| The first season had many ups and downs. Let's go through the year in chronological order. Starting with pre-season practices and conditioning. The turn-out was really well below what is needed. To be honest though, this was somewhat expected. I knew we would have trouble getting the word out, but with the total number of girls who showed up at the spring meeting, I really expected to see much moire than 5-9 girls at most practices. I firmly believe that for those who showed up, it was beneficial. Yet, I have trouble believing that only this limited number of girls could tear themselves away from more pressing matters to attend. The pre-season schedule was, and will continue to be, announced well in advance. It is essential that we enter the season, and that means the first legal practice day, with the skills and conditioning necessary for the season. We were not blessed with enough interest in the program for the try-out we had hoped for. Becuase of this we were forced to accept any and every player who tried out. Once practices actually started the turn-out improved quite a bit. We got the numbers of girls interested up to a number sufficient for a girls team, and ended all concerns of folding both boys and girls into one co-ed team. Several girls came to us from the volleyball program and proved to be welcome additions. Practices went well with focus upon individual skills and conditioning (really the focus of summer practices). The 2 weeks of pre-season flew by. The ladies were introduced to varisty level soccer right away when Hillsboro came to Logan Elm and punished us. Something that we imemdiately realized was that now it was too late to make sufficient improvement in our skill and fitness levels. With 2-3 games a week, sometimes 4 in a 7 day stretch, there was hardly time to correct our mistakes, let alone build new skills. This early season was very trying, but improvements could be seen in many areas. The big issue facing us was that we could not seem to put together a full game, we just couldn't muster a full 80 minutes of soccer, though we continued to improve as we approached mid-point of the season. We were lucky enough to get the first soccer victory in the history of Logan Elm Athletics, which is something I wanted very badly for both myself, and all of the team members. They had worked very hard and endured a lot of problems to that point and needed a win badly. After the Franklin Heights game we had a lot of work left to do. We had wanted 3-4 wins in the first year, and with only one under our belts halfway through, we had missed several good chances (Beechcroft and Bloom Carroll to name two). Now the question was, would we get more chances, and could we take advantage of them. After that first victory, the season really slowed down. We had a couple of games canceled due to poor weather, and met some fierce competition in Granville, Athens, and New Albany. This was the dreaded stretch run with 3 true powerhouses in close proximity to each other. Unfortunately there was a collapse after the first win, as our heads sweleld up a bit. Luckily we played Franklin Heights once more. This game afforded us two opportunities. First we got the chance to correct many of the mistakes we made in the first match, and second, we got the chance to earn the first ever home soccer win for Logan Elm. Unfortunately, the season ended without the elusive third "w", and now we entered the Central District Tournament. We recieved the best possible draw we could get, playing at home versus a team we had already seen this year. Columbus School for Girls came to us with a well disciplined and talented team. This was a true test for us, we wanted to end our season with the best performance yet, and we did. We passed this test with flying colors. Though we did not win, we showed ourselves, and our fans, how much we had improved. We did not maximize our potential this year, we just couldn't earn the 4 wins we hoped for. What is more important however, is that we play well, and I saw that in a few instances. We were really only able to play well in 2 full games, and we played a good half in about 5 others. This means that in about half of our matches we were unable to play anywhere near out potential. We had trouble with the basic soccer skills that varisty level players need, and our conditioning was not up to par for the first half of the schedule. However, the biggest problem we had was a lack of teamwork. Without the support system of a team, our competative desire was almost non-existent. We hope that next year these problems are addressed before we ever step onto the practice field for the season. There is great hope for the 2001 Lady Braves season. With a lot of practice and discipline this can be a 4-6 win team next year. One of the biggest things we have to improve on is our goal differential. Here is a look at this seasons. Goals for: Goals against: Differential: 10 110 -100 Before we close the season for good we have some team awards to be given. Team MVP: Kelli Pierce Most Improved: Tara Mosher 3 Players to Watch: Erica Nichols, Kara Cossin, Rachel Strothers Most Coachable: Chrissy Hawk MSL Honorable Mention: Holly Jordan, Jessica Freeman, Brittany Hale MSL 2nd Team: Marrissa Brown MSL 1st Team: Kelli Pierce BACK TO ARCHIVES BACK TO HOME |