Sundays Game **update**

please be at the field by 10:45! Chalk talk and warm up.

Game time on Sunday May 4th:

11:30AM-1PM @ Merle Logan Turf Field (2253 Dorman Rd.) map will be posted shortly.

Remember, we're wearing our road 'Reds' (red jerseys & socks) but please bring your whites just in case we need 'em.

Please let Louise know if you need to pool with anyone for this road trip. Also, let's see if we can support our other teams also playing on Sunday.

U11 Boys and Girls - 10-11:30
U12 Girls (The Capitals!) 11:30-1
U11 Boys and Girls - 1-2:30
U12 Boys - 2:30-4

Although the forecast calls for rain this week it should clear up for us on Sunday!

Thanks Dante!

Thanks very much for our LISA Head coach coming out and working with our group last night! Our Capitals had a great session on 3rd defender and balance on defence. You all looked like it was really sinking in and we'll need to focus on our defensive shape this weekend as we play the Nanaimo DDC team. If you recall from our game with them in January they are a very solid squad and it will be a very good test for us.

Game time and location is coming for Sunday up in Nanaimo...Our first road trip of the season!

Boys V Girls...always a battle!

Great game on Saturday Capitals! The weather was great, the facility was great, the competition was great and your passing was great!

From the opening kick off I could see a marked improvement since our first game against JDF's island champion u13's. On several occasions there was 5+ passes put together working the ball up the field which was pretty to watch. There was some excellent composure on the ball but we still managed to lose it in the attacking 1/3 where we're trying to drive to the net from sharp angles rather than playing the ball to the top of the 6 to give a better chance to your teammates. We'll need to work on decision making on the attack.

The goals that were scored (other than the nice header) could've been prevented had we not got caught watching. When we lost possession we failed to initiate our 1st defender to delay the attack while our man-marking was lacking. This gave their attacking forwards plenty of time to slot the ball through on net. We'll need to be tighter on our checks and quicker to pressure the player with the ball as we move forward to some even tougher matches this season.

Some of you were tested in different positions to see who you match up well with and where you play best. I appreciate the fact that you played hard no matter where you were positioned. These friendly's are a great opportunity to play in different spots so we can all learn to respect the roles of each other on the field. Next weeks game against the Nanaimo DDC team there will be a little less 'testing' of positions;)

A huge thanks to Gerry Rand from Gorge (the evil empire) for fielding his u12 boys (+ the dynamo '98!). And also thanks to Craig T. from the u16 boys metro team for officiating the game...Great job!

Oh...it was good to have Monty back out there after resting her achilles and we missed you out there J!

Game date change

Please note, due to the Salt Spring Island tournament the weekend of April 27th, our match against the Nanaimo DDC team will be pushed back to the following weekend. Details will follow.

Pass and Move!

Excellent work tonight on the turf at UVIC! Thanks very much to our new assistant coach in Shane Paul. Shane has played the game at very high levels and brings plenty of experience to the field.

Tonight we had a chance to work on passing and support (possession). We learned that we need to play the ball early and immediately move to support. Triangles are good but even they need to move and unless you're told to "turn" or your have "time" that you should play the way you face. Even when in the attacking 1/3 we still need to maintain possession so unless you've got a shot on net you should be looking to find support rather than trying to dribble through the wall of defenders.

By the end of the night we saw some fantastic ball movement. There's plenty of talent on this squad, we now need to work as a team and play smart.

See you Wednesday at Colquitz.

Spring league info

For those playing spring league at Gorge FC with us we are playing in the Int. Boys division. We are team Navy.
There was, again, overwhelming response this year and they have had to order an extra color jersey for us. As a result, we'll wear USS t-shirts or we can wear our navy (capitals) training tops for the 1st game.
Looks like we'll have a bye for the 1st week and our first game will be the week of the 21st.
I'll keep you posted as info is made available.

Match Result

There was a LOT of very positive things to take away from our exhibition game on Friday vs JDF.

