Schedule (TCC Official Schedule)

• Sat Aug 22nd 9:45AM vs CVYSA Blast Blue, Hine Park #3
• Sat Aug 22nd 4:45PM vs MUFC Navy, Hine Park #3
• Sun Aug 23rd 9:45AM vs CESA Premier, Hine Park #5
• Sun Aug 23rd 2:00PM U13 Blue Championship, Sara Lee #1

Directions to each complex and complex field maps can be found below:

• Directions to Hine Park Fields 1-4
• Directions to Hine Park Fields 5-7
• Directions to Sara Lee Fields 1-3
• Hine Park/Sara Lee Overview
• Hine Park Field Map
• Sara Lee Field Map

Good luck ladies and make the MYSA proud! Results can be tracked online at the tournament website.

GO LUNACHICKS!

To help prepare for that, the team will face off against a couple of teams from Guilford United Soccer Club on August 15th in Mebane during the MYSA’s friendly weekend.

The team will be holding a Car Wash fundraiser at Advance Auto Parts in Mebane (1008 Mebane Oaks Road) on Saturday August 29th from 10AM through 4PM. So come get your car cleaned and help support the Lunachicks! All proceeds will go towards travel and tournament expenses.

We’re looking forward to another exciting (and hopefully more successful) season!

GO LUNACHICKS!

96 MYSA Lunachicks - Spring 2009

The girls started wearing blue tape on their left wrists for good luck at the Beat The Heat tournament. Since we took this right before our last home match, the girls showed off their lucky tape!

Beware the power of the blue tape!

MYSA Lunachicks Spring 2009 Girls Clinic

Thanks to the Fairy Odd Mother for taking some pictures for our photo album.

Spring 2009 Girls Clinic Slideshow
[[View As A Slideshow]]

For those of you who couldn’t make the clinic this year, we hope to have another one sometime in August or September!

The Lunachicks went to the Beat The Heat tournament this past weekend and advanced to the semi-finals after going 3-0 in the group stage, shutting out all three of their opponents. The team played what arguably was their best match of soccer ever in the group stage, providing parents and coaches alike with a great display of ball movement, teamwork, and intensity. It was clear their hard work this season had paid off.

Despite the disappointment of our semi-final loss to the eventual champions, the girls had a lot of fun and did a great job. Coach is very proud of their effort in the sun and heat!

Onward to the Seaside Classic!

From the start of the season, a significant difference has been the intensity the girls are putting into practice. They are working harder at the activities and trying to learn. Yes, we still have silliness and such (we’re the Lunachicks, how can you not?), but for the most part, the girls are working hard to improve. That was one of our goals with moving to Classic, so that has been good to see.

Looking back at our matches so far, it’s been a mixed bag, but we’re showing improvement.

Our friendly in Apex was very encouraging. While our opponent possessed the ball more, we made them work for scoring chances and had a few of our own. Defensively – we were excellent, but we didn’t move the ball well. The girls proved, likely without knowing it, that they absolutely COULD play at this level given who they played.

Our first three regular season matches were not as encouraging. Between the early bickering and the half hearted play at times, it was clear we were not playing anywhere near our capability. The girls definitely didn’t believe they were a Classic team and played that way. I had hoped once the decision was made and they knew they were in Classic, that they would just play. Clearly I underestimated how much of an impact this would have on them. They had so convinced themselves that they didn’t belong or couldn’t play at this level, it became self fulfilling. They had to prove to themselves they were good enough, but when you’re playing poorly because you think you aren’t, you wonder what it will take and if it’ll ever happen. As their coach, after the first couple matches, I’ll admit I was worried.

Their third match seemed to be a turning point for them. Despite letting in those two early goals in the first minute, they seemed to realize that holding that team scoreless for 59 minutes was a big deal. So even though they lost, I got the feeling afterward that they were happy with what they had done or at least realized it was a significant accomplishment. We played stiff defense against a team that moved the ball very well, so as a coach, I was glad to see the improvement. We learned a lot that match because of the many ways the other team could attack (give and go, solid crossing, overlapping runs, etc.) Those were things we never really saw in Challenge.

Obviously, their first win was a significant step forward. They scored their first goals, beat an undefeated team that hadn’t been scored on yet, and showed they could win free balls better than they had all season. It was a great match for them and I think it really helped their confidence. I think it also surprised them that other people outside the league noticed their accomplishment. For the first time, I saw confidence in their responses when I asked them if they believed they were good enough (I was starting to sound like the Verizon guy “Do you believe me now?“). The scrimmage was a disappointment, as they regressed to their earlier antics, plus this team is very aware of which matches count and which don’t, something we as coaches don’t really talk about. They knew it was a friendly against obviously younger kids, so they didn’t take it seriously. When the younger girls started outplaying them, they got frustrated and took themselves completely out of the match. This has been one of the more puzzling aspects of the Lunachicks – the keen sense of when to put forth full effort and when not to. As their coach, I still haven’t figured it out or come up with an idea when they’ll be 100% on and when they won’t be.

