play at the U8 level.
• Antonio's hustle--he had another great game on defense, where he stopped their attackers time and time again.
• Watching Adrian make several key defensive plays as well as helping out on the attack. He covered a lot of ground today!
  
• Sean's hang-tough attitude in the goal, despite being under almost constant attack and hurting his hand. He almost scored a couple times too!
  
• Seeing Sami turn up his intensity, and really pressure the Blue Thunder on offense. He also made a couple of nice saves during his turn as goalie.
• The excellent job Daniel did keeping his position at sweeper and snuffing out several dangerous attacks.
  
• The two goals that Alex scored near the end of the game, after dribbling through practically every player on the opposing team. He has moves!
• Jack's tough defending, and how well he uses his body to shield the ball from attackers.
• Hearing Tyler in the goal, where he was directing his teammates and taking charge, as well as making some fantastic saves!
• The terrific attitude shown by all the Jedi Knights who didn't give up when they got behind. They worked hard the whole game, and deserved those two late goals against a tough opponent.

Special thanks to Tabatha for helping organize the Team Picture and to Linga for the halftime and postgame treats!

Next Practice: Thursday, Sept. 15 @ 6pm
Next Game: Saturday, Sept. 17 @ 12:00pm, Field B, vs. Team#1

earthquakes game?

Hey Jedi Knights, anyone interested? We need at least 15 people to get the group offer. Let Cindy or Tabatha know asap if you are interested, and how many tickets you’d like.

San Jose Earthquakes vs. F C Dallas @7pm

AYSO Region 1 group rates: $12.00 per person, offers best seats available, and team gets their name on the score board

Parking: $8.00 per vehicle

Location: Spartan Stadium, 1257 South 10th Street, San Jose, CA 95192-0145

Directions:

From Southbound 280
(From San Francisco, Los Altos, and Cupertino)Option 1 - Exit onto Route 87(Guadalupe Parkway) southbound. Exit Alma. Turn left on Alma.Option 2 (not as fast) - Exit at 7th Street, turn right onto 7th Street.

From Southbound 101
(From San Francisco, Burlingame, and Palo Alto)Exit at Story (west). Turn right onto Story. Turn left onto Senter. Turn right onto Alma.