1. Despite the size difference, you all fought hard. You got stuck in on most occasions and won many battles for the ball!
2. I could see you looking for the right places to play the ball. The JDF squad didn't give you the time you're used to having to play it...
3. Your passing and receiving was very good. I saw a lot of very nice 1st touches on the ball!

A couple things we'll need to work on:

1. Quicker release of the ball. Keep your composure but we'll have to learn to get the ball under control and play it earlier.
2. Defensive marking. When we lost possession in our 1/3 we started to chase the ball a bit. When we have 3 of us chasing the ball we leave attackers wide open.
3. Midfielders have a lot of ground to cover...more than you're used to. It's great to get up in the attack but we need to recover quicker and make sure the opposing attackers aren't free.

All in all I was pleased with the performance and this gives us a very good "benchmark" to measure our improvements against.

Remember, this was our first game together and you're all getting used to each other. You played a game against the now, Island champions in the u13 gold division who have played together all year! (congrats to them btw:)

So way to go...and we'll see you at UVIC tomorrow at 6:30!

Red Jerseys: White Socks!

Reminder that we'll be wearing our red jerseys and white socks for our game against the JDF Cheetahs.
Please be there at 5PM at the latest for the 5:15 game start.

We've been working on 1st defender AND 2nd defender so we'll be looking for a very sound defensive game.
This is going to be a tough challenge against a very solid JDF squad coached by Bud (birdie) Livingstone. Let's do what we can to give them a good run before they head up island to compete for the island championships!
We'll surely be missing the talents of "S" (aka Olivia;) and Dallas who will be playing with their respective club teams (CB and GH) against each other in the GH tournament. We'll also be misssing our phenom striker in Montana who is nursing an achilles injury and should be resting for the weekend in order to play with us in some tough challenges this spring!
So for the rest of our Capitals...let's bring our 'A' game!

First Game!

We have our first friendly coming up this Friday the 11th of April. We'll certainly be in tough as we take on the League Champions of the U13 Girls division this year...The Juan De Fuca Cheetahs!
This will be a warm up game for them before they head up to Campbell River to play for the Island Championship!
Game time is 5:15-6:35 at Hampton Park on the turf. We'll be playing full field 11 aside with 35 minute halves.
Please be there by 5pm (latest) so we can have a warm up and chat.

We'll have practices on Monday and Wednesday night in preparation for the game (see schedule)

Highlanders announce coaching staff!

The Victoria Highlanders FC are the new Professional Soccer team here on Vancouver Island. This will be a very exciting brand of soccer to watch. They are building a new stadium in the heart of Langford complete with restaurants, retail and, yes, a brand new, state-of-the-art turf field!

They will be ready for play for at the opening of the 2009 season starting in April/May of 2009!

They have done well with an incredible coaching staff lead by Colin Miller. Colin was 'on the bench' just last year in the EPL (English Premier League) and will now be leading our Highlanders into a successfull campaign.

He's joined by a local (very well accomplished) staff in Shel Brodsgaard, Steve Simonson and our very own LISA head coach, Dante Zanatta!

We all look forward to seeing this team in action next year and they are already working on season's ticket sales so don't miss out! Have a look at http://www.victoriahighlandersfc.com/

USS Spring League **updated**

Let me know if you're interested in playing Spring League down at Hampton Park on the turf. Last year we had a few of our LISA team together and had some fun playing up in the U12/U13 bracket. It was a ton of fun as the "Red Hot Chili Peppers" and we were tested in every match!

So far, we're represented by Ashley, Olivia S, Olivia V, Bri, Michelle, Maddy, Dallas, Jaymie, Courtenay and Taleah. Final roster is set but let me know if you're still interested as there may be a way to sneak you in;)

This year we'll be playing on the boys side. This may be a different pace than what we're all used to so come prepared to battle each game!!! Should be exciting and fun! Schedule should be out this week...