Our next match was an example why…

When we ended up playing in extreme conditions, with the freezing cold and rain, they stepped up and played a VERY good game. I expected them to just go through the motions Saturday just to get the match over with and get back home to warm up. It was clear the girls were playing toe to toe with that team, as both teams had solid chances to score. At halftime, when everyone was already frozen and soaked to the skin, I asked them if they were ready to win this match. The intensity and sincerity in their response was surprising – they really wanted it. As heartbreaking as it was to let a draw slip away or have many of our chances to score go ‘just wide’, that was a heck of a match. The girls really cared about it and a few girls played harder or with more intensity than they ever had this season. That’s not the kind of match where you expect that. So even though we lost 0-1, that match showed a lot about who this team is.

We may be silly, inattentive, aloof, and more at times, overall the girls are working harder and are starting to realize what they’re a part of. I’m seeing more of them realize that they really are a good team, that they can compete with these opponents. Yet in order to beat them they have realized they need to work hard, take practice serious, and get better. Yes ’serious’ is a relative term with this team – I get that. But the Monday night training sessions have been intense along with some of the Thursday practices, which I admit we often use to just have some fun. They’re still 12 year old girls, but it’s been clear we’ve shifted our mindset a bit in terms of the balance in keeping things fun and working harder. It’s a gradual thing, nothing changes overnight. But just looking at the overall season, I’ve noticed subtle changes in most of the girls mindsets that are very encouraging.

Which brings us to where we are today. We’re officially 1-4. I know some care – I don’t. In my mind we’re 3-3-1. We’ve had three ‘wins’ in terms of the team’s development and intensity on the field (TFC, KSA, and GYS Gold). TFC surprised me given when we played it, but it was good that the girls showed their true potential against such a stiff opponent (TFC is undefeated and has allowed one goal so far in their division). GYS Gold counts as a win in my book because of the conditions and how hard the girls played when they could have just gone through the motions to get done and go home. BSC, GYS White, and 97 TUSA Gold were just matches where our minds weren’t in it, and I know as a team we’re not at a point where we’ve gotten past having matches like that. GUFC Courage was a draw in my eyes because we played one horrible minute of soccer and 59 minutes where we repelled attack after attack. And if you think about it, consider the fact that but for a few mistakes, we’re not 1-4, but instead 1-2-2 or 2-2-1.

So halfway through our first Classic season, I absolutely believe the team has improved, developed, and started to realize what it takes to be ready for strong opponents every weekend. That was the overriding goal of this move – to get the girls more focused on improving and playing as a team. We still have a LOT of work to do, and the girls know this. We still don’t consistently play well as a team, communicate on the field, or deal with constructive criticism well. Respect for the coaches and the game still needs to improve and it’s still hard to tell when or why we’ll regress to bickering and frustration.

But after five matches, I think they’ve proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that they DO belong at this level, it’s helping their development, and the girls are still having fun. Being 5-0 wasn’t one of my goals for this season. However, if the girls continue to work as hard as they have and we can make some breakthroughs in their understanding of the game and how it works, that’s not out of the realm of possibility. You never know – none of us expected this group to be where they are right now.

Finally, I wanted to thank all of you. I know most of you were either extremely skeptical about this whole Classic thing, or harbored enough reservations to make you uneasy. Yet you also had enough confidence in me as their coach to take a chance and see if my ramblings about desire, motivation, and development were true. Or at least to give me enough rope to hang myself I’ll admit I was scared to death about how this season would unfold. But halfway through, I hope even the most skeptical among you are starting to see things in the girls this season that we never saw in Challenge.

Here’s hoping the 2nd half of the season sees more improvement. Being the Lunachicks, we know there will be more excitement!

GO LUNACHICKS!

A lot of my friends here on Facebook are from Mebane, so I wanted to share something with you all. Most of you know I coach a spirited group of 12 year old girls – The Lunachicks. They did something today that made me extremely proud as their coach, so I figured I’d embarrass them a little bit.

While most of you were still asleep this morning, knowing that today’s matches had been canceled, the Lunachicks were dragging themselves out of bed to get on their way to a 9AM match in Greensboro. Since Greensboro has a set of artificial turf fields, they moved a number of Classic matches out of Bryan Park to the turf fields.

