Mavericks in Action
With the excitement of the Olympics and an epic match for the Women’s soccer gold medal set between Brazil and the US, let’s not forget where it all starts. Youth soccer fans know that this is the best time of the year because it is the time when teams start practicing full-time again and are going to tournaments. I just spent the last week with my oldest daughter’s soccer team (Mavericks Thunder, U14 Girls Class 1) at our summer camp in Berkeley. After taking about 6 weeks off of practice during the summer (in which most of the girls took at least one other soccer camp) the girls were a bit rusty. However, in just two days they were back at it full speed, playing hard and showing off their improved form and technique. There is nothing like playing soccer five hours a day to put you back into “game ready” form. As for me, I was having a hard time running by the week’s end and I was barely doing half of the activities. We finished the camp on Friday with a trip to Stinson Beach and a bit of sand soccer. The team really enjoyed the day at the beach and in the afternoon we let them hang out and swim in the very cold water. Most of the team stayed for an early dinner on the beach with their families and everyone had a great time.
The next day the team was off to Davis for our first fall tournament, the Davis Shootout. There were 6 teams entered in our age group, so we played two games on Saturday and one on Sunday. It turned out to be a rather elite tournament, with 3 of the other 5 teams ranked in the top 10 of the state. Even though we weren’t at the level of our competitors, our girls played hard and held their own on the field. The coaching director for our club showed up on the last day and congratulated the girls on their play and improvement over the last year, which helped ease the sting of losing all three games. It was a very well run tournament, with amazing grass fields, so I think next year there will be many more teams participating.
As for the big game on Thursday, I have a wager with my friend, Roberto, in Brazil and I am sticking with the US. Look for the best game yet from the US, with the final being US 3, Brazil 2. This game will also be a great showcase for the women (on both sides) who will be playing in the WPS next summer. Go team USA.
