KO: Games

Character...still

Mon, 16 Apr 2007 18:14:30 GMT

It was with carefully deliberated irony that I watched our team's hopes of a Provincial Championship slip away as the game time ticked on, and the depleted energy stores of our players became apparent. We seemed to be just one step shy, one pass off, one goal down, and one loss away from the final.

We picked up a few exceptionally talented players in order to shore up our missing 3 players, who were not eligible to play due to age. But again, it was the team. The team was bigger than any individual, and the price we paid from the disruption of that team was defeat. Don't get me wrong...we played a decent game and were very appreciative to the replacement players, but the chemistry upon which we had built almost every win of the season, fell short, and ulimately, no amount of talent could replace it.

Of course, disappointment is prevalent, but somewhere there is a silver lining and we shall press on for our next Big Game. Whenever that may be.

250 Million Boy

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 17:13:52 GMT

Soccer's golden boy is jumping the Atlantic pond, and coming to North America, to set up house in Los Angeles. He has played soccer at the highest level in the world, captained his Team England, and scored goals with a precision bend that gumbie would be proud of. Why? Why is he giving it all up to come to LaLa Land?

250 Million dollars over 5 years may be the reason. The highest salary EVER paid to ANY player in North America, and it is going to a player who will play for the MLS LA Galaxy. Google hits on the MLS and the Galaxy will never be so prevalent, as people try to find out what kind of soccer this is, who do they play, how much are tickets, and when and where are the home games.

250 Million dollars to a soccer player. Not a football, or a baseball, or a hockey player, but a soccer player. A sport that has fought long and hard in North America to generate interest, but has come up short year after year. Oh, it is the fastest growing (and best) sport in communities across North America, but people don't seem interested in paying to watch it.

Let's see if Sir David Beckam can fulfill some of the 250 Million obligations he will have to lift the game off the ground and bend it into our living rooms!

Knowing and Using the Best Assets

Sat, 25 Nov 2006 21:11:16 GMT

Last night's chaotic showing during our 2-1 loss to an inferior team spurred on thoughts of 'what went wrong?' Of course, there is no project or game which at some point can take a turn sideways, and it is then when I remember the old golf cliche that sport is all about consistency, and failing that, recovery! So what does one do when the confusion overwhelms a team to the point that NOTHING seems to work anymore? When the defense fails, along with the offense, and everyone seems out of sorts? Well, a team, and the individual's within that team have to know where their bread and butter is; what are the best assets of this team?

In the case of our team our best asset is our wing speed. Consistently, throughout the season, we have had great results with a very fast wing attack. Last night, when we should have QUICKLY reverted to our "attack from the flank" mindset, we didn't. We continued to attack up the middle and had no success. With each lack of success, we lost a little confidence until by game's end we had NONE. Switching to auto pilot ought to be easier. While this was a game, it is the same for life....know your strengths and build on them!!

Another nice win!

Mon, 23 Oct 2006 02:07:56 GMT

With the game still fresh and telling, foot prints in the snow leading to the forbidden land, we marched on to another nice victory today. Our team has started to gel with amazing consistency and the pit-pat of passes, feet to feet, head to feet, feet to goal came fast and furious as we took on one of the top teams in the league. 4-1...we win!! :)

Disparate Measures

Tue, 03 Oct 2006 05:05:56 GMT

"Fundamentally distinct or different in kind". That is the description for the word Disparate. Of course, 'measure' is something we attach to a word to quantify it. How can one measure how different components can function? How do different pieces function as a whole? These are questions that I asked myself as we bore witness to our first defeat as a team. Yes, 3-1 - a loss to a true team.

The Supra did have moments of brilliance, but as the other team pressed, and we faced some adversity, we began to break apart. First, the defense broke off from the middle of the field, then the midfield broke from the forwards, then a cycle continued whereby player upon player broke from each other.

All of us have played team sports long enough to realize - to intimately realize - that the whole is so much bigger than the sum of the parts. We had 11 superstars on the field, but they couldn't get the job done because they were not a team. How does talent find it's way into greatness if not by way of the people surrounding the talent, right? Disparate pieces merge and blend and weave and bob and the ball starts to float into the back of the net simply by a process that is greater than any individual, greater than any leader, greater than any one thing; a process that picks up two great pieces and becomes three just on it's own virtue. It cannot be coerced, or prodded into reality but simply becomes reality on it's own when each member truly believes that the team is indeed bigger than any one disparate measure.

When is a tie really a loss?

Sun, 17 Sep 2006 04:38:02 GMT

It doesn't happen often, but last night was one of those rare occurrences! One of those games you would love to replay. One - actually many -of those shots, you would love to re-shoot. One of those moments you would love to re-live. BUT it is done. Over. The final whistle brought about the final scorecard - a 2-2 tie. Just another post-mortem, lots of talk with little action.

If we hadn't so completely dominated the opposition, I would generally be happy with a tie but our game last night was far from happiness. It was frustration. It was anger. It was subordination. It was ugly. And of course, it was speckled with moments of brilliance that make many a wise person scratch their head and wonder what went wrong. The usual 2 day hiatus in writing about the events has not come yet - a 'no no' in the blogging business if you want to shine positive energy through the white space. At this point that energy is stuck somewhere in the keyboard!!

What is in this game that makes it such a microcosm of life? There are the many personalities; there are chances to win it all; chances to lose it all; good efforts; time for individuality; time for team; but the thing that rings the loudest at that final whistle is how did each of us stand up for each other? Small building blocks for future successes I hope (a drizzle from the keyboard).

Sweet Supra Win!

Tue, 12 Sep 2006 15:43:41 GMT

It usually takes a couple of days for the sweetness of victory ~ or defeat ~ to sink in. In the case of our first ever win, as a new team to the league, I knew within 10 minutes of the start of the game, that this 'sweetness' was going to be felt quickly. I think it started when all 4 of our defenders, plus our goalie, touched the ball as they moved it side to side looking for a break in the opposing teams' play. That break came and we moved the ball, as though tied to each others feet, smoothly and carefree up the wing. Wing to wing via the big D-line.

Now, don't get me wrong, we have a ton of work to do to improve on that, BUT that one feature of our new team makes our offence so much easier to achieve. Ah, yes, the transition game. Patience. Moving the ball. Poetry in motion. The score is secondary to controlling the game, which we did for a good 60 minutes. The other 30 minutes? Well, we will work on that!!

Sweet.

Supra: 2; Fury: 1.