So at 9AM, with steady rain falling and temperatures hovering around 36 degrees, the Lunachicks took the field to play 96 Greensboro Gold. Despite the conditions, they played extremely hard, on a surface they’d never played on before. By the 2nd half, the light rain had become heavier, and the girls played on, determined to get a point. For 57 minutes, they held Greensboro scoreless, with both teams having solid chances, but nobody able to put the ball in the net. Greensboro finally managed to score with three minutes left, and the Lunachicks went home, freezing cold, soaked to the bone, and begging the car heater to warm up faster. Regardless of the score, this group of girls braved miserable conditions and played some hard fought soccer – something they should be extremely proud of.

Your coach is extremely proud of you ladies!

Coach Mike

We’re halfway through our regular season, and I’ve seen a LOT of improvement. You’ve finally proven to yourselves that you can play at this level. We still have a lot of work to do, but you should be very proud of the effort you’ve put in these past few weeks.

It’ll be great to finally get the team back on the field to play a match!

Go LUNACHICKS!

Standings and official results will appear on this page as well as we play our matches.

I’ve updated the Google Calendar with field locations for the away games and one slight time change (a game shifted 30 minutes)

Also – no friendlies this weekend (Jan 31st) given the number of players who cannot make it. Still working to setup matches for Feb 7th and/or 8th.

GO LUNACHICKS!

I’ll have some of them at the fields tonight if you want them to try them on first or see what they look like. The next league order goes in January 19th, so if you want a warmup, give your payment to Leslie by Jan 18th with sizing/embroidery info and she’ll turn it all over to the league for processing. Note you can order them after the 18th, but if you order before, you probably will get it before our preseason tournament (not guaranteed – but likely)

This is 100% optional – just passing the information on for those that are interested in getting them, but I certainly don’t expect the entire team to have them.

Juggling strikes them as the most useless thing because they think ‘I never juggle in a match’ I’ve actually seen players juggle a ball to turn 180 degrees around defenders, but that’s not why it is so important.

Juggling develops a softer touch on the ball and helps them build confidence that they can stop/settle any type of ball coming at them. So PLEASE encourage them to juggle if they get bored this holiday. We still haven’t had a player attempt 35 for their patch, but I know if they work at it, they can achieve that.

It’s as simple as that – if they want to develop a soft touch like other teams they have played against, they need to juggle whenever they’re bored and have a soccer ball around. We all talk about tactics, lack of passing, effort, mentality, etc. in terms of how the team is doing, but if they work to improve their juggling and develop a soft touch, that will set the stage for them to do so much more, knowing the ball will BE there for them to do something with when it comes to them.

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and has a Happy New Year! See everyone Jan 5th!

GO LUNACHICKS!

• Mondays 6:30-8 Field MSC-4D
• Thursdays 6:30-8 Field MSC-4D
• Saturdays 10:30-12 Field MSC-4D

We understand many of the girls have winter sports/activities like basketball and absolutely expect them to make those their top priority early in our season. Just try to make all the practices you can without impacting your winter activity.

Our season will get underway at the FVAA Presidential Classic February 7th and 8th in Fuquay-Varina/Raleigh. Then it looks like we’ll start our regular season play February 14th, though that is still being worked out. We should have our official schedule after January 10th.

The coaching staff are also working on filling in our season with other activities. Some possibilities include:

• Some friendlies in January and possibly in April if we have dates available.
• Beat The Heat Tournament – April 25/26 in Winston-Salem
• Seaside Classic Tournament – May 16/17 in Wilmington – BEACH TRIP!
• One or two girls clinics. The first was a huge success, and we’d like to try and hold one or two of these clinics again, maybe in combination with a friendly match or something. Still working on this.
• I think we need to take the girls to play paintball. If your insurance is paid up! But in all seriousness, it might be neat to do a fun non-soccer activity as a team sometime this season
• End of season pool party

We’re always open for suggestions! Again, the above are just ideas at this point. We may only do one of the post season tournaments or we may do both. Depends on what you all are up for.

That’s it for now.

GO LUNACHICKS!

The Lunachicks and the ‘Fringe’ had a great evening celebrating with Coach Mike!!  We are privileged and honored to have our ENTIRE coaching staff and to be a part of the Lunachick family.  Of course, the folks at Blue Ribbon were probably VERY glad to see us leave, but we surely made our own brand of Lunachick fun while we were there

Also celebrating with us were many MYSA league officials, Board Members, MYSA Director of Coaching, friends, past players, and past parents from previous teams that Coach Mike had been a part of.  Thanks to ALL for coming out and making this a very special evening!