| And so ends the 2001 season of Logan Elm Lady Braves Soccer. Our second season was a positive and encouraging one. Starting in the summer, we held our first (of what we hope will be an annual) soccer camp. Attendance was strong by the little leagues from Pickaway, and moderate from our high school programs. This should be attended by all prospective team members and taken very seriously as a chance to both bond and improve our skills. We had better attendance at summer conditioning and bi-weekly workouts, but again this should be nearly 100%. We added some pre-season games this year. Our two scrimmages were very promising as we came out of them with two wins. Both teams were near our calibre and it was nice to see us emerge on top of some close battles. The season started strong and stayed strong. We had so few off days, wether in practice or games, that we gave ourselves the chances to win games. We fought very hard, especially on defense, this year, and it truley was a team effort. The entire team would sense the urgency of assisting during an opponents attack. We truely played team defense this year, forwards to keeper, and it really showed on the scoreboard. We were able to work the ball forward, especially over the top, but often times on the ground as well. Leg strength improved as did aggressiveness. This was a big year for us as a program. We made major improvments individually and as a unit. In summary, this year has filled the Logan Elm Girls Soccer program with hope for a stellar season next year. A great deal of this years team will likley be returning, many players for a third year with this young program. We anticipate a high number of seniors to be on the team next year, and we return many of this years key players. Many of our athletes were fortunate enough to win recoginition of some kind during this season. Here is a list of these honors: Gatorade Will to Win Athletes- Ashley Shaffer, Erica Nicols, Holly Jordan, Marissa Brown, Jessica Freeman, Kelli Pierce Most Improved: Ashley Shaffer Mid-State League Honrable Mention - Jessica Freeman Mid-State League 2nd Team - Marissa Brown Mid-State League 1st Team - Kelli Pierce Southeast District Honorable Mention - Marissa Brown, Kelli Pierce Southeast District All-Star - Marissa Brown OHSAA Record Setter - Kelli Pierce: Saves per Game - 38 (v/s New Albany) 6th Kelli Pierce: Saves per Game - 35 (v/s Granville) 10th Kelli Pierce: Saves per Season - 311 ( 2001 ) 3rd Kelli Pierce: Career Saves - 645 (2000-2001) 4th Despite these formalities, each and every member of this team was a contributing factor to our improvments and successes this past season. These young ladies have been formally recognized, but I would like to take this chance to informally recognize the sacrifices that each girl on this team made. Without all 21 of us, this season would not have been so productive. Thank you all, ladies, this has been a wonderfull fall. As I stated at the start of the season, we set some high goals for ourselves this season. Lets review what those goals were, and how we measured up to our expectations: We should not allow any team to score 10+ goals on us this season Mission Accomplished! (and p.s we play some real tough teams) We should increase our goals scored total to 10+ Oh oh! We faltered in offensive production this year (but not in chances) To drastically increase our time of possession in each game Done. This was especially evident during our league schedule To play more of the game in the mid-field and less of the game in our defensive third Done. We played a lot of defense, but not nearly as much as last year To continue our winning streak against Franklin Heights Uhhhh?!?! A tie isn't a win, but it ain't a loss neither To defeat a team other than Franklin Heights And World Harvest falls To win at least 3 games Sorry. Missed chances don't equal victories (what if we counted pre-season?) Everyone on the team should be running the mile in under 9:30, the 100m dash in under 17 sec., and the 40 m dash in under 6.5 sec. A higher percent than year, but still not all of us (2 words: summer workout) We also set some non-athletic goals for this year. Let's look at those: To increase attendance at our home games A little here and a little there. Some days were better than others. We need noise. To have a more serious AND enjoyable approach to our soccer YES! There is still room to grow, but this year was MUCH better To maintain the bond between teammates until next season There were days I worried about this, but I have to say we were closer this year To generate as much interest as possible among junior high girls, who are our teams future We will see next year, how well we did. Early results are encouraging! To explore the possibilty of forming a junior high soccer club There seems to be interest, but we lack a willing coach. We knew these were lofty goals, but we felt we could live up to them. I think in a great many ways we did fulfill many of our hopes. Some of these goals will likely be on next years list, some we will be able to retire, hopefully forever. There is a great deal of hope and promise behind this team right now, and we look forward to working hard, playing smart, having fun, and making Logan Elm School District proud of us next fall. Thanks for all of your support during the season. GO BRAVES! 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