Soccer is finally over!
The Tigers did a great job in the tournament this weekend. On Saturday we won our first 2 games but, lost the last one of the day. the boys were very disappointed and all were in tears after the game. Playing in Dallas is a whole 'nother game! The players are much more rough and aggressive, it is obvious they are coached to play that way (In Longview you can't get away with that kind of play). In spite of losing the 3rd game, we were able to advance to the quarter finals as a "wild card" due to the number of points we had from those games. So we stayed another night and played at 8:00 the next morning.
Unfortunately, we played against the team who won 1st place in the tournament last year...we did not win! At the beginning it looked like we might be able to pull a win or at least a tie off but, it was not to be. That team was very disciplined and passed the ball more than we did. The boys again were very disappointed but we were extremely proud of them for getting that far.
Really, our soccer associations are so different that it isn't a level playing field. In Longview we have mandatory re-pool every 2 years, other towns don't have that rule and are able to keep a team together from the time they are 4 years old. I think it hurts the level of play as the kids get older and these dominant teams continue to improve while the other teams have to start all over with a different crop of players. Longview is thinking of changing that mandatory re-pool, we'll see if it passes.
It was a great experience...the kids got to ride a charter bus, stay at a hotel, play against some good teams, and get some good "hang out" time with their team mates and families. It was fun but, I sure was tired when we got home. Ok, I'm off to finish the mound of laundry.
Oh yeah...now it's basketball season!